Is my Stage broken since I bought it? I’m desperate

  • Hi!


    I bought my stage brand new last year in April.


    Since I have it, I have this problem, I’m hearing a high fuzzy layer on top of every profile.


    At the start I thought it was like that and the « It’s a miced amp tone blabla ».


    But before the kpa I played with a tube amp and a torpedo live and didn’t have that problem.


    I have those tones no matter if I play my strat, my tele, wireless or cable, direct to monitoring, or with my Soundcard or straight to foh or whatever.


    I tried everything, all the updates, init global, system full reset checked every détails countless times.


    So I recorded some samples with some well known profiles coming with the kemper stage in rig manager.


    The profiles are M Britt 69 mars 50 9 3 and JCM 800 1 5 2.


    I did a init global just before recording. Remove all post effects and set the master to main mono to be sure it’s a straight recording.


    The last one is with single delay preset and single delay preset set at 50% mix.


    I’m becoming mad.


    I’ve done everything, pickups height, strings height etc. On all guitars.


    There is always that fuzzy layer, no matter which profile I play. I already had some comments on that top end when I posted some sample on some fb groups. Also a strange reaction of the attack.


    No clipping anywhere


    I also have the « set up clock » problem since the beginning.


    Please help.


    The samples : recorded with a fender strat deluxe 50th anniversary 2004 with sd jbjr in the bridge and Texas special custom shop fender neck.

    Xlr straight into Soundcard (usb) to logic.


    69 mars 50 93:


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    jcm 800 1 5 2

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    Jcm 800 + delay

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  • maybe you are especially sensitive to high frequency artifacts that can be introduced by close mic'ing?

    have you activated Pure Cabinet and tried different values?


    do you hear the issue also in this video (and only in the PROFILER when it is compared to the actual amp)?

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  • You just need to get used to that top layer of fizz that a mic introduces that DonPetersen mentions. Your examples sound good, and any fizz you perceive will get squashed in a proper mix. It does take awhile for your ears to get attenuated to a mic'd sound but, rest assured, you are good to go!

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • As people have said already, it sounds pretty good. The fizz usually lives around the 3-5 kHz range. 5k and up gives you the pick attack and "airy" sound.


    THINGS TO TRY:


    M.Britt usually uses his P90s when making profiles. He may have used Humbuckers since these are a little more gain than normal for him. If you are then using Single Coils the amp will sound gritty and bitey, since it is tuned to the humbuckers. I would roll the AMP DEFINITION down. Too much and it will get real bassy and you will lose a lot of the pick attack. Which is another thing you mentioned. The AMP DEF really changes the sound of the pickups/profile so make large adjustments to find where your limits are, and then make slow adjustments to find just the right tone. There will be a small sweet spot.


    Next I would try a little EQ. Generically set Presence on AMP EQ to about -2.3. Then bring the Hi/Treble up a little to get some brightness back. You may need to adjust the MID down a touch if it sounds too dark/muddy after killing the highs. After playing a while you may bring the Presence back up a little.


    Next attempt would be to switch the AMP EQ to PRE. This will let you tweak the pickup response using the AMP EQ. Then add a studio EQ after the AMP. This will give you total control of the fizz and attack. The 3rd filter should be set around 3.3 kHz with a large Q and roll the gain down to reduce the fizz. I normally set the HI filter to around 800Hz and add a little gain to bring the brightness back.


    AMP GAIN

    Another thing to try might be rolling the AMP GAIN down a touch. A lot of profiles get fizzy/scratchy when you add more gain than the profile started with. Then you need to add a pedal to get some gain back in a cleaner way. Having a pedal and some AMP DIRECT MIX always results in a more dynamic sounding profile.


    A Compressor before the AMP set to 4.5, 2.6, 85%, 1.0 is a good place to start. Dial the 4.5 up/dn for gain and the 2.6 up/dn for pick attack. The 1.0 gain can also be up/dn for gain, but this pushes the amp more like the gain control on the amp so it may result in the fizz coming back.


    A pure DS pedal with gain set around 2 gives a decent push without mangling the tone.


    CABINET

    Sometimes the CAB in the profile just sounds wrong to you. And no amount of EQ will fix it. I would try some different CABs. This will squash that fizz before it even exists. I posted a DSL40 cab I made on here some place that sounds pretty good. There is also a FENDER DELUXE profile on the RE that has a great CAB. M.Britt has a great Rockman profile that has a darker sounding CAB that may work great for this Marshall tone and Single Coils.


    DSL40 CAB POST


    I have found when making profiles that the guitar used is key to the result. The bridge pickup has more mids, the neck more hi/lows. This imprints into the profile. Bridge will sound smooth and the neck will sound bassy and fizzy. So you can look thru the RE for amps that used humbuckers in bridge position (99% of gain profiles) and swap those CABs with yours in RM.


    SUMMARY:

    Your tone sounds amazing. Great playing also. Sounds like you are really close to where you want to be.

  • I have found when making profiles that the guitar used is key to the result. The bridge pickup has more mids, the neck more hi/lows. This imprints into the profile.

    Or maybe slightly more precise: This affects how the person profiling dials in the tone.

    Kemper PowerRack |Kemper Stage| Rivera 4x12 V30 cab | Yamaha DXR10 pair | UA Apollo Twin Duo | Adam A7X | Cubase DAW
    Fender Telecaster 62 re-issue chambered mahogany | Kramer! (1988 or so...) | Gibson Les Paul R7 | Fender Stratocaster HBS-1 Classic Relic Custom Shop | LTD EC-1000 Evertune | 1988 Desert Yellow JEM

  • Or maybe slightly more precise: This affects how the person profiling dials in the tone.

