Posts by Mike43202

I want to send audio from my Mac M1 over USB to the Kemper, then I want that audio to go out of the Kemper’s SPDIF into my DAC and on to the stereo amp and speakers, hopefully with my guitar+profile (from regular guitar input jack) mixed in.

I select the Profiler as my Mac’s output device, hit PLAY on a YouTube video, the guitar goes silent, and I get no sound from the video.

I stop the video, eventually the guitar starts up again. I never hear the video’s sound.

What am I missing? I’ve tried many output configurations on the Kemper.

I'm very interested in purchasing the profiles you made of this amp. Your site is down, however. Can you let us know how to purchase them?

Quote from Monkey_Man

Not bad; sounds pretty-close, man.

If anything, and I'm relying on memory from the '80s, it's not quite-as-bright? I know you said it sounds "nasty" on its own, but it's possible the original guitar tracks sounded even-nastier; they so-often do...

You can listen to "In a Big Country" on YouTube. I may have overdone it with the mids. But once you know there’s a pitch shifter in the tracks, the tone makes sense and you can hear it as the missing ingredient.

I doubt Kemper’s shifter works exactly like the MXR but not much I can do about that.

And here's a test track!

https://drive.google.com/open?…sLXuVO24PWn_yGgQZv8kWG6v_

and by the way, the chorus can be too much. It's stomp box #2 and should be shut off when doing fairly mainstream sounds but it works ok for solos.

Another thing, I tried this out using a humbucker guitar and it's pretty overwhelming. I created it with a strat and it seems way more suited for that.

So the other day I found out that the way Big Country got those soaring leads was by using an MXR Pitch Transposer (along with chorus/reverb/etc).

The Kemper has a pitch transposer, so I threw together this new profile. I've been playing along with Big Country tracks on mp3 and youtube for several days and believe it or not, this profile sounds very similar to what I hear on the recordings when played in context. By itself it's sort of nasty lol

I've uploaded the profile to the rig exchange, just look for Big Country, it's the only one there, which automatically makes it the best Big Country rig on the exchange!

Probably the gain and the delay mix need to be dialed back but play along with some Big Country tunes and you may be surprised. Be sure to roll back your guitar volume for the rhythm parts, this profile seems to get you there through the whole tune.

Let me know what you think!

I went back to that same series of profiles and found one I'd done that includes an Altec 417B speaker and a Shure KSM32 mic. I've created a new thread in the Free Rigs forum (since I'm not really sharing my music in this discussion) if anyone wants to chime in on that one.

I posted another version of this rig in another forum but this is probably the right forum to continue the discussion.

This is another of my efforts to get a pre-Dumble Santana tone using gear as similar to his as I can. I used his knob settings as much as possible (given the volume). This profile is very touch sensitive, responds well to volume/tone knob changes, and is a little smoother than the other one I uploaded the other day because of the different speaker. Notes seem to "pop" a bit more with this profile than with the other.

The filename is MBmk1ri Carlos v3 - 2018-11-14 18-13-34.kipr and I've put it on the Rig Exchange.

Wow, here’s a mind-blower, I didn’t realize this was floating around out there. Smooth, but guitar only. That thing up front sounds like a pitch transposed-up doubling delay. (Kemper has pitch shifting, will have to try it.). Maybe those upper octaves aren’t just B-string 10th fret after all huh?

@wabara, thanks so much for the in-depth review. You seem to be coming to similar conclusions to my own. In particular, this is a very responsive and playable profile, useful as an extension of the Instrument/player. The profile captured the original amp so that’s a success.

I used to have a Mesa Boogie Mark 1 reissue combo and since I swore off combos (they’re too heavy!) I got the head version instead, which is an earlier example of this amp (and a lot harder to find in the head version). I felt like the head had a better sound and feel than the combo and was glad I made the switch. This profile is from the head.

Plus the pilot light is a different color. It’s orange instead of blue. So clearly that’s what made the entire difference. Well, that and the back panel Dymo labels.

As far as sustain, the amp at these Santana knob settings is freakishly loud. Most people don’t turn a Mark 1 up past 2 on the master and he keeps it between 7 and 9, and since he also runs it through 4x12s at times, he is pushing a lot of air.

Even with moving that much air, lIke a lot of artists, during sound check he will go around the stage and find the sweet spot locations and mark them so he can stand there and get those infinite sustain notes.

Even still, playing this profile at my desk through monitors is enough to get some good feedback notes, I’m using a 2017 PRS Santana SE. I noticed that if I sit at my desk without deadening the strings, they’ll start to sing on their own. When I ordered this guitar from Sweetwater, I intentionally chose one on the lighter side (they weigh them so you can do this) so that it might be more responsive. (PRS says they also have upgraded the pickups to more closely match the signature models.)

Carlos seems to write songs so he ends up landing quite a lot on the B-string, 10th fret. This is a singing note. Think of the 5th note he holds from the intro to Smooth. You’ll get that upper harmonic in spades, it will just jump right out. Supernatural was almost entirely pre-Dumble so those tracks are examples of Boogies even without going back to the early 70s era, or at least that is my understanding. (You can see his Boogie in the video for Smooth.)

