Posts by Paul LaPlaca

Hang in there, it's easy to get discouraged starting out, especially if something is legitimately wrong with it.

I also had issues with the controller the first day, the connection on the head needs to click solidly in place. The controller will work if the ethernet is plugged in but is wonky unless it is solidly locked in place.

"Glitchy and temperamental" doesn't seem to be a common complaint with this unit, I think once you have one that is working well, it will amaze you after 2-3 days of programming. I couldn't be more impressed, even after a rocky start myself.

Really well.

The sounds were perfect.

I was also slightly worried that I wouldn't be able to get the thing to feedback like a normal amp but damn, the thing sang like a bird.

Couldn't be happier.

Looking forward to exploring the beginner pack and the rig exchange. Gonna take the next two days off though.

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My rig for the gig.

Doing my own profiles is definitely on the to do list after this gig.

I think the overall focus for most people has been to capture these glorious tube amps in all their glory while the hyper polished, slick, solid state stuff is the red haired step-kid.

Definitely want a full tool belt but so much great tube stuff to sort through first.

I'm still just in the factory rigs too! Can't wait to get on the gear exchange and wade through the starter pack.

Hey Everyone-

Thanks for all the words of advice and welcome to the forum and Kemper family.

I've had my Profiler for 7 days and really can't get over how remarkable this thing is.

There was an extreme amount of anxiety about this gig as I have only been working on the set for about 4 weeks. I have been a Rocktron Chameleon user for over 25 years and I have been extremely happy with that unit in terms of it's flexibility and longevity. It has never once needed servicing or repair.

However, as with anything it has had it's minor shortcomings and I knew that I needed the best modeling type of amp in order to cover the material going back to 1977 through the 80's. The bad has gone through several different line-ups and musical approaches and I wasn't going to be able to nail those tones with my former set-up. It took 2 weeks to get the Kemper and I was on pins and needles the whole time waiting fearing that I wouldn't have enough time to program and get comfortable with the foot controller. I spent those two weeks reading the manuals and watching all the video tutorials so I was ready when I opened the box for the first time. So after all the buildup and anticipation, I was horribly disappointed as I went through about 200 rigs as the sound was unbearable. Everything sounded the same, harsh and buzzy. I went to bed concerned I would have to return it and start programming my Rocktron for the set. Instead I woke up convinced it was operator error and sure enough, quickly found out that I had the cab simulator locked off for the main outs feeding my DAW.

Within 2 days I had over 90% of the material programmed and laid out for changes on the controller. It was a bit of a head switch to get used to kicking individual FX on and off within one rig as opposed to having a completely different patch change and a slight balancing act with my big dumb stage boots to ballet toe-tap to get the second row of buttons but I really couldn't be happier. Having the tuner built in to the controller is a huge plus and great for muting the guitar when needed.

I started with the High Watt rigs to get the bulk of the base tones from the album, "Keep the Dogs Away" recorded in Canada in 1977. Adding vintage FX like the Boss Chorus and Big Muff were mind blowing. Just perfect. Other sounds needed radically different approaches and I pulled up some great Marshall and Fenders as well. The speed and ease of getting this stuff together was so satisfying. I have always been a knob twiddler and early adopter of MIDI preamps going back to the ADA but the Kemper is beyond anything I have ever worked with before. Once all my programming was done, I pulled it out of the DAW and put it into a power amp and a 4x12. Unsurprisingly, this was another level of incredible satisfaction as the sound jumped out of the cab, punchy and ultra-responsive. I so wish I had this amp 25 years ago when I got started and was playing in so many different cover bands that I had to struggle to get even close to the tones I needed to program. I feel like joining a wedding band just to experience the challenge of taking a couple of hundred songs and simply crushing the task of nailing each individual sound.

This is the most fun I have had in a long time with music and simply the best piece of gear I have ever owned. Kudos to the engineering that went into the design and build of this thing. I am sure I will have suggestions on how to improve things in a few weeks but for now I am just in happy bliss getting ready for the show tomorrow knowing that my ass is covered.

If anyone is in the NYC area tomorrow, come hear it for yourself!!

Thank you Kemper!

Thank you all.

Having a LOT of fun programming this thing.

Getting some great sounds, can't wait to hear them at stage volume.

Thanks!

For speed, I think I am just going to leave the presets as is and hope for the best when I put it through the Marshall cab. If the soundman is getting what I am hearing through my DAW, I can deal with whatever limitations I may hear onstage.

I am absolutely thrilled to get to work with this amazing product.

I have been hearing the rumors and seeing so many top players jump on board and have been waiting for the right time to get one for myself.

A couple of weeks ago, I was offered one of the guitar spots to play with Thor, who is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his debut album, "Keep the Dogs Away". His career spans a couple of decades with several different guitar players playing live and on recordings. The tones and amps used are widely diverse and I knew my current rig wasn't going to cut it.

I opened up the box last night and after an hour of browsing, listening through my DAW, I took a break, disappointed and unimpressed. The sounds were awful. There was a shrill quality to almost every distorted preset and there was practically no difference between anything with high gain. Lead sounds were atrocious. How could so many people be wrong about this? I seriously thought about sending it back.

I took a nap, got up and thought that this was definitely a case of operator error and got back to work. Something was consistently wrong globally. Within a few minutes of looking, I had found it. The speaker cab had been turned off and locked out for all presets. Turned it on and WHAM, everything changed.

The first group of sounds I had to emulate were based on Hiwatt amps and withing minutes I had found a decent profile and by adjusting the definition and gain, I could easily recreate many of the basic songs from the set list. Adding some chorus, rev, del and fuzz stomps further added to my arsenal.

Within hours, I was able to easily recreate a variety of presets that perfectly match the sounds from the record. I am very happy and satisfied. Stomp boxes are incredibly detailed, smart harmonies on the pitch shifter, intuitive design. This is one hell of a box!

If anyone is in NYC next Sat. May 14th, come out to the Highline Ballroom to hear this thing in action, can't wait to turn it up!!

Hello-

I have read the Gianfranco Di Mare pdf on first time users, studied the manuals and watched all the turorials and am now ready to open the box.

My question is, I am going to be using a Marshall 4x12 cab for onstage monitoring until I can afford a full range PA type cab and am wondering the best approach to programming my first set of rigs.

I think the best approach is to monitor through my DAW and find a rig that is in the ballpark and then switch the cab to what I will be using onstage. This way, as I program I will be listening to what the sound man will be getting. Then when I have all my sounds programmed, I can hook it up to a power amp and my 4x12 and disengage the cab setting on the Profiler.

I should get roughly the same sound that I programmed while listening to my studio monitors with the cab simulator engaged, right?

Sorry if this has been asked and answered, just wanted to see what everyone else's approach was when using a standard Marshall cab.

Hello-

I am anxiously awaiting picking up my Profiler and remote this Sun.

Couple of questions;

1.) Is there a place online where I can browse rig names so I can have a list to start with when I start programing? I downloaded the rig manager app but it is empty.
2.) The remote has a nice feature setting up a bank of 5 rigs in Performance mode but I am used to the standard bank increments and having 10 presets per bank. I often use a set of 10 presets to cover a time period of the music I am covering, for instance 70's music, 80's etc. It looks like I will have to mentally shift to having a performance for each song instead and I am concerned about navigating with just the up and down buttons.

How have the rest of you made the transition with this layout?

Do I need to get a midi switch just to handle navigating from preset 72 to 90?

Honestly, the 5 slots with 4 stomps per is great and should cover even the most complex needs but a song like "Changes" from Yes is going to push it to the limit.

Any advice would be appreciated!