Posts by absrec

Has anyone else experienced a jump in volume just for maybe 1/2 second when engaging the LOOP in the stomps section? I have a booster pedal hooked up according to the instructions in the manual. I'm using [LOOP DISTORTION] since it's a technically a gain pedal. It will return to what seems like the correct volume after the initial spike in output. It's not going to work as is because I may want to engage the LOOP in the middle of a song.

Sorry if this has been covered already. My searches only turned up info about the phrase looper functions in the KPA.

Thanks,

-Aaron

Quote from hjscheffler

I read your posts several times but I am not a native speaker and I guess what I do not understand is what you mean with "toggle".

Do you want to inverse the status of all of the effects that are assigned to the buttons with one click?

My apologies. Toggle means to turn on and off. That's all. Stomps A-D & Effects X-MOD-DLY-REV are no problem. Got those.

What I'm talking about are the presets that can be assigned by going into the rig settings and going to the page where you find...

[ASSIGN I] - [ASSIGN II] - [ASSIGN III] - [ASSIGN IIII]

I can program functions for them no problem. I just want to be able to access them. I don't have the Kemper Remote. My question is if there is a MIDI CC# or PC# for those. I haven't found anything in the manual or MIDI parameters guide. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place.

I’m not talking about the X-MOD-DLY-REV effects block specifically. Rather, I’m talking about Remote Effect I-IIII which allow you combinations of effects as well as control of certain parameters which can be saved on a per-rig basis. Maybe re-read my initial post? I don’t know how else to explain it.

Quote from Dimi84

As far as I understand, you alluded to inaccuracies (maybe meant something different?) in third party, commercial (direct) profiles you tried out. Considering this, my point was that these profiles, at least most such profiles -- unless someone published one that's way off, where something went very wrong -- are unlikely to suffer from inaccuracies that are exclusive to direct profiling. If something's way off, and something goes wrong, for whatever reason, people typically don't publish such profiles to sell.

I understand. I’ve just had a different experience with regard to DI profiles. They just always feel drab to me. Who knows? Cabinets vary so much too so I’m sure that plays a role. One of the packs I tried specifically states that if you aren’t planning on using a cabinet to favor the studio profile. I don’t remember what it said verbatim but it was related that the merged profiles just don’t retain all of the magic contained in the studio version. Especially when working with an amp that doesn’t agree with the KPA! ?

Quote from Dimi84

Or maybe people dial in the amps differently to what you would maybe prefer -- and PU/guitar/purpose requires different settings? I've made direct profiles of oranges, laneys, marshalls, suhrs, all direct, all more or less similarly accurate. Studio profiles of these amps have also been very, very similar in regards to accuracy. That is assuming direct profiling worked ok. I have had cases where the result was totally off.

I just know what I hear. I don’t want to hijack the OP’s thread either. The ones you said were “totally off”? That’s what we’re talking about. I was just pointing out that I feel (from personal experience) that the DI capturing process needs work. The extreme examples showcased in various threads are just another symptom.

Quote from hjscheffler

you can use control changes to switch the status of any of the stomps and effects. A detailed list can be found in the main manual.

Not what I asked.

I have the same problems with DI profiles. I gave up for the time being. Studio profiles are fine. DI sounds like all mid/high information is rolled out and the gain is way too much. Like a really bad attempt at creating a DI fuzz sound with a rat pedal and a stock DAW eq. And no engineering experience. ? Only certain amps though. 2 of the 4 amps I attempted to capture a DI profile of were in flat-out opposition to the idea. The one is a little Gibson Minuteman. Probably not even 10 watts. EL84 amp. Peashooter. I was even using the Kemper DI. It kept telling me the level was too hot. This was with the input gain at -32. For a goof, I added a Shure in-line pad for another -15 or -20db and got the same message. It was to the point where I couldn’t even hear it through my speakers/headphones. Only through the wall.

My thread was 5 or 6 pages long and everyone tried to help. Some more helpful than others. I found myself having to re-explain the issue a bunch of times and nothing ever really got resolved. Within that thread, others chimed in as I am doing now, saying that they had the same issue. Unless you’ve heard “the sound”, it’s hard to relate. I opened a support ticket as well and got a couple responses. I replied with files and data at the support team’s request and that’s the last I heard anything about it. I saw in a different thread (about this same problem) that the Kemper engineers are aware of it and working toward some kind of solution/fix. I imagine it takes time. Which is why I’m a little astonished that someone posted earlier in this thread that this is the first they’ve heard of it.

After “giving up”, I decided to look for some DI profiles from some reputable profile makers and to be honest.... I didn’t find any that I could play a gig with. This tells me that even the amps that will allow you to capture a DI profile only do so kicking & screaming. They must require a lot of manipulation after the fact. You can only do so much before things start getting lost.

I feel your pain. Hopefully a solution is on the way.

