Not getting a good sound.... On the verge of returning

  • Quote

    Hey I know you probably don't want to spend anymore money but I know one thing that helped me when I first got the kpa was purchasing an amp pack (Diezel Herbert) from the amp factory because I knew the sound of that amp and what I was looking for with my guitar. With the amp factory's profiles I barely tweaked anything to get where I wanted to be and it was only 8 dollars. Just a suggestion, take it or leave it but it saved me a lot of time. I still dig all the free profiles and am more than grateful to the wonderful community here as well as the kpa team for releasing free products but this was just something I did during the early stages of getting used to the kpa to find a quick profile that I could work with without filtering through thousands available. Good luck.


    +1 on the ^^^^ This is exactly what I did when I brought my KPA I brought TAF bundle 2 and its awesome :)



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  • We'll I can add that I came here after exclusively playing tube amps for the last 30 years. When I first got my KPA I hated it and nearly gave up on it. I stuck with it though and am now able to get some stellar tones through my powered CLR. I still laugh reading how little tweeking profiles from TAF, or anywhere else, require. I'm yet to find one and I've purchased many. They do sound good though once you master the technique. My advice is hang in there. :thumbup:

  • Smells like TROLL CITY IN HERE!!! It would be one thing if the KPA didnt speak for itself, but it does soooo....ill play along..



    If your super processed sounding clip with that inherent midrange honk that is so ever present in every axe fx clip is your style of tone, then stay with the axe, sounds like you found the tone you want... You obviously aren't used to a raw micd up amp tone if you are having this many issues... Furthermore, the user error level is astounding, I can't believe this many people are giving you actual advice.... Do you really expect anyone to believe you stayed with the axe fx this long given its extreme notoriety for firmware sound changes, and extreme tweaking need to get great tone but yet, can't figure out the kemper???.. FURTHERMORE, don't expect tone matched guitar tones to be used for anything other than fun, they are quite useles other than for playing in your bedroom.

  • Not buying this thread. Methinks Layne here lives under a bridge and is intentionally stirring the forum pot. Too many "Haha's" to make me believe in his sincerity.


    If you can work a toaster then you can dial in great tones from any of hundreds of profiles, free or commercial.


    Unless you're Steve Vai and you have some weird tone in your head that you want to perform with in one of your songs then why on earth would you want to spend hours tweaking the Axe-Fx II? I'd rather dial up what I want quickly and play.


  • Is it true that when a profile is taking of an amp...the user that is profiling the amp...does it take all the entities of the profile such as wood, pickups, etc. to make the new preset?


    A profile is a snapshot of what happens in the signal-chain between an amplifiers input-jack and the FOH/studio mic-preamp (guitar-amp, effects, cabinet, microphone). What guitar you use is essential to how you dial in an amp before profiling it. The guitar is also used in the "refine" step towards the end of profiling, but this is mostly to verify that the profile works as good with manual playing as it does for the computer-generated input signal. The sweet-spot for settings on an amp may vary a lot for different guitars so it is not given that all profiles work well with all guitars. However, is it possible to make different amps produce a set of sounds you want for your guitar then it is also possible to create a set of profiles to achieve the same with the KPA. You are less likely to find pre-made profiles that work for you if you have a "quirky" guitar.

  • Only, for checking the settings, perhaps is here an answer.


    Powerhead into Orange Cab. How do you set/deactivate Cab?
    - Cab on the front panel shall stay active
    - Monitor Cab Off shall be chosen in the output section


    So, the main output still has cab active, monitor/power amp does not.


    And I do not know what you do not like about the profiles,
    but I think when you need to tweak them a lot, here is something wrong.

    In my experience I have only few tweaking needs:
    - gain +/-, barely eq (I can not swear I did not touch it, but I can not remember I did :)
    - monitor eq when I am playing through different venue backline cabs (turn down treble/presence 1-2 db) eg my Diezel cab with 2xV30 sounds fine without any eq-change, Matrix NL12 need some presence down etc.


    Regarding Axe (had Ultra and II) I can only say that Powerhead sounds and feels like a tube amp – Axe does not.
    After my experience with Axe I thought I will never can play digital device, because my tube amps sounds and feels always much better.
    Than I tried Kemper Powerhead. Sold mostly of my amps. Play more than ever. Tweak 0–1 minute per playing day.
    I use the Kemper for last few months almost exclusively. I tried my tube amps last week – with some sort of concern "what if I like it better" –
    but Kemper still wins!

  • @layne81....Have you tried any of the suggested troubleshooting methods? Did they get you any closer to what you are looking for? I've always said the kpa can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. That's the beauty of the machine. Let us know how its going with some of the suggested methods so we can further assist you.

  • Thanks for the gents that are trying to help.


    Those that are butt hurt and are accusing of trolling... nope. Obviously, I stuck it out with Axe Fx II and received help there as well on the forums but fortunately there were no assholes there like on this forum.


    I have not even had this amp for a week and I have not had much time to devote to it.


    Those that are actually trying to help... again... I appreciate it... Not everyone's experience is going to be top notch with the Kemper right off the bat.


    I have 45 days to return it... so in the 45 days I am going to try and figure out how to achieve what I am looking for.

    Edited once, last by layne81 ().

  • As far as trying the suggestions in this thread... I plan to do so... just have not had time...


    That is another issue... Time...Which I have very little of....


    With the Axe FX I spent hours learning what everything does... I don't have that kind of time these days. =-/

  • You really don't need time, if you have the rig manager loaded in your computer and a usb cable between it and your KPA, you could test every damn amp on the Rig Exchange in about a couple of hours. If you can't find one amp that you like on there, it is something wrong with your ears or your guitar.


    Axe Fx is a great modeller, if your only used to playing with modellers, vst's and transistor practice amps the Kemper would sound completly different. Miced up fat tube guitar sound with great dynamics isn't for everyone. But it is much more usefull than something you could only play at home (without tweaking it for hours or weeks).

  • As far as trying the suggestions in this thread... I plan to do so... just have not had time...


    That is another issue... Time...Which I have very little of....


    With the Axe FX I spent hours learning what everything does... I don't have that kind of time these days. =-/


    Hang on! Best advice I can give you: load one of the common favourite profiles listed above and step on to the battlefield.
    What I mean is go into a real loud rehearsal situation. This will distinctively show the profiler's strengths, its immediateness, rawness and punch, better than anything else.

  • Had my KPA for about 4 months now and will never look back ( never thought I wouldn't miss my Triaxis rig). Took a few weeks to get my head around it and get some tones I liked. I found some Masotti profiles free here on the rig exchange that I absolutely love, I also use a TAF Big Twin, some Mesa Boogie profiles and even a Paisley patch that came stock. We play everything from rock, blues, metal, jazz and even country, whatever we think the crowd won't expect. To get started without a lot of time to tweaking (which was my case, audition for my band was 2 days after I received mine) do what I did: download as many profiles as you can and try them all till one or two catch your ear rather than spending hours tweaking something that wasn't great to begin with. Most patches sound like junk to me but keep looking and you'll find some great tones with the amps you want. Also make sure Space is at zero, you aren't clipping anywhere and try adding some Clarity from inside the amplifier section for high gain patches if it's mushy.


    good luck with your new toy!


    Tim

  • Had my KPA for about 4 months now and will never look back ( never thought I wouldn't miss my Triaxis rig). Took a few weeks to get my head around it and get some tones I liked. I found some Masotti profiles free here on the rig exchange that I absolutely love, I also use a TAF Big Twin, some Mesa Boogie profiles and even a Paisley patch that came stock. We play everything from rock, blues, metal, jazz and even country, whatever we think the crowd won't expect. To get started without a lot of time to tweaking (which was my case, audition for my band was 2 days after I received mine) do what I did: download as many profiles as you can and try them all till one or two catch your ear rather than spending hours tweaking something that wasn't great to begin with. Most patches sound like junk to me but keep looking and you'll find some great tones with the amps you want. Also make sure Space is at zero, you aren't clipping anywhere and try adding some Clarity from inside the amplifier section for high gain patches if it's mushy.


    good luck with your new toy!


    Tim

    Tim,


    Thank you for the input and tips. When you say make sure the "Space is at zero", what does that mean and where is this option?


    I know where the clarity option is... T


    Thanks again,
    Layne