Difference in sound between commercial videos and pack itself

Johndoebh · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from V8guitar

Is this the reference video?

STL Tones Colin Richardson - Kemper Pack - YouTube

To be honest the sound of a single guitar sounds mushy anyway. In the context of a recording I suspect it will sound so much better.

I don;t think its the KPA or the profilers issue, it just shows that there is more to this than plug and play Im afraid. I do suspect something fundamental in your set up though is probably contributing.

I think the answer is a number of things:
1) The single chain of the reference - band mix, post production and signal chain etc.
2) Your monitoring. I think to rule out as much as you can, start with decent studio headphones - reduces monitor and room colour

The best "in band" guitar sounds often sound duff out of context.

Also there are a few people on here who are sound producers who can probably help as I think this is also a generic request on recording good metal tones.

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Yes. This is one of the videos that i was refering to. As a example, mine sounds much mushier, a ton of midrange ( i love midrange in guitar tones) but this one sounds like i am playing through a radio speaker. I had to bring up the distortion sense, something that worked well on other profiles (having the distortion sense to -1 db), putting a treble booster in the stomp section, moving the cabinet high shift to +0.1 - +0.2, boosting the shit out of the treble and presence, raising the gain and stuff like that. I know that you need to tweak it to your own playing style, guitar, guitar pickups etc, but some profiles are way off the grid. And this is not the only pack that i had "problems" with.

I will try to find that thing that you say it is fundamental, but right now i don't have a clue what it could be.

I once had the same thing that at home a profile sounded bad on studio monitors and i thought i should give a try on the PA at the rehearsal space. Same thing. Maybe i can rule out the guitar + pickups, it remains the audio interface and/or studio monitors.

Johndoebh · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from Ruefus

One thing that needs to be mentioned is what happens to audio and video files on YouTube when uploading. The YouTube compression algorithm squashes the the ever-loving-snot out of the original signal. What we hear is similar, but definitely not the same as what the creator submitted.

At least for me, it is rare that I load a new Profile and have it sound at all like the demo. Perhaps I should, but I really don't expect them to. This has been true for me with other digital amps I've tried over many many years. It doesn't matter who built the preset or created the Profile....what I hear from a demo rarely sounds like a 'match' for what I hear through my own gear. Sometimes I'm pleased with the results, sometimes not.

I've thrown a few bucks at packs only to find the results underwhelming for me (this includes well known, if not revered Profile creators like Michael Britt and Top Jimi).

For the most part - I won't buy Profiles unless I can play at least one sample of the exact amp I'm considering. Or, the Profile creator is someone I've had good luck with before. Currently, Guido Burgenstock is my favorite. His Bognar XTC is fantastic. So is his JC120, Deluxe Reverb, Showman.....But again - that's just me. You may hate the amps and/or Profiles I love.

Also - I almost never use a Profile in its stock form. Whether its a boost, compression, Definition/Clarity......whatever. There is always a tweak or two I make to get what I'm after.

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I have thrown away big bucks on profiles from all kind of profilers and like you, had good results and bad results. Now, if you don't listen to at least a soundcloud demo, a youtube demo then how can you choose which profiles are good for you? You need a term of comparison.

I know that all these platforms tend to compress the living thing out of everything but you buy them anyway in hopes that it will sound good.

V8guitar · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from Johndoebh

Yes. This is one of the videos that i was refering to. As a example, mine sounds much mushier, a ton of midrange ( i love midrange in guitar tones) but this one sounds like i am playing through a radio speaker. I had to bring up the distortion sense, something that worked well on other profiles (having the distortion sense to -1 db), putting a treble booster in the stomp section, moving the cabinet high shift to +0.1 - +0.2, boosting the shit out of the treble and presence, raising the gain and stuff like that. I know that you need to tweak it to your own playing style, guitar, guitar pickups etc, but some profiles are way off the grid. And this is not the only pack that i had "problems" with.
I will try to find that thing that you say it is fundamental, but right now i don't have a clue what it could be.
I once had the same thing that at home a profile sounded bad on studio monitors and i thought i should give a try on the PA at the rehearsal space. Same thing. Maybe i can rule out the guitar + pickups, it remains the audio interface and/or studio monitors.

Slightly different question - can you get a good sound through your current set up or are all sounds not quite there for you?

As mentioned, try to rule out monitors and interfaces by bypassing them to start with.

Defo record and compare because as I said I'm not that turned on by the video sounds.

This sounds better to me although its in context

STL Tones: Colin Richardson Kemper Pack. - YouTube

GearJocke · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from BayouTexan

Contact the profiler and ask him what guitar he used and what global settings he had on the Kemper. An example would be that he may have had a High Cut down to 4500 Hz which would warm up the tone pretty significantly, or Pure Cab was set to 5.0, etc.

Unknown guitar with emg pickups in the info sheet.

