Sweetened tunings... let's do this!

  • It's been a while since I've seen a dedicated thread on this (and please forgive me if I somehow missed it) - would be SO GREAT to get Peterson-stye offsets/sweetened tunings as selectable tuner options on the Kemper. I recognize it will require a bit of software design/development (and IT is my day job, so I get that it will take some time to properly implement this feature) - but I think the payoff would be huge for a lot of players out here, even those that have never explored sweetened tunings before. The subtle improvements translate to a quantum leap in enjoyment as a player, when playing alone or with others (when they also tune to the selected offsets).


    Going to the Peterson on my live gigs a few years ago was a revelation for me and the other guitarist I was playing with - everything just sounded better/sweeter/"righter" ;).


    Mr. Kemper... PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE can we get this in an upcoming update?

  • Is “sweetened tunings” the same thing as equal temperament? If not, would the guitar sound more out of tune with the keyboardist?

    No Paul, its just a series of offsets from standard pitch the open strings. you can already do sweetened tunings with the current tuner by simply tuning say the G string 7 cents flat, the B 3 cent sharp etc this request would simply store those offsets in the background so that the display would show 0 cents indicating the player is in tune with the selected sweetened tuning.

  • It's amazing how much difference the tiny offsets can make.


    As an example - if you try to play certain Van Halen tunes with standard/unsweetened tunings (forget for the moment that EVH also tuned down to Eb...), songs as simple as running with the devil, just do not sound right... until you VERY slightly flatten out the b string. Suddenly everything sounds MUCH better. You can easily prove it to yourself next time you have a guitar in your hands.


    I remember reading an article recently where Eddie talked about how he had his own personal offsets, including the slightly flat B, to do what he does. I think he may have even revealed what the offsets that he used were... I'll see if I can find that again.


    BTW, AxeFX already offers this ability to store custom tuning offsets - so clearly alot of people benefit from this functionality. Building the tuner was the hardest part... adding the ability to store custom offsets would hopefully not be nearly as major an undertaking (but of course I'm not a Kemper developer, so perhaps they can weigh in on this?). Mr. Kemper - lets make it happen!

  • There is an older thread about that topic...

    Mr. Kemper also chimed in. :)


    Customized tuner settings in Kemper

    Thanks - good to know that this concept is getting some attention at Kemper ;)


    I personally feel that this is low hanging fruit for the Kemper developers that would have a big bang for the buck. Programmable offsets, across all 6 strings, saved as a custom set, that could be called up on demand (so, for example, custom tuning 1 = EVH running with the devil for 6 individual strings; custom tuning 2 is Buzz Feiten offsets for 6 individual strings; custom tuning 3 is sweetened offsets for bass guitar, focused on EADG, etc... users could either create their own set of offsets, or select from preset sweetened tunings.


    Mr. Kemper - lets make it happen!

  • Count me as someone that's gone to Peterson and not coming back. I use their own sweetened tunings for everything now, including bass and ukulele. Only exception is my electric with Buzz Feiten - that one gets the BF electric setting. So smooth and precise.

  • It would be excellent if we could program in as many offsets as we want...I play a number of different instruments through the Kemper, including pedal steel, which is a whole "thing" when it comes to tuning. I love my Peterson tuners, but having similar functionality in the Kemper would be so convenient!

  • Thanks for the heads up re these, guys - bought a 50 quid clip on Peterson. Obviously great for electric, and shone on acoustic. But where it really paid for itself was on my banjo - there was always a bit of dissonance with some chord voicings, but with the dedicated sweetened tuning it has never sounded so good. Yee har'

  • Yes, I would like these too! I would like it to be not based on 6 strings, but on +/- cents per semitone. I also play the pedal steel guitar (poorly), and I would like to tune to the Emmons tuning using the Kemper.