Well after a very up and down few weeks with the Kemper Power Rack (even to the point of considering selling it)..I decided BRAVELY to take it to band practice last night and do a 'live' A/B test with my current live rig, EVH 50watt & 4x12, L6 500xHD & 4 cable method on the left... and the Kemper Powerhead & 4x12 cab on the right.
Main exercise was just to set up the Kemper volume wise to the same level to where I normally play with the EVH...and then come back and tweak some patches for later use...I was fully expecting all my band to tell me to 'put that back in the car'....but no!..
I decided to crank it, did a few small tweaks to a rig and...wow, results were impressive, to the point that the rest of the band all said that it sounded much better than the EVH (which cheered me up and broke my heart at the same time!)...I only meant to play it for 10-15 minutes with the band just to get levels etc but ended up playing it all night 2+ hours...and even switched off the EVH!!..Everyone said that the tone was much clearer, much more articulate...'you could hear stuff' and whilst it still had all the bottom end and tight chug chug...just sounded smoother...endorsement indeed from my lot, they dont take prisoners!!
So I'm back on board with the Kemper...I made some fairly drastic tweaks to the output section & power amp boost and also rig volume, ones which I think would be considered 'out of the norm'...but hey, it seemed to do the trick as far as using a PowerHead straight into a 4x12 cab...there is no right or wrong, just what sounds good and I have to say...it sounded good!
The rest of the band ended up being the judges on the night, i didn't intend it to be a Kemper demo night, but the patch sounded great, a few tweaks and it sounded even better..now I know its in there I'll dial in a proper sound...get the delays right etc..
For what its worth I will post up my settings for those who might want to use the kemepr in the same way as I..ie: just straight into a 4x12 cab...it might work for you, it might not...for all those struggling like me...stick with it, its worth it in the end!..Obviously each set up is different, all cabs sound different...but it is possible to get a fantastic 'rock' tone at live band volume..just Kemper and a 4x12..stick with it guys.
This is a great forum, and thanks to everyone on it for their input...it is a journey...for all us newbies just stay with it, keep your amp whilst you play with this, just as a fall back, but you will soon find the right patch and that is partly the trick...find the right patch! You wont go back.
Niall