There's nothing inside of it that wears down mechanically/naturally, except maybe the buttons, knobs or led bulbs. It doesn't even have fans.
So baring physical damage, or exposure to extreme temperature/humidity conditions.... I don't see any reason that it can't last years or possibly even decades.
I have made an ‘ir’ of each of the imprints and use them in a Quad Cortex in place of the QC’s regular Cab block to send to a pair of Cabs with Kones.
With just a touch of eq tweaking in the ir block and then save those tweaks per preset it really improves the sound and makes it a viable way to get away from the FRFR and closer to the cab-in-the-room sound.
Is it as effective as when I use the Stage into the Kemper Kab ? I’d say not as easy to achieve and not nearly as fast to try out different imprints but the end result sound wise is really close. Well worth doing in my mind
Good to know it pretty much works soundwise. Right now the Kemper is the only digital amp/modeler that I own, but I'm sure if you uploaded your Kone IRs to rig exchange, other guys who own the Kabinet and other modeling amps would love try them out.
Also if I were using this approach with a non-Kemper amp and the Kabinet/Kone, I would probably get a dedicated cheap IR pedal (like this) and load all the Kone imprint IRs to it. This would allow you to achieve fast switching of imprints... and possibly even allow the Kabinet to be used with tube amps, (although for that you probably would need an attenuator or dummy load box of some sort).
Can the powered Kabinet be used with Helix/Fractal etc. units as well? I’m talking about just the FRFR mode of course.
On its own it probably won't sound good, since the Kemper is adding an EQ to make the Kone flat. But theoretically you can create an Impulse Response of FRFR mode (or any of the imprints), by running a frequency sweep through the Kemper on a profile that has its all its amp/cab/effects turned off and Kone mode switched on. Then you could load that IR onto Helix/Fractal or other modeler and use it with the Kabinet/Kone.
I doubt I'm the first one to think of this, but I haven't yet seen anyone say they actually tried this.
Yea. Imprints only go through monitor outs, so your signal coming out the main outs and going to FOH will stay the same
Imprints are really good IMO, but keep in mind they only emulate speakers not the cabinet and the Kab is physically a 1x12. So if you have a profile with V30s in a 4x12 cab, the Kab with the V30 imprint will sound different... like a V30 in a 1x12 (unmic’d).
Thats why for high gain stuff some of us prefer to use full range mode
Powered Kab is the better option if you are looking for something dedicated for only playing guitar with the Kemper, since it will do multiple imprints options or Full Range.
Studio monitors are a better option if you want something that has uses outside of the Kemper. Such as if you also do any home recording/mixing or plan to use with other modelers
Did you notice any sound difference between powered Kemper and unpowered Kemper with Tc Bam200 preamp?
I don't have the powered Kab but did own the Bam200 and an ICEpower 200ASC (which is tonally similar to the ICEPower 300AS in the powered Kab).
When using the "flat" EQ setting on the Bam, the differences between the two were pretty minimal in my opinion. The ICEPower 200ASC may have had slightly better low end, but if anything it was subtle at best and hard to really notice.
I ended up keeping the ICEPower but mostly just out the convenience of being able to wire it directly into the speaker cabinet, and not having to worry about running a speaker cable or dialing in the eq settings. I liked the tone and form factor of the Bam though, and a unit like that is nice to have as a backup or if you ever need to run the Kemper or other modeler into another guitar cabinet... Wish they would make one with a simple switch to bypasss the EQ .
I haven't been able to try the Kone in a large space either, but if I recall CK mentioned in the Kone & Kab Q&A thread that the Kone does have a wider dispersion pattern than regular guitar speakers.
I've been reading this conversation and I have a comment. But let me say I have some rock experience playing out, not a ton. None in very large venues.
I thought the point of the Kone, powered or not, was to serve two main functions. There maybe more, these two stick out.
1. Practice in a jam session or bedroom with great sound
2. Act as a monitor for guitar player in a large or louder session while the KPA feeds front of house.
I would never expect a 12" speaker fed by a solid state box to accommodate anything much bigger than a medium sized bar type venue. Of course nobody is going to mic a Kone cab, that's why we have the KPA in the first place, to either feed a Kone, or PA or both. I wouldn't consider buying multiple Kones, it seems redundant and unnecessary.
So am I thinking correctly here or what?
If you can't hear yourself at practice in a metal band why not just feed the KPA into the mains with the vocalist? You don't have to put it all in, just enough.
Yea, for the most part.
The only reason to have multiple Kones is either to run separate cabs for stereo or, to use in a 2x12 or 4x12 cab purely for tone (Kone imprints replicate the tone of a speaker but not a cab).
But if we are talking about loudness, you'd want to mic up any rig in a venue larger than a small bar (or run direct to the FOH if using a Kemper). The 1x12 Kab should be sufficient for situations small enough where rigs don't need to be mic'd up.
I have had the same issue at band practice and don’t think it’s normal. I have tried everything as well and had to max out the Kemper power head until it shorted. I built a 4X12 Kemper kab and thought that would do the trick, and still the same problem. Because sound is not projecting forward like a guitar speaker would normally, the sound does not cut through the mix.
My guitarist has a mini Mesa at level 1 and was still cutting through more than I was.
I have now gone with a 2x12 mission Engineering cab which does not colour the sound and at the same time projects the sound forward which I am now able to cut through properly but barely. I had too turn up the Volume to max with the rig volume and now I have my max volume on the Kemper almost up all the way and the wattage meter goes to almost. 600. It’s loud but not as loud as you would think at that level.
Standing in front of the amp at that volume, it was still bearable which is the problem. The 600 watts should be impossible to listen too from up close and with the Mesa turned up to 150 watts only, I was almost deaf lol.
