Posts by SeanChristopher

    ...and wouldn't you know, pretty much all the merged and direct high gain profiles I tried sounded the same. I guess I got a lesson in how much of a difference the cab makes in the overall sound.


    And yes, I was running cab monitor off. :)


    Looks like I'll be looking at some FRFR options after all.

    I've always been a believer of cabs being one of the biggest factors in the overall sound of your rig. It's always enlightening when first seeing how similar some amps sound through the same cab. I'm right there with you brother! Haha it blew my mind too.


    What FRFR's are you looking into at the moment? I know a lot of people love the Yamaha DXR10 (not sure exactly what it's called) and the Friedman FRFR's. I personally have a Headrush 112 and it sounds great as long as I dial in the low end accordingly :) its one of the cheaper options. But, I hear a lot about the Friedman FRFRs and supposedly they sound awesome and have a very "guitar cab" - like sound to them.

    To tighten an amp for metal, forget about the gain. Turn it down to 0 and turn up level to anywhere from 12 to full. Depending on how much gain the profile already have of course. Tone from 12 to 3 o clock. That's it.

    This is a super solid method! I always thought this approach was sort of the standard for metal and high gain and then, my recent conversation with a buddy made me question wether or not it's a common way to tighten up high gain. So it's nice to see that others use this approach as well!


    Thanks for your input and for the reply :)

    I'm always glad to hear your perspective!

    Oh, sorry. I misunderstood and thought you were looking for advice instead of discussion. Sorry for mansplaining!

    I don't like too much gain for my overall tone. In real life or on a modeler, it's 0 for drive, 5-7 for tone, and 10 for level. On the Kemper, the I usually set the level at 3.5 or so, and depending on the tightness of the profile, put the mix around 90%.

    No worries, my friend :)

    I was looking for a bit of both and your input is definitely appreciated ^^ From one guy to another, sometimes we can't help but "mansplain" lol, but I'm guilty of it as well! It comes from a good place of wanting to help so I totally get it.


    I do pretty much the same as you explained you do with Level and Mix on my Kemper as well when using the Green Scream 8o Great minds think alike!


    But also like you mentioned, I really like the ReampZone Boosted profiles too! It gives me some access to pedals I'll never have in real life lol 8) So Sick!

    Thanks for sharing your process :thumbup:


    That Tubescreamer method comes from the analog Tubescreamers and real high gain amps. I don't think it's exclusively something that modelers excel at but, that's just my opinion.


    I use a combination of proper gain staging, tweaking Definition and Clarity, and using an OD with high Level and low Drive and I find it typically works pretty well. For me, I can't get out tight enough just pushing the profiles gain without having to cut a ton of low end. By pushing the ODs Level it utilizes the Tubescreamers EQ snd cuts low end and cleans up the signal being pushed without adding a ton of compression like adding Drive does. But of course, different strokes for different folks lol;)


    I was definitely looking for opinions and I appreciate you sharing your process! I lovw using ReampZone Boosted profiles as well! My post was also aimed at the discussion of either adding higher Level or higher Drive from an OD when boosting, which method gets the best results for tightening up high gain, and whether or not hight Drive or higher Level settings affect high gain differently. Do you have an opinion regarding that aspect specifically? I'm very eager to hear peoples opinions on that stuff as well :)

    Hi everyone,


    A recent discussion I had with a friend sparked some questions regarding effectiveness of different methods for tightening up high gain amps/profiles.


    The discussion was about the best way to get a high gain signal/high gain amp/high gain profile tight.


    In this situation I'm talking about using an OD to Boost a high gain amp and tighten it up. Not about Boosting a slightly overdrive amp into high gain. I'm talking about Boosting an already high gain/close to fully saturated signal into full on tight saturation that has attack and clarity without too much compression(which will cause the bottom end to blow out and sound flubby).


    Do you use the method of high Level and low Drive when boosting a profile/amp to tighten it up? Would you say that using a Tubescreamer or other low end cutting OD with low Drive and high Level works best for this application?


