Difference in sound between commercial videos and pack itself

I would say first thing to do is play the same stuff you are hearing in the YouTube videos. To get as close to sounding the same as possible. And then make some sound clips so people here can try to help you out.

Also having a recording can let you here the sound yourself without having to play. You may be able to figure some things out yourself.

Play back the videos and your clips at the same volume on the same speakers/headphones.

People here will say videos have a lot of post processing done to them. Videos are also usually double tracked with music behind them which totally hides how they sound. So you need a video of just a person all alone playing the tones.

I cant help you because I never sound anything like any video either I also use Truth monitors. But even with some good headphones I dont hear similarities. But you should try some headphones also, maybe the Truths have freq cutoffs that just do not mesh with guitar.

I have not tried to match things up but you could start with Distortion Sense, output EQ, adjusting the AMP GAIN up, AMP DEFINITION, etc.

Maybe add an EQ as the first pedal to get your pickups/guitar sound closer to the people you are hearing. The Kemper is very touchy when it comes to pickups. First thing I had to do when I bought the Kemper was fix all the pickups in all of my guitars. Something I never noticed with any modelers, amps, etc I have used before.

Best of luck and keep posting here, I am very curious how you make out!

Try it with headphones and see if it's different.

You should listen to profiles with the same speaker setup as you would play them. So, if you use studio monitors to listen to a youtube video of a profile then your playback with those same monitors should be in the ball park. It won't be exact unless you use the same guitar and pickups the profiler person used plus have the same hi and low filter settings and global EQ, etc.

If you listen to a youtube video profile with desktop or hifi loudspeakers and play through studio monitors then the tone will be noticeably different.

Studio monitors enhance top end fizz as they should so you can hear it good enough to take some out. Regular speakers don't pick up on it that much. So if the profile is fizzy on regular speakers then it will sound much worse on studio monitors.

As Bayou said, if you are listening on the same monitors in the same room for both the video and your playing you should be in the right ballpark.

Another thing to bear in mind is that an untreated room and your listening position will put its own stamp on the sound (probably more so than the speakers themselves). However, if the room and position are consistent in both cases that won’t be your problem here.

RosboneMako also offers some really good advice. When you are playing you may be hearing some of the acoustic sound of the strings and pick along with the profiles which could trick you into thinking the profile sounds bad. The quieter the profile relative to the acoustic sound, the more dramatic the effect. Also, concentrating on playing could also affect your perception of the tone. By recording and listening back you remove both these issues.

Contact the profiler and ask him what guitar he used and what global settings he had on the Kemper. An example would be that he may have had a High Cut down to 4500 Hz which would warm up the tone pretty significantly, or Pure Cab was set to 5.0, etc.

Quote from Johndoebh

Until i bought it, installed it and boom...instant disappointment.

So...what the f$#@ am i doing wrong?

What are you doing wrong? Maybe nothing. My experience has been largely the same as yours. I have purchased profile packs from at least a dozen different commercial profilers. Most of them were "one and done" as in I installed them and tried them out and deleted them. Maybe I didn't spend enough time with them. The only profiles that I really like are from MBritt. They are plug and play for me. Sound great right out of the box with no tweaking. Of course, that's just personal preference but I figure if those sound great on my setup (Kemper toaster into two Yamaha DXR10 powered monitors on the floor facing up as wedges) the others should come pretty close and they don't. Not at all. I've stopped buying profiles from anyone else mostly because I have all the tones I need but partly because I am tired of being unimpressed and spending money for the privilege.

What studio monitors do you use? Do you have the opportunity to borrow other studio monitors from the band/friends to compare and test them?

Quote from Johndoebh

I might give a try on someone else's monitors to see if there is a difference.

As you have already said that you listen on the same system for both the youtube videos and your own playing, you can rule out the monitors.

Crazy thought.

1. Record yourself playing with backing tracks.
2. Upload the recording to YouTube
3. Compare your recording to what hear on YouTube

Both Kemper and the PC use the same studio monitors as you say.

Then there might be a mixer in between.

I would do the following:

Back up your KPA and factory reset it. You should definitely make a support ticket with Kemper because there are different reset routines.

Then connect your studio monitors directly to the KPA and restore your settings from the backup.

Test the sound.

Would be great to have the reference vids and some clips of you playing those same profiles.

Is this the reference video?

STL Tones Colin Richardson - Kemper Pack - YouTube

To be honest the sound of a single guitar sounds mushy anyway. In the context of a recording I suspect it will sound so much better.

I don;t think its the KPA or the profilers issue, it just shows that there is more to this than plug and play Im afraid. I do suspect something fundamental in your set up though is probably contributing.

I think the answer is a number of things:

1) The single chain of the reference - band mix, post production and signal chain etc.

2) Your monitoring. I think to rule out as much as you can, start with decent studio headphones - reduces monitor and room colour

The best "in band" guitar sounds often sound duff out of context.

Also there are a few people on here who are sound producers who can probably help as I think this is also a generic request on recording good metal tones.

One thing that needs to be mentioned is what happens to audio and video files on YouTube when uploading. The YouTube compression algorithm squashes the the ever-loving-snot out of the original signal. What we hear is similar, but definitely not the same as what the creator submitted.

At least for me, it is rare that I load a new Profile and have it sound at all like the demo. Perhaps I should, but I really don't expect them to. This has been true for me with other digital amps I've tried over many many years. It doesn't matter who built the preset or created the Profile....what I hear from a demo rarely sounds like a 'match' for what I hear through my own gear. Sometimes I'm pleased with the results, sometimes not.

I've thrown a few bucks at packs only to find the results underwhelming for me (this includes well known, if not revered Profile creators like Michael Britt and Top Jimi).

For the most part - I won't buy Profiles unless I can play at least one sample of the exact amp I'm considering. Or, the Profile creator is someone I've had good luck with before. Currently, Guido Burgenstock is my favorite. His Bognar XTC is fantastic. So is his JC120, Deluxe Reverb, Showman.....But again - that's just me. You may hate the amps and/or Profiles I love.

Also - I almost never use a Profile in its stock form. Whether its a boost, compression, Definition/Clarity......whatever. There is always a tweak or two I make to get what I'm after.