My Custom Made Darks Arts Amp.

I have been using so many amazing commercial and free profiles and have only tried profiling once.. It turned out decent, but seemed like a lot of effort when there is so much good stuff to be had from the experts. Seeing as I'm not going to beat anyone's work out there with the same available amps, I thought I could contribute by profiling my own lil' custom amp. This amp was made by my good friend and bass player, Scott Reedy. He's the amp Dr. of south Orange County. This is a low wattage, nasty little amp. Just how I like them.

https://imgur.com/gallery/IvN9cVn

These profiles are merged for my fellow cab guys. There is a pretty clean version right on the edge of breakup, and a dirtier version. If you guys like this one, I have a 71' Bassman loaded with NOS tubes that I can take a shot at.

KWoodhall_Kemper_Dark Arts.zip

(Also on the Rig Exchange under Dark Arts, or my name Keith Woodhall)

Let me know what you think!

Quote from paults

Thank you!

Quote from Monkey_Man

Thank you, Keith!

Any tips for the next profiling session would be awesome! I’m in no way an engineer, which is one of the reasons I love the Kemper.

Quote from Monkey_Man

Well, only you can know how close the result came to the original, Keith.

How did the Profile compare when you switched between it the source amp?

I feel like I got it pretty close. I didn’t plug it into a cab yet, but used Beyerdynamic DT770s to monitor. Usually I use my custom in-ears or HD650s, which I feel are more neutral.

Sometimes I feel like other profiles I try are...quiet(?) compared to some of my favorite profiles? It almost makes them come across as muffled and lifeless when comparing to a really responsive and open profile. I messed with the return level and tried to get it as hot as possible without getting the “you’re clipping the profiler” error. I also tried to capture as much of the proximity effect as possible. I feel like it keeps the profile feeling more springy and alive under the fingers.

I didn’t use any other external gear, but maybe in the future. I like to learn things one element at a time.

Quote from 808illest

Thanks, Keith! Will give er' a rip through the ol' 2x12 recto!

Bassman...?? Yes, please!!!

Its not super gainy, but throw a boost stomp in front of it and it perks up. Let me know how she goes through a cab. I haven't had a chance yet.

Quote from Bryan Daste

Very cool & fun to play thru! Thanks for doing the merged profile - I'm liking this amp through various cabs. What DI are you using?

Thanks for the feedback! It's so cool to me other people are able to play my amps via profiles. This could get addicting...

Im using the cheapest DI that was recommended! The Behringer Ultra-G. I have no use for a DI otherwise so it was one thing I wasn't really willing to invest heavily in.

On the DI box I used a -20db pad when profiling with the speaker and when I did the DI profile I engaged both -20db pads available on the DI box.

Quote from Antipodes

Thanks for sharing these. I have had a lot of fun with the less gainy of this pair of profiles particularly. Really nice tone with an LP or single coils and it works a treat with all manner of other pedals in front of it - as versatile as you could wish for. If you are doing more, some cleaner ones merged with the same cab would be interesting to try.

Seems I am not alone in thinking that I would love to hear your Bassman when you get around to it.

Thank you for the feedback. Really stoked they even came out useable. I too prefer the less dirty of the two.

I may try for another clean profile, but this thing gets dirty almost immediately. like, 2/10. I think the profile you like may have been at about 3... I could probably get a slightly cleaner profile, but it would prob not sound as good because the volume would barely be on and I think it would lack a lot of responsiveness.

If you like the way the front end takes pedals, you will really like my Bassman. I used that head for everything from shimmering cleans to aggressive rock tone, shaping everything with pedals. It was actually my main amp before I was seduced by the Kemper. I think the tubes in it are prob worth as much as I paid for the head, but this is an amp where the tubes really make a huge difference. Im going to try and get some profiles today if nothing else comes up.

Quote from Bryan Daste

Curious about the differing pads for studio and direct profiles. Does changing the pad value affect the volume of what's coming out of the cab? My understanding is that it would only affect what's coming out of the DI. I could be wrong!

When I ran the studio profile I still had the signal from amp to cab running through the DI out of sheer laziness. With both pads disengaged I was getting the clipping light on the DI illuminating occasionally. I engaged the -20db just to eliminate that. It probably wouldn’t have effected the studio profile. When switching the Kemper’s monitoring source from the mic on the cab to the DI signal coming out of the amp through DI box, it was much hotter, even with the first -20db pad still engaged. Even with the return on the Kemper turned way down it would clip the actual Kemper, causing an error. With both pads engaged I still had the return on the Kemper about 2db lower than what I used on the cab/mic signal.

In summary, the first pad while making the studio profile prob had no effect, but I turned it on just to see the red light go away. Both seemed necessary for the direct profile to get the DI signal to a reasonable level when hitting the Kemper.