Urgent Help please! - AXEFXII and KPA connection problems -Interface wont see AXE

J

JohnRaptor

Inspired
I hope someone can please help me here because I am going crazy trying to get my rig set up and I keep falling short.

Here is my main goal - I want to have my KPA and my AXEFXII hooked up and working together in tandem. I would like to plug my guitar into my KPA and have my AXEFXII connected into my KPA so I can use the effects of the Axe with my KPA profiles. I would also like to be able to run my Axe 'solo' when I want to just jam on my AxeII and record, same with the KPA.

Ok, I have tried various ways to hook them together but so far nothing is working. I also have a new Audio interface I am using, a Presonus 1818VSL. OK I hook my KPA up to the interface by S/PDIF and the Presonus mix software instantly recognizes the KPA and I see the signal. My monitors are connected thru the main outs on the interface and with a turn of the monitor volume knob I hear my patch perfectly.

I then took my Axe and plugged two cables from the OUTPUT1 in the back of the Axe into the LINE 3/4 inputs on the interface. If I plug headphones into my Axe it's perfect and I hear it fine. The problem is my interface seems to not have any signal from the Axe at all. What is going on? COnnecting into the line in's should work shouldn't it? My computer has the Presonus interface selected for in/out soundcard device. My Axe is plugged into computer with USB. Axe Edit works fine as well but there is absolutely no signal in my interface mix software and I dont see a signal on my interface.

Now regarding combining the Axe FX and Kemper, I assume I need to use a midi cable? FX loop connection? I know this can be done but I cannot find any clear method and its driving me crazy! Can someone please give me some guidance here?

Thanks so much for any help!
 
Wayyyy too many to tonematch, I have like 600 really good ones and my tone matching skills are so far not up to par. I have alot more practicing to do on that front.

Of course I dont need that many profiles but thats just what I've accumulated so far.

I'd really like to join the two together and add some of the awesome effects in real time on the Axe side to the awesome profiles on the KPA side. Best of both worlds so to speak. :)

I really hope someone can help me out.
 
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axe headphone out shares out 1. so if you truly have cables from out1 to your 1818, you should be seeing signal, assuming you have the 1818 setup correctly. are you using the VSL program for the computer to see what's going on?

i have the 1818 as well, and connecting axe out1 to 3/4 on the 1818 yields signal. so something is wrong AFTER the axe fx.

as for the KPA and axe together, you will probably have to make presets specifically for the KPA using the Axe FX effects, and then other presets for just the axe solo.

i'm not sure how the KPA works, but i'd use its effects loop or even the 4 cable method, treating it like a real amp.
 
JohnRaptor said:
Wayyyy too many to tonematch, I have like 600 really good ones and my tone matching skills are so far not up to par. I have alot more practicing to do on that front.

Of course I dont need that many profiles but thats just what I've accumulated so far.

I'd really like to join the two together and add some of the awesome effects in real time on the Axe side to the awesome profiles on the KPA side. Best of both worlds so to speak. :)

I really hope someone can help me out.
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You can easily get the answer to your question on the Kemper forum or on The Gear Page! Quite a few people have done what you are trying to figure out
 
You know what I think there is something wrong with my interface!

Check it out. I tried plugging my AxeFXII into all the line inputs and I get zero signal. I then tried plugging my Kemper into the inputs, again zero signal. I plugged the Kemper through S/PIDF and it sounds fantastic. I plugged the AXEFX through S/PIDF, didnt sound good, very scratchy but it got a signal. I am using the Monitor mix software that came with the interface and the Kemper shows up fine with the levels through S/PIDF but the line ins I dont get anything. I reinstalled the current driver and still not working. Damn I think somethings wrong!
 
Not familiar with interface, but does it have some kind of mic/line input switching? Are the inputs combo jacks? If so, it probably has some kind of switching settings you might need to change
 
I'm curious as to why people would want to do this. What does the Kemper bring to the table that the Axe Fx II does not? How do they compliment one another?
 
Combo jacks, but no switching.

Very weird that it doesn't work.

As for the kemper, probably just wants to use it since he has it. I did that with my Mesa roadster tc gsystem rig, wanted to add the axefx for an uber rig, but the axe sounded so good and much simpler to use I sold everything else!
 
youngmic said:
I'm curious as to why people would want to do this. What does the Kemper bring to the table that the Axe Fx II does not? How do they compliment one another?
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Guys claim the Kemper sounds more like the real amp and want to have those profiles in their rigs with the Axe's effects. I personally cannot tell the difference or find the differences to be so minute that they are trivial. Especially ihn the context of a mix. I still will bet that many who claim to hear profound differences would fail blind tests. I have seen it too many times. I am also just going by comparison clips I have heard on the internet so I take that with a grain of salt anyways. The amp matching process is more automated with the Kemper but with TM you can get those profiles and match them anyway in minutes so it all seems a bit redundant to me and why I have no interest in obtaining a Kemper. IMO I have everything all in one box that I am more than happy with but I tend to go after the sound in my head as opposed to something already done. I like having the options to do both regardless. It’s not as plug and play but I have no problems actually learning how to “use” the gear I purchased. I suppose those that have both would like to incorporate them in to one rig and that makes total sense. Why not use what you have?
 
I am a former Ultra user then I switched to the AxeFXII. I really love it and it is great! I heard all the hype about the Kemper. I listened to the clips online and I admit they did sound great. I decided I wanted to try the Kemper for myself and see what it was like and if it lived up to the hype. You cannot judge it based off clips on the net. You need to do a real A/B test with the KPA and the Axe next to eachother. If you play the KPA in person you will hear/feel the difference, if you dont then you either dont want to or you may need to go get your ears checked. :)


To my ears, when I plugged in I instantly heard the difference. It was huge, the sound was indeed full, organic, realistic (which seems to have become a bad word over at the TGP) and it had the real amp feel. Yes the Axe is amazing as well but to me you can hear the difference and the KPA excells at what it does best and thats profiling real world amps. That is not to say the Axe is any less awesome, in fact it has alot more features and it really shines in the effects dept but the KPA is a tone monster! Before hearing it I had every intention of sending it back but after I played it it was infectious and I couldn't return it. I admit I did think about getting rid of my AxeFXII because financially it would be hard to keep both and the KPA sounded so good I wanted to keep it, but I couldn't let the AXEFXII go either. I love it for its own sound, effects, control, upgrading etc. Both of them are fantastic units. Oh and you do not need to have your own amps to profile like some think you do. The rig exchange has thousands of amp profiles so far and more are being added daily/weekly. I downloaded over 700 incredible awesome profiles the other night. It would take me ages to tonematch them and even then they still are not the exact profiles.

Now what I want to do is use my KPA for my main tones and my Axe Fx for effects. Patching them together would make the ultimate rig for me!

I hope this thread doesnt become another KPA vs AXE. Thats not my intention and there has been enough of those. I am proud to own both of these units and I am just trying to get them hooked up together so I can benefit form both of them and make awesome music!

Back to the original reason for this post. I still cant get it hooked up but I am trying another AI tomorrow so I will see if I can get everything running with it.
 
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