My New Kemper Test Video (3)

    Hi guys!


    I have been steadily working through all the scenarios of ways I would like to work with the Kemper and have been knocking it up some tests as I go. This is the 3rd test video I have done so far.


    This one compares:


    1. The Real Thing
    2. Studio Profile
    3. Direct Profile miced up
    4. Merged profile
    5. Direct Profile with speaker impulse added with cabmaker
    6. Direct Profile with speaker impulse added in Pro Tools


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    All these tests were carried out one after the other and the cab and mic didn't move to ensure consistency.


    The one that stands out as being different to me is the Merged Profile, it seems to add a lot more low end, and this has happened to all the merged profiles I have done before, so must be a part of the process.


    I bought the Kemper for home recording and the Studio and Direct profiles show me that i'll be able to catalogue all the tones of my amps with all my guitars, so I can re-mic later. I love the variation micing can give to a guitar sound, so Direct Profiling came along at the right time for me!


    It was great to see that a pretty accurate impulse response could be made of the speaker cab and used with the Direct Profile. I wouldn't be primarily using IR's, but its handy to know that if I were recording one day with a Direct profile to a cab, but realised a few days later that I had to redo a section I could quickly apply the IR I recorded that day and not have to mess around with trying to match the micing position to the previous take.


    I would think an interesting new development for the Merge option within the Kemper would be to have a cab profiling algorithm. This way you could make a Studio Profile, Direct Profile and Cab Profile, then merge the Direct and Cab Profiles. This could make a better Merged Profile????



    Previous Tests:
    Kemper Test 1
    Kemper Test 2

    Nice work, I've been wanting to do a similar test but have been too busy so I really appreciate you sharing the results. The merged profile sure does stand out, there are subtle differences in the others but the merged definitely sounds like something is wrong.

    Quote from paults

    Since you are getting these results, can you share your Merging process?


    I make the studio profile and then a direct profile. I copy the cab from the studio profile and paste it into the cab slot in the direct profile and merge.


    They always have more bass to my ears. Its not a bad thing, it can always be eq'd out, but it seems to be lagging behind the studio profiles still.

    Interesting test, thanks for sharing. The Merged results tally with mine too, it's not that it's a bad tone, in some ways it's actually a slightly more desirable tone with that pushed mids harmonically rich sound, but it's just not accurate to the source.


    There's also a strange slightly phased out tone going on with the merged profile that's not present in the other clips.


    For me the sounds go something like this :


    Real amp is the most focused, it's not a thin sound in particular, but the interaction between the channels makes it sound a tinge more present than the others.


    Studio Profile is really close, I really wouldn't be able to tell them apart without the visual cue in a mix. Having said that listening really closely there does seem to be an ever so slight lack of definition in the lower mids compared to the real amp. Maybe a very slight more upper mids is causing this.


    Direct mic's profile seems identical to the studio profile to me.


    Merged is as I described earlier.


    The two speaker impulse clips sound identical to me. Coming after the merged profile they sound much closer to the real amp, but then when you hear the real amp afterwards it's a more noticeable difference, they have odd phased comb filtering artifacts, slightly boxy sounding like altitude pressure on the eardrums, and neither treble nor bass seems to match up, there's less punch, they sound like what they are, EQ applied to a DI.


    I'd love to see merged profiles really nailing it, maybe Christoph and his team are working on solving this right now for the next FW update.

    this is really strange, there must be something done wrong.
    My merged profiles sound like my studioprofiles..also the merged profile sounds like the directprofile
    its somtime ago..maybe i do again a similar sample when i found the time


    are you sure the Monitor cab off in output section was activated?

    I'm going to assume that the merged profile is DI just like the studio profile, not run through an external cab and then mic'd up again (otherwise what's the point in this test?), In which case you wouldn't want to have monitor cab disabled for the output going to the DAW and going elsewhere would make no difference to the sound at all.

    Thanks for your sound example.


    I would like to check your profiles to see what has happened at the merge process.
    Please send it to [email protected].


    The cabinet merging is on our todo list already. It will allow for creating complete profiles without using a specific direct profile.

    Ok, so retested the Merging technique today.


    It must have been user error, I don't believe I pressed Merge Cabinet before saving, so I guess that's where the bassiness came from.


    The Merged Profile is very close now, however I hear a drop in weight in the bass frequencies.


    I have made an updated video below to show this and have also uploaded my profiles for those who would like to try it themselves. The video shows the Studio Profile versus the Direct Profile miced up versus the Merged Profile into Pro Tools. The first test is with drums and the second is without.


    I also did a third test which produced an anomaly. I reamped the guitar through the direct profile direct to Pro Tools and then reamped the same guitar through the Merged Profile with the cab off direct to Pro Tools. Both were sent from the Main out, but sound different. The Merged profile sounds phased and lacks the fizziness of the Direct Profile. Of course they both sound nasty as they are, but I assumed turning off the cab on a merged profile would revert it to a direct profile?


    Anyways here's the video:


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    And here are my profiles:


    STUDIO PROFILE
    DIRECT PROFILE
    MERGED PROFILE


    I think the merged profile with cab off compared to the direct profile has been proven before. I assume the mothership is working on it, maybe.

    Much much closer. Interesting that the direct and merged with cab disabled don't sound the same. I'm going to assume that as a result there's a noticeable difference through the real cab when you compare the direct vs merged?

    Thanks for your profiles and video.
    I have checked the profiles and both studio and merged profile sound identical to me, not like in your first video, but like in the second video.
    I have a hard time to hear a bass drop in the merged profile.



    I can hear that small difference in fizziness too. The difference is caused by technical reasons, it is even intended.
    It will not affect the sound when you play through a cabinet, as these frequencies are heavily attenuated by the speaker. Check it out!


    So far this sounds like a great proof of concept to me.

    Cheers for taking a look, and yes, the first merge was user error from me!


    The second is a lot closer, I have just reamped the same guitar part through the Direct Amp profile miced up and the Merged profile with the cab off miced up:


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    It sounds very close, I can hear a negligible difference, but too small to cause any problems.


    Quote from ckemper

    So far this sounds like a great proof of concept to me.


    I wholeheartedly agree, you guys have done great work, I am continually amazed at how the direct profiles sound exactly like the real thing, yet allow me to re-mic as I please!