Posts by boyce89976

  • Noise gate being locked to input

    IME, the potential for noise lies in these areas (in order of greatest potential)

    1. Guitar with single coil pickups (depending strongly on the amount of RF in the environment)
    2. Gained up/distorted amp (good amps are usually pretty quiet, but there is a noise floor that comes up as the gain goes up)
    3. Compression/Gain pedals (outboard, or on a pedalboard)

    In reality, there should be a noise gate at the input of the Kemper AND at the output of the Kemper, but they should both be defeatable and able to be saved by rig, and locked globally.

  • Stereo Loop before the Amp Stack

    This is probably the best example of what I'm going for with the Kemper. This is my Kemper and a BadCat BlackCat 40 in stereo, everything (dirt, delays, reverb) into the front of both. I've got the Kemper set a hair cleaner than the BadCat as the Kemper profile has a little less headroom. This is the tone that makes me happy.


    **Warning: this is Praise & Worship music** :P And, I forgot to turn on my reverb for the solo until about 1/2 way through... :(


    Click Here: Low Gain/Dirty Repeats

  • Stereo Loop before the Amp Stack

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    I think it all depends on how much gain you run in the amp itself. Lower gain sounds can be glorious with delay in front - Hank Marvin made a career out of it ;)


    However, the natural compression from a gained up amp makes the delays very loud which some folk love and others hate. I find it unmanageable but it works for Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro so who am I to argue.

    Yeah, totally... I run my amps pretty low gain (set to just start clipping when I dig in on the bridge pickup) since I'm using pedals in front.

  • Stereo Loop before the Amp Stack

    Quote from Locrain

    I've always found delay to be pretty nasty when placed in front. Is that what you're going for, or was I doing it wrong? :D

    You probably weren't doing it wrong, but yes that's what I'm going for. I like the "dirty repeats" effect from having delay in front of the amp. I had a Helix for a week or so, and while it doesn't quite match the amp tones in the Kemper, I really liked the fact that you can run stereo delays into the front of two amps. Here's a short clip of what I'm going for... from 27 seconds to 44 seconds:
    Clip

  • Stereo Loop before the Amp Stack

    I know it's probably not feasible with the current hardware, and might require the ability to have two amp stacks, but being able to put stereo delay in an FX Loop in front of the amp stack, and maintain that stereo image would be huge.

  • How to get a great sound

    Quote from Armin

    So we may need a set of profiles for each of our guitars!

    I'm not disagreeing with you, but this is the one frustration I have with KPA. My real amps sound great with all of my guitars, but the KPA profiles of my amps don't translate to each guitar the same way the real amps do. Especially going from single coil guitars to humbucker guitars.


    Anyone found a trick so you don't have to change profiles when you change guitars?

  • Kemper Tips and Tricks - Clean and Distortion Sense

    I found an interesting side effect of the Clean Sense control this week. I'd been setting it so that the input LED didn't show clipping, then turned it down another 1-1.5dB just to make sure. In playing with it this week, I found that slightly higher settings, just below clipping, allowed the presence of the pickups to come through, restoring some high end that I wasn't getting.

  • Kemper Tips and Tricks - Definition Control

    Quote from PHILBERT

    Good tone is whatever gets you to where you want to be, and any control that gets you there is fair game, but I'm sorry to disagree on the function of the Definition control. I don't believe it is a guitar compensation tool. I use it as a final fine tuning for the amp center frequency, and rarely have to push it very far to find the sweet spot. And sometimes in A/B ear checks the original setting from the profiler sounds better than what my alteration sounds like. You have to be honest with yourself, as what you think sounds better in the moment needs to be checked with a verity of tests. I look for clarity of all notes and chords played, and go through many complex chords and lead ranges on the fretboard with all my guitars looking for total balance, but the main tone controls are the first place to start. Definition is the final tweak.


