input clipping with emg active pickups

  • I just started using EMG active pickups on a high gain profile for a hair metal gig we are doing. im just practicing at a room level right now and The input hits red every once in while, I adjusted the clean sense to about -2 and the clipping went away. i really can't tell tell if it effects the gain/distortion, but, my ears do play tricks on me sometime and I dont wanna get on stage and crank it up and get a bad sound. Am I adjusting the right thing? or is there a different way to go about this?


    Thanks.

  • Yes, you are adjusting the right thing. Clean sense shouldn’t have any effect on high gain sounds. Someone posted recently saying that it definitely does even though the manual says it doesn’t. However, I tested it afterwards and I couldn’t hear any difference (which is what Kemper say to expect) so either Kemper are correct or the change is subtle wenough that my ears can hear it ?

  • Try this:


    Loop some strumming with the looper in the pre position (system settings) .


    Adjust clean sense so that you get the same perceived loudness between 0 and max gain (rotate it).


    This should be the ideal clean sense setting.


    I'm curious where you end up though in your situation?

    Kemper PowerRack |Kemper Stage| Rivera 4x12 V30 cab | Yamaha DXR10 pair | UA Apollo Twin Duo | Adam A7X | Cubase DAW
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  • I just started using EMG active pickups on a high gain profile for a hair metal gig we are doing. im just practicing at a room level right now and The input hits red every once in while, I adjusted the clean sense to about -2 and the clipping went away. i really can't tell tell if it effects the gain/distortion, but, my ears do play tricks on me sometime and I dont wanna get on stage and crank it up and get a bad sound. Am I adjusting the right thing? or is there a different way to go about this?


    Thanks.

    A bit of red on the input is ok, its if its consistant there is a probelm....are you actually hearing clipping or just worried that it is?


    The other point is....hair metal? I play in a hair metal covers band!! Nice one!

  • Ive had this happen to me as well. Most of my guitars have EMG's in them and it has never caused an issue even without touching the clean or distortion sense. I sometimes get a bit of red on the input but thats it, it never stays a constant.

  • Yes, you are adjusting the right thing. Clean sense shouldn’t have any effect on high gain sounds. Someone posted recently saying that it definitely does even though the manual says it doesn’t. However, I tested it afterwards and I couldn’t hear any difference (which is what Kemper say to expect) so either Kemper are correct or the change is subtle wenough that my ears can hear it ?

    it can only have effect on a distorted tones.
    we can say it’s true that it doesn’t alter the gain in the profile but it drives the amount of gain of the input.


    So less clean sense, less gain.


    But it can be tweaked by boosting dist sense a bit.

  • EMG user here as well and I've had no issues with clipping. It's all about where you have your gain set. That's why I love EMG's so much - you push the amp so hard at the input that an amp's gain can be greaty reduced.