8,720
edits
Changes
m
There are only {{Crumbs|orange|3 delay types, explained below.|Kemper KPA Effects#Tone Controls|Tone|Kemper KPA Effects#MAB Advanced Reverb Effects|MAB Reverbs|Kemper KPA Effects#Differences in Delay Types|Delay Types|Kemper KPA Effects#Tempo Considerations|Tempo|Kemper KPA Effects#Space Effect|Space}}
<u>Tap Delay</u> uses ''Note: OS 4.0 converts the tempo on the rig (tapped or manually entered), with separate L/R 3 delay settings defined types in terms of 16ths of the legacy section below into a beat. This offers the most flexibility between the left and right delays'''Legacy Delay''' type, offering ratios (3:5 or preparing for 5:7) that are not found in the other delay types. However, it is not capable 0 to introduce a slew of offering repeats as quickly as the other new delay types because it is always tied to a tempo setting that cannot go fast enough to allow such. ''
<u>Free ==== OS 5.0 Delays ====While there are a large number of delay effects listed in OS 5.0, they all boil down to a few core delay types with different features available:* '''Two-Tap Delay</u> can use ''' - features two delays that function in tandem, not independently. The first setting is the baseline setting, while the rig's tempo or can be manually specified when tempo other is disabledthe offset of the first. This offers repeats So you can get pairs of delays such as short as 1 ms! However100ms, 120ms, 200ms, 220ms, 300ms, there 320ms...* '''Serial Delay''' - this is only a single Time settingessentially two delays built into one effect, with the output of the first feeding directly into the input of the second. A Ratio parameter determines The second delay will repeat the ratio of left repeats to right repeats, with raw guitar as well as the only options being quarters trails of the other (1:4first.* '''Dual Delay''' - two fully independent delays functioning in parallel. Thus, you can have 30ms, 2:460ms, 3:490ms, 4:4120ms... in the left field and 100ms, 4:3200ms, 4:2300ms... in the right.* '''Melody Delay''' - this is similar to the two-tap delay in that the same delay pattern will repeat against the first delay's baseline time; however, 4:1)each delay here can be set to different pitch-shifter settings. Variants for chromatic and harmony pitch-shifting are provided. This can be used to play arpeggios or scales via delay trails.
=== Getting Good Fuzz Sounds ===There are numerous complaints on the forums about the fuzz effects. The general advice is Looking at stomps presets, many tend to combine use a combination of a fuzz Distortion shaper effect with a Recti Shaper and distortion effect (and possibly additional sometimes an EQas well) to emulate various real-world distortion boxes, particularly fuzz type distortion.
→Differences in Delay Types
== Noise Gates ==
{{Crumbs|blue|1
|Kemper KPA Effects#Noise Gates|Gates
|Kemper KPA Effects#All those Wah Choices|Wah
|Kemper KPA Effects#Mono vs. Stereo|Mono/Stereo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Delay and Reverb|Delay/Reverb
|Kemper KPA Effects#Pitch Shifter Options|Pitch Shifter Options
|Kemper KPA Effects#Shapers|Shapers
}}
The Noise Gate controlled by the big Noise Gate Knob on the front of the unit is actually part of the Input block. If you lock Input (I recommend doing so), you will always use that Noise Gate setting. Also, it is not a traditional noise gate but more of a noise remover or noise suppressor, which can leave artifacts when set fairly high. For these reasons, I like to use a rather low value here - just enough to suppress ''some'' noise when muting the guitar strings.
== All those Wah Choices ==
{{Crumbs|blue|2
|Kemper KPA Effects#Noise Gates|Gates
|Kemper KPA Effects#All those Wah Choices|Wah
|Kemper KPA Effects#Mono vs. Stereo|Mono/Stereo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Delay and Reverb|Delay/Reverb
|Kemper KPA Effects#Pitch Shifter Options|Pitch Shifter Options
|Kemper KPA Effects#Shapers|Shapers
}}
All those Wah Wah choices can initially look intimidating and confusing. Many are simply manual control over typical modulation effects, but their own type here to be automatically controlled by an expression pedal assigned to CC# 1 (Wah). Here's the break down:
* '''Wah Wah''' - this is the basic wah wah pedal, a band pass filter.
