Using one amp.

  • Couple of comments from me:

    1) The infamous AC20 profile....I tried it and could see what the excitement was all about. My ears are clearly full of wax and I need to revisit it.


    2) One Amp - previously I had one amp profile for solo ( mesa), one for Rhythm ( Marshall), one for clean (JC120). I've changed slightly in using one amp for Rhythm and solo to avoid ear shock for users, but a clean sound generally is different and hence is quite normal change. I hasten to add I'm not a pedal gain type of person and I don't think I ever will be. I also agree just because we have the ability to have 15 profiles per song, doesn't mean you should. So for me, this is the perfect balance.

    I tend not to use a clean amp with pedals for dirt. But I will use a drive or fuzz to augment an already edgy/dirty amp to get more gain or a different timbre from the distortion. Kind of like getting a soda from a Coke Freestyle dispenser. It's Coca Cola (or whatever).....with a little something else for variation and options.

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

  • This thread caused me to use the infamous profile at the blues jam that I host. I used it as my one amp for the full evening last night. It was a good experience and I credit this thread for the motivation. Thanks for that. I tend to use a limited number of amps in an evening because I don't like the ear shock. I don't use comps. boosts or ODs and I control tones from the guitar for the most part. I will kick on a delay, rotary, or univibe for some different flavors. The pacheo profile responds well to volume and tone changes on the guitar. I personally, don't think it is as good as some of the Britt SSS profiles or the TJ 45/100 profiles, but it is a good one and I see why many like it. Thanks again for the motivation to use it.

  • This thread caused me to use the infamous profile at the blues jam that I host. I used it as my one amp for the full evening last night. It was a good experience and I credit this thread for the motivation. Thanks for that. I tend to use a limited number of amps in an evening because I don't like the ear shock. I don't use comps. boosts or ODs and I control tones from the guitar for the most part. I will kick on a delay, rotary, or univibe for some different flavors. The pacheo profile responds well to volume and tone changes on the guitar. I personally, don't think it is as good as some of the Britt SSS profiles or the TJ 45/100 profiles, but it is a good one and I see why many like it. Thanks again for the motivation to use it.

    What really helps the infamous profile is the mid EQ boost. It just really puts it up front. When you write "TJ45/100" do you mean the TJ JTM45 and 74 Superlead?

  • What really helps the infamous profile is the mid EQ boost. It just really puts it up front. When you write "TJ45/100" do you mean the TJ JTM45 and 74 Superlead?

    No, I mean what Tone Junkie calls the Marsh 45/100. You can read about it on their site. It is the best Plexi type profile that I have found so far. Fat clean and driven tones without the high end fizz that I really dislike. I do tweak it for my taste. High end fizz is not possible to EQ out without destroying the profile, in my experience.

  • Could someone post their "upgraded" version of the infamous profile so I can try the altered version ( if that makes sense)?

    I might have missed something but if you're talking about Ingolf's version it's simply to put a Distortion + and a boost option pre amplifier as he has depicted. (then anything else you want) Then change the reverb to taste if you please, but the one that comes with it is decent. Sure I could tweek it more, but would be making it different not better. It's so good at doing what it does that IMO will beat up on or match the best amps of that genre. There are lots of tones on the Kemper that are very very good. There are those that are the best of the best, and that one is one of them.

    There's a stock Fuchs amp that comes pretty close (sounds great clean or ripping-very versatile for one amp use)but just different.

  • I might have missed something but if you're talking about Ingolf's version it's simply to put a Distortion + and a boost option pre amplifier as he has depicted. (then anything else you want) Then change the reverb to taste if you please, but the one that comes with it is decent. Sure I could tweek it more, but would be making it different not better. It's so good at doing what it does that IMO will beat up on or match the best amps of that genre. There are lots of tones on the Kemper that are very very good. There are those that are the best of the best, and that one is one of them.

    There's a stock Fuchs amp that comes pretty close (sounds great clean or ripping-very versatile for one amp use)but just different.

