How Do you Know?

  • So far I've been really digging my Kemper Stage and the ability to play with profiles from all these different amps is very unique. How do you all as other users know when you should spend money on new profiles? I would love to buy as many profiles as possible. There are some I have bought and really enjoyed, and there are others I've bought that are not applicable for me. So how do you guys know when listening to a profile (that needs to be purchased) that you're willing to actually buy it? I am aware of the reality that of course what you hear in someone's demo isn't going to sound exactly the same in your setup at home or whatever; just too many factors cause audible changes. Just curious about some of the standards you others may have for when purchasing profiles.

  • If you find time on your hands, which I'm guessing a lot of forum users have at the moment given the current situation, I think its easy to start thinking that you need profiles.

    I have purchased quite a few and that's certainly how I've felt. However there is always a small part of me that gets a touch disappointed.

    I find that for every 'pack' I buy there is only say 15% of them that I find useful, at least for the short term. Once I revisit them I often find there are others that I like that I missed first time around.


    So far I have been pleased with MB, Tone Junkies, Chop tones and Victory amp profiles, these are pretty popular but to be fair I've only scratched the surface of what's out there and there are some good ones floating around on this forum.


    In my opinion, if you like the sound of what you hear on a demo, you should be able to replicate it to a degree, obviously speaker set up and playing ability plays a major part.


    The beauty of the KPA is that you can purchase profiles for a fraction of the cost of purchasing the actual amps so it is a win win.

    Bottom line is if you can afford the profiles, then why not.


    I find it fun seeking and checking them out. When you do find the ones that inspire you then there is nothing better than picking up your guitar and playing the hell out of them.

    'You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead' - Stan Laurel

  • Maybe a little off topic, but it was the same with keyboards back in the 80´s

    and 90´s where you could "upgrade" you keyboard or rack with expansion cards /

    cartridges where 90% of the sounds were crap <X and some really good :P

    Explore "Rig exchange" to sort out what kind of amps you like and go from there.

    To buy or not to buy, that´s the question ..... :/


    Cheers !


    ( Can I please take a shower ? I´m tired of just washing my hands ........ ) :D

    The adjective for metal is metallic. But not so for iron ... which is ironic.

  • Just curious about some of the standards you others may have for when purchasing profiles.

    Well, the nice and dangerous things about the profiles are that they mostly are not too expensive (so if you fail with a pack you probably won't be ruined) and easy to get (digital stuff download). So the temptation is always there to buy and buy and buy.


    Actually I bought a lot of stuff in order to learn. To learn about how different amps (which I would never ever get into my hands physically) sound and fit to my music. And to learn how different of the professional profilers do their stuff. I think meanwhile after 1,5 years I understood this for the stuff I want and rarely buy new stuff these days. Just if something very interesting comes along the way or is needed for the current project I am working on.


    After going through the great stuff on the RigExchange you should efinitely review all the freebie stuff coming from the commercial profilers to understand their style and see what they have. If you find profilers that suit you style look through their amps and think what you (really, really) need. To be honest I have way more good stuff than I can ever use for my projects or bands etc. - less is more some say. Then it is easier to decide on a sound. And I have to admit that I have few go to profiles which always make me happy and keep me coming back. It's just a handful, say a dozen :)


    Finally: Checking a lot of amps which I never would grab physically is an incredible inspiring process which also leads me to new musical spheres so I find myself writing other styles of music based on beautiful guitar sounds...

  • After going through the great stuff on the RigExchange you should efinitely review all the freebie stuff coming from the commercial profilers to understand their style and see what they have. If you find profilers that suit you style look through their amps and think what you (really, really) need. To be honest I have way more good stuff than I can ever use for my projects or bands etc. - less is more some say. Then it is easier to decide on a sound. And I have to admit that I have few go to profiles which always make me happy and keep me coming back. It's just a handful, say a dozen :)


    Finally: Checking a lot of amps which I never would grab physically is an incredible inspiring process which also leads me to new musical spheres so I find myself writing other styles of music based on beautiful guitar sounds...

    Free stuff is a great start and there’s lots of it. Tone Junkie has free packs as well as many other commercial profilers and they sometimes are profiles found in their paid packs. Besides my Fender and Marshall profiles most of my favourites are amps I’ve never heard of before I got the Kemper, that’s down to finding amps I liked on the rig exchange and then seeing what other versions were available commercially. There are some good discounts on at the minute too:)


    There are some really cool people on here that post their personal profiles and upload them to rig exchange.


    Try and formulate a sensible methodology for how you store your profiles and make use of the folders both in rig manager and on your computer. I’ve just started from scratch and had to do some serious admin:)


    Also, have a tinker with profiles you like, I’ve just really started with this as initially I only adjusted the amp. Tone Junkie has a very cool tutorial.


    ps. I’m an unashamed profile hoarder:)

  • Profiles are cheap enough to treat yourself reasonably often, but like some have said above - you need to prepare yourself for only using/liking a small proportion of those profiles you purchase.


    I particularly like vendors that sell a pack with 10 to 15 profiles of an amp in the sweets spots on that particular day rather than 300 profiles of amazingly tiny variance. They are often a bit cheaper too.


