Posts by Kaschko

Ruefus It's mainly about the experience. If the profiles that I like would allow me to dive deeper into the amps I would have no issue. I believe I am mainly a 1 amp guy and the Kemper seems to be better when it comes to versatility, not depth.

Quote from Ruefus

'Good' sound at low volume is not a function of the amp or KPA. It's how our ears perceive sound. There is no magic piece of gear that gives 'cranked-amp-in-the-room sound & feel' at bedroom volume or in headphones.

Look up the Fletcher-Munson curve before you start throwing money and complexity at something you may only ever get 'close' to. Don't kid yourself that an attenuator and such won't be less/more complex than a KPA.

I respectfully disagree. I have looked up the Fletcher-Munson curve (as I had many discussion about this on this board) and I am playing at a level of 85 - 90db through the Kabinet - which is said curve.

Also: There clearly is a difference between the Kemper Kabinet and each different amp from the profiles. How can the Kabinet sound like a Marshall Marshall 4x12 closed back cab and a 3x10 Jensen open back cab at the same time? Of course it can't. The Kabinet give you a good middle ground, but I find it changes EQ a lot depending on how loud you play it. Most of the attenuators I listed have EQ options to compensate for that. Again, it's about the experience.

Quote from Ruefus

'Next.

Why is it that everytime someone writes something slightly critical about the Kemper or questions some of its functions, one gets a passive aggressive comment here?

Hi everyone,

I own my Kemper since less than half a year now but I'm wondering if a good attenuator would be better for what I want to do. I need your advice here, since owning both solutions at the same time is too expensive and I want to make sure not to sell the Kemper and then be disappointed with my other solution.

Maybe in the end you'll just help me regain my Kemper love and dismiss this idea again, who knows.

What I want to do:

- be able to play amps as authentically as possible at home

- be able to have good sound at bedroom volume

- be able to use headphones

- be able to record guitar

- be able to add reverb to non-reverb amps

What I like about the Kemper:

- easy recording

- good headphone use

- some good sounds in there

What I don't like about the Kemper:

- doesn't sound good via Kemper Kabinet at low volumes

- too many options / distracting

- amp profiles only come in a few snapshots and don't replace the real amps which they profiled

- I find myself more often tweaking than actually making music. That's not the Kemper's fault, it's mine, of course. I think having less experience with the real amps than the average Kemper owner just makes me doubt how good the sounds are much more. I'm probably too much of a gear noob for this machine.

- Not a dislike but I have no need to create my own profiles, which means I don't use a big part of this machine.

I found out (thanks to the Kemper!!!) that I get almost all sounds I have inside my head from a JTM45. If I'd add a Tweed Deluxe I would probably be covered.

I am really bothered that the Kemper doesn't give me the full control over said amps. For example, I cannot play around with an amp's circuit and explore it the way it was intended. I would love to plug into a JTM and play with high and low treble inputs, with crazy EQ settings and with channel jumping. I have great JTM profiles on my Kemper but they are limited in what they can do.

I miss having a real amp. I miss the sound of a real amp that doesn't keep me questioning if there couldn't be another Kemper profile that sounds better than the one I have. Owning the real amp would only leave me with possible wishes of speaker and valve changes, but I would always know it sounds the way it is supposed to. Yes, for many Kemper owners authenticity doesn't matter, to me it does since being a hobby guitarist for me is also about appreciating these vintage designs.

The best live sound is less important to me than a good home/rehearsal sound + good recording options.

Now I am wondering: Should I get rid of my Kemper and instead get the real amp I love + a great attenuator? The price should be around the same.

But which attenuator to get in that case?

Freyette PS2: I read that it sounds great with Marshalls at any volume. The FX loop allows me to add a reverb pedal. BUT: no headphone out, no SPDIF or USB connection for direct recording.

But couldn't I just connect the direct out to my USB interface and listen to headphones via my DAW? In that case I assume I need an external cab simulation. My feeling is the PS2 isn't exactly right for my case - or at least not the simples solution.

Ox Box: Great recording possibilities. Headphone output. BUT: attenuator not as good as with the reamping technology of the other devices. Also, if I understand correctly, the Ox doesn't allow to add reverb to the real guitar cab, only to the speaker simulations.

Boss TAE: Seems to be the best of both worlds being also the most expensive option. No SPDIF out but USB out. If I understand correctly, I can add reverb to the real guitar cabinet. Comes with speaker simulations any many effects (I wouldn't have to buy a reverb pedal). BUT: Apparently loud fan noises, so not sure if it works for bedroom volume playing. Did I miss any other downsides?

