Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head WH White, Profiling Amplifier Head WH White + Remote Control, Profiling Amplifier Head BK Black + Remote Control, Profiling Amplifier Head BK Black User manual

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Kemper Profiling Amplifier

The Basics & Profiling Guide

Legal notice

This manual, as well as the software and hardware described in it, is furnished under license and may

be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. The content of this manual is fur-

nished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice and should not construed as a

commitment by Kemper GmbH.

Kemper GmbH assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in

this book. Except as permitted by such license, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, by

smoke signals or otherwise without the prior written permission of Kemper GmbH.

Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer is a trademark of Kemper GmbH. All other trademarks contained herein are

the property of their respective owners. All features and speciﬁcations subject to change without no-

tice. (Rev November 24, 2011 1:09 PM)

www.kemperamps.com

Table Of Contents

8 Okay, so what did I just buy?

9 What is proﬁling?

10 Getting started

More on connecting your gear Choose your rig Stomps Stack Eects

14 Front Panel controls

Rig navigation section (1) Type knob (2) Browse knob (3) Page navigation (4) Exit button (5) On/O button (6) Lock button (7) Copy and paste buttons (8) Store button (9) Gain knob(10) Input button (11) Input LED (12) Noise gate knob (13)

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER4

Master button (14) Master volume knob (15) Volume knob (16)

21 Back panel overview

Master out section (1) Monitor Out section (2) Direct Output/Send (3) Return and Alternative Input (4) Power connector (5) USB (6) Pedals and switches (7) MIDI (8) S/PDIF digital I/O(9)

25 Using the tuner

Stack section Ampliﬁer module EQ button Cabinet button Eects section Tap tempo

33 Conﬁgure your system preferences

System button Module button behavior Using a MIDI pedal to switch rigs Rig button Quick button

35 Using performance mode

Editing performances

36 Updates, backup and sharing sounds

Updating the operating system Creating and restoring backups Importing rigs, performances and local presets

38 KPA and MIDI

Proﬁling Guide

40 Proﬁling an amp

General considerations

44 Making connections

Connections for proﬁling a hardware guitar amp Connections for proﬁling a combination of amp and stomp box Connections for proﬁling a computer-based guitar amp simulation

48 Taking a proﬁle

Reﬁning the proﬁle The resulting proﬁle Under the hood

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER6

The Basics

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER8

Okay, so what did I just buy?

First of all, thank you for choosing the Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer — KPA for short. We’ve no doubt that

once you realize everything it can do, you’ll be as thrilled with it as we are. We designed the Kemper Proﬁl-

ing Ampliﬁer to be a complete solution for all your guitar playing needs. You can use it just like you would

a regular ampliﬁer, or you could use it as a multi-eects unit or even as the front end for your guitar-based

studio.

Nearly all digital guitar amps available today oer the same features — simulations of classic and modern

guitar ampliﬁers and stomp boxes, usually with some digital and studio eects thrown in for good mea-

sure. The KPA is the ﬁrst digital guitar amp that doesn’t simply include digital versions of guitar amps, but

lets you make a “proﬁle” of your own guitar amp to use inside the KPA — as well as load proﬁles of other

guitarists’ ampliﬁers into your KPA, which gives you not just a simulation, but their exact digital sound!

We hope you’ll ﬁnd operating the KPA straightforward, but if you need more information please check out

the three included guides. We call the guide you’re reading Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer: The Basics because

it will show you around and give you all the information you need to get started and ﬁnd your own tone.

We recommend that you read through this with your guitar and your KPA right in front of you. This way

you can instantly try out what you’ll just have learned. The Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer: Proﬁling Guide will

help you become an expert in creating your own amp proﬁles and is a must read if you want to add your

own amps and guitar rigs. The Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer: Reference Manual contains a reference to every

single parameter of the Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer.

We update our documentation on a regular basis. The latest and greatest can be found here:

www.kemper-amps.com/start/

We recommend you check back frequently. But before we start to explore the exciting possibilities of this

technical miracle let’s have a word about what sets the KPA apart from all the other amps: The Proﬁling

process!

WHAT IS PROFILING? 9

What is proﬁling?

Do you have a favorite setting on a favorite amp that produces your favorite sound? Would you like to be

able to get that identical sound from the KPA, and not have to bring your amp to the rehearsal, gig or stu-

dio? The method by which you can get that favorite sound into the KPA is what we call “proﬁling”.

If you want a more technical description: the KPA analyzes the sonic characteristics of a reference ampli-

ﬁer. This process allows it to faithfully recreate the characteristic sound of virtually any guitar amp, and

adopt the behavior and interaction of the components of the analyzed ampliﬁer.

Maybe you’re thinking “what if, after the KPA does its analysis, I’m not entirely satisﬁed with the results?”

Don’t worry, we provide a complete set of parameters that allow you to control the way the tubes sound

and react to further deﬁne and modify the proﬁle. When you’re ﬁnished proﬁling and tweaking, you’ll have

exactly what you want.

