Is there such a thing as a "sweet spot" for effects on the Kemper that generally speaking sound great to everyone?

  • The Kemper is definitely a powerful tool and music making machine, but sometimes it can be somewhat intimidating and overly complex to dial in tones. Sometimes you get a rig and you like it's sound, but the reverb or delay or something else just doesn't sound right. It might be too bright or maybe it too compressed. It may have too many repeats creating wash-over and feedback.


    So my question is when you bring in a new effect are the default parameters the "sweet spot" where things generally sound good or is it just a default starting point? Many times I see that some of the parameters are set to zero or not active. Once you start drilling down thru the menu/pages of variables there seems to be so many choices, ranges, and then especially the interaction between the parameters/variables (i.e. duration, feedback, hi cut, low cut, ducking, etc.) that I sometimes get lost in the mix. While Kemper's versatility is endless, it can also become daunting and counterproductive if all you are doing is tinkering with the settings. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a little tinkering, but I don't want to spend an excessive amount of time doing just that and not practicing or playing. I also get it ... that how something sounds and tone is highly subjective and that taste can vary from person to person and their ears. I good analogy is back in the day when I used to buy pedals, when they were new you would change the settings over and over again trying to find "that sound". Then ultimately you'd find a setting you liked and stick with it. You might even mark the dial positions on the pedal unit so you didn't lose that go to sound. That sweet spot. That is what I'm talking about.


    My next question is would it make sense to have a sticky post to help folks in the community (especially beginners) called "Sweet spots - Dialing in that rig" where people could post their helpful hints and parameter settings for certain effects and maybe even add a sound file? Just a thought.

  • I would guess that there´s as many sweet spots as there are guitarists out there .....

    Or at least as many profiles there is out there , cause almost anyone that made a

    profile thinks `that´s the one´ , right ?? 8o

    Then it comes down to what guitar, pick, strings you use compared to what was

    used during profiling ..... So a "library" of sweet spots is not possible IMOH.

    On the other hand, there is in fact a sweet spot library : Rig Exchange ( sort of .... ) :/


    And to add : How do you monitor your Profiler Rigs and how are your room treated acoustic ?


    Just my 2 cents :wacko:


    Cheers !

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

  • If we take delays (and reverb, for that matter) as the example. This may be obvious, but I'll say it any way...If you want a delay sound, pick a rig that stone-cold dry works as a basis. If its got compression or a dirt box or boost in line, ok fine. Just the core sound you want to dress up. Don't change the amp (or anything else) and expect not to get confused when the effects....uhm.....effect...changes.


    Limit yourself and ignore the more complex choices. Ignore the complex delays and stick with single or dual. Find a preset that appeals to you (analog....digital....tape.....etc). Something in the ballpark, even if that ballpark is the size of Montana.


    Ignore parameters that make little or no sense to you. Initially, I focused on mix and feedback only. For a long time, that's all I'd mess with. Then when I really couldn't get the decay and repeats to behave as I wanted I started twisting other knobs. One at a time.

    I was far less methodical than the above sounds. I often thought "Close enough...I'm wasting time in the weeds...."

    Understanding there is a learning curve with every piece of gear - close enough was good enough until I could articulate to myself what was actually 'wrong'. As in - the repeats wobble too much (check chorus or mod parameters...then flutter), or the repeats are too bright (hint: high cut), or the repeats get too splatty too fast (Grit).

    A bit rambling....but hopefully that helps a little.

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

  • IMO.... everyone has different ears so there is no sweet spot.


    Also, it depends what a particular track requires. If you think of ‘She Sells Sanctuary’..... the amount of fx on the guitar sound is pretty extreme but it just works. It would sound wrong on another track.


    It’s like asking ‘is there an ideal amount of garlic in a recipe’ when the recipes in question cover everything from chicken curry to lemon tart. You have to experiment and figure out where it fits :)

  • Is default settings a sweet spot? Absolutely not. Most of the time they are just set to 0 or 5 and have now specific musical intention.


    however, presets do represent so potential sweet spots for specific types of sound.


    As, Rufus said, start with a rig that sounds great without any FX then add what you need. When adding an effect (lets say reverb for now) there are two ways I would try:


    1 - once you have an amp you like load the Reverb FX and navigate to the Presets browser in Rig Manager. Use the search box to find all Reverb presets. Loom for something that resembles what you want such as Spring Reverb or Large Hall etc and load that. Now tweak the main parameters until you get what you need (mix, decay time, pre delay and maybe hi or low cut).


    2 - find a rig that has a killer FX that you like just the way it is. Make the fx into a preset with a name you will be able to find easily an save this. Now load an amp you want to use and add the just saved preset to the appropriate slot. Every time you find an effect that you really love just save it as a preset for future use with other rigs.

  • Thanks Ruefus your input is on point and Wheresthedug I like your suggestion #2. I have tried that previously, just takes time to find that "killer FX". I was just hoping to possibly refine the typical trial and error time consuming process of turning knobs with some sweet spot parameter values for certain FX effects. Probably asking too much since everyone's tastes are different.