Tricks to Improve a metal/high gain tone - Help Needed

  • Hey all,

    I have owned a Kemper since 2017 and I have always struggled to dial in a nice, tight, throaty sounding high gain live tone. Most tones I create sound killer.....until they get into a mix and then they are buried. Or the tone just sounds too damn "flubby".


    I have messed with the amp parameters first (bass, mids, treble, presence), added EQs, added internal distortion (green scream), and everything I do seems to fall short of dialing in that tone. I have purchased hundreds of dollars hoping to load a ton of tones into the Rig Manager, only to find one or two tones that are close to what I am looking for, but stil not quite there.


    This is a tall order to ask for because we all have different tastes and opinions of what a "killer" tone is, but there has got to be tricks and tips out there to clean up the flubbiness, tighten up the tone and have a killer sounding live tone!


    Any help would be appreciated.

  • Tones that sounds killer in solo will probably not work well in a mix nor with a band. Great for practice and ideas though. Go thru profiles you have rejected. With so many profiles you've gone thru the hard truth is that it's you who need to change your ideal of what a killer sound is and how to achieve it. Most great sounds you hear on records sounds quite dull and uninspiring on their own. It's together with the rest that make the guitar tone to come alive.

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

    Henry David Thoreau

  • Try less distortion.

    Check higher values of Amp Definition

    Attenuate bass frequencies to better cut thru the mix.

    This. It's almost always less gain than what one might think that will give the best sound. The same is true with mids too. Just listen to Master of puppets album. It's not much gain at all there.

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

    Henry David Thoreau