Posts by SqWark

    Ya, not the point I was making at all to be honest.

    I'm not gonna post, "I like EMG pickups. They sound GREAT!!!!" any more than I'd post something like-
    "I like the color blue" or "I love ice cream!" :D

    Was trying to get some insights into whether others (and mainly the profile creator) had been able to perceive a more accurate tonal response from a very similar guitar to the one used in profiling.

    Regardless, was just sharing my experiences and observations.

    It's true, SqWark.

    The manner in which the gain staging and EQ were set up would've been to achieve the best-possible tone for the guitar / pickup combination being played. So, similar-sounding guitars will yield almost-identical sounds to those the original amp was set up to achieve during the Profiling session. Obviously, the same guitar produces "identical" tones to those heard during the session.

    Thanks to the Kemper's awesome stomps, EQ stack, EQ FX and the fantastic Amp Block parameters, we can "safely" deviate in various directions from the originally-Profiled tone snapshot to quite a large degree, thusly accommodating guitars that in no way resemble the one used for the original amp's tweaking.

    Yours, in this case, was probably a "more-authentic" experience due to the similarities you mentioned.

    Yes my friend. I think you're right and even knowing this I was still taken aback by just how good the Tonehammer profiles sounded.

    Story time-
    I used to get every single pack that these guys released. I took a break for a month or two to give my wallet a break or maybe to get caught up with testing my ever growing backlog of profiles. I don't recall exactly why.. Plus I think they released a couple of amps I was less interested in.
    For reasons I cannot explain I never made it back to checking out their newer releases... Up until last week that is. These were some of my favorite profiles way back when....(2015-16 :D ) and like an old friend that I hadn't seen in a while we picked right up where we left off.

    I just got done practicing with profiles from Deadlight's Engl Fireball pack.I don't remember it ever sounding as good as it did today. I was playing one of my ESP MII's which has EMG 57/66 pickups (switched out from the original 81/81's) and it just sounded incredible.
    I know Frank & Lars use guitars with EMG's to profile with and today's experience really made me think that playing the profiles with a similar guitar setup (to the one used during profiling) creates a truer representation of the original tone. I don't know for sure. I have seen it discussed in threads but don't recall reading anything definitive in that regard but my ears tell me that it is a factor.

    Thank-you for this amazing post. I hear what youre saying and I relate.
    Like most people, my opinions change in relation to what's going on in regards to a particular topic and definitely my last few years with tube amps were more frustrating than fulfiling. Could never quite get what I was looking for tonewise and if I could come close most amps only did one or two things well. Always seemed like such a huge ordeal just getting two to three usable tones from the same amp. Add to that the majority of my guitar time is in my home studio where I could barely turn my amps up loud enough to get a decent tone or alternatively wait for the (extremely rare) times that my wife was out of the house as well as my neighbors not being home.
    Definitely a sub-optimal, if not uncommon,situation.
    I havent played live in a few years So it's been a while since Ive stood in front of a cranked tube amp and felt the floor vibrate. I do remember that feeling of course. As a guitarist it is one of life's great experiences. At studio volumes my kemper/dxr10 combo sounds better than i ever remember my amps sounding but admittedly I would have to play at live volumes to really be able to tell if there's a noticable difference (between the two). Just wrote the above to give some context for my opinions.

    Wow, that was a tasteless comment

    Far more tasteless to quote something out of context.

    Was a response to the comments:

    "I know a lot of people all around the world who literally have nothing to eat but own a smartphone for a 1000$"

    and

    "how many guys do we know who have no money but spend all they have for a fancy car;Or an expensive vacation"


    Which I summarized as 'poor people making bad money decisions' because they WERE two examples of poor people making bad money decisions!

    @Nikos

    I certainly had no malicious intent with my prior response and after playing tube amps for 30+ years I have a fairly good grasp of their pros and cons.

    I'm not too sure what point you're trying to make with your "smartphones for $1000" & "starving people around the world" references other than that people make bad money decisions all the time especially most poorer people.

    Don't get me wrong I do get the whole nostalgia angle that you guys seem caught up in but for me it's more about having the best tools for creating my music more so than some, "Remember back in the day when amps had real tubes..." type of grandpa stories to tell your grand kids.

    Regardless, you seem to get some enjoyment from them so more power to you.

    I just wanted to thank @MementoMori for the detailed reviews and explanations.
    One more element for me that makes the Gemini's essential is the STEREO component,
    once you play at home in Stereo and compare it you wont go back.

    So ill make one request if you get any other active or passive speaker
    AT LEAST TRY A SECOND ONE FOR THE STEREO EFFECT.
    (the Gemini is a 2X12 Stereo speaker )

    Then you will see why i swear by it and insist.

    Ash

    @ashtweth
    Which version of the Gemini 2 do you have? I'm not sure that I need the bluetooth capabilities but the idea of a silent fan is appealing to me as I am mostly going to be using this in my studio. Trying to weigh those benefits up against the extra $400 out of pocket.

    Thanks for the help buddy!

    Great advice!

    Money is no object for me so it's not a problem dropping $3000+ on something that my Kemper has effectively made redundant.

    Add another $1000 to buy another 4x12 as well as I only currently own FRFR's.

    Guess I'm gonna be missing out on those special smells and feelings as I can't justify spending that kind of coin on something that I no longer need.