is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

[JOLLY]

seriously, I get better sounds out of my $100 Line6 pocket pod. don't get me wrong, I thought the clean and the mid distorted profiles sounded pretty good. however, my 11 rack smokes those heavy profiles. I thought that I was going to hear something that would absolutely blow me away, especially coming from Michael Wagener. he needs to profile the tone from the first Skid Row album. http://mwrokpak.com/amps/

 

[Big Flannel]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

I've yet to hear one that impresses me.

 

[dominus]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

Actually everyone has been dissing his profiles. They're supposed to be mix-ready, so it can be hard to judge them on their own. Try listening to guitar stems from songs you know and see what they sound like.

 

[TailBomb]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

If you want heavy profiles there is really no one that touches the ones from sinmix, they sound fantastic!

 

[dominus]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

I'll just add to the necrobump here.. they've got an update coming soon that will let you profile the amp itself rather than the mic'd up cab. That could be the update I was waiting for.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

I had an 11R. For a modeler, it was pretty dang good. And I had a Kemper (for a couple of weeks). I never gelled with the Kemper. I have no doubt that if I were a tweaker, I could have come-up with some awesome tones. But I'm not a tweaker, and I didn't. It didn't work for me. But I'm sure that there are tons of endless tone-chasers out there who've done great things with the Kemper.

 

[DankStar]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

This seems relevant here

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/pr...ck-on-making-of-skid-rows-slave-to-the-grind/

 

[Red_Label]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

This seems relevant here

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/pr...ck-on-making-of-skid-rows-slave-to-the-grind/

Interesting info there. I always enjoy reading what went on behind the scenes, especially from the viewpoint of a producer (usually more mature and level-headed than the bands they have to work with).

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

Since the beginning, companies that make modelers have always claimed to be able to cop the tones from a room full of tube amps.

I've opted for the room full of tube amps.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

Since the beginning, companies that make modelers have always claimed to be able to cop the tones from a room full of tube amps.

I've opted for the room full of tube amps.

Having had or played the best of the best of digital impersonators... I completely agree with your choice. I've never felt "moved" by a modeler. I've been impressed by their ability to TRY to emulate the tube experience. But I've never sat here at my desk, counting down the hours to get home and plug into my modeler and turn 1s and 0s into audible tones. Playing a great tube amp is something to be EXPERIENCED. I don't mean to overstate things here... but it's sort of like a couple who loves one another and becomes something greater than the sum of the two individuals. 1+1=3!!! Seriously... I've got a loving wife who's my best friend and sometimes when I'm playing music and things are just right... I get the same sense of well-being as I get with her. It's not that some other piece of gear couldn't make me feel like that. But having owned most of the modelers and many of the more well-known high-end amps... I can't remember a time when I got goosebumps and felt like that with a modeler. There's something very special about tube amps, and despite claims to the contrary... digital and solid state offerings are still missing some mojo. I haven't played through a piece of (non-tube) rack gear that gets more responsive as it warms up and almost feels like it's "alive". Some have come close, but still not the same.`

 

[dominus]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

Since the beginning, companies that make modelers have always claimed to be able to cop the tones from a room full of tube amps.

I've opted for the room full of tube amps.

Having had or played the best of the best of digital impersonators... I completely agree with your choice. I've never felt "moved" by a modeler. I've been impressed by their ability to TRY to emulate the tube experience. But I've never sat here at my desk, counting down the hours to get home and plug into my modeler and turn 1s and 0s into audible tones. Playing a great tube amp is something to be EXPERIENCED. I don't mean to overstate things here... but it's sort of like a couple who loves one another and becomes something greater than the sum of the two individuals. 1+1=3!!! Seriously... I've got a loving wife who's my best friend and sometimes when I'm playing music and things are just right... I get the same sense of well-being as I get with her. It's not that some other piece of gear couldn't make me feel like that. But having owned most of the modelers and many of the more well-known high-end amps... I can't remember a time when I got goosebumps and felt like that with a modeler. There's something very special about tube amps, and despite claims to the contrary... digital and solid state offerings are still missing some mojo. I haven't played through a piece of (non-tube) rack gear that gets more responsive as it warms up and almost feels like it's "alive". Some have come close, but still not the same.`

Everything you're talking about is related to volume.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

Everything you're talking about is related to volume.

Nope. I rarely run my tube amps even near the halfway point of the master. I've had SS amps with modelers that would get as loud as my tube rigs. The one pictured below (Eleven Rack with SS Rocktron Velocity 300 watt power amp) was my favorite non-tube rig. It was very tube-like. But... there was still something different (despite my constant attempts to clone the exact tones of my tube amps). Even when I had the rack Kemper... it still wasn't the same

 

[dominus]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

Modelers emulate the sound of a mic'd up amp. (The Kemper "profiles" the mic'd up amp.) Then they make that sound louder. It sounds like something is missing because of the way mic'd up amps sound. Listen to the clips I posted above. Those don't sound like roaring tube amps, even though they are.. because they're mic'd up.

 

[sosomething]

Re: is it just me, or do these "heavy" Kemper profiles sound horrible?

I think there's a lot of misconception about the latest tier of modeling rigs due to a basic misunderstanding of their purpose and the applications their sounds are intended to suit.

Dominus is right about it - those profiles are designed to emulate the signal chain of a mic'd up amp running into the board of a recording console. They don't sound like an amp in the room because they aren't intended to.

A lot of guys hear the clips of the raw sounds from the Kemper and Fractal and think "Well that sounds terrible!" because they're bedroom players with little to no recording experience. It doesn't sound like the amp next to their TV, or even like their 7-year-old Line6 device that was designed to sound like the amp next to their TV.