Audio issues, Kemper Sounds Thin, noisy and nowhere near demos of profiles I've purchased?

  • I'm pretty sure your problem is the gain staging.

    1. The recordings are super low level (like -12dB peak)

    2. Maybe you have the output volume of your interface set very low as well?

    3. Maybe you have pushed the monitors' volume level almost to max to compensate for the low incoming levels?

    When I push your demo recordings +12dB, have my interface output set to 0dB, I can shake my walls easily, with plenty of "body" in the sound. My active studio monitors are always set to medium level.

  • I'm pretty sure your problem is the gain staging.

    1. The recordings are super low level (like -12dB peak)

    2. Maybe you have the output volume of your interface set very low as well?

    3. Maybe you have pushed the monitors' volume level almost to max to compensate for the low incoming levels?

    When I push your demo recordings +12dB, have my interface output set to 0dB, I can shake my walls easily, with plenty of "body" in the sound. My active studio monitors are always set to medium level.

    Hmm... I have the SPDIF volume set to -10 dB last time I checked (not near my KPA atm) . :)

    I've set my HS8's to +4dB (12 o'clock) and usually set the monitor volume control on the 6i6 to about 3 o'clock when recording and playing. :/

  • Here is my reamp. It sounds exactly the same (your reamp was quieter ) and it sounds good. To compare put two tracks in DAW and match the levels.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/f2faset759qr…ugChug.wav?dl=0

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/kb9g2jqutqcy…r%20A4.wav?dl=0

    The last one is not my favourite - I would add some compression in the amp section.

  • Here is my reamp. It sounds exactly the same (your reamp was quieter ) and it sounds good. To compare put two tracks in DAW and match the levels.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/f2faset759qr…ugChug.wav?dl=0

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/kb9g2jqutqcy…r%20A4.wav?dl=0

    The last one is not my favourite - I would add some compression in the amp section.

    Sorry for totally missing out on your response DamianGreda . I agree that the recordings sound identical apart from the level.

    However, I don't know if it's my HS8's as I haven't tried my kemper through anything else than those and my PPC212, but I somehow don't hear the difference between profiles, high gain or not. To my ears through my monitors all different profiles sound like they're from the very same profile but it's been EQ'd to sound different. It's not like "This is a mic'ed up 5150 and this is a mic'ed up AC15." if you get what I mean?

    I can't hear the characteristics of different amplifiers at all, whether it's a clean profile of a JCM800- or a '68 custom twin reverb. I tried playing a sine wave and there is absolutely a lot of differences when I move around the room, but even if I play a recording while walking around the room I still get that feeling that my kemper contains one profile that has been EQ'd, to have more or less bottom end, more or less gain. Profiles captured with different mics still act like this. Have I gotten the whole concept of the KPA all wrong?

  • No you don’t have tue concept wrong. It should sound like whatever amp was profiled. The extreme eq differences as you walk about the room are what I expected and are definitely a major factor (so e relatively cheap acoustic treatment will definitely improve your experience) but I think you also mentioned that you still have the problem when using headphones which would rule out the room as being the root cause in your case. I’m not sure what else to suggest though at this point.

  • After reading everyone's thoughts if I was debugging this the next thing I would do would be to try different speakers. While your local store doesn't stock Kempers, maybe they have some FRFRs there that you could plug your Kemper into. Yamaha DXR-10s are highly regarded if they have those. If they stock studio monitors I'd try a few of those as well.

    While I know you've tried with headphones as well, after a certain point ear and / or mental fatigue sets in and my brain gets a little fuzzy comparing things. You might be bumping into a little of that as well.

    If the profiles, DIs and all that haven't raised any flags with the others beyond the levels that lightbox mentioned, speakers and environment would be next on the list. You should be able to plug your Kemper into a good set of speakers, rock and roll, and sound great. So, I'd try the store or any other option to get you in front of different speakers, stripping away all other factors (computers, interfaces, your cables, etc.) to test with the simplest possible scenario. Hopefully that will provide some useful insights.

    Jönköping, Sweden!

