Virtual Amps

    Hi there,


    i really like the Kemper and the comfort you get when using it live instead of a heavy tube-amp.
    But i have to admit, that i still find the handling of rigs and profiles a bit too bulky.
    It's not that i am not able to do what i want to do. But i have the feeling, that it could be easier.
    Here's what i thought of to handle it more like a simple tube amp:


    I would like to build a virtual amp inside my kemper.
    For example: I profile every of the four channels of my Engl Blackmore and combine or merge them to one Amp.
    So when i create a performance i do this:


    1. Load this amp into the amp-slot
    2. Open the amp-menu
    3. Select which channel i would like to activate


    In combination with that, it would be awesome to "link" this amp over multiple performances.
    So when you change the gain of channel 4 in one rig, every other rig that uses that amp will change too.


    I personally think, that many guitarists (like my father) know how good digital equipment can sound today but don't buy those things simply because of the complex structure of rigs/presets etc.
    I don't want to say, that the user infterface of the Kemper is not designed well, because the amp-like layout of the controls was one reason for me to buy it.
    But for me (!) it would make using the kemper easier or faster.
    I hope you can understand what i try to say :) (i'm not a native speaker).


    What do you think?


    Regards,
    LH

    Quote from Ingolf

    So what's the difference for you between selecting different channels of your 'virtual amp' and different profiles als per the Kemper paradigm?
    This is an honest question.


    especially if done in Performance mode.
    your amp has four channels? put a profile of each into the slots 1-4.
    this way you don't even have to press two buttons like in your example:
    "2. Open the amp-menu
    3. Select which channel i would like to activate"
    you just select the slot of the performance and bingo.

    The difference is simply in terms of organization and maybe tidiness.
    When i now go into the Amp-Setting of a Slot and search for a specific sound, then i have 'loose' profiles. There i have to search for the sound i want to have.
    With those 'virtual amps', i just have a few amps that i choose from, then i choose which channel i want to have. To me this feels more natural, as i normally would choose which amp i plug my guitar in and then which channel i want to play with.
    Also a 'channel' in this 'virtual amp' could just be a different setting of a single-channel amp. This way you have your different settings of one amp organized together and not in a big pool.
    I know, i could just delete all the profiles i don't use and just keep like 10 profiles, but those 'virtual amps' might as well be better to understand for people who are new to this digital world and make the step towards digital a lot easier.


    The other (maybe the main point for me) would be the link-function where this 'virtual amp' behaves like a real amp. That would mean, that when you change a parameter in one rig, not only this rig will change, but the whole 'virtual amp' that lays behind this. So you don't tweak one rig at a time but you tweak your 'virtual amp' that is used in that rig.
    I liked the sound i got from my analog amp. I just wanted to have something more portable and loaded with every effect i might need. So basically i would like the amp-part of the kemper to just behave like a normal amp. Or better: Like a bunch of normal amps.
    This way, the whole structure of performances would work like a midi-controlled multi-amp setup where you have a midi controller that selects the active amp and effects. The Amps themself always remain in the last tweaked setting no matter what preset you're in.
    In other words: the Amps and the Presets (Rigs) are independet from each other. You just choose which of your 'virtual amps' should be active in that particular rig.


    I don't want to say, that this is the ideal way, and those who use a lot of different profiles might not want to have this kind of organization, but i think it would make things a lot easier to understand for beginners.
    Does this make sense for you?
    Maybe i just like a tidy and organized system :D


    Regards,
    LH

    Quote

    put a profile of each into the slots 1-4


    This is actually the way i set up my kemper at the moment. And this would be the same when we had 'virtual amps'.
    The difference is the organization-system that lays behind that.


    BTW. Was that the correct way to cite??


    Regards,
    LH

    I appreciate the input, but in the 3.5 years the Profiler is out there in numbers, no request like this has been made - considering we have many users that were former die-hard tube fanatics unfamiliar and sometimes even unwilling ;) (at first) to give a digital amp a chance, that's saying something about the benefits of total recall.
    The Profiler's layout and structure is quite logical but you can of course use as little of it as you want:
    There are probably people out there that have only a handful of profiles on their machines - if you want those rigs to always represent your latest edits. simply store using 'replace' instead of 'save as'.

    All we really need is the ability to share entire Performance banks. Then you can do exactly what the OP wants - profile each channel of your amp, and have it available as a bundle on the Rig Manager. Type in "Engl Blackmore", double-click, and you've got the whole amp ready to go on your floorboard. Another great use for this, which plenty of people do on their own, is using a Performance bank for all the different tones you need in a given cover song. Being able to go on the Rig Manager, type in "Enter Sandman", and just double-click one thing to load all the patches up on your Kemper would be awesome.

