What should I do?

  • Since day 1 I loved the clean tones from Kemper profiles but my only gripe has been Overdrive tones. Every profile I've tried I was never really happy with the mid to high gain stuff and couldn't for the life of me understand how to EQ to what I wanted to hear but I was able to eventually settle on MBritts Victory 50 profiles. Still though, I wasn't able to get the gain I loved from my OD pedals (J Rockett "Dude", Xotic "SL Drive", Barber "LTD")


    I finally tried the Dist Loop though and I'll be damned, there it is, everything I was missing.


    I quickly realized a little predicament though. I’m using performance mode and want to use three dirt pedals (mid, high gain, fuzz) but for their respective preset. Since the loop is basically just one line I can’t save specific pedals out of that one chain to a different preset.


    I have the foot switch controller already but i wonder if there’s something out there that can allow me to have the dirt pedals in independent loops that I can then assign to the presets I want.


    I’m hoping to avoid midi stuff, but I’m just not sure what my other options are. Can some of you routing experts explain this to me please?

  • paults I really only want to use 3 External Overdrive pedals. I wonder, is there a small switcher out there that is midi programmable where I could just make a small second pedal board that I leave behind the amp plugged in with shorter cables which will allow me to still use the kemper Remote up front? Or should I be looking to a Midi Loop switcher that will replace the KPA remote and do all my switching for me?

  • paults Thanks for the great links! I was searching but I never saw these but they're pretty much what I was imagining in terms of size.


    I will say though, If I could figure out how to EQ the Mid to High Gain profiles I've already been using I would feel like i'm getting the most out of the amp. Using the external overdrives is really me just giving up on digital distortion but part of me thinks that I could achieve what i'm looking for if I had a better understanding of EQ'ing


    Thanks for your help man.

  • part of me thinks that I could achieve what i'm looking for if I had a better understanding of EQ'ing

    I have recommended this already a couple of times to other users and I feel I'm repeating myself over and over, but I love to use the ToastMe editor to use the Studio EQ stomp. ToastMe has a great visual interface for this stomp that really let's you see what is happening with the turn of each knob. The studio EQ is a powerful effect but the hardware interface of the Kemper doesn't give you a hint of what you do.


    Maybe you should try it out and see if you get the results you want. For sure it would be a lot easier than having an external fx loop controller.

  • I'm not clear on what is "missing" that the pedals replace? Clearly its more than one thing else you wouldn't need multiple pedals.


    There are so many profiles out there that surely you can find something with the eq curve and gain that you are after. Many amps have been profiled with pedals as well...


    Your only other option is to replicate the sound you are after with a real amp, along with your pedals and profile...

  • Atlantic ill look into this! Do you use the studio eq before or after the stack or both? If both then which one do you dial in first?

    To be honest I haven't experimented that deep. I'm not very picky about my tones as long as they are close to what I am looking for. I try to spend as long as possible playing and as short as possible tweaking.


    My recommendation was on the base that you said that you didn't have a big understanding of EQ'ing.


    Having a visual help really makes it a lot easier and from there you just have to try and try. You seem to know quite well what tones are you looking for. So just experiment and trust your ears.

  • Atlantic ill look into this! Do you use the studio eq before or after the stack or both? If both then which one do you dial in first?

    If you want a shape distortion always try to use EQ before (pre) distorion unit. Think of this in that way:

    - to distort low frequency you have to roll off some high frequency before distortion (or gain low frequencies) and vice versa

    - to distort desired frequency range you have to make louder this frequency range so it will start distort first

  • I'm not clear on what is "missing" that the pedals replace? Clearly its more than one thing else you wouldn't need multiple pedals.


    There are so many profiles out there that surely you can find something with the eq curve and gain that you are after. Many amps have been profiled with pedals as well...


    Your only other option is to replicate the sound you are after with a real amp, along with your pedals and profile...

    The multiple pedals are because I like to have a few different overdrives patches for different parts or genres all together.


    I wish I could profile stuff but it’s just to damn loud and I really don’t have the proper mics or experience. I tried once and it was pretty bad. Wish I could link up with someone experienced and use legit gear and rooms.

