Posts by b9788217979d0d8344db4da45919913948c2ac74

RME interfaces are known to have excellent drivers. I had a Multiface back in the day and it never let me down. A bit pricey though. Maybe for a reason.

Quote from Monkey_Man

The standard way vendors do it is to append the word "Merged" to packs' and Rigs' names..

Dammit... I don't have any characters left as I have already exceeded the max rig name length, because I want to give the rigs some meaningful names that show you what to expect to be in there.

I'll need to find a way to sneak the word "Merged" somewhere into the rigs, because currently you have to memorize it, which is... err... sub-optimal to say the least ;-).

I really would like to know how to the cab profiles work with your DI profiles. So if anybody could try and report back, this would be awesome.

And secondly, is there any common way of marking merged profiles as being merged?

Seeking to recreate the sound of a Bugera 6260 (which is a copy of a 5150) through Mesa and Kitty Hawk cabinets using different speakers.

I also have a 6505 sitting right next to the 6260, but I am still undecided about which on I like better. They share a similar character, but they do sound different.

THE PROFILES

The pack contains 37 merged profiles. These are made up of 30 DI-profiles. The DIs cover all channels from Clean to Crunch to Lead. Each amp setting has been profiles with different gain settings (see codes like "-3" or "-5" in the name, where "-3" means "-" = no pedal and "3" = gain at 3) and different drive pedals (see codes in the gear list below, like "MT" or "DS").

There are 12 cabinet profiles made from two different cabs (Mesa 4x12 and Kitty Hawk 4x12) with 3 different speakers (T75, V30 and G12-65) and two mics (SM57 and e906).

These cabinet profiles are stored as "RiF-.Cab *"-profiles for easier usage. See the manual for instructions. You probably know that you can use these cabinet profiles with any DI profile you have, not just those in this pack. I am striving to make these cabs work with all of my DIs, though if they sound good with other DIs depends on the voicing of the DI.

THE GEAR

All my profiles are going through an analog-only audio path. No digital gear (besides the KPA) involved.

To create these profiles, the following gear has been used:

• Bugera 6260 tube amplifier
• Mesa Rectifier 4x12 cabinet /w G12-T75 speaker mic'd (Shure SM57 and Sennheiser e906)
• Kitty Hawk 4x12 cabinet /w G12-65 and V30 speaker mic'd (SM57)
• Maxon OD808 ("OD") , Boss DS-1 Distortion (1991) ("DS") , Boss SD- 1 Super Overdrive (1984) ("SD"), Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (1994) ("MT" , EHX Big Muff Pi ("PI")
• BAE 1073mp preamp
• Palmer PAN-01 DI box
• Furman Power Conditioner

THE SOUND SAMPLES

Here are some sound samples that cover the high gain, rock and clean tones of this profile pack. The guitars in these samples are bone dry, directly from the KPA and no other FX applied in-Kemper nor in Pro Tools (other than a transparent Limiter on the mix bus and KPA-Delay and Reverb from the profiles in the clean tones).

THE PICTURES

As usual, I like to show you some pictures of the gear used during profiling.

The pedals and their codes used in the rig names:

I hope you'll find this pack useful and fun!

THE PROFILE PACK

Download the pack here (it includes the PDF manual):

RiF-Bug62_v1.0_FREE.zip

Hmmm... I think I locked the input section and changes to the parameter did not stay.

But still, I have to turn CLEAN SENS all the way down to -12 to get close to balanced clean / drive tone level.

I noticed that I am not able anymore to level-balance clean vs overdriven tones. Even if I turn CLEAN SENS down to -12, clean tones are waaaayyy louder than overdriven tones. As soon as I start to up the gain on a clean or breakup-type of tone, the volume starts to drop significantly.

AFAIR, this has been an issue for me before but could be solved by turning down CLEAN SENS. Now it's not.

Newest aquisitions in the last weeks:

- Peavey 6505 \m/

- Celestion Greenback (MiUK)

Simple and very effective! This gets my vote.

I would color mine like this:

Clean = blue

Clean with chorus = purple

Crunch = yellow

Gainy = orange

Lead = red

Although my KPA already chooses random colors for me, because I have a loose connection on my display .

