Fender Sparkle

  • So I went to the store today to try a few tube amps and see if I'm missin anything since I got my Kemper.
    I tried a Fender deluxe and the sparkling cleans are just amazing. I've never come close to these kind of tones with my Kemper and FRFR.
    So here are my questions:
    - has anyone gotten these kind of Fender clean tones with frfr ?
    - would I get better results (or even similar tones) with a power amp and cab, and DI profiles?
    - could it be linked to the spring reverb?
    Thanks


    ++

  • You can try the Pure Cab functionality in 3.1.2 beta - that might help you out a bit.


    The biggest problem, though, is even the best mic'd Fender amp profile... is still mic'd. A direct profile is going to give you the amp portion of the equation, but the cab, speakers, and all the other influences that hit our ears with a live amp just won't sound quite the same with a different housing and different speakers.


    Another option would be to look into some paid profile companies, like Pete's Profiles, Soundside.de, M. Britt, etc. and see if you can find a Deluxe sound that meets your needs.


    As far as reverb is considered, it certainly adds space and depth to a sound. I personally don't like Fender's reverb tanks, but they're good, and it probably added a degree of "shimmer" to the sound. I don't think that is what made the amp have the tone that you liked, but it probably helped shape the space of the tone.


    Finally, consider your input sense/distortion sense settings. You may have them up too high if you're getting too gainy of a sound.

    Guitars: Parker Fly Mojo Flame, Ibanez RG7620 7-string, Legator Ninja 8-string, Fender Strat & Tele, Breedlove Pro C25
    Pedalboard: Templeboards Trio 43, Mission VM-1, Morley Bad Horsie, RJM Mini Effect Gizmo, 6 Degrees FX Sally Drive, Foxpedals The City, Addrock Ol' Yeller, RJM MMGT/22, Mission RJM EP-1, Strymon Timeline + BigSky
    Stack: Furman PL-Plus C, Kemper Rack

  • Pure Cab is in 3.0 as well.
    as for the reverb... I'd definitely try an amp with no reverb: it's the only way to determine whether it's important for you.
    Anyway, you can also try your Profiler in the return of a SS amp and see how you like the outcome :)

  • Andy (The Amp Factory) has some great Fenders that make me not miss my old long-term loaned 1967 Fender Super Reverb, which had that famous sparkle in spades. Pete (Pete's Profiles) has a Twin that also loves my coil-tapped PRS Starla and gives me those great surf tones. It all depends on what you're monitoring through, though (I generally use a real cab live).

  • Lots of very good Fender profiles .....
    ...but really great Fender profile with that famous "Fender Sparkle " (as OP mentioned very well) still has to come .


    I think this is still an open challenge .


    C'mmon guys , nail it once for ever !

    1988 Branko Radulovic Hand Made Strat in Macedonia (SFRJ)

    2006 Steve Vai vwh moded with SS frets and Sustainac 2006 (Japan)

    2008 Fender YJM , moded (USA)

    2010 Tom Andersons Drop Top 2010 (made in California)

    2017 Charvel GG sig Caramelised Ash (USA)

    2022 Gibson ES 335 2011 Custom Shop Cherry of course ( Memphis)

  • Hey
    Thanks guys for your answers.
    dougc84, I'm using 3.1 (and tried the pure cab previously in the artist mod), but I don't think it would make any difference to get closer to that tone)
    Yes I've tried lots and lots of paid profiles. I actually have lots of clean Fender profiles which I love, but I now realize they're far from the real thing.
    (That said, I didn't really like the gain channel on this amp, and think I can get much better distorted tones with my kpa)
    To answer the other questions, I'm using a pair of 8 inch Prodipe monitors / a HK Elements PA / a PE60 with a beyma 12ga50 (I know it's not frfr but that's what gives me the best tone and feel)
    Sam, I'll try your suggestions, thanks.
    Rescator, I agree with you !


    Finally, did any user on this forum try 3.0 direct amp profiles of their Fender and do a side by side comparison through the same cab? How close are they? (well the question is valid for other amps as well)


    (I've just ordered a cab, and will be getting a power amp soon, I've only been using the Kemper with frfr so far, but I'm really curious to try with a cab)
    Cheers

  • Here's the best I've gotten, using one of the TAF '59 Tweed Pro w/Jensen 2x12 profiles:


    External Content soundcloud.com
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

  • In any gig the signal that comes from a FOH speaker setup is never the same as standing beside the actual amp anyway as all of the elements ( e.g. - mic,desk, cables, PA eq & effects in loops etc...) will have an impact on the sound. In my opinion, the Kemper could never really give you that exact sound as there are too many potential variables that the ear takes into account ( distance from cab , floor finish, shape of room etc... ).

  • I do not agree .
    There is dozen if not more of profiles of amps other than Fender which are ,to my ear, 100% like an original miced valve amp .
    Played through real amp head and real cabinet , they are even more than 100% (if that's possible) like a real amp .


    That is why I own Kemper , and will never sell it period!


    But no any Fender amp profile is even close to that (ok, as I said, there are lots of good ones, but not jaw drop ones)



    What is a problem in profiling Fender amps and catching that specific sparkle ?


    This is the right question and our focus ,instead to defend something which cannot be defended.

    1988 Branko Radulovic Hand Made Strat in Macedonia (SFRJ)

    2006 Steve Vai vwh moded with SS frets and Sustainac 2006 (Japan)

    2008 Fender YJM , moded (USA)

    2010 Tom Andersons Drop Top 2010 (made in California)

    2017 Charvel GG sig Caramelised Ash (USA)

    2022 Gibson ES 335 2011 Custom Shop Cherry of course ( Memphis)

  • This is the same question that I had when I first started using the Kemper. basically you're trying to get the "amp in the room' sound with FRFR. while others managed to get the feel of a guitar cab with CLRs and other FR cabs I couldn't do it. so I had to re-learn how to listen to a mic'ed guitar.
    for me, the best way is to demo a rig in a musical context. If a certain rig doesn't offer you the sparkle by itself, try playing the same rig with a backing track and maybe record yourself.
    sometimes you demo a rig and it sounds bad, but if you record yourself and get back to it later( several days or even weeks) it will sound totally different, maybe you even start to like it.


  • Rescator, I'm not trying to defend anything ....I am simply stating that there are a LOT of variables which have an impact on how something sounds that are outside the control of a guitar head and cab itself. Similarly , there are a lot of parameters within the Kemper that impact on each profile .
    When I play country I use some of TAF's Old Fender profiles ( I tweak the treble a bit ) and they work great for my ears.

    Edited once, last by Robman ().

  • Having watched all the TAF videos, I can honestly say that Andy seems to have captured the sparkle of many an amp very, very nicely.


    I've noticed from said videos that the TAF profiles seem to be accurate across the frequency spectrum, and that they're essentially phase-free.