This is a derivative of the "what pickup do you use" thread.
I'm always wondering what pickups I'd like to put into one of my guitars with EMGs. Not terribly unhappy with actives, but I prefer passives. I'm sure a lot of users would have opinions, but these are very subjective.
Audio clips, on the other hand, should be objective, but often aren't
With most audio/video clips demonstrating pickups, we have very little information, and the actual sound is usually masked by the playing, the amp settings used, the guitar used, the processing done to the clip, etc.
With the Kemper though, we could standardise almost all factors involved. I thought this would be an interesting way for people to choose pickups for their guitar, based on how they sound with easily available Kemper profiles - one clean, one medium gain and one high gain.
What we need to do is basically standardise the test as far as possible.
We could have the following heads when we post a clip:
1) Pickup used
2) Pickup type (single/humbucker/multi)
3) Pickup position (bridge/neck)
4) Guitar scale length
5) Neck (Bolt-on, through, set neck)
And we run this guitar and pup combination through a clean rig, crunch, and a dirty rig, without effects or any tweaks. Has to be standard profiles that anyone can access so that we have comparable results.
Now, all of us know the debate about tone being in the fingers. In order to eliminate the possibility that some of our esteemed members' playing overshadows the sound of the pickups, I suggest that we have an agreed series of chords and notes played in order to best audition the pickup.
For example, we could first play standard major chords from C to B, then play power chords from C to C+1. We could then have the pentatonic scale at the 12th fret as a demonstration of single note sounds. As opposed to fast and fluid playing, the idea should be to let each chord and note ring out.
Of course, it would be very kind if a user over-and-above this test also provides a separate clip of the pickup being really played
Does anyone have any other suggestions of how we could standardise this process? Once we have done so, I can start with clips for the EMG81 at bridge, EMG85 at neck, Bill Lawrence L500XL at bridge and Bill Lawrence L500R at neck.
I'd also like to know whether you guys think about the idea of including the sound of pickups when blended, i.e. with the selector switch in a middle position. Do you think this is feasible? I'm thinking, hell yes, I want to know as much as I can about a pickup before I plonk money down.
I think this could be a very valuable resource. Most pickup demonstrations at the neck vary in terms of the guitar, the playing, the amp and settings used, etc.
With the Profiler, we could narrow those differences down once we pick the profiles that we will use, e.g. ensure that the rig and main volume of the profile are set to 50, output set at a fixed level (easily done with SPDIF set at say 0), no processing of any kind, including limiting.
Of course, we will have some differences other than the aforementioned "finger tone", such as the quality of AD converters used. But I think these will be negligible.
I'm hoping others see this as a good idea like I do, if everyone showcases one or two pickups, it will be a cinch for members to choose pickups to go with their Kemper, or for any other amp too!
This has the potential to be a resource not just for Kemperphiles, but anyone who's looking for a pickup due to the standardisation of the procedure.
Before we get started, the nitty gritty:
A) Which profiles for clean, medium gain and high gain?
B) What should be played to demonstrate the pickup?
What a long post haha!