Quote from patrick2099

b9788217979d0d8344db4da45919913948c2ac74 , the email I just received today had a link to the 1.0 version of this pack. Was this meant to be an upgrade of the 1.0 pack, or something that must be bought separately?

Thanks.

You should have gotten a link to the 2.0 pack, because it is a free upgrade for 1.0 customers. I'll send you a PM to sort this out.

Es reicht den KPA an den vorderen 4 Schrauben im Rack zu befestigen (das ist eigentlich bei jedem 19" Rackgerät so), aber es ist ratsam unterhalb des KPA's noch 1 HE frei zu lassen um eine gute Lüftung zu gewährleisten. Ich habe dort eine €5-Rackblende mit Lüftungsschlitzen im Rack installiert.

NEW V2 UPDATE WITH INFINICABS!

Starting with the RiF-DR v2-pack, all my new packs will be Merged Profiles and will contain:

• Different amp settings profiled as DI-profiles and saved as Merged Profiles ready to use
• Each amp setting then profiled with a set of drive pedals (see this blog-post on my website for details about the pedals)
• A set of cabinet and speakers are profiled with my InfiniCab-method: You'll get up to 18 mic positions per speaker, ranging from center and then moving in about 1/2 inch steps towards the outside. Plus three different distances (0, 1, 2 inches) from the grille. On top of that, you're getting a bunch of angled mic positions as well. Pheww... You should be able to find YOUR tone here easily. All cabinet profiles are stored, conventiently named, as "RiF-.Cab..."-profiles, so you can easily apply them to your DI profile by chosing CABINET and then selecting FROM RIGS.

WHAT'S IN THIS PACK?

In the case of the RiF-DR v2 pack, you'll get 105 cabinet profiles from two cabinets with 4 different speaker types (V30 MiUK, T75, V30 MiA, G65) and 83 DI/Merged amplifier profiles from 5 different modes with 5 drive pedals, resulting in 8,500+ possible combinations.

For a complete list of the profiles in the RiF-DR v2 pack, see the Profile List and Manual PDF for this Pack.

The pack can be purchased for just €10 right here on my website. Paypal and automatic electronic delivery supported.

This is a free update for all existing customers. Check your inbox for a new download link.

LET ME HEAR WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!

Here are some samples of the RiF-DR v2 pack:

YOU WANT SOME MORE?

Because more amps (6505, 2205, 6100, 620, ...) and speakers (Greenback, Creamback) are already in the process of being profiled, this is only the beginning.

All upcoming packs will extend your arsenal of amplifier and cabinet profiles where ALL of them are meant to be freely combinable.

The KPA cabinet-profiling process sounds great, but there's always a bit of the amplifier "shining through" into the cabinet's tone. This can be used to our advantage, because I will profile the same V30 4x12 with another amp, so you'll get a slightly different sounding cabinet profile to be used with all other amplifier DIs. Calculating the resulting number of possibilites is mind-boggling...

AND SOME PICTURES OF THE GEAR USED TO CREATE THESE PROFILES

MeBo Rack-T-Fire:

MeBo 4x12 /w V30 and T75 speakers

BAE 1073mp preamp

Kitty Hawk 4x12 /w V30 and G12-65 speakers

The G12-65 from the early 1980's

Sennheiser e906 which has been used besides the 57

Regarding the gain variations, I would be fine when I were able to combine several profiles into one "profile-set" where the KPA even simply switched from one to the other profile when a certain gain amount is crossed.

Example:
Profile 1 : Gain (on the KPA led-dial) 3

Profile 2: Gain (on the KPA-led dial) 5

When turning the gain dial beyond the middle between 3 and 5 (4), the KPA switches from profile 1 to profile 2.

That would even give me the freedom of including a drive pedal profile into the set, where say from 8 and up, I could set it up so that it switches to a profile that has been created using a drive pedal. I could even combine different amps for different gain levels. Why limit this?

I thought the same as Wheresthedug: You cannot go wrong with a JB and Jazz in a Les Paul. I have a JB in my 2006 LP Standard which is chambered, but heavy as a guitar can be.

That said, did you try to lower the height of the JB on the bass strings to "EQ" the pickup to your guitar a bit better?