    Well, Performance-Sharing would be cool, but that's not really what i had in mind.
    I already have a Performance where each of the slots represent a channel of one Amplifier.
    But i use some more Performances with the same amplifiers but with different effects for specific songs.
    Imagine it like this:
    Performance 1: Default (For normal songs)
    Performance 2: Specific for Song X
    Performance 3: Specific for Song Y
    and so on


    all of them have the same Amplifiers/Channels (Slot 1= Clean, Slot 2 = Crunch and so on)
    The Problem: If i am at the rehearsal and notice that i need a bit more volume on my high-gain "channel" i have to go through every performance and change the volume of Slot 5 (High-Gain "channel").
    Now if this would be seen as a 'virtual amp' that is not bound to a performance or rig but global, then i just tweak the amp (the high-gain channel in this case) in any performance that i like. In this case i would not be tweaking the RIG but the 'virtual amp' that lays globally behind this whole performance-organization (like in the example of the midi-controlled multi-amp setup).
    This way my Kemper would become a representation of an analog rig which has many effects and is controlled via a midi-switching-system.


    As a Multi-Amp setup it would look like this:
    Performance 1: Default (Blackmore)
    Performance 2: Specific for Song X (Blackmore)
    Performance 3: Specific for Song Y (Marshall)
    Performance 4: Specific for Song Z (Marshall)


    So you have different Amps but if you tweak the clean channel in performance 1 it will also change the clean channel of performance 2 (because it has the same 'virtual amp')
    When you tweak the crunch channel in performance 4 it would also change the crunch channel of performance 3 (and every other performance that uses this Marshall amp)


    I totally understand that this is just my personal opinion and that it does not make sense to change something like this when i am the only one who would like it.
    But i thought i might share my ideas if someone thinks the same way. And i just wanted to make sure you get my 'concept' right :)


    Regards,
    LH

    I had requested something like that when I first got the Kemper two years ago. In fact the lack of this feature was the one thing that almost kept me using my G-system with stomp OD's in it's four loops. That way, I could have several banks of effects and if I adjusted one overdrive pedal it would of course be adjusted in all the presets that used the loop it was connected.


    Perhaps instead the Kemper could have a lock function? yes it already does but consider another way. Suppose you could lock the amp block, but separately for each slot in a performance? that way, if you had a crunch sound in say slot four of each performance, any tweaking you did to the amp block in slot four would be the same as you banked through performances. And then did the same thing for the other slots. (or other features such as what was in an effects slot.) This of course, would introduce other inconveniences.


    A better option is this: Instead of dialing in a particular amp in the amp block section, the ability to dial up a "Live amp one" perhaps the Kemper could allow a certain number of live amp numbers, such as live amp 1, live amp 2, live amp 3.... and so on. Then you can assign a certain amp with the designation of live amp 1. Then all your performance slots that use live amp 1 will reflect any changes that you make to the actual amp profile. So if you decide to bump up the mids on your "Marsh 800 BM" profile, if you give the Marsh 800 BM profile the designation of being "live amp 1", you can make the adjustment once. then if I'm in the amp blocks of a half dozen slots in different performances are set to "live amp 1" I can make adjustments to all of them by making the adjustment to one profile.


    However, for my uses I've found that all of this complexity might be more trouble than it's worth. I'm at a point where I've really committed to four basic tones, each with a stomp OD that can also be engaged, and for the time being I'm done tweaking or searching for a better sound. Any adjustments I might need to make would be overall room adjustments that could always be made with the global EQ. If I decide that my crunch sound in slot four needs adjustment, I can do so, copy the amp block, and paste in a couple more locations and hit save pretty quickly. In fact, in about 30 seconds I could copy and paste and save in three additional slots.

    Quote from Grooguit

    Perhaps instead the Kemper could have a lock function? yes it already does but consider another way. Suppose you could lock the amp block, but separately for each slot in a performance? that way, if you had a crunch sound in say slot four of each performance, any tweaking you did to the amp block in slot four would be the same as you banked through performances. And then did the same thing for the other slots. (or other features such as what was in an effects slot.)


    That would be great as well. I actually thought of this 'workaround', too.
    You would have to stick to your 5 sounds, but that would be totaly fine for me. If this Lock-Feature would be possible i would be really glad :thumbup:
    I don't really know how difficult it is to implement such a feature.


    Quote from Grooguit

    A better option is this: Instead of dialing in a particular amp in the amp block section, the ability to dial up a "Live amp one" perhaps the Kemper could allow a certain number of live amp numbers, such as live amp 1, live amp 2, live amp 3.... and so on. Then you can assign a certain amp with the designation of live amp 1. Then all your performance slots that use live amp 1 will reflect any changes that you make to the actual amp profile. So if you decide to bump up the mids on your "Marsh 800 BM" profile, if you give the Marsh 800 BM profile the designation of being "live amp 1", you can make the adjustment once. then if I'm in the amp blocks of a half dozen slots in different performances are set to "live amp 1" I can make adjustments to all of them by making the adjustment to one profile.


    That is very similar to what i had in mind with the 'virtual amps' :)
    It would be the luxury-version, and i think much more complicated to do ?(
    But it would be very sweet to have that feature.
    I'm glad, that i am not the only one :thumbup:


    Regards,
    LH