Posts by lindenhey

Quote from brusky

Speaking of Soldano...

Guido Soldano Profiling Session

Done by a respected commercial profiler and there are free profiles available to download. This is a good watch and you can see the process they use. I learned alot from this.

This is excellent! One of the best, most thorough comparison vids i've seen.

Thanks for the tips and advice. I will go looking for better profiles and try profiling my own amps. I guess work and time is a big part of what's needed when setting up the KPA but once it' done, it's done and there at the flick of a switch, which is great.

Quote from Chris Duncan

To me this is a huge consideration, before you even begin talking about FOH. If you play guitar and don't like what you hear, nothing else matters.

In fact, I almost returned my Kemper the first week I had it because of the quality of profiles. As it turns out, I didn't understand the difference between a profile (snapshot of a tone) and an amp simulation (here's all the knobs, do what you will). I just saw Marshall and expected it to sound like my Marshall, but I play classic rock and most of the Rig Exchange tones were dialed in for metal. And they may be awesome for metal. For classic rock, not so much.

The only reason I kept the Kemper is that I found profiles that gave me exactly what I wanted to hear, for the style of music I play, when I strap on the guitar. In fact, they sounded better than the tones I was getting out of good tube amps (I kinda suck at dialing in tone).

Most of my favorite profiles for classic rock are MB, and it's well known that they tend to "come alive" at gig volume. I also like them in a recording context, and it was the latter that I used when searching for profiles. I'm just guessing here, but since you did your record I'm wondering if you might have auditioned profiles in the same context.

If so, it might be worth you doing another profile search, but testing them all at the loudness you use when working with your drummer. I'd even use a db meter in front of your tube amp with your drummer first, so that you could then play at the same level and see which profiles held up and which "collapsed." Maybe it's the Kemper power amp (if so, as I mentioned you might test other power amps). However, just as MB profiles "come alive" at gig level, maybe other profiles are optimized for studio and shine most brightly in that context.

Also, I spent a lot of time looking at free rigs on Rig Exchange. There's good stuff there, but I decided to see who was doing well regarded commercial profiles. My logic is that someone who does this as a business might do it frequently enough to gain significant skills at it, so (maybe) it would be less of a hit or miss proposition.

Another thing that I believe is absolutely crucial to getting the right tone is to find profilers who are into the same style of music as you. I truly love the MB profiles for classic rock, but I doubt that he'd be the first call for a metal guy. A profile is a snapshot of a tone - after someone dialed that tone in. If the person doing the profiling isn't passionate about your kind of music, how could he dial in a great tone for it?

So, if you haven't already, I would do another tone search. Do the auditions at gig volume (if you can blast backing tracks of your band through the PA for a full frequency comparison, even better). If you haven't already, search for commercial profilers who are passionate about your genre of music. Then, if you find a profile that can make you feel good at full volume, I think the FOH thing won't be an issue. You'll like what you hear on stage, as will the guys in the mosh pit (if they even do that anymore), and the FOH guy is gonna tweak your inputs anyway to make it sit in the mix.

For what it's worth, I believe it's possible for you to get what you want out of the Kemper, but it's all about the profiles, man. If all you've found are poor profiles for your taste, then you can't move forward until you skin that particular cat.

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Thanks for this. I think you are totally right. I have tried a lot of profiles but only those found on the RigExchange, without purchasing any.

I found the MB profiles to be quite poor for what i want but i can see how they would be suitable for other styles.

If i'm not mistaken, a merged profile would be what i would need? Is that right? Would i get a good enough "in the room" sound though? I'm not looking for perfection but to be be happy that i can be heard in a band mix and get that "feel". I guess i need to start paying for profiles to get me there.

Quote from Chris Duncan

The moment you stick a mic in front of a cab, you've stepped away from "amp in the room" and have ventured into "recording studio" territory (even when you're playing live), because you're trying to capture that wild, raw beast that is a tube amp on 11 and make it come out of your mixing console in a well-behaved manner. Hopefully without injuring any adjacent instruments in the process.

While reality could certainly prove me wrong, I just don't think it's possible for a mic to completely capture what it's like to stand in front of a blazing guitar amp in all its glory, no matter how talented the guy sitting at FOH (or in the control room). It can sound great, and often does, but it's just not the same.

That's actually one of the things I love about the Kemper. The entire concept is based on reproducing what happens when you stick a mic in front of a cab rather than trying to be the amp in the room. If it was the latter it would only be part of a solution as I'd still have to worry about mic placement, where small moves have major consequences. Anyone who's spent any time at all miking up guitars is aware of how even the slightest change alters your tone, and that's an inconsistency from night to night that I'm happy to be done with. Instead, I just take the XLR outputs, point them at a mixer, and that's that - a well-behaved amp ready to take its place in the mixing console and play nice with others.