Other than that, maybe the stock Burstbuckers that came with your guitar (I guess) have less output, but are a bit clearer on the bass and low-mids than the JB. Maybe you already had the right pickups for your taste in your guitar?

As a last resort, you can at least try the Duncan Distortions. I have them in one of my Strat-like Charvels and plan to install them in my "even-more-heavy-than-a-Les-Paul" '89 Charvel 750XL, which is a big heavy block of mahogany with a maple top and a thru-body neck which lacks a bit of clarity in the bass area and isn't very bright. The Distortions have great clarity and are fairly bright. And in a dark sounding guitar this could yield a nice tone that must not be Metal, which is what they seem to be made for.

DavidAJack, did you level match the KPA's and the Saffire's headphone outputs to the exact same volume? I am asking because I thought the same as you did after switching from the KPA's output to my audio interface's output (M-Audio Profire 2626). The end result was that both sounded equal as soon as I lowered the KPA's headphone volume, because the KPA headphone amp has been way louder than my Profire's.

And as we all know, louder is better :-).

I have a DT770 Pro (although it fell apart due to my ruthless handling) and really really liked it for guitar tones. Most headphones did not work for me at all. As you said, too much of a scooped midrange or too shy of a bass make guitars sound thin and overall not pleasing to listen to. The 80 Ohms version works perfect on the KPA. Enough juice for my taste, although I ended up kranking it up fully (possibly not advisable from a medical standpoint...).

And for all those how don't want to shell out USD/EUR/GBP 120 for some cans, I also have two pairs of the Superlux HD-681's (can be had at the Big T here in EU) which have roughly a similar sound to the DT770's, but a bit less defined of course. Still they work great for guitar, IMHO. And they cost €20!!!! In words: twenty. And don't go for the more expensive ones (like €30 and up), I returned those in favour of the cheap ones. Nicer velvet'y (not as nice as the DT700's) ear pads can be had, too for another €10, to replace the stock synthetic leather earpads.

Quote from LuxuryLee

I bought the unpowered "toaster" version about a week ago and I have several questions:

1. When I do my own profiles it is over-writing an existing profile. It even retains the author of that profile which can't be deleted. Am I doing something wrong?

2. I played a gig with the Kemper this week and took the monitor out into the auxiliary input of my Roland Cube 80. It sounded great, but I was using a pin plug. Is there a better way to do this?

3. I'm recording using a MOTU 896HD interface which has no SPDIF input. What would be the best and cheapest way of getting a direct digital input into my DAW?

4. I ran an experiment when profiling. I recorded several profiles using the refine option and not using the option. I think I like the unrefined profiles better. The refined profiles somehow seen more generic. Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks,

Lee

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1. The KPA takes over whatever rig-tags were present in the profile that you've selected before going into PROFILE mode. You cannot change the rig author in the KPA, but you can in the Rig Manager software. So create one profile with all your personal tags first and then create profiles with that profile selected.

2. Sorry, I don't know what a "pin plug" is (I am German). But if it sounds good, it is good :-). No kidding.

3. The 896HD has great A/D-converters, just use those. I am not using SPDIF either, because I don't want to clock my interface from the KPA, which is the only clocking-mode the KPA supports. Therefore I am using analog inputs. All good.

4. The refining process is kind of a mystery to me. Usually I do refine, because the unrefined profiles sound a little duller and have less attack than the original amp's tone. Refining on the other side can over-accentuate these. The best way would be to have the amp in an isolated room and switch back and forth between the amp and the profile after a refine to see how close they actually are. Or just use your ears and don't care how the mic'd amp actually sounds and if you like the profile, go for it. In the end, this is all what matters. I'd prefer an unrefined and different and great sounding profile to a a 100% accurate profile of a bad sounding amp.

If you have tube amps you like, and you seem to have the equipment to mic them, create your own profiles. It takes some practice, but this is what the KPA has been initially made for.

Although profiles created by other people probably can sound great, they are not YOUR tone by default.