    No, I think it literally alters the IR/CAB and locks in the tone (Freq Resp of the pickups). You will also see the AMP DEF being different. Same guitar same profile will sound different if different pickups are used.


    What you play during the REFINE also tweaks the CAB. I am still trying to figure out what works best for me.


    So if I were to make a clean Fender profile I would use the neck pickup. Doing high gain stuff, the bridge and a humbucker. Super high gain I would use a metal pickup like an EMG 85.


    But I agree with your statement, that the profiler may adjust the sound to the guitar afterwards. M.Britt always has some small tweaks like a compressor or echo.

  • Totally agree with that too btw. regarding refining (despite popular belief and direct quotes from Kemper people). Intuitively I suspect that how you dial it in affects the tone more. But I agree.

    Kemper PowerRack |Kemper Stage| Rivera 4x12 V30 cab | Yamaha DXR10 pair | UA Apollo Twin Duo | Adam A7X | Cubase DAW
    Fender Telecaster 62 re-issue chambered mahogany | Kramer! (1988 or so...) | Gibson Les Paul R7 | Fender Stratocaster HBS-1 Classic Relic Custom Shop | LTD EC-1000 Evertune | 1988 Desert Yellow JEM

  • I think the good Fender Deluxe CAB is on Rig Exchange as:

    Fen69DLX V-Clean

    TorOskarOvaJohnsen


    This cab has a ton of dynamic range, good bass, and a specific high end. It may work good a Marshall type sound.


    Just a good example of how a good CAB will change things.


    I still have not figured out how to get a good CAB sound. The CLEAN setting seems to make more dynamic versions but not always. And the frequency response does weird things to CABs and makes them sound very compressed and dead. I have made about 200 CAB only profiles and still not figured it out, because I am not to bright 8o

  • M Britt 69 mars 50 9 3 is a Kemper Factory Preset.

    Well now I am conflicted. No preset on my Kemper sounds that good. My Kemper must be busted also 8|


    I looked thru my M.Britt folder and did not see it. I removed a ton of presets, that one must some place weird. Thanks :thumbup:

  • Kemper have consistently and persistently stated that the guitar used for profiling does not affect the resulting profile whatsoever. It only affects how you dial in the amp for that specific guitar and sound before the profiling process starts.

  • Thank you all for your answer!


    ....sounds good to me..no hi freq fizz here. How are you listening to it?

    my monitors (not high end ones), shure se535, bose qc20i, and the Bose sound system (don’t know the name but a big one) we have at rehearsal.
    the only source when I’m not hearing is the Cheap Bluetooth speaker of my 3 years old son. Lol. On this one it sound amazing… go figure…


    maybe you are especially sensitive to high frequency artifacts that can be introduced by close mic'ing?

    have you activated Pure Cabinet and tried different values?


    do you hear the issue also in this video (and only in the PROFILER when it is compared to the actual amp)?

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    in the video I hear it in the two. On the miced amp and a little more on the profile (very little, the profile is so fantastically close to the amp, amazing).


    So my ears are doomed right ? Lol.


    For the samples as I did a init global, the pure cab was on 3. I usually don’t use it as I think it make lose some original character of the profile.


    Whaou thanks for this so great answer! I will reply you back when I’ve tried all your solutions.
    but thanks a lot!!!

    Try a graphic eq in the x slot and lower 10k and the one beside it 6k I think it is. Also you could trylowering high shift in the cab block to a negative value, best of luck☘️

    I’ll try to tweak more the cab section. But it’s not that easy, minor changes makes big differences and take some time to get the ears refreshed to judge the tone and not comparing it too much and focusing on the « yeah but now I miss this » etc.

    Set high cut at between 6,5 and 7khz. Problem solved.

    thanks gonna try more drastic cuts!



    again thanks to you all for your answers!

    I’m gonna try some tweaks tomorrow and post here!

  • Well now I am conflicted. No preset on my Kemper sounds that good. My Kemper must be busted also 8|


    I looked thru my M.Britt folder and did not see it. I removed a ton of presets, that one must some place weird. Thanks :thumbup:

    Well it looks like there will soon be another Kemper on the USED market. My Kemper comes no where even close to Joshuas tone. I tried every guitar, pedal combination, added Noise gate, etc. My Kemper sounds like complete shit compared to the MP3 provided.


    This is why I have been spending 40 hours a week on trying to get good at adjusting the Kemper tones, because mine is busted.


    Looks like a Helix is on the near horizon???


    Joshua I would kill to have the tone you provided. The whole reason I bought the Kemper was for this tone. I heard videos of M.Britt marshall profiles singing with harmonics like this. Mine has never done it. My $200 Peavey Vypyr does it. But not my $1800 Kemper.


    Thanks for this post. You have saved me months of tweaking mine. I will just get rid of it.


    My Kemper puts out a ton of like 50Hz and somewhere around 3-4 Khz. The low to mids are compressed all to shit. No matter what I do I can never get that mid range singing over tones. My Kemper never has that deep 4x12 cabinet thump either.


    Well it was fun talking with all you guys, best of luck in the future.

  • the rig I used are in rig manager. In the Britt folder.


    I did a init global before recording so there was the pure cab activated at 3.0. As it is by default.


    I indicated the name of the profiles. You can find them easily in rig manager.


    I just removed the reverb from the profiles, and set the output to master mono (even if I use stereo) to be sure to check only the pure amp tone.
    on each profile I played without effect engaged and with the boost or boost+eq that was on the rig.


    For the last one I just use a single delay preset stock and then just mix it down at 50%