M Britt Kemper Profiles

    @lonestargtr - Mike, you have my vote to keep doing it like you have been. I think when things settle down and everyone's ears agree that merged = studio profiles, adding some merged profiles would open the sonic palette for some. I find myself liking and using +80% of your profiles. I'm most interested in profiles that sound good to my ears, not necessarily true to the sound of the original amp. Therefore, the speakers you have been using are obviously working for me. I do think that some speaker variety, either through the profiling process or switching cabs (merged profiles), could be enjoyable as well. Thanks for your efforts and great profiles.

    Hello Michael,
    I would greatly appreciate DI versions of each amp in the future.
    In my experience it's easy to do since there's no microphone to deal with.
    I have become proficient miking my own cabs with R121/SM57 or MD421 combinations.
    I have a Wharehouse speaker I really like lately...
    I'd like to be able to use my cabs along with your great amps, which I'm already doing.
    I have found that some amp/cab combinations work really well while others don't
    With firmware 3.0 I think the results will be better than ever.
    On gigs I've been using monitor cab off to my amps and cab on to the FOH.
    I don't mic amps onstage... I depend on whatever the backline company has for amps which can be bad.


    Thanks for your participation on this forum!
    Emilio

    Hi Mike,
    You certainly have my vote on sound aesthetics regarding the sound of the amps you're profiling with the cab you're using.
    I'm really digging your profiles to the extent that now 90% of the rigs I'm using are made from your profile packs with very few tweaks.


    Thanks for your great ear, taste and choice - looking forward to your future packs.


    All the Best,
    Wolf

    It seems to me that if he provides DI profiles that should solve the problem since then you can add any cab you want to try on it via FW 3.0? Am I missing something? Or just let users do that themselves with Merged profiles....

    The difficulty of merged profiles is they are only useful to you IF you have the exact same cabinet for your on-stage usage.


    Since most people may use differing cabs, I don't see where Michael can make useful Merged profiles is there isn't a consensus on what on-stage cab most people will be using.


    Maybe for something like the Marshall 800 and it's 1960A cabinet this would be perfect. So I could see Michael doing on-off's for such situations. But if he uses the British speakers and you have the Chinese ones, ain't gonna work right.


    See what I mean?


    I see what you mean but... You can still use a DI profile or Merged (with cab off) out to a cab correct? Whether it sounds good or not depends on the cab / speakers you are sending it to. Maybe I'm heading into the confused bunch too. I have a Mesa 2x12 recto and also use FRFR with Bx8's so just trying to clarify my options. Sorry if I don't have a grasp on all this yet.

    db9091 hit the nail on the head, at least for me. One of the biggest reasons I love the KPA is because it removes variables. I don't have to mess with mic placement every day or worry about different amp volumes matching level or even if tubes are going bad or speakers dying. Introducing variables like playing through different cabs than what was profiled will yield unpredictable results and it's hard to put my name on something when I don't know what the finished product is going to sound like. Anyone can run an amp head into a DI and maybe that's good for a bunch of players, but my main focus is finished product. What is my guitar going so sound like coming through the p.a. or in the recorded mix? I can see how having the merged profiles would work great for at-home players or people who don't use monitor systems onstage but how I tweak an amp for my cabinet may not sound right when used with a closed back 412 or with alnico speakers, etc.


    Just today I have been profiling and getting some decent merged profiles and they are getting much closer with the newest revisions to the studio profiles, but when I a/b them I still prefer the sound of the studio profiles. That is not to say that those who want the in-the-room amp sound of a DI profile wouldn't like those better but I just think the finished product on the studio profiles sounds better. Going back and doing merged versions of past profiles I've done would be impossible as many of those amps are long gone or unavailable to me. I'll try to get some merged profiles of some of the amps in the future but I still prefer my main focus to be studio type profiles that can be incorporated seamlessly into a live or studio situation. Everyone's favorite speaker cabinet may be different so maybe the RE is a good place for the DI profiles of the world since it's not so dependent upon mic blend/placement etc?


    Just my thoughts




    Quote from Zapman


    I see what you mean but... You can still use a DI profile or Merged (with cab off) out to a cab correct? Whether it sounds good or not depends on the cab / speakers you are sending it to. Maybe I'm heading into the confused bunch too. I have a Mesa 2x12 recto and also use FRFR with Bx8's so just trying to clarify my options. Sorry if I don't have a grasp on all this yet.