    Or do you use the opposite sort of method and use high Drive and low Level when boosting a high gain amp/profile to tighten it up? Would you say that using an OD with mid to high Drive and low Level settings works best for this application?


    Does turning up the Level more than Drive, or vice versa, affect high gain profiles/amps in the same way? Or do the two different approaches affect high gain profiles/amps differently?


    What methods do you use to get tight and aggressive Modern Metal tones?


    I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions! :)

    My experience with using IRs with Studio Profiles, Merged Profiles, and DI Profiles, is very similar to your experience :)


    Sometimes the Studio Profile with an IR can sound a bit fuller in comparison to the equivalent Merged/DI Profile with the same IR. I think it has to do with some of the Cab being left in the Amp section after CabDriver is engaged when swapping from the profiles Cab section to an IR. But it could be a bunch of different stuff.


    I typically find that when Studio and Merged/DI profiles are exactly the same, the IR tends to have the same result.


    One situation I can say will be worth it to use a Merged/DI profile, is when you're playing through a guitar Cab instead of FRFR or Studio/Speaker Monitors. There was actually a super interesting video about that on YouTube recently. I'll add the link in this post if I can find it later ^^


    But for the most part when using IRs, I can agree that sometimes the Studio Profiles will sound a bit thicker than their equivalent Merged/DI profiles. Occasionally, I'll prefer the Merged/DI Profiles with an IR instead of Studio Profiles with an IR because they'll sometimes sound too boomy and will have too much low end because of some of the Cab section being left over in the Amp section after CabDriver does its thing (this happens mostly with high gain tones in my experience).


    Results definitely vary but, having multiple options is one of the great things about the Kemper :) Don't worry my friend, you're not alone with this experience.


    Go with whatever sounds best to you^^

    Hi e1614e36a3b051571d61cb8fdc50c4becad982a2 , have you tried disabling Pure Cabinet and the Space settings? Space and especially Pure Cabinet change the tone of profiles pretty drastically and Pure Cabinet was enabled globally on the Kemper after the update that implemented it. You said something about the profiles you use sounding "fizzy" or something, and Pure Cabinet can be having a huge hand in that.


    I noticed another user mentioned the Space and Pure Cabinet parameters but I think it might have gotten overlooked because you were responding to another part of their post. But disabling Space and especially Pure Cabinet, might get you back to those original tones because it's the only thing that has ever been added during an update that affected the sound of profiles. And after the update when it was added into the Kemper, I think it was automatically engaged globally. So I'd highly recommend checking those parameters out.


    Just a thought and I hope it helps! :)


    Thanks for posting your story! Super interesting and it's funny how things work out in life. I've always thought that the cabs/Impulse Responses you use are one of the biggest factors in your tone and can make a huge impact. It's cool to hear how just adding some new IRs on profiles brought new life into them^^

    Bushwack For the top tier of footswitches, I believe you can assign an effect to a specific footswitch by pressing the effect button and the footswitch you're wanting to set it to, simultaneously. Also, you can press 2 effects at the same time and a footswitch to set 2 effects to turn off and on at the same time with one footswitch. Or you can assign an effect to a footswitch, turn the effect off, and then assign a different effect to the same footswitch while the other effect is off in order to turn one effect off and the other effect on at the same time. I'm not sure how many effects you can assign to a footswitch but so far I've assigned 2 effects to turn off at once, and 2 effects to cycle "on" between.


    Also, you can go into the Rig Menu and go to the "Effect Buttons" page (it should be page 6/6) and from there you can edit what is assigned to which effect footswitch.


    I'm sure there are more ways and some of the experts will probably chime in. I hope the way I worded things weren't too confusing lol! I'm sure someone will help me out and correct me if I'm wrong on any of this. But until some of the other experts on the forum chime in, I hope this helps:)

    Hi SloeGin

    I didn't switch from the Axe FX III to the Kemper or anything like that but, I did have to decide between the 2 when initially getting my Kemper Stage. If you're trying to decide between the 2 units, the BEST way to figure out which is for you is to try them both out side by side if you can:)


    I borrowed a friends Axe FX III when my Kemper Stage arrived because I wanted to make sure I was getting the right unit for me. That allowed me to figure out which I liked more in comparison to the other. If you don't test both, you'll always be wondering what the other unit is like and if it would be any better for you.