What are your thoughts? Will I in the end just end up with something that is less reliable and sounds worse than my favorite Kemper profiles? It would of course be horrible if what I'll get satisfies me less than my profiles, despite them being limited in what they do.

Or is the attenuator route the right way to go if I don't need the sounds of several different amps and easy FOH workflow that the Kemper offers?

Thanks for hanging in, I know this was a long read.

Quote from CarloLf

sorry as I am asking as a dummy: Where and how do you measure those "85db"?

Measure it in 1m / 3ft distance from the amp.

A few thoughts:

There's many different philosophies on fat tone and it's hard to help if we don't hear exactly what you hear. But I absolutely understand what you're saying though since I experienced similar "disappointments".

My experience is that it depends a lot on the profile you use. A while ago I felt I had settled on a couple of profiles although they never made me 100% happy. Then at some point I went on the search again and this time I found profiles that seemed to clearly beat all my previous ones in comparison. It had a lot to do with fat sound. So one advice would be to keep searching.

Then it's important to understand that most profiles are meant for recording or to go FOH. They are not usually aimed at creating the fattest amp in the room sound.

And again, every profile is different here. As an example, when you want a Fender sound and buy one of the famous M Britt profiles, it will always sound less punchy than the real thing since he doesn't use the Fender speakers (for example Jensens). His celestions smooth out everything.

If you get a Tone Junkie profile, my experience is that they are pretty hi fi and lack grittiness.

I came across a Fender profile by Bert Meulendijk the other day and that was suddenly extremely punchy. Like with a real big Fender, it was almost unpleasant to hit the first strings because of the punch. It was by far the most amp in a room feeling I encountered with Fenders. Not sure if that's a good thing for the mix and recording - probably not. But it definitely felt more "live" sounding.

Another thing: Rhett Shull always puts a shaper at the X module after the amp. In a youtube video he explained that he feels it gets closer to the feel of his real amps that way. It's definitely worth a try. Put a "soft shaper" into module X, no drive and +1 volume. It's worth a shot.

You can also try to follow Tone Junkie's advice and put a fattening EQ in front of the amp. Definitely worth a shot, too. Here's the link: Do this for Fatter Single Coils...

I own the Kemper Kabinet, by the way but still can't manage to make my favorite profiles (judging by studio headphones) sound good through the Kab. That's why I will most likely go back to real amps for that "in the room" feeling and keep using the Kemper for recording.

How do you listen to your Kemper and how did you listen to the Fender? If you listen to the Kemper via headphones or studio monitors it will not have the same punch as a Fender amp.

Just a suggestion: If you have a powered Kemper, next time you visit your friend, try to connect your Kemper with his Fender cab/speakers and see what happens.

I would suggest trying out shapers as well but I believe your experiences have to do with what I mentioned above.

Edit: Just realized you wrote about the stage. In that case you need to compare your Kemper with your friends recorded sound, not the live amp. The Kemper recreates miced amps, not amps in a room.

Cool, so does that mean I could load an IR into the amp section of the Kemper as well?

As I see it, the easiest workflow would be to just go from the Freyette into Logic and use the Space Designer, without the Kemper in the signal chain. The Kemper would only help if I actually wanted to profile the amp or add some Kemper stomps to the equation.

Thanks for all your replies!

How would one do all this? Connect the line out of the Freyette with an instrument cable and go into the guitar input of the Kemper?

Would I then try out cabs from different profiles with the real Marshall head or would I get a Celestion IR? I guess IRs don’t have the information of a microphone included and would sound wrong, right?

Quote from Wheresthedug

the answer to all of your questions is pretty much yes.

Hey guys,

I need you to help me wrap my head around a concept.

Even if I love my Kemper I think I'll get a real amp, too, again. It's my haptic character, I suppose.

To play that amp at home I'm gonna buy a Freyette PS2. I know some people use the direct out of the Freyette to connect the real amp with the DAW and then somehow they use speaker IRs to record. While I was wondering how one even loads a speaker IR into a DAW, I was also wondering - can't the Kemper help in that combination, too?

Could I connect the Freyette to the real amp, use it as a load and then connect it to the Kemper? I assume I'd turn the amp section of the Kemper off and only use the cab section. Would that work??? Could I in this case plug my headphones into the Kemper and listen to, say, a 100w Marshall head?

And even more, could I even make direct profiles this way, without using a microphone? Just connect the direct out of the Freyette and plug it into the Kemper?

I mean, that concept would blow my mind...

Thanks!

Quote from Chris Duncan

Maybe arguments about theoretical perfection would fit in better there rather than hot on the heels of a guy who was just showing how he does things.

