Profiling Noisy Amps (with Sound Files)

    Audio Files at the end of post.


    Hello everyone, this is the finalized (as much as anything in audio can be called finalized) method I have discovered to take profiles of high gain amps that are too noisy for the Kemper to profile accurately. While it's a little bit more work, you can get profiles that are as accurate as any other.


    So, the main problem is that when an amp gets too noisy at high gain settings, the Kemper doesn't understand where the noise ends and the magic impulses it sends to the amp begin. The result is either a message warning you that the amp is too noisy or a mess of a profile, usually hyper compressed in the lows and completely unusable. As you back off the gain and take more profiles, you will eventually find a gain setting that allows for a good profile. Anything more than that and you start getting problems (low mid mayhem and compression are just the two main culprits, but the profile will be worthless and no amount of refining will help).


    So here is my suggestion so that you can "fool" the Kemper and take the profile anyway.


    1. Find the sound you want on your amp (see audio file Reference Amp) with the gain as high as you want to profile it. Don't worry about whether the Kemper will think it's too noisy. Set your amp's eq exactly as you like it at that gain setting.


    2. Try to profile the amp. If everything is peachy, then why are you reading this!!? :)


    3. If the profile is a mess (see audio file Original Kemper Profile), back off the gain gradually (make sure you are monitoring the amp). At a certain point you should hear a clear change in noise. Some upper range hiss is not a big deal. It's the lower "hum" that seems to drive the Kemper crazy. As you lower the gain, this hum will go away (most often, quite abruptly).
    OPTIONAL: take note of the Gain setting the Kemper provides (even though the profile is unusable). This will come in handy later.


    4. When you think the noise level is low enough, take another profile. If the profile sounds good, continue to step 5. If not, back off the gain a bit more and repeat until you get a good, dynamic profile.


    5. Now that you have a good profile, give it a short, standard refining pass if needed. Usually at higher gain settings I need to give it a brief refining pass to smooth everything out.


    6. Now, monitoring the amp, raise the gain to where you originally wanted it to be. Switch back and forth between Kemper and Amp and raise the gain on the Kemper until it matches the amp. Single notes sustaining or low string slight palm muting is what I use to match the perceived gain, but use what works best for you. It should become obvious with practice when the amp and the Kemper are matched.
    *If you wrote down the Gain setting from the OPTIONAL part of step 3, this will most likely be the correct setting, or at least get you very close.


    7. Now that the gain is matched you will notice that the amp and the profile sound considerably different. The Kemper's EQ doesn't respond the same as the amp as you raise the gain, harmonics and compression will be off, etc... So now...


    8. Refine again, and this time, depending on the amp, you will have to be smart about it. Definitely a bit of power chords on the lower strings, some dynamic playing on the lows, some higher chords... Do a few profiles and you will find what works best.


    9. All done! You should now have an accurate profile of the amp at the desired gain setting (see audio file Final Kemper Profile). The funny thing is, the noise level of the profile will be the same as the first profile you took at lower gain, so that's an added bonus!


    While not all profiles will come out perfect, I have found the success rate to be the same as any other amp/settings. I've tried with two amps that were giving me the "too noisy" warning (JCM2000 TSL100 and ENGL Fireball) and in both cases I had great results.


    I hope this helps you out if you've been having problems with the dreaded "source amp too noisy" warning.


    Happy Profiling!


    Andre


    Original Kemper Profile: https://mega.nz/#!lpFEGTgD!MNe…6Q8U3Wrug9xyy6HwzQvCSqstk


    Reference Amp: https://mega.nz/#!ct9hXJRT!pKx…c4qSC13GAo2PVzQf4N4YoH-yM


    Final Kemper Profile: https://mega.nz/#!o5kjgZza!LnR…SbQpMaLftRpZC894I6u4Eua2Q

    I have added audio files to the OP. I went for the most extreme noise I could get out of the JCM2000 I have sitting here. So the sound itself might not be mind blowing, but it does make a lot of noise! :)


    While I tried to make the profile as close as possible to the actual amp, I had to do all this quickly because the Marshall is going back to its owner in 5 minutes. As all profiles, it can of course be improved and made to sound indistinguishable from the amp.


    Hope this helps!

    Quote from CJGOMEZ

    Thanks for the ideas.

    you're welcome. There's an additional trick that I will add to the main post soon.


    To determine the right amount of gain to set the Kemper to, run a profile of the distorted amp (at the gain setting you wish to profile it). Even though the profile will sound like crap, as long as it goes through the Kemper will give you the right Gain amount on the gain knob. Make a note of that and you will know how to set the profile gain when refining.