Automatic Killswitch / Auto Volume

  • I remember that my old Replifex had an amazing kind of „Killswitch“-Sound that was like an extreme „Tremolo“ - with totally muting the sound. With the Kemper-„Tremolo“ there is no such volume option. “


    I would love to have such a simple effect again that can create this Killswitch/Stutter-Effect - especially for distortion sounds.

  • Good Morning,


    Thx for the tipps. I am not getting it to a “stutter”-/killswitch-effect. It reduces the volume a bit - yes but way to softly.


    As with many other effects you can also assign bpm. So it would be great to get a killswitch-effect that is time based. I think it is nothing more than a little change of a panning effect. Instead of shifting the sound from left out to right out it should be just mono with volume to zero. Maybe I explained it not clear enough.

    Regards

  • As my wife always says “there is anything but timing” to my playing I think I can cope with everything that comes closer to the rhythm section than myself...


    Apart from that I could imagine that the beat scanner of yours could do the trick: e.g. if you assign the effect to a certain stomp you press down the button on the remote to activate the “killswitch-effect” while you are playing a certain pattern (the effect tracks the bpm). Once you let loose the button the effect will be activated. Maybe this could work?


    I have the same problem with the looper that has the same feature and sometimes I am getting it on the point on the next situation I don’t...


    Another possibility would be if the “speed” of the effect could be assigned to an expression pedal?


    Third possibility could be the tap tempo button (mute will be activated once tap tempo is pressed). But that might require a kind of “bar logic” within the Kemper. I remember there were some Kemper users wanting that feature for the looper.

    Just some quick thoughts.


    P.S. Do not really remember that I ever had problems with my Rocktron effect unit (apart from the sound quality).


    Thanks for the interest and impulse.

  • I played around with this a bit. Try putting the tremolo before the stack. That will make it mono and stop the panning.

    Set the tremolo with the depth at 10.0 and the crossover at 20.6. Set ducking at <0.0>.


    Then set the rate. For me, the tremolo didn't "stutter" unless the rate was set faster than 1/16trip with the tempo tapped in as quarter notes. It seemed the faster it was set, the more it stuttered. It's just perception because the trough of the tremolo does not go down all the way to silent/off and at slower note values it is discernible.


    It seemed to "stutter better" with no other effects prior to the tremolo. Try putting the Tremolo in Slot A.

    If you need it to be stereo, add stereo delay(s) after the stack. They will stutter also.


    As I tweaked on this, I got more of a "sputter" effect by using two tremolos with one set at 1/16 and the other set at 1/32 (and many other note values).


    And, I could not help myself: try putting three (okay, I'll admit it: I tried four ) tremolos prior to the stack. This did get closer to a stutter at slower note values. Set the tremolos to the same note values. Two tremolos set at the same note value seemed to improve the stutter.


    (Okay, Okay, just don't tell anyone else, but I also put a fifth tremolo after the stack and various combinations are worth checking out;))


    But seriously, I'm not sure if that will work for you, or even sure if that is the effect you are trying to achieve. My thoughts are that, at faster note values, the tremolo does sound like a stutter. The trough of the tremolo does not go low enough to cut the sound off so, at slower note values you can hear that there is no break in the sound.


    Please update us here as you tweak on it and let us know what you discover.

    Be Thankful.

    Edited once, last by kevinduren ().

  • It's just perception because the trough of the tremolo does not go down all the way to silent/off and at slower note values it is discernible.


    It seemed to "stutter better" with no other effects prior to the tremolo.

    i remember trying to create the killswitch effect when someone else asked about it a while ago. I couldn’t get close as the tremolo doesn’t go to off but an idea might be to put the Tremolo in front of a 4:1 gate with a high threshold. In this case the gate should kick in as the tremolo sweep goes negative. I haven’t tried it and suspect the gate attack might not be fast enough but its worth a try.

  • i remember trying to create the killswitch effect when someone else asked about it a while ago. I couldn’t get close as the tremolo doesn’t go to off but an idea might be to put the Tremolo in front of a 4:1 gate with a high threshold. In this case the gate should kick in as the tremolo sweep goes negative. I haven’t tried it and suspect the gate attack might not be fast enough but its worth a try.

    I had the same thought regarding the gate, but had no luck.

    Be Thankful.

  • maybe we need way more slots for adding effects...

  • An interesting question would be, how you would sync it to the music in a live performance.

    With the TAP button on the remote. There has to be a fraction parameter (1/2, 1,4, 1/8, etc.) in case the tempo is that high that you can only TAP each second, fourth, eight, etc. beat. :)


    Default is a DIRECT mode, meaning BUTTON PRESS=NO SOUND, the TAP mode would work similar to the concept you already use for the delays.


    Hope this makes sense, otherwise I‘ll have to try again in German. :)

  • Syncing delays is easy, as they it resyncs with every note played, on audio base.

    Syncing a tremolo or other time-based effects is a different thing, as it cannot get triggered by every arbitrary note.

    If you play together with a drummer, a tremolo will be hard to keep in time.


    There is a prototype approach embedded in the TAP engine that would allow such resyncing.

    You can test it with the Tremolo. Set it to 1/8 notes.


    The TAP button does not only set the tempo by quarter notes.

    Whenever you press the TAP button again, after a longer pause of a bar or more, you resync the timing as well by the first TAP.


    This also works if you don't TAP quarter notes.

    A single TAP, made once per bar or less often, will resync the timing, without changing the tempo.

    Simply press TAP on the "one" of the next bar.


    This will only work with Tremolo, Flanger and Phaser, synced to the tempo.

    It will not work with delays, as delays do not rely on an absolute timing (fortunately).


    Try it out!

  • Hiya CKemper.


    I tried all the aforementioned possibilities to achieve an stutter effect. Unfortunately currently the Tremolo effect doesn‘t deliver a nice stutter-/slice- or killswitch-sound.

    I wouldn’t bother a perfect sync so much. I would rather join an improved volume drop within the tremolo effect. Maybe that could be improved by an additional „volume parameter“. I like the tremolo rather be hard.


    Thanks anyway for that wonderful product. It takes its time but once reached a certain level it opens „doors“.


    Regards.