Yes, it's a compromise in tone compared to "amp in the room," but so is miking a tube amp. However, at least I know that what comes out the other end will always be the same. Life is an exercise in trade offs, and for me this is a good one. After all, all I've ever heard on the radio, and at concerts, was what comes out the other end of a mic. The only time I usually hear the amp in the room sound is when I'm standing in front of one.

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Kind of. . . We play a lot of different types of shows, some huge stages at festivals, some smaller club venues. The "amp in the room" does come in to play within these settings too still. As you know, the stage PA is located to the left and right of the stage which leaves rows up front centre taking a lot of what they hear from the stage gear ,so it is important to sound good on stage regardless of what is being put out FOH. This is mostly important for me in terms of me enjoying what i hear which will then influence how i perform.

The KPA profiles are still created using mics but in a different setting and some are good, some poor. I have mostly found a lot of poor profiles which has taken me a lot of time and effort and has resulted in me not enjoying the practice/rehearsal/writing part of being in a band so far. The whole "yeah, but at least you know it's good out front" isn't enough for me.

If i could find a profile that was great out front as well as really good on stage then i'd be more open.
My reluctance to take the KPA on tour is the result of a combination of concerns - not enjoying the sound on stage/rehearsals, not knowing what the FOH is receiving before i get out there, although, i can test on low level flat response speakers, but is that enough?, the remote control footswitch tripping me up from time to time, to name a few.

I think if at practice we all used in ear monitors then it would be a different thing but we're not Metallica.

Don't get me wrong, i absolutely love the KPA and have used it to record our latest single which made the process an absolute breeze and i will continue to use it in this way moving forward, i would just like to happy all round with it for live use.

I

So, last night, after spending a significant amount of time looking for better profiles than i had, dialing them in using flat response speakers and getting the cab sound as i wanted i gave it a go at another rehearsal. It sounded pretty good but i still felt like something was missing and after stumbling on the remote switches one too many times i decided to try my Soldano to see if it was the 'feel' i was missing. Well...it was. The 'feel' had returned instantly. Noisy, yes, something that the KPA does not have, but it did not matter. I was able to enjoy playing again.

I have struggled with rehearsals for the last few weeks as i was not enjoying what i was hearing/feeling, something was missing. It's not easy to describe but your fingers feel it and it affects how you play and certainly how you enjoy playing. For me, if it is not fun, what is the point of doing it? My band mates agreed totally that the sound was significantly better. I explained that 'yeah, it's ok but it will sound good out front, i think', unfortunately that is not enough. As a guitar player i need to enjoy what i am actually hearing, not what i think the audience might hear.

I have played in bands long enough (not that it matters) to know about mic placements in a live setting, as let's be honest, it is not rocket science. If a sound guy is being slack and not placing the mic correctly (i have rarely come across this in all the years i have been playing) i would simply move the mic to a placement i know will work.

'What if the sound guy is being slack on the desk with EQ?', i can hear that through the monitors and either adjust my amp accordingly or guide the sound guy, that's what a sound/line check is for, right? Nobody would simply settle for the whole 'i know it sounds good out front' without having the sound returned through monitors for you to check. There will still be adjustments that are needed to be made to compensate for a whole load of things that occur from venue to venue. The sound guy can still screw a good DI from the Kemper if they aren't on the ball, so having a good sound check is vital.

I love the Kemper and can definitely see why others may use it in a live setting. For other styles of music it would be great but i would still need to use physical pedals, that's just me.

I have one more option and that is to try it with my Mesa 295 power amp, bypassing the built in power amp. This could well be a good compromise in terms of sound/tone/projection/feel. I'm a little reluctant, as if i find it to tick these boxes my back will never forgive me, which is partly the reason for moving away from this kind of gear.

Thanks again everyone.

I appreciate all the responses.

I do have my Mesa/Boogie Stereo Simul-Class 295, which is one of the best power amps out there i have found. The reason for not using it in a live setting anymore is the weight and size of it. I used to tour with it powering 4 4 x12 cabs. Slightly ridiculous but it's a very powerful amp (costs a fortune to revalve)

I would be very interested to hear how the KPA sounds through this instead of using the built in power amp.

I will try profiling some of my own amps i think using the suggested methods. I'm glad other people have experienced the same concerns as i am now. I guess it's just a case of getting used to the change from moving from the traditional setup.

Thanks again everyone. I think without the help/advice/chat from the forum that i've had i'd probably have given up a while ago. Cheers.

Thanks you all for your responses to this.

