I find odd all these forum posts trying to discredit NAM, it's everywhere on the guitar internet these days. Instead of celebrating this new process, which is not only the most accurate but also open source, people are trying to put it down left and right in a way you rarely see with other typical guitar products. It's almost like someone has a vested interest in discrediting this new process; open source means no more walled garden or magic voodoo algorithm sold at a premium. It's also not in the best interests of many hardware companies to make their product compatible with NAM; all these years of R&D by the manufacturers we know to figure out the best profiling algorithm or amp models we were told were tweaked to perfection are now being challenged by a few revolutionary lines of codes available to anyone. Whether or not the NAM hardware is there or not is another debate but you have to be blind to not see where this is going in terms of future product development and how it's just a matter of time until someone makes the perfect box for it.
Posts by JedMckenna
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On the last few tracks I've recorded, I place the Pure Booster after the stack and have it set at +1.6. My tones seem to be really jumping out in the mix, and I am now doing this on every profile. I like it! Does doing this over raising the rig volume allow more clean character to come through?
This does nothing to the tone, it just raises the volume. Same effect as Rig Volume.
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Like I've always said, it's about what the audience hears.
I am tired of this sound byte. Good luck finding a band hiring you if you don't sound great next to them on stage or at soundcheck; a "don't worry bro, I sound great out there" isn't going to cut it by any metric.
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I feel for you buddy. It seems to be the luck of the draw unfortunately (yet 3 of the 4 Kemper products I bought have had issues, even after being "repaired"). Similar thing happened to me, bought something DOA and I guess the policy is to let the store handle it, which deals with the country's distributor; they never ended up exchanging the product but just insisting in repairing it (couldn't even diagnose properly the first time and sent it back still defective, the process ended up dragging for months). Now a year later it still has non-replicable glitches and failures from time to time (which are the worst because you can't demonstrate them to guy in front of you). I may be stuck with this potential lemon I'm too afraid to gig with (and can't sell in good faith) because they never accepted to exchange it the first place (a couple of days after the 7-day return period because I was away on tour) even though the distributor originally said they would. I can't explain the mental/financial load and stress this has all been (had to fly someone oversea with my backup.) This is not the fault of Kemper's headquarter (which I know are heroes and the nicest people at the office in Germany) but there are some shitty people in the chain of distribution who clearly just want to move products and won't be there when it matters.
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When i see OP's answer above (+ the fact he plays with a head + cab), it could be fair to tell him more than "Yes, you can use the PP for your use"....
He can buy a Kemper Stage and only activates drive section if he wants... Is it the best solution ? I don't think so....
IMO, it could be important to tell him basics and that profilers (or modelers) are also made to get rid of traditional amps/cabs/combos....
They've got amp/cab sims inside. The improvements during years have been phenomenal and sims are very close to real....
You CAN use a traditional combo and disable the amp/cab section in the profiler (it's possible but should be considered as an option).
On the other side, you can use the profiler with amp/cabs section (And it's really strong in this part).
If you use a traditional speaker, all your sounds will be colored, cause the speaker has an important incidence on the sound. You will have to disable your simulation speaker cause you can't have a greenback going into your laney, etc... So all your sounds will be closer. A Fender amp sim into your Laney speaker, a Marshal amp sim into your Laney, and so on....
The reason why some here adviced to buy a monitor or a FRFR. the speaker is neutral and when you switch from a greenback to a jensen, you'll hear the difference...
Things to know too :
- Player is limited at level 1 for number of slots, number of rigs, number of kind of FXs... You can upgrade it but it's not free....
- Player has got no loop (yet), it seems not to be a problem cause you don't have loop on your amp (Imo it's important too cause a delay/chorus after or before the amp is not the same...)
I don't want to make you run away and prevent you from buying a Kemper unit (they are really great) but you should really think about your specifications :
- Do you want to try amp/cab sims ? Do you think you could play without your amp/Laney ? If NOT, choose a multi-FXs without amp/cab sims....
-If you want to try sims world ; Do you use your device for gigs or rehearsals ? Do you want to have all Kemper's features (meaning going to level 3 for Player) ? If the answer is Yes, i would recommand the Stage instead, it's more expensive but the ergonomic is SOOOOOOO wonderful ; it's a stage beast !!!!
- If you have not enough money to buy a Stage, just stay at home, don't need a lot of rigs (presets (but i don't know if you can say it before)), don't need all slots, all FXs, etc... the bigger units have, you can consider the Player
OP plays guitar at home and already has an amp he likes to use, and people started this thread by telling him it doesn't work and he should buy a FRFR speaker and other stuff, come on. Buy more gear, the classic online answer to every problem. If you can't make pre-amp delay/chorus work or if you need more than 4 stompbox to get going (at home no less!), you have more important things to address.
