Looks like a > $2000 toy. Built in pedal, craft kit colors. IDK it probably sounds good but is that thing going to survive a pub stage? I used to have an L6 AX2. That thing was rugged. The controller was metal chassis. Even that broke eventually. I still have my L6 cabs though. Very sturdy,
Spend some time with it - it’s no toy. It’s a serious competitor to Kemper, QC, and other market leaders. A major step up for L6.
Note that I absolutely hated the HX Stomp, so I’m hardly an L6 fanboy…
I have a 10 inch full color touchscreen that also plays media and runs an unlimited number of apps including rig manager. It’s called a samsung galaxy tablet and costs less than $200.
Nice! Unfortunately your tablet isn’t built into your kemper with a streamlined/improved editor/UI, but we will take the wins wherever we can get’em ;).
I am a veteran Kemper user - love the Powered Toaster and also have a Player… and am anxiously awaiting the MK2 firmware updates.
Having said that, I spent a few hours with the Helix Stadium today. Previously, I had owned, and traded, an HX stomp XL (hated it). This is a different beast entirely.
Stadium felt great, sounded great, and looked great. The ability to edit sounds and effects is deep and well organized. Excellent UI and a beautiful big color touchscreen. This was a big step up for Line6 IMO. Much more realistic (and fun) than their prior offerings and ups the ante in this market segment.
Hoping that MK2 updates keep pace with what I experienced today. The modeler/profiler space is continuing to develop in exciting ways, and Kemper has always (IMO) been the leader in creating authentic play feel and amp responsiveness, but the world is catching up. Would be awesome to hear more about what’s coming, especially since it’s 6 months late now.
I know the beta testers are under NDA, but can anyone share deeper feedback about upcoming new features and testing results to date?? Inquiring minds want to know 
BAM 200 is not done for giving a Flat response nor done for guitarists at the base but it was quickly a solution cause ; a classe D, 4 ohms accepted for 200 watts and not expensive (plus the powerKabinet didn't exist at that time).
vtgearhead took measurements and gave the settings to have the flattest response (thanks to him
The reason why i choosed this device with all these datas
I totally get that the BAM200 was originally marketed towards bassists, but apparently it's found a home among guitarists (some jazz guys actually plug straight in and use it as an alternative to a polytone). The EQ is flexible enough to support guitar, as you noted, so all good. As I mentioned, you can certainly find tones that are hollow/odd sounding, so it takes a bit of EQ tweaking to find your sweet spot, but I use this with a Kone, and think it sounds pretty darn good (again, not quite as good as the internal IcePower module in my Toaster, but certainly close).
Interesting, and this product is def on the "cheap side", referring to the price of it. I worry about things that are inexpensive as far as reliability but then agai, expensive stuff fails just as much, especially when you need it most. Lol
It's lasted nearly 2 years for me at this point, never got too hot and has worked reliably on a number of gigs. Don't know how this experience stacks up against what others have seen, but I'm not complaining at this point
Hate to say it but that is still too much at the moment, kind of you to look it up Dave.
I see from previous threads the TC Electronic BAM 200 200W Bass Amp Head is only $119.00 brand new. state-of-the-art Class D amp technology. hmmmm????? https://www.guitarcenter.com/TC-Electronic/…500000270588.gc
Another TC BAM200 user here, I think it's a totally valid/useable solution for gigging (I've used it on some big gigs to provide local monitoring thru a Kone, while I use XLR to send to FOH). Side by side with the Powered Toaster, BAM200 is not QUITE as good, but def close enough. I do find that the EQ settings are VERY sensitive, and you can find some positions on the knobs that give hollow/odd results - however, once you fine-tune settings, it's great.
Hi!
Another aftermath: The EQD Bit Commander is not a bit shaper at all, but merely a sort of synthesizer/octaver. Different sound.
CK
Wow, thanks for the follow-up, I really appreciate the clarification.
Incidentally, the Bit Commander is a SMOKING effect pedal, would be awesome to see a model of this one showing up in Kemper one day...
Thanks again,
Dango
I have had good experience with regular guitar cabs/speaker as well as with the Kone - I currently run 2 Kone's in 2 separate cabs (one open, one closed) - I think they sound fantastic. I don't mess too much with the imprints, I just found a few that I like and stick with them (I like the Goodman imprint as well as the G12H Anniversary - the others I can give or take).
I do think that the Kone's sound better and livelier than the FRFR mode (that use the Speaker IR's).
I also like the dispersion of the Kone's; with a single 12 I hear myself better on stage when I'm off axis to the speaker - I think others have agreed with this point as well.
I don't have a Kab, but do have 2 Kone's in traditional cabinets - really like them (actually prefer them in open back format believe it or not). I find that the sound field is a bit wider than a traditional 12" driver, and I can hear myself better on stage.
Thanks, I'll give it a try later today and report back with my findings - appreciate the help with this!