    Trying them both side by side is a sure-fire way to make a decision on which you prefer the sonic quality of, which UI you like more, and which features you prefer.


    I promise you, all the research you can do won't help you make as solid of a decision as if you checked them out alongside each other and decided that way.


    I know it's not possible for everyone and it's a difficult thing to make happen and it can be expensive. Other people's experiences can definitely help you gain some perspective on which features and such work for different situations! :) Thats definitely something to keep in mind. But with peoples' opinions and experiences (even mine;) lol), only take it with a grain of salt and use it for perspective rather than letting it form your opinion. You definitely want to figure out what you think about them on your own terms and after you get some hands on experience with the units if you can :)

    I know that's getting a bit deep and I apologize lol I'm just hoping I can help. And this is all stuff I wish someone had emphasized to me in the past haha.


    Anyways, this is my experience :

    I tested the Axe FX III and Kemper Stage side by side and ended up going with the Kemper stage. There were a few reasons. Mainly, I found that I got really great tones faster with the Kemper (the Axe FX III sounded great but, it took a lot longer to dial in. If I had it for more than a few days I'm sure I'd have gotten amazing tones faster after getting more used to the UI but, the Kemper was very "plug and play" for me). Also, there was a dynamic response and richness that I really liked about the Kemper that I couldn't figure out how to dial in on the Axe FX III (those things might have changed if I got to spend more with it but idk lol). I also really like the UI of the Kemper and how a lot of the parameters are more focused on dialing in and working with sound rather than the classic modeler approach. Another reason is because I really like the general business model for Kemper (Kemper units tend to have long life spans, and hold value well. And the company is very focused on developing things to add to the overall experience with Kemper like the Kemper Kab and Kemper Kone, etc. They don't seem to release hardware that's supposed to render the last generation of hardware obsolete). And for me, the Kemper Stage was just more accessible (sold in more online retailers and easier to find and has more options for the financial aspect like payment plans from different retailers and such) and it made more sense to go with the Kemper Stage because it's an all in one floorboard unit for almost half what it would be for an Axe FX III and a footcontroller.


    I found the Kemper to be the better option for me for now. But that doesn't mean anything negative about the Axe FX III. It sounded great, has a ton of IO and routing options, and has some truly great sounding effects in it! And it has a much larger variety of effects than the Kemper to be honest haha. The Kemper has really great effects, don't get me wrong. I think they hold a candle to some of the best boutique pedals. but the Axe FX just has more options for effects and especially a lot more ODs in it.


    But the ease of use and ability to get some great tones quickly (great tones in my opinion lol), along with it being more affordable and a better financial investment, and the general features like profiling from the Kemper, made it the right choice for me right now.


    Either could be the best option for you. It really just depends on your preferences, your workflow, what features you want/need, your financial situation, and which ends up suiting your specific needs the best. It's always tough to decide and figure out but for this specific decision, you're definitely the best man for the job ;)hahaha!


    Sorry for the novel, I hope it helps! Lol^^

    I think musicmad has the right idea.


    If I were you and I were wanting to make an IR/Cab Section of my Cab in the Kemper, I'd do it this way :


    First, make a studio profile. Then, make a Merged profile by making a DI profile of the exact same amp setup and then merge the Cab section from the studio profile.


    The "merge cabinet" function works by subtracting DI from the Studio profile and then your left with the Cab section. That's supposedly the best way to capture an Amp and Cab setup and is supposed to be the method you can use for the most accurate Amp and Cab separation. By doing it like this, it's supposed to be the best way to accurately capture a Cab section and be able to use it with other profiles. By using this method you should be able to avoid getting any bleed from any of the previous amp section getting into the Amp section.


    Some more knowledgeable experts on the forum can probably chime in if I'm getting any of this wrong lol ^^


    But from what I've learned so far, this should be your best bet of getting an accurate Cab section that you can use with other profiles and DI profiles and such.


