every high gain amp sounds the same

  • I find , I can't vary the gain on the kemper more than a couple of notches before it starts to sound " unnatural " [ you can get away with more down than up ] and the high frequencies
    of the distortions starts to sound the same , I think you need to pick a profile as close to what you want from the start and the less you need to tweak , the better .
    varying the gain on a pedal , or your guitar , for me works better than using the gain knob.

  • Is this normal but i found that every high gain amp sounds quite the same . I always end with the same tone. :S

    I usually end up with the same tone since around 1993, no matter if I use JCM800 or SLO100 or anything in-between. It's just what I like (I also use the same cab over and over) - many people will dial the same tone no matter what amp is.. Amp is probably about 5th on the list when it comes to high distorted tone. Your choice of pick will affect it more, major factor is the cab, mic and mic placement (if you record it). It will feel very different depends on the amp though.

  • that's part of the Emperors new clothes in the kemper , it's great that you can profile not only your amp but the mic & preamp as well, but
    once that's in the kemper , the tone controls are post profile and not part of the amp, you're using the same tone controls on every profile so,
    of course there's going to be common ground , in a good sense like being mastered at the same place, in a lower sense like using the same amp
    every time. there's definite circuit differences in many amps though mitigated by heavy distortion [ square waves ]
    if one only needed one sound , you wouldn't need a modeler

  • There are likely several reasons for this.


    Like previously mentioned, you probably gravitate towards a certain sound so you end up with varying degrees of the same flavor.


    Another reason is that the circuits for most amps are very similar to begin with. At the same time you’re getting a mic’d guitar tone which is very contingent on the cab, which many people use the same kinds of cab and speakers, not to mention similar mics like a classic SM-57 which itself leaves a large tonal imprint.


    The last thing you could be noticing is the Kemper effect in the mids and low end presence which gives gain profiles a “Kemper tone”. There’s even some added compression which tightens up a lot of profiles. Naturally when the profiling algorithm affects a wide array of profiles in this way you’re going to end up with a lot of similarities.


    If you’re looking for greater diversity, I’d start focusing more on what cabs are being used or importing IR’s for a different flavor.

  • Def. use different cabs. Another thing is the profile itself. A profile is not the complete amp. It's a snapshot of one amp setting. Dont use the gainknob so much if you have profiles of different gainstages from an amp.


    Use a linear poweramp and a linear cab or linear frfr or good monitors
    (I don't like playing with a headphone ).


    Play loud! In a bandcontext you can def. hear which amp is a winner when playing with drums, bass, keys or a second guitarist.

  • 2 weeks into the Kemper world the VAST difference I hear in the hard rock/ Metal profiles is the quality of profiles. I bought the Fried Jerry profiles by Choptones and they absolutely kill 100% of the free ones I've sampled in terms of real amp likeness, overall tonal quality and clarity of notes. I would go so far as to say these profiles 'bought' me in to the Kemper because so many of the others just sound ok.


    Granted I need to buy a few other packs by other studios to hear them, but as stated in the forum before, ;'not all profiles are of the same quaity'. So in short if you have not done so, spend some coin to buy some real studio profiles!


    I would also totally agree with all that was stated above as far as 'your' sound and creating pre sets at band volume, then trying in a band setting to see how they sit in the mix.!

  • There's another reason to have more than one guitar with different pickups to give a different flavour. But still, as already mentioned, you will always sound like yourself no matter what you use. That's why it's useless to ask which rig, amp, pickups, do I need to sound like, e.g. Metallica. No one is ever going to sound close enough. It will always sound like a lesser good copy of Metallica. Be proud of that you have found your sound and no one in the whole world will sound like you and do the best of it.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau