Posts by richaxes

The closest I got to Brad Paisley's tone (and believe me, I'm DAMN close) was with the factory rig called 69. I think it's a Vox AC30.
It's always very important to realize that Brad really varies his taste in gain sometimes - but most of the time, he runs a moderately overdriven tone.

Totally required modifications:

- Amp EQ and Gain tweaks (not much, the tone's already there)
- Add a compressor in front of the amp, set it up to taste
- Add a slapback delay, again, set to taste
- Add a little reverb, that's just there, and again, set to taste
- Modify the amp's deep paramteres, especially Clarity. Turning up clarity makes the tone very stable, turn it up around halfway or so.

I use a Squier Affinity Telecaster, and I feel like I'm as close as I can get with this guitar.
I have to run right now, but in the evening, if you want, I can upload the "final" version of this rig that I've created, which is good for 90% of Brad Paisley songs.

Cheers

Quote from kojak_

...does this mean 'Performance mode' will finally be released?

...maybe even simultaneously with the kemper foot controller?

just speculating. i obviously don't have any inside infos, but maybe one of the guys at kemper will chime in

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I'm not sure if the KFC would be close to being released, but I highly doubt it.
Let's hope for Performance Mode and some other very important things (for me, right now it would be the possibility of using an extra delay in any slot). Also, let's hope for solutions to some annoying things (like my clipping issue).

Quote from 01000100

sounds like microphonic pickups.to me.

Yes, but I also know that my speakers are not in the best condition anymore, so it's more complicated

+100000000000000000000, I'm running my KPA through my old 2*50 watts hi-fi system and it doesn't feedback too well, it starts squealing instead.

Quote from brianr0131

input and output will go Red if they're clipping.

Right?

Yes.

Quote from Zappledan

I don't know if it's possible to "clip" throughout the signal chain. After all, overdriving the simulated tubes is what it's all about, right?

I used to believe this until I got some very nasty clipping from my KPA without apparent reason... the problem is still there as of today, and will hopefully get fixed in the next FW.

Quote from guitarnet70

Well, let's not forget that they produce also the Virus synth, probably with 90%+ of the same components. Actually one of the first experimental Profiler made by CK was a Virus TI Desktop running another software.....

Makes perfect sense.. why would you use different components if the basis is the same.

Quote from mba

People who knows me knows that i always try to get the best of my unit.
This is a FAS effect. lol
After spending so much time to tweak, i'm today competing in the Olympic Games for the tweaking final race.
So i opened the stomach of my lilly box.(that's the name i gave to my KPA...it is so cute )
I have to say that i'm surprised. I wonder how Kemper can sell this unit at this price because IMO it probably cost more to product than the Axe II.
For example the tracks of the pcb are gold plated.

The price of the components (in this case, ordered in bulk, of course) is low enough so that you can set the retail price almost wherever you want within a range. It mostly depends on the competition's prices, the price margin that you are aiming for, and a few other things.
The KPA's build quality is excellent, long live German precision

Quote from ARelicMind80

Its easy to comment and point fingers...

Weren't you the one who started it?
I mean, do you expect to come online, saying half lies and leaving out details from the story at a company's forums, and come out as the good guy?
Even if you were right or told everything, you'd just look bad.
I myself went through this same feeling when I made a thread about customer support not answering one of my bug reports... I got some really informative replies from Kemper, most of which I already knew or guessed, but nothing really new or ground-shaking. And the only thing I actually received were bad feelings inside, because I didn't want to sound like I'm bashing or hating, but you can only sound like that with a public outcry. So I decided it was a bad idea and tried to understand the company's points instead, what I didn't find hard doing so after I calmed down and thought about it a little.
I'm just saying that it's never worth it. Calm down, contact support directly either by phone or email even 500 times if you have to, but matters like this are not meant to be brought to the public. There will never be a real solution from this, neither symphathy towards you, and you're only generating tension.

Regards,
Richard

Quote from guitarnet70

Well, Richard, I'm not talking theory. I did it at rehearsal just to try it, a MS profile, cab off, running in the fx return of a Marshall head sitting there. It sounded really good and like an .... Amp! Not a mic'd one.