I continued experimenting - I switched to a different cable profile called "Cable Direct" by PWhe23 in Rig Exchange - after I matched volume levels between the on and off states of the amp module, the drive effects sounded essentially the same whether the amp was in or out of the signal chain. I'm guessing the earlier cable patch profile we were using (LMTTRAY - A-Stick) had some profiled qualities that reacted in unexpected ways when the drives were engaged. All good for me on this point.
I also re-installed the latest firmware, and continued to experiment with the various drive options via headphones and into a real amp - here are some preliminary findings:
- the Kemper Drives and Green Scream defaults still have more of that clean signal mixed in and give (me at least) a less familiar tone and feel, although as Christoph mentioned, this gets reduced somewhat as the drive and tone settings are turned up. Perhaps I just need to get more familiar with Kemper Drive options since the presets don't correspond with how I typically use these pedals. Personally, these tones don't feel or sound particularly "right" to me especially going into a real amp (and of course that could just be my own perceptions).
- For the most part, the drives outside of the Kemper Drive (e.g., Plus DS, One DS, Mouse, Full OC, etc.) have more of the expected feel - not sure if the firmware re-install had something to do with this, but there seems to be an improvement going into the amp which makes me a bit more optimistic. I will continue to experiment, but it feels like I'm moving in the right direction.
I'll continue to report back as I learn more - huge thanks to everyone that's been following along, and for sharing thoughts to help me work this out, I greatly appreciate it.
Best,
Dango
Let’s find out what is usefull and what is different
Nothing wrong with that.
Fully agree - lets find out!
I don't hear anything wrong when using Kemper Drive, Kemper Fuzz, Boost etc
The only thing that sounds weird is the Octa Shaper which Job Posthuma refers to but I suspect that is how the effect itself works so is not a good example to test with.
Try using something that definitely shouldn't have any clean path like the Kemper Fuzz, Full OC, Mouse etc. I don't hear anything unusual with any of them.
Thanks, I'll give it a try later today and report back with my findings - appreciate the help with this!
The Bit Shaper, as well as any other bit reducing effect, sound like an effect added to the clean signal by nature, when not set to drastical values.
You can check that there is not parallel signal is added to the Bit Shaper by simply setting Drive and Tone to max value. Then the sound will be cut off, once it decays below the 1 bit barrier.
CK
Thanks again for weighing in on this point - I will say that the bit shaping pedals that I've worked with, like the EQD Bit Commander, have a more extreme impact on the sound. The test example I provided in my earlier post resulted in an extremely subtle effect which didn't seem like it added much; I did play around with the Drive and Tone settings during my initial experiments but it didn't seem to do much - I will revisit this to see if it makes much of a difference.
Best,
Dango
Display MoreHi!
As some have mentioned here, all overdrive pedals - including our Green Scream and the Kemper Drive - have the clean signal added to the overdriven signal. That is the nature of overdrive pedals.
The output level of the profiler is not necessarily equal to the output level of an overdrive or distortion pedal.
Have you tried to change the output level to achieve the desired sound?
CK
Christoph, gotta say it's very exciting to see your name in this thread, - Thank you very much for your attention on this issue!
I have tried changing the drive effect output levels (and the overall Player output level), which does not significantly improve the situation for my use case. It's not just that the pedals are at a different output level, they just don't feel or sound "right" when connecting directly to a guitar amp. The tones lack the expected punch and directness with the extra clean signal mixed in.
I take your point that many external overdrive pedals mix in some clean signal, but something still doesn't seem right (as confirmed by others in this thread). Interestingly, when I use a product like the Boss GT1, the overdrive models behave very much like the modeled pedals when I go into the front of a tube amp, which is why I was hopeful I could get a similar result with the Kemper Player.
Note that I don't doubt that there may be a user error on my part that is causing the issue - if there is any further advice or suggestion you could provide, I'd greatly appreciate it. And, if it's helpful, I'd be happy to provide a video clip to clarify what I'm experiencing, so just let me know.
Thanks,
Dango
Afaic…we both do the observation a clean path is unexpectedly introduced. I submitted a support ticket with reference to this thread.
Btw..the greenscream probably has a clean path by design.
Thanks, I submitted a ticket as well. I get that some Tube Screamer designs intentionally mix some clean sound back in (the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, if I recall, provided a clean mix option to do a blend along these lines), but the Bit Shaper 8bit example I provided should not be nearly this weak of an effect (and that's with the amp module switched on OR off) - that should be a full on heavy impact -- as it is currently, the effect is essentially useless.
Display MoreThis isn't something I have ever felt the need to do but you got me curious so I had a play with it.
I hear what you mean and it certainly isn't the behaviour I would expect. However, I think I might have a solution.
Try the following and let me know what you think.
1 Set DIRECT OUT to MASTER MONO and connect from DIRECT OUT to INPUT of valve amp.
2 Load a dummy rig into the stack section. This would be a profile or a cable only. The one I used was on Rig Exchange LMTTRAY-A-Stick by Tom Wendt
3 Go into amp settings and set Volume Compensation to 0
4 LEAVE THE AMP SECTION ON - it is literally just an extra patch cable.
5 In the Output Menu flick between DI Analog and Master Mono to compare volume. Adust Volume of Direct Out to achieve unity gain between DI Analog and Master Mono.