    Of course, it could just be that your'e so close to the pole that the northern lights are interfering with your electronics. :)

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • After reading everyone's thoughts if I was debugging this the next thing I would do would be to try different speakers. While your local store doesn't stock Kempers, maybe they have some FRFRs there that you could plug your Kemper into. Yamaha DXR-10s are highly regarded if they have those. If they stock studio monitors I'd try a few of those as well.

    While I know you've tried with headphones as well, after a certain point ear and / or mental fatigue sets in and my brain gets a little fuzzy comparing things. You might be bumping into a little of that as well.

    If the profiles, DIs and all that haven't raised any flags with the others beyond the levels that lightbox mentioned, speakers and environment would be next on the list. You should be able to plug your Kemper into a good set of speakers, rock and roll, and sound great. So, I'd try the store or any other option to get you in front of different speakers, stripping away all other factors (computers, interfaces, your cables, etc.) to test with the simplest possible scenario. Hopefully that will provide some useful insights.

    Of course, it could just be that your'e so close to the pole that the northern lights are interfering with your electronics. :)

    I agree on tweaking and listening untill you can't tell the difference between what sounds good or bad but I doubt it's that when I've felt the same way each time I've booted it up :(

    You might be right on the northern lights interfering haha! 8o

    Here is a quick recording I did using 5 different high gain profiles in the following order with my EC-1000 loaded with EMG's;

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9ss5hyit7vz…estest.wav?dl=0

    1. Marshall JCM800 STL Will Putney

    2. SinMix JCM800_02

    3. SinMix 5150_M01

    4. SinMix_MarkV_01

    5. 5150 Ld Pv SM7 TOTA Studio

    To my ear none of these profiles sound 99% like the real amplifiers, it sounds more like a spider iv with a metal zone pedal with really bad settings.Should I get my ears checked or do you guys agree? :/

    I appreciate your advice, I will take my kemper to the store sometime during the weekend if I have the time. :)

    Pretty sure I saw DXR10's, Adam A3X's and A8X's in the store last time I was there grabbing a guitar but I could be mistaking. :)

    EDIT: All samples are non-EQ'd profiles and the input/output light on the kemper stayed green the entire time and the 6i6 software never hit yellow or red.

  • To my ear none of these profiles sound 99% like the real amplifiers, it sounds more like a spider iv with a metal zone pedal with really bad settings.

    Since I don't play that style of music I don't really know what sounds good and what doesn't, so I don't have a useful perspective on your examples. I did look at the page for the Putney one but his samples don't include the JCM800 you used.

    https://www.stltones.com/products/will-…r-kemper-bundle

    Because I'm not a metal guy, none of the tones on his sample page sound "good" to me, but again that's more about them not being dialed in for the style of music I play rather than an assessment of quality.

    Even then, you're running EMG pickups and I didn't see any mention of them on the spec sheet for Putney. I don't have any experience doing profiles myself but from what I understand, if you do a profile with a Tele and then play it with a high gain humbucker (to use an extreme) you're probably not going to be wild about how the humbucker sounds. I've never played EMGs so I don't know how different a critter they are.

    What I do know is that, for instance, a Tele is so bright it can easily take your head off, so on a tube amp I might dial the treble down significantly. If I then profile that, it's the sound of an amp with the treble dialed down. Plug in a Les Paul, and the results may sound dull. Opposite of what you're experiencing but I wonder if that sort of thing is a factor.

    Maybe if you did some recordings using the same profiles that these guys have on their websites for samples we could get a better feel for a/b - in a perfect world, using a guitar / pickup combination similar to their samples.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • I'm fully aware that different guitars, pickups, monitors, even cables will have an effect on how the profile translates through ones equipment. I usually dial in the tone to my liking to suit my gear, but keep getting a rather noisy signal even if I lower the gain a tiny tad or if I up the "master" noise gate or set a noise stomp. I've tried different power outlets and even a furman power conditioner to no vail.
    I have made a recording with 3 different guitars now, with three samples per guitar and profile. From what I can tell listening via both monitors and headphones is that the recording sounds slightly better when played back compared to how it sounds when recording, only through my headphones though, not the monitors for some reason. :/

    I couldn't find any "guitar only" samples on any of the profiles I have, but the one with Dan Sugerman is the closest I can come to hearing the actual profile without all too much stuff happening, see the link below;

    https://tonecratevault.com/collections/si…e-kemper-bundle

    Here is the recording I made, sorry for the sloppy playing but I'm recovering from a MTB-accident a few months back where I hurt both my wrists;

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzl4dgncwdrz…uitars.wav?dl=0

    First 3 samples are with my EC-1000 (EMG 81 & EMG 60 humbuckers).