* '''Wah Low Pass''' - rather than a bank pass filter, the wah is a low pass; goes from dark to full
* '''Wah High Pass''' - rather than a bank pass filter, the wah is a high pass; goes from full to thin/shrill
* '''Wah Vowel''' - filter simulating a talkbox effect by emphasizing formants through the sweep
* '''Wah Phaser''' - a phaser effect where you manually control the sweep instead of an LFO
* '''Wah Flanger''' - a flanger effect where you manually control the sweep instead of an LFO
* '''Wah Rate Reducer''' - controls the sample rate, causing distortion and aliasing, glitchy sounds
* '''Wah Ring Modulator''' - controls a sine wave frequency fed into the signal for modulation
* '''Wah Frequency Shifter''' - a ring modulator that only allows for harmonic frequencies - sounds like radio tuning modulation
* '''Wah Formant Shifter''' - controls formant shifting of single notes. center position is normal, basically no processing. while the vowel filter changes an EQ-like sweep over one formant type, this shifts the formant types themselves
{{top}}
== Mono vs. Stereo ==
{{Crumbs|blue|3
|Kemper KPA Effects#Noise Gates|Gates
|Kemper KPA Effects#All those Wah Choices|Wah
|Kemper KPA Effects#Mono vs. Stereo|Mono/Stereo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Delay and Reverb|Delay/Reverb
|Kemper KPA Effects#Pitch Shifter Options|Pitch Shifter Options
|Kemper KPA Effects#Shapers|Shapers
}}
Although Stomps A-D, X, and Mod can all load the same effect types, some of them will function differently depending on placement. The Stomps section is limited to mono effects. Their stereo nature would have to be mixed down to mono to get processed by the Stack section anyway. For such effects, you may notice an extra Stereo Separation parameter when using them in the X or Mod slots. These use various techniques to "widen" their sound. Many effects, such as the Air Chorus and Stereo Widener, will not sound correct unless used as stereo effects.
== Delay and Reverb ==
{{Crumbs|blue|4
|Kemper KPA Effects#Noise Gates|Gates
|Kemper KPA Effects#All those Wah Choices|Wah
|Kemper KPA Effects#Mono vs. Stereo|Mono/Stereo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Delay and Reverb|Delay/Reverb
|Kemper KPA Effects#Pitch Shifter Options|Pitch Shifter Options
|Kemper KPA Effects#Shapers|Shapers
}}
The KPA's Delay and Reverb blocks are special in that they can only load those types of effects (Delay will actually open up for general purpose usage in OS/FW 4.0). This is for good reason - the KPA's design treats them special. The wet portion of the combined Delay and Reverb blocks is accessible through the "Delay/Reverb Wet" output option that can be assigned to the Main or SPDIF outputs.
=== Tone Controls ===
{{Crumbs|orange|1
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tone Controls|Tone
|Kemper KPA Effects#MAB Advanced Reverb Effects|MAB Reverbs
|Kemper KPA Effects#Differences in Delay Types|Delay Types
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tempo Considerations|Tempo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Space Effect|Space
}}
Both the Delay and Reverb blocks feature Frequency and Bandwidth settings that affect the frequency response of the blocks. The Bandwidth control is essentially a Q control, narrowing the range of frequencies allowed to pass through as you turn it higher and higher. At 0, it is doing nothing. At max, it is only allowing a very, very narrow range of frequencies through.
''In OS 4.0, these controls are switched to high-pass/low-pass filters with configurable frequencies and 2 possible "slopes" for delay effects. These are easier to utilize than the bandwidth/frequency paradigm, but the filters themselves still operate as described below.''