With the KPA it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to match the sound of the original amp — or even enhance

the original sound by using onboard features. And the KPA doesn’t just capture the sound of your guitar

amp head alone; you can also capture the sound of the cabinet and the microphones (including the micro-

phone distance and angle). This means that the complex sound of a speciﬁc setup can be analyzed, rec-

reated and stored. In other words, the resulting KPA proﬁle is all you’ll need to take your entire guitar rig

with you everywhere you go.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER10

Getting started

Okay, enough talk — let’s plug in and get playing!

1. Connect your guitar to the INPUT on the right side of the front panel.

2. Connect the MAIN OUTS on the rear side to the inputs of your mixer.

3. Power the unit on by bringing the chicken head switch to the BROWSE position.

Immediately after the startup screen you will be prompted to set the time and date and enter your name.

That’s it! It’s time to start browsing presets and playing some guitar.

More on connecting your gear

The KPA is equipped with a studio-grade analog input section followed by a state-of-the-art A/D stage to

get the best possible sound. Once your guitar signal has been processed, the high-quality D/A stage en-

sures that you’ll get the best sound quality into your speaker rig. You’ll notice that the KPA oers multiple

inputs and outputs in both analog and digital formats, which we’ll describe in more detail down below. We

included all this connectivity so you can use the KPA as a central hub in your studio to connect your guitar

to a variety of other amps, eects and recording gear and use the KPA to switch among them.

In case you have any hum-related issues in your studio or stage, we provide ground lift switches for the

analog outputs.

If you want to use the KPA on stage you can connect a power amp to the MONITOR OUTPUTs.

If you want to make your own proﬁles you will need to connect your reference ampliﬁer using the DIRECT

OUT and the LOOP RETURN inputs. More details on proﬁling are provided both later in this manual, and in

more detail in the Proﬁling Guide. In addition, the DIRECT OUTs can be used in conjunction with the LOOP

RETURNs to connect to the eects loop of an external amp, or to connect any external eect unit, such as

your favorite stomp box.

GETTING STARTED 11

You can connect two pedals to control parameters such as volume or individual stomp parameters. Finally,

the KPA comes with USB connectors so you can connect it to your computer to transfer data and update

the ﬁrmware.

Choose your rig

A complete signal chain is called a “rig”. Rigs consist of three sections located in the upper half of the

panel. The signal ﬂow begins with the Input stage, and then moves through the three processing sections

at the top of the front panel of controls, and ﬁnally the Master stage. The order of the sections from left to

right represents the signal ﬂow inside the KPA. Each section consists of three to four modules.

Each of the buttons in the signal ﬂow gives you a unique and intuitive way to manage your sound. By

pressing a corresponding button, you activate each module or section. Holding the button a little bit lon-

ger will focus the module and show its parameters in the display. In the lower line of the display you see up

to four parameters that can be controlled by the soft knobs underneath. Tweak the knobs to change your

sound. If this module oers more than four parameters, you can navigate between pages using the Page

buttons. If you want to return to the main page, press EXIT.

If you changed a parameter setting, but want to return to the previous value, you can use the UNDO but-

ton on the left side of the display. It will always revert your most recent action. The REDO button will revert

the action of the UNDO button.

In Browse mode you can select the desired rig using the RIG buttons on the right side of the front panel.

The LEFT and RIGHT buttons will advance in single steps, while the UP and DOWN buttons will change

rigs in larger steps. You can also use the BROWSE knob above the right side of the display to see eight

rigs simultaneously, as well as scroll through the list of all available rigs. You can change the sequence of

rigs by using the soft button “Sort by ...” to sort them by date or author, and then load the selected rig

with soft button “Load”.

Once you have found a rig that you like, you can use the soft knobs underneath the display to change the

gain and the EQ of the rig. These controls display their current value on the LED collar around the knobs.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER12

Stomps

The ﬁrst section, labeled “STOMPS”, is for your stomp box eects. This section oers four stomp box slots

which are represented by the four buttons labeled A, B, C, and D. Here you can place the built-in stomp

eects in any order and conﬁguration you’d like. These eects are applied before the signal reaches the

STACK section.

 Stomp LED color coding

You’ll notice that the stomp LEDs aren’t simply lit green or not, but have many dierent colors. That’s be-

cause these LEDs use color to help you identify which kind of algorithm is being used for each stomp.

Stomp algorithms are color coded like this:

Distortion Red

Wah Orange

Chorus Blue

Phaser & Flanger Purple

Compressor Cyan

EQ Yellow

Delay Green

Eect Loop White

You can change the algorithm for a stomp that is shown in the display by rotating the TYPE knob above

the left side of the display to scroll through the available algorithms. The BROWSE knob above the right

side of the display can be used to select items from lists of “local presets” that are available for every

stomp. Local presets are settings for a speciﬁc type of module (stomps and eects), stored independent

from the rig itself.

GETTING STARTED 13

Finally, you can select more stomps and eects in the EFFECTS section, and change the settings of the

delay and reverb using their dedicated knobs.

Stack

In the middle of this signal ﬂow, you’ll ﬁnd the “stack” section with the buttons for AMPLIFIER, EQ (equal-

izer) and CABINET. The stack section represents the raw virtual guitar ampliﬁer as deﬁned by the proﬁle.