Like the others said, dial your amp to your liking to get a nice sound "in the room". Then (ideally) find a mic position on your cab that gets you a mic'd tone that sounds similar to what you're hearing "in the room". Right on the edge of the speaker's dustcap with a little distance of an inch or two to the cab's grille is usually a good start when using an SM57. But mind that a close-mic'd amp sounds different to what you are actually hearing when standing in front of the amp, so be prepared to "compensate" the amp settings to a tone that sounds great mic'd. I might bet that your first attempts will yield some boomy bass or a slightly muffled tone (mic too far to the outside edge of the speaker) or too trebly of a tone (mic too far to the center of the speaker). Don't give up too early, move the mic in very tiny steps and you'll get your tone with some experience. Note the mic positions in the comments-tags of your profiles to learn better what works and what doesn't. Using some chalk to mark good mic positions on the cab might help to reproduce tones you like, too.

A Tube Screamer in front is fine, but there are two things to consider: 1) The KPA's manual says that it cannot capture the TS-9 circuit behaviour correctly, so I'd do one profile with and another one without the TS-9 (and use the TS-9 in front of the KPA). Gives more options as well. And 2) I found that - especially on clean(er) tones, not so much on distorted ones - I had to crank the tone knob on the pedal higher (=more treble) than I would normally do. Btw, in my experience the KPA can capture my TS-like pedals just fine.

Don't use a noise gate! The KPA does not like it and will even report that a noise gate has been detected, although it will make a profile. There are plenty of in-KPA-options for noise gating which work great. I like to have the 2:1 Noise Gate in Stomp-Slot 1, which I find works a bit better for me (more transparent) than the noise gate in the input section.

Quote from DennisJ

Just a remark. It is funny but all the sounds I create at home are more warm and got more bass. But when I go practice with my bands it is lost in the mix a little so I have to add treble and presence to be heard. Is it the same to you? I mean it is not really a problem for me it is probably normal

I was just wondering if it was the same for you ???

If I am dialing in tones in isolation (as in: no drums, bass, keys going. Just my guitar) they usually come out darker and possibly more mid scooped than I would dial those in when I have a "band" running.

Have you tried to get kind of a backing track (must not be from your band, but this would be ideal) running while you're dialing in your guitar tone at home to see if you end up with a tone that's translates better to when you actually play with your band?

Some examples:

• Bass: In solo, I would add a hefty dose of bass and low-mids. In a mix, this would create a muddy and cloudy low end because the bass, the kick and the guitars are all fighting for a place in the same spot and all the oomph is gone. It's hard, I know, but give the bass and kick precedence :-).
• Low-Mids: In solo, this adds nice body to the guitar tone. In a mix, this could easily lead to some honky/boxy sounding overall sound.
• Mids: In solo, scooped mids can sound great on high gain guitars. In a mix, your guitars run the risk to disappear almost completely, because the guitar tone lives in the mids.
• High Mids: In solo, you might want to tame those down because they can sound harsh or even piercing. Or you crank them up to get a nice crunchy attack. In a mix, too less high mids can make your attack disappear, too much can compete with the vocals or can create a ringy kind of annoying tone, especially audible when you're turning up the volume. This area I am finding the most critical to balance right in the mix. The amount of high mids depends highly on the context. I found that the area around 2.5KHz is very crucial and fragile at the same time. This frequency range gives the guitars bite and edge but can sound piercing easily. I usually make a sharp cut here to prevent ringing and give some headroom for further high end boosts (if necessary) without over-boosting this area at the same time.
• Highs: In Solo, you either want to tame those down to get a warm tone or you want to crank them up to get some nice high end air. In a mix, too much high end can make them fight with the cymbals and create a bit of an undefined mess up there.

This is not a definitive guide, but hopefully might help a bit.

I have replaced my DR profiles on Rig Exchange with a set of 9 new profiles from my "RiF-DR" profile pack, because I think that these sound way better and they serve as a demo for the pack.

Search Rig Exchange for "RiF- FREE" (there's a space between RiF- and FREE). And check the "RiF-DR" profiles.

The free profiles cover all modes (Clean, Raw, Vintage, Modern) and it shows how I am profiling a whole set with several drive pedals. The "RiF-DR Mod A3 * FREE" profiles cover the same amp setting with 5 different well-known drive pedals. Check out this blog post for a description of the pedals used.

*removed by mod*