Hi an welcome.
Depends a bit on how many sounds you need and in what context. The performance concept is so flexible that you can go different ways. If you just need few sounds you can go with one performance (or two....), if you are for example Top40-player or in a cover band with a wide spectrum of sounds you might need many sounds and those mostly related to a specific song or artist. In the latter case I would go for dedicated performances then.
I myself am in the middle of this spectrum. I use two performances with my go to sounds for every situation.... also for jamming. These are there all the time. Additionally I have around 10 performances which cover specific songs of my band (sometimes two to three songs not only one), mostly because of more exotic rigs behind it or specific effect settings.
Hi and welcome
I play in a cover band and we have about 35 songs in the set list
i can then pick an amp that is similar to the one used in each song and get a good approximation of the sound
I have a performance for each song with different slots for intro, verse, chorus, solo, end etc if needed to change the sound for a part
its then just one foot switch press to change the sound between parts,
also might morph the volume or individual effects for certain parts, but there are not many of these
thanks
Daryl
How do you organize your live situation? Do yo have just one performance with your basic Bass sounds, or do you really create one performance for each song?
I am new to the Kemper world and just got a Stage - like it really much. I am asking myself how to organize my live setup as easy and simple as possible.
This is a great topic for bass and guitar, I would like it if people would also elaborate on how they have the rigs set up using pedals, switches volume and expression pedals. - I tried mine live last weekend after only having it for 2 weeks. I used only 1 rig with different gain settings in 3 or 4 different performance slots. I needed a little more boost for leads so I programmed that on the fly, unfortunately I assigned to the same button that controlled the delay so when I would turn on the boost it would turn off the delay. Since I am not that experienced with the Kemper I didn't really figure out how to change it back until after the gig. Overall I was happy, I also had my Mesa Lonestar set up with an A/B switch just in case but I didn't use it all.
I setup most of my performances this way.
One performance per song. If a song needs less than the 5 sounds in a performance, those unused rigs are turned off so I can’t accidentally hit a sound not used in the song.
So, here are what each of the rigs can be depending on the song or if that slot is even enabled.
Rig 1. Main distorted rhythm gtr sound. I always have it on switch one as even in the dark or with smoke machines, I can find the edge of my pedalboard and hit the first switch to get back to this main rhythm sound.
Rig 2 is always my solo sound for that song.
Rig 3 is generally a clean sound. Since having the Stage, a few of these clean sounds are now amprofile of my Boss AC-3 for a more acoustic sound. A lot of our songs also have a less distorted rhythm sound. These songs never have a clean sound so I also use Rig 3 for that.
Rig 4 can be a few things depending in the song. On a few songs, it is a lead sound with a programmed static cocked Wah sound. Mostly, Rig 4 is a lead sound with a much longer delay part that is a feature of maybe a certain intro or parts within a song. Rig 4 on other songs will be my harmony solo lead sound.
Rig 5 is used for clean Leslie effects or any other sound effects I might need.
I keep the effects switches disabled. I would rather just have the rigs in the performances set up how I want them then I can’t accidentally hit anything else.
My expression pedal just controls the volume post stack.
Welcome to the Family
I prefer to have not too many different bass sounds in a set. Once you lock in a great kick and bass you don't really want the bassist to radically sculpt the sound every 30 seconds.
For me it's one performance. Standard, compressed, warm & wooly, slap, lead with effects
I keep the effects switches disabled.
I enjoyed reading how you arrange your rigs. I was kind of perplexed as to why you'd have the effects switches disabled, however. If I immediately need a certain sound, including these effects, having them switched on immediately gives me what I want right when I really need it instead of having to do the stomp box dance to turn it on. That's the whole point of having these performance slots in the first place. Why have a separate rig for them without them being instantaneously available is what I'm really saying? Who cares if you accidentally hit one WITH the effects before you need it versus the benefit of having the effects being right there? The audience will never know the difference, only you.
