Playing feel/responsiveness to picking, and how exactly do the gain & eq knobs interact with each profile?

    Hi,


    Prospective Kemper buyer here - on paper this thing sounds like my dream setup, infinite number of amps on tap, all mic'd up and recording-ready - just got a few questions though, as can't find anywhere nearby to actually demo one!


    1) I've been impressed by all the sounds in youtube reviews etc, but how "realistic" is a Kemper to play through? i.e. that alive/organic feel a tube amp has (or even good solid states) where you can drive the amp more/less just by adjusting picking strength/attack, sustain notes with a bit of vibrato etc. I've used various software sims (e.g. Amplitube 4) from which I've got decent sounds for recording, but none have ever quite managed to "feel" quite right to play through - these digital modellers all "feels" very brittle, even when the sound is warm (if that makes sense!). Does the Kemper improve significantly on software modelling in this regard, and if so, how close does it get to the playing feel of real amps?


    2) How exactly do the eq knobs work? I understand that the amps are "profiled", not "modelled", so any eq is effectively added "on top of" the profile (hence not really the same as turning an eq knob on an actual amp) - but do the eq curves/frequencies change from profile to profile - e.g. are they in any way part of the profile or just the same set of eq points/curves for any profile you load? If the latter, is there any reason (when recording) to use the Kemper's EQ as opposed to just eq-ing the track in the DAW?


    3) Similar question re. the gain knob - again, as the profiles are taken of an amp with a specific gain (etc.) already dialled in, does the Kemper's gain knob simply add it's own generic distortion on top of this, or is there something more complicated going on here? e.g. does it somehow "intelligently" increases the gain specific to each profile in a way that sounds like it would if that amp's gain actually was being increased? Also, is it possible to reduce the gain on a profile?? If so, how exactly does this work...?


    Thanks!

    1) For me, it responds to playing dynamics just like the amps that I have profiled. If you are playing loud enough, you can drive it into feedback the same way, sustains notes just as long, etc.


    2) The profile is created with the sound of the original amplifier's EQ knob settings. The Kemper EQ knobs do not mimic the amplifier EQ knobs. It can be placed before or after the Amplifier section, too. There is also a Studio EQ, with additional parameters,


    3) The Gain knob setting is determined when the Profile is created, when the KPA analyses the effect of the profiling signals on the amplifier. Reducing the gain knob cleans up the sound of the amp, presumably by reducing the input amount at that point in the signal chain. Increasing the Gain control does not add Distortion - it boosts the input signal. There is also a separate Effect called "Pure Boost", Putting it before the Amplifier section has the same effect as turning up the Gain knob.

    I am a kemper owner still with in about 2 solid weeks. Previous player of only Tube Stuff ie...Mesa Boogie Heads and Pre Amps and even their Power Amps, mostly geared towards high gain stuff.

    I am no expert but would comment the "FEEL" is there at like 90% it just depends on how the profile is setup as it was mentioned.

    Ive Also played Positive Grids Bias Software through Ipads and Desktops for the last 3-4 years and its at a point where the feel thing is pretty seamless between them all.


    Having hundreds of amps at your finger tips is the most satisfying thing for my own Nerdy Amp hoarding brain.


    As per your questions the Guys at Tone Junkie do an amazing job breaking down how things are designed and their response.


    2) Your correct as the nobs don't specifically act as an real amps Mids or Presence when tweaked.
    When moving the eq nobs imagine those ranges' moving up and down in just volume. So a set value basically.
    Alternatively You can set an Eq in the signal chain to further punch in specific spots if your looking for something particular.


    3) To Reference Tone Junkie again. Think of everything like this:
    When a profile is created, the funny noises its making...Its basically going to steal the WHOLE Signal Chains Soul from ground up. So completely silent up to where the signal chain ends. Any changes below those values the Kemper will know how to respond in a more "realistic" to tube sound. However If you dime the gain to a profile that's set at half gain, its not going to know how those frequencies react. Of course its going to attempt its best but your mileage may very.

    Reducing things you might have a more intact/pure Profile if you want to look at it that way. Ultimately it comes down to your preference on what your ears like to hear.


    For my experience...I will preview a profile and evaluate with out changing anything with in the first minute ill know if its close or what I want to hear... if its close I tweak the nobs to further emphasize what I want and call it a day. I haven't gotten to the point of getting nerdy with Eqs and boosts to further shape things just yet but at that point treat it like a true signal chain once your in a happy place...It maybe known to the veteran users that most profiles shouldn't need a lot of tweaking?...they can comment but again the beauty is you have a world of options to get what you want to hear.



    Things to consider that I did not consider in the very beginning. How are you going to be playing the kemper.

    I personally am still kinda stuck in the purest mindset but its cracking as I get used to these new things.
    I thought playing through a cab with a power amp would be the way to get that "real sound." But when using a real cab, the simulation option goes away... So from profile to profile there is a similar sound and vibe coming out of your cab thats not as extreme as you would find between a 1x12 to 4x12 profile. Which makes sense your just getting the preamp values as apposed to whole signal.
    If you listen through headphones or recording you get the whole beauty.

    So I made the change to get a Full Range Cabinet to operate through so I can get the full signal, that comes tomorrow so im excited.

    Very comprehensive and good answers here from paults and Theyetti1 which I fully agree with. Just to add: Nobody can describe this great feeling of using the Kemper. You rather need to try it out by yourself. If you don't trick yourself you will not recognize a difference to a real amp when you use a good profile and the right cabs/FRFR etc. - it may take some time of getting used to it though and time to find suitable profiles and tweaking them for your needs.


    Once you're into it the Kemper universe with all these (fine) amps in it (with some which I would never had a chance to play them in real life otherwise) will reward you with great feel and great sounds :)

    Thanks all for the info! Very useful, much appreciated.


    Yes, the whole Kemper concept does sound great - I remember when I bought my first valve amp (a JCM 2000 TSL), I was initially intending to buy a rackmount system so as to have a wide range of sounds, but back then (late 90's) the digital technology was not really competing with the great feel/tone of valves. So if it's now possible to have all manner of classic valve amps accurately reproduced in one small unit, then that's exactly what I've been looking for for as long as I've been playing guitar. And in terms of what I need it for - i.e. recording a wide variety of music from a home studio - seems like the best upgrade to the VST's I've so far relied on to get the range of different guitar tones I need.


    Anyway, if the playing feel and responsiveness is as good as people are saying, sounds like I'll have no complaints!

    As paul and others have said the feel is amazing. When I bought mine I spent nearly a whole day in the shop A/B testing with a Helix. They both sounded amazing but the Kemper just felt better and responded more like a real amp to changes in the guitar volume etc (to me anyway).


    Tone Junkie have just done a video called Is the Kemper Touch Sensitive. Have a watch at that it should reassure you.


    I agree with the others about the EQ also.


    However, I would expand on tue gain knob a little. I assumed that turning down the gain knob on the Kemper would respond like the real amp s the Kemper captures all of the information up to the gain level at which the real amp was profiled. On the other hand it has to estimate the effect of turning up the gain beyond the original profiled amps settings. I decided to test this by making multiple profiles of a THD BiValve with the volume (it’s a non master volume head so there is no separate gain and master) at every number between 7 o’clock and 5 o’clock. I then A/B them with a higher gain profile but with the gain knob reduced to match the actual gain level of the lower gain original. What I heard was that reducing the gain on the Kemper behaved almost exactly like turning down the volume of the guitar which isn’t quite the same as adjusting the gain level on the real amp. The set of profiles are all on Rig Exchange if anyone wants to do the test themselves.