Posts by Gary_W

When you buy from a commercial seller, you’re entering into an agreement. You agree to pay them, they agree to give you profiles under certain conditions. If you read these conditions, you’ll see that doing the kind of things you’re describing would break those conditions and you’ve then broken a legal contract.

Your first argument is that they ‘stole it’ in the first place by profiling an amp. They’ve stolen nothing - they’ve created a snapshot of a physical thing in the digital world using their skill / cabinets / preamps / ears. They’re selling you their ability at doing that very well with an amp you may not have access to. That’s what you’re buying...... if you still believe this is stealing, your only course of action is to not buy these stolen goods.....

Your next argument of ‘who would know’. If I go into a small shop with no cameras and steal something off the shelf when the sole owner is out the back.... also no-one would know. It is still wrong / still a crime. It’s true that the majority of crimes / wrongdoings in our world go undetected. Society works by having a set of rules that are enforceable when you get caught but largely it works because people do the right thing. Either because they’re scared of getting caught or because they realise that ‘doing the right thing’ is worthy.

Would suggest you ‘do the right thing’ here.

If you are listening to a commercially released recording in a perfectly treated room with perfectly flat response monitors set in perfect positions, your ears will receive all areas of the frequency spectrum at the correct level as the mix engineer / mastering people intended.

In real life, your monitor speakers will artificially make some parts of that spectrum louder or quieter than they should be. Your room / speaker positions can make this far, far worse.

Then we have your ears.... it’s entirely possible that years of abuse have taken off the top end of your hearing.

You cannot do much about this last point. The rest? You can address. I treated my little room here by building panels out of 4” acoustic density rock wool which were encased in wooden frames and covered with breathable fabric. I’ve got one on the ceiling, one on each wall closest to my monitors, behind the monitors and then there are massive wall to ceiling efforts to make a vocal wall (for when I record the vox) and the wall opposite. Cost me around £250 all in and made my monitor speakers sound considerably more expensive :).

I am still not great at mixing - it takes a lot of time, effort and experience. But at least now when I make bad decisions in a mix, it’s on me rather than unavoidable due to me not being able to hear it accurately because of the room.

Put it this way. If I started painting portraits, I’d suck at first. Experience would make me better.

Trying to mix in a room that is untreated is like trying to paint a portrait in the dark..... it means you’ll end up with a crap picture and, furthermore, you’ll have little chance of improving because you can’t see / hear what is actually happening so you never learn repeatably what works and what doesn’t.

I’m hopeful they’ll go there too.... In the last few years we’ve had the delays, reverbs and drive section going from ‘pretty good but not awesome’ to ‘awesome’. I’m hoping the modulation effects are next.... the previous updates have all been very much worth the wait

Just read the manual and (for toasters and racks) we need to connect via ethernet cable directly to our network. If we have a floorboard to connect at the same time we need a hub.

So.... As the floorboard uses power from the profiler via the ethernet cable, do I have to be careful what hub I buy or will any hub I can get next day from Jeff Bezos do?

Thank you for the release :). Can you please confirm if we need additional hardware to use this with a Toaster / Rack?

Quote from Torshalla

I really hope it can work on iphone… no one needs an ipad now, iphone screens are good enough

I’ve downloaded it.... if you look on the store, it shows it as ipad - it does not mention compatibility with the phone.

It looks very nice but I’m not sure my eyes would cope with tweaking ionosphere reverb on a phone.... there are 22 controls for this in the bottom half of the screen (because you have the rig itself showing in a line up top) and all have the parameter shown underneath them. I don’t think this would be much fun on a smaller screen.

Now I need to know how to connect this to a toaster. If I can connect it to a toaster

I saw this for the first time maybe 1 week ago on my Toaster that is 7 or 8 years old. I feared the worst.

I searched the forum for time and date issues. One of the mods wrote back and said that, if this only happens when connected to rig manger, I should go into the setup menu and check the clock was actually running - if it is then 'no problem'. In my case it was running.

I am hoping for luck here and will curse it now but, so far, no repeat of this.

Sorry, I just searched for the thread again but can't see it.... Hope yours turns out well.