These controls function slightly differently in the Delay block vs. the Reverb block. Reverb's can be considered a filter on the wet part of the block's output after all processing. When set to 100% mix, it is the same thing as placing an EQ after the reverb. The Delay controls operate inside the delay's feedback loop. This means that as the same segment of audio repeats over and over, it is filtered more and more each iteration.
This is similar to the Reverb's Dampening control, which darkens the tone of the wet reverb as it decays based upon its Time setting. However, while Dampening can only darken the wet signal over time, the Delay's tone controls can brighten ''or'' darken the signal over time.
I find that the most natural sounding delay and reverb tend to darken the tone over time, as well as apply greater reverb to the delay trails than to the dry signal. Thus, I often use the Delay's Bandwidth and Frequency controls set to slightly darken the trails, as well as use the Reverb's Dampening. I usually set Del/Reverb Balance about 30% right of center. I use the Reverb's Bandwidth/Frequency for any final tonal adjustments.
However, there are numerous unique applications for the interaction of all these controls I attempt to explore below...
=== MAB Advanced Reverb Effects ===
{{Crumbs|orange|2
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tone Controls|Tone
|Kemper KPA Effects#MAB Advanced Reverb Effects|MAB Reverbs
|Kemper KPA Effects#Differences in Delay Types|Delay Types
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tempo Considerations|Tempo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Space Effect|Space
}}
A big complaint about the KPA is its lack of great reverb effects, particularly a spring reverb. I attempted to create some advanced reverb presets that fill this void until '''''Kemper''''' adds them. See the [[Kemper KPA MAB Advanced Reverb Presets|MAB Advanced Reverb Presets page]].
=== Differences in Delay Types ===
Many of the new delays have the same great feature set, with two different kinds of modulation, (transient) smearing, attack swelling, reversing, hold/infinite feedback, crystal/shimmer (progressive pitch-shifting in the feedback loop), and both tape distortion and wow/flutter emulation. But perhaps the most interesting new feature is '''Super Stereo''' on the Stereo parameter. Stereo can be set to <u0.0>at dead center, which means each of the delays will be panned to center. Moving left to -100% or right to 100% pans each delay full L/R or the opposite R/L. Going beyond 100% up to 200% in either direction engages "Super Stereo", which uses some EQ or phase trickery to make the delays sound even wider and even three-dimensional, like they are coming from the sides and back of the room. ==== Legacy Delays ====There are only 3 delay types, explained below. Note, although it may seem these feature separate L/R timings, '''these are actually two-tap delays, where the L and R delay trails always have the same offset timing between each other'''. This means you may not get the results you expect. For instance a 2:4 ratio delay is not the same thing as a 4:2 ratio delay with L/R reversed! * '''Tap Delay''' - uses the tempo on the rig (tapped or manually entered), with separate L/R delay settings defined in terms of 16ths of a beat. This offers the most flexibility between the left and right delays, offering ratios (3:5 or 5:7) that are not found in the other delay types. However, it is not capable of offering repeats as quickly as the other delay types because it is always tied to a tempo setting that cannot go fast enough to allow such. * '''Free Delay''' - can use the rig's tempo or can be manually specified when tempo is disabled. This offers repeats as short as 1 ms! However, there is only a single Time setting. A Ratio parameter determines the ratio of left repeats to right repeats, with the only options being quarters of the other (1:4, 2:4, 3:4, 4:4, 4:3, 4:2, 4:1).* '''Analog Delay</u> ''' - is the exact same thing as Free Delay, with the exception that if you change the Time parameter while repeats are occurring the repeats are pitch shifted as occurs on an analog delay pedal. ''There are no tonal differences to this type compared to the other two.''
All three Delay types exhibit a tape delay simulation when using Feedback settings around 90% or higher. Anything lower is a straight digital delay.
=== Tempo Considerations ===
{{Crumbs|orange|4
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tone Controls|Tone
|Kemper KPA Effects#MAB Advanced Reverb Effects|MAB Reverbs
|Kemper KPA Effects#Differences in Delay Types|Delay Types
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tempo Considerations|Tempo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Space Effect|Space
}}
Tempo can be viewed, locked, changed, and disabled from the [[Kemper KPA System and Rig Settings#Tempo|Rig block's settings]]. This mainly affects the Delay block's operation.
