Do cabinet IR's really make a difference?

    I too think that Kemper cabs sound in many cases better than IRs. Now if only somebody would make as extensive a library of pro level Kemper Cabs as Redwirez, Ownhammer or Celestion. Using good equipment, EQing out the extensive lows and highs etc.


    I once suggested Kevin at Ownhammer to make Kemper cabs, but he wasn't too excited about that, at least at that time.

    Quote from riplead

    ElDoca says earlier in this thread that 75% of the tones he gets from Rig Exchange are unusable.

    I still stand by that quote, but would also like to add that the ADA MP1 3TM profile by tomvonfantasy is my main rig and I got that free off the rig exchange. There are so many free profiles available, it can be a bit overwhelming. But, I've always been a gear whore so, to me, it's an absolute blast to go through all of them. My suggestion is to find the profile authors you like through the stock profiles available on the Kemper and the sample commercial profiles that are offered for free. Once you find an author you like, then you can start purchasing from them. When I first got my Kemper, I went on a purchasing rampage but soon learned there was really only one author that I used the most so a lot of money went wasted.

    Hey Tritium and fellow Kemper fans, thank you so much for all of this information. I've had my Kemper for quite some time now but was unaware of this feature. I keep saying I need to learn it better, but then I plug-in in my guitar and get transported to another space and time, lol. I'm gonna have to figure out how to do this. I'm sure this info must be available from one of the user's guides.

    Quote from riplead

    Hey Tritium, thank you so much for all of this information. I've had my Kemper for quite some time now but was unaware of this feature. I keep saying I need to learn it better, but then I plug-in in my guitar and get transported to another space and time, lol. I'm gonna have to figure out how to do this. I'm sure this info must be available from one of the user's guides.


    Hello @riplead,


    Yes indeed, I definitely recommend that every owner read the Kemper Reference Manual.


    The information you are looking for is found on pages 26 - 34 of the Reference Manual, in the section entitled "Working with Amplifier Profiles, Cabinet Profiles, Power Amps and Real Cabinets"


    The Kemper Reference Manual (v 5.0) can be found here :


    Deeper View and Reference Manual 5.1


    Cheers,
    John

    Celestion Greenback & Blue IRs are very well miked and work with many profiles. Kemper cab is great if you know how to mike to get a balanced sound, but unfortunately most of us don't, me included. Most of the IR's that I've tried sounded somewhat dull, but these celestions have saved a lot of ok marshall profiles :)

    Quote from Oraakkeli

    Celestion Greenback & Blue IRs are very well miked and work with many profiles. Kemper cab is great if you know how to mike to get a balanced sound, but unfortunately most of us don't, me included. Most of the IR's that I've tried sounded somewhat dull, but these celestions have saved a lot of ok marshall profiles :)

    Agreed.

    Never too old for rock'n'roll

    Well, as much as I love the diversity of all the Kemper profiles (cabs) I´ve either bought or got from the RE ...In 90% of the time I get better results replacing the cabs with my Ownhammer IR´s.
    I have a 4x12 Marshall, a Mesa 4x12, and a 1x12 Fender. These pretty much covers all my needs.


    IMHO the cab stands for at least 50% of the overall sound and I get so many consistent, good profiles, just by using these IR`s.

    Quote from Bysen

    Well, as much as I love the diversity of all the Kemper profiles (cabs) I´ve either bought or got from the RE ...In 90% of the time I get better results replacing the cabs with my Ownhammer IR´s.
    I have a 4x12 Marshall, a Mesa 4x12, and a 1x12 Fender. These pretty much covers all my needs.


    IMHO the cab stands for at least 50% of the overall sound and I get so many consistent, good profiles, just by using these IR`s.


    Have specifically tried copying a Cabinet from a good Merged Profile? If you haven't, give that a try. You might experience a revelation.

    Quote from Tritium

    Have specifically tried copying a Cabinet from a good Merged Profile? If you haven't, give that a try. You might experience a revelation.

    ive tried that from RE free and paid merged profiles from well know profilers around here, I still prefer the sound from my OH Mesa 412 IRs

    Finally found where my Celestion IR's shine...


    After using studio rigs for some time and swapping the cabs with good experiences but still pretty much the same effect, I thought it was time to try making a DI profile and see what I could get. I profiled my Fender '57 deluxe in DI format and did not do a merged cab with it. I then paired it with a Celestion IR with a open back 1x12 and the sound was an incredible recreation of my tube amp. The best part for me is that now when I switch to other styles and sizes of IR cabs, I can really hear the cab difference. So much more than before with studio profiles. It's like I actually have a guitar head and cabinet and not just a profile.


    Going to try making some more and see if I get the same result. But I am loving it right now.

    @drog A lot of people say that direct profiles are less accurate than studio profiles.


    Usually I see the same differences between doing direct or studio profiles. At times the direct profile will be way off though (like a totally different amp), where a studio one can still get closer. If direct does get close, it will be as close as studio ones of the amp, in my experience. I've done DI recorded tests, reamped, maybe 10-15 amps/set ups up to now, with the same consistent results, not considering the times when direct profiles were way off.


    I like direct profiles as well because they allow me to use any cab simulation I like in my daw. But I also think kemper is quite good when turning cabs off in studio profiles. I have not yet had a case where I felt that direct profile was closer to source than studio profile though.

    Till's cablab worked for me. Coupled with RZ direct profiles I've managed to while away many an hour getting some really great sounds..


    Bit of a time sponge but satisfying none the less - must get back to playing at some point!


    Si

    Quote from sambrox

    I've seen the opposite! People trying IRs and feeling that they sound flat and lifeless compared to the Kemper Cabs, though this has been when they've converted 3rd party IRs using Cabmaker.

    I've seen both. Some users of axe fx do this, they copy kemper cab into IR as they feel they are better (if we consider what's included in axe a "third party" IR, maybe not)


    I think some third party IRs fom different sellers are great. Definitely comparable to kemper. But I prefer many kemper cabs to what comes included in something like an axe fx (which to be fair, it's not like these profiles with great cabs come stock with kemper either).


    Cab emulation is a huge part of the sound imho. I will be doing tests using the kemper cab maker as well as applying same IR in DAW to see what happens. I have converted kemper cabs with much success to use in axe fx up to now, as well as applied third party IRs in daw, but not converted many IRs to use in kemper with direct profiles.

    Edited once, last by Dimi84 ().

    Oh well, an update on that. Just doing this quickly and paying close attention I can see kemper changes the cab IR tone to sound more like "kemper", if that makes sense. It's kind of similar to what I see with amp simulation it self.


    Previously my concern had been more about the amp simulation.


    I will conduct proper tests tomorrow and publish them on youtube when times allows, whatever they are. But this diverts too much from the OP topic, so I wont continue here :)


    Cheerios


    PS: of course cab maker may not be as good as kemper profiling an amp + cab. So this is more about cab maker.

    Edited once, last by Dimi84 ().

    Like 1

    As I have ventured into IRs lately I can say my experience varies with them and the Kemper but they can definitely work and bring out things that the original profile did not.


    If anyone would like to test please see attached here. This is part of my IR pack and the first one I shot of this speaker, it is a Celestion A Type.