KPA sounds great w/ headphones, fizzy through (single) studio monitor

    I realize that there are a number of threads involving new Kemper users' experiences of "fizz" with high-gain tones -- however, I felt my situation was unique enough that it did merit its own thread. Apologies if this is redundant (although I did use the search function here).


    My issue is this: through headphones, with the headphone "space" parameter set fairly high, everything sounds *amazing.* Guitars have no right to sound this good over headphones! However, I have a single studio monitor (new KRK Rokit 6", G3) which I connect directly to the Kemper like this:


    Kemper main output jack -> 1/4" TS -> XLR input of the monitor (i.e., connected via a single TS->XLR cable).


    Through both the headphones and the monitor, clean profiles sound amazing.


    But this isn't the case for the monitor with distorted/high-gain profiles; for whatever reason, things sound a bit digital and fizzy, sort of the way the Line 6 POD HD sounds. I'm sure there's no problem with this specific KPA unit as the headphones sound fabulous. Nothing sounds damaged or alarmingly bad, but the monitor doesn't sound nearly as good as the headphones, and it seems that the opposite should be the case!


    Another thing to note: I don't turn the monitor up very loud at all, as I'm in a small-ish apartment (by necessity). Again this is a *single* studio monitor -- perhaps this is some problem that could be remedied by buying a second monitor, or switching to smaller monitors that I could get away with cranking louder?


    One final possibility to note is that the LED above the "MASTER" button does turn red often while playing.


    My guitar pickups are fairly high-output (DiMarzio Crunchlab/Liquifire combo).


    Cheers, and thanks for your patience! This is an excellent forum!

    hi........I'm not the expert here, so other guys will help you better for sure.


    the led turning red often say and don't say it all. Mine turns red often as well but the sound is increadibly clean in both high gain and crystal clean.


    but it could be worth the try: tweak the clean and dist sense to see if betters something.


    what firmware do you have? and, after installing your latest firmware, did you do a system reset?


    take care

    "...why being satisfied with an amp, as great as it can be, while you can have them all?" michael mellner


    "Rock in Ecclesia" - new album on iTunes or Google music

    hi.


    just to get this out of the way, 'fizz' is one of those buzzwords that doesn't really mean anything, yet it pops up everywhere. What it is is high frequency content, which by the way has nothing to do with the analog/digital paragidm. Tube amps create lots of high frequencies and even guitar speaker reproduce those, contrary to common belief and experience with older modeling technology, there is stuff happening above 5kHz. ;)


    The Profiler reproduces this high frequency content faithfully and if it sounds too bright for you here are a few reasons why this could be:


    - you're used to duller sounds, as created by older modeling technology, opposed to tube amps
    (your comment about using high settings of the space parameter seems to indicate that you prefer very diffused sounds, which kinda supports this)


    - your monitor doesn't reproduce enough bass and (low)mids, which makes the highs seem to stand out.


    - the profiles you're choosing were intentionally captured on the bright side: reduce Definition (I seem to prefer settings ~5ish) and dial in just a little bit of Clarity, and/or adjust the High Shift in the Cabinet section (negative values, <1)


    also make sure you don't have the parallel path enabled, which could sound weird if you also happen to have a dirt stomp in slots A or B

    Other questions worth answering would be:


    • have you tweaked the sounds to make them sound better on HPs?
    • where is the cab placed on? Are there many windows/glass/marble surfaces in the room?

    :)

    Quote from viabcroce

    Other questions worth answering would be:


    • have you tweaked the sounds to make them sound better on HPs?
    • where is the cab placed on? Are there many windows/glass/marble surfaces in the room?

    :)


    ...or corners/edges........


    :thumbup:

    "...why being satisfied with an amp, as great as it can be, while you can have them all?" michael mellner


    "Rock in Ecclesia" - new album on iTunes or Google music

    but it could give back some nasty harmonics. had an awful experience, last friday night at the Hard Rock Cafe gig. they have done I don't know what to dampen the sound due to volume issues. my incredible plexi rig, which drive crazy all the listener eslewhere, at this club it sounded almost like a distortion pedal right into a home CD player. it sounded so digital. and it was for sure due to bad, bad acustics. of course not because corners :)

    "...why being satisfied with an amp, as great as it can be, while you can have them all?" michael mellner


    "Rock in Ecclesia" - new album on iTunes or Google music

    Try this:


    1 - when rocking out with HP, crank that room sound man! :thumbup: But when playing via your speaker, turn OFF the room sound. Yes, it prints the room sound to the output of the Kemper, not just through the HP preamp.


    2 - Check your sample rate of your interface! If its not 44100 (say its 48000 for example) then it will sound "fizzy", "harsh", over-distorted etc. It'll sound just off....BUT , this can be good if you WANT it to sound like crud as an artistic effect.


    3 - HP = stereo goodness - "ooohh baby, yeah thats good!". Single speaker = mono. Things just wont sound as "big" in mono....ever....except for maybe a digereedoo...MAYBE....


    4 - Your room! Your room has a MASSIVE influence on your sound.
    Let me repeat for emphasis:
    You room has a MASSIVE influence on your sound!! :thumbup:
    Seriously though, every room in existence has an influence on your sound in the room. You can treat most rooms to a certain degree, and some more than others. But chances are, that big bassy, full, huge sound in your cans will be different in your room.
    I suggest, if you really want to check out your room (and if you're serious about your music, you should!) download Room Eq Wizard. Its free, and all you need is a measurement microphone. I use a Behringer ECM8000 and it works great! (Dont let the name Behringer fool you...this is one of their rare decent products!)
    Links:
    Room Eq Wizard
    Behinger ECM8000
    You can use any measurement mic, but these are the type of mic you only use a few times, so either get a lend or dont spend too much. On a side note, they actually make decent drum room mics but keep that to yourself! ;)




    5 - As mentioned before, maybe you just prefer "duller" sounds.




    6 - Be honest with yourself, are you expecting that huge, "Wall of Sound" to come out of your small stereo speaker? There is a reason that big rock bands use 4x12s at gigs and such.
    What I mean by this is.....be fair to your expectations of what you want and what you are listening on. I mean, its not the Kempers fault that it cant make toast, so why expect it to do something that it never could (with your setup)?




    Anyways, hope this helps! Roc on man! :thumbup:



    I want to thank each and every one of you for your kind (and patient!) replies to what was probably a fairly ridiculous question!


    I think the problem was/is 90% psychological. I'm used to hearing *myself* play through a 2x12 in a room -- outside of a few occasions I've rarely listened to what I sound like "miced up" as opposed to in the room, unless it's in a mix! I believe that's most of what I was hearing, in terms of violation of expectation. Hence my initial preference for the headphones w/ the "space" parameter set ridiculously high.


    That being said, I think I could improve the sound I'm getting by 1) adding a second monitor, 2) repositioning the monitors, 3) making some changes to the acoustic properties of my room, and 4) tweaking mix-ready profiles to make them a bit more appropriate for jamming/writing/practicing (to attain more of an amp-in-the-room sound).


    Thanks so much, everyone -- any further advice is much appreciated, and I'll keep you updated on my progress. The Kemper is hands down my best guitar-related investment to date.

    Edited once, last by Glaurung ().