M.Wagener on KPA at Gearslutz

    Nice!


    I'd been prodding MW to check out about the Kemper since early this year but wasn't getting anywhere - I don't think he believed me. Personally, I think Wolf Hoffman probably convinced him - those two go back a long way, and Michael's one of the most anti-modeling guys I've ever met. He first put a unit in WireWorld around last August, and he's had only good things to say about it since. But by his own admission after years of recording he has trouble hearing much above 12kHz, so if anyone wants to try tricking him with a 22kHz recording (max reproducible frequency: 11kHz) he might not notice, LOL!


    Anyway, take note of his gear chain in the article: 1 head, one (almost certainly Randall MTS-compatible) Bogner module, three different speakers, 4 mics, and a pair of pricey tube pre's (that he tends to saturate a bit.) I'm holding out for the day that he has enough profiles archived that he'll be able to sell them as part of a "Platinum Producer Collection", and if he's smart he'll do exactly that. Or he would, if there was a way to copy-protect the profiles perhaps; otherwise, why bother? Part of his business is reamping guitars for hire and I can't imagine him wanting to shoot himself in the foot.


    -djh

    That is a big "thumbs up" from a great producer who has created so many great guitar sounds over the past many years.


    Again, this unit is the real game changer as he pointed out.


    :)

    I know a little out of it, but I'm not sure who Mr Wagener is ?( But obviously from the conversation here he is an amazing producer of guitar tone. I'll definitly find out more about him. Sounds like a magnificent endorsement for this great product that I grow to love even more each day :love: Merry Christmas Paul

    Quote from whippinpost91850

    I know a little out of it, but I'm not sure who Mr Wagener is ?( But obviously from the conversation here he is an amazing producer of guitar tone. I'll definitly find out more about him. Sounds like a magnificent endorsement for this great product that I grow to love even more each day :love: Merry Christmas Paul


    This appears to be a Major endorsement.
    Check out Mr Wagener's "list of recording credits", from 1975 to present.
    It impressed the heck outta me.
    If you read the whole thread, over at Gearslutz, it was taking the usual ugly turn, until Mr Wagener chimed in.
    He, obviously, commands a lot of respect over there. Deservedly so, judging by that list of recording credits.

    M. Wagener states. "The secret is in getting a great profile and there are a bunch of things
    to be paid attention to, like the actual return level, the level going
    into the Kemper, refining the profile the correct way etc. If done
    right, I can not tell the profile from the original, if NOT done right,
    there will be a noticeable difference."


    It would be great if he could give us a bit more detail about what he has learned about the profiling process. Curious about 'the level going into the Kemper' as I didn't think this was controllable from the Kemper.

    Vintage amp obsessive


    So I detected your previous avatar. Fritz the Neumann Head? 8o

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

    This guy, I believe, was a sound engineer on Metallica's Master of Puppets. Great endorsement. I remember the legendary Cliff Burton mentioning him in his last interview before Cliff died in 1986.
    I wonder what piece of equipment from Wagener's studio 20 years ago, compared with the Kemper though :P

    "Heavy Metal does have a message for the rest of the world: Fuck You!" -Sebastian Bach

    Quote from professortweed

    M. Wagener states. "The secret is in getting a great profile and there are a bunch of things
    to be paid attention to, like the actual return level, the level going
    into the Kemper, refining the profile the correct way etc. If done
    right, I can not tell the profile from the original, if NOT done right,
    there will be a noticeable difference."


    It would be great if he could give us a bit more detail about what he has learned about the profiling process. Curious about 'the level going into the Kemper' as I didn't think this was controllable from the Kemper.

    +1 for getting to know more about his refining process.


    As for the 'level going into the Kemper' i noticed a little bit more punch in my VHT-profile when hitting the KPA as hot as possible, meaning first having the profile canceled due to an overlaoded KPA-Input and then backing of the level a bit until it worked. My chain is :


    Guitar > KPA > VHT+Cab > AMEK Classic Desk (with 24 NEVE Pre's ;)) > SSL Soundscape Mixer (with a Phase Alignment VST and an SSL Channelstrip inserted) > AMEK Classic Desk > KPA


    With the last fader in line I can hit the KPA harder or softer. Maybe the slight sound enhancement when sending hot levels into the KPA is from the AD conversion. Its the same with my SSL/Apogee Converters as they sound better or clearer when hitting them as hard as possible before overloading them. Their sweet spot is somewhere around that area and maybe the KPA has sth. like that too. :)

    Quote from professortweed

    M. Wagener states. "The secret is in getting a great profile and there are a bunch of things
    to be paid attention to, like the actual return level, the level going
    into the Kemper, refining the profile the correct way etc. If done
    right, I can not tell the profile from the original, if NOT done right,
    there will be a noticeable difference."


    It would be great if he could give us a bit more detail about what he has learned about the profiling process. Curious about 'the level going into the Kemper' as I didn't think this was controllable from the Kemper.

    No need to ask Mr Wagener, just ask Till's Schleicher. :thumbup:

    Any chance of sharing some Profiles you've made?

    Btw does anyone of you (still) have a profile on GS? Would be great if someone could chime in on the discussion over there and ask M. Wagener about how he refines his profiles? :)