I definitely don't want to give up with the KPA for live use and i appreciate that a lot of time is needed to get the right sound. It's there somewhere but i'm just yet to find it.

It is interesting to read all of your experiences, it gives me hope that with time i can get things to work for me.

Part of my anxiety with the setup is that our first gig back will be the first date of a tour, which doesn't leave me much room to change once i commit to using it. The only thing i could think of is if i take it to a venue locally before the tour to try it through a PA but that is easier said than done.

I have not yet attempted to profile my own amps to be fair but i thought i could pull somebody else's who had already done that using some of the amps i own.

Going with just merged profiles is a good suggestion but how are merged profiles identified when trawling through Rig exchange? Are these listed with cab/mic settings and not N/A i take it?

The only other thing i have noticed is that i haven't felt like i have enjoyed our recent rehearsals, which is a big concern and a very important part of why we do what we do, right? I'm so used to having the air move with a huge thick sound behind it during rehearsals and i'm not quite getting that.

I would be open to any recommendations if anyone can point me in the direction of some good heavy Soldano type profiles that would translate well for live use.

Thanks

I just thought i would pass on my personal experience of the Kemper PowerRack and welcome any questions and/or comments.

I have been playing guitar in semi professional bands for about 25 years now and have been through a hell of a lot of different types of gear. For the past 10 years i have been using valve amps, both for live use and recording. I was using Mesa/Boogie 295 power amp with a Mesa Studio, which is as good as it is heavy in weight. I later switched to a Soldano head and my knackered spine forgave me.

I was using a lot of pedals and felt that i needed something more simple, something that would meet the needs of the studio and road use and that was reliable and consistent, so after reading countless reviews and doing a lot of research i purchased the PoweRack.

I found there was a lot to get my head around but with the help of the online tutorials i soon got to grips with the unit and the many, many features. My band was due to record soon after my KPA arrived, so after settling on a sound i was happy with i went ahead and recorded our single with it. I have recorded my past 3 bands albums, regular setup in our studio with mics in front of cabs etc. To be able to record at home in a comfortable environment without the blaring speaker cabinets but with much better results was an absolute treat!

My band have booked a lot of shows in including several tours for the later part of the year (thanks Covid). So, rehearsals have started up again for that as well as writing for our next release. This is where i started to feel a bit uneasy. I realised that although the sound i used for our single sounded good through the DAW, the profile wasn't so good through my cab. I searched the RigExchange and soon found something that i was happy with that sounded great through my cab. My band play at very loud volumes, huge valve bass rigs that benefit from being pushed and a drummer, well, hard to describe...he's loud.

I turned my PowerRack up, and up again, then up again and then went into the Output settings and turned the poweramp up, and up again. I got to a level where i could be heard, but i noticed a change with the feel and sound at that level. With my previous setup i was used to the sound coming alive the more i pushed it and i always had huge amounts of headroom, the Kemper sounds good still i feel it loses something when pumped a bit, maybe a little thinner and compressed. I thought 'ah well, it still sounds good and it'll be going straight out to front of house anyway', and that's when i thought on, 'how am i going to know how this sounds through a PA at a festival/gig venue when i haven't had the opportunity to test it?' To test this at soundcheck could be disastrous as the profile may be awful when taken out the back. So, i tried it through some flat response speakers, using the recommended settings -db output etc, and i found that i didn't like the sound i was hearing. EQ wouldn't fix the sound, it was the profile. I went about looking through many other profiles and tested in the same way and i could not settle on a sound i was happy with. For me, i need something that sounds good on stage through the cab, regardless of whether i can get a good sound out front and then fed into stage monitors.

I have started to question whether i will use the PowerRack for live use or return to the tried and tested setup but purchase a new valve amp. The KPA is an amazing piece of gear which i will definitely continue to use in the studio and i think it would be really good for players that don't need it to be pumped so much at rehearsals or on stage. It's something i would use for different styles of music that i might play and the ease of carrying it around, plugging and playing makes it a keeper.

The feeling of being uncertain about my setup is not a good one and i worry that it may just be a bit to much of a gamble for me for live use.

Cheers for reading.

Hi all. I've had my Kemper powered rack for 2 months now, i'm really enjoying it but still getting my head around it.

Yesterday, i switched it on and was met with a screen that read KEMPER PROFILER, nothing more, no sound, no change when turning dials etc. I turned it off and left it for some time and then turned it back on, this time it powered up in usual right way.

Has anybody had this happen to them? Can this be easily explained? My concern is that i am hoping to use the KPA on tours we have booked later in the year and we have some big high profile festivals we are playing, i can't risk having this happen randomly. Any help/advice/explanation would be appreciated. (using 7.5)