The KEMPER PROFILER

Kemper Profiler

The KEMPER PROFILER™ is the leading-edge digital guitar amplifier and all-in-one effects processor.

Hailed as a game-changer by guitarists the world over, the PROFILER™ is the first digital guitar amp to really nail the full and dynamic sound of a guitar or bass amp. This is made possible by a radical, patented technology and concept which we call "PROFILING™".

For decades, the electric guitarist has been shackled to the tube amplifier as the only means of achieving "that sound". This magical combination is by no means ideal - the challenge to achieve a consistent sound from the practice room to the studio, and especially to the stage, continues to frustrate guitarists, just as it has since the early 1940s.

PROFILING

With the advent of the KEMPER PROFILER, everything has changed. For the first time in history, guitar players are free to create their most individual tones - tones that reflect the very essence of their playing style - and then capture these tones exactly into the digital domain with the unique technology provided by KEMPER™.

PROFILING™ is the key!

PROFILING is an unparalleled technique to extract the exact tone and feel from any amp. The entire process takes you only a minute and can be performed on virtually every guitar and bass amp. A PROFILE™ does not only capture the amp itself but every aspect of the cabinet and microphone configuration as well. The result is every bit as vivid and dynamic as the original amps. A mandatory A/B comparison is done after every PROFILING run to ensure the unique authenticity of the PROFILE: so close that you won’t be able to distinguish from the original.
Connections for PROFILING™ a guitar amp

  Click to enlarge

We use proprietary digital technology to analyze the sonic DNA of your amp. Now, you can go way beyond the boundaries of the original amp and tweak everything to your liking. Use the gain control and equalizer to adapt the sound to your guitar. Add power sagging to the distortion and tweak the power of your pick attack without compression. You can even exchange the cabinet later on.

The PROFILER gives you more freedom of choice than any other real or virtual amp available.

A PROFILE you take in a tracking session for your next song will work perfectly on stage when you take it on tour. It was never easier to have a unique and consistent tone in every situation.

The best amps in the world

Kemper Profiler Factory Content

Feel like you don't have any tube amps worth PROFILING? No problem!

The PROFILER ships with hundreds of amps and Rigs pre-installed, created by professional musicians and engineers from some of the world’s top studios. In addition, you can access and explore another couple hundred Rigs that come bundled in our free Rig Manager™ software. This premier selection of factory Rigs grants you access to the rarest and finest amps on the planet.
We are constantly refining, updating and extending our free-to-use libraries by fine-tuning the existing catalog and by adding brand new, licensed content. Our goal is to allow our users to explore the full spectrum of guitar culture and heritage, which is why we have strived to create the widest range of PROFILEs in every possible genre.

You have probably seen guitar amps based on so-called "modeling" technology: these are based on predefined algorithms, designed by their respective manufacturers to replicate a number of specific reference amps. By nature, such algorithms are limited in number and cannot allow for the subtle variance between tube amps, even within the same product line - this might explain why you rarely see an A/B comparison between a tube amp and its respective digital model.

The KEMPER PROFILER has no predefined amp models and, therefore, no signature sound. The model is the PROFILE, and each PROFILE has been lovingly created - its maker having meticulously set up the reference amp, selected which microphones to use, and then positioned them accordingly. By design, each PROFILE will have undergone the obligatory A/B comparison and passed the judgement of its maker. Every single PROFILE will sound like you have plugged your guitar into that exact same amp in this specific studio situation. And yes, the PROFILER will react to your individual guitar and playing style, just as the original amp would have.

List Amps profiled for factory content

Where do you play?

Recording Studio

KEMPER PROFILER in Recording Studio

The PROFILER revolutionizes the typical workflow of a recording session. Guitarists can now move freely between projects - the PROFILEs of their guitar rigs allowing them to do overdubs or alternative takes whenever they like. You could rent a professional studio for a day or two to create the best PROFILEs of your amps, and then record in your project studio later - you'll have the exact sound of the professional studio, but with all the time in the world.
Think reamping … Imagine you're working on the final mix of an album - wouldn't it be great to reamp tracks with the exact same sound and response, without having to rebuild the entire recording setup for each song?

On Stage

KEMPER PROFILER™ live on stage

Playing live is where the PROFILER really comes into its own - just spend a little time making PROFILEs in the studio, and you can play live with the exact same sound that you used on your blockbuster hit, only without the need for multiple amp setups on stage. You will sound better than ever before through the PA.

Since the sound of the cabinet you mic’ed in the studio is immortalized in the PROFILE, there is no need to mic a speaker cab on stage. In fact, you don't have to carry a cabinet up on stage at all! You can monitor yourself via the common stage-monitor wedge and save a lot of backache and cargo costs. Not to mention your band mates (and mixing engineer), who might just love you for leaving this very loud sound source at home!

Of course, you might still be drawn to the raw energy that a real cabinet can bring to the rehearsal room and live stage. The KEMPER PROFILER is well prepared for this as well - you can still drive a cabinet by an external power-amp, fed by the monitor outputs of the PROFILER. Or, for ultimate convenience, our 'powered' PROFILER versions are equipped with a built-in Class-D amplifier with up to 600W output. To prevent the amp sound going through two guitar cabinets in a row, the virtual cabinet can be switched off for the outputs feeding the monitor and speakers, while remaining active for the main outputs feeding the PA.

Now, as the real cabinet is only being used as your personal monitor, you can adjust your volume on stage independently, without affecting the signal volume going to front-of-house.

At Home

KEMPER PROFILER™ at home

Let's face it - rocking-out at home is difficult for most of us. Analog tube amps only start to sing at levels where the only neighbors who’ll enjoy your 10min rock’n’roll extravaganza will be the ones who live half-a-mile away! The PROFILER, however, sounds great at any level.
Play it through your home stereo or through headphones. Use the dedicated ‘Space’ effect to make headphones a more pleasurable experience, and to reduce ear fatigue. Play along to your favorite music by connecting your MP3 player to the auxiliary in, and then mixing it with the amp signal.

The line-up

Stage

KEMPER PROFILER™ Stage

Floorboard featuring a complete PROFILER incl. PROFILING™ with integrated Remote-grade switching system.

The perfect solution for rehearsal rooms, small tours and studios. The convenient all-in-one design can be extended with up to four pedals for real-time control, and offers two FX loops. Connects in stereo to PA and features mono or stereo monitoring with guitar cabs (no amp incl.). Lightweight with ultra-rugged build and high durability.

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Head

KEMPER PROFILER™ Head

The PROFILER Head comes with classic curves. It makes a perfect silhouette on a 4x12 cabinet. Yet it's so light and compact that it can be taken onto a plane as hand-luggage. The footprint of the Head is tiny - perfect designed for the desk of your project studio, right beside your computer. The PROFILER Head is available in black and white color.

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Rack

KEMPER PROFILER™ Rack

The PROFILER Rack has a 19" enclosure. It offers the same feature set as the PROFILER Head. The only differences are that the LED collars are restricted to the GAIN knob only, and the two controls for the MOD module have been omitted - the pay-off being that the entire device is only 3 units high.

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Powered

KEMPER PROFILER™ PowerHead

Both the Rack and the Head (black version only) are available with a built-in Class-D power amp. It produces 600 Watt @ 8 Ohm or 300 Watt @ 16 Ohm. The power amp was designed in Denmark by the renowned ICEpower™. It offers pristine sound quality, whether it is driving full-range speakers or classic guitar cabinets.
The Class-D technique makes for the most energy-efficient power amp solution, emitting only a minimum of heat. This reduces the need for heat-sinks, as well as minimizing the overall size and weight. Combining this power amp with the KEMPER PROFILER turns the PowerHead and the PowerRack into a super smart, compact, all-in-one solution. The PowerHead weighs in at a little over 6 kg.

If required, you can switch off the built-in power amp, converting your powered PROFILER into a line-level unit for recording purposes.

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Remote

KEMPER PROFILER™ Remote

The PROFILER Remote™ is the quintessential foot controller for your PROFILER. It’s a straightforward, plug and play setup that connects via a single cable. The tight integration between the PROFILER and the Remote allows you to control, administer and program without any knowledge of MIDI, or having to delve through cryptic data sheets. The large, illuminated display is designed to be viewed from a distance, and the Remote's housing is built like a tank.

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Kabinet & Kone

KEMPER PROFILER™ Power Kabinet

The powerful, yet lightweight, KEMPER Kabinet™ is designed especially for the PROFILER. The combination of a KEMPER Kone™ loudspeaker with exclusive, KEMPER™-developed tone-mining technology allows us to digitally "imprint" a huge variety of speaker characteristics onto a single cabinet.

The unpowered KEMPER Kabinet is the perfect companion for one of the powered PROFILER models, while the KEMPER Power Kabinet perfectly matches unpowered PROFILER models. You could even connect two KEMPER Power Kabinets to enjoy stereo sound!

For those who prefer to create their own custom cabinets, KEMPER Kone chassis are also available as a standalone version.

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Comparison chart

Remote Apps

Rig Manager Software for Desktop, iPhone and iPad

Available for Windows, macOS, and iOS, the so-called Rig Manager enables you to manage the content of your PROFILER with ease. For example, you can edit and refine Rigs or Performance. Or, browse through thousands of free Amps in no time. Easily make backups or sort your ever-growing collection of Rigs.

Learn more about our apps

Free Feature Updates

Free Feature Updates

Wouldn’t it be great to beam a couple of new tubes from the 50s straight into your amp? Or for a couple of new stomps to magically appear in your gig bag? In software, you can already do this, and we make extensive use of it. Providing free additional features via frequent OS updates is a proud tradition at KEMPER.

The PROFILER ships with a wide selection of around 300 preinstalled PROFILEs. More than 1400 are available for free test and download! The KEMPER collection covers:

  • practically all relevant classic and modern tube amplifier models
  • sounds provided by famous studio and touring artists
  • best in class PROFILEs captured by highly respected commercial suppliers
  • sounds inspired by the classic guitar tones you’ll know and love from the classic recordings of the most iconic pop, rock and metal artists.
  • guitar and bass applications

Last but not least, PROFILER users can easily share their PROFILEs with each other - it’s called KEMPER Rig Exchange™. More than 18000 user sounds are waiting for you to checkout and download!

This way, your purchase becomes even more valuable over time – entirely free of charge!

Signal Flow

KEMPER PROFILER™ signal chain

The signal-chain comprises 8 effect modules in addition to the amplifier stack. Up to four effects can be placed "pre" the amp stack, and another four "post" the amp. The final modules of the effect chain are ideal for delay and reverb effects. Both delay and reverb offer "spillover", meaning the sonic tail is not cut off when you change to another Rig. Pretty much every effect offers optional "ducking", allowing you to control the effect intensity just by the dynamics of your playing.

All effects - even the whole signal flow - can be accessed by 13 dedicated buttons. Editing a Rig could not be easier! The effects are individually color-coded by LEDs, allowing you to tell at a glance what type of effect is in use, simply by activating an effect module. You can lock one or more effects by pressing the LOCK button - any locked effects will stay exactly as they are when you change to another Rig.

A number of parallel routing options are also available:

  • An effects loop (sending and receiving sound to the outside world) can be placed in any of the free effect modules.
  • The amplifier provides a Direct Mix control, for instance to add the clean guitar to the distorted signal.
  • The delay and reverb can be configured in serial and parallel fashion by using a continuous crossfader.
  • A parallel signal path can be established, bypassing the whole signal path. This will appeal to bass players who often like to mix the dry bass signal to the processed signal to maintain the bass fundamental and original dynamics. This also makes parallel compression very easy to achieve.
Signal Flow - serial and parallel routing

Effects

The PROFILER offers a selection of some the finest effects in the world. As a company, KEMPER is also responsible for creating the ACCESS™ VIRUS™, one of the most successful synthesizers of all time - there can be little doubt that the ACCESS VIRUS owes some of its success to the highly regarded inbuilt effects. Nearly 20 years of experience allows us to find the essence of both classic and new effects and equip them with well-conceived parameter sets. We won't overwhelm you with dozens of ineffective controls per effect algorithm - everything has a clear, intuitive and musical purpose.

Along with the standard effects, you will find algorithms rarely seen in a guitar processor - these include the Frequency Shifter, the Formant Shifter for our pitch shifter effects, an absolutely authentic rotary speaker, and even a beat scanner that allows you to control the tempo of time-based effects, such as delays, just by the rhythm of your your playing.

Delay

Without doubt, the delay effect types are some of the most advanced and comprehensive effects collections in the PROFILER. However, the approach we have taken might be a bit different from what you've seen before. You will not find a dedicated reverse delay, tape delay or ducking delay, as we realized there is no sense in splitting such crucial features into separate delay types. Instead, we have equipped every single delay type with most of these features. Why not have a dual reverse delay? Or a serial delay with analog tape character? Or a melody delay with ducking? All of these are possible with the delays in the PROFILER.

Single Delay  
Dual Delay  
Two Tap Delay  
Serial Two Tap Delay  
Rhythm Delay  
Quad Delay  

Pitch Shifter Delay

The pitch shifter delays are powerful combinations of the delay types with one of four different pitch shifter types.
Crystal Delay: The Crystal Delay is a reverse delay in which the pitched notes are altered by playing back the delayed signal faster or slower. The crystal is placed in the feedback loop of the delay, creating a pitch helix with every repetition.
Chromatic Delays: The chromatic pitch shifter is positioned at the delay input and can be played polyphonically (chords).
Harmonic Delays: The harmonic pitch shifter is positioned at the delay input and is intended to be fed with single notes only. The pitch is set in musical intervals and will follow the selected key.
Loop Pitch Delay: This pitch shifter also works chromatically but is positioned in the feedback loop of the delay, resulting in a pitch helix or spiral with every repetition.

Crystal Delay  
Loop Pitch Delay  
Frequency Shifter Delay  
Melody Chromatic Delay  
Melody Harmonic Delay  
Dual Chromatic Delay  
Dual Harmonic Delay  
Dual Crystal Delay  
Dual Loop Pitch Delay  
Quad Chromatic Delay  
Quad Harmonic Delay  

Reverb

The reverb offers studio-quality algorithms and works closely with the delay effect.
Brought over from the ACCESS VIRUS synthesizer, our delay and reverb provide an outstanding sound quality. They are also very unique in that they perform a full spillover when you change to a new sound. This means that both the delay and reverb will decay as per the previous sound and unchanged settings, while you play a new rig with all new settings.

Spring Reverb  
Natural Reverb  
Easy Reverb  
Echo Reverb  
Cirrus Reverb  
Formant Reverb  
Ionosphere Reverb  
Space  

Distortion

We have faithfully modeled the most prominent vintage distortion pedals. In addition, we have created a number of novel booster and tone-shaping effects that could not be realized in the analog domain:

Kemper Drive Covers the crucial ranges of the most sought-after overdrive pedals available
Green Scream Inspired by the Tube Screamer TS808 or OD808
Plus DS Inspired by the MXR Distortion +
One DS Inspired by the Boss DS-1
Muffin Inspired by the Big Muff
Mouse Inspired by the ProCo Rat II
Full OC Inspired by the Fulltone OCD
Kemper Fuzz Capable of faithfully recreating a number of germanium and silicon fuzz devices
Metal DS Inspired by the Boss Metal Zone

Booster

The boosters feature several dedicated filter settings to perfectly shape your guitar for your individual amp distortion tone.

Treble Booster  
Lead Booster Tunable peak filter, emphasizes specific frequencies
Pure Booster Boosting or attenuating without coloring the sound
Wah Pedal Booster  

Shaper

These are distortion effects, with a unique character, that probably never existed in the analog realm. They are especially destructive when playing double-stops or chords.

Bit Shaper Reduces the bit depth of a signal
Octa Shaper Distorts the input signal by forcing all the negative segments of the waveform into a positive signal
Soft Shaper  
Hard Shaper  
Wave Shaper  

Pitch Shifter

One of the most advanced pitch shifter algorithms in the industry. It shifts single notes as well as complex chords with unsurpassed quality. The Pedal Vinyl Stop effect drives the pitch of your guitar continuously down to zero and silence via an expression pedal. The PROFILER introduces a new technique to the guitar world, called "Formant Shift" - this maintains the natural sound of pitched notes, even at large pitch intervals.

Transpose “Digital capo” for your instrument
Pedal Pitch Inspired by the Whammy pedal
Pedal Vinyl Stop Turns the pitch down to zero
Chromatic Pitch Dual-voice pitch shifter
Harmonic Pitch Dual-voice pitch shifter, creates intelligent harmony voices
Analog Octaver  

Modulation

The chorus effects span from the faithful recreation of the bucket-brigade chorus sound of the 70's to the crystal clear 80's multi-chorus, and the characteristic micro pitch effect, based on our pitch shifter algorithm. The Rotary Speaker effect, in combination with a PROFILE of a real rotary speaker, is indistinguishable from the original.

Vintage Chorus Inspired by the Chorus Ensemble
Hyper Chorus Complex six-voice chorus
Air Chorus Inspired by the Jazz Chorus
Micro Pitch Detune effect, based on pitch shifter technology
Vibrato  
Rotary Speaker Inspired by the Leslie speaker
Tremolo  

Phaser and Flanger

While the Flanger is based on a warm-sounding emulation of a bucket-brigade circuit, the Phaser allows very complex modulations by using up to twelve phaser stages. The distance between the peaks and notches of the Phaser can be controlled by the unique "Spread" parameter.
The modulation rate of the Phaser and Flanger can be linked to the song tempo.

Phaser Up to 12 filter stages for each stereo side
Phaser Vibe inspired by the Univibe
Phaser Oneway  
Flanger  
Flanger Oneway  

Wah

The wah effects are a collection of different filter and lo-fi effects, have in common that they are automatically linked to your wah expression pedal without further hassle. Control the various colors with your pedal or alternatively by the dynamics of your guitar using the Touch Wah function. Each wah effect features an optional auto-off function that triggers as soon as you stop moving the wah pedal. You will find a number of preset wah effects that simulate your favorite wah pedals:

Wah Wah The classic
Wah Low Pass DJ-like wah effects
Wah High Pass
Wah Phaser Phaser and Flanger are controllable by your wah pedal
Wah Flanger
Wah Rate Reducer Lo-Fi sample rate reduction by pedal
Wah Ring Modulator Two outstanding Sci-fi effects
Wah Frequency Shifter
Wah Formant Shifter Shifts the formants and character of your instrument

Compressor and Noise Gate

The compressor features the full compression bandwidth of well-known compressor pedals, but without further coloring the signal. Our unique "Squash" parameter controls the sponginess of the compression.
The noise gates are not an alternative to the main noise gate, but a complement, especially for expertly shaped metal palm-mutes.

Compressor  
Auto Swell Mimics a volume pedal swell with every new strike of the strings
Noise Gate 2:1 Soft expander, expansion ratio of 2:1
Noise Gate 4:1 More aggressive expander, expansion ratio of 4:1

Equalizers

A set of parametric equalizers as well as a graphic EQ helps to shape your signature sound. As with most effects, they can be placed before or after the amplifier.

Graphic Equalizer 8-band, octave equalizer, with fixed frequency bands
Studio Equalizer 4-band parametric equalizer, adjustable frequency/ bandwidth/ Q-factor
Metal Equalizer inspired by the equalizer of the Boss Metal-Zone
Acoustic Simulator Makes an electric guitar sound like an acoustic guitar
Stereo Widener Creates a subtle stereo effect by using equalisation
Phase Widener Creates a wide stereo signal from a mono signal without coloring
Delay Widener Stereo-widening trick of delaying one side of a stereo signal by several milliseconds

Loop

To connect external gear, the PROFILER offers a hardware effects loop on the rear side of the amp. You can apply the hardware effect loop in any of the effect modules A-DLY.

Loop Mono  
Loop Stereo  
Loop Distortion  

Retain Control

The Live Insurance

The Live Insurance

The PROFILER has been designed with live performances in mind. Performance Mode provides dedicated memory with which to create and organize complete musical scenes that correspond to your repertoire. Any tweaks you make here will stay exclusive to the Performance. There is plenty of space, allowing you to store up to 125 songs with five musical scenes each. During a concert, you can simply step from song to song according to your set-list.

PROFILER Remote and MIDI floor board support

The Live Insurance

The PROFILER Remote is the perfectly integrated solution to control the KEMPER PROFILER. It connects via a single cable, no additional power cable is required.

Learn more about Remote

Traditional MIDI based foot controllers are also supported, and pretty much every parameter can be controlled.

FAQ - Frequently asked questions

The Hi-Z input makes sure every nuance of your playing comes through, and that your volume and tone pot settings work just as you would expect. This is also why your trusty old stompboxes work so well in front of the KEMPER PROFILER™.

The KEMPER PROFILER™ has a built-in analog splitter that mirrors your DI signal to the DIRECT OUTPUT. Record this dry signal to a separate track, and you can reamp it later, should you desire to do so. No additional 'reamping' hardware is required, as the PROFILER™ is capable to connect to your recording gear by analog studio level or digital S/PDIF.

The MONITOR OUTPUT supplies a cab sim free signal for your (built-in) power-amp and physical guitar cabinet on stage, while the FOH receives your signal with the cab sim intact.

Accurate models of classic, retro modulation effects and famous overdrive/distortion pedals. Wah, tremolo, pitch, delay, reverb and much more. Add up to eight effects at the same time.

Use the effects loop to integrate mono stompboxes or stereo rack effects in your Rig, at any point in the signal chain.

Delay and reverb can be adjusted from serial to parallel configuration - and to anywhere in between. Even multiple delay and reverb effects could coexist within the same Rig.

Lock any number of modules to keep their exact settings when you change Rigs. This is ideal if you're curious to hear what your favorite screamer setting sounds like in front of another amp PROFILE™, for example.

Our frequent operating system updates will always be free of charge and a new OS version will never alter the sound of your existing Rigs.

Right from the start the KEMPER PROFILER™ comes equipped with more than 200 PROFILE™s, featuring vintage classics, modern high-gain amps and rare boutique items. These PROFILEs were made by top engineers, artists and producers in premiere studios around the world. Even more PROFILEs are available for free download.

Developed by the designers of the ACCESS™ VIRUS™ synthesizer - 15 years of innovations in audio.

Yes! The PROFILE™s don't crush your tone, like so many other digital processors do, but bring out the sound of your fingers, pickups etc.

Yes. As a matter of fact, the KEMPER PROFILER™ comes with Factory PROFILE™s taken from one of the best-sounding solid state amps in history: the Roland® JC-120.

14 endless, analogue potentiometers combine the accuracy of classic potentiometers with the ease of encoders. They allow quick and easy control over the sound, without the irritating 'gear ratio' feeling.

In case you're encountering nerve-wracking hum due to ground loops, use one of the four ground-lift switches to eliminate the problem. This is helpful should in studio or live situations, where multiple devices are connected to your PROFILER™.

80 dBs of available gain for the amp simulation lets you clean up a distorted PROFILE™ or push a clean PROFILE into overdrive.

The smart & transparent input noise gate is easily adjustable via the front panel. Additional expander noise gates dedicated to metal sounds are available in the list of stomp effects.

Automatic spillover lets delay and reverb decay naturally when you change rigs. No need for special arrangements or parameter matching of the effects, the spillover is everpresent.

Every effect setting can be individually stored and called by an effect preset. Dedicated COPY and PASTE buttons let you easily move effects to a different location in the signal chain, or even to a different Rig.

Since the unit is cooled passively, there is absolutely no fan noise to disturb you, even in the quietest of studio environments.

The KEMPER PROFILER™ user community has already created and shared thousands of PROFILE™s including many for bass and acoustic guitars, all of which are easily accessible via the KEMPER™ homepage or the KEMPER Rig Manager™ app.

No! It ships with over 300 PROFILE™s, created in studios around the world, featuring vintage classics, modern high-gain amps, and rare boutique items. Even more PROFILEs can be downloaded from the KEMPER™ homepage free of charge and are enhanced frequently. All these PROFILEs can also be checked out and loaded via the KEMPER Rig Manager™ app for Windows® and macOS®.

Yes - and even better, you can have it both ways at the same time: use the stereo XLR MAIN OUTPUTS to send your signal to the front of house (FOH), and use the SPEAKER OUTPUT of the PROFILER PowerHead™ or PROFILER PowerRack™ to drive a guitar cabinet with a signal that bypasses the cabinet simulation.

With KEMPER Kabinet™ and KEMPER Kone™ you could have it both ways: flexibly choose full-range mode or guitar speaker mode.

Yes! A PROFILE™ consists, basically, of an amplifier portion and a cabinet portion. Such amplifier and cabinet PROFILEs can be combined flexibly.

Any more questions? Call our experts or chat with us!
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