How do you set your cab character?

    I've been finding that rigs sound consistently better by setting it to -0.5, just curious what others are doing. I also set high shift to -0.1, those settings together seem to make the KPA sound much more natural through my DXR10. Of course, this could be specific to this particular speaker (probably is).


    BTW I had set the clean sense on most of my rigs to -6dB for a while, where the input LED barely lits yellow with my main guitar, but since I've always had a feeling that there's a "right" setting for this control, when it changed from absolute numbers to dBs in recent firmware updates I couldn't resist trying it at 0dB, and you know what, even though the input LED blinks red some times, I feel it gives me more useable dynamic range.


    Now I've been through lots of different approachs to making the KPA sound its best, and some times what happens is it seems to sound better just because it's different from what I was used to hearing before, the never ending quest for novelty applies here to a certain degree. Maybe a better way to be sure a change of settings actually sounds better is measuring how much time is spent noodling with rigs after making the change. So far it seems promising :)

    I find that my tone seems to change in a variety of settings, through different speakers, etc.Heck, the tone I thought sounded so good the night before might not hit the target the next day. I'm sure that the consistency you're experiencing with the settings you've found are the best option when going through your DXR10s. Always a good thing if you're able to monitor through them at the gig. But going into the PA, you might have a different experience. In such a situation, though, I'm sure you'll know what to do.


    In fact, an alternative strategy, have you tried tweaking your output EQ to achieve the same results? I don't think you will, since it's most likely a resonance thing. But couldn't hurt to test and post back with your findings :)

    my cab profile settings depend on the cab profile and the tone I'm going for. I'm always within +/- 0.4, and usually no larger than +/- 0.2 for high/low shift.


    Character is more forgiving. I usually find myself turning it upwards, but not higher than 1.5.


    I still need to figure out Clean Sens. I tought I had a handle on it, but on many rigs, if I turn gain down to 0, the clean sound is louder than the distorted sound, even with Clean Sens on -12 db.

    Quote from Deny

    I've been finding that rigs sound consistently better by setting it to -0.5

    .
    Hey Deny, this is interesting. Considering what the control does, it seems that you feel more comfortable with cabs being a bit flatter than how they are in reality, regardless the cab.


    Quote from meambobbo

    I still need to figure out Clean Sens. I tought I had a handle on it, but on many rigs, if I turn gain down to 0, the clean sound is louder than the distorted sound, even with Clean Sens on -12 db.

    .
    Mhhh... this makes me think.
    Considering that in a partially distorted sound both the Sens controls are active, it is as if a crunch rig remained "crunch" (in the eye of the a.m. controls) even when you clean it turning gain down.
    Might it be a flaw in the algorithm'? :|

    Quote from meambobbo

    once i turn the gain up to even 1, the volumes seem to level out. i don't want to start throwing too much info out there yet. this demands a thorough, well-documented test.


    Well, we're just feely discussing... no stone-carved letters from my part. :)
    If all the gear-related discussions on forum had these contents and this attitude, the Net would probably be a better place :thumbup:

    Quote from meambobbo

    once i turn the gain up to even 1, the volumes seem to level out. i don't want to start throwing too much info out there yet. this demands a thorough, well-documented test.


    This is indeed interesting. I play with a strat (pickups very low, but high output). I set the clean sens so, that only on the bridge pickup (which is set as the loudest of the three) there are occasional red lights on the Input LED. Yet, for me, it's totally different. When I have a mid gain profile and turn the gain down, the clean is always considerably lower in volume. So I am trying to raise clean sens to level out the balance of distorted and clean sounds. I have given up on that really - in the real amp world, amp distortion is also louder than clean - and the cleans have a higher dynamic. ... But yes, I find that on clean profiles, it is in almost all the cases a very good idea to raise the gain (not only to +1 even more than that). Number 1 this helps controlling the dynamics a bit and number 2 I don't really go for that super clean (and to me almost sterile) sound. Raising the gain a little on the clean profiles gives me the feeling as if the sound is more tube-like (adds warmth, character, smoothing).

    Quote from viabcroce

    .
    Hey Deny, this is interesting. Considering what the control does, it seems that you feel more comfortable with cabs being a bit flatter than how they are in reality, regardless the cab.


    .
    Mhhh... this makes me think.
    Considering that in a partially distorted sound both the Sens controls are active, it is as if a crunch rig remained "crunch" (in the eye of the a.m. controls) even when you clean it turning gain down.
    Might it be a flaw in the algorithm'? :|

    That's one way to see it, my perception is that either the KPA or the DXR10 makes the cabinet component of the tones sound a bit exaggerated, and that's an effective way to compensate for that (cab settings I mean).


