Kemper Profiler: "Scratchy" sounds in all high gain rigs

    The Profiler Model referred to in this thread is ...
    ☑️ Profiler Stage

    Hi all

    I'm new to Kemper Profiler Amps resp. Profiler Stage and starting to try out rigs. It sounds all pretty good and all but with every high gain amp and when doing palm muting on the low strings, there's this scratchy sound. Of course it's coming from my pick, but.. I don't have this "noise" with the same guitar when I'm wired to my ENGL Fireball 100.

    Here's a sample, you'll hear immediatly what I mean:

    pick issues - git.wav
    Shared with Dropbox
    www.dropbox.com

    This happens at least with humbuckers (tried with epiphone les paul and SG).


    What I checked/tried but didn't help (too much at least)
    - input LED looks ok
    - used input and "effects" noise gate
    - setting PICK settings very low
    - adding high cut
    - pure cabinet on/off
    - tried many many different rigs from different sources
    - used softer picks (even if I dont have the same issues when playing my analog head)

    Does anyone understand what's going on resp. how I could reduce these sounds?

    Thanks for every input!

    You have to understand the difference in sounds between what's coming out of an amp cab and what's coming out of a profile. A profile is the mic's interpretation of the sound coming out of a cab. It's the sound you hear on all recordings. An album does not have the actual sound of a cab.

    With this being said, a lot of nuances like pick attack and string noise will get lost in a mix since other instruments will play along and on top of each other. There is nothing wrong with that wav file. Start producing your tone alongside other instruments or backing tracks. Guitar tracks rarely sound pristine on their own.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Well I agree with you regarding recording and the sound mix with other musicians.

    However I hear the difference while playing (over ear phones or studio monitors) and it bothers me. Actually there are parts in our songs where I play things like provided in the link all alone. So people (and myself) WILL hear it. And this is not the case while playing over an „actual amp/box“.

    The recording is just there to gove you am idea about what I‘m actually talking about :)

    A few parameters to try tweaking (if you haven’t already):

    In the Amplifier module: Definition

    In the Cabinet module: Character and Pure Cabinet (you mentioned turning Pure Cabinet on/off, which would be in the Output module, have you tried adjusting the amount of Pure Cabinet with the rotary control?).

    Or try loading a Studio Equaliser into an effects module and using a parametric EQ adjustment.

    Failing that, if you really like the sound you are getting from your ENGL head/cab, you might try hiring some studio time, taking your rig along, and creating your own profile using the studio’s mics.

    I think you should find that the Kemper does such a good job of creating profiles that you usually can’t hear the difference between the profile and the real miked up amp/cab. (A caveat - best not to use an attenuator of any kind between amp and cab).

    I don’t know how much studio experience you have, but in the studio, with a good mic, it’s important to try different mic positions, makes a huge difference.

    If the miked up sound is still not what you want to hear, but is the same as the Kemper profile of it you just created, I think that will indicate that it’s not a failing of the Kemper, it’s just that miked up amps never sound the same as the amp in the room directly to our ears.

    I cant really think of anything the Kemper would "normally" do that would emphasize a pick sound. That said, I always felt like I had more pick noise on the Kemper. I hear it as an ice picky click when I hit a high note.

    For high gain amps, you need to reduce the lows entering the amplifier section. The bass will overwhelm the distortion and it will sound like a fuzz pedal.

    So the guys above saying Definition is a good starting point are right. The Kemper tries to adjust what it thinks your pickups/guitar sound like with this setting. Going too high on def will enhance highs and you may get to this scratchy point. You may have Def set so high it is mimicking single coil pickups for example. Instead of doing this you may want to set the Def to like 5-7 range and use an EQ before the AMP. Or just set the Amp EQ to PRE and then use a Studio EQ after the Amp. That way you have a lot of control of the lows and highs going into the amp section.

    I did a quick look at the freqs they used on Crazy Trains guitar parts and I noticed a cut around 1.5 kHz. The freqs at like 3-6kHz are important for metal to get the bite you want. That 1.5k cut really cleans up the sound while keeping articulation. Just a thought. I have since seen certain guitar speakers with a similar cut built in.

    So I run a studio EQ:
    Low set to 150 Steep
    Mid 1 set to 600-900 for mid cut if needed.
    Mid 2 set to cut 1.5k, Q of 1.2+.
    High filter I set to 1.5khz and boost until it sounds right
    High Cut move around if needed.

    The other thing is the Kemper has to try and decide what freqs come from the amp and what comes from the speaker. You may try do a Direct DI amp profile and then try various CAB/IRs. If that high scratch is embedded in the IR, it is tough to get out of the final sound. Then you run into the IR black hole where they all sound... different. Not necessarily better 8o

    Since I wrote some VSTs, I made an IR pulse in my app. So I run the Kemper into the IR in my app and then EQ it to get it good. Click the pulse button and record what comes out the other side. Now I have an EQ'q IR. A little bit of work to get maybe 10-20% better sounding IRs.

    It is also easy to go down the path of it needs more lows and more highs. And eventually its thump with hissy noise on top. Feels great to play but may not sound so good.


    And as always the best advice from V8Guitar, turn it on and play. Stop thinking about it.