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I just wanted to have all sort of effects in one pedal, more like a multi-effects. I believe PP is not made for such. Since I have an amp head+cab, I didn't realize PP needs a dedicated speaker of some sort. I don't mind any colored sound it may bring when connected to amp head+cab. Maybe I could flatten the EQ of my amp head (it got the standard bass, middle, & treble knobs). At the moment I'm not looking into buying a power speaker. I'm happy to use PP without connecting to a computer/monitor speaker. Or I could just use my monitor headphone for silent practice.
Some weird info on this thread. You can totally use the Player for effects only and it works well (although you don't have many footswitches), I do this often if there already is an amp at the venue; just disable the amp + cab modules and use drive/effects in the front of your amp.
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You can create a performance where all the amp and cab blocks are disabled and just use the Kemper for drives and effects (like a multi effect) with the tube amp. When I gig in a venue that has a good amp, I rather use the Kemper this way (or use my analog pedalboard) because the stage sound translate in the audience and it does feel a lot better than coming just from the venue speakers. You can set the tube amp for clean and have your rigs button trigger different combinations of Kemper drives/distortions and effects. With a little tweaking on your effects, you can manage to make this setup sound pretty good (but it sometimes feel a bit different than a fully analog drive section.)
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I never thought "Look, you don't even need to press footswitches anymore!" would become a selling point; push this logic further and you might as well put all my guitar parts in the backing track so I could just fake-play.
Unless I'm becoming out of touch, I think actual working musicians can see through the pile of nonsense presented in this video. I fail to see a situation where someone would truly find any advantage or use to most of these functions in spite of what this guy flaunts. "Those functions give you more time to focus on the music and your performance" he says... It seems to me that it achieves the complete opposite; nerding in your room for days trying to program this mess just for your artist to change the song order or add a chorus to the song during soundcheck (which btw happens even at the highest level), or spending your precious time on this damn gizmo beforehand instead of solidifying your songs/performance/delivery. So not rock & roll. People that know what they are doing don't need to touchscreen their way through amp settings (!) and those that don't probably also don't need a $2000 guitar processor in the first place. I always found Line 6 to have a strange take, always sort of blurring the line between pro music gear that is sometimes kickass and cringe toys for beginners/nerds...
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Once the Stadium is released, people will dig in and the warts will show through. It is my understanding that the verbs and delays (and all other efx) are carry-over from the current Helix. Considering that these efx are already considered sub-standard to Kemper and Fractal, I am surprised at how little scrutiny this aspect has been given.
Kemper MK2 on the other hand inherits the super good quality verbs and delays of the MK1.
How much time have you even spent with any Line 6 effects? So much nonsense already in this thread to address it all but regurgitating the speculation and general opinions floating in internet forum (mostly filled with people spending minimal time actually on stage or in the studio) gets tedious. I get that talking about all this is more fun than actually playing for many but if one can't find satisfactory delays/reverbs on the Helix system (or any other effect or even amp tones for that matter), the problem isn't with the unit. Makes me want to start gigging with a bean POD tweaked to perfection as a middle finger to threads like this.
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Maybe I'm missing something and I apologize if you know all this already but his pedal is a volume pedal, not an expression pedal. If you want to use it, you need to connect it with TS jack either before going into your Kemper (pre), or through an effect loop that you set up in an effect slot post stack. The expression pedal outputs from your Kemper are meant to connect to actual expression pedals (like the KP-1) with TRS jacks - you can make those work as volume but also in many more ways (wha, pitch, etc).
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Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Rig Volume has the exact same effect as Amp Volume (as in it doesn't affect the tone). I think forum user Wheresthedug made tests to that effect and couldn't perceive a difference, neither do I. Therefore I usually adjust amp volume to match rigs with each other, and use Rig Volume to raise the volume compared to other rigs.
To add to what other says, I often match volumes it in a DAW; because sometimes it's much more complicated than just adding +2/3 Db for solo parts and determining this by ear can be counterintuitive if you're hearing it as the player versus the audience/FOH. If I can get my track/tracks without guitar, I put them in the DAW and play over them to check the volumes of one rig against another in the mix.
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Amps are often profiled for rhythms sounds - regardless of style, to make those work for lead, I do like I'd usually do with an amp: add a TS-9 with a bit of gain (Kemper drive) and/or an EQ (inverted V) + a bit of delay. But some profiles were made with lead in mind in the first place so you don't need to add much. Also while it was suggested above, Bert's profile are outstanding (many of my main ones are his), but his lead pack isn't really in the vein of the sounds OP's suggested imo - which is a next level of heaviness (have more gain and bite and fatness - often due in part by the high output humbuckers). If I want a sound that has body and cuts, I wouldn't scoop the mids - I actually do the opposite, usually an inverted V eq shape with the tip of the V around 800-1khz.
