I think I have Kemper burnout

  • I think I may be getting burned out on the Kemper Powerhead...I'm not sure what's going on, but the direct tone for recording is not sounding good these days...I primarilly use high gain profiles form STL, MBritt, a few othe expensive studio and direct profiles...I've gotten some inspiring tones in the past, but now I find myself scrolling through the 3000+ profiles I have...and I swear I can't find a good one...Too fizzay, too trebly, too bassy....nothing feels "expensive" as it used to...I did the most recent update, and there's a certain "tightness" that is missing...I can't quite pin it down, I just know that I used to plug in, pull up a 5150 III high gain profile (..didn't even mess with the eq)..and recorded..Sounded great! ...for some reason...nothing sounds "natural" to me on this...and all of the high gain stuff sounds the same...evenin headphones..I don;t think there's somehtign wrong with the unit, but something changed to the point where I end up just getting more and more discouraged and fried form chasing tone down the rabbit hole , so to speak.. I even took a few days off, and it wasw worse. I never have had this much frustration with having a consistant tone...It's changging like every day..WTH?!?!?!? Maybe I'm just getting "kemper burnout"...

  • The Kemper never provided a "natural" sound. The "recorded" sound is a carbon copy of a "mic'd cabinet" sound. If you want a more natural sound then you would use the Kabinet, but not for recording.


    You can tweak a profile to sound closer to a natural sound for recording purposes but then it will sound like mud in a mix. I use profiles like this when I just want to hear my guitar alone or just playing over a generic drum track for practicing.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • The Kemper never provided a "natural" sound. The "recorded" sound is a carbon copy of a "mic'd cabinet" sound. If you want a more natural sound then you would use the Kabinet, but not for recording.


    You can tweak a profile to sound closer to a natural sound for recording purposes but then it will sound like mud in a mix. I use profiles like this when I just want to hear my guitar alone or just playing over a generic drum track for practicing.

    I have a cab hooked up..I go back and forth...Typically add some bass for some of that "hair"..I think I'm just tired of chasing the tones instead of playing...The sound I was getting , or was inspired by...it's not there...Like I mentioned..I might just be burnt out on it..

  • Sounds like something changed. I am on my Kemper about 3 hours a day minimum and dont see that ever ending :love: But I love tweaking and tweak all day long. Then like you, come back the next day and go Ewwww thats kinda bad. But I think it is because I am getting better at it each time.

    What are you playing thru the most? Studio monitors? Cab?

    Every device has different EQ.


    What changed?

    New guitar? New strings?


    What volume?

    Try to play at the same volume each day. Speakers and our ears change at different volumes. I struggled a little before I started trying to tweak at the same volume each time. Then test it at different volumes. And no matter what louder is always sounds amazing.


    Is there a chance the Kemper volume is too loud and clipping in a device you are using to monitor. I see profiles once in a while on the Rig Exchange and they are wayyyyy tooo loud. You stated even headphones sound bad so probably not.

  • Don't force it. Try something else - maybe a real amp you always wanted to have. Spending months on tweaking the tone seems like waste of time, especially when it is source of frustration and kills your creativity. Don't know how old you are but our perception of things and hearing sensitivity changes over time as well and it is quite normal. Hope you'll find your tone eventually.

  • When I need refreshed, I'll watch some videos of tones I considered best of the best and ones of famous artist's rigs etc. One example is the BE100 Vid by Phil X and Doug Rappoport that made me want one. Now going back and watching, I realize I can easily and consistently get that exact tone and more (Bert BE100). I watched a Paul Gilbert vid that sounded really good then compared the tone to what I can get from my Kemper and the Kemper was better. His playing was great but tone not so much. I find I get "used" to having killer tone and I only need to play a couple "premium boutique" amps in a store or listen to sounds I always considered the grail to reset myself. It's all in the profile. Try Bert's BE100 and TJ 74 Marshall. Everything you need for rock right there and I haven't had a pack dethrone those yet. YMMV.

  • At one point I also felt that my rigs did not sound as good as they used to be ...

    Don't ask me why but doing a factory INIT globals did the trick and brought everything back to life.


    I never knew what setting was changed to have that impact, but something did ...


