Guitar profiling

    Dennis, this question gets asked every so often here in the forum, and the "answer" is that it'd require a paradigm shift in the way the Kemper operates and some sort of peripheral-hardware addition, IMHO, so it's not something you'd expect to see from this particular product. If Kemper ever looked into this, I reckon it'd have to design a new piece of hardware.


    Basically, Profiling relies on the Space Invaders™ audio stream's being sent through a device in order to be able to map the various ways in which it affects this known-quantity's properties. Sythesisers without oscillator inputs and most electric instruments cannot therefore be Profiled.


    Seeing as others have suggested alternatives, I should mention the Line 6 Variax line. Anything from the Tyler Variax onwards uses the same updated DSP and models, and IMHO they're the best out there. Heaps of variety on-tap, including the usual suspects such as Tele, Strat and LP along with banjo, dobro, resonator, semi-acoustics, acoustics and sitar.


    Welcome to the forum, mate. 8)

    Well, this got me thinking. In essence, the sound of the guitar is the way the output of the guitar reacts to vibrations of the string. So, in theory it would be possible to build a device that mimics playing the string, and listens to the output, the way the Profiler listens to the amp-cab-mic combo. A simpler version will be put on the pickup, emulating a vibrating string, discarding the resonance of a guitar itself. Engineers are called now!

    Quote from ReinoutV

    Well, this got me thinking. In essence, the sound of the guitar is the way the output of the guitar reacts to vibrations of the string. So, in theory it would be possible to build a device that mimics playing the string, and listens to the output, the way the Profiler listens to the amp-cab-mic combo. A simpler version will be put on the pickup, emulating a vibrating string, discarding the resonance of a guitar itself. Engineers are called now!

    I think Line 6 does something similar to this, Reinout. I figured many years ago that the Variax uses some sort of dynamic convolution in order to map "known quantities" (samples or mathematical models derived therefrom) to the player's input through its proprietary piezo pickups (which are built into their string saddles, BTW). I've seen nothing that's challenged this old theory of mine in the interim, but of course it's only a theory. Your point about discarding resonances and whatnot wouldn't even enter the picture this way 'cause in theory all the software would require would be the continuous-amplitude input from the 6 discreet pickups (one per string).


    In order to gather the necessary information when designing the models in the first place 'though, they'd likely have had to set up some sort of automated picker along the lines you mentioned. This is routinely done when sampling pianos, for instance, but who knows what they did? They're not telling.