    A great suggestion above of cataloguing your rigs using folders - I try and choose a profile based on what STYLE amp I would choose to plug into if I had a tim pierce style set-up with 100 real amps all around me. I use the 'standards' of vox, fender and marshall as we can identify what we typically expect from each of those...mid-scooped fender cleans or biting tweed style boxy chewy mids etc


    I'm tracking, and think...this part needs to be a spangly sparkly vox sound to sit in the mix or poke out...so go to the folder with those in...now this 'vox clean' might have a vox, a divided by 13 and a morgan profile in there - but I have found separating folders into the standards, along the lines of what I have written below helps you get to sounds quickly (and identify which bases you need to invest in for profile buying):


    Vox Clean

    Fender Clean

    Marshall Clean


    Vox Crunch

    Fender Crunch

    Marshall Crunch


    Marshall Gain

    Diezel Gain

    Mesa Gain


    Solo Gain

    Solo Gain Crazy Sh*t


    Hope this helps, this type of work flow helped me to figure out where to spend my money, and also sped things up abit when auditioning and looking for sounds as I record.


    Cheers,

    Greg

    PRS Custom 22's - Fender Strats - Diezel VH4 - Carol Ann OD2 - Toneking Imperial MK2 - Colin the Kemper - CLR Neo ii.

  • I suffer from Rig "blindness".... I decide I want to look at other rigs besides those I already use...I try a rig, like it, then try another, like that one, then go back to the first one and I'm not sure if I still like it...by the time I've tried more than 10, I no longer know what I like and then give up. Only to find the following day that my fav's are my current rigs....


    I had the same with Amps - couldn't immediately tell if I liked one in the shop under certain conditions. I also think they are like songs, often you have to listen a few times before you know if you like it...The difference with the KPA is the Amp packs are really cheap ( relatively).


    So where does that leave me? We have so much choice that I actually think it hinders me. Hence I avoided the IR debate, I'm not interested in dual profiles or adding OD pedals.


    I aim for 90% happy. I'll never find 100% as that varies day to day and leads to Rig "paralysis". Majority of the sound is not just in your fingers but the ears of the beholder. So many times I've doubted my sound, only to be told by someone else how great it is...I trust other peoples view over mine :).


    My view is just because you can, doesn't mean you should. In other words just because you can have a different Rig for every single occasion doesn't mean you really need to. There is more variation in your fingers...


    My suggestion is:


    1) Start with amps you already like. I gravitate towards ENGL's becuase that is what I'm used to

    2) Look on Rig Exchange. If there aren;t any on there, look at the different costed options, and listen in advance

    3) Try to stick with a few and "break your ears" in to those amps.

    4) Be happy with 90%...

    5) Play the hell out of it!

  • V8guitar we have the same medical conditions; Rig Paralysis and Rig Blindness.?


    I’ve just bought M Britts 2020 pack despite not having tried many rigs in my library. They sound amazing!

    For a home bod like me, playing all these amps is part of the enjoyment. I’m in no music scene to organically come across new gear etc.

  • I have so many rigs that I couldn't possibly play and evaluate them all. That said, I still enjoy the occasional foray into the rig wilderness. And, sometimes I hit something really special :)

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

  • playing all these amps is part of the enjoyment

    This! It's inspiration as well. A lot.


    I think the neverending hunt for the ultimate tone is kind of genetic in us guitar players. And kind of the emotional side. When the rational side comes up and tells you that x-thousand rigs are enough then the emotional side kicks in... only these 10 to add... or 120 in case of the 2020 pack :)


    Well, other people pay the same amount of money to watch a movie in the cinema and get popcorn for it... we buy profiles...

  • beware ,, the rabbit hole,,,dont spend more time looking,, then playin,,,,,, jus sayin,,

    Very true Sir! One of the many things the Kemper has given me is focus. I know it’s not the case for many but I no longer look at amps or pedals etc. At one point I had the big 3 Strymon, a Morningstar MC6 and a Helix Stomp and more. The amount of software and tangents(midi for one) that all generated took way too much time.


    Now the focus is on playing, profile experimenting and in my case, learning to capture audio. All more enjoyable than the above.


    However, I do type this from deep inside a huge rabbit hole.?

  • beware ,, the rabbit hole,,,dont spend more time looking,, then playin,,,,,, jus sayin,,

    Indeed, it's a rabbit hole second only in size to the entire friggin' internet, Mario. :D


    I'd suggest the OP venture forth with caution. The free Rig Packs in Rig Manager ought to provide enough of an idea where he would like to start, and with any luck, those tasty example Rigs hand-picked by Kemper might just be all he needs... apart from the 14 000 free Rigs on the exchange. :pinch:


    If you suffer from any trace of OCD, even if you choose only one vendor, the danger is that you'll be forever buying his new packs whenever they come out, if for no other reason than to keep your collection "complete".


    I'm reminded of a fella I knew who bought a teddy bear for his niece or someone 15 years ago. He now has around 20 000 teddy bears, some of which are worth thousands each. I kid you not. He has no particular fondness for them and keeps them all in storage, but he was bitten by this sinister desire that I referred to, that of feeling compelled to complete a collection of something.


    Through the ages marketing strategies have relied on this weakness of ours, possibly most-obviously when it comes to including a free, random baseball / football / motorcar / cartoon character on a cardboard, laminated card in a cereal packet or a useless plastic-molded character at a supermarket checkout. Kids obviously suffer from this affliction and for many it doesn't abate... ever. :pinch:


    This phenomenon is totally applicable to Profile-buying IMHO; I've seen and experienced it time and again.

  • This phenomenon is totally applicable to Profile-buying IMHO; I've seen and experienced it time and again.

    Nicely said Monkey_Man - well humans are hunters and gatherers. Guitar players are humans. All natural to hunt as much as we can... 8o


    Just as said above it might be wise to hunt only as much as is really needed in order to carry it back to the cave (i.e. manage it cleverly in RigManager).