New to Kemper - Shouldn't I be able to get a similar sound to youtube videos or profile demos on ToneJunkie or M.Britt?

  • Just picked up a Kemper last week and I'm struggling to get the sound I head in demos of profiles or youtube videos. I'm assuming I should be able to get a very similar sound if the demos and my Kemper are playing though HS8s, right? I've seen tons of threads talking about the pure cab, definition, EQ and the litany of other tone controls, but after trying as much as I could find, the Kemper still sounds digital and compressed. When I listen to the ToneJunkie videos the amps sound amazing, but when I play the same profile in-person, it just doesn't sound right.


    I've only played cheaper low watt tube amps before the kemper and have never played mic'd through a monitor, so perhaps it's just the nature of mic'd playing? I was just assuming I could get at least a similar sound from someone playing the same system and listening though my monitors. Maybe I'm wrong in my assumption. Curious if anyone else has experienced this.

  • It's difficult to troubleshoot when not in front of the device, but it could be just some very minor settings to get you there.

    I own a ton of Tone Junkie and MBritt profiles and usually play them through my Rokit5 monitors and it sounds awesome.

    Are you running the KPA through an audio interface, of going straight to powered HS8 (assuming you have a non-powered KPA)?

  • Speaker placement will affect what you hear. If the tones seem too compressed, you may need to turn up speakers a bit. Are you using a similar guitar to the guitars in the clips you’re listening to? And, are you playing with a similar approach as the people who are playing in the videos? Some of those demo players have a very dynamic playing styles, some play without pics, and use the guitar volume knob quite a bit.

  • The type of guitar will have a major effect on how you hear the profiles since the sweet spots that profilers set up are based around certain pick up types. I play a 335 so all profiles that I have purchased have a decidedly darker bassier tone than those in the videos but they do sound essentially the same otherwise. You can try to mitigate these anomalies by using some of the deeper settings in the profiler as per Tone Junkie's video here...

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  • It's difficult to troubleshoot when not in front of the device, but it could be just some very minor settings to get you there.

    I own a ton of Tone Junkie and MBritt profiles and usually play them through my Rokit5 monitors and it sounds awesome.

    Are you running the KPA through an audio interface, of going straight to powered HS8 (assuming you have a non-powered KPA)?

    Yes, non-powered KPA and main out > HS8. I feel like I've seen a lot of these types of threads, so I understand it's highly dependent on the individual player and equipment in addition to the KPA settings. I'm not sure what else to check though on my end. The demo videos just sound so clear and amp-like, but my KPA seems to be compressed and sounds a bit similar between profiles. I've done factory resets, changed cabs, turned off compression, adjusted definition, etc.


    I figured the difference between profile demos online and playing in the room would be minimal.

  • Welcome 1694kyle

    Take your time with this great peace of gear!
    Maybe you can tell us your what gear your're using

    • Guitar / Singlecoil / Humbucker
    • Audio-Device (analog / digital / FX or Gate active?)
    • and maybe an audio example

    Running a 2004 Les Paul Standard with Lollar Imperial Low Wind pups. Nothing for an audio device, just running straight into monitors. I'll work on getting a clip uploaded. My set up is very basic and I don't have software. I was thinking of recording something on Audacity to see if there's a difference listening to something recorded vs live. I've noticed a phenomenon before where the playback sounds much better than what I'm hearing out of my amp/monitors. Could be the distraction of playing vs detailed listening of playback.

  • Press/Hold the Amp button in the Stack section.


    There is a compressor in there. Maybe you missed that one?


    You’ll get it dialed in eventually, although I must admit that while I can get it sounding great through my studio monitors (JBL 305’s) I have not fallen in love with it through my Yamaha DXR10 or my Mission cab.

  • Press/Hold the Amp button in the Stack section.


    There is a compressor in there. Maybe you missed that one?


    You’ll get it dialed in eventually, although I must admit that while I can get it sounding great through my studio monitors (JBL 305’s) I have not fallen in love with it through my Yamaha DXR10 or my Mission cab.

    I have seen that compressor and messed with it a bit to no avail. That's interesting about the DXR. I was wondering if that could help the issue, but maybe not? My buddy has some nicer monitors I might try running through to see if the HS8s are just not my taste.

  • make sure you are not clipping the inputs of the HS-8. The signal level at the XLR outs is very high. You might want to activate the -12dB option in the output menu to avoid clipping.

    Is that what a red output light is indicating? I've seen it do that on some profiles and tried to adjust to limit it. I'll look at that again.