  • If you want a shape distortion always try to use EQ before (pre) distorion unit. Think of this in that way:

    - to distort low frequency you have to roll off some high frequency before distortion (or gain low frequencies) and vice versa

    - to distort desired frequency range you have to make louder this frequency range so it will start distort first

    Interesting, so if I wanted to shape an high gain to have good smooth clarity (no fuzzy lows or sharp highs) what would you recommend twisting first? I understand that the definition knob is the first place to start once that seems set and I just want to polish it what would you do? Btw, would you eq through your studio monitors or guitar cab?

  • Interesting, so if I wanted to shape an high gain to have good smooth clarity (no fuzzy lows or sharp highs) what would you recommend twisting first? I understand that the definition knob is the first place to start once that seems set and I just want to polish it what would you do? Btw, would you eq through your studio monitors or guitar cab?

    monitor through both. You want to have something that sounds excellent through FOH (my first priority) and something inspiring to play through my cab.


    First thing I do is hold the AMPLIFIER button, I’ll adjust the Definition: lower for a rounder, warmer sound, higher for a brighter, tighter sound. Next page has Clarity. It makes a very positive change right around 0.5 on most profiles. You can go higher, but that seems to be a sweet spot. Power Sagging can help here too. I’ll add Compressor between 1.0-2.0. Then I add some Direct Mix, usually like 1.1-1.6 as it seems to fatten up the tone.


    Next I set a studio EQ in the STOMPS section. I find most high gain profiles have too much woofy low end, so I Low Cut around 200hz and High Cut around 9-10khz. Next I’ll go to the first (Mid1 Gain) parametric page; I temporarily boost the signal all the way up to +12dB, set the Q high (4.5-5) and sweep the frequency knob to find the worst sounding frequency. Once I find it, I back the Q down slowly to hear how broad that nasty sound goes. In general: The higher I have the Q, the lower I set the the Gain. Ex: Q set to 5 and Mid Gain set to -12dB; Q set to 0.707 and Mid Gain set maybe to -4dB. I’ll repeat this process for the Mid2 page; and lastly go back to page 1, and boost around 400hz a small amount of necessary. Finally, I’ll turn it on and off a few times to make sure I like the changes, add a bit of volume back depending on how much I cut, and set the Mix and Ducking. If I feel like the EQ sterilized the overall tone a bit too much, I’ll run the Mix around 65-85% and add some Ducking. If I really like the changes then I’ll run it around 95%

  • The multiple pedals are because I like to have a few different overdrives patches for different parts or genres all together.


    I wish I could profile stuff but it’s just to damn loud and I really don’t have the proper mics or experience. I tried once and it was pretty bad. Wish I could link up with someone experienced and use legit gear and rooms.

    The reason I ask is I'm not a pedal guy - I get my overdrives/gain from the amp. With the KPA as you know you have 1000's to choose from, I assume you've tried different amp profiles to check they don't give you what you need? With the KPA we have the ability to access so many sounds from the push of a button which is not possible in the "real" world. I switch from Vox AC30, to Mesa rectifier, to Engl to etc which is essentially the same thing.


    I know pedals bring other flavours etc but so many profiles out there, including some with a Tube screemer ( for example) in front of an amp..


    If you could book a rehearsal room even and profile you amp and pedals, it would bypass these issues easily.


    Just a thought...hope you find an answer..

  • GuyJames, if you don't already own the Kemper Remote, consider the RJM Mastermind PBC. It is a combination of a loop controller with MIDI foot control. The PBC has built in support for two way remote control of the Kemper.

    Just connect your pedals and set up presets to use the pedal you want whenever you want. If you connect the output of the PBC to the Kemper's input, you can create a preset on the PBC that selects the pedal you want with the profile you want on the Kemper. Or you can use the PBC in instant access mode to select any of the connected pedals with your foot.


    The PBC also has native support for devices from Strymon, Fractal, etc.


    I just checked. The PBC has native support for the Source Audio Programmable EQ pedal. With MIDI parameter and preset control it's perfect for your needs. You could use it with your pedals and with Kemper profiles.