Quote from Wheresthedug

Given Kemper’s philosophy of not leaving users behinds and making the user experience as similar as possible across all versions I would be surprised if they don’t have some sort of work around figured out for us non stage users. 🤞🤞🤞

Hopefully yes but there are increasingly hardware differences we are learning of with the Stage due to new updates coming out. First the physical impedance thing the stage can do for fuzz which toaster and rack cannot and, by the look of it now, wireless. There might be a proposed fix for us Toaster / rack guys but for the impedance, it’s not possible.

For me personally, these are both ‘nice to have’ improvements and very cool but not so much so that I’m going to be crying on the fretboard if they can’t come to my much-loved ageing toaster That is assuming the iPad implementation is simply Rig Manager for iPad..... I can see how this is amazing for some users but in my circumstances it’d be ‘nice to have for sure but I’ll live if not’. If it’s more than just rig manager on iPad I may eat my words here and be asking for a toaster workaround

But it think it would be a good idea if, on the website, there was maybe a comparison table between the 3 models that pointed out the hardware differences between the three models and included this detail about WiFi / impedance. For us oldies, all the updates are free so, if some don’t work due to aged hardware, it’s a shame but no robbery has taken place. But I think being plain about the hardware difference would help prospective buyers to choose the most appropriate model that suits their personal needs.

I really welcome presets. Yes, I’ll tweak but if the company can give me something called a ‘deluxe Memory Man’ (or whatever, to illustrate what to expect) then I’m grateful. It’s probably because I started digital-wise with GT3 and Pod so if a company tells me that it’s a Klon I’m likely to feel good about that unless I have an actual klon and can argue with them. The mind is a strange thing and the urge to hoard pedals and amps (both real and virtual) is a strong one. It must be otherwise the vast, vast number of commercial profiles out there wouldn’t be so successful.

I totally see that Yoda is in a different place to me as he clearly uses his Kemper for work. He wants a particular sound for the job in hand more than ‘this is a clean klon’. I am just a keen amateur who uses Kemper for enjoyment, not to make money. I tend to find a sound I like, working with profiles and presets, then tweak if needed. But for me, it’s hobby which I enjoy and I’m not eating from it. You could argue that this makes his opinion more valuable vs someone who just uses it for fun but then again, commercially, we all pay the same for the unit. I can see why he’d want easy options to hide things in his situation. Personally, I like them - it’s part of the fun for me

Interesting reading the different perspectives on presets here with factory vs user etc.

As a side note, I think it would be helpful if it were made clearer which preset you're actually using within any given effect. For example, if I select the new Fuzz stomp (which is wonderful IMO) and choose the 'Red Germanium' preset.

Does the unit tell me *anywhere* what preset I'm using? If it does and I'm being silly, please tell me - I'd be delighted Unless I'm missing it, I cannot see the preset on the screen of the Kemper unit itself if I select the fx block. I do not see it in the Rig Manager main screen (it just tells me that I have the fuzz enabled). If I go into the preset selection menu, there is not a tick next to the preset I'm currently using. These things would be helpful in my opinion, especially now that a single FX type (such as the new distortion) can be set to emulate several classic fx so it'd be great if it told me when it's in Klon mode vs when it's in King of Tone mode.

Quote from Nikos

btw..

There is a more trebly fuzz preset (smart fuzz?)..adding a treble booster in front of it and it is almost perfect.With my tele.

Thank you - I need to play with this concept.

There is an Analogman pedal called the Sun Lion which is a modified version of a Dallas Rangemaster (a germanium based treble booster) which then is followed in the same pedal by a fuzz face. You can use them independently or of course together. I did a home made version and like it a lot albeit mine is pretty noisy!

I spent more time with this upgrade earlier. Can confirm what I already knew - I’m really pleased with it. It’s a great update IMO.

Hi,

I’ve had my toaster for 7 years now. Since that time it has improved vastly due to user requests and also cool things that the company have come up with that users may not have thought of.

IMO the core sound quality has always been there; I think profiles are (generally) getting slicker / better but there’s never been a lack of great core noises out of this box.

What was lacking in the early days was fx that were of similar quality. They were ‘better than a lot of people made out’ but for sure were the weakest part of the system.

Since then, we’ve had:

Delays that are awesome. Lots of user requests for these.
Reverbs that are awesome. Lots of user requests for these.

An editor. Go look at the length of threads wanting that.

