SSH Strat and Clean Sense

    I have American Special SSH strat, kick ass guitar and I just love humbucker in bridge position while having that strat clean thing going on in the neck pickups. Obviously I want to do clean sounds with neck single coils and use humbucker for crunch and gain sounds.


    But, here is the problem, how do I set the clean sense? Problem with this guitar is that humbucker gets very loud compared to single coils, so if I set the clean sense per humbucker, cleans with singles coils are almost none to hear, I have to make the profile much louder, while if I set clean sense with single coil some lighter crunchy sounds do not sound good on humbucker position.


    With my usual amps, I just set the clean channel louder, and balance the pickups, but how the hell do I make it work on Kemper? 8o Am I loosing any dynamics if I set all for humbucker and then just make clean profiles very loud?


    Any ideas or tricks?

    I would set the pickups heights so you get the same volumes and then set the Clean Sense using your hotter output hum buckers, then adjust your Clean channels to sound good with your single coils. You can make adjustments other than clean sense to your Clean channels to get them to pop. Rig Volume, Amp Clarity, Compression, adding a bit of Direct Mix just to name a few. Play around with those settings and I'll think you'll get there. I do this with my guitar as well, having different banks of patches for single coil use but in my case I tap humbuckers so adjusting the pickup height to match volumes isn't an option.

    Your SC's and HB's relative volume will stay the same, regardless how you set CS.
    If you feel there's too much distortion when you switch to the HB in the same profile, lower Distortion Sens.
    Do you change profile when you use different PUs, or just turn your guitar's volume knob? If the former, just set each profile's volume once and for all :)

    Quote from Ingolf

    I wouldn't touch distortion sens at all.
    Set clean sens with the hottest PU and you're done.


    I suggested this in case he uses the HB for the distorted sounds without changing patch and wants less distortion... That's what DS is there for, isn't it (it could be used in the other way around of course)?


    True, lowering a PU reduces volume and distortion, but also alters the timbre. Granted, a PU too close to the strings kills the sound, but at a more proper distance (closeness?) it gives a peculiar compression and bass enforcement that I love on some guitars, specially for the bridge PU.


    :)

    On my Tyler SSH I set CS for the singles and DS for the HB pups.


    I rarely use the singles for distorted sounds but I keep a pure booster in the stomp slots in case. I never use the HB pups for clean sounds so that's not an issue but a compressor would solve it

    Problem solved by raising Texas Specials, and just got in to more trouble, can't stop playing SRV all day long :D Let me suggest to you guys, Evil Robot Blues profile, it is insane how good it sounds with strat.


    Weird thing, on my JCM800 they sounded horrible raised, but on Kemper, perfect Texas blues sound, well thanks for all help guys!