    HTH! :)

    I don't know about the Monitor Outs, but I'm running the Main Outputs into the Axe-Fx III and it works.

    I'll check which outputs I'm using and I'll experiment with the Space parameter ^^ it can't hurt to test the waters and get familiar with it! Thanks for the suggestions :)

    I haven't tried it, namely because I haven't installed the new beta firmware yet. With a beta, I usually wait to see if there are any bug reports.

    I can totally understand that. That's usually my mindset too. I have to admit, new features have recently tempted me into trying out and eventually just using the Kemper beta firmware. But it's definitely safer to let all the kinks be worked out with the Betas, I definitely agree with you on that my friend^^


    I guess no matter what hardware unit, whether it's Kemper or Fractal or Line 6 or Headrush, it's probably just the safer bet to stick with the official firmware releases;)

    To be honest, I've never actually added any third party IR's to the Kemper, so I haven't conducted a before and after comparison. You might check to see if Pure Cab or the Space parameter is enabled. If so, try turning them off. Other than that, I'm not really sure.

    Hmm, I'll have to do some research :)

    Its awesome to know that I'll be able to convert Kemper Cabs from profiles, into IRs (via the method you mentioned) if I ever can get an Axe FX III or something! So sick ^^


    So far I found that I prefer Pure Cab off completely for most profiles, especially high gain.


    Is the space parameter on when you're using the Main and Monitor Outs as well? I always thought it was an effect/feature for Headphone use or something but I'm not totally sure. I gotta admit, I'm familiar with most parameters in the Kemper but the Space parameter is one I haven't really looked into or know much about lol


    Also, random question but, have you tried the Precision Drive OD in the new Axe FX III firmware yet? I saw it on Leon Todds YouTube channel and that's my fav OD so, it's pretty awesome that they've added it to the Axe FX! Now I'm just waiting for a similar option in the Kemper lol ;)

    In fact, many of them sound great, but in my opinion, the real sonic magic of the KPA stems from its cabs.

    I'm curious, what does Kemper do during the conversion process that makes the cabs so dynamic? (I'm not sure if that's the right word but it's close lol)


    I noticed that when dialing in IRs with the Mikko plugin, they sound really full and thick. But once I export the IR and load it into my Kemper the sound changes but not in a bad way. It still sounds the same but, less boomy and more dymamic or something. Or sounds more like I'm in the room with it(that's probably not a good explanation either haha sorry8o). Idk how to explain it but I seem to prefer a lot of the Kemper cabs or IRs once converted in the Kemper:)

    Evertune is great. No hassle with tuning. I will probably sell a guitar and buy another evertune equipped guitar.

    I'm also really interested in getting an Evertune equipped guitar :) its such a SICK technology and I'm stoked that it even exists!

    Not having to deal with tuning is such a time saver and would hopefully make my workflow less interrupted and more productive ^^


    Who am I kidding? I'm sure I'll ALWAYS find ways to get distracted lolol:D but hopefully that'll save me some time overall !

    Using an OD as a clean booster it doesn't matter that much which one you use. All ODs can be used to tighten up the amp. So there's no magic with the Precision Drive.

    Whoa lol I didn't say there was any magic with the precision drive. Just that it's my fav OD pedal and that it hasn't been attainable for me. It was amazing for tightening up an amp (what it was made for) compared to some other pedals I tried to do the same thing with alongside the Precision Drive.


    And a good number of OD pedals can be used to tighten up high gain amps, yes. But the Precision Drive has an Attack and Bright knob to tighten up the low end response, dial in the mids, and dial in the high end so it'll cut. So it's unique in that way. It's definitely ONE of the best ODs for tightening up high gain amps. (aside from a tube screamer, but the precision drive doesn't have such a gnarly mid hump if I'm remembering correctly)


    There are definitely other ODs that tighten up high gain amps, but the Precision Drive was made specifically for that purpose. And It's just easier and simpler to tighten up high gain amps with a pedal thats designed for that purpose.


    Yeah you can use any Booster as an OD but it won't always tighten the amp up, especially if you're working with high gain. Actually, I've seen some OD pedals used in conjunction with high gain amps, not tighten up the amp at all and make it "fart" out and fall apart. And it happens with some ODs because not all can be used for the specific purpose of tightening up a high gain beast haha. If an OD has a lot of bass in it or depending on the circuit, it could not tighten up the amp at all and do the opposite. Even if you're not using any Drive from the pedal, there will always be the overall EQ characteristics of the pedal being pushed into the amp so that can often cause the sound to fall apart with high gain. Especially since the EQ characteristics of OD pedals varies so much. So if you're using an OD pedal as a "clean boost", it isn't 100% clean of a boost because the ODs EQ is a factor. But there definitely are some other options. For me personally, the Precision Drive is perfect for what I'm trying to do. It's just easier with a pedal that's made for tightening up an amp.


    I was just saying that the Precision Drive being added to another unit was kind of a bummer for me lol. And I'm hoping there'll be something similar, or a way to achieve something similar (aside from an EQ and Tube Screamer) in the new OD update:) I definitely wasn't claiming any magic is in the Precision Drive or anything lol. Sorry if it seemed like I was claiming anything like that. It's just an OD pedal haha


    I think you might have misread some of what I was saying lol;) all good, misinterpretation happens to all of us, including me! ^^ No hard feelings :)


    (I was saying there's a certain magic when a whole band is in sync and grooving together and when a band is on point:) I think thats where some confusion happened. No worries! ^^)

    I've found the Kemper to be one of the more intuitive and easy to use units. It definitely is one of the easiest to get great tones from Quickly.


    But like with any new unit that's going to be an integral part of your setup, you're going to HAVE to learn how to use it no matter what unit you get. Everything takes some time to set up and figure out. If you really want to get good results and want to use all of the capabilities of a piece of hardware, then there's not a way around having to do some learning.


    Hopefully you give it another shot! It's a great unit once you familiarize yourself with the UI and get the hang of it :):thumbup:

    However, where I think the Kemper shines is in the sonic quality of its cabs. While I never use the Kemper's amps in conjunction with the Axe-Fx's cabs, I do use the Kemper's cabs in conjunction with the Axe-Fx's amp models quite a bit, namely because many of my favorite profiles have excellent sounding cabs. In fact, I've captured a number of them in the Axe-Fx using the Axe-Fx's built-in IR capture utility. As far as amps are concerned though, I do find that I prefer the amp modeling in the Axe-Fx to the amp section of most of my favorite Kemper profiles.

    This is quite interesting! Fascinating that the Kemper captures cabs in a way you seem to prefer. And it's even more awesome that you have been able to covert some cab sections into IRs. I didn't know that Fractal had a Cab IR capture utility and that's really cool! Another really great feature. And it adds to the list of reasons why it would be super beneficial to have one alongside the Kemper^^


    I've actually wondered how someone would take a cab from a profile and somehow convert it into an IR. That's definitely something I've even heard other Kemper users talk about and would be nice to be able to do without needing an Axe FX. But, I digress lol.


    Its nice to know that in the future when I hopefully can get an Axe FX III or something, that there's some really cool stuff you can do with both units together ^^


    Plus, at this point, just seeing more ODs get added to the Fractal firmware was like a kick in the nuts l because I've been DYING for some more OD options in the Kemper. The Precision Drive was added from what I saw on Leon Todds YouTube channel and, thats my fav OD that I unfortunately can't afford right now. So seeing that kind of hurt because I wish the Kemper was adding the Precision Drive and other awesome ODs. Aren't there like almost 30 ODs in the Axe FX now or something like that? The number has to be at least 3 to 4 times as many as in the Kemper. That alone is enough to make me at least interested in investing in a Fractal unit down the road. I'll ALWAYS love my Kemper and I get amazing tones from it. But I really wish it had some more options as far as effects and ODs go like the Axe FX has. And if that stuff is never expanded much in the Kemper firmware, I'll probably be getting an Axe FX at some point so I'll be able to have both amazing units :)