The Acoustic Simulator

  • I tried the AS at first with a clean amp and had less than stellar results. Taking clues from here, I bypassed the amp section and with a neck humbucker on a all maple superstrat it was VERY convincing. It's pretty amazing actually. Other acoustic sims I have used just gave it that boxy sound but the Kemper gives it all these rattly artifacts, chings, squeaks & nuances that sound like a acoustic being recorded by good mics . You really have to tweek around on it but it's not a deep dive just 4 controls. Every time I tried adding a compressor it made it worse pre or post. When I recorded it, it seemed to be compressed just right as it was. I read where some were having issues making it loud enough but I did not experience that. It was very loud in the mix and so hot I actually had to turn the line out down a bit. I would rarely use an acoustic but it's cool to know how close I can get without having to drag one around for 2 or 3 songs. In summary I find the AS amazing frankly.

  • This is completely argumentative, insulting and inappropriate.

    I really am sorry you took this personally. This was not at all intended to bash you. I am merely disappointed with the sound of the AS with my PRS's and had high hopes that your settings would be eye opening (or ear opening). Chill man, I'm just jealous you got great sounds. I'll keep tinkering around.

    Gary ô¿ô

  • Just wondering why it would matter to start with a super clean program if you're going to turn it off anyway? If you had an ENGL invader amp there and turned it off, wouldn't you have the same thing as if you had a Jazz chorus and turned it off?

    Just from an eq stand point. In my opinion, the eq'ing of a clean rig will lend itself better to a good starting point for a better acoustic tone.

  • Just from an eq stand point. In my opinion, the eq'ing of a clean rig will lend itself better to a good starting point for a better acoustic tone.

    But with the rig bypassed the EQ is irrelevant.


    Are you using the Acoustic Simulator into a profile of an amp?


    I initially tried it into the profiles of some top acoustic preamps like the Fishman but even that wasn't as good as just bypassing the stack completely.

  • But with the rig bypassed the EQ is irrelevant.


    Are you using the Acoustic Simulator into a profile of an amp?


    I initially tried it into the profiles of some top acoustic preamps like the Fishman but even that wasn't as good as just bypassing the stack completely.

    No, im not using it into a profile. You def want to bypass the stack...no question.

    But the rig eq and input settings are still relevant.

  • i still don’t understand how the Rig EQ settings are relevant. If you turn off the amp section you also turn off the EQ as it is part of the Amp block. There is no EQ in the Rig menu. How is the Rig EQ affecting the Acoustic Sim in this scenario?

    I can't speak of any KPA other than the Stage version, as that is what I have.

    But the 4 knobs directly under the LCD are what I am refering to when I mention the rig eq (bass, mid, treb, pres). These controls, along with other perameters inside the "rig" button are fully functional (i.e. panorama and rig vol are really the only pertinent ones at the moment).


    I understand what you are saying about the Amp block, but the rig section is not the Amp block.


    I don't understand the inner workings of the KPA in regard to signal flow and what not, but even with the stack section disabled, these controls are still active and relevant.

  • OK, got it now! I use the Toaster and have now experience of the Stage but the functionality should be the same even though some of the specific buttons may differ.


    I mistakenly assumed that since Kemper moved the EQ from its own separate block into the Amp section (I believe this happened with the launch of the Stage but can’t remember for certain) that the EQ would be bypassed when the Amp section is turned off. Clearly it isn’t. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the profile you start with would have no impact on the use of the EQ when using the AS.


    The EQ on the Kemper is a fixed generic tone stack which doesn’t change with the amp profile. In the donor amp (the amp that was profiled) the EQ tone stack varies from amp to amp and often from channel to channel on the same amp. However, once this is profiled the original amp’s EQ is baked into the profile itself. The Kemper EQ is more like the EQ on a mixing desk. It doesn’t matter what signal you put into it the EQ itself doesn’t change. Therefore, even if the profile was seriously mid scooped (think classic Mesa V shape graphic EQ), the tone is baked into the profile not the EQ settings or functions of the Kemper. Of course the rig may or may not have ben saved with some tweaks to the EQ but more often than not profiles start with the EQ flat so distorted or clean profiles should have no impact on the starting point for using the AS.

    Many of the Rig settings such as Clean Sense are mainly guitar specific rather than profile specific so again whether the starting point is a clean or dirty profile shouldn’t really make any difference.

