Revisiting Kemper

[metropolis_4]

It’s been a while since I’ve had one and I’ve spent the last week or so with a Stage. Not gonna lie, there’s a lot of stuff I really like about it.

Vox and boutique 15-30 watt cathode biased amps have always been my home base and it’s so nice having access to so many of these type of amps that I don’t have in other digital realms - Benson Monarch/Chimera/Earhart, /13 JRT/EDT/RSA, 1974x, Bad Cat Cub/Black Cat 30R, Matchless Lightning/Spitfire…

I had a bunch of MBritt packs and I’d picked up the everything bundle from ToneJunkie for like $19 a couple years ago, so there was lots and lots of fun stuff to dig through (Boogie Mark I!!)

I still think Performance mode is the best solution available for live performance control (though Fractal is closing that gap fast). And I really love the physical buttons always showing my signal chain while I’m using the screen to display something else. It’s nice having that constant quick access to anything in my chain at the press of a single button.

I also love that you can wipe it clean and only have what you want in it.

It’s not all good. I feel that where its processors are really showing their age is with effects. All effects in general feel less refined and clean than other units. And it’s especially apparent in modulation and reverb effects. They just don’t seem to have the resolution(?) or depth of other units these days.

 

[holoholo]

So this might be the rebirth of digital for you?

 

[metropolis_4]

So this might be the rebirth of digital for you?

TBD. I still have that problem to think about. I can’t even try liquid profiles because I can’t update.

I don’t know yet if I like it well enough to commit to it

 

[Achilles]

Vox and boutique 15-30 watt cathode biased amps have always been my home base and it’s so nice having access to so many of these type of amps that I don’t have in other digital realms - Benson Monarch/Chimera/Earhart, /13 JRT/EDT/RSA, 1974x, Bad Cat Cub/Black Cat 30R, Matchless Lightning/Spitfire…

Kemper does that better than anyone imo. Both the Monarch and Chimera are just gorgeous.

 

[Jarick]

I wonder if I’d prefer Kemper with the stage over the toaster. The usb connection and rig manager just plain sucks and it’s so slow to use by itself. Also while I have the everything pack from TJ I probably only ever tried 10 percent of it. Maybe I should spend more time there!

 

[la szum]

That built in Kemper compression works great with some amp models, and then not so great
with others. I did enjoy the sound and feel of it (yes, feel is as real as the sky is blue!) when
I had it. I don't miss it, though, and am not eager to have another.

That said, great unit that I have no doubt is perfect for some people.

 

[Antipodes]

TBD. I still have that problem to think about. I can’t even try liquid profiles because I can’t update.

I don’t know yet if I like it well enough to commit to it

I'm wondering how old the OS is - the reverbs were overhauled comprehensively a couple of years back and are widely regarded as excellent now.

 

[Jarick]

Flipping through some TJ stuff I haven't tried in forever and the Benson Chimera is really nice. TJ stuff is hit or miss but the medium gain Chimer 3 is a great platform for clean playing. I dialed in a nice compressor, chorus, and reverb, tuned my Tele up a half step, and I've been learning Smiths songs all morning.

 

[metropolis_4]

I wonder if I’d prefer Kemper with the stage over the toaster. The usb connection and rig manager just plain sucks and it’s so slow to use by itself. Also while I have the everything pack from TJ I probably only ever tried 10 percent of it. Maybe I should spend more time there!

The TJ stuff is interesting because it’s really inconsistent. Some of it is brilliant, some of it is garbage. It’s like they kept changing their mind over the years about how to approach their Profiles. I’ve been happy with it since I got the everything bundle at such a good price, but some of these packs I would be pissed if I’d payed $20 for just that.

The key I’ve found in a lot of them is to turn down the compression on the amp block. Usually I start by turning it to zero.

 

[Jarick]

The TJ stuff is interesting because it’s really inconsistent. Some of it is brilliant, some of it is garbage. It’s like they kept changing their mind over the years about how to approach their Profiles. I’ve been happy with it since I got the everything bundle at such a good price, but some of these packs I would be pissed if I’d payed $20 for just that.

The key I’ve found in a lot of them is to turn down the compression on the amp block. Usually I start by turning it to zero.