In the stack section, you can freely combine amps and cabinets by holding their respective buttons to

bring them into focus, and then scroll through the available local presets using the BROWSE knob.

Eects

Here, you can add more built-in eects to the signal, after it has passed through the ampliﬁer and virtual

cabinet. The delay and reverb module in the eects section have a ﬁxed position and purpose. The knobs

underneath the signal ﬂow give you direct access to the EFFECT MIX of the delay and reverb, as well as for

DELAY FEEDBACK and REVERB TIME.

The X and MOD modules oers you a further choice of eects. We recommend you place a modulation

eect into the MOD module, if you intend to use one in your rig, as you have direct access to its RATE and

INTENSITY parameters with the line of knobs underneath.

 The stomp, stack and eect section can be stored as an individual local preset. To recall an entire stomp,

stack or eect section, hold the respective section button and browse through the local section presets

using the BROWSE knob.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER14

TAP

STOMPS STAC K EFFECTS

PERFORM

TUNER

PROFILER

BROWSEROFF

VOLUMEGAIN

SYSTEM

UNDO

INPUTHEADPHONE

STORE

TYPE

BROWSE

REDO

RIG QUICK ON/OFF

EXIT

PAGE

LOCK COPY PA STE

INPUT

B C

D AMPLIFIER

CABINET X

MOD DELAY

REVERB

MASTER

MOD DELAY REVERB

RIG

PROFILING AMPLIFIER

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER

Front Panel controls

We already mentioned some of the buttons and knobs in the previous section, when we showed you how

to adjust the various eects and settings within the upper half of the front panel. Below is a short explana-

tion of what all of the front panel controls do.

Rig navigation section

Here you can navigate through the rigs. LEFT and RIGHT buttons will switch sequentially, while the UP and

DOWN buttons will change in larger steps. A newly-selected rig is instantly recalled.

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FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 15

Type knob

When an eect or stomp is in the focus, the TYPE knob will select between dierent types of eect algo-

rithms. For example, in stomp edit this knob will select distortions, compressor and modulations among

others.

(2)

 When you switch between similar eects types, you will notice that parameters common to these eects

will retain their values; this is to make the choice of algorithm easier. For example, you can make a dedi-

cated setting for a Wah eect, and then step through the various Wah types; the eect will change, but

settings for the various ranges and Wah pedal control will remain the same. You can also switch the type

between phaser and ﬂanger, to check the dierent impact of these two algorithms, and the modulation

scheme will remain unchanged.

Browse knob

When you’ve got an eects module in focus, this knob selects between the local presets. In other words,

it chooses between dierent presets for distortion stomps, reverb settings, etc. When this knob is turned,

the display shows a list of available settings; and further turns will select between them. In Performance

mode, the BROWSE knob can be used to quickly browse the list of available performances. In Browse

mode this knob can be used to quickly browse the list of available rigs.

(3)

Page navigation

When a module is in focus, these buttons will switch between pages if more than one page is available for

a given module.

Exit button

This button is used to return to the “play” page. Also, you can use EXIT to cancel an operation.

(5)

(4)

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER16

On/O button

This button switches the currently selected module or section on and o. The light of the module or sec-

tion button shows you if a module is active or bypassed. You can also switch a module on and o by press-

ing the module button itself.

Lock button

The LOCK button will keep a section or a module from being changed when you make rig changes. In

other words, if you want to preserve all the settings for a section, press the Lock button. Once a section is

locked, no matter what other sections (or modules) you change, the parameters of the locked section will

remain unchanged.

Let’s say you want to lock a Wah eect on stomp A. To do this, choose or dial your desired Wah eect and

press LOCK, while the Wah eect is still in focus. Now you can switch rigs as often as you want. The Wah

will stay on stomp A until you unlock it again.

Another example would be to lock the reverb in its bypassed state, to make sure that all the rigs will sound

dry for the rest of the session. To do this, bring the reverb into focus by pressing REVERB for half a sec-

ond. Then switch it o, and press LOCK. This way, you can prevent the reverb from being switched on by

the next change of rig.

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You can also use the lock function creatively to ﬁnd new combinations between several sections. For ex-

ample: you can lock the stack section once you have found your favorite amp/cabinet combo, and then

switch rigs, so you can try this amp with stomp and eects from other rigs.

Locking a module will prevent it from being changed when you select a dierent rig. However, you can still

edit and recall presets for locked modules: Simply select a locked module – and adjust its settings accord-

ingly.

To get an overview about the lock state of the modules: press and hold LOCK, and the status of the button

LEDs will change - all locked modules will be lit, while all non-locked modules remain unlit. To lock or un-

lock individual modules, press their respective buttons while holding the LOCK button.

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 17

Copy and paste buttons

Use the COPY and PASTE buttons to grab a module and copy its data to another similar location. For

example, you can copy and paste the settings of one stomp to another, either within the same rig, or an-

other rig entirely. To do this, select a module and press COPY. Next, select a destination module and press

PASTE . Voilà!