I too had tried making a Dumble-based Santana profile several years ago. It is in the Rig Exchange. I had profiled a Ceriatone OTS50 to a Cannabis Rex speaker. It became my #1 workhorse profile and I‘ve used it for years but it didn’t exactly get rave reviews. (2.5 stars)

And yes as far as graininess, if you’re backing off the volume it cleans up, leaving you with gain in reserve for solos/upper notes.

Thanks again for trying it out, glad you like it, and I’m glad there’s a proper Mark I on the rig exchange now.

On further listening on other speakers and earbuds, maybe the profile does have too much gain. It is a little too grainy. I may tweak it and upload a new version.

... or maybe not. Depending on *which song* you listen to from the 1973 Lotus in Japan concert, it sounds like about the right about of graininess. Sounds like I could leave it, and just roll the gain back a hair.

Thanks all, I've uploaded the rig as Carlos Mesa Mk 1 with EVM12L

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

Your turn to make a Santana track

There is almost nothing on the rig exchange for Mesa Boogie Mark 1's. So, a year ago I did a direct profile of my Mesa Boogie Mark 1 reissue turned up to Santana volume/settings. Because it was so loud, I was having trouble getting a tone I liked via profiling the speakers, so I tried doing a direct profile as well.

Today I took the direct profile and combined it with the cabinet from one of the King Snake profiles (I believe it was the EV2b one by bluesfan) on the rig exchange and now I have a very usable Santana Mesa Boogie Mark I profile.

I've created the mp3 below if you want to listen to it. Later today if there is interest I'll upload the profile.

One thing I like about this profile is that you can get a variety of Santana tones by changing your tone and volume controls, and varying pick attack. It seems to be in the right sweet spot to capture most of his variety that he uses through a song. The tone I was going for was Lotus 1973 live in Japan, if you want a reference.

I know parts of it in the clip below are too high gain but that is my fault, not the fault of the profile.

Thanks for listening,

Mike

https://drive.google.com/open?…vQlb_37uIrAqjic17t15P9e18

I'm having a blast with this thing. I love my "Ceriatone OTS50 v3 Daddo" profile so much I barely turn it off. Here it is by itself (first lead run) and then being driven by a BK Butler Tube Driver, one of the new ones he makes with the bias knob (the other two lead runs).

I'm running the Kemper through a Behringer powered PA cab (along with vocals), the one with a 15" woofer. We used one binaural dummy head mic (homemade) to mic the whole room. If you're listening via iTunes, turn the audio enhancer on, it helps. I think the mic elements I used don't have enough highs.

The recorder was set a little hot (especially for the drums) but hey it was just a rehearsal.

http://www.mojolink.com/BandStuff/Sugaree20130608.mp3

I grabbed a backing track for that song and recorded some licks with my setup so you can hear whether I approach the Santana tone or not.

Sorry but I don't think the Tupelo Crunch+ profile you mentioned is there for this purpose, personally. (Not that it is bad, I just don't think it is in Santana territory.) I like my Ceriatone profile a lot better (even if it only got a two star average rating from two voters).

I didn't change anything from my profile except to shut the tape delay effect off. And I'm using my PRS Santana SE on middle pickup position with the tone rolled down to around 2 or 3. No processing was done, it went straight into ProTools and straight out once mixed with the backing track. I think Santana was probably turned down a little more than me ...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/edbqacz5su2g9nx/SantanaTest.mp3

To get the later Santana tone I do a few things ...

First, I mic it up with a studio condensor mic. Santana uses a Shure KSM32, I just have a Samson C01 which is way cheaper (but is a great mic).

Second, on that intro he is probably on the middle pickup position with the tone rolled back quite a bit.

Third, I use a Ceriatone OTS50 going into a Cannibis Rex speaker. Santana's newer tones use hemp cone speakers and Dumbles (the Ceriatone is a Dumble copy). The C-Rex has a darker full tone that is good for Santana sounds. You can see his Dumble in the video of the song you're looking for. Santana uses Tone Tubbies but I am not going to pay for those ...

Finally, I'm using a PRS Santana SE, one of the newer ones that actually looks like a Santana guitar, not the older SEs that look like I don't know what. Obviously the more expensive PRS Signature models will get you there too, but the current Santana SEs get you there on the cheap. They are quite a bargain.

I've profiled my Ceriatone and just uploaded it. Look for Ceriatone OTS50 v3 Daddo.

When set right (might need a touch more gain) it is touch sensitive. Brighter when you pick harder. Notes have a bit of bloom to them, they are not just one-dimensional. I would turn the delay effect off ... I have it set a bit high.

His older classic tones are Boogie Mark 1 going into Altec 417 speakers (and though I have a Mark 1 and Altec 417, there are no Mark 1's currently in the Rig Exchange and I haven't profiled mine yet). But newer tones are definitely Dumbles. The Altec speakers have a lot of brightness to them and the hemp cone speakers are way more mellow.