The Steel Guitar Forum

Learn how to play your guitar, and how to set up your amp, and you’ll sound great on 300 bucks Peavey if you don’t believe me, just listen to any recordings done by Buddy or Lloyd ...

Arthur James wrote:Hi Everybody,

Has anybody tried the Kemper Profiling Amp (KPA) for Pedal Steel?...............

Hi Arthur
I haven't tried a Kemper yet. In March of last year, Mike Johnson was playing at the O2 in London with Reba, and he was using one and is indeed an endorsee for Kemper. I met Mike afterwards for a chat, and he told me that his rig of his Peavey LTD amp coupled with his red Emmons push pull had been profiled on his Kemper. At the O2 he was playing an Emmons LeGrande into a volume pedal and then into the Kemper. The Kemper then went into the front of house PA and the monitor system. As would be expected, Mike played great but the guy on the PA was obviously not a great fan of pedal steel as he mixed it too low (for my taste ) in the band mix. Moral of the story - don't allow rock and rollers to control the band mix at a country show.

Mike spoke very highly of the Kemper, and said that using it meant that he was able to leave his beloved LTD at home.

Nowadays, bringing your favorite amp and guitar are no longer an option for many live and studio gigs. Amp-less stages are becoming the norm in tours and shows.

The airlines have also made it financially prohibitive to fly with heavy gear.
(Contributing to the demise of PSG in touring acts)

This is not about learning to play your instrument.
It is about getting the best sound for your gig and for yourself.

The Kemper is one of the more realistic modeling type units. I’ve profiled numerous of my own amps. It does not sound exactly like your amp. It sounds like the Kemper. The profile is Kemper's take on your amp.

I have a friend with the Fractal and full range speakers. He loves that system. And he is a player that sounds great regardless of his gear.

The Fractal is stronger on effects. The Kemper more realistic on natural tone. But they are both good options.
This type of professional sound reinforcement is here to stay. Whether we musicians prefer it or not.

John

Just revisiting this thread to see if anyone has found third party Kemper profiles specifically for pedal steel that you would regularly record with in a studio setting. I live in an apartment with plenty of variables that keep me from going the traditional route. I really hate the sound of recording direct to my interface so I'm looking at possibly getting a Kemper strictly for recording. I am very comfortable with the idea of editing existing profiles to get what I'm after. I did see that Dr. Z has a pack with the Surgical Steel amp, and I'm sure there are other profiles out there related to steel. I would use it to record standard electric guitar as well.

Damir Besic wrote:Learn how to play your guitar, and how to set up your amp, and you’ll sound great on 300 bucks Peavey if you don’t believe me, just listen to any recordings done by Buddy or Lloyd ...

Truth. I don’t think that is what this thread is about, but the comment was well intended.
The KPA looks like a very convenient and powerful innovation for road warriors and studio pros that need reliable top quality sound.

Mathew Peluso wrote:Just revisiting this thread to see if anyone has found third party Kemper profiles specifically for pedal steel that you would regularly record with in a studio setting..

My buddy just profiled my Milkman pedal steel mini with 12 inch JBL into his Kemper. If anybody is interested I can see about making the profile available somehow. I have no idea what it sounds like but the amp itself is amazing.

A bass player and keyboard player I know use them and are very happy with them. If it means not owning an amp and a suitcase full of pedals to accomplish the same means to an end , then why not? Then it's not expensive.

As far as live sound, take a look at all the gear you now own to get your signal from your instrument to FOH, and you'll be amazed at the total cost.

I don't own a Kemper, but if I had a good reason to own one, I would. I think it's about being open to newer ways of doing things. I'm sure it would be a nice thing.

Tal Herbsman wrote:
My buddy just profiled my Milkman pedal steel mini with 12 inch JBL into his Kemper. If anybody is interested I can see about making the profile available somehow. I have no idea what it sounds like but the amp itself is amazing.

Tal, that would be fantastic! I don’t own a Kemper yet but I’m sure those that do would be really interested to check it out. I’d love to try it out if I do get one. Thanks!

I’m not playing the sort of gigs that would make a Kemper to FOH a solid option. In fact, it would probably be more of a pain than hauling gear for me. I’m looking for one strictly for recording. I’m pretty much sold on the idea. Just need to sell some gear!

Mathew Peluso: Not to hijack the thread, but are you any relation to *the* Tony Peluso?

ajm wrote:Mathew Peluso: Not to hijack the thread, but are you any relation to *the* Tony Peluso?

Not that I’m aware of, ajm.

I have tried both the Kemper and the Fractal in a very unbiased manner. To me they both are great but I choose the Fractal hands down. What I found with the Kemper is if I used the Profiles in place it was amazing ok, but the minute I started tweaking them around I felt like it fell apart. That was a deal breaker for me.

Now the Fractal was quite the opposite, I could tweak all I wanted to dial in just what I needed. The effects in the Fractal most will agree are far superior to that of the Kemper. I use a Fractal AX8 for live direct playing guitar while using high quality in ears and it is amazing.

Money wise they end up in the same arena for the most part. What I have not tried yet is comparing each in a FRFR cabinet or through a poweramp/speaker.

Just my take and is pretty much meaningless

Mike Scaggs wrote:I have tried both the Kemper and the Fractal in a very unbiased manner. To me they both are great but I choose the Fractal hands down. What I found with the Kemper is if I used the Profiles in place it was amazing ok, but the minute I started tweaking them around I felt like it fell apart. That was a deal breaker for me.

Now the Fractal was quite the opposite, I could tweak all I wanted to dial in just what I needed. The effects in the Fractal most will agree are far superior to that of the Kemper. I use a Fractal AX8 for live direct playing guitar while using high quality in ears and it is amazing.

