Headroom and clean amp distortion on output... FIXED (something wonky with EMG pickup)

  • I've noticed for a while that on clean amps it's super easy to peak the output of the KPA even with pretty low volumes. I know distortion is going to compress my guitar and give me a louder apparent sound, but I find that on a clean amp I'll get an annoying rattily distortion even though the output is just skimming the "yellow." If I bring things down so it's solidly in the green while playing chords pretty hard the issue goes away, but that means I need to bring all my distortion profiles down so that volumes match. Is this a known issue or just "the way it is"?


    Fixed!

  • Have you tried reducing the clean sense? I don't have this issue even with 18 kOhm pickups

    "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" Serghei Rachmaninoff


  • Where do you have the Clean Sense set, when the LED went yellow?
    What guitar do you play?
    Is the clipping sound still there, when you reduce Master Volume?


    I haven't tried the master volume (I keep that all the way up) but I can get it to go away be adjusting the cab output and making sure nothing else is booting the signal into the yellow. I'll check the master volume tonight and maybe try a few other amp models, but the Vox models that come with it and the clean models that come with The Amp Factory all do it unless I bring it down quite a bit.

  • Check if there are eqs in the Slots with Volume slightly turned up.
    Bought some profiles from and44 yesterday and also had clipping when struming hard. Had to turn down Volume of the otherwise flat eqs and gate to 0 (from around +1.5)

  • Check if there are eqs in the Slots with Volume slightly turned up.
    Bought some profiles from and44 yesterday and also had clipping when struming hard. Had to turn down Volume of the otherwise flat eqs and gate to 0 (from around +1.5)


    Yeah, that's been my solution for his profiles. I think I need to actually visit his forum and suggest that he is a bit more careful with the gain in his Rigs.


    Still though, I wish the Kemper had a bit more headroom. There's one other issue it might be. It may be my guitar's fault, as my batteries may need a replacement. I'll check it tonight and see if that helps.

  • The KPA has tons of headroom!
    Does the clipping disappear when you bring down Clean Sense?


    Nope, doesn't seem to have much effect.


    I did some experimenting last night and I notice that while all the Amp Factory clean amps seem to do this, not all the included profiles do it, so perhaps it's something in the profile and not inherent to the device. I basically found if I make sure I leave a ton of headroom open and bring down the distortion rigs and up my input level on my audio interface (a MOTU 828) I can tweak around it. It's not the audio interface though, as I hear the artifact clearly in the headphone output too.

  • Just for you to know, I found this very good compomise in setting the overall RIGs volumes:


    1) Master Volume around 9 (near to maximum, but with a little bit of margin) to take the most of dynamics
    2) Input Clean Sense between 4 and 7 for almost all the profiles
    3) Rig VOLUME set to 0 DB
    3) Than I adjust CABINET VOLUME between different Rigs in the way that on hard picking with the CLEAN tones you barely go in very little clipping


    Then I adjust the others crunch, drive and lead sound according to the clean volumes...
    I hope it is clear the explanation, at least it works very well for me.

  • Thanks! That's about exactly the conclusion I've come to, but it means bringing my higher gain levels down a lot and most rigs. I do keep the output volume maxed though... not sure why I wouldn't for best S/N. One thing I may also try is throwing a studio EQ on the first pedal slot in case it's the high frequency output of the EMGs that's messing things up.

  • Back a few months ago I had the same problem, suddenly my Kemper was clipping on a lot of profiles.. I had to perform a flash memory format and then reinstalled a bunch of rigs. All was fine after that and is to this day. CK advises against doing the format so.. ask him what to do to fix it.


    Mikeb, since this flash format is a repeating topic, let me ask you if you have performed a system reset prior to your flash format. Was the problem not solved after a simple system reset?

  • e this flash format is a repeating topic, let me ask you if you have performed a system reset prior to your flash format. Was the problem not solved after a simple system res


    Yes I did that before as well... multiple times. Didn't work.

  • Here's a copy of what I just posted in The Amp Factory forum:


    Quote

    OK, this is weird. I switched to my G&L and lo and behold, the problem went away! Bad Steinberger!


    ...OR IS IT? So then I plug the 'berger back in to see if some pre-amp EQ might get rid of the issue... and now I can't get the Steinberger to do it any more! WTF? The cable is good... the batteries fresh... I don't know what the hell could be going on. Sunspots?


    So... yeah. Not sure what the hell is going on, but the only thing I did Kemper wise was bring down the output volume to 9 as suggested... maybe that was it? So strange. I have an odd feeling that it might have been the Steinberger though, maybe some weird internal wiring? Maybe I frightened it into behaving better when I picked up the G&L? 8|

  • Bringing down Clean Sense should yield to the same result.
    Did the output led go red ever?


    Nope, I was getting the artifact even when the signal was loud but still pretty in the green. I'm going to call it an "artifact" because even though it was linked to the volume and sounded distorted, it was more like a lower level distorted signal overlaid on top of the clean signal than an amp over driven type of sound. My initial reaction was to blame the Kemper because lowering the cab volume did make it go away, but perhaps it just pushed it down closer to the noise floor and made it unnoticeable. I revised the title of the thread because now that I can no longer reproduce the issue I think it may be related to the world outside the KPA. I'm still looking for the cause.