Axe FX II + Kemper together (Kemper in the Axe FX II FXLOOP), the ULTIMATE TONE R

luke said:
Honestly, I find these issues bog down bedroom guys and not gigging musicians. Guys playing out realize each room is different, where they stand changes things and with so many other variables in play, these subtleties don't even register anymore. You'll be better served dedicating the time you'd need to go from tone 98% to tone 99.5% practicing and learning your instrument.

Keep in mind, guys like Jimmy Page used a Les Paul and Marshall stack because that was all that was available then, maybe in his mind, the tone was only 60% of where he'd have liked it to be.
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Based on what you say, this forum would not exist.

I play in my studio and gig weekly, and I know when something doesn's sound as it should, not a matter of this ot that room/reverb/mix, but lack of dynamics from the original signal.

Anyway, after hard testing and lot of tweaking, I've solved the thing, was a matter of volumes between the send/return/kemper volumes/fxloop level.

Now both signals are exactly the same, thanks all.
 
feliperigby said:
The same topic as in kemper forum...
I tottaly agree with luke.

"bedroom guys..."....
What realy matters is gigging... live, not those bedroom fan guys...
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I post whenever I want to.FYI is also in TGP.

About bedrom fan guys, as I said I gig in a weekly basis, but yes, I'm a bedroom player too.You got any problem with that???

Try not to be despective, because I guess 90% of the forumites here are "...bedroom fan guys..."
 
As I said, I am too:

1hlrd.jpg
 
My friend we are cut from the same cloth and I shared your obessesion for a long time but gave up on the fx loop.

What I did to solve my need to use both units quickly was buying a Lehle dual foot switch.

Using that along with a apogee symphony as the output bridge I seamlessly go back and forth between the two units or I even blend them together using my cabs with my monitors. Its really a perfect solution.

I did actually successfully hook up my Triaxis to the kemper to kill the noise and make use of all the Kemper effects and that sounds incredibly as well. The triaxis works with the axe too but I find the Kemper fx loop has less buzz.

Good luck chasing the dragon my friend!
 
Oh I missed the part about you solving the issue! If you could give some volume setting advice I might attempt to hook them up together again. However mentally I think im always going to think they sound better when seperated.

Anyways congrats sir!
 
feliperigby said:
The same topic as in kemper forum...
I tottaly agree with luke.

"bedroom guys..."....
What realy matters is gigging... live, not those bedroom fan guys...
Click to expand...

I'm trying to think of a nice way to say this, but this post is just ignorant.
I have a good day job. It pays the bills. Chasing a teenage rockstar dream does not, but I still enjoy playing.
My $ was good enough to buy an AxeFxII, I don't see why it should be geared towards live guys more so than us bedroom players.
And for that matter, while I recognize all the obvious benefits to using an AxeFx live, IMO the people that truly benefit the most from it are the studio cat types, which would be closer in form to bedroom players.

Moving on, the concept of FAS+KPA interests me. I'm 100% happy with the AFXII, but I could definitely see the benefit to having both, especially for very FX-heavy presets (i.e., saving DSP by using the loop instead of an amp block). Likewise, I prefer the tone of a late model silver face Diezel VH4 to the blue face model in the Axe. Both are great, just my preference. With a KPA, I could take my VH4 with the tubes I like in it and get an exact copy that would fit in three rack spaces... then I could borrow my buddy's '65A London Blue and nail the trem channel, and so on.

Like I said, I prefer the Axe. I'm a tweaker, it fits me, but what a blast it could be to run both!
 
RONJONES2020 said:
Oh I missed the part about you solving the issue! If you could give some volume setting advice I might attempt to hook them up together again. However mentally I think im always going to think they sound better when seperated.

Anyways congrats sir!
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Sure!!!!

I'm out of home right know, but I will later.

After extensive tweaking, I found the exact setting where the Kemper signal in the Axe FX II FXLOOP is EXACTLY the same than the original Kemper signal, I've recorded several tracks and even made a blind test with an A/B pedal and now is perfect, I'm very very happy.

I must say that the Kemper signal is very very sensible, if I make little changes to the that settings, the Kemper lose dynamics or clip.
 
Rotti said:
I'm trying to think of a nice way to say this, but this post is just ignorant.
I have a good day job. It pays the bills. Chasing a teenage rockstar dream does not, but I still enjoy playing.
My $ was good enough to buy an AxeFxII, I don't see why it should be geared towards live guys more so than us bedroom players.
And for that matter, while I recognize all the obvious benefits to using an AxeFx live, IMO the people that truly benefit the most from it are the studio cat types, which would be closer in form to bedroom players.