    Next 3 samples is my Gibson Studio 2018 (490R and 498T humbuckers).

    Last 3 samples is with my S7G Ola Englund Signature ( Bare Knuckle Aftermath humbuckers).

    (Following the same order as Dan in the video, using the uberschall -> powerball -> 5153-profile for 3 riffs with each guitar then changing guitar.)

    A friend of mine came along with his new PRS MT15 and that sounded -totally- different from all the different profiles I have of that specific amp, even with various DI profiles of it hooked directly to my PPC212CB, tried it with both a SD powerstage 170 and my Mooer baby bomb.

    I guess something must be off if a ‎545 € amp blows my kemper away sound-wise when I have profiles of amps that sound stellar in comparsion with the MT15. :/

    Edited 2 times, last by Popes666 (September 21, 2019 at 3:34 PM).

  • I remember at one point I thought I didn't touch anything significant I'd do a factory reset ... then I went "HUH" why is everything sounding so good all of a sudden ? ...

    Try that :)

    Kemper stage with 2 mission pedals (in a Thon line 6 FBV case) and a Zilla 212 (K-100/V30) , SD powerstage 700 poweramp

  • I remember at one point I thought I didn't touch anything significant I'd do a factory reset ... then I went "HUH" why is everything sounding so good all of a sudden ? ...

    Try that :)

    Yeah I've done that a few times, when I booted my kemper for the first time I had strange noises going on. That's whats leading me to think something might be off, I've done several resets the last couple of months with no change in tone :/

  • I guess I'll contact them. Did you listen to the recordings? Do you think it sounds even remotely close to the demo? :)

    My first impression was that of listening to the same amp played on two significantly different guitars. That may be nowhere near reality, just how it struck me, but no, they don't sound the same.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • My first impression was that of listening to the same amp played on two significantly different guitars. That may be nowhere near reality, just how it struck me, but no, they don't sound the same.

    Yeah, and I mean all three are high gain amplifiers, but they all have certain charactaristics to them which in real life is quite easy to pick up, whether it's mic'd up or not. I had some contact with kemper support a few months back where they reamped some stuff and it turned out really close; but not identical. :sleeping:

  • I had that problem with my 6i6 first gen

    For some reason when I went SPDIF AT 48k 24 bit it opened up and sounded better. Not only change it in the Kemper/ 6i6 /DAW but change your computer sound device settings to match (input/ output 48k, watch the depth settings as well)

    **Make sure you change the sync source to Spdif and the sample rate to 48 in Scarlett Mix control, It will sometimes change on you**

    At 44k it was thin and awful.

    I think its something with the internal working of the 6i6 and the kemper that is doing this. I realize its hard to hear the difference between 44 and 48, My theory is there's something else in play here. (focusrite converters or something)

    I was amazed when all of a sudden My sound changed in a extreme way for the better.

    Anyways that is what worked for me and may give you some ideas to try.

    Your mileage may vary.

    Best Regards

    Edited once, last by AProfiledJoe (October 15, 2019 at 10:19 PM).

  • Oh really? Thanks for you answer!

    I have the same problem as Popes666 (really flat and thin sound, buzzy distortion like a bias fx sound or others, never anything compare to youtube videos...)

    I am connected in XLR on my Yamaha HS7. I’ve tried to connect kemper directly, or by the soundcard (presonus audiobox) but it’s the same result...

    Maybe the sound can be good only with guitar cabinet? But in many cases people seem to have good sound with stereo speakers! :

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    In this vid rabea uses a marshall 79 profile by M Britt, i have it in my kemper but never sounded as good!

    Do you think spdif is very mich better on stereo speakers?