Peavey 5150 combo profile :(

  • Just tried to profile my 5150 combo. It sound glassy and not like the amp... It has that weird microphonic sound to it. sm 57 2 inches off grill toward side of cone. What am I doing wrong? I tried to compare it to other profiles on the exchange and it seems like this may be a characteristic of profiling this amp.

    Edited once, last by jeddie ().

  • Thanks! This helped, but this profile still sounds scratchy like your fingernails against a chalkboard. It's missing the warmth of the actual amp. Maybe it's hard to capture this amp. Sasha's profile seems to be close, but not spot on.

  • How does the profile sound compared to the reference amp sound in the kemper? Are you able to isolate your amp enough that you don't hear the original or it's very faint when you are profiling?


    Best thing I EVER did to profile amps was to put the amp/mic in a different room than the kemper. If you can't do this then you're going to really have a hard time getting consistent profiles.

  • Thanks! This helped, but this profile still sounds scratchy like your fingernails against a chalkboard. It's missing the warmth of the actual amp. Maybe it's hard to capture this amp. Sasha's profile seems to be close, but not spot on.


    Ok then the next thing is to problem solve.
    its either the amp itself or the mic and speakers thats causing concern.


    Try to load your profile in its scratchy state, then switch to another cab, Does it Still sound scratchy?, then do the same with your profiled Cab, use it on another profile and see how it sounds. - this way you can find the source of the problem, and then just work on that area to improve the profile.


    - If its your speakers (suspect) then simply moving the mic about to obtain a few different results might be all it needs, try offaxis too, some amps prefer this (moreso combos) than actual cabs. if its a 2x12 or 4x12, try putting pillows over the other speakers to not allow speaker bleed, that on some amps can cause some slight phase errors despite using a single mic!


    -If your happy with the cab using it on another profile, then its the amp, - are the tubes in good shape, - if profiling lots of gain, turn the master volume down, but the channel volume up untill the sweet spot. - make sure the Kemper does not have any stomps enabled. i.e it might have a Boost, or EQ or anything in any of the slots therfore throwing the sound out..


    Let us know how it goes.

  • I'm using isolation headphones to monitor the reference vs the actual amp. I can hear the difference between the two very well. I will try again today putting a pillow over the other speaker. It's obviously something wrong with my profiling technique. Since the amp sounds normal through the headphones I don't really think theres anything specifically wrong with the amp or the speakers. I also shut the reverb off on the amp just to make sure it doesn't color it. The tubes should be fine. They are old, but I never really played on them much. I bought the 5150 combo new when it originally came out. I barely played the thing. I can't remember if I changed the tubes to sovtek or groove tubes, because it was so long ago. Basically, this 5150 combo sounds warmer than the stock 5150. Anyways, I'll try to work it out and post the profiles if they are good.

  • Tried the pillow technique as well as different mic positions and I'm still getting I guess what would be consider a phase effect. The mic position ranged from up close to far direct on dust cap to cone to edge. It's like the amp is loosing it's warmth and becoming kind of stale and glassy. I guess this is kind of why I was dissatisfied with most of the 5150 profiles on the exchange. The glass effect almost sounds like phasing, but I don't think it is phasing. I've noticed on real thin high gain amps this effect before on profiles.


    Maybe I'm expecting to much out of profiling the 5150 amp, but I don't see why it can't be profiled as good as some of the other high gainers.

  • That's easy to solve:
    If you record your amp instead of profiling it - how does this sound?


    If you like the result of the recording than is something wrong with your profiling setup.
    In case your recording sounds bad too - then change mic, mic placement or the room.

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    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

  • That's easy to solve:
    If you record your amp instead of profiling it - how does this sound?


    If you like the result of the recording than is something wrong with your profiling setup.
    In case your recording sounds bad too - then change mic, mic placement or the room.


    How is this different from monitoring the amp on the kemper? I would think you could hear the phasing or glass effect through the monitor without actually recording it? I think I tried almost every mic placement known. The further mic placements(1 foot) actually came out better, but not perfect. I found turning the presence down on the amp helped the profile as well. I also think some of the distortion gets lost. So the profile ends up losing warmth and distortion. It's end up being brighter and brittle with a squeal on the bends. It doesn't appear to be overloaded at all either.

  • Even by using isolation headphones will the real amp have some influence.


    Please try to record it and then compare.


    As for the profiling - the kemper sounds sometimes strange while in profile mode - after profiling (and refining at least 30 seconds by playing slow chords) I switch always to browse mode to compare the sound.

    (All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with soundside.de)


    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

  • My profiles are still poor. I was messing around with Merrows red sig and took off all the effects and his raw 5150 signal is incredible.


    The best micing I can get is 10 inches away with a sm 57. At any other distance it gets that microphonic issue or squeal on the g b strings. The tube definition does help at times. When I do refine it further amplifies the problem. When I turn the distortion up It further amplifies the problem. This was one thing I noticed about merrow's 5150.... he was able to keep the distortion without comprimising the sound. Anyways, any further tips would be great.

    Edited 8 times, last by jeddie ().

  • Did you record your amp with that setting and do you like the result?

    (All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with soundside.de)


    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

  • Are there a lot of hard surfaces where you are profiling? I have found that profiling in an untreated (ambient) space can wash out a profile and cause phase problems.


    Wood Floors! Maybe this is my issue. I'm only using one mic, but maybe the room is too bouncy?

  • Put a roll of TP (the whole roll) on the head of the mic, so that you record through the hole.
    Other than that, maybe the amp's volume is too high or too low?

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    repetition is boring
    and you pay for grace."

  • hi all, i think you have to remember that profiles from pro's have more than likely been done in a top studio environment and therefore the signall is also going through the studios outboard gear which would enhance the sound considerably.

  • Thanks for the new replys. Well I did try running it through my mixer and it seemed slightly improved. As I said earlier for some reason my best results are about 10 inch distance at edge of cone. If I point it direct at the dust cap I still get that microphonic sound. I thought the whole point of profiling with the kemper was the ability to just stick a microphone up the cabinet and get a good profile. I wasn't aware that you would have to pre eq etc. The main problem with this 5150 is that I profile it and it loses part of the distortion and warmth. For example merrows 5150 profile sounds controlled and has the warmth. I did a comparison of my profile vs the recorded amp... I can tell they exhibit some of the same properties, but still think the profile has rather harsh sounds. I really have to play with microphone placement to get the profile not to sound microphonic. All the recordings direct from the amp have no microphonic sound. One characterstic of the 5150 is that it does sort of have that thin sound, but it's more controlled. The profile tends to amplify the brittle nature of the 5150 into a screechy mess. I also am aware that the sm57 is a rather harsh sounding microphone, but I don't really think that's causing the problem. I'm thinking my next move is to use a 1960av cab and see if that warms it up enough to drop that the brittle sounds.

  • microphonic sound


    what does that even mean?


    I don't think the Profiler is the problem here (countless hours of A/B test done by many, many pros in numerous studios etc.)
    disable all Stomps and Effects.


    when you go to 'Profiler' mode and hit 'Next' is the EQ on that page neutral (all zeros)?


    when you go to 'Master' on page 4 'Main Output EQ', is that EQ set to neutral (all zeros)?


    post an A/B recording of your 5150 and of the profile taken in this same exact setup. reamp if possible.