    Maybe my goal is different, as I want amp tone that works with any guitar that I plug into it. If going from a Les Paul to a Tele hurts my ears, than I screwed up by pushing the tones too far in one direction. And yes, I want "amp in a room" sound, as I do know what an amp sounds like in a room, and also know the perfect listening position from the cabinet. That is one of the strengths of the Kemper...consistency no matter where you stand. No doubt mics alter that finished product, but you can actually use that to get a "better amp in a room" finished product. That is why choosing the right cabinet matters so much. I look for balance there too, and rule out anything that stands out too much. In the end I can sound very "live" and plug any guitar in with total satisfaction. Mission accomplished!


    No one method is better than any other, as tone is subjective anyway. As long as you are happy with the final product, you win. I just treat the KPA like my real amps, and want both to sound the same and respond to all my guitars the same way. The good news is I can get an even better final product out of the Kemper because of all the fine tuning controls. Those go beyond what you can do with a real amp and cabinet.

    Interesting take, using the tone controls first, then definition. Lately, I've been doing the opposite. Of my 4 guitars, 3 of them love the same exact settings, but the 4th one likes the definition a bit higher, then some minor EQ tweaks. I don't think there's a right or wrong, but your process is definitely solid. In the end, it's all subjective, right.

  • Kemper Tips and Tricks - Clean and Distortion Sense

    I tend to think about Clean Sense as a sort of input sensitivity to adjust the level of different guitars for the clean side of the profile (for example, if you have a really hot guitar output, you might see clipping at the input LED, reducing Clean Sense will reduce that clipping).


    Distortion Sense is a little less tricky in that it can be used to balance the distortion side of the profile to different guitars. A lower output guitar like HW's Tele can be brought up to a similar level of distortion to his PRS single cut.

    Quote from flyingheelhook

    I still don’t get it myself. If you have to set the clean sense for every profile, why not just adjust the amp volume? I’ve tried the clean sense as a global but it doesn’t work when so many profiles are at different levels.

  • Amazing tone FOH, but horrific through IEM’s

    Quote from karlic

    Maybe the best thing to say is that I have just completed a tour where I am very happy with the sound out front. I also had an inspiring sound to play with in ears by using a separate eq to get rid of harsh frequencies. If you find an equally good solution using a different method, that is good too.

    I'm not trying to be difficult, but was trying to clarify that a signal played through different audio sources is likely not the issue (otherwise, listening to a recorded CD through speakers and IEMs would exhibit the same effect).


    I think how your FOH board, monitor board, and IEM system treat the signal has way more to do with the IEM experience than the difference between listening through PA speakers or IEMs. I have the opposite challenge you have, which is most of the time, Kemper sounds amazing in my IEMs (sent from FOH stereo bus to personal mixers on stage), but a bad, or less skilled FOH tech, does a poor job out front.


    I commend you for finding an interesting and different solution for your situation, and one that may help others. That's very cool! 8)

  • Amazing tone FOH, but horrific through IEM’s

    Quote from karlic

    Because listening through a speaker at distance is different to catching the sound right next to your ear. It is the equivalent of standing a few meters off axis from a 4x12, or having your ear right next to the speaker. Of course it will be bright and nasty sounding that close. If you doubt the effect, try (at a reasonable level to listen to your favourite distorted guitar sound with your ear next to the speaker.

    I'm not sure that's right. PA Speakers and IEMs are designed to accurately replicate the sounds they are fed within their intended operating parameters. Meaning PA speakers and IEMs both replicate a targeted frequency response curve within their application. Simply holding your head up to a PA speaker does not replicate what an IEM delivers to your ear.

  • Pre and Post EQ - Video Demo inside

    Keep in mind the comp in the amp parameters functions a little differently than a stomp box comp. It's more of a preamp tube compression/feel thing.

  • Amazing tone FOH, but horrific through IEM’s

    Quote from robles1999

    Try setting the Presence of the Kemper's output EQ to around 9 O'Clock and you won't need and extra eq.

    The only problem with that is that's a global, and will affect all of your profiles. The KPA has a great Studio Parametric EQ in the stomp boxes. I use that in stomp slot 6 or 7 with low/high cuts if needed (85hz & 8.5khz) and notch filters or boosts where needed. That way its programmable by profile, or even for a specific guitar.