In general, you can use common sense to determine if the KPA will let you copy settings from one module

to another. For example, you cannot copy the reverb settings to the amp module. However, it is possible

to copy a Stomp to slot X or MOD in the eects section. Go ahead and try whatever you want; you will be

alerted if what you’re attempting is not possible.

Store button

Use the STORE button on the left side of the display to save any changes you have made to a module or

rig.

Pressing Store within an edit page will give you the option to save either the settings of the currently-

selected module as a local preset, or to save the entire rig. Make your choice and on the next page, choose

between three dierent options using the soft buttons. “Replace” will overwrite the currently-selected

rig with the new version. “Store as ...” will save the rig under a new name, and “Rename” will allow you to

change the name of the rig, and then replace the current one with it.

(9)

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In the next step you are able to edit the name of the rig.

Soft Button #1 Insert a space to the left of the selected character.

Soft Button #2 Clear the selected space or character.

Soft Knob #1 Toggle between upper case and lower case letters.

Soft Knob #4 Scroll through the available characters.

Press STORE again to complete the procedure.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER18

Gain knob

The GAIN knob controls the amount of distortion and covers an extremely wide range from ultra-clean to

totally distorted. The GAIN control allows for the same large range on all proﬁles, even if the original amp

has a more limited gain range.

The gain parameter compensates for the loss in level with any amount of gain reduction. You can turn

the gain value to zero for every amp proﬁle and the result will be a totally undistorted and uncompressed

sound that has the same perceived loudness as the fully distorted version.

Speaking of clean sounds, let’s talk about perceived loudness in respect to gain level. With distorted

sounds, the perceived loudness is often determined by the amount of distortion,notby the level of the

guitar. On the other hand, the perceived loudness of an undistorted, purely clean sound often depends on

the type of pickups of your guitar. Our level compensation feature for clean sounds might emphasize such

dierences in level.

So, if you notice that your guitar is too low or too high in volume when you turn the gain down to zero, ad-

just the “Input Clean Sens” parameter. This adjusts the sensitivity of the clean input so that the clean sound

has the same loudness as the distorted version. Setting the correct input sensitivity is crucial if you want to

get the most out of your Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer.

(10)

Input button

Press this button to enter the input section where you set the input sensitivity for your guitar. There are

two parameters in this section: “Clean Sens” and “Distorted Sens”. Each one can be modiﬁed using a dedi-

cated soft knob. The NOISE GATE, with its dedicated knob, also belongs to the input section.

The input section is locked by default. The settings will be relevant for every rig or performance until you

decide to unlock it. If you unlock this section, the input settings will be individually saved and recalled per

rig. Alternatively, you can leave the input section locked, and create local presets for individual guitars. You

can then switch between these presets independently of switching rigs.

(11)

 For example: if you want to use dierent guitars, you can create an customized local presets for each.

When you switch guitars, simply select the respective local input preset, and the rest of the rig will remain

unchanged. Remember: the input section is locked by default, therefore changing rigs will not aect it.

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 19

 Clean Sens and Distorted Sens

Dierent types of guitars produce dierent output levels depending on their pickups and string gauge: for

example, humbucker pickups generate higher voltages compared to single coils, and active guitars gener-

ate even hotter signal levels.

As we already mentioned, you can adjust the volume compensation of the instrument INPUT by setting

“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 the amp or the eects are driven. A low

level guitar output stays clean, a hot guitar will still distort more easily.

 Extremely hot guitars can generate unwanted distortion. To prevent this we recommend a lower “Clean

Sens” value.

If you feel that your guitar tends to drive the distortion too hot (or too soft) for the majority of preset rigs,

then calibrate your guitar by setting “Distorted Sens”, to the left or right from the neutral zero position.

Input LED

The LED reﬂects the level of the input signal. Green is OK, yellow is still OK, red is too high.

Noise gate knob

This knob controls the NOISE GATE, which eliminates the noise and hum of your guitar in a very smart

way. Turn the NOISE GATE knob to the right, until noise and hum have disappeared; do not turn it beyond

that point, as this might alter the sound of your guitar. When set to the appropriate position, you will no-

tice that the noise gate is capable of eliminating noise and hum, even when the strings still sound. There is

no need for an additional release control as in classic noise gates. The noise gate settings can be stored as

part of a rig.

With the chicken-head set to Proﬁler mode, the noise gate will also work with the connected ampliﬁer, but

without interfering with the result.

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KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER20

Master button

This button brings the master settings, such as “Master volume” and “Output Routing”, into focus. The set-

tings are global and are therefore not saved with the rig. Instead, use local settings to store speciﬁc adjust-

ments for dierent clubs, studios or rehearsal rooms.

(14)

 A dedicated soft button allows you to disable the speaker emulation for the MONITOR out, should you

wish to connect the KPA directly to a power amp driving a guitar cabinet.

Master volume knob

“Master Volume” is always global, and therefore not stored with a rig. To control headphone volume, please

use the dedicated soft control in the master section, which can be accessed by pushing the MASTER but-

ton. Changing the volume doesn’t aect the color of sound.

