[Noob question] Why do Kemper commercial profiles exist?

  • Hi, kemper noob question..


    The Kemper comes with hundreds of professionally engineered stock profiles (plus thousands of free user profiles in the rig manager) and has a decade of updates under its belt..


    After already spending thousands on a Kemper, why is it many folks shell out additional $ for 3rd party profiles? Is there something in particular the free profiles are lacking? Thnx for any enlightenment

  • Because they sound great to them? I personally like very much profiles from one well known profiler (MB) and I really enjoy almost all of them that I bought. And definitely don't regret! 2nd reason is, that I don't want to spent my time with finding and trying thousands of profiles from RM. And I know that some of them are really great but other are definitely not my cup of tea. And to find right ones is for me quite time consuming.

  • Rigs are including PROFILEs and the chosen vehicle to share. All Rigs provided by Kemper GmbH are free of charge. The Rigs exchanged amongst users in Rig Exchange are also free.


    In addition there are 3rd parties, which make a business out of providing Rigs commerically either because they have access to rare gear or have a superior compentency around capturing the sound of tube amplifiers and guitar cabinets and optimizing these sounds for live and studio applications.


    Some of the KEMPER Rig packs are selections of commercial provider material shared for marketing purposes. So, before you acquire commercial Rigs, you might want to check, what's already available for free.

  • Because they sound great to them? I personally like very much profiles from one well known profiler (MB) and I really enjoy almost all of them that I bought. And definitely don't regret! 2nd reason is, that I don't want to spent my time with finding and trying thousands of profiles from RM. And I know that some of them are really great but other are definitely not my cup of tea. And to find right ones is for me quite time consuming.

    You still audition the commercial profiles you buy beforehand, correct (by listening to demos)? Isn't that just as time consuming? And also, how can you know what the final sound will be, considering your guitar is different from the one profiled?

  • People buy packs of amps they don't have access to, thus can't make their own. Fairly simple concept.


    I have bought packs and some are great, while others are meh at best.


    My main profiles are mine that I made from my amps. I use them about 99% of the time. But, I am not opposed to buying profiles of amps that I want to check out, and don't have access to make my own.

  • Hi, dmiraie

    After already spending thousands on a Kemper, why is it many folks shell out additional $ for 3rd party profiles? Is there something in particular the free profiles are lacking? Thnx for any enlightenment

    ? Before you buy Commercial Rigs and Profiles, check out the Rig Manager for Rig Packs and Rig Exchange


    I have learned and continue to learn from videos put out by people who make commercial profiles. So I bought some of their rig packs to thank and support them.


    It's great fun to wander through profiles of amplifiers I have never heard in the commercial packs I've purchased. However, I can't say they are significantly better than the ones included with the Profiler. And I've found some I really like in Rig Exchange.

  • You still audition the commercial profiles you buy beforehand, correct (by listening to demos)? Isn't that just as time consuming? And also, how can you know what the final sound will be, considering your guitar is different from the one profiled?

    You're right. You can't know if profiles will sound as good for you with different guitars and pickups or diffirent tuning. Some commercial rig packs have some killer profiles and some are fillers for me. Some packs have been just a meh and a waste of money. I'm like the most here. I use both commercial profiles and some free from RE. With RM it's peace of cake browsing and testing profiles worth to save. Before where you had to download toa memory stick and load it to the kemper and install to only find the profiles sucked. That was a pain in the ass and time consuming.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • Honestly, i have not really even bothered to try the 'stock' profiles.

    When i first got the Kemper, my priority was to start working with the TopJimi Van Halen stuff, which was possibly the primary reason why i chose the Kemper over Fractal. After that, i went to Michael Britt and ToneJunkie stuff, because i had been exposed to their demos and forum comments about their products during the many years i lusted after a Kemper. They basically had built-in brand equity.


    And afterward, i tend to gravitate to 'recommended' profiles that i find out about in forums, or stuff that is being marketed, because i'm hearing/watching those demos on youtube, so i have a sense of the quality/qualities.


    I probably also have a predisposition to disregard stock presets in modeling systems, so i'm sure i have a prejudice against the free stuff, whether that's irrational or built on past experience.


    But, yeah, i should and will go back to try the stock stuff.

  • I probably also have a predisposition to disregard stock presets in modeling systems, so i'm sure i have a prejudice against the free stuff, whether that's irrational or built on past experience.


    But, yeah, i should and will go back to try the stock stuff.

    That's a little bit funny, because in the "stock" content there are some profiles by TopJimi and Michael Britt. Have a look at the factory content and all the other rig packs!

  • That's a little bit funny, because in the "stock" content there are some profiles by TopJimi and Michael Britt. Have a look at the factory content and all the other rig packs!

    Yes, i recognize that. And there are a bunch of other profiles by other people in the free set, who are also in my paid profiles sets. I think i was just speaking about my general tendencies to avoid stock presets. I don't really doubt the quality of the Kemper stock stuff. I'll get to them!


    Thanks—

  • If I want a profile of a particular amp I will just sort my search by amps and look at stock, rig exchange and commercial profiles.

    Just happens that some well known commercial profiles will often sound better to me, probably due to experience, mic choices etc. There are "diamonds in the rough" though.

  • Its a scam, Stock profiles is all you will ever need. But if you want the kemper to sound good then you need to buy or profile yourself

    Come again?

    Kemper PowerRack |Kemper Stage| Rivera 4x12 V30 cab | Yamaha DXR10 pair | UA Apollo Twin Duo | Adam A7X | Cubase DAW
    Fender Telecaster 62 re-issue chambered mahogany | Kramer! (1988 or so...) | Gibson Les Paul R7 | Fender Stratocaster HBS-1 Classic Relic Custom Shop | LTD EC-1000 Evertune | 1988 Desert Yellow JEM

  • Its a scam, Stock profiles is all you will ever need. But if you want the kemper to sound good then you need to buy or profile yourself

    Yeah….uhm…. No. Just no. This is such a negative viewpoint and so completely inaccurate.


    Using the word scam is a insult to the people taking the time to profile the amps they have access to and offering them to others. How is it a scam to simply want to be paid for the work they’ve done? Do you work for free?

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

    Edited once, last by Ruefus ().

  • Its a scam, Stock profiles is all you will ever need. But if you want the kemper to sound good then you need to buy or profile yourself

    Hardly. I must disagree.


    Unless you happen to own a room full of vintage and boutique tube amps and cabs .... along with some grade A mic setups, it is unlikely that you could ever cover the quality and breadth found in commercial profiles.


    I use a mix of profiles that I found on rig manager (usually through suggestions on the forum) along with a few commercial packs. All of my gigging profiles have been tweaked for my guitars, taste, and my PA to sound the best for the kinds of songs I play live.


    I replaced my venerable VHT Ultralead with my KPA. I did profile it (a few times) before I sold it, but the truth is that none of the profiles I was able to create are as good as the ones I have found and tweaked.


    So you see, my use model is exactly the opposite of yours ..... and to me, commercial profiles are very important and I thank those that make them so we can all enjoy their amps and hard work..... and pay more attention to just playing music!

  • Been using Kemper for 1 year now and never paid for a profile. I don't believe you have to. Just do your homework. If you can't get a killer tone with the 1000's of free ones then you not going to get it by paying for it. How many of your favorite artists paid someone else to get their tone that you love so much? Zero? (Def Leppard excluded).


    That's my philosophy.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.