I gave up...the Kemper ships back tomorrow. (Solved)

  • it sounds like something is clipping in that video


    i definitely don’t hear that sort of thing on mine.

    I checked out your Kemper Vs Boogie vid, and I did not hear any fizz. Thank goodness! But I would like to hear some super high gain profiles without a mix so I can be sure before I empty the bank account.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • Here is another vid where you hear nothing but fizz in the high gain profiles. I don't want to dis anyone or offend them but there is no way these recorded profiles sound good to anyone. I am so frustrated. Mind you, I don't hear any fizz with clean tones just breakup and high gain ones.


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    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • Here is another vid


    So again we have someone connecting XLR instead of TRS. For this audio interface it's basically the same like the Focusrite example I discussed before. XLR is for microphone, TRS is for line inputs. See how low he turned the gain knob to have it not clip in the digital realm?

    These kind of basic mistakes can cause things like "fizz" (I really don't like this term). Impedance mismatch, preamp overload, plenty of things can go wrong.


  • So again we have someone connecting XLR instead of TRS. For this audio interface it's basically the same like the Focusrite example I discussed before. XLR is for microphone, TRS is for line inputs. See how low he turned the gain knob to have it not clip in the digital realm?

    These kind of basic mistakes can cause things like "fizz" (I really don't like this term). Impedance mismatch, preamp overload, plenty of things can go wrong.

    So XLR from Kemper out to TRS in on the interface. I am writing all this shit down!

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.


  • So again we have someone connecting XLR instead of TRS. For this audio interface it's basically the same like the Focusrite example I discussed before. XLR is for microphone, TRS is for line inputs. See how low he turned the gain knob to have it not clip in the digital realm?

    These kind of basic mistakes can cause things like "fizz" (I really don't like this term). Impedance mismatch, preamp overload, plenty of things can go wrong.

    Thanks for that - I currently plug the Kemper stage to Focusrite scarlett 2i2 with two XLR to XLR cables (L & R).


    I don't hear any fizz or problem with the sound, but indeed the gain on the focusrite set really really low (almost all the way to the left) so it won't clip.


    I'll get XLR to TRS as you suggested. So after I'll switch the cables the gain could be set higher (like 12 o'clock) without clipping?


    For the OP - My suggestion for high-gain after spending hundreds on commercial profiles, get Josh Middleton heavy tones 3 pack

  • So after I'll switch the cables the gain could be set higher (like 12 o'clock) without clipping?

    I don't have one of these Focusrite interfaces here, so I can't test, sorry. I don't know how Focusrite map their gain knob for the line input. All I can say is that per their manual and specs, a proper line input (using TRS) won't go through the mic preamp stage.

  • So, I'm checking out IR's and found this Pete Thorn demo, which I say, okay no way he has that "fizz" but he does! I don't know what setup he is using for the IR's but if even Pete has it then maybe my ears are just getting anal too it. I hear very slightly in the mix, but if you go to the solo at 5:21, I can hear it good. You can also hear it at 6:20 where it is pronounced on the high strings. I am going nuts. I might have to unlearn my hearing.


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    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • OK, I've had a theory on this but have been waiting for more proof, and I think you've just provided it, BT:


    It's a harsh, high-end grit that helps guitars cut through the mix. Sounds terrible in-isolation.


    You hear it in spades, for example, in iso-guitar tracks from '80s cock rock. You think to yourself, "How the Hell could I have loved that tone all these years?". Answer: 'Cause it was in-the-mix.

  • OK, I've had a theory on this but have been waiting for more proof, and I think you've just provided it, BT:


    It's a harsh, high-end grit that helps guitars cut through the mix. Sounds terrible in-isolation.


    You hear it in spades, for example, in iso-guitar tracks from '80s cock rock. You think to yourself, "How the Hell could I have loved that tone all these years?". Answer: 'Cause it was in-the-mix.

    I think that it is the same thing that goes on when someone makes a rig that has lots of bottom on it. Sounds great all by itself ..... then gets swallowed up in the mix..... so you turn it up so you can hear it ..... and then the mix turns to mud.


    What sounds good in the mix is almost NEVER what sounds good in isolation IME.

  • So, I'm checking out IR's and found this Pete Thorn demo, which I say, okay no way he has that "fizz" but he does! I don't know what setup he is using for the IR's but if even Pete has it then maybe my ears are just getting anal too it. I hear very slightly in the mix, but if you go to the solo at 5:21, I can hear it good. You can also hear it at 6:20 where it is pronounced on the high strings. I am going nuts. I might have to unlearn my hearing.


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    So it's like buying a new speaker cab and replacing the one in a profile you have?

  • So, I'm checking out IR's and found this Pete Thorn demo, which I say, okay no way he has that "fizz" but he does! I don't know what setup he is using for the IR's but if even Pete has it then maybe my ears are just getting anal too it. I hear very slightly in the mix, but if you go to the solo at 5:21, I can hear it good. You can also hear it at 6:20 where it is pronounced on the high strings. I am going nuts. I might have to unlearn my hearing.


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    to be honest most of that just sounds like a well mic’d guitar tone to me. After c.6:30 where he does the muted chugs, I’m not mad keen on the bright pick click but I am sure that is a large part of what lets that track cut through in the mix. It doesn’t sound digital fizz to me but rather just an SM57 close to the center of the speaker.

  • OK, I've had a theory on this but have been waiting for more proof, and I think you've just provided it, BT:


    It's a harsh, high-end grit that helps guitars cut through the mix. Sounds terrible in-isolation.


    You hear it in spades, for example, in iso-guitar tracks from '80s cock rock. You think to yourself, "How the Hell could I have loved that tone all these years?". Answer: 'Cause it was in-the-mix.

    I could not agree more Nicky!!!


    I mentioned previously I downloaded the TopJimi Ozzy pack....the Randy Rhoads sound is horrible....but when I re-listen....totally correct. In the mix its sounds fab, on its own, thin and raspy!

  • And now a short intermission with real tube amps, just to compare the "fizziness" to some KPA profiles ........


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    Cheers !

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

  • I wish I knew the correct word for it, 'cause IMHO it's in a higher frequency range than fizz as we traditionally talk about and know it.


    To me, fizz is tamed by cabinets and on-axis mic'ing - it's the opposite of cream.

    This, OTOH, is what I described earlier (and still have no better way of doing so) as high-end grit. It's harsh grit, scratchy, not silky-smooth.


    It does the job for / when mixing 'though, as evidenced by the examples Hoki Toki Kindly posted. :thumbup:

  • And as John Petrucci says: "The ideal guitar sound is a little ugly."

    Kemper PowerRack |Kemper Stage| Rivera 4x12 V30 cab | Yamaha DXR10 pair | UA Apollo Twin Duo | Adam A7X | Cubase DAW
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  • And as John Petrucci says: "The ideal guitar sound is a little ugly."

    I wouldn't take his word for it... :D


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  • I wouldn't take his word for it... :D


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    While isolated - there is no way that's the sound coming out of his amp. Stone quiet and clear. Like nearly all recorded music, there is little doubt that his sound has been massaged post-production.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche