OK, I know that clean sense has no bearing in Kemper land other than ensuring that clean profiles and distorted profiles are adjusted to the same level.
That said why on earth does my Kemper sound different if I reduce the clean sense while playing through a distorted profile? For a test:
1) Set your clean sense to 12 and then play the profile (ignore the input LED if it clips, as Kemper Amps has told us, use your ears and not your eyes)
2) Set your clean sense to -12 and play the profile.
When I say sound different, what I mean is that my input signal seems thicker and the profile more "congested/saturated" (for want of a better word) when I have the clean sense set high.
But when I lower clean sense, I also notice that the signal seems to clean up and so does the resultant sound... An overly hairy profile suddenly becomes less hairy, sort of like if you were using lower gain pickups.
Here's what Kemper Amps says:
Clean Sens
Different types of guitars produce different output levels depending on their pickups and string gauge: for example, humbucker pickups generate higher voltages compared to single coils, and active guitars generate even hotter signal levels. If you feel that clean sounds are either very loud or very soft compared to distorted sounds, you can adjust Clean Sens to a level where clean sounds have the same perceived loudness as distorted sounds. Clean Sens determines the volume of clean sounds, but not the way that the amp or the effects are driven. A guitar with low output level stays cleaner; a hot guitar will still distort more easily.
Extremely “hot” guitars can generate unwanted distortion, indicated by the INPUT LED flashing red. This is only relevant for clean sounds, however - prominent amp distortion will completely mask a subtle clipping of the input.
One more thing I don't get:
INPUT LED (2)
The LED reflects the level of the input signal. Its base color can be changed from green to blue with the option Signal LEDs Blue in System Settings.
OK, so it reflects the level of the input signal and nothing else.
If that's the case, why does it stop clipping if I reduce clean sense on a guitar that blinks red?
At work, but I'll try to do a recording tonight if I can to demonstrate high clean sense versus low clean sense.