Kemper

[Dazed]

I play electric and rarely(badly) acoustic upright with piezo, I also use a piezo equipped uke bass.
I’m considering joining a band and they are interested in having upright bass arco and pizz.

I sold most of my amps and gigging gear years ago and use a PJB Double 4 at home these days. I recently got hold of a passive FRFR Cab.

I’m looking at available options for a rig now.

Ideally 1 set up to handle all instruments listed above.

I had been looking at an ebs Stanley Clarke preamp or something similar to handle upright and electric but would also need an amp and possibly some effects pedals.

Now I’m looking into a powered Kemper rack or head as from what I’ve read it should be able handle everything in one box.

Any thoughts, issues with this setup or other suggestions ?

Thanks

[la bam]

Boss katana 210. One box. Has everything in there. Including pedals and presets. 

[Dazed]

Not my most popular post 😄

 

I thought a few would be using a Kemper by now or maybe it’s overkill ?

Edited September 5 by Dazed

[binky_bass]

I had one for a while, they are good, but I found it extremely complex to operate and even once I was comfortable navigating it, I sold it because it was just too much of a pain in the arśe to live with. If you're OK with complexity and are happy with it not being super user friendly, then they are worth a look. 

Edited September 6 by binky_bass

[BigRedX]

I think you'll find that on here the Helix and Quad Cortex are more popular than the Kemper so you won't get much specific advice. 

 

I'm a Helix user which is sometimes paired with an RCF745 powered FRFR. For the sorts of gigs I do, most of the time going direct from the Helix direct into the PA and using the PA foldback is a great solution so if that's something that you might find yourself doing, maybe consider swapping your passive FRFR for a powered one, that way your nor carrying about the extra bulk and weight of the power amp in the Kemper when you don't need it.

 

Unless you have plenty of experience with multi-effects units you may find the learning curve of whichever modelling/multi-effects you go for quite steep. If the Kemper has a good computer-based editor like the Helix then it becomes a lot easier. I do my main programming at home on the computer and only use the controls on the device to fine-tune my sounds when I'm in the rehearsal room.

 

The other thing I have found is that IMO amp and cab models are a bit of a red herring. I rarely use them and when I do, it's normally a guitar amp or combo rather than a bass one and will probably have been selected for it's drive/distortion sound first and foremost. However for me when I was using a traditional bass rig it was there just to get my line-level signal loud enough to hear and any "character" or other colouration that amp and cab(s) introduced was unwanted. For my sounds I start with an EQ module and then add compression, drive, chorus and delay as required.

 

HTH.

Edited September 6 by BigRedX

[warwickhunt]

Having experimented with and trialled a multitude of pre/amp/modelling options, I came to the conclusion that there wasn't one absolute answer to my needs... sorry if it doesn't help!  

 

For many years I had a trad amp and cab(s) set up, then went pre/power, dipped into pre/FRFR, bought (and sold) a Kemper toaster, went through 5-6 analogue and 2 modelling foot pedals and I'm sure a couple of other options.  I retain a couple of analogue pre pedals (one clean/transparent, the other can add dirt/grit), 3 bass amps (I only need one to use as a trad amp or power amp BUT I'm loathed to sell the others) and I have a single good quality passive bass cab... Oh and a couple of 10" QSC powered PA cabs for my use or PA needs... and a selection of effects pedals.  I'm lucky that I can have these and store them till I need them.  I should add that I play in multiple bands with differing needs and I play acoustic guitar in a duo.

 

If I was to offer one bit of advice for your situation, it would be to look at the Fishman Plat Pro!  It is transparent, has a HPF, a good EQ and a notch filter, all useful for electric and acoustic bass.  I find it works great if I want a nice clean bass sound and doubles up for acoustic instruments; I can use it as a pedal into PA with a feed for IEM, into a powered cab or into the front end of trad amp/cab that might not have very good EQ.

[EBS_freak]

I love my Kemper (https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/483747-kemper-powered-rack-flightcased-plus-foot-pedal-further-price-drop/) - it does it all - only selling as I've retired from the grind of gigging - I need a rest! If you're interested, I dont think you'll find a better example of kid gloved setup  

 

Ran it through my PA and used IEMs. Brilliant piece of kit - one of the coolest things I've ever bought. Different kettle of fish to the quad quartex and helix - maybe not as intuitive - but it's brilliant for all things bass and guitar. Highly recommended!

 

Edited September 17 by EBS_freak

[BigRedX]

The bass player in one of the bands we often play with has a Kemper. He loves it, although I'm not massive fan of his bass sound, but that's entirely subjective.