Kemper users are tone chasers Who tune his guitar 1/2 step down in Eb like Hendrix?

  • Yes us , Kemper users, are tone chasers maniac , we fine tune profiles, we buy profiles or dig in the free rig exchange We spend hours doing that....


    But as it all start with the guitar sound, who tune his guitar down 1/2 step ?
    Or drop tuning maybe?


    And I wonder : do you have many guitars and different tuning for each one?
    I am curious to try my profiles with a different tuning
    It must add something different to the profiles
    It all start with the guitar after all...


    Your thoughts?


    Thanks
    8)8)8) G Force Guitar

  • Out of 12 guitars, I have two strat's that are dedicated to E flat, an HSS and a SSS. Can't sound like Hendrix, SRV, EVH, etc., otherwise. Also have an Epiphone G-1275 double neck for slide, it's open G tuned on the 12 neck, and open D on the 6 neck.


    The KPA makes it too easy to buy new and strange guitars, you just know there is a profile out there that will make it work.

    Kemper Powerhead w/remote & Kabinet
    Focusrite 18i8 (2nd Gen) - Windows 10 - Ableton Live - Yamaha HS-8's - DT770 80 ohms

  • I'm all over the place with tunings haha.


    I think my acoustic is currently in C Standard tuning and my electric and bass switch between E Standard, Eb Standard (Yngwie tunes) and C Standard for the metal stuff I enjoy.


    My dream is to eventually have an acoustic dedicated to Zeppelins "The Rain Song" tuning at ALL times.

  • Standard tuning for all mine. Very occasionally tune a guitar to drop D is a specific song rewuires but other than that I can’t be bothered faffing around with multiple tunings.


    As for different guitars; I have several including 3 really nice PRS but I generally play anything on any guitar. I just pick one up and play it. If its a gig I play one guitar the whole time unless I break a string.


    As for tone chasinf with rigs and amps. I have bought a few profile packs just to get a better flavour for what the KPA can do but basically I use a couple of sounds and hardly ever tweak them at all. i rarely us any effects except a tiny touch of reverb (usually down in the 10 - 15% range not 70% like some rigs) and maybe a delay for some solos. The best profiles I’ve found for me are almost always just sticking an SM57 in front of one of my amps rather than commercial profiles or other peoples from Rig Exchange. Not becasue mine ar so good but just that they get me the sound I am looking for with the least amount of time and tweaking so I get more time to play.

  • As for tone chasinf with rigs and amps. I have bought a few profile packs just to get a better flavour for what the KPA can do but basically I use a couple of sounds and hardly ever tweak them at all.

    Yep I 100% agree with you here. Even though the Kemper is an amazing piece of gear, my end game isn't to play through hundreds of profiles a day. Hell if I would have went tube amp route I would have spent at least $5k on SEVEN amps (all second hand) so if I can find those seven amps via profiles I love, I just saved myself at least $4k and then some.

  • Standard tuning for me. Always have. And like Wheresthedug I typically use one guitar for a whole show, the exceptions being the obvious like breaking a string or using the acoustic. Just perusing Ted Green`s Chord Chemistry book and realizing none of us could ever exhaust what we can do in standard tuning is enough to humble anyone back to standard tuning for the next three lifetimes.


    As far as tone chasing goes, I actually just did a clinic on that very thing at the studio where I teach.


    We`ve all heard it; tone is in the fingers, right? I`ve been on the student end with so many great teachers and players from unknown locals to the greatest of the greats and I`ve heard it from all of them. So why, then, do so many people blow so much money on gear trying to find "their" tone?


    It`s an excuse to not practice.


    I don`t claim to hold the holy grail of tone. I like the sound I have (and absolutely the Kemper helped refine it!), but it`s MY tone, and I`m sure someone out there won`t like it. With that said, I`ll get to the meat of it:


    Your tone is as much a part of your style as the notes you`re playing. We invest all this time and energy learning how to play just the right notes and say everything we want to say with them, but few really "work" on their tone. It`s like trying to write the next War and Peace via text message.


    Pfft. Work on tone....Jef must be retarded.


    Nope. It`s a real thing. (I`ll try to cut out the fluff from the clinic here). When you get close to a sound you want; you have the gear that`s supposed to make you sound like a personal sunbeam from the core of heaven itself, it`s time to start putting your own fingerprint on the sound it makes. You have to learn how your own personal technique affects the sound; do the notes bloom quickly, or do they just sound like a 440hz (or whatever note you happen to be on) frequency vibrating the eardrums? (note bloom is a rarely talked about phenomenon. I spoke about this at length with Joe Satriani). The pressure you exert on the neck, where you pick in relation to the bridge, your vibrato all add up and contribute to your personal tone. That`s why two people can play the exact same setup and sound very different. Chasing someone else`s tone is foolish and futile. You can come close, but their tone has THEIR fingerprints on it, not yours. It`s not in the next pedal, or the next profile. It`s in your next practice session. Spend time with your rig, learn how it reacts, learn how it reflects what you put into it. Learn how to tickle a note just right so it expands with the mythical bloom.


    There truly are ways to develop and work on it, but that is fodder for a different thread. If anyone would be interested I`d be happy to work up a blog post for my site going over the things that have helped me over the years, especially what I have learned in the past couple of years from players I consider the epitome of legends of the instrument.

    Just a guy who plays a little bit of guitar.

  • @VoodooJef well said sir.


    I often think how crazy we guitarists are with gear and multiple guitars in particular.


    How many trumpets did Mile Davis need to sound like Miles? How many saxophones did Chalrie parker need to sound like Bird or John Coletrane to soune like himself? I remember reading Miles’ autobiography years ago and he said he used to take his horn to the woods and just blow one note for hours working on his tone.

  • I did most of my tweaking and profile buying in the first 6 months. Now it's just for playing.


    I'm 99% standard tuning, but will tune one of them differently for a specific song, like Neon by John Mayer with the low E dropped to C with a thicker string.

  • I like to get mine setup in a particular tuning, mainly for stability and so not constantly messing with them etc.etc. Especially with FR -equipped axes as then it's only a matter of changing for new strings when required.


    Most are Drop C, one in standard, one 1/2 step down for EVH and other Eb tunes, some that can drop to B / A / A# with ease (fixed bridge) ... One with a D Tuna to switch between a standard & drop in a flash ... You get the idea!


    It's good to have the flexibility and ready-to-go in that tuning that may only require the slightest of fine tuning and you know will hold because it's been set up & intonated for that particular 'purpose' (read tuning) but maintenance can get a bit annoying sometimes haha - all depends on your own budget / wishes / intentions and commitment.


    Oh yeah, and Drop tuning is great for heavy profiles / that heavier feeling...



    Don't know how much that helps you, but there you go!

  • lots of practices for me , but I dig Eb a lot, i sure gives lots to a Hendrix tone.


    I often tune to dropped D for stoner and metal , much punchier on a recording.


    I also use a capo for some rhythm parts and some occasional usual slide tunings