Is this possible? It seems like it must be but.... after some pretty serious googling, I haven’t found so much as a discussion. I am using the FCB1010 but it only allows on/off switching for 4 of the stomps. I’d like to add an additional MIDI controller that will simply toggle these buttons. At first I thought it might be possible using a pair of dual switches but I see now that there isn’t an option for it in the system menu. Only specific functions. I want to be able to assign them on a rig-to-rig basis. CC#, PC#, NRPN, SysEx.... whatever, I can do any of that.

Thanks,

-Aaron

Update - I profiled some of my other amps recently. I have couple that are lower wattage. One is a tweed deluxe I built. Profiles sound really nice and accurate. The other one is a Gibson Minuteman. It has EL84s I believe. As usual, the studio profiles of this amp are fine. When trying to capture a DI profile, I couldn’t even complete the process because the level was WAY too hot. This was using the Kemper DI with the input level at -32. I could’ve probably used an inline pad but I didn’t feel like digging one out. It’s crazy to me how I can profile a 35 or 50 watt amp with the same setup but somehow a little peashooter like the Gibson will be too much for it. Now I’m really puzzled.

Quote from gtrgriff3

Maybe this will help a little, as you may remember I had problems as well.

I typically use a Suhr reactive load for my direct profiles... so this time I decided to do that still, but to plug in a cab off in another room to turn the "soak" off.

While the results were not 100% they were closer to 98% with my 5153 Stealth which was a problem amp before. Totally useable, and the refine worked and with normal tweaks I got it to work.

I’m listening but I don’t think I understand 100% what you are suggesting. Would you mind elaborating?

Quote from ElDoca

Make a studio profile, turn off cab, test. Adjust, reprofile, test. Adjust, reprofile test.

Even better, mic and record your amp to your liking and use that as your control. Don't touch the mic, profile, record second track through speaker and mic and compare. Adjust, reprofile and test until you get it identical. Tedious, but worth the effort

I realize, in your mind it may not seem as "pure" as getting a direct profile, but it doesn't matter how you get there...as long as you get there

I tried turning the cab off. During a gig last Friday night, I went through a few amps including the studio profile of my main amp. It’s ok but it seems like there are peaks and dips in frequency response that make certain notes sound smeared. It just doesn’t cut through like a genuine capture of a DI. When I used true DI profiles of a ‘65 Deluxe & my ‘68 Bassmaster, I immediately heard the difference. The difference is focus. The Kemper's way of removing the cabinet is close and sometimes sounds ok on its own, but side by side with a true merged profile, there’s no contest. It really isn’t “pure” and will never be based on what I’m hearing. There are so many ways to mic a cabinet. How does the KPA decide which part of the profile is the cabinet? Does it just alter the frequency response? Depending on the angle & axis of the microphone, and even the microphone itself, there can be a big difference in not only frequency but also transient response. How does it decide? That’s just expecting too much, IMO.

I appreciate everyone trying to be helpful. The point of this thread is to get to the bottom of a glaring technical issue with the Kemper’s DI profiling process. I’m not looking for some new, unique sound. I’m trying to capture my amp. I had it built in 2004 because I used a prototype and had never heard anything quite like it. And still haven’t to this day. It has been my main amp for almost 15 years. It’s puzzling because I can profile other amp’s DIs, just not this one. It’s not only my amp either. There is something about the various amps mentioned in my last post (as well as others, I’m sure) that doesn’t jive with the KPA. I sincerely hope Kemper will work on a solution. It would probably improve the profiling process overall. Not just for the “problem” amplifiers.

Quote from ckemper

I never doubted that your Profiler is ok.
My assumption is that your amp has aspects in the signal flow that is not common to most other amps.

My question for lowering the gain would be just a check to see how it reacts.
As a side aspect, it would have been a check that your Profiler is ok.
Have you checked other tube amps for making successful DI profiles? That would be a cross check as well.

I wouldn’t say “not common”. Through my own research with other Kemper users, this issue has been reported on amps from Matchless, Friedman, Trainwreck, Bad Cat, Peavey... It sounds like it may be certain amps that reproduce large transients despite having a good amount of gain. Judging from the extreme high end roll off, it seems like it’s impedance related. Like the profiler isn’t “reading” these output transformers correctly.

When trying my friend’s profiler, I used the opportunity to turn the amp down even further. I tried bringing the presence down all the way as well. These changes made no difference whatsoever.

I believe I stated earlier in this thread that I had better luck with my heavily modified ‘68 Fender “Bassmaster”. I see that many other amps have been successfully profiled judging by the rig packs on the market and the free profiles available on rig exchange. My concern is the inability to capture the DI sound of my favorite amp so I can use the KPA as it is advertised to work in a live performance situation.

I borrowed my friend's Kemper PowerHead. I went through the exact process and the result was the same. So, I guess that's that. The good news is my KPA is fully functional and free of defects. The bad news is kind of obvious.

Quote from ckemper

So it appears that your DI Profiles come out much more distorted than the original. Correct?How does the Profile come out, when you reduce the gain of your amp?

CK

Yes, my DI profiles come out with a lot more gain. But that’s only part of the story. The resulting profile is missing a ton of information in the upper half of the frequency spectrum. Above 1K or so. There is quite a roll off. To the point where only the low strings of the guitar make an impact.

