Classic Rock Medium Gain Lead Tone?

  • Hello friends, I am getting straight to the point!


    I am pretty happy with my Kemper on almost everything, but I can't get a really good medium gain classic-rock lead tone. Something with a little breakup, but with power and sustain like a cranked miked tube amp.


    I always find something that lacks "power" and sustain, or has that cocked wah thing, or it's noizy and I have to add a noise gate (stomp or the general one) which also adds the cocked wah effect (the noise gates on the kemper are maybe the worst part of it).


    I have tried profiles from almost all vendors, the ones I gravitate more to are Katzbach and Big Hairy. I don't like at all Britt and Junkie. I have also tried Top Jimi, Bert, Mattfig, Agl and many others I probably can't recall now, all the free packs from the other ones, all the stock profiles.


    I am even considering getting an Axe 3, I hear a lot of great tones on it and at least everything is in there, I won't have to spend another 1000$ at profile-chasing.


    Any suggestions for such tones? Any samples or links? Thanks in advance.

  • My recommendation for a starting point: Marshall 68 Superbass-Profiles by Martin Suijs. You find them in Rig Exchange. There are several Profiles with different settings. Also the Fender 64 Bassman-Profiles bei Martin Suijs maybe a good starting point.

  • I have tried profiles from almost all vendors, the ones I gravitate more to are Katzbach and Big Hairy. I don't like at all Britt and Junkie. I have also tried Top Jimi, Bert, Mattfig, Agl and many others I probably can't recall now, all the free packs from the other ones, all the stock profiles.


    I am even considering getting an Axe 3, I hear a lot of great tones on it and at least everything is in there, I won't have to spend another 1000$ at profile-chasing.

    Honestly, if you've been through all those highly regarded profilers and it's still not doing it for you, it could be that the Kemper / profile approach just isn't a good fit. Selling your Kemper and switching to an Axe may be the right path for you.


    That's not meant as a contrarian response. When I was shopping for the Kemper I also listened to the Axe and the sounds were very much on par. I thought they were both top notch. They are, however, very different approaches to getting a guitar tone, and it's the approach that sold me on Kemper.


    With Axe (and Line 6 offerings), you have all the building blocks and can construct your tone from the ground up. I suck at dialing in tones even on a tube amp, and don't enjoy the process at all. Consequently, I prefer the ready made profiles approach so I can benefit from those who are better at it than I am. I audition one, I either dig it or I don't, and move on from there.


    In your case, if you can't get what you want to hear out of all those different profilers (I play classic rock, by the way), then you may need the ability to build your tones from scratch. For that, an amp modeling system versus Kemper's profiling may be the only way you'll truly be satisfied. If that's the case, no dishonor in selling the Kemper and buying an Axe. People change amps all the time.


    Of course, if it's just GAS and the Axe looks shiny, then buy it! New toys are always fun. :)

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • I have tried profiles from almost all vendors, the ones I gravitate more to are Katzbach and Big Hairy. I don't like at all Britt and Junkie. I have also tried Top Jimi, Bert, Mattfig, Agl and many others I probably can't recall now, all the free packs from the other ones, all the stock profiles.

    Innocent question: what volume have you been listening at? Feels like Fletcher-Munson raising its ugly head...


    I always find that I feel my profilers / simulants / plugins sounding a bit "lifeless" when listening on my studio monitors, but when I route them through an FRFR speaker at typical gig volumes, they come to life. There's just something about moving air at sufficient volumes...

  • If you tried all these profiles and you still don‘t feel compfortable with the Kemper,

    just go ahead and sell it and buy an Axe.

    For me, in 2015 it took some weeks to get my Kemper to sound the way it should.

    If you don‘t have the time or you are not able to adjust it, it is not yours.

    Maybe the Axe will be.

  • My recommendation for a starting point: Marshall 68 Superbass-Profiles by Martin Suijs. You find them in Rig Exchange. There are several Profiles with different settings. Also the Fender 64 Bassman-Profiles bei Martin Suijs maybe a good starting point.

    Thank you very much! Will try them ASAP!

    Thanks for your input! If you have any recommendations for the tones I am searching please be my guest :) I mainly use a Prs, an Sg or a Tele for such tones but I prefer humbuckers to avoid hum problems etc

    Innocent question: what volume have you been listening at? Feels like Fletcher-Munson raising its ugly head...


    I always find that I feel my profilers / simulants / plugins sounding a bit "lifeless" when listening on my studio monitors, but when I route them through an FRFR speaker at typical gig volumes, they come to life. There's just something about moving air at sufficient volumes...

    I listen at low volumes on studio monitors. Of course the louder the better, but I have great results from edge of breakup cleans, super cleans and moderate/high gain rhythm or leads even at low volumes. Mainly using for recording.

    If you tried all these profiles and you still don‘t feel compfortable with the Kemper,

    just go ahead and sell it and buy an Axe.

    For me, in 2015 it took some weeks to get my Kemper to sound the way it should.

    If you don‘t have the time or you are not able to adjust it, it is not yours.

    Maybe the Axe will be.

    I feel very comfortable with the Kemper and I have done over 200 payed sessions with it. I am just searching for a tone that I can't get no matter what I do. Any suggestions of such profiles would be welcome. Thanks.

  • Thank you very much! Will try them ASAP!

    Thanks for your input! If you have any recommendations for the tones I am searching please be my guest :) I mainly use a Prs, an Sg or a Tele for such tones but I prefer humbuckers to avoid hum problems etc

    I listen at low volumes on studio monitors. Of course the louder the better, but I have great results from edge of breakup cleans, super cleans and moderate/high gain rhythm or leads even at low volumes. Mainly using for recording.

    I feel very comfortable with the Kemper and I have done over 200 payed sessions with it. I am just searching for a tone that I can't get no matter what I do. Any suggestions of such profiles would be welcome. Thanks.

    I suggest the TAF Marshall JCM 800 Hot Rodded profiles.

    Really good rock tones.

    https://www.theampfactory.com/…m800-hot-mod-15-profiles/

  • Have you tried the Victory amp profiles? About £5 per pack so probably worth a try?

    Should be something for anyone on them.

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

  • Is is really all about the right profiles..keep on searching..


    I would recommend to look for profiles of carr and matchless amps.For some reason all of the mid-gain profiles I use are from these amps.And for some reason..guys who own these amps do plenty of great profiles..

  • The sustain that comes from a cranked tube amp is achieved with the interaction between the guitar pickup and the speaker. If you don’t want to turn up, try getting closer to your monitor.

    This, Jimmy, and...


    Have you given the Compression parameter in the Amp block a proper go? Cranking it a little should help IMHO.

  • Have you tried the Victory amp profiles? About £5 per pack so probably worth a try?

    Should be something for anyone on them.



    Run your Kemper into a power amp with a cab and take any of the Marshall profiles (I'm using only the stock ones that came with the unit) from TAF. You may be pleasantly surprised.

  • I know you mentioned you are not a fan of MBritt's profiles but, his Friedman BE-50 Deluxe profiles in his Crank N Go pack are just stellar! I use them almost exclusively for rock tones.