    I always thought it was due to auditioning rigs and that some had a permanent impact on my sound ? Can be complete BS too, but that was the only valid assumption for me at that point lol


    Try that, who knows it will solve it :)


    Raf

    Kemper stage with 2 mission pedals (in a Thon line 6 FBV case) and a Zilla 212 (K-100/V30) , SD powerstage 700 poweramp

  • It would probably be a good idea to go over the output settings as well. My Kemper came stock with the SPACE effect active (2.5) on the output. That makes a huge difference when playing loud and in stereo like I always do.


    Or maybe check the INPUT settings for Noise gate and sensitivity. Maybe your gain is being soaked up in there which would make all your profiles sound weak and wonky.


    I have not messed with the global settings enough to think of anything else.

  • I have that too, from time to time, even thought not as bad as you descripe it.

    Last time when i had a bit of a "kemper-down", a friend had bought a hotone ampero and i helped him with installation and making some rigs, when i got home i switched the kemper on... and it sounded soooo damn good again !


    So, find a friend with an ampero! ;)

    Edited 2 times, last by o0NAC0o ().

  • I have that too, from time to time, even thought not as bad as you descripe it.

    Last time when i had a bit of a "kemper-down", a friend had bought a hotone ampero and i helped him with installation and making some rigs, when i got home i switched the kemper on... and it sounded soooo damn good again !


    So, find a friend with an ampero! ;)

    Trying other $3,000.00 &$4,000.00 amps will make you come home and beg your Kemper for forgiveness and take you back. The Kemper is just so musical. The more other high dollar gear & amps you try the more you realize how awesome the Kemper is. I spent the holiday in music stores trying out tons of expensive stuff just to realize Kemper has completely eliminated my GAS. I just look at other amps and go "That's nice".

  • Trying other $3,000.00 &$4,000.00 amps will make you come home and beg your Kemper for forgiveness and take you back.

    I agree. My taste is a little different than most. But every profile I hear of a REAL WORLD AMP sounds muddy and like its being played thru a tube because of the cab+mic situation. But the Kemper lets me tweak the cab settings, add some EQ, a treble booster and voila it sounds amazing! So I have no great desire to drop $3-4k on a single sound amp that will need a bunch of pedals etc to get it where I want it anyway.


    As of late I also find this helps:

    1) Having the Studio EQ (parametric) set around 5500 - 6500 Hz with a high Q (narrow) filter, to reduce the distortion fizz, works wonders.

    2) Adding the M.Britt™ Compressor settings with a little gain boost makes high gain profiles roar.


    It would not be practical to even try these things with a real amp.


    NOTES:

    - M.Britt™ comp settings are all dials around 12 O'clock then adjust the mix to dial in the thickness it adds.

  • Thanks for all of the feedback..very helpful. I definitely have no desire to spend big$ on amps (..I already have a Mesa MK IV..) I did find that the main guitar I use is causing much of this issue..We've had some pretty radical weather swings (Hot/cold/hot,dry, wet, cold..etc..) in a short period of time, and I literally just realized what was minor fret buzz has now become a harsh metalic fret buzz everywhere, and boy does every amp in my house pick it up, especially the Kemper (Frankenstrat with Tom ANderson H2+..very "Hi-fi" sounding..) . Grabbed some other guitars (PRS, Eastman) ALl sound killler...so a full on fret dress and I'll be fine. Looking forward to trying the MBritt Compressor and Studio EQ suggestion (Thanks RosBone!)

  • 1) I've never had a problem with "fizz" from a Kemper. Fizz is a byproduct of too much gain. I find with a Kemper I can use lower amounts of gain below the fizzy threshold and keep sustain and fullness. It's like the entire amp has more sustain without gain or hindering dynamics. The way it feels is what makes me love mine the most.

    2) Are you using the compressor pre amp or post amp? Which slot?

  • 1) I've never had a problem with "fizz" from a Kemper. Fizz is a byproduct of too much gain. I find with a Kemper I can use lower amounts of gain below the fizzy threshold and keep sustain and fullness. It's like the entire amp has more sustain without gain or hindering dynamics. The way it feels is what makes me love mine the most.

    2) Are you using the compressor pre amp or post amp? Which slot?

    1) The fizz is definitely on high gain stuff and is more a matter of taste. Since speakers naturally roll off around 5-6k it just lets you tweak it more to how you think a real speaker would sound. Death metal you may want all the fizz. I am starting to believe the Kemper over exaggerates the frequency response of CABINETs when the profile is made. This may be a marketing decision to get it closer to sounding a way your brain may expect to hear it. But I constantly roll the CABINET CHARACTER back to get a flatter freq response. Like the SPACE and PURE CABINET settings.