  • I tried the AS at first with a clean amp and had less than stellar results. Taking clues from here, I bypassed the amp section and with a neck humbucker on a all maple superstrat it was VERY convincing. It's pretty amazing actually. Other acoustic sims I have used just gave it that boxy sound but the Kemper gives it all these rattly artifacts, chings, squeaks & nuances that sound like a acoustic being recorded by good mics . You really have to tweek around on it but it's not a deep dive just 4 controls. Every time I tried adding a compressor it made it worse pre or post. When I recorded it, it seemed to be compressed just right as it was. I read where some were having issues making it loud enough but I did not experience that. It was very loud in the mix and so hot I actually had to turn the line out down a bit. I would rarely use an acoustic but it's cool to know how close I can get without having to drag one around for 2 or 3 songs. In summary I find the AS amazing frankly.

    We strongly recomment to switch AMP and CAB off, as it cannot do any good to the AC.

    Converting an electric guitar into something like an acoustic guitar has nothing to do with using guitar amps. It's a different world.


    When you use Acoustic Profiles in combination with the AC, you will stack two devices following the same purpose, and likely exaggerating the effect.


    Also we do not recomment using a compressor in combination with the AC. The electric guitar is sort of compressed already, compared to an acoustic guitar.

  • OK, got it now! I use the Toaster and have now experience of the Stage but the functionality should be the same even though some of the specific buttons may differ.


    I mistakenly assumed that since Kemper moved the EQ from its own separate block into the Amp section (I believe this happened with the launch of the Stage but can’t remember for certain) that the EQ would be bypassed when the Amp section is turned off. Clearly it isn’t. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the profile you start with would have no impact on the use of the EQ when using the AS.


    The EQ on the Kemper is a fixed generic tone stack which doesn’t change with the amp profile. In the donor amp (the amp that was profiled) the EQ tone stack varies from amp to amp and often from channel to channel on the same amp. However, once this is profiled the original amp’s EQ is baked into the profile itself. The Kemper EQ is more like the EQ on a mixing desk. It doesn’t matter what signal you put into it the EQ itself doesn’t change. Therefore, even if the profile was seriously mid scooped (think classic Mesa V shape graphic EQ), the tone is baked into the profile not the EQ settings or functions of the Kemper. Of course the rig may or may not have ben saved with some tweaks to the EQ but more often than not profiles start with the EQ flat so distorted or clean profiles should have no impact on the starting point for using the AS.

    Many of the Rig settings such as Clean Sense are mainly guitar specific rather than profile specific so again whether the starting point is a clean or dirty profile shouldn’t really make any difference.

    Yes you are absolutely right. I understand completely what you're saying, and yes profiles, in general, typically do have the EQ set flat.

    But if you did happen to haphazardly pick a super mid-scooped profile to begin with, for setting up the AS, you'd most certainly have to, at the very least, go in and level out the EQ bc it will definitely still be set up for that mid-scooped profile.


    Chances are, we all have a stellar clean profile(s) already set up for whatever equipment we are using and playing through.

    And chances are, we have tweaked the EQ section of that profile to get that clean sound sounding so sweet.

    And that, in my opinion is going to be the best starting point for implementing the AS.


    We are on the same page, no doubt. Just different roads and transportation to the same destination ;):)

  • Yes, I meant to say I turned the whole section off ( I figured if I needed the EQ I'd turn just it back on.)


    Also once I accidentally put two ACs right next to each other in B&C and it went NUTS! It was definitely a WTF moment! Like one of those guitar synth/unusable weird sound pedals lol)

  • I played a track for some friends that were astonished when I told them it was my 1983 Kramer Pacer (with a pretty hot neck pickup). I had the whole stack off and I think turned the Pickup control up a bit but the other controls weren't moved that much from the default. To me it sounded better than when I used to record a real acoustic with a pair of SM81's. If I produced the same sound FOH as I can get through my console, It would be way more than passable for acoustic songs.

  • I played a track for some friends that were astonished when I told them it was my 1983 Kramer Pacer (with a pretty hot neck pickup). I had the whole stack off and I think turned the Pickup control up a bit but the other controls weren't moved that much from the default. To me it sounded better than when I used to record a real acoustic with a pair of SM81's. If I produced the same sound FOH as I can get through my console, It would be way more than passable for acoustic

    That's what I'm talkin about! Happy you got it dialed in! :thumbup:

  • That's what I'm talkin about! Happy you got it dialed in! :thumbup:

    Thanks but I really didn't do much but turn it on. The "secret" is just to have the Amp and cab off. I noticed the overtones and distortions that make it sound like an acoustic are much more prevalent direct than through a live guitar cab. ( I go back and forth between the two all the time) I like playing the Kemper like it was a regular amp AND recording direct equally as much. When I am ready to put it into a live rig It will be both at the same time and i want to be familiar with both so I can make quick adjustments so the soundtech can go back to laboring over the drum sounds lol.