Not happy with the solo sound

    I think it was pointed out earlier as well.....play with those deeper amp parameters. I had a very large live gig this week and I went in and played with the clarity control and it really made a nice difference on the profile I was using.

    Tried a bunch of Justin's profiles. Pretty harsh, sorry, except the Bulb Lead. Sitar? Nnnnot quite. No offense, keep on it, look forward to a new and improved version (possibly).

    Gary ô¿ô

    I've been using the Kemper for probably 2 years now and while I love it and while it is still by far the best thing I ever invested in for my guitar tone in my home recording studio I still think it tends to sound a bit on the harsh side overall (I usually play with distortion and it doesnt matter much which profile I use). Am I honestly the only one to hear this?

    Sounds like a mic'ed amp to me! Try MBritt's profiles, if you haven't already. He generally tweaks his profiles for live, meaning he dials a lot of the higher frequencies down for use over a PA, otherwise he'd be taking the heads off the first few rows at his shows! He doesn't do monster high gain though, if that's your thing.


    I'd check out TAF's final pack 10, too, as there are a few big, warm sounding amps in there. Guido's XTC has some nice lead profiles, too.

    Ok so miced up amps recorded generally tends to sound harsher than listening by ear while playing? The guitar tracks I hear on most records sound so much warmer while mine sounds a bit harsher no matter what guitar I use.

    You generally listen off-axis when playing through an amp. Try bringing the speaker up to ear level and playing.


    The guitar sounds you hear on records have been mixed and balanced against the other instruments in the arrangement by professionals with years of experience. Contrast that with most profiles on the exchange (or just most profiles, in fact, as they're made in isolation to be able to be carved to fit in any given mix)...

    Edited once, last by sambrox ().

    I just played my Blackstar Combo "live" and it sounds so much warmer, like no comparison. I know however that when I mic it the recorded sound will sound harsher for sure tho. So basically it is all in the mix?

    Quote from danniee

    I just played my Blackstar Combo "live" and it sounds so much warmer, like no comparison. I know however that when I mic it the recorded sound will sound harsher for sure tho. So basically it is all in the mix?


    Have you tried "Pure Cab"?

    Quote from danniee

    I just played my Blackstar Combo "live" and it sounds so much warmer, like no comparison. I know however that when I mic it the recorded sound will sound harsher for sure tho. So basically it is all in the mix?


    On the first page of the thread you said you're listening through headphones.
    When you play your Blackstar "live" are you hearing your Blackstar through headphones as well?
    Have you tried your Kemper "live" through your Blackstars poweramp and cabinet?


    You don't know what Pure Cab is?
    Press the OUTPUT button, scroll until you see Pure Cabinet...is yours ON?

    Oh, I missed that "through headphones" part. The quality and frequency response of headphones vary wildly (Google headphone frequency response comparison). I'd definitely look in to trying out another pair before doing anything else.

    Quote from Guitartone

    On the first page of the thread you said you're listening through headphones (guess I should try that just to compare).
    When you play your Blackstar "live" are you hearing your Blackstar through headphones as well?
    Have you tried your Kemper "live" through your Blackstars poweramp and cabinet?


    You don't know what Pure Cab is?
    Press the OUTPUT button, scroll until you see Pure Cabinet...is yours ON?


    Yes I am listening through headphones.
    When I play my Blackstar "live" I don't use headphones, I hear the combo speakers directly.
    I have never tried my Kemper "live" through my Blackstar HT-5 combo.


    I don't know what "Pure cab" is. Even though I've owned my Kemper for over 2 years I do think it's a little bit complex with too many buttons so I mostly just load my profiles and play. They sound awesome and I love my Kemper, I just think it sounds a little too harsh than what I expect from listening to other albums, both big productions and small.


    Output Addons? Pure Cabinet seems to be inactivated. Should it be on?


    By the way, I managed to profile my Blackstar combo today, first time I ever tried profiling and it sounds awesome. Sure, still harsh compared to just playing the combo live in the room but still sounds way better than just micing the amp and recording it that way.


    I searched "pure cab" and see that some too felt profiler to be a little brittle and that pure cab smoothed frequencies out.

    Edited once, last by danniee ().

    @danniee: no offence, but from reading your posts I believe you have not dealt at all with the paradigm shift that is listening to a miced amp vs. a conventional listening experience with an 'amp in a room'.
    To get the best out of your profiler this is the first thing you should do, otherwise you will never be able to truly appreciate what we have here.
    Secondly, please read the manuals (both the basic and the comprehensive one).

    Quote from Ingolf

    @danniee: no offence, but from reading your posts I believe you have not dealt at all with the paradigm shift that is listening to a miced amp vs. a conventional listening experience with an 'amp in a room'.
    To get the best out of your profiler this is the first thing you should do, otherwise you will never be able to truly appreciate what we have here.
    Secondly, please read the manuals (both the basic and the comprehensive one).


    No offence taken. This was no critisism towards the Kemper. I think I made it clear that I love my Kemper more than anything in my studio. It's the best gear I ever invested in. I believe you when you say that what I am hearing is how a miced amp in reality sounds recorded. I listened to some clips of amps on the Thomann site and they sounded harsh too. I think I remember way back when I recorded my Blackstar by micing it that it sounded harsh that way too without the Kemper being even involved so I know you are most likely right. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't doing anything wrong. You live and you learn. However, I am curious how other make the solos and guitar tracks sound so "soft" and "warm" in the high end. I find it hard to reproduce.


    Thanks.

    @danniee - specifically which profiles are you using that you find harsh? (Feel free to PM me the response.) If you say it's all of them, then I would imagine the problem lies with either one of the global settings or elsewhere in the signal chain.


    I am going to let you in on a secret: I find many of the high gain profiles a bit harsh to my ears when played an their own. However when double or quad tracked in the mix with other instruments those profiles can really shine. If I need to tone them down for live use, usually a little bit of tweaking usually does the trick. Typically I either bring down the Distortion Sens, lower the gain, or do some surgical EQ'ing. Also sometimes messing with the Clarity or Definition settings does the trick.


    Finally, do yourself a favor and read up on the PureCab and Space settings. These settings really take many profiles to the next level of realism.

    Husband, Father, Pajama Enthusiast

    Quote from danniee

    danniee: I think I remember way back when I recorded my Blackstar by micing it that it sounded harsh that way too without the Kemper being even involved so I know you are most likely right. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't doing anything wrong. You live and you learn. However, I am curious how other make the solos and guitar tracks sound so "soft" and "warm" in the high end. I find it hard to reproduce.


    Thanks.


    Hi Dan,


    As the other guys have said, the first thing you need to do is enable Pure Cabinet and set its parameter to taste. This feature alone will make your amp profiles sound more like the 'amp in the room' tone you are used to. Furthermore, if the profile is still not to your liking and remains harsh sounding, then go into the Amp section of the Tone Stack and adjust the 'Definition' parameter. Lower settings make the amp darker sounding, warmer, while higher settings make it sound more modern, or brighter. Lastly, insert the Studio EQ on stomp 'X' and set the Low Cut between 80Hz - 100Hz and the High Cut between 12KHz - 10KHz. You'll find these parameters on page 3 of the Studio EQ, IIRC.


    These should take care of your problem. Just remember to not over do it.


    Take care!