Volume knob

VOLUME controls the relative volume of a rig, and is stored as a part of it. Use this control to level out vol-

ume dierences between rigs. Again, changing the volume doesn’t aect the color of sound.

(16)

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BACK PANEL OVERVIEW 21

2 3

Back panel overview

Now that we’ve gone over the front panel, let’s give you a basic overview of what you’ll ﬁnd on the back

panel.

Master out section

This is your MAIN STEREO out. Use these outputs to connect to a mixing desk in a recording studio, or to

the front of house mixer in a live situation. These outputs deliver the entire rig: amp, cabinet and all eects.

The outputs are symmetrical and you have a choice of XLR or quarter-inch jack. Like all ins and outs it of-

fers a GROUND LIFT to prevent a hum loop.

(1)

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER22

Monitor Out section

Use this mono output to connect the KPA to a stage monitor with its own level controls. This output also

has its own GROUND LIFT.

You can also connect this output to a power amp and a regular guitar cabinet. In this case, you need to

switch the cabinet simulation o, using the soft button “Monitor Cab O” in the master page, to prevent

unwanted coloration created by running a speaker-emulated signal through a guitar cabinet.

Direct Output/Send

This carries the direct output signal in glorious mono. The main purpose for this output is to feed signals

into the reference amp while proﬁling. But it can do more than just that: you can also use the DIRECT

OUTPUT in combination with the RETURN INPUT to create an eects loop. In this case, the DIRECT OUT-

PUT becomes a mono send.

If you’re not using this output as part of an eects loop, it will carry the original guitar signal. So, if you

want to record your guitar dry, connect the DIRECT OUTPUT to the recording device or audio interface

input.

(2)

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Return and Alternative Input

Use these inputs to connect the output of external equipment with your KPA. Their main use is for proﬁl-

ing - use either input as the return from the reference amp. Use the quarter-inch input to take a line-level

signal from a digital amp, speaker simulation or subgroup of a mixing desk. Use the XLR INPUT as appro-

priate, for instance with a microphone. Please note that the KPA’s XLR input does not provide phantom

power.

As mentioned previously, the RETURN can also be used to create an external, mono eects loop in com-

bination with the DIRECT OUT. Select “Loop Mono” or “Loop Distortion” in one of the stomps to include a

hardware eect in your signal ﬂow. In the EFFECTS section (X or MOD) you can also select “Loop Stereo”.

(4)

BACK PANEL OVERVIEW 23

In this case, the RETURN works in combination with the ALTERNATIVE INPUT to achieve a stereo loop re-

turn.

Power connector

Connect this to your wall outlet using the supplied power cable. The internal, universal power supply ac-

cepts 100 - 240V AC via the usual IEC inlet.

USB

Use the USB host port to connect USB sticks for backups and OS updates. See “Updates, backup and

sharing sounds” for details.

(6)

Pedals and switches

You can connect a variety of pedals and switches to control several functions. Pedal #2 is the volume ped-

al by default. When you connect a foot switch, use the parameters in System mode to assign that pedal to

perform a variety of functions. Pedal #1 defaults to the control of Wah-type eects.

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MIDI

Use these ports to connect the KPA to MIDI equipment. You can send MIDI program changes to switch be-

tween rigs.

(8)

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER24

S/PDIF digital I/O

This is a digital input and output that can be used to connect the KPA to other S/PDIF compatible devices

such as certain computers and audio interfaces.

(9)

USING THE TUNER 25

Using the tuner

The tuner LEDs above the chicken head knob are always active so you can monitor your tuning while you

play. Even when you’re not in tuning mode, the LEDs give you general information whether your guitar is

in tune or not. If a guitar string is far out of tune, only the outer LEDs will be on. If your string is closer to

proper tuning, the middle LED gets brighter. If your string is in tune, only the middle LED will be lit. So to

tune your strings, make sure that the white LED in the middle is on, and the surrounding green LEDs are

both o.

If you want a far more advanced tuner, you can use the chicken head knob to activate Tuner mode. When

Tuner mode is engaged, a large tuner graphic appears and addition, unique tuner functions become avail-

able:

Mute Signal This determines whether the audio is sent to the MASTER OUTPUTS or not. To tune

your guitar silently, enable “Mute Signal”. The signal will then be muted, but only while you’re in Tuner mode. This is a neat way to mute the signal temporarily; for example, to avoid unwanted noise when you change guitars.

Master Tune Use “Master Tune” to adjust the base pitch of the tuner, in case you need to tune

your guitar to something other than 440 Hz.

 When the Tuner mode is enabled, the LEDs become more sensitive to softer levels.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER26

Building a rig

If you have ever used a digital guitar processor before, you will know that building your own rigs is part of

the fun! In the KPA you will ﬁnd it surprisingly easy, as well. Simply bring any module or section into focus,

activate it, and select from a range of presets using the BROWSE knob. Tweak to your liking, add spices if

necessary. To help get you started, here is a brief overview of the available modules:

Stomp section

This is a mono section. It includes all the built-in stomp box simulations that you can place before (pre-)

your virtual ampliﬁer stack. An idle stomp slot can be activated by pressing and holding the corresponding

Stomp A/B/C/D button. Once in focus, the soft button “Enable” recalls the default Wah algorithm. Alterna-

tively, use the Type knob to browse through all available stomp algorithms. Selecting an option will recall

the stomp and close the list browser.

