Beam Blockers:

I've been on Kemper for 3 years now.
Over that time I've used various "FRFR" cabs.
One thing about FRFR cabs and/or PA setups is that the dispersion is excellent/awesome. I did a 300 guest wedding in a large hall with a Yamaha DXR10 (10" speaker). It had headroom to spare, and lots of it.
The whole band/stage can hear you and there is no beam at all. The audience hears what you hear on stage.
The negative?
You generally lose that "pant flapping" thump reaction to your playing on stage.
So now I have the Kemper Kabinet. It gives me the pant flapping "amp in the room" I was missing, and still fills the room and stage.
Not trying to sell you anything. Just sharing my trek through playing in a band with backline as main source of sound as opposed to going through the board/PA.
 
The Beam Blocker really did change the way the amp projects into a room. The sound now is consistent no matter where I am standing, whereas before, it was louder and more harsh sounding if I stood in front of it and less harsh sounding if I stood beside the amp. Overall, the tone is now more balanced and equal, no matter your sonic vantage point.

The 'deal sealer' for me was when the other band members commented on being able to hear my amp better now at a lower volume level. That was a great discovery!

I find it hard to accurately express the true effect of the beam blockers. My best description would be that the BB's dull the "point" of the "ice pick"when you are right in front of the amplifier and now the amp sounds the ame when sonically "viewed" off-axis.

My current DSL40C settings are:

Volume: 3/4 (controlled by FV30L in the FX Loop)

Gain: 12 Noon on 'Lead 2' Setting (Simultaneously hitting it with a TS9 Tube Screamer with level full-up and 'drive' at 9am)

Presence: 3pm

Resonance: 4pm

Bass: 3pm

Mids: Full

Treble: 2pm

EQ: Mid-Boost (left-side bisased 'V' pattern) on Boss GE-7 with high frequencies pulled back

My wife even commented that "The amp doesn't seem as loud now, but I can still hear it all through the house, but it doesn't hurt my ears," and she doesn't notice these things typically.

One thing is for certain, my board is a integrated element of my tone. It's not an embellishment. It is the TONE in and of itself. All effects are running 100% of the time except the delay and the left EQ, both of which are only switched on for solos. I have to thank Max Norman for explaining how George Lynch ran a chorus 24-7 as an integrated tonal element, on both rhythm and lead passages.

If you switch each effect on individually, the contribution is very, very subtle. But, when the board is up and running, the change to the tone is dramatic.

Pedalboard 2020.jpg
 
Last edited:
Robert Herndon said:
The Beam Blocker really did change the way the amp projects into a room. The sound now is consistent no matter where I am standing, whereas before, it was louder and more harsh sounding if I stood in front of it and less harsh sounding if I stood beside the amp. Overall, the tone is now more balanced and equal, no matter your sonic vantage point.

The 'deal sealer' for me was when the other band members commented on being able to hear my amp better now at a lower volume level. That was a great discovery!

I find it hard to accurately express the true effect of the beam blockers. My best description would be that the BB's dull the "point" of the "ice pick"when you are right in front of the amplifier and now the amp sounds the ame when sonically "viewed" off-axis.

My current DSL40C settings are:

Volume: 3/4 (controlled by FV30L in the FX Loop)

Gain: 12 Noon on 'Lead 2' Setting (Simultaneously hitting it with a TS9 Tube Screamer with level full-up and 'drive' at 9am)

Presence: 3pm

Resonance: 4pm

Bass: 3pm

Mids: Full

Treble: 2pm

EQ: Mid-Boost (left-side bisased 'V' pattern) on Boss GE-7 with high frequencies pulled back

My wife even commented that "The amp doesn't seem as loud now, but I can still hear it all through the house, but it doesn't hurt my ears," and she doesn't notice these things typically.

One thing is for certain, my board is a integrated element of my tone. It's not an embellishment. It is the TONE in and of itself. All effects are running 100% of the time except the delay and the left EQ, both of which are only switched on for solos. I have to thank Max Norman for explaining how George Lynch ran a chorus 24-7 as an integrated tonal element, on both rhythm and lead passages.

If you switch each effect on individually, the contribution is very, very subtle. But, when the board is up and running, the change to the tone is dramatic.

View attachment 47116
Click to expand...
I can attest to that, first hand. :2Thumbs:
 
Robert Herndon said:
The Beam Blocker really did change the way the amp projects into a room. The sound now is consistent no matter where I am standing, whereas before, it was louder and more harsh sounding if I stood in front of it and less harsh sounding if I stood beside the amp. Overall, the tone is now more balanced and equal, no matter your sonic vantage point.

The 'deal sealer' for me was when the other band members commented on being able to hear my amp better now at a lower volume level. That was a great discovery!

I find it hard to accurately express the true effect of the beam blockers. My best description would be that the BB's dull the "point" of the "ice pick"when you are right in front of the amplifier and now the amp sounds the ame when sonically "viewed" off-axis.

My current DSL40C settings are:

Volume: 3/4 (controlled by FV30L in the FX Loop)

Gain: 12 Noon on 'Lead 2' Setting (Simultaneously hitting it with a TS9 Tube Screamer with level full-up and 'drive' at 9am)

Presence: 3pm

Resonance: 4pm

Bass: 3pm

Mids: Full

Treble: 2pm

EQ: Mid-Boost (left-side bisased 'V' pattern) on Boss GE-7 with high frequencies pulled back

My wife even commented that "The amp doesn't seem as loud now, but I can still hear it all through the house, but it doesn't hurt my ears," and she doesn't notice these things typically.

One thing is for certain, my board is a integrated element of my tone. It's not an embellishment. It is the TONE in and of itself. All effects are running 100% of the time except the delay and the left EQ, both of which are only switched on for solos. I have to thank Max Norman for explaining how George Lynch ran a chorus 24-7 as an integrated tonal element, on both rhythm and lead passages.

If you switch each effect on individually, the contribution is very, very subtle. But, when the board is up and running, the change to the tone is dramatic.

View attachment 47116
Click to expand...
Awesome! I was hoping this would be a positive conclusion, and it looks as though it surely is! Great idea, and I think I'll share it with my bandmate.
Thanks!
 
dmatthews said:
I've been on Kemper for 3 years now.
Over that time I've used various "FRFR" cabs.
One thing about FRFR cabs and/or PA setups is that the dispersion is excellent/awesome. I did a 300 guest wedding in a large hall with a Yamaha DXR10 (10" speaker). It had headroom to spare, and lots of it.
The whole band/stage can hear you and there is no beam at all. The audience hears what you hear on stage.
The negative?
You generally lose that "pant flapping" thump reaction to your playing on stage.
So now I have the Kemper Kabinet. It gives me the pant flapping "amp in the room" I was missing, and still fills the room and stage.
Not trying to sell you anything. Just sharing my trek through playing in a band with backline as main source of sound as opposed to going through the board/PA.
Click to expand...

I too am a Kemper and Kemper Klone owner and I agree with this completely!

Robert is going to give my Kemper rig a test drive someday soon. Just have to wait for my surgery recovery...
 
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