Free vs Commercial rigs

    I imagine this has been discussed somewhere on here before but I have been doing a LOT of reading and posting in the last 2 weeks, so much so I am getting headaches at times. I have taken a bit of time off. A holiday if you will.


    The release of the remote has lined up with my extra time so I have been catching up with all things Kemper.


    Anyway, I have wondered exactly what the differences are with the two options for getting new rigs and how they are created. So far I have only used the free ones.
    Not because I am cheap but because I have found some really good ones that I like. But now I would like to see what the other side has to offer.


    Is the difference being more or less a professional sound environment with Pro equipment and Pro knowledge as opposed to Billy doing it in his basement with a Radio Shack mic?
    Or is it pot luck and there are some generous Pros giving away his for free and some who do not?


    Is there post processing involved on some?


    I am asking because I am considering looking into maybe purchasing some.
    I just don't want to waste my time and money if I will just end up with the same tones I can get on the exchange. The same tones that have been repeated and beat to death.


    Don't get me wrong, there are some really good ones and I truly appreciate their work but there are A LOT of them that sound the same.


    Are there some commercial ones that stand out much more than your average free rigs? Are they going the extra mile?


    What I would really like is to get ones that are matched to certain bands, songs, or albums.
    I like classic rock. Hard rock. Heavy metal. 80s bands. Yes the hair bands, My generation.


    In general, can I see a big difference between the two?


    I have listened to some but I wonder what I will get on my end with my guitars and their tones. I am using Adam studio speakers so I am guessing I will be keeping pretty close to the original sound except for the guitar colorings.

    Quote

    In general, can I see a big difference between the two?


    many vendors provides free profiles, simply compare with others from RE and you get answer. But....


    IMO, NO! :D


    Stay Metal!

    Quote from Inthrutheout

    Bummer.
    I was hoping for a.......... Hell Yeah!
    You dont know what your missing.
    If you think the free ones are awesome, wait till you wrap your ears around some mersh stuff!


    It's simple - people still need to believe in something, better guitar, better amp, Kemper :D , profiles, - it's just a tool - it all depends on you :thumbup: sory!.


    Stay Metal!

    In my experience lots of free profiles are not really done in a professional way, and getting good results isn't easy and takes quite some effort. (I know that and I am NOT good at profiling).
    That said, there are also quite some gems on the RE, too. You only have to Wade through lots of stuff to find them.
    Commercial profiles OTOH generally are done way more professionally and it's only a question if they are to your liking or not.

    Commercial does not mean better. Of course most commercial vendors have access to nice rooms, mics, pres and more importantly simply have more experience than most non commercial profilers. BUT. Sometimes luck beats experience or (or fresh ears beat "wrong" experience). There are some very very nice free profiles out there for every taste. And as SinMix states, some commercial vendors even have some freebies that give you a little taste.
    Good free ones are from Deadlight Studio, Kosten, Lasse Lammert, r.u.sirius... just to name a few. And only because someone does "studio work" for a quarter century it does turn a shitty profile into a glorious one. You can do garbage a very very long time without anybody noticing.

    Sometimes its only:

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    :D


    Stay Metal!

    ha...this thread has some interesting replies....




    Commercial profiles are much better, atleast the percentage is much better, it really is that simple. I use basically no free profiles, except maybe one or two (stratabuse 59 tweed is excellent) and quite honestly really only use one commercial vendor as of lately, as far as live use is concerned that is (mbritt profiles). Your ears over time will get used to what works and what doesn't in your mixes or your live sounds: Given that you are now listening to the sound of an amp underneath a mic, your ear will become more accustomed to that, and you will eventually learn what actually works for you going out to the FOH (live) or in your mixes)....The reality is the commercial profiles in general are much better: the guys that have been around awhile atleast. There have been some fly by night commercial profilers come about to, and in my opinion alot of them are pure crap, and actually kind of tick me off as some have no business making money off of their "commercial professional profiles"....right....Stick to the known guys and see what you like : TAF, sinmix (for high gain), soundside (not really a fan of most of his but he does have some real gems) pete turley has some good ones that some people like. But some of the best out according to A LOT of people, both professional musicians and bedroom guys have been Michael Britts profiles. A wide array of tones and amps covered. Not hard to find any info about these on the net or using google.

    My take on this is that you will find a commercial seller/sellers that works for you. I've never done one profile because I know it takes a lot of time to profile and amp correctly and time I don't have to much of. I have been through the RE quite a few times and like Ingolf mentioned there are some Gems in there you just have to find them member like Djemass have done some great profiles. My concesus is I prefer commercial profiles but not all of them there have been a few that I've haven't thought werent any good. There are profiles from Andy at TAF in some of the Kemper rig packs and the new pack which is coming will have profiles from TAF, Michael Wagner and M Britt so this might prove good for you
    For me Andy hits the spot with how I like a profile to sound and his profiles are very professional so I have stuck with him when buying profiles. I would buy a few from different sellers and see what you think I'm sure you will find a seller or sellers that give you what you want from a profile and then you will be able to make your own mind up if commercial or free profiles are better

    Allrighty then..........


    I guess I am where I started.


    So basically it is like I thought all along. It is pot luck on both sides.
    To pay or not to pay....that is the question.


    I guess I will try for a couple in my genre that people really rave about and leave it at that. I have quite a few that I use now that are great.


    I was just checking to see if I was missing something all this time.


    Thanks guys.

    First question is - you are playing in a band or only by yourself?
    In my opinion the commercial one's is created with some sound engendering knowledge - where to put the guitar in the sound scene with other instruments.
    But if you want play only with you headphones - stick with the free profiles.
    Sometimes guitar sounds amazing solo - but in the mix it has to be filtered , cut off'ed from some undesired mix frequencies.
    It's always depends what do you want to achieve.

    I play for me and my cat. I am not a musician, my cat will attest to that.
    I have been playing off and on since the 80s. More off then on.


    Oddly enough I have progressed more since I bought the Kemper than ever before.
    I know that equipment does not make a musician but it definitely can help.


    I now have decent guitars and the Kemper and I enjoy playing way more than I ever have.

    Quote from Inthrutheout

    I play for me and my cat. I am not a musician, my cat will attest to that.
    I have been playing off and on since the 80s. More off then on.


    Oddly enough I have progressed more since I bought the Kemper than ever before.
    I know that equipment does not make a musician but it definitely can help.


    I now have decent guitars and the Kemper and I enjoy playing way more than I ever have.


    I have a similar story. Except the cat. What you and your cat are doing is called "Parallel Play"
    I have a dog. When I play, the dog runs away. That means I'm making sinmix proud!

    inthrutheout,
    Take the latest pack from Kemper that is the 10 TAF profiles. Play them.


    Then play a bunch from the Free Exchange.
    If you think the Free Exchange profiles easily compete with what you are hearing from TAF's selection,
    then don't buy commercial profiles.


    Simple as that.

    I play in a couple of cover bands, playing everything from I saw her standing there to Godsmack . I use a few free profiles , a couple of Kemper factory , and several commercial. I find that in general the commercial profiles just sit better in the mix, especially at stage volume. Just my 2 cents. I usually allways try out new profiles slightly cranked with a backing track just to get a feel of how they'll sound out front

    Quote from db9091

    inthrutheout,
    Take the latest pack from Kemper that is the 10 TAF profiles. Play them.


    Then play a bunch from the Free Exchange.
    If you think the Free Exchange profiles easily compete with what you are hearing from TAF's selection,
    then don't buy commercial profiles.


    Simple as that.


    I have a couple TAF profiles already but most of those 10 did not do it for me.