 Stomp Types

There are several types of stomp boxes available in the stomp section, such as various Wah eects rang-

ing from bandpass to comb ﬁlters. There are also several distortion stomps available, which were modeled

after famous vintage pedals. On top of all this, modulation stomps such as Vintage Chorus, Hyper Chorus,

Vibrato, Air Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo and Rotary Speaker are included.

Most stomp parameters are self-explanatory, and a detailed overview of all available stomp parameters can

be found in the Reference Manual.

USING THE TUNER 27

Stack section

This is your “ampliﬁer stack” consisting of your ampliﬁer proﬁle, speaker cabinet proﬁle, and EQ. Pressing

the STACK button and holding it for a short moment will enter the stack edit mode. You can rename the

stack using soft button “Rename” or browse through the available stacks using the BROWSE knob.

Ampliﬁer module

Hold the AMPLIFIER button to display the ampliﬁer settings.

 Deﬁnition

This parameter determines the way the preamp distorts when overdriven. Every guitar amp produces a dif-

ferent kind of distortion. The “Deﬁnition” parameter controls the characteristic ﬁngerprint of the preamp.

The proﬁling process automatically sets “Deﬁnition” to the position that best represents the reference

amp.

Settings on the left of the parameter range Woody, muted, bluesy, or earthy textures with a

limited dynamic range.

Settings in the middle of the parameter range Fat and creamy textures with a greater dynamic

range.

Settings at the right of the parameter range Sparkling, brilliant, interactive and boutique.

As you can see, by tweaking “Deﬁnition”, you can change the preamp distortion characteristic completely.

So you could, for example, use this control to modernize the proﬁle of a vintage amp without having to

use additional stomps. Alternatively, start with a proﬁle of a modern tube amp and use “Deﬁnition” to give

it a more vintage sound, when driven.

You can also use “Deﬁnition” to align the sound of your guitar to the sound of your amp, if required. Don’t

be afraid to experiment until you get the balance that sounds best to you.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER28

 Power Sagging

Power sagging models the interaction between the guitar signal and the distortion stage. Often, you hear

guitarists talk about how the tubes “breathe” — that’s power sagging.

Increase the amount of “Power Sagging” to emphasize the velocity and energy of crunch sounds. The

guitar sound gains additional energy and presence, without raising the perceived volume of the distorted

signal.

When you turn “Power Sagging” beyond 50% you will go beyond what can be achieved with an analog

tube amp, but without losing any of the natural characteristics of the sound. At full force, “Power Sagging”

can make sparkling clean notes sound louder than distorted ones. In other words, you can use power sag-

ging to expand the dynamic range of the original sound. At 0% the original dynamic range is maintained.

 Pick

This is another exclusive and unique feature. It allows you to control the level and sharpness of the pick at-

tack independently from the sustained portion of the sound. The result is independent from the amount of

distortion. You can use this parameter to make clean sounds even more percussive without using a com-

pressor. With fully distorted sounds you can resurrect the attack phase of any notes that get drowned in

the natural compression caused by distortion. This will help you to make the ri cut through the mix more

eectively. If you set “Pick” to a negative value you will soften the attack, resulting in a more ﬂuid sound.

 Compressor

The compressor in the stack section is dierent from the others, because it is a part of the simulated amp

circuit. In other words, it allows for completely dierent sounds compared to compressors that are insert-

ed before (pre-) or after (post) the amp section. Distorted signals are not aected by compression; only

clean signals will be boosted. The dynamics of your playing are fully retained. Depending on the strength

of your picking, you can go from a crunchy sound to a compressed, clean sound. The volume knob on your

guitar works exactly as you would expect: for instance, reducing the volume of your guitar will transform a

dynamic crunch into a clean, compressed sound with full energy.

 You can ﬁnd more information regarding the remaining amp parameters in the Reference guide.

USING THE TUNER 29

EQ button

Holding the EQ button will bring it into focus. The soft knobs underneath the display control the following

parameters for the EQ:

Soft Knob #1 Low frequency range.

Soft Knob #2 Mid frequency range.

Soft Knob #3 Treble frequency range.

Soft Knob #4 Presence.

Cabinet button

The CABINET button brings the cabinet section into focus. You can freely combine cabinets and amps

from dierent proﬁles to create new stacks, as well as tweak the following three parameters for every cabi-

net:

 High Shift, Low Shift

Both of these parameters inﬂuence the characteristic formants of a cabinet proﬁles. “High Shift” will make

the higher formants more prominent, whereas “Low Shift” does the same for the lower frequencies. These

controls simulate the eect of changing the size of the cabinet.

 Character

Use this parameter to change the overall character of the cab. Turning the knob to the right will enlarge

the highs and lows in the frequency response curve. This will results in more presence, but may sound too

penetrating at extreme values. Turning it to the left will smooth the dierences between the peaks and

troughs in the frequency response curve. Of course, this will also ﬂatten the character of the cabinet. To-

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER30

wards the left most position, the sound will resemble that of analog cabinet simulations (which often have

a very limited frequency response and little character).

