Palm muting are much louder than normal playing

    Hey guys,


    When I palm mute I find that the sound coming out is much louder and have lots of bass even if I try to be very gentle when doing so.


    I have notice this with all my 3 guitars (with PAF pickups, passive SD Humbuckers and active SD Blackouts) so I wonder if the problem is the player or something not set properly with my non-powered Kemper.


    I have the main outputs connected to a Duet 2 which sends the sounds directly to a pair of KRK Rokit 6 and a KRK 10s sub (I don't pass through a DAW). I notice it also when using headphones directly from the KPA but the behaviour is not as obvious to notice this way.


    I even tried to bypass the sub but I can still hear this louder bass just going through the Rokit monitors.


    I tried a wide variety of profiles but they basically all this behaviour even thought it is more tamed in some profiles but still present.


    I tried playing with the Clean Sense and Distortion Sense but I had no luck.


    Even if I turn down considerably the bass knob I hear the difference in sound level (Palm muting vs. normal playing).


    Any hints would be appreciated.


    Thanks,


    Marc.

    Modern amps tend to cut bass before the distortion happens and add it back afterwards.
    Palm muting produces a lot of bass that doesn't get compressed, but still gets enhanced after the distortion.
    This happens with analog amps as well, obviously, and on anything more modern than an old Marshall.


    Heavy strings, bright, lower-gain pickups, bass cut at around 80-100Hz, multiband compression all help reduce this effect, but never solve it completely.

    "But dignity is difficult to maintain
    stamina requires constant upkeep
    repetition is boring
    and you pay for grace."

    Hello,


    Thank you all for the good hints.


    My monitors are on my desk indeed and I will try isolating pads.
    The acoustic of my room is also probably the main culprit... It is basically a concrete basement with ceramic tile for flooring and brick walls (yes, inside the room) for the main part. Also the room is pretty large (25 x 40 ft). Room treatment is out of the question as my wife would not appreciate at all since it is also our living room.


    I will play more with the bass cutting and fiddle more with my EQs.


    Since I have little (read no) experience with real tube amps, I never encountered this before with amp simulators.
    If this is a also behaviour of real tube amps, then the Kemper is, again, right on the money :)


    Again, many thanks.

    Quote from StealthAMD

    My monitors are on my desk indeed and I will try isolating pads.


    As you seem to have enough space in your room: speaker stands are even better than isolation pads. I tried them and there are still some vibrations to feel, so go for speaker stands if your wife agrees... :)

    I could have farted and it would have sounded good! (Brian Johnson)

    Also, for bass freqs room's size(s) is by far more important than the type of ceiling's, walls' and floor's surface.


    You might just try the whole rig in a different room for once, even tho the fact that you perceive the same "issue" with your cans would hint at a general sound issue (unless,of course, they are bass-heavy themselves).


    Interesting enough, when I first read the OP I imagined a compressor being left on by mistake... I'd check no stomp compressor nor the Amp's compressor are engaged anyway :D

    Hello Viabcroce,


    I might try to move my setup in one of the "guest" rooms which are still in the basement but with a lower ceiling and with carpet flooring "on top of concrete...".


    I guess you can say that I have options...
    I just don't feel to be confined in there but it is worth trying even if it's just to understand better the dynamics of sound in a particular space.


    As for the profiles, I am recently on a "pure" factory rigs setup streek for more than 2 months now.
    I am away from home now but the rig I play a lot these days is the CAE something OD2 from the factory rigs. No stomps are on this profile; just a lot of gain out of the box, enough for what I want.


    Even then, the behaviour I was mentioning is also happening with factory rigs that have no stomps, much lower gain and that have the main rig EQ buttons at their neutral position.


    BTW I found in the garage a "somewhat dense, but not too much" foamy black material that looks much alike the isolation pads mentioned in one of the previous posts. I will try that when I come back home and see the difference it makes.


    I am not complaining about the behaviour, I am trying to understand and find ways to fix or attenuate what my ears don't agree on. Since more than a year now my KPA has been a real journey and an awesome way to learn and become better in every front mainly because of you guys, always happy to help and pitch in.


    Again. Thank you!


    I know I've said that before but I really enjoy being part of this group.

    How does it sound if you play some music via the same speakers in the same room - or some great demo files of amps played in your style (e.g. found at youtube).


    If this sound all find only the KPA sounds not as you like try this:
    Place an EQ before and after the Stack block (D and X).
    Lower the bass in the EQ block before the amp and then adjust in the EQ block after the amp.

    (All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with soundside.de)


    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

    Quote from phitschi

    I guess, a multiband compressor will be a good solution to compress only frequencies till 300Hz.
    But the does't have this feature.
    Any idea to get a workaround?


    I'd say a parallel path with an EQ presenting the 300 Hz followed by a compressor, while in the main chain an EQ specularly compensates?