overwhelmed at 3rd party rig choice... where to start?

  • This is probably a very frequently asked Q, but I'm asking it too! Just got my Kemper. I'm hearing of people deleting all the factory rigs and stocking up on third party. Is there that much difference in quality? And how do I know where to start? Rig Exchange or commercial? Are there some must-haves? Would be grateful for a nod in the right direction to get me going. I'm not much of a hi gain or metal guy, would be more interested in vintage tones and thick creamy cleans which sound great with verb....


    Thanks for any advice!

  • Hi Mudchild and welcome. I'd suggest to check RE first. There's s a gazillion of good profiles.....and don't delete anything just yet! Get your head around the KPR. I know I had to, coming from the Axe-Fx and never had a KPR before.

    If yo haven't, read the manual and don't forget the KPR video. Very informative for sure. Best of luck and enjoy your KPR! :)

  • Hi Mudchild.


    Welcome, and congratulations on getting your Profiler.


    Don't delete the factory profiles. There are several Rig Packs (visible in Rig Manager), and many are free ones from some popular third-party commercial sources.


    13225-pasted-from-clipboard-png


    Check out those before spending money on commercial profiles. And have some fun cruising through the thousands of profiles in Rig Exchange (also accessible through Rig Manager). Just because someone charges for a Profile doesn't mean it's better for you.


    Here are some essential resources for you.

    Kemper Manuals and Quick Start guides

    Rig Manager Download and Documentation

    Kemper Tutorials & Demos


    Cheers!

    ST

    Kemper Profiling Amplifier (unpowered) [2014], Remote [2016], Stage [2020], PowerRack, Remote & Kab[2021]
    Twitter | LinkedIn | My Blog | My Kemper Notes

    Edited once, last by ST: Added picture of Rig Packs ().

  • Welcome Mudchild , have fun here in the forum and with your Kemper! Great advice here from jarabuandi and ST ...definitely my thinking as well.


    Just to add:

    I'm hearing of people deleting all the factory rigs and stocking up on third party.

    Go slow. Kemper is more complex as some might think in the first minutes. It took me quite a while to discover the beauty of many of the profiles. Even the ones in stock or in the enclosed RigPacks. It depends also a lot on your use case. Practicing, rehearsal, live, studio? There is rather no one-size-fits-all solution in the profiles. What works well for you alone to practice might not work well in a mix or in a band context. Different animals...

    Is there that much difference in quality?

    Yes and no. There are great profiles across the place, free and commercial ones. The question again is rather more what suits you well. Different commercial profilers do have their fans, you can read this frequently here in the forum. Still undoubtly many of them deliver great profiles which are often different in the way they are made or what they are tailored for. See above...


    Have fun exploring this. Look at the RigPacks and free packs from the commercial profilers. So much out there to try... 8)

  • Are there some must-haves?

    If you want 3rd-party Rig pointers, try this sub-forum:


    Third party Rigs discussion


    The boys have covered everything relevant to that "nod in the right direction" you requested, Mudchild, so I've nothing to add, except...


    Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new Kemper! 8)

  • Ah, some good info folks, thanks! I'd not yet figured out how to connect RE to RM - that's much better. A few things have been clarified. I can see a lot of wading through rigs coming up over the festive period. But it's all in a good cause!

  • I'm not much of a hi gain or metal guy, would be more interested in vintage tones and thick creamy cleans which sound great with verb....


    Thanks for any advice!


    Congrats on entering the Kemper world. There are some good tips listed in this thread . Take your time, try a few rigs, and understand slight knob adjustments with the EQ (especially clarity and definition ) can dial the tone into your liking. Take at look at the pure cabinet setting as well.


    Since you like vintage style tones I have had good success with these from Lucky Lady Vintage Guitars.


    https://luckyladyvintageguitar…kemper-profiles-volume-1/


    Last night I was playing a Heritage hollow body through the dirty bassman profile and thought the tone was fantastic. Good luck on your tone - Kemper journey.



    By the way what are you using for speakers? I settled in after some experimenting with a Kabinet and have been very happy.

  • Prepare for a potentially long search, BUT when you find the tones that work for you, it'll be worth it!


    I bought a lot of packs, from a lot of places, before finding tones that really lived up to my expectations of what I'd heard the Kemper could do. Everyone seems to have different tastes, and audio demos don't tell you much, so always try a few free profiles 1st - if a company doesn't offer free profiles, stay away. Also, just because you hear a lot of people raving about a certain companies profiles, don't assume they'll necessarily work for your style, or guitar/pickups.


    That said, my recommendations for what you mention would be Live Ready Sounds & Top Jimi. Both of these have great feel (dynamic/expressive under the fingers - not many profilers manage to capture this IMO), and do some great vintage amps and tones.