ToneWars Badass Boogie Pack V2 (New Refined Profiles)

SeanChristopher · April 29, 2021 at 12:02 PM

I checked out this pack because I have always had great experiences with the ToneWars Profile packs. The Profiler (Jarrod from ToneWars) has improved his Profiling technique and has added in the Refine process to his Profiling technique, and the results are stellar!! I thought the ToneWars Profiles were already great, but this has taken the ToneWars Profiles to another level in my opinion!

The pack includes the first Profile pack for the Mesa Badlander, and the new pack with new Refined Profiles. The first pack had 29 profiles (10 Crunch Profiles, 13 Crush Profiles, 2 Tailored Profiles dialed in with Jarrods settings, and 4 Clean Profiles) and 25 DI Profiles.

This new pack has 22 new Refined Profiles done with a Diezel 2x12 Cab w/G12-K100's. There are 9 Crunch Profiles with various Gain and tone-stack settings, along with 2 Crunch Variax Profiles (which sound awesome!). And there are 10 Crush Profiles with various Gain and tone-stack settings, and 2 Crush Variax Profiles (Which also sound awesome!!).

The new Refined Crunch Profiles sound amazing and have a really great open-ness to them that I like a lot. They have a much more shaped low end, and really clear high end. I was pleasantly surprised to hear how great the new Refined Crunch Profiles sound. I ended up using a good number of them to build some really sick mid-gain and pushed tones. Throw a Kemper Drive in front of the Profile with the Klon or TS808 presets and there are some glorious sounds to be found there!!

The new Refined Crush Profiles were like heaven for me! lol I was in tonal nirvana when I dialed some of the Crush and Crush Variax Profiles! The new Refined Crush Profiles have a really full yet tight and defined low end, as well as a really present and clear high end. The Crush Profiles have a really rich and saturated distortion and they sound fat and chewy and thick, while still maintaining note-clarity (which is the type of high gain sound that I really like). I threw a Kemper Drive in front of my favorite Crush Profiles, with the Horizon Attack 2 or Horizon Attack 3 presets with the Volume turned up and Drive turned down low, and got some really searing yet tight and articulate high gain tones!

Another cool thing about this pack is that there are 2 different Cabs used for the Profiles. The Cab in the first version of the Badass Boogie pack, is a Mesa 2x12 Cab with 2 V30's mic'd with an ATM-410 and SM57. And the Cab in the Badass Boogie pack V2, is a Diezel 2x12 with 2 G12-K100's mic'd with a Royer R-10 and a SM57. I found myself loving the Diezel Cab so much that I ended up saving it as a Cab preset to use with other Profiles! lol

Overall, I'd say this V2 of the Badass Boogie pack really surprised me and I am glad I tried it out! I've really loved the ToneWars Profile packs that i've tried so far, so I didn't think that the Profiles could get much better. I thought the difference would be minor. I was SO wrong!! lol The Profiles got way better than they already were and the tones are unbelievable!

To anyone looking for a Profile pack for the Mesa Badlander, I'd highly recommend this Profile pack if you're looking for versatility and really sick high gain tones.

For anyone interested in checking out the pack, or any other packs by ToneWars, check out the ToneWars website https://www.tonewars.com/

Ibot39 · April 29, 2021 at 2:48 PM

I don't want to judge the quality of the profiles.

But I think Jarrod still doesn't completely get the concept of Kemper refining. Maybe he just should sit down and read the manual / basics ?

One example: He is talking about refining with different guitars, pickups....

That is nonsense. It does surely matter how you set the knobs on the amp to fit your guitars before profiling. But the guitar used for REFINING process has no impact to the result.

SeanChristopher · April 29, 2021 at 5:20 PM

Quote from Ibot39

I don't want to judge the quality of the profiles.
But I think Jarrod still doesn't completely get the concept of Kemper refining. Maybe he just should sit down and read the manual / basics ?
One example: He is talking about refining with different guitars, pickups....
That is nonsense. It does surely matter how you set the knobs on the amp to fit your guitars before profiling. But the guitar used for REFINING process has no impact to the result.

Like all of us, the Profiler (Jarrod from ToneWars) is a regular guy with faults like everyone else. He's admitted to not fully understanding Refining in the past, due to getting bad results from over-doing the Refining process.