When tempo is disabled, the Free and Analog Delays use the Time parameter to determine how quickly they repeat. The Tap Delay uses a default tempo of 120 bpm. When tempo is enabled, the Delays ignore the Time parameter and use the tempo setting. The Tap Delay defines the left and right repeats separately in terms of a beat. The Free and Analog delays use a single Ratio parameter - the beat synchs up to the larger one. For example, a ratio of 1:4 on a 120 bpm tempo means the left delay is set to 30 repeats per minute and the right delay is set to 120 repeats per minute.
=== Space Effect ===
{{Crumbs|orange|5
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tone Controls|Tone
|Kemper KPA Effects#MAB Advanced Reverb Effects|MAB Reverbs
|Kemper KPA Effects#Differences in Delay Types|Delay Types
|Kemper KPA Effects#Tempo Considerations|Tempo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Space Effect|Space
}}
In addition to Delay and Reverb, there is an effect called '''Space''' that operates similarly to a reverb, perhaps with very subtle delay thrown in, as well as a stereo widening type effect. This effect was designed to make the sound of headphones sound more like the sound of a room. It was originally created just as an option in the Output section for headphones, but can now be applied to all outputs, or assigned as an effect block with different settings per rig.
== Pitch Shifter Options ==
{{Crumbs|blue|5
|Kemper KPA Effects#Noise Gates|Gates
|Kemper KPA Effects#All those Wah Choices|Wah
|Kemper KPA Effects#Mono vs. Stereo|Mono/Stereo
|Kemper KPA Effects#Delay and Reverb|Delay/Reverb
|Kemper KPA Effects#Pitch Shifter Options|Pitch Shifter Options
|Kemper KPA Effects#Shapers|Shapers
}}
The KPA offers chromatic and intelligent (harmony) pitch shifting effects, which function like traditional [[Pitch Shifting|pitch shifters]]. The Harmony Shifter goes a step beyond and allows custom user scales to harmonize against. But even beyond these functions, the KPA's shifters offer somewhat unique options to adjust how the shifters work:
The Formant option enables a formant parameter which defines a resonant peak (formant) in the pitch-shifted part of the signal. Formants determine what the tone sounds like, with the human voice making use of different formants to create the different phonetic sounds of the alphabet, particularly for vowels. Thus, the pitch-shifted sound can become quite different from its normal sound. It can reduce the "Chipmunks" type sound to upwards shifted settings. It can also make the guitar sound like a different instrument altogether.
== Emulating Real Devices Shapers ==Most of the {{Crumbs|blue|6|Kemper KPA Effects#Noise Gates|Gates|Kemper KPA Effects#All those Wah Choices|Wah|Kemper KPA Effects#Mono vs. Stereo|Mono/Stereo|Kemper KPA Effects#Delay and Reverb|Delay/Reverb|Kemper KPA Effects#Pitch Shifter Options|Pitch Shifter Options|Kemper KPA's Effects#Shapers|Shapers}} While most effects are generic - they are not modeled after specific devices (with the exception being several of more common for guitarists, the Distortion "shaper" effects)may seem a bit confusing. InsteadEssentially, they provide lots of parameters attempt to make them fully tweakable. Some devices can be emulated by simply using "shape" the right settings for that type waveforms of effectthe input audio signal. Others may require using multiple KPA effects in combination This is essentially what distortion is, but most distortion circuits use ''clipping'' to get their unique soundreshape the waves. [http://wwwThese do something different entirely, but most end up adding harmonic overtones.wikpa.org/FX_Settings_%26_Presets This WiKPA.org page] contains lots The best advice is to try all of them at mild and hot settings to emulate real-world effects, run both into a clean amp profile as well as crunchy one.
{{top}}
[[Category:Guitar]]
[[Category:Gear]]
[[Category:Modelers]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:Kemper]]