    Regarding clean sense and at the risk of sounding ignorant, I still prefer to set it individually on a per-rig basis. My motivation is quite simple, I have specific rigs for specific guitars, so it kinda makes sense... I think. Anyway, I've noticed that if I keep it so the input LED *never* lits red, tones become flat and uninteresting, especially clean and semi-distorted ones.

    Quote from Deny

    my perception is that either the KPA or the DXR10 makes the cabinet component of the tones sound a bit exaggerated, and that's an effective way to compensate for that (cab settings I mean).


    hundreds of people make profiles using all kinds of speakers, mics and techniques. some cabs sound smoother, some have strong peaks and valleys going on - I sometimes add Character, most of the time I don't touch it.
    If you generally use it the way you described, it's either your monitors (although I'm not sure how this could be either) or simply your personal preference.
    Could it be you played a lot of modelers (or speaker sims) instead of real guitar cabs? Maybe you just got used to the sound of these other speaker sims.

    Quote from DonPetersen

    hundreds of people make profiles using all kinds of speakers, mics and techniques. some cabs sound smoother, some have strong peaks and valleys going on - I sometimes add Character, most of the time I don't touch it.
    If you generally use it the way you described, it's either your monitors (although I'm not sure how this could be either) or simply your personal preference.
    Could it be you played a lot of modelers (or speaker sims) instead of real guitar cabs? Maybe you just got used to the sound of these other speaker sims.

    Not really, I've been playing mostly all-tube rigs for the past 15 years or so. Granted, I've tried a few modelers along the way because they're so much more practical to lug around, but my preference has always been tubes. What I'm trying to get with any tweaking I do in the KPA is something similar to what I hear from my tube amp, plain and simple. Many rigs have way too much bottom and high end through my speaker for my taste, and that's what I'm trying to correct. My own profiles OTOH seem to have a peak around 2.5-3kHz (probably DXR10's fault), that I'm going to try the same cab settings on and see what happens.

    Usually I never touch anything in cab section but the volume, while I edit the amp part (compression, pick, and so on) in order to get the same feel when I make profiles on my own.
    When I take a profile done by someone else, I usually edit just pick, compression and eq.

    I like the way this thread is going, especially since we touched upon the subject of clean/distorted sense.


    I find it impossible to level match my clean and distorted tones using the sense controls alone. I'll have to change the rig volume to do that, otherwise my clip indicator at the input will light up like crazy.


    I am using passive pickups, but the crazy high gain types made by Wilde Bill Lawrence (RIP you poor dear man). And it's impossible to match levels just using clean sense because while I understand the red LED indicator is only a warning and that we should trust our ears, I also realise that if its lit up like a cheery street in Amsterdam, I'm probably going to get $)((#$ed ^^


    All said and done, I did some tweaks to my guitar last night and she was singing like a canary. Love my KPA!

    Quote from Jimmyno

    Usually I never touch anything in cab section but the volume, while I edit the amp part (compression, pick, and so on) in order to get the same feel when I make profiles on my own.
    When I take a profile done by someone else, I usually edit just pick, compression and eq.


    Me, too.

    regarding tube shape, I believe the manual mentions that the distortion is softer and smoother when set lower and a bit rougher set higher, and compared the difference to preamp tube breakup vs. power tube breakup.


    i feel it is one of the more edit-friendly parameters, along with definition.


    another neat tip is to add some direct mix into a distorted tone, but not enough to really even hear it, like 0.1-0.5. It just adds a little dynamics to the attack, so your tone isn't mush even with a fat, dark, super-saturated distortion.

    Quote

    To be clear, I am taking a high-gain profile that has gain around 6 by default and lowering it to 0, and I'm using a Dimarzio Crunch Lab in the bridge pickup slot. I have it somewhat close to the strings. Unfortunately, it is direct mounted and won't go lower without routing, which I don't want to do. I also don't want to raise my action. I know my guitar is quite hot, but I very rarely see red on the Input LED, unless I'm trying to make it red. the problem isn't clipping, though, it's leveling.


    for the most part I haven't played too much with crunch tones yet, which is where I think comes way more into play.


    btw, my other guitar has Dimarzio D-Activator 8's. Before that I had Seymour Duncan Blackouts in it, and they were ridiculously hot - far hotter than either of the Dimarzio's. I didn't have the Kemper at this point, but I had lower the volume knob it was so bad to keep from clipping the Pod, even with the input pad.