[SOLVED] Can't get a quality recording even while using Top Jimi profiles

  • I bought a few Top Jimi profiles and tried to record some stuff, but it sounds absolutly nothing like his demo's. It sounds gnarly, muffled and bassy.
    Actually most profiles I use sound wierd

    Tried recording via SPDIF but the sound pops too much (clock on kemper set to 48k and on Reaper also). Then tried to record via Main Outputs directly to the Focusrite 18i8 and still sounds the same.

    Im using a Gibson Les Paul Standard 2018, straight into the KPA front input, Main Outputs to Scarlett Inputs, directly to my Yamaha HS5's

    Here are some pictures from my settings;

  • Can be your settings, can be profiles.


    Best I’ve found for recording are the SuckerFreeGear stuff, they cut through like nothing else.


    Eliminate everything else and if it’s that, give them a shot, you’ll be glad you did.

  • I'd second the suggestion to try different profiles. Or maybe try the "old trick" of going to the Lars Luettge pack that came free with your KPA, selecting the TH Diesel Hagan 6 1960 rig, hold the "CABINET" button for just a sec until it shows the 1960av cab, press the "LOCK" button, then go back to your Top Jimi profiles and check them out with the new cab. I have not been a fan of the TJ profiles I have tried. I know lots of people like them, and it's clearly a quality product. But not for me.


    I have to plug Tim @ Live Ready Sound here. I play mostly heavier stuff, but his packs are very large, cover a tremendous amount of ground, and he's a workaholic, constantly adding updates as long as he has the amp. Other profilers take months for an update, Tim has gotten me spoiled. I'd be really surprised if you couldn't find something there, regardless of what you play. If you want to record a DI of your Les Paul, he'll take that, run it through, and make a custom profile based off the DI and what you're looking for. That'd be a way to ensure it's not the guitar at fault (I doubt it is though).

    Don't get fooled by the name, these are just as home in the studio as they are live, I did an a/b/c comparison with some of the LRS profiles (I think from the ReVv pack), compared them with several STL profiles from a highly regarded pack that I won't mention the name of, and was pretty surprised. The STL stuff was more fun to play with, but got buried in a mix (I should note that I am very much an amateur when it comes to recording, so I could be missing something) next to the LRS profiles. And Tim was able to correctly guess which profiles were his in a full-band mix...he has a good ear, is what I'm getting at. :D


    https://livereadysound.com/


    I also have to 2nd Steinmetzify 's plug for SFG. As you'll see, they are completely different business models, which I think both have their strong points. I was pretty skeptical of SFG at first (if it's too good to be true...), and unless they run a sale, they're above what I would pay for such small packs...but the profiles that are there are very good, and do cut very well.


    To compare the two, you can get a little lost in Tim's packs (how could you not, with 200-300 + profiles in some of them), but there is a TON of awesome stuff in each one. SFG's packs are very small, I'd say 3-5 rigs per pack (hard for me to count a merged, a studio, and a DI as 3 separate rigs, maybe I misunderstand something about how Merged profiles work...), but, out of the two packs I have, there is not a dud profile among them, they're all very solid...as they should be.


    I do like STL, Cililab has some awesome packs, MBritt is great (though if you're having trouble with a muffled sound and low-end, they might not be the best...they really shine cranked live. Sinmix for the heavy stuff...those are some of my other favorites.


    Any chance we could get a recording so we can hear what you're hearing?

    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.

  • I agree with Michael; we don't know what we're dealing with here sans clips.


    The popping, BTW, is likely caused by your interface's not being set to slave to the Kemper's clock. Setting both to the same SR, as you did, isn't enough.

    ... clock on kemper set to 48k and on Reaper also...

    You implied here that you set Reaper to S/PDIF (mentioned only the SR), but does that tell the interface to slave to it? If not, fire up the Focusrite control panel as 397f7c95538961c9090da40b2b0b6e229b278069 suggested and tell the interface to slave to S/PDIF there.

  • As Nicky said, the pops are almost certainly because you don’t have your interface set to be a slave to the Kemper. I use Saffire Pro14 and mix control. There is a little toggle option on the right hand side of mixcontrol.


    As for the levels. It looks like you are running a pretty hot signal to your interface. You may be overlaoding the inputs.

  • (clock on kemper set to 48k and on Reaper also).


    It's not sufficient to have the two clocks on the same timing. The Kemper has to be the master and you have to set up your interface so that it slaves to the Kemper clock. That's why you're hearing clicks.


    As far as the tone, record a lot less hot than you think you should. You should be peaking at -12db, or even lower. You can always bump up the volume later. The important thing is not to cause digital distortion, which sounds nasty and makes everything sound tiny.

  • Even though they may not sound like the Top Jimi demos you've heard, that sounds really, really good to my ears, and it's not at all uncommon for profiles to sound different than the demos they're based on. For example, I have several Top Jimi profile packs and none of the profiles in any of them sound like the demos when using my guitar, which likely comes down to differences in guitars and pickups. Anyway, I don't hear anything wrong with your clips at all. They sound quite good, in fact.

  • Think I found the problem:

    When I listen to the Kpa via headphones on my Scarlett the sound kinda sucks, but if I listen via the headphone jack on the kemper, the sound is full and complete.

    Didnt expect the headphones jack on the scarlett to be so idk, bad !

    Thanks everyone for your tips, all of them realy helped me out

    Cheers :)

  • Wow, you are the second person in a week to post about much the headphone amp sucks on those things (not counting all those who joined in), that's crazy on such a small forum, haha. They must be bad...

    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.

  • Many have said this here in the forum and elsewhere, so it's nothing new.


    The only real issue Leo had IMHO was the popping one, which slaving the interface to the Kemper's clock fixed (you're welcome, Leo).


    Time for a thread-title change, methinks.

    I got the Scarlett a few months ago and never noticed how bad the headphone jacks are. The popping's definitely stopped (thanks buddy <3)

    Thanks once again lovely people, case closed !