Refining is sort of a dark art and even though the manual mentions it, it doesn't give a thorough explanation of what to do and how to do it. It just gives a vague "play stuff for a duration" basically. Even John Cordy has mentioned in videos that he doesn't fully understand it and the Kemper manual could benefit from elaborating in that section

Jarrod was actually open to learning more about it and took many criticisms from his viewers and friends. This, in my opinion, makes all the difference. Say what you want but the truth is, the guys man enough to learn from mistakes, own up to those mistakes, and let them make him better. Something that can't be said for everyone.

The result of that is improved Profiles and I was impressed with what I played from his most recent pack that was done with Refining Profiles

whippinpost91850 · April 29, 2021 at 8:46 PM

Well said Sean,

Full disclosure I am a friend of Jarrod’s

I don’t play Metal, but do appreciate what he is doing and his ability to learn

And I have couple of his packs. I find his new profiles to be more open, chunky with a smooth top end

musicmad · April 30, 2021 at 12:12 PM

Quote from Ibot39

I don't want to judge the quality of the profiles.
But I think Jarrod still doesn't completely get the concept of Kemper refining. Maybe he just should sit down and read the manual / basics ?
One example: He is talking about refining with different guitars, pickups....
That is nonsense. It does surely matter how you set the knobs on the amp to fit your guitars before profiling. But the guitar used for REFINING process has no impact to the result.

Hm I'm not confident you are right about that. After seeing how effectively Guido refines with high and low notes, I doubt the timbre of the guitar is completely irrelevant. Like it not having any impact at all.

Ibot39 · April 30, 2021 at 12:29 PM

Quote from musicmad

Hm I'm not confident you are right about that. After seeing how effectively Guido refines with high and low notes, I doubt the timbre of the guitar is completely irrelevant. Like it not having any impact at all.

That is what I mean with reading the manual. It IS in fact completely irrelevant and the manual is not only saying it, but also kind of explaining why!

musicmad · April 30, 2021 at 12:37 PM

Thanks :). I'm aware what the manual says, but I doubt it's entirely correct. Since the refining process greatly responds to the timbre of the sound you feed into it (please check one of the original Kemper videos with Guido refining if you haven't) I find it hard to rule out the guitars impact on the result.

I can understand why the manual would say what it says though for simplicity.

Ibot39 · April 30, 2021 at 1:03 PM

From the official Kemper manual:

"The refining process is independent of the type of your guitar. It is about adapting the distortion characteristics, as well as polishing the attack and dynamic response. The resulting PROFILE will act and respond accurately no matter what guitar or pickup you use."

Pretty clear statement, that has nothing to do with "simplicity".

And Guido does not do what you implicate. What he is doing: Generating "inter-modulation in the

distortion that the PROFILER needs to do its refining."

Just ask Guido, if he believes the opposite of what Kemper is saying and guitar and pickups do matter for REFINING (not setting up the amp, comparing....for refining process only).

Refining too much / long can have a negative impact.

Ibot39 · April 30, 2021 at 1:11 PM

And I could bet, Jarrod never ever has opened the manual before selling his profile packs. Just ask him

In some videos it was very obvious he had no clue about a few things, like how merged profiles are done correctly....

If someone likes his results, maybe it's o.k. for them.

musicmad · April 30, 2021 at 1:47 PM

Let me put it in another way: When the results of refining with one guitar is highly dependant on what frequencies you make that guitar produce, then obviously using another guitar will give a different result. Anyway I'm pretty confident that is correct. Also don't mind if you disagree

whippinpost91850 · April 30, 2021 at 5:10 PM

I’ll ask Jarrod , about the manual, but I’m thinking he has only givin it a cursory look

musicmad · April 30, 2021 at 6:55 PM

Quote from whippinpost91850

I’ll ask Jarrod , about the manual, but I’m thinking he has only givin it a cursory look

Don't worry about it. He's all good.

whippinpost91850 · April 30, 2021 at 7:41 PM

YoavHanuka · June 19, 2021 at 12:18 AM

Quote from Ibot39

But the guitar used for REFINING process has no impact to the result.

I'm not a professional profile maker, but it absolutely matters which guitar and pickups you use to refine.

Try making 2 exact profiles, just refine with two different guitats/pickups, you'll notice the difference

BayouTexan · June 19, 2021 at 2:30 AM

Quote from YoavHanuka

I'm not a professional profile maker, but it absolutely matters which guitar and pickups you use to refine.
Try making 2 exact profiles, just refine with two different guitats/pickups, you'll notice the difference

Could it be you are playing one guitar softer than the other during refining? I understand that you need to be pretty aggressive on your chords and notes when refining.