    2 things to know about me which might help in explaining why I asked:


    1) When it comes to sounds Im lazy - I don't like to tweak, I end up down rabbit holes and profile blindness takes over. I lose hours with no perceived benefit

    2) I struggle to distinguish sometimes what is "better", which is related to point 1 as well.


    Hence I was only asking so I could re-baseline some sounds with peoples fav settings. When I tried the profile on its own it felt dull and lifeless, so I just wanted to give myself a better chance by pinching Ingolf 's magic sauce. I full expect me to still not get it.


    I hasten to add, this is to address my inadequacies and happy for people to say...no...sort your own sound out :).

  • I hasten to add, this is to address my inadequacies and happy for people to say...no...sort your own sound out :).

    I'd be happy to help you out any way I could! I'm just saying I don't think there is a "secret sauce". Just download the profile and go! I find it far from dull, and very springy, boingy and lively. I think Ingolf just added some boost to the front that gets it into rock lead territory but you could get there using the gain knob too for a different feel. I've become less shy of using the gain knob down AND up. As I have mentioned IMO if there is a "secret sauce" to the profile, it's the Mid boost that comes with it and the way it reacts with the amp. Turn it off and it looses a lot of what makes you like it right away.

  • Haha the whole point of the thread or at least this part of it is how an individual snapshot can be ever so slightly tinkered with—or not—in order to get it to wherever one wants to go. That makes it eerily reminiscent … of plugging into a good amp. ymmv

  • Haha the whole point of the thread or at least this part of it is how an individual snapshot can be ever so slightly tinkered with—or not—in order to get it to wherever one wants to go. That makes it eerily reminiscent … of plugging into a good amp. ymmv

    Exactly why the Kemper is so awesome. It really acts like a tube amp.

  • If it is true, why do so many people use boost on their amp taking up a slot?

    Either of the below (or a combination of it)?


    • They just don't know it's basically the same (for a pure booster)
    • They want that extra boost switchable instead of reaching for the Gain knob or morph it
    • They want to add a certain color to their boost (either some added grit via an overdrive or e.g. a treble booster)
    • They want to boost into another stomp pre stack
  • I've always said the hardest part to deal with is all the choices. I don't do good with too many. Like many others at first I wanted many different amps to suit different things but am going back to using minimum number of amps just like I did before I had all the choices. I bought a great amp and made it work. With all the functions of the Kemper you can have 2 profiles and have way more versatility than a 2 channel amp would have. Ear vertigo is a real thing and I believe it can be detrimental to audience perception. People just aren't adjusted to it. Switching cabs can do it. How many people switch between 2 different cabs live really? Mixed together, sure but I doubt a lot of people do because it just wouldn't be worth it and would likely cause more problems than it fixed. You could eq a V30 to be more like a greenback and vice versa to some extent close enough that nobody would know.

  • I've always said the hardest part to deal with is all the choices. I don't do good with too many. Like many others at first I wanted many different amps to suit different things but am going back to using minimum number of amps just like I did before I had all the choices. I bought a great amp and made it work. With all the functions of the Kemper you can have 2 profiles and have way more versatility than a 2 channel amp would have. Ear vertigo is a real thing and I believe it can be detrimental to audience perception. People just aren't adjusted to it. Switching cabs can do it. How many people switch between 2 different cabs live really? Mixed together, sure but I doubt a lot of people do because it just wouldn't be worth it and would likely cause more problems than it fixed. You could eq a V30 to be more like a greenback and vice versa to some extent close enough that nobody would know.

    Totally agree. I only recently learnt this. :)

  • Totally agree. I only recently learnt this. :)

    I think switching cabs causes ear vertigo to a greater extent than switching amps does. Although I don't do it right now, I think if you want the best consistency, choosing one cab and sticking to it is a good option. Like many have said, if you lock a cab and switch to some familiar profiles, they may be drastically altered for better or worse. It also makes you realize that you might not need 800 amps to get different tones, just switch cabs. Some of my previously very different amp profiles became much more similar locking a cab. Try it, you'll see what I mean. Hard part for me is picking ONE that I will settle on. Someday I'll likely sit FOH and see if I can find a live favorite, but for now I just use profiles that go together well.