I'm starting to feel there are pretty much just two things that matter at the core of a sound: the EQ curve and the gain level - once you know how to dial those two for what you need, you can get any sound that's in your head regardless of the equipment you use. Do some Rig Exchange exploration (try them over a track and not in isolation).
Maybe try this one from RE:
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Funny you mention, the audience commented on my improved dynamic linearity/optimized string response after the gig.
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Of course marketing will state how much better/closer/authentic/etc the new profiling process will be, there is no other way to sell it.
No matter the company, the gear industry's obsession with periodically persuading us of which superior new product should occupy the next spot in our rig like a revolving door is getting very tiring. I'd like to think that at this point, actual experienced players that can dial in their sound (on anything) can see through this, yet the echos of this marketing narrative is bouncing off every gear forum with endless threads filled with disproportionate emotional response every single time some new product is launched.
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Regardless of your preference…one heck of a time to play electric guitar.
People keep saying this like a sound byte, but it's really not. It was a much better time when major metropolitan areas had more than a handful of live venues, hotel/casinos showrooms had full-time hired players everywhere, when a tour could cover your expenses and when popular music actually had some creative guitar in it. Sorry for going out topic...
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I asked for this too, it's normal. Same volume values on the machines doesn't equal same output decibels. They are not built exactly the same.
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I'm happy with no smartphone-like displays or other BS gimmicks as none of that is some indication of progress. However, the big fail in my opinion is the missed opportunity of addressing the weak points and design flaws of the physical units such as the RJ-45 remote connector (or even those flimsy toy-ish plastic encoders knobs) which would have been a more tangible reason to come up with a Mk 2 in the first place. Behind the marketing spiel, this new box seems like more of the same and we probably won't miss much by not upgrading.
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JedMckenna Thanks for digging up those threads. I've just looked at them. That's a couple of users discussing knob related issues, I'm not sure if that qualifies for "Every pre-Stage old timer here is at least aware of this weakness". I'm pretty sure that we have a good overview about that breaks and whatnot, but if you trust the information in those threads more, so be it.
There are 3 users in the first thread claiming that something is wrong, one in the second thread (+ a lot of user more or less helpful replies), again one in the third thread and I believe 2 users in the last one. And that's over 3 years.
"Every pre-Stage old timer here is at least aware of this weakness" - If you look at my post, I was referring to the RJ45 port issue, not at the encoders.
I'm glad to see everyone here reporting few if any issue but threads like this quickly become a bit of an echo chamber. Not every problem gets reported, let alone fixed. I could have brushed aside all these issues with my aging toaster and join the choir if my Stage and remote wouldn't also have been defective on arrival (and a friend's Stage as well). Anyway, congrats to Mario Severi
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Encoders don't do that under normal conditions. And we don't exchange the encoders often when repairing a unit, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.
It's coming from personal experience, but a quick search on the forum yielded many discussions:
QuoteYes, the RJ45 connector can break, but most users have nothing connected to it, so we don't see much damage here, either.
Every pre-Stage old timer here is at least aware of this weakness - it has already been discussed ad nauseam on this forum.
I should have prefaced that I love my old toaster (and Stage), that Kemper support is awesome and helpful (and so is this forum) and that they will likely sort out any issue in a smooth fashion (timely too probably) but OP started this thread asking what he can expect and what to look out for in getting an old toaster. Whether or not these issues are frequent I don't know but they are all hardware weaknesses that are documented here by other users and have happened to me personally. BTW, I also had other reliability issues that I haven't mentioned because they're more likely isolated cases. People who just got one recently or whose machine have stayed on the cozy bedroom/studio desk forever won't provide an insightful answer to this question (no one else remembers the debacle of the switches on the first batch of Stages?) - some of these old 2nd hand units have been abused on the road and while it's not my case, for someone say living away from bigger city centers or somewhere more remote, dealing with shipping the unit for repairs and whatnot can be a total pain, especially if you don't have a backup.
Also, if it comes with a Namba bag - your bag will break!
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I am not as optimistic as others here about Kempers reliability.
For older models, I would look for the front 4 main encoders below the screen. After a while, those often start to turn by themselves. For example, go in the output menu and adjust volumes and see if when you release them they stay at the value or start going up/down by themselves. For the Powerhead, look that there is no hiss coming/white noise coming from the power amp when everything is supposed to be silent. Also check your master stereo output and make sure both L and R are outputting the same and healthy volume. If your RJ 45 input at the back is not broken yet on a 2016 model, go buy a lottery ticket.
