Using one amp.

  • For a couple years I had quite a few profiles of different amps that all sounded good that I could never decide upon. The choices got in the way of productivity. In the past I had a one or 3 channel amp that got me by playing everything from Metal to Beach boys. I bought the amp I liked then worked with it the best I could. Every year or so I'd get a new amp.
    I recall a couple Kemper players in well known bands that claimed to use 3 slots only all night. I always wondered why in the heck would they do that when you can have all these amps? Lately I have been using ONE profile that I found works great when you turn the gain down to 4 and use your volume knob for super clean to light breakup, and works great with gain 6+ that will cover rock to metal with some EQing. This way I don't get the "ear vertigo" from changing amps and speakers. IMO that is a great profile when it will cover that much ground. I started doing this after watching Thomas Dill and of of him manipulating one profile.

  • I used to try and use multiple amps based on the song or player. I quickly re-learned that "Just because you can....doesn't mean you should."


    For recording, I totally get it.....get *the* sound. In a live setting you need to know the sounds you're using so you can tweak on the fly.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • ideally you don't even need to tweak on the fly ;)

    When I play live the amp is set at soundcheck and that's it. Don't have the calmness for tweaking on stage :D


    I always think, that the only use for dramatic different sounds is when you play in a cover band. And even then i would still prefer a universal sound over a lot of different sounds.

    I mean... Lots of us like a band because of their "signature" sound and not because they are so versatile to be honest. I would definitely get annoyed if a band would change their sound every 2-3 Songs...


    And as I learned very early: Keep it as simple as possible, so you can easily fix any problem.

  • ideally you don't even need to tweak on the fly ;)

    When I play live the amp is set at soundcheck and that's it. Don't have the calmness for tweaking on stage :D

    Some rooms (and FOH) either can't or won't compensate for certain things.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • the other best stock profile morgan ac 20 and the golub one

    Is the Mor gain AC20 The famous one on rig manager? I don't recall that being included in the "stock" Kemper profiles. Those are very very good. There is a older version, a newer version and a "tele" version that works great with a telecaster.

  • For live work i am still only using my profiles of my own JMP 1 programmable preamp. I’ve tried mixing in other stuff, but always return to those first profiles i made.

    And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

  • The ones from 2015 on the Rig Exchange?


    Now that is commitment to a tone! Excellent! :)

    Yes. Though i’ve tweaked them a lot since. Learning about amp compression, learning how to match the Green Scream to my ts10, the definition parameter etc etc…


    I’d say they are much better now.

    But really i bought the Kemper because my old system was worn out. The JMP 1 was throwing programs now and then, my TRex Mac1 loopsystem was also getting unreliable. But i never wanted a new sound, just to use my old sounds in an easier to manage (and more reliable) way. So buying a profiler seemed like the right solution.

    And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

  • Two profiles for 19 songs in our set. One is a Mesa dirty sound which I tweak for leads. The other is a Friedman BE100 for cleans.


    I have the two profiles saved across different Performances with effects relevant for each song but the sonic familiarity makes getting a good FOH sound much easier.

  • Same for me. I have only two profiles: dirty and lead. Clean with the volume down.


    I use Bert's profile. One day I prefer soldano and tkl the next. But with same cab and effects, they sound the same.

  • I use the same cabinet on all my Profiles. It's a 5150 of some type. Different Profiles & tones sound more alike & uniform this way. Cabs are such a huge part of the equation.

    I think using one cab could be the best way to avoid ear vertigo and even things out. Many profiles I thought were vastly different became very similar with the same cab. The cab does a lot for sure.

    I've got a mental block to where I think if you use a cab the profile wasn't profiled with it could be lacking something knowing that cab driver is making it's best guess at what is and what isn't cab. As maybe what is taken out with one cab is part of the amp but would be there with the original studio profile. Of course using a direct recorded amp profile would negate this.

  • I think using one cab could be the best way to avoid ear vertigo and even things out. Many profiles I thought were vastly different became very similar with the same cab. The cab does a lot for sure.

    I've got a mental block to where I think if you use a cab the profile wasn't profiled with it could be lacking something knowing that cab driver is making it's best guess at what is and what isn't cab. As maybe what is taken out with one cab is part of the amp but would be there with the original studio profile. Of course using a direct recorded amp profile would negate this.

    I quit caring what may or may not be "lost" with using different cabinets. If it sounds good - screw it.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche