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The Amp Thread!


Soni
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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I still need to add an exp<b></b>ression pedal or two so I can get volume pedal and wah pedal going on the same rig, in addition to whatever else I can take advantage of effects wise with an exp<b></b>ression pedal.

 

Exp<b></b>ression pedals are dicey. Spend too little and you'll get one made of plastic and has a pedal that doesn't stay put when you take your foot off. Spend too much and you'll get pissed off for spending so much on a piece of gear that you don't use that often. After buying a couple of crap pedals I settled on this one:

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SingleExp--electro-harmonix-exp<b></b>ression-pedal-single-output

 

I just ordered this one. It was specifically designed to work with the Kemper. We'll see how it goes.

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EP1KPGN--mission-engineering-inc-ep1-kp-expression-pedal-for-kemper-

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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I still need to add an expression pedal or two so I can get volume pedal and wah pedal going on the same rig, in addition to whatever else I can take advantage of effects wise with an expression pedal.

 

Expression pedals are dicey. Spend too little and you'll get one made of plastic and has a pedal that doesn't stay put when you take your foot off. Spend too much and you'll get pissed off for spending so much on a piece of gear that you don't use that often. After buying a couple of crap pedals I settled on this one:

 

https://www.sweetwat...l-single-output

 

I just ordered this one. It was specifically designed to work with the Kemper. We'll see how it goes.

 

https://www.sweetwat...-inc-ep1-kp-expression-pedal-for-kemper-

 

Looks like a solid Cry Baby-type pedal that should last a long time. I don't use my exp pedal often enough to spend $150 on one, but you're going to use it for wah, volume and expression so the pricetag makes sense.

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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I still need to add an exp<b></b>ression pedal or two so I can get volume pedal and wah pedal going on the same rig, in addition to whatever else I can take advantage of effects wise with an exp<b></b>ression pedal.

 

Exp<b></b>ression pedals are dicey. Spend too little and you'll get one made of plastic and has a pedal that doesn't stay put when you take your foot off. Spend too much and you'll get pissed off for spending so much on a piece of gear that you don't use that often. After buying a couple of crap pedals I settled on this one:

 

https://www.sweetwat...l-single-output

 

I just ordered this one. It was specifically designed to work with the Kemper. We'll see how it goes.

 

https://www.sweetwat...-inc-ep1-kp-expression-pedal-for-kemper-

 

Looks like a solid Cry Baby-type pedal that should last a long time. I don't use my exp pedal often enough to spend $150 on one, but you're going to use it for wah, volume and exp<b></b>ression so the pricetag makes sense.

 

I believe I can also use it for a function called morphing, which allows you to drastically change the sound of your rig without having to actually switch rigs. So you keep the same rig going, but you can morph from light gain to higher gain, slow rotary to fast rotary, washy reverb to slight reverb, all at once by sweeping the treadle.

 

It's really amazing how it can do so much.

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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I think to be honest I'm just jealous I can't afford gear like that any more now I'm retired.....

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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I think to be honest I'm just jealous I can't afford gear like that any more now I'm retired.....

 

No need to be jealous. You record original songs with other people and your guitar always sounds good.

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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I think to be honest I'm just jealous I can't afford gear like that any more now I'm retired.....

 

No need to be jealous. You record original songs with other people and your guitar always sounds good.

 

I was only half serious....whilst Mavericks rig is a killer set up, mine is no slouch and perfectly good for gigging and recording.

 

I just use the software in my DAW with a lot of tweaking so I must be doing something right ha ha

Edited by Fridge
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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I think to be honest I'm just jealous I can't afford gear like that any more now I'm retired.....

 

No need to be jealous. You record original songs with other people and your guitar always sounds good.

 

Which is more a credit to his skills as a player than the depth of his pocketbook, imo.

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So here's the Kemper, the Kabinet, and the remote foot controller.

 

https://flic.kr/p/2kd9QEx

 

Hope you are planning on gigging that rig in the future, it would be a terrible waste otherwise.....

 

I will if/when I get the opportunity. But honestly it is a lot of fun to play just at the house.