Hmm
Strangely enough, I didn't get good results when I tried putting mine through a power amp and cab, maybe running through the power amp of an actual good tube head would make a difference.

Quote from guitarnet70

Of course it will, switch the cabs off and run it through a power amp and a guitar cab...

Theoretically you are still playing through a profile that you did with a mic; the mic adds its own characteristics; as far as I know the cab can't be completely removed from the profile even if you switch the cab section off.

Quote from guitarman149

crunch = not good at all, very harsh edges, very digital sounding (any tips anyone to smooth this out?)

As you know, the KPA profiles amp sounds 99.9% correctly, and the remaining 0.1% can be mostly seen on a frequency spectrum analysis only, but not heard for sure.
Sometimes I'm not entirely sure whether it's about the mindset of knowing that the Kemper is digital, or just playing through a different speaker enviroment that creates these kinds of opinions in us.
The KPA is not meant to, and will never sound like an amp in the room. It's supposed to sound like a mic'd amp going into the mixing board.
Yes, of course, crunch tones is where it all gets interesting and where most of the modelers and digital stuff falls, but trust me on this, the KPA amazingly does justice on the crunch tones as well. Get deep into it, do some cab changing, reshape the amp, use EQs, etc. You'll find more than a bunch of amazing crunch sounds, trust me on this one.

Quote from ckemper

I am trying to find out about the philosophy of FRFR.

FRFR is a very misleading term in any case. It suggests to many people that these speakers have different characters and purposes than other regular and linear speakers.
Nobody really knows where this word comes from. It is absolutely not used or even known in the entire audio world exept in the digital amp world.

I think it was created to separate guitar cabs from the rest of the speakers. The latter was called FRFR. By that definition stereos are FRFR too, right?

I like the terms "analytic" and "emotional". FRFRs tend to be analytic then, like studio monitors.

Monitors are used to define the final sound of a recording. The recording will contain guitars too. The recording will later be consumed through many "emotional" stereos, so the guitar sound will "converted to emotional" too, and still should sound right.

Is it a correct advice not to play the Profiler through your stereo, even if you are used to its sound?
It should sound good anyway. At least as good as listening to your favorite record.
If the profiler is put on a record and listened through the same stereo you should have similar results.

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You are right, Mr. Kemper, but don't forget that most of the people buying the KPA don't want it to sound like their stereo does, but instead like their original guitar amp / cab setup or studio setup does, OR the profiled amp/cab would in real life.
The problem is that guitar tones will always sound the best through guitar speakers, which are a lot different when compared to FRFR or stereo speakers, and this is why - for the ears - even the best FRFR falls short against a guitar cab if you are used to listening to guitar cabs, what you will most likely be used to when playing guitar. The most traditional setup is still the amp/cab combination, and even a cheap and little practicing amp (I'll bring up my Roland Cube 30, a fantastic little piece of gear) will sound "more alive" in a sense than any great stereo or FRFR, just because of the guitar speaker in it.
I've tried the KPA through a PA + guitar cab setup not so long ago, but I wasn't impressed with the tones that way, I still think that with the KPA, FRFR is a better choice, but to be perfectly honest, you will never get close to sounding like a real amp through a real cab in a real room - of course, it's always mentioned that the KPA produces mic'd amp tones, but I think that a fair amount of players are not used to hearing the mic'd PA system tone back, but hearing their amp at point blank range.

Quote from Garrincha

richaxes

As far as Hifi goes you have a point with the 80s stuff being much more flat response. I remember I've heard some very good speaker with a fairly flat response and a good tansient reproduction back then. The Elac EL 150/160 series come to my mind or the I.Q. Trend (if I remember the names correctly, it's more than 20 years ago). The Hifi dudes had a term for that linear response, they called such a speaker "analytical". The stuff with the pimped bottom- and top-end was called "emotional". Seems the market went in the "emotional" direction from there

Back then I actually had fun listening to a good stereo. But in the last 15 years I've not come across a stereo (other than absolute high-end-stuff)that reproduces music remotely true to what we hear when we record and mix it.