Now load whatever FX you need and play as normal.
I don't know why bypassing the Stack section creates the parallel path thing but this seems to fix it (at least to my ears).
I had a few moments to try this suggestion out - while it is having an effect, for me it doesn't solve the problem - here's my test case
1) Load the LMTTRAY - A-Stick profile (as is from Rig Exchange)
2) Disable all effects
3) Set monitor output to Master Mono (note that it was already there on my player)
4) Toggle the amp model on to off, and back on again
5) Load a Bit Shaper (8Bit Solo) model in front of the amp
For me, the bit shaper sounds like it is lingering softly in the background (like 5-10% active), while the clean/uneffected sound dominates - the parallel path mixed sound still seems to be happening. To a lesser extent I still heard this effect in some of the drive models (like Green Scream) as well. Some Drives are definitely moving in the right direction, but still have a softish kind of feel to them (at least some that I tried out).
Wheresthedug and Job Posthuma Can you please see if you can duplicate what I'm hearing (or possibly tell me that I'm crazy...) - I know you had few additional suggested tweaks to the output section, but what I'm hearing is not a slight eq difference, there is still something definitely not right (on my machine at least) in the upfront signal chain. Appreciate your help with this, thanks again!
Multi fx in front of amps, or in 4cm…a very common usecase for digital devices, been doing that (on and off) for years.
And imo digital drives sound the same into digital amps as into analog.KPP in front of an amp as a mini pedalboard, or in the loop for time efx only and a few pedals in front…not to silly right?
Not too silly at all As an early 4CM adopter, I ran a Boss GT8 in this manner into my Harry Kolbe Soundsmith amp (in front and into the effects loop), and it sounded incredible. Having said that, I'm also getting great results with the lowly GT1's distortion and delay/reverb (mixed low) into the front end of a tweed deluxe (no loop on this one), which is also sounding pretty great. I figured it could only be better with the Kemper Player, and I'm looking forward to trying out the "null cable" suggestion made earlier in this thread - I'll let u know how it goes for me THANKS EVERYONE!
I would not expect good results using a digital distortion into a tube amp. The big question arises "Why?" I do get great results using an analog distortion and effect pedals into the Kemper.
Respectfully disagree - The Boss GT1 distortion models sound absolutely excellent into a tube amp (as does the Boss OD-20 which is their digital drive emulation pedal). I think Kemper itself has proven that digital emulation can deliver totally authentic results, no? But of course YMMV 
Display MoreThis isn't something I have ever felt the need to do but you got me curious so I had a play with it.
I hear what you mean and it certainly isn't the behaviour I would expect. However, I think I might have a solution.
Try the following and let me know what you think.
1 Set DIRECT OUT to MASTER MONO and connect from DIRECT OUT to INPUT of valve amp.
2 Load a dummy rig into the stack section. This would be a profile or a cable only. The one I used was on Rig Exchange LMTTRAY-A-Stick by Tom Wendt
3 Go into amp settings and set Volume Compensation to 0
4 LEAVE THE AMP SECTION ON - it is literally just an extra patch cable.
5 In the Output Menu flick between DI Analog and Master Mono to compare volume. Adust Volume of Direct Out to achieve unity gain between DI Analog and Master Mono.
Now load whatever FX you need and play as normal.
I don't know why bypassing the Stack section creates the parallel path thing but this seems to fix it (at least to my ears).
Thanks, appreciate your suggestions! I'll take a look, but I don't believe there is a Direct Out jack on the Player (I know there is a dedicated jack for Direct Out on the Toaster). I'll try the dummy rig/amp on options and let you know what I experience. Thanks again!
Hey Dango !
What is happening when activate only a Green Scream for instance, starting with the gain and output at 0 and gradually increasing the output ?
Does that produce anything useable ?
I will try to do some playing later today to reconfirm my original findings... but most of the drive models on the Kemper that I worked with, regardless of gain settings (and I did experiment with those settings) did not produce a better/expected result going straight into a real tube amp. I tried most of the distortion box models, as well as the Bit Shaper model - with the Bit Shaper, the issue I'm describing was VERY pronounced, the impact of the effect is very minimal and there is very little "oomph" behind the effect if that makes any sense.
Plugging into a real/actual EQD Bit Commander pedal (another popular bit shaper box), I experience an entirely different feel/boost/drive vs. what I am getting on Kemper. As is, the Kemper drives, going into the front of a real tube amp, are IMO unrealistic sounding and feeling.
I will say that I almost never use the drives/distortion effects on Kemper profiles because the profiles themselves are so good and IMO generally don't need the extra enhancement. But I'd love to find a way to use the drives into my real amps - as mentioned, the Boss GT1 does this incredibly well, not sure why it's not working out for me with the Kemper at this point.
