Getting beyond the wall

  • So following on from my thread where I'd reached a wall, thought I'd keep my opinion balanced by sharing how I've gone a little bit beyond the block lately.


    I've gone through most of the profiles I have and found myself settling on Mix Berlins JCM 800. It's a bit of a 'blank,' profile, that is you don't just bring it up and its ready to go. Not sure if they intended it to be that way, but whereas the TopJimi profiles seem to be ready to go out of the box the Mix Berlin JCM 800 tends to need adjustment.


    What I've been doing is tweaking the Mix Berlin profile to my individual guitars and saving what works. With my LP, I've been turning the bridge pick up down slightly. Could be the pick up needs adjusting, guitar's due a trip to the Luthier so will find out.


    Applying this, I've been far happier with my practice. Recording is better but not quite there, but there has been progress since I last posted.


    Considering upgrading my monitors to Adam A5x, they'll probably help also.

  • Glad to hear you're making progress and starting to get results that are more pleasing to you. I'm sure you will get there eventually. I still think the issue might be the guitar's pickups but only time will tell. The main thing is you starting to break through the wall. Good luck.


    Your own experience made conduct a little experiment myself to test the load box and real amp option in a proper A/B scenario. As I mentioned in your previous thread I used a load box for several years before getting the Kemper. I was genuinely curious to find out the results and see if I was suffering from fanboy bias which I am not afraid to admit can happen to all of us. My conclusion was that the Kemper is definitely the best solution for my needs although, if I only had one amp that I would ever want to use then a real amp and load box would be almost as good a solution.


    The results are in my Oh God, not another comparison thread if you're interested.


    Try downloading the the actual mixes into your DAW with them all starting at the same point on different tracks then toggle back and forward between them before reading any of the comments to see if anything really jumps out at you. I know you prefer a Les Paul and Marshall which is definitely not my thing. I really don't get on with either of those but that's just personal taste. The point of the test is not about whether you like the specific tone in the track but simply how similar or different each version is. They were all done in a manner which any ordinary average guitar player can do without the need for special pro equipment or mixing/profiling skills.


    best wishes


    Alan

  • Thanks for the suggestion, no the LP and/or Marshall isn't for everyone and that's fair enough, we're allowed to have different tastes in gear.


    I couldn't find the thread, be interested to check it if you could post a link.


    Not sure what you meant about downloading the actual mixes in my DAW?


    Cheers...

  • Oh, god - not another Kemper comparison test


    All the mixes (the same track just with the different guitar versions) are uploaded to soundclound. However, listening and trying to compare so many variables can be overwhelming. I have set it so that you can download MP4a of each mix to your own computer rather than stream online from soundcloud. If you have a DAW for recording. Ie. logc, GarageBand, Reaper,Cubase etc. You can import each of the 10 different mixes onto a separate track so they all play simultaneously. Then if you Solo one of the tracks you cn quickly switch between one soloed track and anyother to hear it as if the same track was playing continuously. If there are any differences they should immediately jump out because you don’t need to wait for a new track to load or try and find a similar part in the tune to compare against. Basically by loading the files into the DAW you get a massive A/B box although in this case its an A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J BOX :)

  • That great, making progress then! :)

    I'd like to suggest the A7x as you may be happier with the added bass.

    Thank you.


    They are out of my budget unfortunately, I tend to practice and record quietly anyway.


    I've noticed a fair few people using Yamaha HS speakers, but Im guessing the Adams would be better...

  • A friend who designs studios also strongly suggests the A7x, also talking about the extra bass. May get the Yams HS 7's first, see if they satisfy.


    Just to continue some positive feedback, I found a bass profile which just replaced my Amplitube Ampeg plugin which I've been using for 11 years. Its the Ampig Pamp G3 Noon by Bommet. Very impressive.

  • A friend who designs studios also strongly suggests the A7x, also talking about the extra bass. May get the Yams HS 7's first, see if they satisfy.


    Just to continue some positive feedback, I found a bass profile which just replaced my Amplitube Ampeg plugin which I've been using for 11 years. Its the Ampig Pamp G3 Noon by Bommet. Very impressive.

    @Bommel - I didn’t want you to miss this rig feedback :)

  • I was on the verge of selling my Kemper, when I had a valve amp fail live...


    The Kemper was a 'back up' that saved the gig !


    I've since realised a couple of things that may be obvious to everyone else, but;


    i.) I need a set-up for home
    ii.) I need a set-up for live


    These are not the same thing.


    I've since tried the following;


    i.) Home - Genelec 8010s initially, then Genelec 8020s. Simply superb.


    ii.) Live - Red Sound LG12


    That's it now for me. Kemper becomes my prime piece of gear.



    Next up ? Which profiles to use ?

    I tried many, and found the best for me to be the Tone Junkie. I now trust them and have purchased the lot !


    To the op, good luck in the journey... :)

  • Considering upgrading my monitors to Adam A5x, they'll probably help also.

    +1 to the Monitor change


    I saw your other thread on the "fizzy" issue you were having with distortion sounds. I was having a similar issue on certain profiles and I figured it either had to be how I was EQing the profiles, some other setting(s) in the Kemper that I was missing, or just my ears failing on me (or...all of the above).


    However, considering I've gotten other good sounds out of the Kemper unit up to this point, I figured it had to be something in the signal chain (as minimal as my setup is). I was using 18 year old Event monitors for recording up to that point and wondered if they were the culprit.


    Today I switched out to Mackie MR 624s and....poof! The fizziness all but disappeared. Smoother highs, better lows, and a cleaner sound overall.

  • +1 to the Monitor change
    I saw your other thread on the "fizzy" issue you were having with distortion sounds. I was having a similar issue on certain profiles and I figured it either had to be how I was EQing the profiles, some other setting(s) in the Kemper that I was missing, or just my ears failing on me (or...all of the above).


    However, considering I've gotten other good sounds out of the Kemper unit up to this point, I figured it had to be something in the signal chain (as minimal as my setup is). I was using 18 year old Event monitors for recording up to that point and wondered if they were the culprit.


    Today I switched out to Mackie MR 624s and....poof! The fizziness all but disappeared. Smoother highs, better lows, and a cleaner sound overall.

    They look interesting, did you get a chance to compare them with Adams?