Kemper

[clivea]

Good to hear you’re getting on with it so soon Dave.
I’ll be ordering a rack-mount this week, so it can stand in a rack with my TVS3.
When you’ve got the echoes right, maybe you will share ‘em?
Pls keep letting us know how you’re getting on with it mate.

Clive

[dave robinson]

I used my Kemper Stage for the first time on stage on Thursday night and it sounded amazing and turned a few heads with people asking questions whilst making very complimentary comments about the sound. I used the same Vox AC30 profile most lf the show, but with various echo patterns and tremolo that I had programmed for the stuff we played. I used my Headrush 8 cabinet as an amp behind me, taking the output from one of the Monitor sockets, whilst feeding a front of house signal to the PA and balancing it up at sound check in the afternoon. What the Kemper gives you is a miked up sound of your choice of amp, set the way you like it for the music you are performing. I was well impressed, as were the people in the audience judging by the comments, it's a keeper.

[Garystrat]

Hi Dave,

Pleased to hear it’s working out so well for you, that’s a pretty solid endorsement!

It’s also interesting that others found the difference in sound so noticeable, I have been into modelling for some time and believe this is more to with the way modelling has been done, some seem fall into more of a generic category, whilst others are based and to some extent component modelled on premium vintage models of the day. Line 6 did an interesting article a couple of months back about having a collection of premium amps that they use as reference standards and being component modelled to respond in the same way as the original.

This month they have done a further article on “What are SAG, BIAS and BIAS X?”, stating that these enable fundamental tube amp parameters that can greatly affect the sound and playing feel of the Helix amp models, I discovered quite a while back that lower the SAG right back, but not off makes a good difference to the tones we are usually seeking.

https://blog.line6.com/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjo ... ckp6In0%3D


How do you feel the echoes compare with say your TVS 3 or for gigging will you be sticking with the Kemper FX?


Best regards

Gary

[dave robinson]

I used the built in echoes last night and they are about 75% close to what I hear against the real deal, easily good enough to do any live gig and not disappoint ardent fans of the music. That said, I had only two days to fiddle around with the unit from collecting it on Sunday, before going on holiday to Cyprus on Wednesday. I do feel that given more time I can get them a lot better when I understand more about how to set it up. I do intend to use my TVS3 on any dedicated Shads gigs though when I've settled on a suitable mode of protection for it that isn't too bulky.
Listening to my recently arrived CDs of The Shadows live TV shows, I don't understand why we all worried so much about getting the sound exactly right, as they themselves clearly didn't. The one quality that makes those tracks so good to listen to isn't a Vox AC30, Meazzi echo or Fender Stratocaster, it is their combined playing skills and I completely accept that and no longer worry about it.
The Kemper has been bought to make things easier for me as lugging heavy gear isn't something I wish to do any longer. I have recently tried several options so far including the Fender ToneMaster, Spark amp into the PA (which is very good) and currently the Kemper because it aroused my interest and gives me stuff to do. All of this has happened because I would like to be able to take my guitar and a device on an aeroplane and play anywhere in the world.

[Garystrat]

Wise words indeed Dave, I think once you get over yourself on these things the playing improves!

Good fortune with with your overseas ventures!

Regards

Gary

[TimRyland]

Definitely agree with Dave on this. After loads of time fiddling with this amp or that modeller, I now have 2 generic settings I use on my AC Tone when playing at home and, as a result, I’m much happier playing and I feel my playing’s improving now as I don’t worry about the ‘right’ sound anymore.

As Dave said, the ‘TV’ cd’s were a real eye opener.

[dave robinson]

Having played around with the effects, particularly the echoes for the past few days, I stumbled across the correct patterns for our stuff that can be edited and saved as a 'rig' and edited further in the way that EFTP did for different levels of the same pattern. I can tell you that it wasn't easy for me and is time consuming, but this is how you learn.
You can alter the sound of the repeats by using the modulation, wow & flutter, low and high pass filters, add grit and other stuff to the echoes. They do sound good, but it's a labour of love to put it all together. The good news is that all the patches can be stored on a usb stick and re-used on any machine, as and when. Anyone who buys one of these will no doubt want to understand how to do all of this and experiment to get the best out of it, very time consuming but the rewards are enormous.
That said, I have found an excellent AC30 rig and tweaked it to the right amount of 'distress' and with my TVS3 it sounds exactly like those old records that we know and love. The challenge of trying to equal Paul's tone on those echoes would be another labour of love, so until such time as I wish to try and do that, I'll use the TVS3 with the Kemper, because with it's magical pre-amp it gives the instant vintage sound through the PA.

[clivea]

It’s good to hear you’re mastering the Kemper and getting good results Dave.
Having had mine for just a few days, l have to say that I’m really impressed with it.
After unpacking, l just selected a ‘bog standard’ AC30 and was over the moon with the sound.
I know it’s expensive, but l’m sure it will be worth every penny.
Just have to spend some time getting my head around it all.

I’ll post up a sound file when I have it set up and confident with the settings.

Clive

[dave robinson]

It’s good to hear you’re mastering the Kemper and getting good results Dave.
Having had mine for just a few days, l have to say that I’m really impressed with it.
After unpacking, l just selected a ‘bog standard’ AC30 and was over the moon with the sound.
I know it’s expensive, but l’m sure it will be worth every penny.
Just have to spend some time getting my head around it all.

I’ll post up a sound file when I have it set up and confident with the settings.

Clive

Yes Clive that's the same approach I took at first, though there are several Vox AC30 rigs from which to choose. Once you explore a little more you'll make other discoveries and they are all good. I'm only scratching the surface but I'm aiming to use mine at a big gig we have at the Spa in Bridlington on 22 May, for which I'm setting it up. Between now and then I have two nights at our pub gig on a Thursday to audition my work.

[dave robinson]

This is the show in Bridlington on May 22nd