Yeah totally agree. He's shot every cool amp ever but maybe 1 in 100 of the profiles are really good. On the flip side MBritt has been generally very consistent but his stuff is way too dark sounding for my tastes. It can sound really good on its own but in a mix it just disappears.

Generally I find clean tones sound awesome on the Kemper as it's forgiving, but higher gain is where it starts to get whack. I bought a couple Bert Meulendijk (probably butchering the name) packs last week on BF sale and his are really balanced. May be worth keeping an eye there.

 

[metropolis_4]

Flipping through some TJ stuff I haven't tried in forever and the Benson Chimera is really nice. TJ stuff is hit or miss but the medium gain Chimer 3 is a great platform for clean playing. I dialed in a nice compressor, chorus, and reverb, tuned my Tele up a half step, and I've been learning Smiths songs all morning.

Somehow this post didn’t load before I posted above. Yeah, the Benson stuff is one of the highlights in the TJ catalog. The Monarch and Earhart packs were probably my most used Profiles the last time I used a Kemper. And I love the Chimera too.

I keep wishing Fractal would do some Benson models. I think that would be a big win for them as they seem like really simple circuits, they’re crazy popular amps, and nobody else has a Benson model!

 

[JasonE]

I really like my Kemper Stage. It still for me has the best sound and feel for the raw amp tones that I have tried. It reacts like my amp does with volume changes on the guitar. I have not really had the time to dig into playing with the liquid profiles. I have the latest firmware on it but have been spending my time with amps and pedals. I will probably redo the profiles of my amps with the liquid profiling and see how they compare to the profiles I did before that feature came out, when I get some time.

 

[eggpl@nt]

Guys stop. I haven’t looked at a Kemper in months. I don’t want to start again.

(This is a joke. Carry on. I’m happy for those who are enjoying the kemper. JUST DO IT QUIETLY.)


(jk on that last part)

 

[JasonE]

The TJ stuff is interesting because it’s really inconsistent. Some of it is brilliant, some of it is garbage. It’s like they kept changing their mind over the years about how to approach their Profiles. I’ve been happy with it since I got the everything bundle at such a good price, but some of these packs I would be pissed if I’d payed $20 for just that.

The key I’ve found in a lot of them is to turn down the compression on the amp block. Usually I start by turning it to zero.

I have only bought just a handful of profiles. I bought the Dirty Shirly profiles from TJ. He had them on sale for like $10 so I thought I would give them a try. They are pretty decent. The first think I had to do was really dial back the effects on them. He uses way more effects than I do. They were drenched in effects I rarely use and when I do use them, it is at a much, much less impact.

 

[BenIfin]

TBD. I still have that problem to think about. I can’t even try liquid profiles because I can’t update.

I don’t know yet if I like it well enough to commit to it

Hey !

Any actual reason you cant put OS 10.2.1 final / release on ?

Dont do/try it through RM as FW updates through that are still glitchy / problematic.

Grab a USB Stick ... format it .... put the 10.2.1 bin file on it .... pop it in and let it do its thing.

Then load the 3 official LP Packs and twist and turn the G/B/M/T/P and Bright Cap to taste.

You can thank me later

All the best,
Ben

 

[JasonE]

Hey !

Any actual reason you cant put OS 10.2.1 final / release on ?

Dont do/try it through RM as FW updates through that are still glitchy / problematic.

Grab a USB Stick ... format it .... put the 10.2.1 bin file on it .... pop it in and let it do its thing.

Then load the 3 official LP Packs and twist and turn the G/B/M/T/P and Bright Cap to taste.

You can thank me later

All the best,
Ben

I have a Stage and have not had any issues updating it through Rig Manager. I have even skipped versions and it has worked every time.

 

[Antipodes]

The reason it cannot be updated might be that it still belongs to someone else - the user might still be tossing up whether to buy it from a friend or whether to make a trade.

 

[JasonE]

The reason it cannot be updated might be that it still belongs to someone else - the user might still be tossing up whether to buy it from a friend or whether to make a trade.

That definitely may be the issue. The owner needs to do the update. You may be able to force it in with the USB drive method. All the owner has to do is go online and remove himself as the owner.

 

[metropolis_4]

The reason I can’t update is because my computer is too old to install the required OS

 

[JasonE]

The reason I can’t update is because my computer is too old to install the required OS

Ah, yea, that would definitely be an issue. You should be able to do it with the USB drive.