Volume level of Profile after creation

    I've been experimenting on making a few profiles using an OD pedal into a clean amp, then a 2x12 mic'ed by an SM57. This goes into a tube pre, then the DAW for some minor EQ, then back out of the DAW into the Kemper return (set at 0.0dB). I had to carefully manipulate the gain staging so that the mic input gain was at a good level, then adjusted the tube pre out with the DAW track sliders at 0.0 dB so that the Kemper return input did not give an error due to clipping. I have some questions which hopefully someone on the forum can shed some light on :


    [1] I noticed that the DAW levels were well below -18dBFS, so was curious why the Kemper input was clipping (and thus giving an error during profiling).


    [2] After I backed off the gain so that there was no error msg for clipping on the Kemper return, everything worked great. The amp is set pretty loud, and during profiling, it does get very loud. I did not do any refining either. But I found the volume level of the newly created profile a lot lower than some other profiles that have similar gain and distortion levels. I need to crank up the master level a lot higher to match levels of other profiles. I looked at those other profiles, and no increases in EQ or amp/cab volume were done to them. Is there a way that the default volume level can be increased?


    Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

    I can tweak the volume (far right bottom knob), but that is default set at noon as is the gain. If I set the Master vol at something like 5, and switch to a similar profile of an OD with similar gain and vol settings, my newly created profile volume is lower -- even with the same master volume settings.


    The question is -- why is my profile lower in volume than other profiles with almost similar gain, volume, EQ, etc. default values? Note that some profiles I am comparing to are lower in overdrive/distortion also, yet louder in volume.

    The default gain is set based on the approximate gain of your amp. When profiling the reference amp volume, compared to the base profile used, should be adjusted. Since we have so many people there are variations introduced as well as the volumes might not be equalized between the two when profiling. Due to these variations and some variations in the profiler you can see slight to drastic volume differences. The addition of eq. and other volume enhancements will only add to this. The best way to handle it is find a "happy medium" profile and adjust the master volume to suite at some high volume levels so you can equalize the profiles against each other.

    "More Guitar in the Monitors" :thumbup:

    Yeah, there's a difference between "loudness" and "peak levels" (see how a compressor works, like in radio/TV commercials).
    For example, a clean profile is more likely to overdrive the output than a distorted one.
    Whatever way the Profiler evaluates a sound's volume, you can always make one sound louder than another.


    Best option I can see is to tweak the rig volume and resave it.

    The DAW uses an audio interface, and I took one of the stereo main outs (L channel) and put that into the Kemper return. I monitored everything using the Kemper headphones out.


    When I profiled, I was very close to clipping the return input level. Should I try and re-profile at much lower levels? Note really sure what else I can do other than tweak the rig levels as suggested previously, but that leaves me with less room to go higher if I need to.

    The setting of the gain is determined by the profiler, but the low volume?
    Sounds strange to me and I have no answer for that.
    I'd try to profile with differenten volume levels to see if the profile volume goes up if you profile with a lower level.
    Could it be that at some point a limiting takes place?

    Thanks for all the suggestions. I don't have any limiters or compressors in the path, though i do have a plugin in the DAW that is a "colored" EQ which could be doing something. However, the track levels are low as I mentioned earlier (way less than -18 DBFS), yet the Kemper return input will still say it is clipping.

    I would guess that the EQ wouldn't be the problem - you say you used it only lightly.


    You must control the output level of the audio interface some way. Which interface is it? Could the output be turned up too much?


    Either way, for troubleshooting, try taking the daw out of the loop and see if that makes a difference. If that doesn't solve the problem, then try removing the tube pre as well (sm57 directly into kemper). If that doesn't solve the problem, try removing the OD pedal, so it's only amp, 57 and kemper. See where the problem lies :)

    Hi Michael,


    Thanks for the suggestions. There must be something strange going on with my signal path. I am going to try these things to debug:


    1. Lower return input level. Intuitively, this should not affect anything, but I am going to try anyways
    2. Remove tube mic pre from the path. This has both input and output gain adjustments. This is how I am adjusting the levels
    3. Remove the audio interface completely and take the SM57 out right into the Kemper


    I have seen varying differences in profile volumes -- esp for clean or OD tones. It's not a huge deal, but I have seen a few great profiles that are OD based (slightly overdriven) where the volume is very good and much higher than what I am getting -- and the settings are almost the same as my profile (gain, volume, EQ, etc.) -- so just wondering how this is achieved ...

    I did the experiments, and in the end, all the profiles I did have the same general volume level, and nearly the same default settings. That is a good sign I guess since the basic sound was there. Though running it though the mic pre/DAW/EQ did help to give it better definition, less low-end woofiness, etc. I am thinking -- maybe there is limiting/compression going on in the distortion OD that I am using? In any case, how do I post it or attach it as a file to a posting? Thanks for everyone's help!

    Hi CUBE -- can you detail your signal path using XLRs? That may be my problem also. From the SM57, I use a XLR to TRS adapter into a mic pre, and from there to the audio interface, etc, it is all TRS. From the audio interface out, I use TRS to XLR adapter to go into the XLR Kemper return input. Maybe there is where the issue is -- I should use the TRS return input instead?


    I am thinking -- probably should try going from the SM57 into the mic pres of the audio interface (all XLR), and from the audio interface out to the KPA -- use all TRS. That way, there's no adapters, etc.


    BTW, I did profile using only a SM57 with no mic pre or DAW in the path -- just the XLR out of the mic into the Kemper return input XLR. Results were the same. So maybe the XLR input is somehow messed up? I sure hope not ...