Ruefus · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from Johndoebh

I have thrown away big bucks on profiles from all kind of profilers and like you, had good results and bad results. Now, if you don't listen to at least a soundcloud demo, a youtube demo then how can you choose which profiles are good for you? You need a term of comparison.
I know that all these platforms tend to compress the living thing out of everything but you buy them anyway in hopes that it will sound good.

As I mentioned, if I can't play a sample Profile of the amp in question, I'm unlikely to buy it. I've decided that I don't care what it sounds like in other people's hands, with their gear.....what does is sound like with MY gear.

Guido Burgenstock excepted. Especially when he runs his buy one, get one specials.

Finally · Feb 21st 2022

I think it's the speakers that are probably the weakest link.

What if you record it and A/B the result against the marketing ones?

Johndoebh · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from V8guitar

Slightly different question - can you get a good sound through your current set up or are all sounds not quite there for you?

As mentioned, try to rule out monitors and interfaces by bypassing them to start with.

Defo record and compare because as I said I'm not that turned on by the video sounds.

This sounds better to me although its in context

STL Tones: Colin Richardson Kemper Pack. - YouTube

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yes. I can get a good sound through my current setup but not always. I will get a pair of studio headphones.

Tomorrow i will take a recording cause today i had rehearsals and whatnot and i promise to do what everybody was telling me.

dacop1313 · Feb 21st 2022

Has anyone ever purchased a profile pack that sounds like the sellers demos? I haven't, not even close, that is why I stopped buying profiles. But to be fair, that goes for real amps too, nothing ever sounds the same even at the same settings and speakers being used. If you are looking for good metal profiles, start with SinMix, there is a free pack somewhere online and its great.

Johndoebh · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from Finally

I think it's the speakers that are probably the weakest link.

What if you record it and A/B the result against the marketing ones?

recording and a/b comming

Johndoebh · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from dacop1313

Has anyone ever purchased a profile pack that sounds like the sellers demos? I haven't, not even close, that is why I stopped buying profiles. But to be fair, that goes for real amps too, nothing ever sounds the same even at the same settings and speakers being used. If you are looking for good metal profiles, start with SinMix, there is a free pack somewhere online and its great.

Tried Sinmix. Bought profiles from him but just like other packs...not like his demos.. so maybe it is the speakers...or my poor tweaking knowledge

Ruefus · Feb 21st 2022

Quote from Johndoebh

Tried Sinmix. Bought profiles from him but just like other packs...not like his demos.. so maybe it is the speakers...or my poor tweaking knowledge

To reiterate - I've *never* found a Profile or preset from a modeler sound just like the demos. This experience goes back to the days of the POD bean.

octopus · Feb 21st 2022

Well, of course that's true.

I just don't think they always sound worse.

You often have to optimize them for the existing situation.

Finally · Feb 22nd 2022

Since my Tom Anderson is the best guitar in existence all of my profiles sound BETTER than the originals. ???

JoshuaL1 · Feb 22nd 2022

Quote from dacop1313

Has anyone ever purchased a profile pack that sounds like the sellers demos? I haven't, not even close, that is why I stopped buying profiles. But to be fair, that goes for real amps too, nothing ever sounds the same even at the same settings and speakers being used. If you are looking for good metal profiles, start with SinMix, there is a free pack somewhere online and its great.

m Britt, bhp, Bert Meulendijk, Glenn Allen sound exactly like the demos. Especially Bert.

V8guitar · Feb 22nd 2022

Quote from Finally

Since my Tom Anderson is the best guitar in existence all of my profiles sound BETTER than the originals. ???

Its not as good as my 1979 Squier Telecaster (Japanese)..... My first proper guitar, I've stripped the neck, made it string through ( using a hand drill), has a Seymour hot rails in it.... and it can never be bettered :). Its the daddy.....I even have a sticker saying that on it...

RosboneMako · Feb 22nd 2022

Quote from V8guitar

Its not as good as my 1979 Squier Telecaster (Japanese).....

My fav guitar was a early 2000's Squire bullet strat ($99) that I added a cheap Seymour humbucker to. Guitar was amazing. Frets did not last very long though So I went for an American Special with Humbucker already in place... its meh compared to the Bullet.

Replaced my G&L Tele lipstick with a pickup from the Bullet when I bought the Kemper to get as close to the Bullet as I could

Johndoebh · Feb 22nd 2022

Do they sound good on all of them profiles?

Johndoebh · Feb 22nd 2022

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here is my sound..hope to get it wright compared to the link below

External Content www.youtube.com

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sorry for the sloppy playing

BayouTexan · Feb 22nd 2022

Johndoebh The only difference I hear is STL may have a Low Cut (maybe at 50hz) and more pressence on the EQ. Sounds real close otherwise and would sound closer when you mix it.

GearJocke · Feb 22nd 2022

Quote from Johndoebh

External Content soundcloud.com

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Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

here is my sound..hope to get it wright compared to the link below

External Content www.youtube.com

Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.

Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.

sorry for the sloppy playing

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Your sound clips sounds really good. The only difference I hear are two things: you use passive pickups and you sound like yourself no matter what you use. I will snagg the Colins profiles next time they have 40% discount.

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