Eects section

The Eects section is where you can add stereo eects after (post-) the mono stomps section and the

amp stack. It consists of the following modules:

 X

The X stomp can use the same eects as the stomp boxes, but in stereo, which is especially useful with ef-

fects like chorus that spread the sound over the stereo image.

 Mod

MOD can also use the same eects as the stomp boxes. However, this module is equipped with hardware

controls which are designed to work speciﬁcally with modulation eects such as Chorus, Flanger, Phaser

or Rotary. For this reason we recommend saving this slot for these types of eects. Modulation rate and

intensity can be controlled using the dedicated RATE and INTENSITY knobs.

 Delay

These are the built-in delay eects. You can determine the stereo placement of the delay signals, the

rhythmic values of the repeats, and also the character of their sound. Delay feedback and mix can be con-

trolled conveniently using the dedicated hardware controls.

USING THE TUNER 31

The Proﬁling Ampliﬁer provides three types of delays in the DELAY module on the right.

Tap Delay The delay time is linked to the tempo as selected in RIG settings, or by the TAP

tempo button.

Free Delay Delay time is freely adjustable in milliseconds, and independent from the TAP

tempo. The delay time can be changed transparently, with no audible artifacts, which is also true for the tap delay.

Analog Delay Delay time is adjustable in milliseconds, like in the free delay. However, adjusting the

delay time will create those crazy pitch shifts or Doppler eects, known from the good ol’ bucket brigade delays.

More details about delay parameters can be found in the Reference manual.

 Delay LEDs

The delay LEDs will indicate the delay pattern by blinking in sync with the tempo.

 Reverb

This is the built-in reverb eect. It includes several room- and hall-type reverbs. The reverb’s TIME and MIX

parameters can be controlled with the dedicated hardware knobs on the upper half of the front panel.

 Both delay and reverb tails will even survive rig changes that use dierent delay and reverb settings. This

is called “spill over”.

Tap tempo

 Tap button

A number of eects allow timing parameters to be determined by the tempo of the song you play. These

include the delay time in the Tap Delay, and the rate parameter of the Phaser, Flanger, Tremolo and other

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER32

modulation eects. All factory rigs have the tempo disabled by default, as we cannot know in advance

what tempo you are going to need.

When no tempo has been set, these parameters will show you the absolute time values in Hertz or sec-

onds.

There are three ways to activate the tempo:

• Tap the desired tempo on the TAP button.

• Select the speciﬁc beats per minute (BPM) using the “Tempo” parameter within the rig menu.

• Send MIDI Clock from another device.

When the tempo is engaged and active, the respective rate parameters of the modulation eects will show

you musical values instead of absolute time values.

Between each regular musical value you will ﬁnd dotted and triplet values. The unnamed values in be-

tween will rarely make musical sense, but will allow you to dial through the rates in a ﬁne resolution, even

when the tempo is engaged.

You will also ﬁnd a soft button labelled “Tempo Enable” in the rig menu. Here, you can enable/disable the

tempo, as required. To really get the most out of TAP tempo, you can assign a foot switch to this param-

eter, and simply tap the beat with your foot while you play.

 If a rig has a set tempo, all tempo related parameters are displayed in note values.

CONFIGURE YOUR SYSTEM PREFERENCES 33

Conﬁgure your system preferences

System button

Press SYSTEM to access the “global settings” pages. Global settings remain unaected when you change

to another rig. Parameters in the system menu include “Pedal Settings”, “LED Intensities”, “Display Con-

trast”, “Time And Date”, among others.

Module button behavior

You have learned that the module buttons have two purposes:

• Switch a module on or o (press button brieﬂy).

• Bringing a module into focus (hold the button for a little while).

If you feel uncomfortable with holding the module buttons to put an eect into the focus, you can change

the behavior of the buttons in the system menu by activating “Direct Edit”. In this mode a short push of a

module button puts the module into focus, just as the RIG or SYSTEM buttons do.

There are still two ways to switch a module on and o: either bring the eect into focus and use the ON

button, or hold the ON button while pressing the module buttons that you want to switch. This procedure

will work in any situation. Even while editing one eect, you can switch other eects on and o by holding

the ON button while you press the respective module buttons.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER34

Using a MIDI pedal to switch rigs

You can assign a unique MIDI program change number to each rig (up to a maximum 128 rigs). To do so,

select a rig in Browse mode and press the SYSTEM button. Navigate to the “MIDI Settings” page and lo-

cate the “PrgChg Settings” soft button. Press this to see a list of all available assignments.

Rig button

This button is used to access rig-related parameters that are not covered elsewhere on the front panel, for

example “Tempo”.

Quick button

The QUICK button calls up a user-selectable page in an instant.

USING PERFORMANCE MODE 35

Using performance mode

Editing performances

This mode is for live playing. It allows you to organize rigs in what we call “performances”. Each perfor-

mance is a collection of ﬁve rigs together in one place. This allows you to switch between them quickly

and easily, for instance from the verse to the chorus sounds of a song, by using a foot switch or MIDI pro-

gram change.