Well, "the guy who was just showing how he does things" is also selling a product here - let's not forget about that. So if Ibot39 has something to criticise I think he should certainly be allowed to do that here, especially since he is a customer of Britt's.

That being said, I found the video rather impressive (remote controlled mic movement!!!) and to me the amps sounded 99% identical.

Quote from jasonmi3

Bert Meulendijk (in Profile Pack #2) has a nice JTM45 and so does Mattfig. I would recommend either or both.

Bought the Bert M. pack an man do I like these! I never tried his profiles but they are really good. Will check out the entire pack but this might become a favorite. Like it better than some of the other commercial rigs that are more "famous" in the community.

Hi everyone,

what's the best set (meaning clean, crunch and overdrive tones) of the JTM45 you've found so far?

I didn't like Top Jimi's. Tone Junkie's also didn't quite click with me but I might have to give it another shot.

I love Britts 69 Marshall when it comes to profile quality for a Marshall amp but unfortunately he didn't profile the JTM yet, as far as I know.

Here‘s already Michael Britt‘s reply:

„I did do some profiles of the speakers that were in the amp when I bought it. The originals had been replaced by Fender a long time ago using Jensen Vibrantos, which I was told were used to replace blown speakers because they handled more power. Not sure how true but that’s what I was told and I liked the Vibrantos better than the Utah’s I’ve heard. I know they’re supposed to be authentic but I have never really liked them as much. I’ll look up my notes and see if there is any more info.

Mike“

I guess that explains why these are my favorites of his. They don‘t sound like the imprints because they‘re Vibrantos but I really like them so much better than his go to CL80s.

Quote from kevinduren

Glad to hear you like the Proverb, those profiles are definitely in my top 5 favs. The 66 Proverb in his Vintage Pack is also one of my favs: is just the tiniest bit brighter so I use it with my Teles when I want a "Stratty-er" sound.

Yeah, currently I'm jumping back and forth between Britt's 66/67 Pro Reverbs and his 63 Vibroverb. The 67 seems to take my fuzz pedals best so far.

Quote from kevinduren

If you find a great one(s), please let us know here.

Best Jensens I found so far is Tone Junkie's Jensen P10R 3x10 cab from his 57 Bandmaster pack. He also used them in his 57 Tweed Deluxe pack. I like 3x10 since this is also the original Fender Vibro King setup (again based on the Bandmaster).

I just saw that I also have a Tone Junkie 67 Pro Reverb pack in which he profiled the Utahs. I will try them tomorrow with Britt's Pro Reverb and report back. Britt uses a 57/Fathead II combination, however, Tone Junkie uses Royer 121/57. Might still work.

Thanks again for your help.

Quote from kevinduren

Turned out that there were two in the MBritt 2020 pack:

67 Proverb 3 1

67 Proverb 3 4

These are actually exactly the profiles I want to find Jensens for - so well done

But unfortunately I'm pretty sure that's his standard cabinet again.

It does say "Speaker Manufacturer: Jensen" if you load them into the rig manager but it still mentions his standard cab above. I swapped in Jensen speaker imprints for my Kabinet and they definitely sounded different from the rig sound. Guess it was a typo on his side but I was thinking of writing him about this to make sure. In his PDF for this pack, which I bought, he doesn't mention he used different speakers for this one and he usually does mention it in the rare cases he does it (like with his 69 Plexi pack).

P.S. It's also ironic because I believe the original speakers for this amp were Utahs...

You're awesome.

Do you mean a profile that you use with real

cabs or do you want the cabs digital too?

In that case why not make 3 different profiles? They could be three studio profiles, one with each different speaker. That should technically be the same as when you turn your head into a direct profile and then profile the cabs (a process for which you need to attach the amp head anyways).

Sorry, I might not quite understand your question.

alancott Thanks, man! Could you tell me which pack it is with the Jensens? I could only find Celestions.

I own all the Tone Junkie profiles (got the everything pack for super cheap during Black Friday) and will just test them all as well. He has profiles many Jensens. I just feel his EQ is usually a bit more trebly than Britt‘s so I hope they work together.

Quote from alancott

Hi Kaschko, is there any reason why you think the studio profiles sound better?

I tried Merged profiles. Top Jimi and Tone Junkie. In both cases studio profiles sounded much better to me. There's also 100x as many studio profiles than merged so of course I could find more that I liked.

I haven't played the Kemper live yet. I have some favorite profiles of which 90% are studio profiles, so I'm definitely looking for a way to add a Jensen cabinet to them. If I play M Britts Fender profiles through the Kabinet and use the speaker imprints with P12s or P10s it works really really well for me. Now I wish to create that sound inside the Kemper for recording, since I'm not a fan of Britt's standard cabinet.