    This is correct. I could see some wanting them all to be Merged because they would all have the ideal Separation between Amp/Cab. But I haven't read of many here who actually do a lot of cab swapping. I find the full rig and roll with it.


    At issue is Michaels comfort with the results. He's said he didn't like HIS results doing Merged, so if that's not up to his standards, he's not going to do it, I suspect.

    Perfectly put. I've only done a DSL and a Budda with direct/merged and I easily prefer the sound of the studio profiles through my guitar cabs. Not sure what it is but something is missing to my ears. I'm thinking when you find that sweet spot with studio profiles it's a combination of the amp, cabinet, mics and even mic pres, console or even compressors that may be used to get that sound. It adds something to the sound to my ears that direct profiles don't. The other problem I've run into is yes, the direct can sound just like the head but the power will be different that you may be using and that changes the sound to my ears as well. I had to turn the kemper's volume up pretty high to even get close to the Budda's volume to make the profile sound more like the amp.

    (Paraphrasing)
    "Hey Michael, your amps sound amazing. I've purchased amps from all the biggies, Soundside, TAF, Top Jimmy, etc. Your's blows away all the other guys. Could you please start doing it like the other guys?"


    Makes no sense to me. Just keep doing what you're doing, and let the other dozen guys do what they're doing. Thanks for all the great sounds.

    [Chantysboy7 - man, can that cat play!!] :thumbup:



    (I also agree 100% with your comments). Michael, I've found I've been using more and more of your profiles of late. One of my bands is doing more modern country covers and your Mesa Lonestar really works well with Tim McGraw, Keith Urban stuff. So thanks once again for all your hard work. And I hope your stones have all left the building for good!

    Gary ô¿ô

    Like 1

    I didn't know there was an audible difference in sound between merged and studio. But say they fix the issues, then I see no reason for not doing merged profiles all the time, since you still get the admittedly great MBritt sound, and can also use the "head" with your own speaker cabinets.
    As for each profile depending on the cabinet and mic in use, I agree. But this happens also depending on what guitar you use, but your profiles are still very useful after some tweaking. So if Kemper get to the point of having merged to be completely faithful to the studio profiles, then merged will simply be more of a good thing.

    Quote from chantysboy7

    (Paraphrasing)
    "Hey Michael, your amps sound amazing. I've purchased amps from all the biggies, Soundside, TAF, Top Jimmy, etc. Your's blows away all the other guys. Could you please start doing it like the other guys?"


    Makes no sense to me. Just keep doing what you're doing, and let the other dozen guys do what they're doing. Thanks for all the great sounds.


    Ha ha! Funny stuff! I totally agree with the theory of what you are saying but my suggestion was only to offer more tonal frontiers to explore. In my opinion Michaels strength is in his aesthetic i.e. I want HIS version of a Vox with a celestion blue (for example). Michael will do what Michael will do and I will happily buy his next pack but this is a forum in which we can make suggestions and be part of the process. Its fun... and now I'm done : )

    Quote from db9091

    The difficulty of merged profiles is they are only useful to you IF you have the exact same cabinet for your on-stage usage.


    Really? I also believe(d) that swapping cabs among profiles would give more realistic results on linear audio systems.


    On a side note, as I see it and apart from any bug in the implementation, a merged profile wouldn't sound like the related studio profile only if the profiler can' present the power amp a coherent load (phase-impedance graphic all over the spectrum).


    If the above mentioned values are different from what the power amp sees when profiling the whole chain, merging will sound differently regardless how accurate the algorithm is.


    You may be right in many terms, but merged profiles give you the opportunity to use another cab in the profile. So you are either able to use different cabs inside the kemper, if you like them more or you can even profile the cab you are using on stage and use it with the merged profile.
    I haven't tried this yet but if it sounds good, it would be great for people with their own cabs , either for using DI profiles with just their cab or using merged profiles to send to FOH.

    Yeah I wrote that a bit hastily but followed up with "I could see some wanting them all to be Merged because they would all have the ideal Separation between Amp/Cab" since I know some of you do like cab swapping and the extra "authenticity" of a clear cut separation would be compelling.


    But I also think that's in the minority of users. With 10,000+ profiles, cab swapping is more for those seeking new tones than replicating known ones.


    Tracking which is and isn't is something I'd like to know more about.