Kemper KPA System and Rig Settings
The KPA has system settings that apply globally as well as rig settings that are saved per rig (patch). These can be accessed by pressing the "System" and "Rig" buttons, respectively.
Contents
System Settings
LED/Display Settings
Pages 1-3 of the System menu contains numerous parameters for controlling the colors and brightness of not only the main display but also various sets of buttons and LEDs.
Init and Factory Settings
Page 1 contains some helpful functions for first-time initialization or restoring your KPA to its factory state.
- Edit Owner - allows editing the owner name and profiler name
- Init Globals - resets global system (and output?) settings to their defaults (will not delete/change rigs)
- Startup Dialog - takes the user through the first-time dialog that appears to set the system date/time and owner name
- Factory Rigs - reloads the factory rigs onto the KPA (if you deleted them)
Interface Options
Page 3 has some interesting parameters for the user interface:
- Rig Autoload - this autoloads rigs in Browser mode while in browser view after turning the Browse Knob. If you disable autoload in browser view, you'll have to come here to re-enable it.
- Auto Favorite - this automatically sets any rig you create or edit to be a favorite. I recommend turning this off. I add my initials (MAB) onto the end of any profile I edit, which makes it quick to find via a Rig Manager search.
- Quick Function - this controls what the quick button does - I find the best option is Midi Settings, as I don't really use snapshots, and edit views for various effects/buttons are already quick to enter. Version Info is quickly found on the last page of the system settings.
- Perf. Load -
Audio Options
Page 4 has options that affect the KPA's sound output:
- Constant Latency - checking this button sets the KPA's latency to a constant 4.9ms. Otherwise, the latency is as low as possible, given the effects enabled in the rig. For multi-track reamping based on the same DI track or using multiple profilers simultaneously, you may run into phase issues if this is unchecked. For live playing or typical recording applications, you can leave this unchecked.
- Rig X-Fade Time - setting this above 0.0 allows cross-fading the volume from one rig to the next, rather than the typical drop-out (however slight) you hear when switching rigs
- Loop Lev. Adj. - you can adjust the volume level of the effects loop send here if your external gear requires alternate gain staging. This is constant across all rigs. Using the Mono Loop vs. Distortion Loop effects give you further flexibility over the send level of the loop. Mono Loop is a constant level, while Distortion Loop factors in the digital volume level of the KPA's virtual signal chain for the placement of the loop effect.
External Expression Pedal/Footswitch Setup
Pages 5 - 10 cover how expression pedals or footswitches behave. Pedals 1 and 2 cover the two inputs on the back of the KPA, while Pedals 3 - 6 refer to inputs on the official Kemper remote. The Kemper also accepts MIDI CC messages to control its various parameters.
If you only have one expression pedal, you can still use it to do both wah and volume with some additional setup.
Pedal Type refers to the polarity of the expression pedal - type 1 is the normal type (Roland), while type 2 is reversed (Yamaha).
Remote Display
Page 11 has some features similar to pages 1 dealing with the LCD display on the official Kemper remote.
MIDI Assignments and Settings
While in Browser mode, page 12 allows you to assign the current rig to a MIDI Program Change number, as well as view all the MIDI assignments. Note, these are only for Browser mode, not performance mode, where more than MIDI bank of 128 rigs each can be assigned.
While in Performance mode, page 13 allows assigning external devices to the MIDI Out and Thru ports, as well as giving them device names, and specifying which channels the Kemper should use to communicate with them.
Page 14 has some settings for allowing an expression pedal that was set to Wah Wah on pages 5 - 10 or MIDI CC 1 to also control volume or pitch-shifting, when not being used for a wah wah effect. It also has settings for sending the KPA's MIDI clock to external devices and setting the MIDI global channel (omni by default). And you can also see the current MIDI CC values for 4 of the most likely used CC's, controlling modulation, pitch, volume, and monitor volume.
Date/Time and Version
Page 15 contains the date and time (and buttons to edit), while page 17 contains version information.
Erase Non-Favorites
Page 16 is called Rig Management and has a single button to erase all profiles stored in the KPA that are not marked as favorites. I recommend not using this button since Rig Manager can more easily be used to delete the desired rigs. If you do find yourself wanting to use this, be sure to do a backup to a USB drive first.
LFC (Low Frequency Correction)
Starting in FW 2.5 (?), the KPA included this parameter. With FW 3.2 (?) forward, it is permanently on with no option to disable it. It is extremely useful for metal tones where there is lots of low-end frequencies, especially on mutes. Essentially you get more/tighter bass with LFC turned on. If you look up older A/B comparisons of the KPA profile vs. the reference amp for metal tones, you can usually notice that the KPA tone sounds a bit brighter/thinner than the reference. Newer comparisons using LFC are virtually identical.
The parameter is a little confusing because by default LFC is turned on. There is a checkbox to turn it off called "LFC Off". So, if the checkbox is checked, that means LFC is turned off, and the KPA will function as it did before FW 2.5 (?).
Rig Settings
Tags
Favorite
Snapshots
Tempo
Expression Pedal Settings
- Lock Vol. Pedal - this setting will lock the current volume pedal settings below to apply to all rigs
- Wah Pedal to Vol. - this is a rig-level version of the page 14 pedal linking option above
- Location - this refers to a volume pedal's placement in the signal chain. Since a dedicated volume pedal doesn't require an effect slot like wah wah or pitch (whammy), you use this parameter to set where it should affect the signal.
- Range - this refers to whether the volume pedal should boost when moving from heel position to toe position (when set to right of center) or cut when moving from toe to heel position (when set left of center)
Parallel Signal Path
This option