  • Just picked up a Kemper last week and I'm struggling to get the sound I head in demos of profiles or youtube videos. I'm assuming I should be able to get a very similar sound if the demos and my Kemper are playing though HS8s, right? I've seen tons of threads talking about the pure cab, definition, EQ and the litany of other tone controls, but after trying as much as I could find, the Kemper still sounds digital and compressed. When I listen to the ToneJunkie videos the amps sound amazing, but when I play the same profile in-person, it just doesn't sound right.


    I've only played cheaper low watt tube amps before the kemper and have never played mic'd through a monitor, so perhaps it's just the nature of mic'd playing? I was just assuming I could get at least a similar sound from someone playing the same system and listening though my monitors. Maybe I'm wrong in my assumption. Curious if anyone else has experienced this.

    Do you have an amp you can profile yourself? I would agree to an extent with your second paragraph, if you can do your own profile then definitely do. Make sure to record the A/B too so you can play back to hear how close or far the Kemper is from the source as recorded and give it a good long refining session.

  • Is that what a red output light is indicating? I've seen it do that on some profiles and tried to adjust to limit it. I'll look at that again.

    Make sure Input led is not clipping (in case adjust input sense)

    Make sure output led is not clipping (in case adjust volume level)

    Make sure output level is not to hot ( in case adjust master volume or set the -12db Option in the output section)

  • I must admit that I don't believe I've had any profiles sounding impressive through my HS8's either, although being that I have the power rack version, I'm extremely happy with a lot of the profiles through my 4x12 cab with celestions, although obviously every profile is coloured by the same celestion tone.

    Gary Moore can get some awesome Soldano tones out of my HS8's, but I can't seem to do the same

  • I have the same experience.

    I would belive I should be able to get the same sound as in the samples in YouTube or Soundcloud as long as I play the samples trough the same monitors my Kemper is connected to. I play at same wolume and different guitars and pickups. But it sounds very different.

    I fieel it gets closer if I play at gig volume but at practice level the samles is much fuller and more clear imo.

    I heard from profile authors that the samples is direct recordings from the Kemper, but to me it sounds like it's recorded from cabinets or bigger monitors cranked.

    I don't know if that make sense or other have same experience....

    Volume makes big difference imo

  • Have a look at my YouTube channel from video one up the other vids if you like. There are soundsamples and tweak right from the main outs recorded. No tricks, just recordings out of the box into a zoom camera in stereo. Maybe it helps a little. If so, please subscribe to the channel.


    Find the link under my signature or search for kemp man on YouTube


    Cheers

    Frank

  • The demo videos just sound so clear and amp-like, but my KPA seems to be compressed and sounds a bit similar between profiles.

    I know "the tone is in the fingers" may seem a bit trite, but this is one example of it being a significant contributor.


    Assuming you're playing the same kind of guitar that they're using in the demo, and that they didn't do any post processing of the sound when mixing their demos, then fingers would be the next thing I checked.


    I'm an old school rocker have a very heavy right hand. Even on acoustic there are times when, to be quite honest, I simply over play the guitar. I bang the strings so hard that they're slapping all over the fretboard. If I'm doing a lot of heavy chord strumming, what that actually comes out sounding like is compression. Someone else can grab my acoustic, play the exact same songs but with a much lighter touch, and the thing just rings out and sings.


    The Tone Junkie guys seem to be oriented towards church / worship players, and they do a lot of very even, controlled, pretty stuff. If they're playing with a lighter touch than you, even before it gets to the amplifier, those strings are going to be able to ring out more. The amplifier then, well, amplifies that.

    I've only played cheaper low watt tube amps before the kemper

    We've all been there. However, a lower quality amp can let you get away with stuff in your playing. Do that same thing on a high quality system that's going to faithfully display what you're doing for all the world to hear, and it can be a bit of a rude awakening.


    I could be way off base because I don't know anything about your playing or music. And not everyone bangs on the instrument like a psychotic drunken gorilla (no offense, Nicky :) ). However, the same guitar going into the same profile with no adjustments should give you very much the same sound. Unless there's something completely afu in your signal chain, fingers are at least worth considering.


    You might try a really clean profile where you're getting the compression and they're not, and then trying to hit the strings as lightly as you can (even going to silly extremes) to see if that eliminates some of what you're hearing. If it does, then you have a path to explore. If not, well, maybe I should just go back to drinking and banging on the guitar. :)

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • There was a similar thread recently, where someone used a Tele to show that a tone similar to a commercial rig demo is attainable if played with similar attitude.


    Perhaps if you give an example of a demo of one of their free rigs, someone will post an example of them getting the same or similar enough sound with the rig.