Interesting video where they test the kemper and say its missing the first harmonic in the distortion spectrum

    I actually sold my Kemper and re-bought it simply because there was this heavy grind I was looking to get that I couldn't with profiles. I realised after selling it that it's the best thing out there, 90% but not perfect. Still obviously an amazing bit of kit.


    I'm about to take delivery of a Strymon Deco tape saturation plugin, that they told me will add lower harmonics to a higher gain sound?? Not sure if anyone has experimented with that or if it's relevant to what is being discussed here.

    Quote from Chargrilled

    I
    I'm about to take delivery of a Strymon Deco tape saturation plugin, that they told me will add lower harmonics to a higher gain sound?? Not sure if anyone has experimented with that or if it's relevant to what is being discussed here.


    It is for sure irrelevant regarding the discussed topic.
    (IMHO the discussed topic itself is irrelevant as well. :whistling: )

    fast forward to 4:16


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    • If there are people who listen music by eyes then sell your Kempers.
    • For rest of us who listen music by ears ... you already know what I mean.

    :)

    Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear but forgetting where you heard it.
    Laurence J. Peter

    Like 6

    Reading Mr CK's German to broken English translation really puts this video into perspective.


    They're only monitoring the peaks in the waveform. Also, by using tube shape controls, this "visual" shortcoming is not much of an issue with the Kemper either.


    Still, it is perhaps a reminder to our profilers, both free and commercial, that in case a profile is not sounding exactly like the amplifier, minor tweaks can and should be applied so that end users get a "more accurate" representation of the amplifier.

    Quote from Sharry

    What do you mean with broken english?
    :D


    Oh, I was referring to this one that you posted :D


    Hey, apologies if it sounded like I was taking a dig at you, I know English is probably not the first language of a lot of users on these forums. I was merely referring to the Google Translate version of Mr CK's comments, those always sound like "broken English" on translation. By that I mean tenses are not correct, nor is grammar, though it usually is a simple matter of deciphering their intent.


    My second language is English, as a matter of fact! Not a native speaker!

    Geez, I'd never have guessed mate; you speak better than most Aussies. Then again, practically everyone speaks better than most Aussies... and Brits...


    Harry, I think the comment was fair enough; nightlight was just being descriptive and accurate, and I'm absolutely sure no harm or offence was intended.

    It's OK . It did not harm me personal.
    Just thought, it's not necessary to point out for other peoples lack of language skills.
    I would also not like to read if it's adressed to other.

    I recently did some profiling of my amp collection and I can honestly say when I A-B'd the Kemper profile from the original amps I could not reliably tell the difference. I recorded a section from both and on playback there's no discernible difference if the levels are matched.


    I have a good studio with $10,000 monitors so I can trust what I'm hearing. I'm yet to try profiling without a speaker but I will in time. I'm not sure how useful that would be to me in the studio.



    Anyway, just adding to the view that you ears should be the final judge.


    Marcus

    Very interesting topic. Will try to check this with my amp.


    But I disagree with statement "If it sounds good - it is good". It all depends on how do you listen. Profile may sound great in isolation, but in the mix it will loose bite or definition or thickness.


    As for the first harmonic - it is an octave of the main pitch and lack of 1st harmonic will probably won't change the sound too much. However it affects the thickness of the sound and that can be heard in the mix.

    Yes,, but my point was if you can't hear a difference to the original amp then you won't have a problem with the profiled sound. You'll have the same issues in a mix with the original amp sound. The profile is only as good as the mic'd amp sound and if that isn't right then the profile won't be right and you'll have the same issues with a real amp/speaker.




    I'm sure Michael Wagener and Andy Sneap have used their very discernible ears on this matter and they've not got issues.




    I'm no Kemper fan boy , but when I A-B'd my first profiling session here in my studio I couldn't tell the difference between the recorded amp signal and the Kemper one. To put this into perspective I spend my days mixing records for people for a living so my ears must be pretty good.


    Is it perfect? No....... but I doubt the subtle differences would make any difference in a mix , once EQ, compression, reverb, delay, automation etc etc has been added , as would be to a regular recorded guitar track.


    MC

    Quote from norburybrook

    when I A-B'd my first profiling session here in my studio I couldn't tell the difference between the recorded amp signal and the Kemper one.


    Is it perfect? No...


    Just out of curiosity, I can't seem to be able to put these two sentences together!
    Would you mind elaborating?
    :)

    Quote from norburybrook

    Yes,, but my point was if you can't hear a difference to the original amp then you won't have a problem with the profiled sound.


    Here is the thing. It all depends on how you listen to it. There are lots of factors:
    - profile in isolation or in the mix. it happens even with the real amps. something that sounds good alone does not sound good in the mix. certain frequencies can be masked in the mix making midrange more prominent and then you can hear the difference you never heard in the profile in isolation.
    - volume level. certain frequencies are perceived differently at different volume level.
    Hearing is very subjective


    I am not saying that Kemper does bad job at profiling. I am just interested how different the result from the real amp.

    Quote from norburybrook

    I'm yet to try profiling without a speaker but I will in time. I'm not sure how useful that would be to me in the studio.


    Marcus


    Marcus, did you mean to say..."profiling without a microphone". In other words, when making a Direct Amp (DA) profile.


    Please note that when making a DA profile, even though there is no microphone involved, you should always have your reference amp connected to the reference speaker cabinet (via a suitable DI box). This is not simply to ensure the tube amp sees a proper speaker load...but also to ensure that the complex amp/speaker impedance interactions are captured by the KPA during the profiling process.


    Cheers,
    John