Moving on, the concept of FAS+KPA interests me. I'm 100% happy with the AFXII, but I could definitely see the benefit to having both, especially for very FX-heavy presets (i.e., saving DSP by using the loop instead of an amp block). Likewise, I prefer the tone of a late model silver face Diezel VH4 to the blue face model in the Axe. Both are great, just my preference. With a KPA, I could take my VH4 with the tubes I like in it and get an exact copy that would fit in three rack spaces... then I could borrow my buddy's '65A London Blue and nail the trem channel, and so on.

Like I said, I prefer the Axe. I'm a tweaker, it fits me, but what a blast it could be to run both!
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You nailed it.The advantage of hooking the Kemper to the Axe is that you can have all your favorites amps profiled (yours, your friend's....), or even get some of the wonderful profiles already made and have a killer amp tone and add the Axe effects.The Axe has KILLER amp tones too, but having your own amps profiled is a big big extra, and there are some profiles that are diferent to the Axe emulations that are simply killer.

I'm so happy after successing in hooking both units together that I've been playing and comparing tones the whole afternoon, admiring and enjoying hiw amazing are both units.
 
And....here are the ultimate settings for hooking the Kemper inside the Axe FX II FXLOOP and having the Kemper signal just as it goes out of the Kemper, no coloration, no lose of dynamics, no clipping, EXACTLY the same signal you'd get from the Kemper without going thru the Axe, so you can have the Kemper as a FXLOOP in the Axe and do whatever you want with it, enjoy both units tones and even mis them.

I call this "SteelEdge's Tone Collusion" !!!!! XDDD

1 - Guitar into the Axe FX II front INSTRUMENT INPUT

2 - Axe FX II Output 2 (L unbalanced) into the the Kemper Alternative Input ---> (That takes the MONO signal of the guitar to the Kemper for processing)

3 - Kemper Main Outputs (L and R unbalanced) into the Axe2 FX Return (Input 2)----> Kemper signal procesed back to the Axe FX II in STEREO, so you can use some of the Stereo posibilities of the Kemper.

4 - Axe FX II Output 1 (L and R Balanced or TRS Unbalanced, your choice) into the M-Audio Card or the Poweramp Stereo Inputs.

Kemper Settings:

INPUT--> Alternative Input.
OUTPUT MAIN Volume : -17
SPDIF Volume: - 6 (this matches the spdif volume to the output volume of the Axe, so you can compare both signals are exactly the same)

Axe Settings:

- OUTPUT 1 Knob: 9 o'clock (this matches the Axe preset average volume output to the Kemper profiles average volume output, so no significant volume changes when going from an Axe FX preset to the FXLOOP with the Kemper profile)

- OUTPUT 2 : Maximum, 5 o'clock (this makes the guitar signal coming from the Axe match the guitar signal that you'd obtain connecting the same guitar to the Kemper Input)

I/O Settings Axe FX II in the Audio Menu:

INPUT 1 : Indiferent
INPUT 2 : 2,4%

Main Input Source- Analog (In 1)
Input 1 Left Select- FRONT
Input 1 Mode- LEFT
Input 2 Mode- STEREO
Output 1 Mode- STEREO
Output 2 Mode- L+R SUM

And...the secret ingredient: You have to set the Level in the Axe FX LOOP FX block to 20.Save that as a block preset (I name it Kemper) and you just recall that block everytime you want to put the Kemper as the amp in the Axe layout.
 
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A Kemper in the loop of the axe sounds like fun! Have a great time with it! As to differences in sound, I don't know. My favorite overdrive is the Blackstone, and on the inside of the pedal (near a bunch of internal trim pots for the OCD) is the best advice I ever got regarding tone. Here's a pic of the circuitboard:
BlackstoneAppliancesCircuit3.jpg
 
Adman103 said:
A Kemper in the loop of the axe sounds like fun! Have a great time with it! As to differences in sound, I don't know. My favorite overdrive is the Blackstone, and on the inside of the pedal (near a bunch of internal trim pots for the OCD) is the best advice I ever got regarding tone. Here's a pic of the circuitboard:
View attachment 23150
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Love that one!!!

Anyway, a little of obsession is also fun sometimes ;)
 
Hey thanks for the information! I followed your instructions and it worked great however I ran into all kinds of problems when I tried to incorporate all my stomp pedals into the mix. They were extra noisy and after attempting every gate option at my disposal I gave up because they lost their tones when I finally quieted them down. I tried running them direct and through the Kemper FX loop but neither worked well (they sound way better when used just with one of the products directly).

I am sure there is a solution to this but in the end I realized I have no desire to blend the two products together anyway. It was just fun to get it to work for a few hours but my Lehle switch method is the best solution for me.

Thanks again though! Cheers!
 
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Sorry it didn't worked for you...if you don't use any stompboxes, it works perfectly, is very funny to use the Kemper amps in some Axe presets, or add effects and routing to the Kemper.

Mmm....I gues that Axe+Kemper+Stompboxes is too much for any rig!!!!!
 
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