Needing 1000 rigs.

Some of us were discussing all the rig choices and how some people are juggling around 20-30 amps. I tell people that are tube amp snobs about my Kemper all the time with mixed reception how dynamic it is. I was a tube amp snob, so I understand.

Last night I had a raging distortion profile that will scream harmonically and sustain in beautiful controlled feedback at will. I was recording and wanted to see just how clean I could get it. I coil tapped and brought the volume down and was getting an amazing clean sound that most people wouldn't believe was actually a screaming amp with the twist of a knob. Best part of it was, that it maintained a perfect balance to the dirty sound that sat just right in the mix. I think the Kemper cleans up better and more usable than a tube amp does. I had to report this as I was pretty blown away that it could get that clean and spanky with no noise and then go to full on . With modlers I had in the past, turning down the volume resulted in horribly broken up grit, and I would never use the volume knob to clean up I just hit another preset. With the Kemper I find myself using the volume knob much more. It actually cleans up without drastically lowering the perceived volume somehow which is amazing to me. Now I don't need a bunch of rigs that have different gain levels, I just use a couple and between that and maybe a drive pedal and my volume knob I have uncanny versatility.

Quote from BayouTexan

Was it a free profile? Can you post so we can hear how it screams ourselves?

I recall it was "G6 boost" from BM's BE100 pack, That doesn't really matter, as that's just one of my favs . Most good high gain distortion profiles will do the same thing I'm pretty sure. (Clean up well). I was lead to this pack from the Kemper Legacy pack's VH profile. I discovered who the original author of the profile was and became curious about the rest of his stuff. For free stuff, that is close to amp sounds I use in the BE100 pack. (I don't think it really sounds like VH but sounds great.)

Few of my FX slots are the ones that came with the rig. Proper delay/reverb really helps the amp to "sing". I have two saved stomp and FX blocks I usually put in as a "default template" when I build performances Left to right : Wah, chorus or flanger, Phaser, boost or drive ped. Then a blank spot for a harmonizer or post amp modulation, then a barely detectable delay with 1-1/2 repeats that helps drive the reverb and makes it big that Is on most of the time, med/large dual delay, and reverb.

Quote from DonPetersen

the compressor in the AMPLIFIER section is for exactly this - cleaning up by turning down the volume pot without losing too much volume.

Thanks I didn't acknowledge that. I'll have to experiment with it. That could be a important control I'm overlooking when tweeking.

Quote from whippinpost91850

would love to know what profile you were using

Just about any good sounding high gain profile will do this. Lots of rigs in the free stuff will clean up beautifully. I'm going to look into the compressor in the amp section Don spoke of. It may be a key differences in profiles I like and don't like.

Quote from Kim_Olesen

Never knew that. Thanks for this info. I always had problems with cleanup, and this is probably the solution i’ve been looking for

I was thinking the same thing as I've found some clean up better than others and keep the volume where I want it. I never checked the differences in amp compression.

Quote from V8guitar

This is a great post as I think its one of the great things about the KPA BUT TBH I don't use it.

For me, backing the volume off was one trick we used when we were limited to one amp in a conventional set up. Bit like sticking a boost pedal in for solos, I see it as a compromise.

I tend to use a dedicated clean amp instead BUT I also limit my Rigs to 5 or 6 anyway.

To me this shows that the KPA can be used like a "conventional" set up or using its programming benefits. Not all digital solutions clean up like the KPA.

Love it!

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I never used it since the 80's when I used a JMP 2204. Normally I'll go for a clean rig too but am amazed by the way a Kemper can clean up even with a very distorted profile. It's almost unbelievable. I've found that some higher gain amps can produce a punchier clean sound than some clean amp profiles do. For me, never being a real volume knob user, it's fun to see the range of sounds you can get that way.

Quote from DonPetersen

in the early 2000s I saw Hansford Rowe with Gongzilla in a small club in Hollywood and he had the most amazing bass sound.
Talked to him about it afterwards and it turns out, he runs a monster of a tube bass amp pretty much wide open and does everything with the volume pot and his fingers.
This and the way many fuzz pedals react to changes on the volume pot prepared me for how musically the PROFILER reacts to these changes as well.

What is so cool about the Kemper is one size can fit all. You can either use it as described, blazing hot and then use volume control to vary cleanliness and dynamics in a way that feels JUST like a tube amp (or better), or run it like a rack device that has a different gain level for each preset. I've always been intolerable to any compromise and want what I want when I want it with a guitar amp, and the Kemper has been giving me that. If I feel like running it like a cranked up plexi and use the volume control, it does it perfect. If I just want to go from an AC 30 to a grinding ENGL, it does that too. I initially wrote this because I never really inspected how well the amp can clean up and really surprised me recording how (I'm guessing) the amp compression kept everything right with the mix. It never got weak, stayed punchy but not pokey. Having played gillions of amps, I would challenge anybody to come out with any amp, show me it's ability to go from shred level high gain to excellent clean with only the volume control and I'd bet I could match/beat it with the Kemper. Sometimes I feel like this amp HAS to be part "accident" and there's no way someone actually designed this with this ability to act so "tube like" and ability to adjust the feel, like it came from the future.