I enjoyed reading how you arrange your rigs. I was kind of perplexed as to why you'd have the effects switches disabled, however. If I immediately need a certain sound, including these effects, having them switched on immediately gives me what I want right when I really need it instead of having to do the stomp box dance to turn it on. That's the whole point of having these performance slots in the first place. Why have a separate rig for them without them being instantaneously available is what I'm really saying? Who cares if you accidentally hit one WITH the effects before you need it versus the benefit of having the effects being right there? The audience will never know the difference, only you.
I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. Maybe not.
All my sounds are pre setup. Hitting a rig within a performance takes me to the next sound that is already set up the way I need it.
All effects I need are already enabled for those sounds. I don’t need to turn any of them on or off. So, the facility to enable them from the effects switches is disabled.
So, simply, the effects are enabled on these rigs. They are preset for each rig. No need for effects switches as nothing needs switching in or out.
We try not to have any room for error at our gigs.
We try not to have any room for error at our gigs.
Totally agree with that point Vinny Burns as I have the challenge as well. When it becomes very energetic on stage you quickly hit more than one button at a time. Maybe my feet are too big or the stage action is too wild... ....but that's actually the aspect which calls for disabling the effects switches.
As said a bit earlier in this thread I also have some performances which I use for jamming and song writing with the band. In those I have the effect switches indeed enabled as I typically use them in the rehearsal room rather than on stage. That way I can still play around with things and identify new sounds.
Totally agree with that point Vinny Burns as I have the challenge as well. When it becomes very energetic on stage you quickly hit more than one button at a time. Maybe my feet are too big or the stage action is too wild... ....but that's actually the aspect which calls for disabling the effects switches.
As said a bit earlier in this thread I also have some performances which I use for jamming and song writing with the band. In those I have the effect switches indeed enabled as I typically use them in the rehearsal room rather than on stage. That way I can still play around with things and identify new sounds.
Yes, I completely agree. I have certain Performances I have setup for when I am in my studio or for pre production with the band where I do have the effects switches enabled to bring things in and out and to be able to get at things instantly.
During the gig though, like you, I just keep the stuff enabled that I need.
We did an odd one the other week. A rock festival on a ship in Scandinavia. We have done it before but it must have been quite a calm sea that time. This time, it was not. lol. I have never played on a stage that moved so much. ?
So actually enabling a switch became a task. Lifting one foot off the floor to hit a switch would generally coincide with the ship moving massively and by the time you put your door down, you had accidentally hit the up button and gone to the next song (in that case, a song that is a whole tone down for that accidentally selected Performance). Even worse, once you got your balance to try and correct it, the ship had moved again and you had ended up even further away from the pedalboard. ?
I was very happy to only have switches working that were needed at that gig. Weird experience. Stages should not move. ?
The local crew were laughing. They said these were only 4 meter waves and they have worked when there were 15 meter waves. I can’t even imagine that.
But you survived it. Cool thing. Sounds like a challenging but also very funny experience. And that's how legendary memories in a band are created, right? The nice conversations will entertain you all time.... "do you remember guys, when we were playing that show on the ship?"
Yes, absolutely. Another fun gig story to remember. ?
I got you Vinny Burns - good to hear a practical use of disabling of the effects. Hadn't thought of that, though not sure it's an issue in my case. That's some festival crowd you played to, kudos to you!!
It depends on what your doing. To keep it very flexible, I go from rig 1 to 4 in order of gain. Rig 5 is solo sound. I usually just use 2/3 performances for electric sounds and 1 for acoustic/nylon. It doesn't sound like a lot but with effect switches and morph for each rig, it gives way more than enough options. I typically play 20+ song concerts and write on each chart which preset is used for what song, I try to keep the sounds of one song within the same performance. If I were always doing the same material, I'd have a performance for each song but for now I find this to be the best option when repertoire changes all the time.
....but that's actually the aspect which calls for disabling the effects switches.