If you think about the fact how the Yamaha NS10 became became a studio monitor from originally being a hi-fi speaker, then it becomes clear that stereos were always meant to be FRFR, but they are just not (anymore).
Christoph is right in this aspect, but that's only theoretical, in the practice real FRFRs will always sound "truer" and therefore - to some of us - better, than hi-fis.

Quote from ckemper

Do FRFR create flatter frequency responces?
Both stereo and frfr manufacturers promise a flat responce and pleasant sound. Does anybody know the difference?

I have 2 Sanyo hi-fi speaker cabs from the '80s with ~50 watts Videoton (great old Hungarian) speakers. It connects to a JVC hi-fi PA from the '80s.
We also have a ~10 years old Aiwa hi-fi system in the house, which claims more output and promises flat response. Yet it's fizzy and a lot treblier, also, in fact, even quieter than my fantastic old stuff.
But even though I said this, when I plug into some nice FRFR solution (and let's not go any further than a cheaper RCF ART 312A) I immediately feel the differences in terms of being flat and sounding good even comparing to my great '80s hi-fi setup.
For some reason I think you must be joking, at least I can hardly believe that you really wouldn't hear or be aware of the difference between hi-fis and FRFR.

Quote from and44

yeah but most steroes, the "line in" bypasses the inbuilt EQ, therefore its FRFR (least thats my understanding..)
Happy to be wrong though.

Even if the built-in EQ is bypassed, I don't believe it makes the thing itself FRFR, at least as far as I know, it depends a whole lot on the speakers, too, not just the amp itself.

Quote from ckemper

For sure the Profiler is made to play thru a stereo.
What is the difference between a stereo and FRFR?

A stereo doesn't produce flat response, does it?
I'm using mine through a stereo, and I love it, but I can imagine a smaller/different stereo system to sound fizzy simple because of it not being designed to give everything back as it is.

Quote from Kieroc

Thanks for the replies. I connect up to my stereo system and compare the kemper sounds to say the likes of queen sounds. Brian may has a more rounded heavy rock sound and I find the kemper is more buzzy even through headphones directly into kemper. That sound is good for heavy van halen playing but not for crunch sounds. nothing in the signal chain is being overloaded. Any ideas?

First of all, you are comparing the Kemper to highly engineered studio recordings, which is not what it sounds like. KPA profiles are raw mic'd amplifier sounds, producing the same result as miking up a tube amp and going into the mixing board.
That being said, I don't understand how the KPA would be buzzy by itself - which profiles are you trying?
Also, don't expect great results from connecting to a stereo system, because the Kemper is really tailored for FRFR use, and that's the way it should be used.
Could it be that you're just simply not used to the way mic'd tube amps sound like? I can get my KPA easily from fizzy (buzzy) to smooth in a second, so maybe tweaking a little around with it would also help.

Quote from Kieroc

Got the kemper a few days ago. I find the profiles fizzy and buzzy. I adjusted the imput and outputs. The clean profiles are fine but when I add gain it doesn't produce a pleasing sound. I turned the cabs off and on to be sure so they are definately on Tried different cabs on the unit but they just have a different flavour of fuzziness. Also I don't seem to have the graphic equaliser ,stereo equaliser,the metal eq,the studio eq ,and a few others listed in the kemper manuals. please help

I've experienced the same effect back then with a small Fender transistor amp when the speaker was broken... what are you connecting to? Can you make sure that the problem is coming from the KPA?
Also, please, update to the latest firmware version.

Quote from Garrincha

That is very true but those of us who work in the industrie (I used to but not anymore) know those cork sniffing clients or picky producers who would insist on recording with 96k even if they don't have a clue about it.

Sometimes when working with clients it really is all about numbers...

But modern DAWs should be able to handle different samplerates in the same project so it should be a problem switching to 44k when recording the Kemper and switching back when you do the drum overdubs.

Word.