 

Yeah, I don't see it as a waste to have an involved guitar rig and not gig with it. For those of us who aren't in a position to be in a band, building a rig is a hobby. It can be an expensive one, but it's still a hobby. I've been building mine piece-by-piece for the past 30+ years, and I won't venture to guess how much money has gone into it, but adding pieces, swapping amp tubes, trying new pedals, making modifications, tackling problems, and ending up with something that works well and sounds good is really rewarding. There are plenty of hobbies that are way more expensive.

 

I think to be honest I'm just jealous I can't afford gear like that any more now I'm retired.....

 

No need to be jealous. You record original songs with other people and your guitar always sounds good.

 

Which is more a credit to his skills as a player than the depth of his pocketbook, imo.

 

Right. A decent guitar and amp are really all you need, and these days, good amp sims and plug-ins can sub for an amp. Let the hands do the rest.

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Agree, it's gotten to where, in terms of how guitar sounds in the mix, it's becoming less of an issue what you use. I've been recording some more guitar-featuring material the last 2 or 3 years on the side and, as someone with very limited skills as a guitarist who sees it more as an arrangement tool for recording, I've never owned a proper tube amp. I've done some of the recording with my "amp in a pedal" ATM SS-11 and SS-30 thingies and some of it with sims like S-Gear. There's really no clear distinction of, "Oh, the tracks where the distortion was generated in the analog domain sound so much better." It's more down to how the gain staging was at the time, pickup selection and how that interacted with what came after, how the tracks folded into the mix, etc.

 

I was contemplating getting a tube amp head of some sort and a Suhr Reactive Load for silent recording the last few weeks, but decided I've already spent enough on gear this year. Opted instead to just get one of those little Joyo Meteor hybrid lunchbox amp things (which just got delivered while I was typing this, LOL). Will be interesting to see if it can add something worthwhile to the palette. If it doesn't blow my hair back (well, I'd have to put on a wig for that to happen), at least it's small and won't cost much to send back.

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My Marshall MG100FX that I got in high school is still tons o' fun, though honestly, the only use it provides me is the Marshall sound + the overdrive. All the FX knobs and such have been obsoleted by the pedals I've picked up since finishing schools and having the Big Boy Job. I'd love to invest in a new amp someday but to everyone's point recently, I can get what I need with plugins whenever I do recording. Maybe someday I'll make the investment in a tube amp.

 

On another note, my Crybaby finally gave up the ghost after 10 years. $60 well invested. Onto the next one!

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I resisted the urge to buy a proper tube amp for a couple of months but curiosity won out. I guess it just seemed strange for me to make any assumptions about sims without experiencing at least one example of the thing they're trying to emulate. So I picked up an Orange Rocker 15 Terror head (which seemed to be the one from their lineup often recommended for more classic rock type tones) along with a Suhr Reactive Load. The latter of course enables me to record direct without a cab and apply cab IR's in the DAW. So I can ease off on the gain a bit and crank the volume to get more output tube saturation instead of leaning so heavy on preamp distortion, without getting ungodly loud.

 

I'm liking the sound of the amp so far...as with anything new, it took a bit of fiddling to figure out where the tones I like lie. I'd describe it as sort of a warm-sounding amp with a lot of mids - definitely a very different thing from the more scooped, super-tight sound of a metal-oriented amp. Recording my first song with it at present and it will take more usage to get a full sense of what it brings to the overall picture.

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And here's the Kemper, Kabinet, and foot controller without having to use a link.

 

u6vEYkn.jpg

 

Looks incredible, and judging from youtube videos, sounds incredible too....Do you find that you miss Valve amps at all now, or has the Kemper managed to bridge that gap with technology?

 

If you were so inclined, a wee youtubbe vid of you putting it through it's paces would be most welcome :-)

Edited by Fridge
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And here's the Kemper, Kabinet, and foot controller without having to use a link.

 

u6vEYkn.jpg

 

Looks incredible, and judging from youtube videos, sounds incredible too....Do you find that you miss Valve amps at all now, or has the Kemper managed to bridge that gap with technology?

 

Oh, I still have my valve amps: Mesa Boogie Lonestar Classic, Lonestar Special, and Fender Deluxe Reverb SFRI. But I really do think I would be happy with just the Kemper Rig if/when it ever comes down to it. It sounds and feels so close to a real amp, you don't even think about it.

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I just got that cute little Fender Mustang Micro Bluetooth amp, it's fun. Has lots of different effects.
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