Volume reduction on delay repeats

  • Am I missing something here or is there an enforced volume reduction on every delay in the kemper?


    If you place a delay before a distorted amp section it sounds really weird as the repeats go from saturated to clean and the whole magic of that delay into drive thing just falls apart. It would be great if there was an option to disengage that.


    I remember posting here before about a certain delay sound I was trying to re-create to no avail due to the same thing, albeit after the amp stack. It's such a limiting decision to have it like that with no option to stop it happening :(


    I'm really surprised it doesn't seem to bother more people as it makes delay before the amp almost unusable.

    Edited once, last by caldo777 ().

  • The volume reduction can be configured. If you prefer, you can even have an infinite delay.


    If you configure the delay with a volume reduction and place it pre amp, the saturation gets reduced accordingly. That is part of an authentic reproduction of an analog signal chain. If you prefer a constant saturation regardless of the volume of the delay, place the delay post the stack. That is basically the meaning of pre and post effects.

  • The volume reduction can be configured. If you prefer, you can even have an infinite delay.


    If you configure the delay with a volume reduction and place it pre amp, the saturation gets reduced accordingly. That is part of an authentic reproduction of an analog signal chain. If you prefer a constant saturation regardless of the volume of the delay, place the delay post the stack. That is basically the meaning of pre and post effects.

    Thanks for the reply Burkhard. So you're saying I can have a delay without the volume reduction on repeats? Is that what you mean by it can be configured?


    If so would you mind giving me a few pointers on how I might go about that? The only thing that seems to affect it is the feedback but then I end up with too many repeats. I don't want infinite repeats. The effect I'm looking for relies on the delay being pre amp as it imparts a different character that way.

  • and don’t forget about the Grit parameter. It’s great for saturated repeats.

    dickjonesify Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately the grit parameter doesn't do the kind of saturated amp distortion I'm looking to achieve. Sounds kind of digital and to me, very much seperate from the more organic sound of the amp overdrive. What I want is for it to all meld into one.

  • What are your delay settings at?

    I tried lots of different settings from working post amp and dialling in the required parameters to achive what I was going for rhythmically. But then it sounded too controlled and a bit dark in comparison to the tone I was trying to replicate. Moving it before the amp gets me much closer to the sound I want but the diminishing repeat volumes scupper the whole thing. It doesn't just get quieter they go from full on saturated to no gain at all. For example out of 4 repeats; 2 of them are distorted and 2 are completely clean. If this is a design feature and it's done to replicate an analogue signal path I feel like the envelope is too steep and it happens way too fast leading to unnatural sounding results. If anybody has a boss digital delay handy try placing it before a distorted amp and it will repeat without the big difference in saturation levels.

  • I don't understand what you are exactly trying to achieve. No volume decrease, but no infinite repeats, … how many repeats then? And how are you setting Delay Mix and Feedback? If your delay sounds "too dark", why don't you adjust Hi Cut?


    Please check out all the delay types available and what their parameters can do? You find details in the Main Manual.

  • What you are describing is in the inherent nature of echo/delay regeneration.

    any delay pedal or rack unit placed in front of any amp or distortion device behaves exactly as you’re describing.

  • I suspect Caldo is referring to this type of effect

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    However, this is actually the result of the amp rather than the delay. It is a standard delay with repeats decaying as normal but the amount of gain on the amp effectively acts as a compressor and makes them seem like they aren’t decaying. The solution is probably more gain on the amp block rather than a tweak to the delay settings.

  • I don't understand what you are exactly trying to achieve. No volume decrease, but no infinite repeats, … how many repeats then? And how are you setting Delay Mix and Feedback? If your delay sounds "too dark", why don't you adjust Hi Cut?


    Please check out all the delay types available and what their parameters can do? You find details in the Main Manual.

    I was simply wondering if you could turn off the fade out on the delay repeats which it seems you cant so I have my answer. Thanks.

  • Use Quad Delay and set feedback to : 0

    It lets you set the volume of each tap and you can adjust the timings on each.

    Adjust mix to liking.


    Also with any general delay, last few will always be less saturated as there is less buildup of volume (from previous note).

    If you want to avoid this do it the opposite way. increase mix to above 100% so that the delay level is more than actual level. reduce the first two taps so they are around same level as incoming signal, then adjust/boost the last 2 taps volume. add a boost or little compression after this and it should be close.

    - Too Many Synths and Way too Many Guitars :rolleyes:

    Edited once, last by atalwar ().

  • Thanks atalwar I will certainly give this a go. Seems like it could do the trick :)