Posts by Radley

I personally like CK's product and humorous attitude The reason I retain both the AFX and the Kemper: They both do an excellent job, but from a different angle, which makes them both unique. I also keep both platforms to see what improvements/sounds/features they will introduce in the future... Great days to be a guitarist!

Hey guys ~ I personally don't get all the minimizing of the new Depth feature - It's not just for headphones, and it can add a lot if you know how & when to use it. In other words, I dig it and it has a level control if you don't....

"I use 2 mics:

TLM 103 @ 8" from face--->LA 610---->y cable into Kemper. Settings on the UA? Darned if I remember. I used my ears. Comp was on.
SM57@45 degree angle to edge of cone on grill->Chameleon 7602->same y cable into Kemper. Had the EQ off. No phase set. Matched volume.

The amp was about 3 feet from any wall. Swart AST and Tungsten Crema Wheat."

-------------

Thanks DB ~ Was this a clean or OD profile?

Quote from db9091

I thought there was a mystery but then when I use Andy's patches they are consistently GREAT.

So I did the obvious, I PM's Andy44 and ASKED him what I could do with my gear to make it sound better.

The few 5 star ones I got on my own profiles are the direct result of one very simple suggestion of his.

(let's count how many responses beg me for this info) Again, it was his advice based on MY available gear. It will be different for different people.

It's an art. and that he can do this consistently with different gear shows his mastery of micing amplifiers in a studio.

Display More

And yet you are rather careful not to share it ~ I thought the idea was to share whatever tips we have found that work...

I hope to be posting some new profiles of certain Mesa, Marshall, and Fender amps I have recently acquired and modded to my liking in the next month or so...

Keep On Rockin'...

And yes, I would say there is still a lot of mystery in what causes some profiles to be easier/better than others, but therein lies the challenge, no?

I have posted numerous suggestions/ideas for getting good profiles, and for attaining a more substantive understanding of how the profiling process works... just hoping for some more comments, enlightenment... As a beta tester, I cannot speak specifically of future software ~ I can only say that I like the direction...

A44 - Thanks for your input (and everyone else). I am good at getting profiles that are well-suited for my playing style & touch, but I am certainly not on your level of complexity. I am very happy there are guys like you who 'take it to the max' and show what all can be accomplished with the KPA profiling!

One thing I really dig about the Kemper: Many times you can take a crappy amp or pedal with so-so distortion and ridiculously high noise levels and when you're done profiling, you have something that sounds much better than the original... better/smoother overdrive and substantially less noise and hum. I have had this happen enough times that I have started profiling most of the equipment I own, because you can end up with some real gems from even lame beginnings...

Quote from miles

One thing I have found different about the way the KPA profiler interprets the sound versus micing a live cab is, that when the slightest amp eq change is made, it has a large effect on the KPA profile, where making that slight amp eq change on a live miced amp is more subtle.

Same here, Miles.

To answer your question Lance, this was an admittedly awkward way to start a conversation about getting the best results from profiling (I was just ribbing you - your sauce is fine). I will share what I've learned so far:

1) Most times, when a profile doesn't seem to be 'getting there', I can pull up a few tried and true cabs that magically seem to make everything sound better (this brings to mind the ongoing debate about how the amps & cabs interact). The obvious disadvantage is that you loose some of the uniqueness of the particular amp's sound.

2) I have found that pre-EQ can do wonders for many overdriven profiles by controlling what frequencies get pushed farthest into distortion.

3) Many clean profiles can be morphed into killer gain OD amps! (sometimes will need to cut some lows out or boost some lower mids with pre-EQ).

4) I have had pretty good luck mic'ing certain cabs from the back or at really strange angles to get some 'special effect'/'unique character' sounds for interesting interludes during a 'not so exciting' song.

5) Although I know it's against the rules, I have used some *mild* compression on certain Clean & OD profiles to achieve a smoother, more expressive feel without so much distortion (if you try to use too much you will get 'busted' by Mr. Kemper, who is living inside the KPA!)

So I guess the bottom line for me is - I am very happy with the myriads of profiles I use/have tweaked, regardless whether they sound exactly like the original amps. I tend to be more concerned about the 'playability' of the sound than the actual sonics, because it effects how and what I choose to play.

Your Thoughts/Tips...

Well I'll be darned - I love this platform enough to be on CK's beta team, yet am still suspect by certain users... And life goes on.

Quote from Guitartone

I'm not sure I agree.
If Profiles couldn't be shared, then I'd agree with you.
But, Profiles can be shared, so the Kemper was designed for everyone and anyone, even for those who have no intention or means to Profile.

Love you Lance, but this is weak sauce...

In other words: I can place a very ordinary mic in front of *any* of my Fender amps and make a great recording - it seems a bit more complex with the KPA...

Then I am obviously out of my gourd and I rest my case... I only wish the rest of life could be so simple....

A simple answer - Any of us who care about the quality of profiles we post will self-edit, no? That means we will not post profiles that don't pass our personal sonics test - this includes Armin and And44. I have *hundreds* of profiles I have done that I love & use, but I have just as many that fell flat - if you prefer to believe it is all operator error on my part, be my guest, but keep in mind: The Kemper was designed for people like you and me, not people who happen to have an idealized setup for profiling like Armin and And44...

As an example: I recently did some profiles of my modified '65 Super-Reverb amp (which even Howard Dumble said sounded magic) - the results were very ordinary and generic, although I used the same quality equipment I used to produce my Gibson Lancer profiles and many other personal faves I have not shared online... Just Shows to Go ya...

A thought about Amp Profiles:

I have perceived over my considerable time using the KPA that our favorite profiles are largely dictated by random chance as much as a great amp or mic. Some combinations provide great profiles, while others turn out very lackluster results. My faves tend to be the ones that don't have too much of that dreadful overbearing Marshall upper-mids peak, but sound more smooth and even across the audio spectrum. Even many clean profiles can do a better overdriven sound than the aforementioned over-hyped, cocked-wah nightmares...

Back to my original point - Producing a great profile would appear to be as much luck and blind chemistry as it is picking a great amp and mic...

Imho there are not many accurate ones - why this is, I have no idea (other than the fact that the midrange response of these amps is unique/complex & usually sounds boxy when most modelers get done with them...)

My reasoning goes like this: What are the frequencies most difficult for guitar amps to reproduce? Low frequencies, and then High frequencies - if we have a speaker that can more efficiently reproduce these frequencies, this makes the amp's job easier with less 'farting out' on the low end, and less treble 'spitting' on the high end (a very edgy, harsh sounding distortion caused by pushing too much high end through a tube amp - it's awful!). This is why the Swamp Thang is such a cool solution for me...

Doc - I find the high end to be plenty, but then again I don't use a very pointed high-end response. I'm more into the beefy side of things, and I believe I'm running both treble and bass settings lower with these speakers...

Eminence's 'Swamp Thang' guitar speaker: I highly recommend this speaker to anyone who wants to boost the level and low end of their 1x12 combo or enclosure without moving up to a larger rig. This speaker is amazingly efficient, and does not crap out when the low end is pushed hard and loud! It comes in either 8 or 16 ohms, and is rated at 150 watts. Although mine are not fully broken in, I can already hear a huge difference from the quality speakers they've replaced (Celestion, Fender, EV). If you've ever wanted your open back amp/cab to have the fatter low end of a closed back setup, this seems to be the best option ever made available, Imho...

~Radley~