„Real Feeling vs. Mix-Ready Sound“

  • Hi :)


    I didn‘t really know how to name the thread but I’ll try to describe my „problem“:


    I have bought a lot of profiles from MBritt, TopJimi, ReampZone, Deadlight, TAF, STL, ...


    In terms of „feels like a real amp under the fingers“ I think M Britt and TopJimi do a very good job, I think most of their profiles react very precise to the playing.

    The problem is that their profiles are not really voiced for mix-ready guitar tracks, they mostly have way too much energy in the lower mids for example.

    It‘s a lot of work to tweak this to match a modern mix.


    On the other hand there‘s something like the STL Benson Pack, which deliveres a „good“ mix ready sound which just needs minimal tweaking.

    BUT... undependent from the voicing, I think most of these profiles have a kind of „lifeless“ feeling.


    Isn‘t there someone out there who makes awesome profiles like M Britt but cares a little more about gerenal EQ voicing?


    Greets!

  • A little addition:

    When matching for example a MBritt Marshall 50 with a STL Bendeth Naylor in frequency response the difference in „realness feel“ stays the same. So it‘s not the lower mids which create the feel, more so the way the amp distorts i think?

    But to get the MBritt profile to this sound is very complicated and needs like ~ 8 EQ peaking filters. ||

  • Are you talking live or studio and what sort of music?


    Normally when I hear the term EQ multiple times in quick succession it turns out we're talking about distorted tones and metal. There are a lot of guys here that can help you get that going.


    I just use an EQ in the X slot to tweak any frequencies that aren't right. Usually low and high cut.


    If the actual tone isn't right I'll try different guitars (or pickup settings) or try a different cab before sculpting with an EQ.

  • I see having to EQ in the mix as a strength. It makes your sound more unique. Embrace it.

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  • Have you tried with another guitar? So many here love Mbritt profiles. Mixed ready profiles you say? What is mixed ready profiles anyway? It's a rethoric question. In a perfect world you would probably only need some high and maybe low pass filtering and be fine. But that's not very often possible. Have you ever seen a pro engineer mix? Sometimes they only need may another cut, e,g. 4kzh besides low and high pass. Another time it needs more cuts. Too much energy in the low mids? Well cut there then. What's the problem? It's all too easy to have to much lower mids in the bass guitar and what do you do? Cut out all you don't need. But be careful so you don't cut too much and end up with a thin sounding guitar(s).

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • I think the issue with “mix ready” is that it all depends on what else is in the mix. Therefore, the best option from a profile perspective is to give a sound with everything in it and let you cut and boost as required to sit in your own mix. While there are undoubtedly certain things that either work or don’t in general terms these are probably better classed as being part of the right basic profile rather than lmix ready”. In most cases the complaint about profiles and modelling is that they lack the live “amp in the room” sound and feel. However, that is rarely what you hear on a finished mix so it is not surprising that a “mix ready” profile doesn’t feel like an amp in the room; that’s generous the case with traditional amps too though.

  • I think the issue with “mix ready” is that it all depends on what else is in the mix.

    And of course it depends on the guitars and pickups you will use. For example: When I use P90s and choose a AC30 profile (which both naturally come with pronounced low midrange), I will create a wall of low midrange with this setup that certainly will not sit in the right place if I wanted to create a mid-scooped metal sound.

  • I see having to EQ in the mix as a strength. It makes your sound more unique. Embrace it.

    This. Every guitar in a band mix will be EQ'ed. Mostly with a significant bass cut and also shaping mids depending what other instruments (other guitar, keyboards) it competes with frequency- wise

  • It's worth pointing out because it's become such a catch-phrase on this forum and others that there is no one kind of mix. Some profiles say "mix ready" but are made for particular mixes, so it doesn't tell you much. It's more important to give an example for the type of mix and guitar tone you're trying to achieve otherwise it's hard to give much useful advice.


    And also because a profiler is popular doesn't always mean it's best for you. I've tried many profiles from the ones you listed that didn't fit well for my playing & mixes when I've tried. Perhaps there's a different direction when it comes to profiles that people can help find you more "mix ready" stuff that you're after.

  • Being able to use the kemper is very convenient anyway. In a positive sense, of course!

    How would you proceed if you had no Kemper?

    Goal: I need the perfect guitar sound for this song!

    Steps:

    1. Select guitar: single coils or humbucker, etc.

    2. Select Amp: American or British, etc.

    3. Select Cabinet: this may affect the sound even more than the amp itself

    4. Select microphones: midrange fist or warm and cozy ... sm57 / md421 or sm57 / u87 or sm57 / royer 121, etc

    Knowing what the individual components do helps me a lot to use the Kemper in the way I want it.