Kemper dilema! Can someone tell me what i'm doing wrong?

    Obviously I'm only joking and not trying to start world war 3 ;)


    I'm a Mesa, Soldano, Dumble (but only in profiles obviously), Vox, Matchless kind of a guy. I've always found the JCM800 one of the harshest ugliest sounding amps I've ever plugged into.


    I think I must be some kind of mutant freak because I just don't get on with Marshalls or Les Pauls. It's all subjective and just personal taste obviously but maybe there's a 12 step program of counselling or something for folks like me :)



    The funny thing is though, that although I have never plugged into a real Marshall that I liked, I actually have found some profiles of Marshalls that sound amazing.

    To be fair to Liam, the JCM800 does sound "harsh" to many folks.


    I think it's probably a matter of pairing it with the right guitar, probably a LP 'cause in my band experience back in the late '80s the 800 always sounded too-bitey / scratchy / jangly with the various Strats the guitarists I worked with used in the studio when engineers insisted they try them out (default setup was usually the JCM and they wanted to avoid the "work" of having to find a good sound on stuff musicians brought in, I reckon).


    They always reverted to using their own amps.

    Quote from 808illest

    Hahaha, not at all Liam - you just haven't plugged into a really good one! :thumbup:

    Probably true. I have never had a Marshall, played a few of course, but I have always gone more the Mesa/German route. I have a friend with a JVM head, and that really is a fantastic amp, no matter what you play.

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

    Like 1

    Yeah, to my ears the JVM doesn't suffer from that "scratchiness" at all. Great amp IMHO, and one of my fave Marshalls. Just a tad noisy, but Kemper Profiles take care of that!


    Quote from 808illest

    I used my Strat all through the mid 80's and 90's with my 800 (same one as Morello from RATM)! Awesome! I had a stack Dimarzio in the bridge though, that made a big difference! ;)

    The guitarists I referred to were using mostly SD Hot Rails back then on their Strats, so your choice of PU could well have been responsible for the "huge" difference between what you and I heard, Shawn.

    Quote from Monkey_Man

    Yeah, to my ears the JVM doesn't suffer from that "scratchiness" at all. Great amp IMHO, and one of my fave Marshalls. Just a tad noisy, but Kemper Profiles take care of that!


    The guitarists I referred to were using mostly SD Hot Rails back then on their Strats, so your choice of PU could well have been responsible for the "huge" difference between what you and I heard, Shawn.

    My friend with the JVM is the one who talked me into buying a KPA. He was blown away by the JVM profies on the Kemper, and he's a pretty picky guy, so that was good enough for me. :D

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

    Like 2

    PM sent...buncha enablers around here...


    :D

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

    Like 3

    Funny isn't it, different tastes...I'm not a huge Marshall fan but the only one I really like is a JCM800 ha!


    BUT gotta be cracked and a 100W version. Never liked any 50W amp ( they just sound different to me, not as "open" ).


    I prefer Engl or I have a love for my Laney GH100L...blows any Marshall out of the water....but its what you are used to...


    Ironically I don't like LP's either ( despite the avatar - its an Epiphone and only cos I'm in a tribute to The Cult).


    I'd prefer my Yamaha SG any day over a LP.


    Sorry its off topic but just interesting what we all like and the KPA caters for it.