Andy Sneap talks about the Kemper Profiling Amp

[Trevoire520]

I would love for Andy to post a "in the mix" comparison of this as I honestly feel it's so close to the point that it doesn't matter. The lows are a bit more dynamic on the real thing but once you throw kick and bass in with it I seriously doubt anyone could hear which is which.

 

[Ermz]

Glad that Andy's getting some use out of the thing. Really keen to hear the sections on those Accept and Testament records it was used on.

I thought it was the magic bullet fix for my situation, but I've yet to hear it pull a tone in a final product to warrant buying. If anyone can do that though, it's Andy!

Also agreed with the guys who said it's not 100%. The differences are more than subtle on the Opals, even through the YT compression. It coincides with most of the profile tests people have done here. The result ends up somehow drier and stiffer sounding than the original. The grain in the top-end makes me worry that it might not take post-processing well, but once again... keen to hear those records!

The real question is... will this thread bring him back to the forum again!?

 

[Machinated]

I think andy is largely coming across as a fan of its benefits in terms of travelling and convenience, rather than an 'amp killer'. IMO they sounded slightly different. But both tones were great.

 

[RichS]

Hasn't this Kemper been around for quite awhile now? All of a sudden Andy says he used it and everybody thinks it's a gotta have product. Don't get me wrong, I think it's cool but will anyone here be selling their amps and cabs?

 

[Trevoire520]

To be fair there's been alot of guys on here thinking it seems great, though the quality of profiling seems to vary from one user to the next. I really wish I had one as recently I sold my Triple X, Orange TH30 and 6505 and I'd love to have those tones stored for if I ever need them again. Would love to try one but I don't have the cash to drop on one at the moment.

 

[egan.]

From my perspective this is less an amp killer and more of a session saver. You profile your amp in a session and if you have some overdubs or fixes to do you've got something extremely close. It gives you the ability to keep the creativity of mic'ing an amp while having the security of repeatable results. I do agree that the proof is in the mixes.

 

[Jordon]

Ah, shit...

Pretty much my reaction. I've gotten into writing mode, and I can't very well bring my VH4 into my home and track with it, as much as I'd like to....And I think this would beat the hell out of Revalver for quick plug-n'-play writing. Profile every tone I track...store them...Crap, now I want one.

 

[Melb_shredder]

Mids sounded way stiffer on the kemper and that was just listening off my iPhones inbuilt speaker.

Gonna have to agree on that which is really weird. Noticed it on my iPhone speaker, then on my Headphones I could barely tell at all :\

 

[Ben Johnson]

The character definitely sounds different to me, even on laptop speakers. That said, I've still been gassing for a KPA for a while now...

 

[loktide]

having owned one for a few weeks, i can tell you that the biggest difference is not the slightly difference in sound after recording but how the profiles 'feel' when playing. even though the kemper get's VERY close and does indeed sound great, don't expect it to be a perfect recreation of your rig's tone and feel.

to me, it doesn't matter if the profile is completely identical to the original amp. if the result is good then who cares?
tubes, picks, pickups, guitar, picking technique, etc. also have an influence on tone that's in a similar range as the difference between the kemper and source amp.

 

[Uros]

As previously said, the most important question is not if it sounds 100% same as original, but rather how a 'kempered' DI track will take post processing. We all know that a bunch of amp sims sound cool while playing and soloed (by this I do not in any way compare Kemper and amp sims), but it all falls apart in the mixing stage.

But I do see this thing as a good tool for home studios and such for providing a consistently good guitar tone, which might not be the best, but certainly useable for each and every project. Also, as Egan mentioned, it could be great for fixes after the fact.

I am curious about the possible Live version, and will certainly follow future updates about that.

 

[kev]

Gonna have to agree on that which is really weird. Noticed it on my iPhone speaker, then on my Headphones I could barely tell at all :

I've been a bit worried about this lately. I've been hearing things on my friends iphones that I havent been hearing on my A7's haha!

 

[Melb_shredder]

I've been a bit worried about this lately. I've been hearing things on my friends iphones that I havent been hearing on my A7's haha!

Don't be, when you have a speaker so small only capable of reproducing a very small part of the frequency spectrum it's bound to happen.

Sadly it's in that mid area that comes across as 'weird' for amp sims etc

 

[Axell Strad]

Guys!
Difference you hear is due to the different cycles that riff begins. One half of the riff doesn't sound so tightly than the other by itself, that's all.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

No

 

[kev]

No

lol

 

[ArthurD]

Hasn't this Kemper been around for quite awhile now? All of a sudden Andy says he used it and everybody thinks it's a gotta have product. Don't get me wrong, I think it's cool but will anyone here be selling their amps and cabs?

I think that the feature to bypass the cab and use it as a preamp with a power amp is a killer option. Virtually, you can have any preamp and mic your own cab.

 

[Skinny Viking]

^ kinda like a POD?

 

[TheDude]

Like me and Jocke Skog said: 100% accurate!

Damn right! So, now you're calling Andy, Ronnie and myself a liar too? I COULDN'T hear a difference in the room and everybody's saying that we can't be right because the microphone on a camera/iPad is more accurate than our hearing.

Some profiles aren't perfect, sure, but the Mesa we made was 100%, no matter what you guys hear in a YT video.

 

[Melb_shredder]

Damn right! So, now you're calling Andy, Ronnie and myself a liar too? I COULDN'T hear a difference in the room and everybody's saying that we can't be right because the microphone on a camera/iPad is more accurate than our hearing.

Some profiles aren't perfect, sure, but the Mesa we made was 100%, no matter what you guys hear in a YT video.

Doesn't really matter if it's 100% or not. Some of
These profiles will end up amazing and unique. I mean, it technically recreates the signal path of everything up to the mic pre right??? That alone makes it worth it.

Some of the big boys selling their preset packs? I can see that happening!