So not sure, something to work on for future models perhaps.
What kind of speakers did you use in your custom built 4x12 and how were they wired?
I think the Mission 2x12 is 16 ohms, and if you used 4ohm speakers for your custom 4x12 (wired in series) it would also have been 16 ohms....
which means the power amp would only put out half its power rating.
Even still, if you had it maxed out, 300 Watts is enough power to blow out most guitar speaker cabinets... Something might be wrong
KW*DI*JOSE*2
Jose-style Marshall by user KWIDEMAN. Killer tone, only a few days in the RE. I paired it with one of my favorite cabs with Alnico Cream Celestions. Very full and meaty for heavy tone
Nice find. Similar to the Cameron CCV 01 57/121 by ElevenEleven Studios (mentioned earlier in the thread), but this has just a little bit extra.
no offense, but if someone saying that 1x12 is enough to be heard over a loud drummer hasen't obviously played with a really loud drummer for Rock or Metal. Tried it several times with a 100W Tube head + 1x12 V30.
You might get heard but there is no buttom end. Just noe enough punch.
Yesterday I took my Kabinet with my Kemper with built in power amp to rehearse with a jazz drummer. There it worked without problen. But he's very disciplined so with him you can play without ear protection.
Tomorrow I will take it to rehearshal with our Rock drummer
just to doublecheck again.
I'll keep you posted. Maybe the Kabinet does some magic....
A single V30 can only handle 60W where the Kone/Kabinet can handle 200W (more than triple the power)
That doesn't translate to triple the loudness... but it should be more than 50% louder than a V30.
It definitely won't give you the same tone a 2x12 or 4x12, but that extra power handling should be enough to be heard over the rock drummer.
Also IMO tilting a 1x12 cabinet back on an angle to aim the sound or even putting it on some kind of stand makes difference to me. Not really something that matters with bigger cabs.
Basically if you could only have 3 channels, what profiles you choose for your clean, crunch and distortion sounds?
Probably not a good option for Bass. You wouldn't break anything, but I recall someone saying that the Kabinet farts out at loud volumes with Bass... so would be the same with the powered Kabient too. Its not a problem with the Kone, but has to do with the construction of the Kab (it wasn't designed for bass, so probably rattles).
If you really wanted to use the Kone for Bass, the best option would be to get the Kone and drop it in an a real 1x12 bass cabinet. The thing is all the imprints sounds they have out right now are for guitar speakers anyway.
Well, as of this writing looks like we finally have a Kemper Kab with built in power amp... Is 1x12 / 200w enough to be heard over a loud drummer or is it best to load a 2x12 cab with kemper kones/ or celestion and have bigger power supply like the Duncan 700w? options???
200W in 1x12 for guitar, is more than enough to be heard over loud drummer imo.
What you would gain with a 2x12 or 4x12 has more to do with tone than loudness... it would give a "thicker" sound, since there are more speakers moving air.
The Kemper Stage supposedly has a WIFi unit built into it.... So who knows, maybe we will see a mobile app for it one day.
It would be cool if they had a powered version of the cab that could switch imprints without the kemper unit. Imagine how many they would sell to customers who just want a powered guitar speaker. Universal competition for the L6 powercab
Yup, I get that
Ingolf have you tried it with your QC yet?
Theoretically, you can try to create IRs from the imprints by running frequency sweeps through the Kemper with Kone mode and whatever imprint activated (and using a profile with amp switched off so the EQ won't be colored by it). Then those IRs can be loaded into Helix, QC, or IR loader pedal and used with the Kone/Kab.
I posted clips. Decide for yourself:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/41u37laovs8…oA8huIN1ba?dl=0
6 clips there.
3 are the real amp.
1 is the Quad Cortex.
The other two are the Kemper - refined, and not refined.
IMO they all sound similar enough where it makes no difference on a recording or live performance.
So as far as I'm concerned, the only things that matter at this point are how they sound in the room, and how they feel playing... which could be more different than the recordings show, but are things that only you can tell us.
Just for fun (and at the risk of likely being way off).... I will take a guess #1 were Kemper, #3 was the QC and the #4-6 were the real amp.
#3 sounded the most different to me... highs stood out more than the rest of them, maybe a little too much?
Curious to what kind of poweramp it has. ICEpower ASC200, or something developed in-house?
I understand this.
The biggest hurdle with digital amps is knowing what you sound like out front. I have played my Kemper with a traditional guitar cab and I love it. I suppose I could mic the cab live, but at that point it would be easier to bring a small combo as the cabinet just makes all profiles sound similar. Not exactly the same, but similar enough.
I could use a guitar cab on stage, and send the direct signal from the KPA to FOH (studio profile) but then I don’t know what the audience is hearing (I understand that I can never fully know, regardless of what kind of amplification I use, but with non digital/direct solutions I have a better idea)
I have not considered the Kemper Kab so I haven’t really looked into it. Can I send the direct signal from the Kab to FOH, thus ensuring I have a decent idea of what the audience hears? In other words, will the KPA “imprints” (or whatever they’re called) be sent to FOH and how can I be sure they sound the same through the PA as they do coming out of the Kemper Kab?
When using imprints with the Kemper Kone/Kab, the imprints are only sent through the monitor outs. The signal sent out through main outs (which would go to FOH) would still be the same as the original profile.
The purpose of imprints is to try and simulate a non-mic'd amp in the room sound. They are basically for the player's enjoyment only.
If you wanted to hear most accurately what FOH is hearing with the Kone/Kab you would run it in Full Range mode, rather than using Imprints.
