Interaction between INTERNAL dirt pedals and amp in the KPA

    Is it just me or does anyone else also feel that the interaction between dirtboxes and amp in the KPA is a little unnatural? Am I doing something wrong? As hard as I try and as much as I tweak I can't make the combination of a profiled amp + stompbox sound like it does in real life. Can't quite put my finger on it, seems to lack "mojo" or something.


    When I use the amp profile by itself it sounds really good, ballsy and punchy, with lots of sustain and articulation. Then some times I like to add a stompbox in front of it, usually a tubescreamer, for adding a little more dirt and transients (sorry, I couldn't bond with the pick parameter, sounds very unnatural to my ears), and then all that magic seems to be gone and the rig suddenly sounds thin and anemic. If I push the amp input by turning the stompbox level up, it adds too much bass and too much gain apparently, that's not what I'm after - and btw in real life I don't have to do that. I've tried raising the bias to around 2.0 and adding sag (5.0) in the amp section, and it got better but still not quite what I expected to hear, and the "feel" seems way off.


    Any ideas?

    Edited once, last by Deny ().

    I don't use the stompboxes at all. If you want more "transients", try mixing it just a touch of direct signal. More squash, add compression (in the amp block, not the effect) this will actually add a bit of dirt as its cranked up as well.

    When I put a TS9 in front of my already distorted amp, the effects are:
    1. It tightens the lows (KPA: seems to cut more lows than my TS9)
    2. It bumps up the mids (KPA: seems to add less mids than my TS9)
    3. It adds "transients" for a more aggressive attack (KPA: this particular behavior seems to be similar to my TS9)
    4. It helps reach a "sweet spot" where the harder I pick, the more it cuts highs and emphasizes mids, which is a very, very, VERY pleasant effect and seems to be absent in the KPA, or at least very subtle. Interestingly, the KPA does produce this effect noticeable when using just the amp, while in real life adding a tubescreamer in front of the amp enhances the effect instead of removing it like happens with the KPA.


    I'll see if I can get a similar effect with just the amp, but I would really like that the stompboxes in the KPA sounded (and felt) more like their real life counterparts. Actually I mean just the Green Screamer, haven't tested the other stomps extensively.

    To the op: have you tried profiling your amp with your tube screamer in front? That is also a possibility.

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


    Quote from guitarnet70

    To the op: have you tried profiling your amp with your tube screamer in front? That is also a possibility.

    I haven't because none of the profiles/rigs that I've auditioned sound the way I want, but then again who knows if my combination and settings are unique? Thanks for reminding me and making me think it over, I'll give it a shot tonight and report back. Anyone done this and want to tell me what to expect? Unfortunately this solves the problem for my specific rig, but not for when I want to try a TS in front of someone else's profile.

    Another thing to try is moving the relative position of the effects. This can make a big difference in tone ...


    Edit: I should have said to move the relative position of the various STOMPs.

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

    Edited once, last by Zappledan ().

    Good news, the TS9 + Amp were profiled successfully together and now I have a usable tone for my application. Can't help but suspect that one of the reasons the Green Screamer sounds weird combined with other people's profiles is because of the presence settings both during profiling (in the physical amp) and in the rig itself, will look more into that later.

    Quote from Zappledan

    Another thing to try is moving the relative position of the effects. This can make a big difference in tone ...


    Edit: I should have said to move the relative position of the various STOMPs.


    I'm really not using a lot of slots in my rigs, usually just one stomp, the amp and a delay.

    I find that you have to tweak the Green Scream differently from the real thing. I use this as a starting point.


    Drive - 0
    Tone - around -2.0
    Volume - around +3.1


    It works really well with a Push version or never more than about 50% gain on an amp profile.


    J

    If you find that several profiles do not work well with your distortion pedal, then you would have had the same problem with the original amp in that setting.
    The Profiler features a high impedance input, like a tube amp does. Thus it will not colour the sound of a distortion pedal.
    Technically spoken: There is no technically interaction between the pedal and the amp.

    Quote from ckemper

    You should try to turn up the Definition parameter in the Amp section for a tighter sound.

    Coincidentally I've just found out about the Definition parameter over the weekend while profiling my TS9 + JMP1 + Laney VC100, not sure if that's always the KPA behavior but the resulting profile of this combination had the definition set to 10, so I started playing with it on other profiles and realized that it adds "bite" similar to using a pedal in front of the amp.

    Quote from ckemper

    If you find that several profiles do not work well with your distortion pedal, then you would have had the same problem with the original amp in that setting.
    The Profiler features a high impedance input, like a tube amp does. Thus it will not colour the sound of a distortion pedal.
    Technically spoken: There is no technically interaction between the pedal and the amp.

    I was referring to the internal distortion pedals of the KPA, not external ones.


    EDIT: I've just noticed that my thread title might have been ambiguous and misleading so I've edited it.

    Edited once, last by Deny ().

    Quote from Deny

    Coincidentally I've just found out about the Definition parameter over the weekend while profiling my TS9 + JMP1 + Laney VC100, not sure if that's always the KPA behavior but the resulting profile of this combination had the definition set to 10, so I started playing with it on other profiles and realized that it adds "bite" similar to using a pedal in front of the amp.


    Yes, the Definition parameter can save some $200 pedal. A very important parameter.
    You should all try it out. Even Cliff has cloned it for the Axe Fx lately! :)

    Edited once, last by ckemper ().

    What if I use a distortion pedal as a volume boost. I used a TS in my tube-amp days with gain on 8 or 9 o'clock and volume on 3- 4 o'clock. Would that sound the same with the KPA or would I just clip the input (I do know that I can achieve something like that with the built in effects - I'm just curious)

    MJT Strats / PRS Guitars / Many DIY Guitars -- Kemper Profiler Rack / Kemper Remote / InEar

    Quote from mDan

    What if I use a distortion pedal as a volume boost. I used a TS in my tube-amp days with gain on 8 or 9 o'clock and volume on 3- 4 o'clock. Would that sound the same with the KPA or would I just clip the input (I do know that I can achieve something like that with the built in effects - I'm just curious)


    that's pretty much the quintessential TS setting and it works as you would expect.