Money wise they end up in the same arena for the most part. What I have not tried yet is comparing each in a FRFR cabinet or through a poweramp/speaker.

Just my take and is pretty much meaningless

Mike, I have the Fractal audio axe fx II XL + with the floor controller. I love the computer program for tweaking and just trying different options.

I primarily play in worship team these days. I might play steel, banjo, mandolin or 6 string electric during a service.

What is really cool about the FA is the ability to store hundreds of presets for individual songs and/or instruments setting the correct tempo for delays and time based effects.
I actually found that the unit with the floor controller was more money than the Kemper, but felt worth it.

I have not found much love for the FA unit here... I have assumed it was due to the cost.
Current prices I found:
AXE FX III 2249
FC 12 controller 699
Expression pedal 119
(The above is my rig with the AXE FX II XL+ version)

Kempner Profiling Rack with gound controller
2268

So basically, I have about $3k in it. Not a huge difference, but may make some shy away.

AXE FX III 2249
FC 12 controller 699
Expression pedal 119

KILLER Rig! I do realize there is a cost factor here but the discussion was more about Kemper vs Fractal. I know they are both good and have their place for sure. I have just found the Fractal to be better for me and I'm a tube amp builder! LOL

Well, with totally inadequate experience using it - a couple of hours - I took my unpowered Kemper out for a weekend run with both steel and dobro. To help ease the transition I brought along my smaller pedalboard to shape my sounds up. Before the end of the first song, my board had fallen off the road case on which it was perched, fell in disconnected pieces, and left me to try to do the remainder of shows with two artists.

I haven’t yet heard board tapes but according to those out front I trust, it sounded great for both instruments and both shows. I’ll consider that a major win for the Kemper because any good tones certainly weren’t due to either my (lack of) experience or programming abilities. All that and I’m choosing to assume it’ll only get better as I actually learn how to use the thing...

Show two is tonight near Houston and hopefully I’ll find that last night’s sounds weren’t simply beginner’s luck.

So far the profile I’m liking best for both my Mullen and P/P is an Ashdown bass amp profile with only slight modifications. Minus my overdrive pedals last night, I simply played - on the fly - with the gain and tone controls to get the overdriven sounds I needed for both shows. Seemed to work great.

Here’s a little ‘before and after’...

Chris, Have you tried tweaking a profile once you pulled it up and if so how did that work out? I am curious if you have different results than I did.

Yep - and it was quite easy and sonically satisfying. Those, like you, who know me know that I’m a total tech nincompoop and yet I could still do at least the basics and without the manual at that.

Now, once I dig beneath the surface I fully expect to have an easy time screwing some things up if I’m not careful and maybe even if I am careful...

There are tons of great steel amps and $600 right now can buy you a great setup with two amps that you can run in stereo and get a great wall of sound.

But to me a big part of the fun of this hobby is trying new gear. Some may need the Kemper or Fractal or Helix to go ampless on stage. I've got two of the best amps in my studio now that I've ever had for recording steel and guitar. I'm in no need of new gear but I can't wait to try out the Fractal Axe III. The modeler's ability to route effects in stereo or mono and modify the effects chain on the fly is really useful. There are times I want a mono delay with stereo reverb or a stereo delay with mono reverb or a special routing and setup when I kick in the Neo Ventilator. You can have setups to handle multiple instruments and even effects settings for fast and slow songs. Also great just to practice with headphones.

Just one new high end amp alone, a one trick pony, can cost you $2,500 or more. I've tried a lot of new and even expensive gear in the past and it hasn't helped my playing or often sounded worse than the old standby I was using before. That never stops me from pursuing the thrill of new technology and the challenge of integrating it into my modest home studio.

Chris Bauer wrote:Yep - and it was quite easy and sonically satisfying. Those, like you, who know me know that I’m a total tech nincompoop and yet I could still do at least the basics and without the manual at that.

Now, once I dig beneath the surface I fully expect to have an easy time screwing some things up if I’m not careful and maybe even if I am careful...

I found tweaking a profile was the opposite. When I used a profile the way it was made it was amazing but once I started to tweak it got weird on me. That is what made me go to Fractal as it didn’t do that and the effects were killer too... we need to do a shootout soon buddy

Mike - I’m in!

Greg - I actually love my Peavey and Fender amps so going to a modeler or profiler was something I did kicking and screaming. But, my main current gig is rapidly moving to a ‘silent stage’ so, between that and wanting to carry less gear, it was something I felt that I needed to do. I don’t expect to ever give up my steel amps but, I have to say, I’m loving the Kemper so far. A lot.

Chris Bauer wrote:Mike - I’m in!

Greg - I actually love my Peavey and Fender amps so going to a modeler or profiler was something I did kicking and screaming. But, my main current gig is rapidly moving to a ‘silent stage’ so, between that and wanting to carry less gear, it was something I felt that I needed to do. I don’t expect to ever give up my steel amps but, I have to say, I’m loving the Kemper so far. A lot.

Same here, play on ears a lot now and really needed to go this route...

Not pedal, but I love my Kemper for my eharp. The Eharp, Kemper, Neo Ii wedge, and the Mission foot pedal make a nice compact rig with the sound I've always wanted to get but couldn't.

I must say, last night’s load in and load out were awfully easy...

Dr. Z Weighs in on Modeling Tech and the Future of Amp Design:


https://reverb.com/news/dr-z-weighs-in- ... _source=FB

Those of you using the Kemper, what are some profiles you're especially liking?

I'm still using the Ashdown Bass rig I stumbled onto and am loving it but I know there are other rigs out there I ought to be trying.

Who's found some hidden gems or just has recommendations?