Options to profile an overdrive pedal?

    Hello guys,

    I have seen reviews stating that the quality of overdrive pedal profiles can be really good, which is a very nice start... :)

    Now my question: Which options do we have to profile an overdrive pedal? Or, how would you do or recommend it?


    a) I think I understood the "basic way" for it, where I could setup a normal amp (e. g. a JCM800) and connect the Profiler via Direct Out/Send with the amp and I would connect my overdrive pedal to the Profiler Input and my guitar to the pedal, quite classic. Finally connecting the recording mic in Return port of Profiler. ( Like that image plus pedal next to the guitar: https://www.kemper-amps.com/images/pagecon…itar-amp.jpg?v5 ).

    --> ...as a profile this gives me a snapshot of the current sound of that amp with my overdrive pedal, specific to the used settings, right?

    So far so good... :)

    b) Is there a setup to do basically the same thing just using one of the virtual amps (already profiled) inside the Kemper? So that I could use an amp profile (e. g. a JCM800 profile) to build upon, adding my pedal sound to the mix (for a new profile with that included), instead of needing access to the actual physical amp... Possible?

    --> ...creating a new profile consisting of an existing kemper profile plus my overdrive pedal sound... (?)

    c) Would the profiler DI box be helpful for me profiling an overdrive pedal? Recommended for that case or in general? If I got it right, it basically just eliminates the need to setup a recording mic, is that correct...? Or is it completely different or is there more to it?

    d) I guess it is not possible to "isolate" the sound manipulation of my overdrive pedal (with its current settings) with the Profiler as a kind of "pure effects profile", is it? (Which would make you more independent from a specific amp's basic sound).


    Thanks! :)

    Edited 5 times, last by Kris Sandman (July 9, 2020 at 3:09 AM).

    If you want to profile a pedal you need to do it with the amp at the same time. You need to out the pedal between the Direct Out and the Amp not between the guitar and Kemper input. If you put the pedal between guitar and Kemper only the Amp will be profiled.


    the is no way to add a profile of an overdrive pedal to an existing profile of an amp unless you have two Kempers.

    As Alan says, you need to profile the end to end because any profile is a profile.

    As you can't run 2 profiles at the same or store its as a "pedal", profile the amp and pedal settings you like and you have your sound.

    Try this:


    Make a Direct Amp profile of the left or right output of a home stereo receiver. Set its tone controls to flat or bypass if available. Put the pedal where Alan says.

    That will create a profile whose tone will be based mostly on the pedal.

    Quote from scratch17

    Try this:


    Make a Direct Amp profile of the left or right output of a home stereo receiver. Set its tone controls to flat or bypass if available. Put the pedal where Alan says.

    That will create a profile whose tone will be based mostly on the pedal.

    But the key is that will only be a profile of the pedal...you won;t be able to mix it with another profile ( which is what most people do). Better to profile the whole signal chain with the sound you like. Do multiple profiles of the main settings..

    Actually, that is what I want; a profile of just the pedal.

    At some point, I will have a second Kemper. I plan to connect them serially. The Kemper with the pedal profile loaded will go into the one with the amp profile. Just like a normal pedal / amp setup.

    For now, I have profiled my Weehbo Plexface. It is a two stage overdrive with a Plexi side and a Blackface side. You can think of it as two overdrives, with a fixed routing path.

    You can run the sides individually. Or you can run the Plexi into the Blackface. But you cannot run Blackface into Plexi.

    With the Plexi side profiled, I can run it into the real pedal running the Blackface side. Or I can run the pedal and the Profiler in parallel. So I have far more flexibility.

    Or I can run the Blackface at low gain into a profile of the Blackface at a higher gain level. I place each device into a loop on my Voodoo Lab GCX, switching between them as needed.

    The increase in flexibility doesn’t end there. As with any profile, I can have various presets of the pedal. That is something the real pedal doesn’t afford.

    And of course a profile can have pedal control over a parameter such as gain or tone. While the profile doesn’t have a linear relationship with the pedal parameters, this can be a real advantage over the real pedal.

    In all cases I run the Profiler and/or pedal into one or two of my tube amps. So until I get a second Kemper I can use this method with a single profiler.

    Not just pedals.

    1. I want a stereo profiler rig for my stereo guitar.

    My Hamer Duotone has a pair of Fishman Fluence Open Core humbuckers wired as dual mono. So I need to be able to have two completely separate chains to remain in stereo.

    That’s not to say I must exactly duplicate each chain. I just love my KPA enough to want it on both.

    Each pickup feeds a Radial JDV Mk3 DI. Each JDV feeds my DAW, has a bypass which feeds my KPA, and two Hi Z outputs for analog amp(s).

    I use the direct DAW feeds for re-amping and also as a continuously variable mix of the neck and bridge pickup. This provides me with what is a unique tone control. The natural differences in each pickup’s tone is blended producing a tone that is impossible to obtain with a simple pickup selector switch.

    With two KPAs I can place a pedal or even different pedal profiles in front of two analog amps.

    And don’t forget that profiles have presets and some have parameter controls. Few overdrive pedals have any MIDI control. I see a pedal profile as a super set of the pedal I have profiled.

    I also am putting CycFi Nu2 hexaphonic pickups on my Hamer. I will set up the CycFi pickups in stereo. In this case, the pickups will split the top three strings from the bottom three strings. Each side will get a KPA.

    2. I want to be able to use a foot pedal to morph smoothly from one profile to another. In this scenario, I need two profilers connected in series.

    3. Two KPAs in series with the first having a preamp profile feeding a Studio profile.

    4. I want two KPAs so more than one guitarist in my studio can play with one.

    I am not thinking about a second profiler just to profile pedals. I see the KPA as a piece of a puzzle that fits together with other pieces in my studio to create new options for sonic creation.

    Great input and a few important corrections so I get the profiler basics right, thanks a lot guys so far! :)

    The double KPA setup sounds really epic, I already thought about that, too, but I don't see it as affordable for me in the very near future.


    ...any ideas regarding the DI box question? E. g. if you choose a commercial profile would you prefer one created via DI box or with a mic recording setup or does it depend...? Any important difference in the result when a distortion pedal is included? Thanks!