    2) The compressor is always PRE amp. My default effects for high gain in order are:


    GEQ - High cut set around 2.5k to reduce noise. Other freqs to adjust pickup/amp color. 80Hz down -3dB if woofy/muddy.

    NOISE GATE - Usually 4:1. Some profs are low noise so I rarely use the 2:1.

    COMPRESSOR - All dials between 12-1 Oclock. Adjust mix for tone. Volume set to add gain (pure boost).

    Empty - Sometimes a screamer or OC but they color the sound a lot, so I may make a separate prof if used. Nobles when?

    AMP

    CABINET

    SEQ - Tone shape and the 6k fizz cut.

    TREBLE BOOSTER - Low mix value and tone set to fill in missing freqs in profile.

    CRYSTAL DELAY/SPACE - May add ducking to emphasize long sustaining notes.

    REVERB


    Sometimes I swap the SEQ and BOOSTER depending on who they are interacting with each other or if the booster high freq needs tamed.


    I am a noob and still learning everyday. But with this line up I feel I can dial anything in to where I like it.


    Yesterday I made an edit of a tone on the Rig Exchange:
    PROFILE EDIT TEST

    But after hearing it on multiple speaker setups I was not going to post it. But we are here talking sound so...


    I just run thru a bunch of play styles for a high gain sound that show me how the profile reacts. There are three setups: original, original modified, and cab swap . Most are normal tuning, then drop D, then drop C.


    BugeraPlexiTest.zip

  • I think I may be getting burned out on the Kemper Powerhead...I'm not sure what's going on, but the direct tone for recording is not sounding good these days...I primarilly use high gain profiles form STL, MBritt, a few othe expensive studio and direct profiles...I've gotten some inspiring tones in the past, but now I find myself scrolling through the 3000+ profiles I have...and I swear I can't find a good one...Too fizzay, too trebly, too bassy....nothing feels "expensive" as it used to...I did the most recent update, and there's a certain "tightness" that is missing...I can't quite pin it down, I just know that I used to plug in, pull up a 5150 III high gain profile (..didn't even mess with the eq)..and recorded..Sounded great! ...for some reason...nothing sounds "natural" to me on this...and all of the high gain stuff sounds the same...evenin headphones..I don;t think there's somehtign wrong with the unit, but something changed to the point where I end up just getting more and more discouraged and fried form chasing tone down the rabbit hole , so to speak.. I even took a few days off, and it wasw worse. I never have had this much frustration with having a consistant tone...It's changging like every day..WTH?!?!?!? Maybe I'm just getting "kemper burnout"...

    Then ditch the power section and start experimenting with tube power and 12" speakers.

  • Trying other $3,000.00 &$4,000.00 amps will make you come home and beg your Kemper for forgiveness and take you back. The Kemper is just so musical. The more other high dollar gear & amps you try the more you realize how awesome the Kemper is. I spent the holiday in music stores trying out tons of expensive stuff just to realize Kemper has completely eliminated my GAS. I just look at other amps and go "That's nice".

    Exactly the same thing here. This is it...I'm done. My only experimentation will be different tube and speaker sounds, but right now my stereo tube power amp and 4x12 is the be all end all.

  • Hey guys thankls for all of the input..As mentioned previously, In addition to recording direct, I run the Powerhead into a recto412, as well as a 112 Creamback when I don't need as much. The profiles I use are all done with V30's, and OS V30 412 cabs, so when I go into either of my cabs, my tone is gold. I found that it is one of my main guitars is the issue...metalic fret buzz on every note, every string (..a little buzz is acceptable, this is different, ) I switched out guitars (Grabbed my Eastman Solid body and PRS singlecut), and the annoying sympatheic metalic resonant tone isn't there. Somehow my Frankenstrat's neck "freaked out" with the crazy weather we're having (..a full on fret level and fret dress will take care of the issue). I will also say I tried the Kemper through a 290 Boogie Power amp, and aVHT Poweramps....Did't like it as much. It would have required a tremendous amount of "re-tweeking" (...dialing out the flubby fat bass, etc..) That little bit of "hair" that the tubes gave me wasn't "night & day" with the power amp of my Kemper, not enough to redo the whole rig. I've seen some players that run through a tube poweramp, and their tone is amazing! Again, Not into the heavy racks...and neither is my back! lol. So in short, I'm good. Thanks guys!