As for less gain, I don’t know. I’ve never tried it. I would like to add that the channel volume (gain) is not anywhere close to “dimed” the way I play it. The volume control typically sits around 25%. I would never play through that amp at a lower volume. What’s the point? Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the concept of the KPA to capture the tone the player wants, not what it wants?

I checked back in on my support ticket. I was given some suggestions for diagnostic measures to determine if there is a hardware fault. I plan to carry those out in the next day or two. At this point, my suspicion is that the end result will be an inability to capture a DI profile of this particular amp. That’s disappointing considering it is the main reason I bought the KPA in the first place.

Quote from SQUAREHEAD

Yes, two major symptoms of trouble with your Direct and merged profiles.

1) Definition 0 ( zero ) I think this is impossible…

2) When lowering the gain, the volume increases substantially, way too much, never ever experienced this either.

I did mess with the clean and distortion sensitivity but I thought I put them back. That's probably on me. Sorry.

Quote from skydog

I only wrote, to get clarification, to help. You must be frustrated, because your response was a bit offsides. I am genuinely sorry you’re having this problem.

Have you tried calling customer support? You didn’t mention that point.

I listened to your clips. Yes, something is definitely wrong. My KPA profiles do not have those characteristics

Sorry... Last week was just very busy for me and my head was elsewhere. I opened up a support ticket a while ago. I was asked a few questions and they asked me to provide some profiles from the kemper as well as a couple backup files. I got a response saying they were going to forward it to their engineers to be analyzed (or whatever) and that was the last transmission. Not sure what happened with that. I've been too busy to follow up. I'm going to do that now.

I do appreciate everyone's feedback. It confirms my suspicions.

Quote from MKB

Finally, could you post the profile that did not work out properly? I'd like to load it in my Kemper for a listen.

Here are 3 profiles -

P45 TEST STUDIO - Typical setup. Single 12" Speaker miced with an SM57. The amp head is connected to the input of the Kemper DI and then to the input of the cabinet.

P45 TEST DI - No settings changed on amp. I simply moved the XLR cable from the SM57 to the Kemper DI. "No Cabinet" button is engaged.

P45 TEST MERGED - Here are the aforementioned captures merged exactly as instructed in the KPA manual.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts. And the thoughts of anyone else who cares to check these out.

Quote from skydog

I just read through this entire thread. It was difficult to follow. I have a ton of amps, some homemade, and they have all profiled correctly. All of the third-party profiles sound fine. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t able to determine reading the thread, if you are using a proper IR or a cabinet with your DI profiles. Do you mind answering with a simple yes or no? DI profiles sound relatively awful by themselves, as they should. When I first tried profiling my amps, I used third party DI boxes, but they had poor results. They were not suited to the task. Reading the thread, I see that you’re now using a Kemper DI. But I cannot follow, if you have been able to make an acceptable profile yet. To repeat, I have never encountered an amp that could not be profiled. I realize this doesn’t help, but there honestly has to be something odd going on here. One more point: every time I’ve had an issue, I’ve called tech support directly in Germany (M-Th). A real person answers, they speak better English than I do! Have you gone that route, because email and forums are like throwing messages into a bottle.

It’s understandable that this causes confusion. I feel like I’ve said this in earlier posts but you’ve read through it all and still have questions. So here goes.

I know that the general opinion is that a DI profile is not pleasing to the ear. It’s not what we are used to hearing. I understand all of this. I’m not trying to use a DI profile without a cabinet. However, I still have ears and I can hear that there is an undeniable difference between the horrible sound that comes out of my amp’s output transformer and the equally horrible sound I am left with after profiling. I don’t need to bother listening through a cabinet or attempting to merge the DI and studio profiles to “see what happens”. I went through all of that the first week I had the KPA. I can click a button and hear the before and after. I can hear the speaker output on the amp in real time. I can also hear the KPA’s attempt at a DI profile and they sound nothing alike. There is no setting I can tweak to make it sound even remotely like the DI sound of my amp.

Did this answer your question or are you still confused?

If you have had 100% success, then obviously you are doing everything correctly. I have been through the manual, online video demonstrations and countless forums and I am fairly sure that I have followed all instructions to the letter. I understand there are a lot of helpless, clueless individuals on Internet forums. I am not one of them. I am fairly technically savvy and quite patient in matters such as this. I don’t know how else to explain it. It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one but so far it sounds like the others having the same problems haven’t reached a solution either. Hopefully this thread can change that.

Quote from MKB

As a review, does your Kemper make correct Studio profiles? Is it only Direct profiles causing problems?

Finally, could you post the profile that did not work out properly? I'd like to load it in my Kemper for a listen.

Direct profiles only. I even tried taking a DI profile without the No Cabinet button checked. By the time it was done, the KPA had turned it on automatically. It’s a smart machine.

I have so many attempts at direct profiles, I can’t remember what is what at this point. Maybe I can do a fresh set of profiles, both studio and DI, and post it here. Maybe I’ll have a minute this weekend.