A remote. And a stage version. Both huge user requests

Distortions / stomps - again, lots of requests. I was really pleased with the distortion but am over the moon with the fuzz. I love fuzz and I think they’ve done a great job.

We’ve also had the Kone which addresses the complaint of some users that ‘it doesn’t sound like the amp in the room’. I bought one - it’s the first money I’ve given them since buying the remote.... I really like it.

Lots more ‘little’ things too but a crazy amount of added value.

I think they’ve been really good at listening to user requests. They take a long time to implement things but, when they do, it is killer and it is free (unless it’s hardware of course). I continue to be impressed at the value I get out of this box. For me, I’m hoping the revamp the modulation section next.

Can you explain a little more about your request and what they’re ignoring? If they are ignoring it, maybe it’s because it’s either not a common request (they’re not a huge company so makes sense to deal with popular requests) or maybe the request isn’t possible?

Quote from semguigui

I never used any fuzz before, but, as everyone, I really like the kemper fuzz. Just an idea to make it even more inspiring : why not editing a complement to the "legend tribute pack" or create a new one ? What songs would have to be in the list?

http://fuzzquest.blogspot.com/…z-songs-of-all-times.html gives a starting point for exploring fuzz tones

As there seem to be lots of folks here who haven’t been exposed to much fuzz, a few thoughts for you follow. I’m not an expert (at this or anything else musically) but I’ve made a few fuzz pedals based on schematics widely available on the web and it’s an interesting subject. I’ll share my limited experience and I’m sure others more knowledgable than me on the forum can help me learn on the subject too

Like all things guitar, there are huge opinions on which style of fuzz circuit is best (classic fuzz face, muff, tone bender etc). There will then be huge disagreements over exactly which transistors should go in it. If you’ve experienced amp snobbery or tube rolling snobbery you’re in for another treat here as people will pay very big bucks for a vintage germanium transistor. Starting to do so with old BC108 silicones which I remember blowing up regularly at college. There were maybe £0.08 back then. Not so much now. Wish I’d stashed a bunch

One of the the highly regarded fuzz makers is Analogman (the guys who make the King of Tone distortion). It’s worth looking here to see the huge amount of options available in terms of ‘what transistor do you want? https://www.buyanalogman.com/A…un_Face_p/am-sun-face.htm as it will give you some idea about the properties associated with germanium and silicone (which in a nutshell is germanium is gentler, silicone harsher but that is an unfair simplification). Generally speaking, Silicone reacts more quickly to a given input and therefore can be ‘more accurate’. Germanium takes its time so potentially softens things. A bit like ‘transistor amp vs valve (tube) amp. Again a simplification but you get the idea

Keep in mind with the above website that the Sun Face fuzz is basically a classic ‘fuzz face’ circuit. About as simple as these things get. The differences you’ll find (beyond how you set it / your guitar / your amp and how it’s dialled in) will come from the transistors fitted from this list. And as you’ll see, even the germanium transistors all have very different descriptions given! When I’ve made fuzz in the past, it’s like the lottery when you buy old germanium transistors because they are all, to some extent, imperfect. Get two identical models and they’ll probably be entirely different in terms of how they work. And they’ll be different again on a hot day. That was (and is) the charm. But the style of fuzz you can make is very much determined by what you can get hold of. Silicone was more accurate / more reliable / more consistent / cheaper to make / more temperature stable etc which is why it typically replaced germanium in the fuzz circuits as time when on.

I think that’s why it makes such sense to have a control on the Kemper fuzz that goes from germanium to silicone.... Extrmely soft germanium at one end and extremely harsh silicone at the other. All the space in the middle for the huge variations. Very cool.

One thing I’ve seen requested here is ‘fuzz factory’ style presets. This fuzz was made famous by Muse on ‘plug in baby’ - you can get wild oscillation and weirdness. I’ve made one of these too and, whilst I like it for a couple of things, it’s a nightmare to use if you’re not familiar. I think if Kemper did implement this, it would need to be a different fx module.

