Definitive profiles that require additional EQ for the final mix

  • We all know that a guitar can sound great on its own but when placed in the mix it may not cut it, and vice versa, a great sounding guitar heard in isolation may sound inadequate on its own.


    I've been questioning this more and more lately-

    I use mainly MBritt profiles because, to me and many others, they have a nicely balanced sound. They have been my sounds for several years now and i've never doubted their completeness. Mixing a live recording the other day i found i had to apply a HPF and boost some upper-mid 3kHz to get the sounds to "sit" in the mix. The raw sound was DI straight from the KPA in to logic- no processing.

    Live sound- There may be many occasions where the FOH guy does this too but we never know as we rely on our backline and monitors, which is a separate sound.

    It's nice to have that full "umph" from my guitar cab on-stage but that may not be the sound that gets pumped out-front. E.g. How much of that bottom end is needed FOH?


    What i'm asking is what adjustments get made to your "final" sound after being taken from your "already great" sound to make it sit in the mix? Or maybe it doesn't?

    Looking for some kind or reassurance here, i guess ;)

    thanks all

  • It depends on the style of music, the original ammount of low frequencies in your sound and the other instruments, of course.


    For my guitar sound in a 80s/90s metal cover band I usually set up the low cut to about 170 Hz and push 3 dB Q3 at 200 Hz. So there is enough room for the bassguitar and kick drums.

    A high cut might be set at 4-6 kHz, depending on the basic sound this might be not necessary. Sometimes I just lower presence.

  • It depends on the style of music, the original ammount of low frequencies in your sound and the other instruments, of course.


    For my guitar sound in a 80s/90s metal cover band I usually set up the low cut to about 170 Hz and push 3 dB Q3 at 200 Hz. So there is enough room for the bassguitar and kick drums.

    A high cut might be set at 4-6 kHz, depending on the basic sound this might be not necessary. Sometimes I just lower presence.

    Exactly that . But I use around 130Hz (90-150Hz) highpass. Sometimes more 700Hz and/or 3k aprox.

  • Once you really learned to "read" the KPA everything is easy.Over the past 3 and a half years I have choosen some 20 profiles which just work.I mean no matter if live,recording,jams or whatever.They just work.Like with a good tube amp I can "tweak" while playing them with my fingers to get the sound I need.I "found" them with my studio monitors (Tannoy sys800) which I really know well know for some 20 years.Funny thing is where ever I go with these few profiles they never let me down.


    In the end the whole secret sauce about the KPA imo is to use it exactly like an amp.Dont tweak to much.To much EQ will be deadly.Maybe you will think "you got it" for some time but in the end you will not be to glad with the thing.It is the same thing like using a outboard EQ with an old tube amp.In the end it does not work no matter how awesome it sounds just at the moment you made the "tweak".


    Oh..and one very important thing..maybe the most important for the whole Kemper profiler story..it is all about the definition parameter!Think of it like the "voicing" functions of the boutique tube amps.Or the "fat"/"modern" switch on a boutique ldc microphone.


    So..dont think to much.If you have to think a lot about a profile and how to tweak it to "get perfect"..let it go.Dont look back.Same as you would do with a tube amp you dont like.Saying all that I have to notify that I dont play in a heavy modern rmetal band and the chugging/omph kind of things are something I really dislike.If you have to take care not to interfere into the bass/kick hz something is wrong from the start.And please dont shoot an old school guy..:)

  • Except for when guitar is on its own I always hipass at least to 100hz, in fact I even hipass the bass guitar a little sometimes too. That low rumble just takes away energy that could be used elsewhere in the mix and it seems to reduce the clarity of the instruments actual frequency.

  • Care to share your top 10?