The fuzz factory has 5 controls as opposed to the 2 on a fuzz face. One of these is to reduce the battery voltage (which makes the circuit unstable). Some fuzz addicts seek out slightly dead batteries in their regular fuzz pedals to do the same thing. I did mention there was mojo involved :). The other fuzz factory controls are altering the voltage fed to a couple of different points of the circuit if I recall correctly. The good news, if you get it dialled in right, is you can make it do weird and wonderful things. The bad news is that you can get yourself into trouble - all the controls interact and, if you’re wanting a ‘useful’ tone (subjective I know) compared with ‘this thing is making noise and I can’t stop it’ then you have to stick within certain parameters. Traditional fuzz pedals only allow you to modify settings that don’t breach the design of the circuit so therefore they always work as opposed to oscillating. That’s why I think fuzz factory style fuzz would need a separate fx type within the Kemper - if it allowed you to ‘break the circuit’ in this way, it would be more difficult to do the normal dirty stuff. Whilst I like the concept of adding a fuzz factory, I personally like the new fuzz as it is - I can play to all extremes without oscillation. Well, I think so - I need to play more But if CK wanted to add another fuzz type (like doing the OCD separate to the Kemper Drive) with a dying battery control etc then that would be cool too.

Thats enough from me - hope this was interesting to someone out there

I am very grateful for this update - I love fuzz and I've been hoping for this. It doesn't disappoint

I have a 7 year old toaster so the bad news is I don't get the impedance joy thing with the stage but even without it this is killer. Really versatile, intuitive and fun. I'm sure some folks with red dot mojo germanium transistors will recon it's not quite there. I have 3 fuzz pedals and all are home made - I'm a happy bunny. I think the only way most folks would tell that this isn't a 'real one' is that this thing doesn't buzz unless you want it to.... The silence is all the more impressive when you hit a chord and it's outrageously dirty And to get such a great bunch of fun on a 7 year old product is really, really cool.

I saw one other comment asking if it's possible to display preset name within Rig Manager above the virtual stomp boxes - I think that's a really good idea and would welcome that in a future update if possible. Especially makes sense when this effect and the Kemper Drive pretend to be so many things. Saying what it's currently pretending to be would be useful.

Looking at the updates over the years, this box is just becoming better and better. Modulation next? If the tremolo could get a similar rework to those we've seen with distortion, delay and reverb over the last few years that would be more icing on an already great cake.

Thank you

Glad it helped - the credit is for sure cmbrowns.... I had no idea till I read the post from them.

I couldn't see my Kemper Drive presets either - turns out I had them in the wrong folder....

The solution in my case was given to me by cmbrowns towards the end of this thread New 3.1.57 beta rig manager - Page 13 - Rig Manager - Librarian software - Kemper Profiler Forum (kemper-amps.com)

It fixed it for me and hope it helps you too - I would have thanked cmbrowns on the other thread but it was closed a few hours ago.

Hi everyone,

I’ve updated and mine is working well - very grateful to be able to see effects presets. A great addition

Sorry if this has been answered already in this long thread but I’m not seeing presets for the new Kemper Drive / OCD. I am seeing presets for pretty much everything else. I know when the Kemper Drive update was released there were a few presets given which I have in a folder in Rig Manager but I’m not seeing these in the context menu when I select the Kemper Drive. Can anyone help me understand why / how to address this?

Many thanks

IMO.... everyone has different ears so there is no sweet spot.

Also, it depends what a particular track requires. If you think of ‘She Sells Sanctuary’..... the amount of fx on the guitar sound is pretty extreme but it just works. It would sound wrong on another track.

It’s like asking ‘is there an ideal amount of garlic in a recipe’ when the recipes in question cover everything from chicken curry to lemon tart. You have to experiment and figure out where it fits

I’ve had the Kemper for years now. I’ve always been happy with the sound through monitor speakers. I now have a Kone and I’m enjoying using studio profiles whereby I am swapping out the cabinet for a Kone imprint. I like the results.

What I would like, going forward, would be batch editing within Rig Manager so as I can swap out the Kone on a whole bunch at once. If I buy a rig pack, I like to play with the Kone and see what it sounds like with the speaker that the profiler actually used as a Kone imprint. It’d be nice to be able to swap these all for the original speaker when a profile maker sells me 25 profiles of the same amp :). I know you’re potentially missing a better sound there (to you as an individual) with other Kone imprints but my OCD wants ideally to start with authentic. There are other good reasons why batch editing in rig manager would be very welcome and this is just one example