You can navigate through the chain of rigs using the rig LEFT and RIGHT buttons.

Use soft button “Get Rig” to choose a rig for the currently-selected slot in the performance, then use the

BROWSE knob to scroll through the list of all available rigs. Make your selection with the “Load” button.

Back in the general Performance mode screen, press soft button “Arrange Performance” to open up a dia-

log which allows you to re-order the rigs to your liking. Next, select the slot you would like to move using

the appropriate soft buttons (or the LEFT and RIGHT buttons). Finally, “Move Slot” will open up a dialog

where you can select a destination. Use “Rename Slot” to choose a meaningful name, such as “verse” or

“chorus”.

For more detailed information regarding managing performances please consult the Reference manual.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER36

Updates, backup and sharing sounds

The Kemper Proﬁling Ampliﬁer’s operating system can be updated to receive reﬁnements and new fea-

tures. All you need is an internet connection, a PC or Mac and a USB stick.

Updating the operating system

Please perform the following simple steps to update your KPA to a newer operating system:

You will need to use an empty USB stick in order to transfer the ﬁles from your Mac or PC to the KPA for

the ﬁrst time. When you connect a USB stick for the ﬁrst time, the KPA will format it to ensure maximum

reliability.

The next step is to download the latest operating system. Updates are free of charge and can be down-

loaded from the following URL:

www.kemperamps.com/start/

Expand the downloaded .zip archive and search for the update ﬁle called “kaos.bin” inside. Copy the ﬁle

into the “OS Update” folder on the pre-formatted USB stick using your Mac or PC. Next, unmount the USB

stick from your computer and plug it into the KPA. Follow the on screen instructions which will appear af-

ter a couple of seconds.

Creating and restoring backups

We recommend that you backup your rigs and performances on a regular basis. To do so, please plug the

prepared USB stick into your KPA, switch to Browse mode, hit soft button “External Storage” and you’ll be

presented with the following options:

UPDATES, BACKUP AND SHARING SOUNDS 37

 Backup

Use this option to backup your KPA. The backup will contain all user rigs, performances and local presets.

If an older backup is already present, it will not be deleted but renamed automatically. To backup, select

the soft button “Backup” and wait until you’re notiﬁed that the backup has been completed. This proce-

dure can take several minutes. Never remove the USB stick until you’re prompted to do so. All successful

backups can be found inside a folder called “Backups” on your USB stick.

 Restore

This option restores a backup from your USB stick to the KPA. When multiple backups are detected, the

most recent one will automatically be restored. Conﬁrm by selecting the soft button “Restore” and wait

until the procedure has been completed. Note that restoring a backup will replace all rigs, performances

and local presets with the backup. In order to merge a backup ﬁle with the existing content, please pro-

ceed as follows:

Importing rigs, performances and local presets

Over time, we will give you access to a mind-blowing variety of the highest quality proﬁles and rigs. Those

and other goodies can be downloaded from our website here: www.kemperamps.com/start/

In order to transfer these ﬁles from your Mac or PC to your KPA, please copy them to the directory called

“Shared” on your dedicated USB stick. Next, plug the USB stick into the USB slot on the rear panel of your KPA and switch to Browse mode. Wait for a couple of seconds and then press the soft button “External

Storage.” You will then be presented with an option to import the new content. Importing the content will

merge the new data with your existing proﬁles, rigs and performances.

 Unlike other platforms, you don’t need to unmount the USB stick, you can simply remove it once the task

is completed.

 In certain cases you may want to merge a backup with the existing content. To do so, copy the backup in

question from the “Backups” to the “Shared” folder using your Mac or PC and perform an import as de-

scribed above.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER38

KPA and MIDI

You can use MIDI to send program changes to switch between rigs. You can send MIDI messages to the

KPA either using your computer and a MIDI interface, or by using a dedicated MIDI control pedal.

For more detailed information please consult the Reference Manual.

Proﬁling Guide

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER40

Proﬁling an amp

Now we’re getting to the fun stu! Proﬁling your own amp, custom digital simulation, or favorite stomp

box is what sets the KPA apart from every other digital ampliﬁer out there. We’ve spent years getting our

proﬁling system to deliver the goods in terms of sound quality, playability, and ease of use — all wrapped

in a user-friendly interface. So while there’s a lot of science and technology behind the concept of proﬁl-

ing, you’ll ﬁnd that it’s quite easy to actually do; this guide can show you the basics and get you started

right away.

General considerations

In order to make a proﬁle, the original ampliﬁer (which we will refer to as the “reference amp”) has to be

connected to the KPA using the DIRECT OUTPUT and the RETURN INPUT on the back. The KPA then

sends various tones and signals into the reference amp — it will sound like warbles and static at various

pitches and intensities, in other words: not too musical! To get technical for a moment: these dynamically-

changing sounds allow the KPA to learn about the nonlinear behavior of the tube architecture and the

dimensions of the passive components in the original amp. The KPA then listens to how the reference amp

reproduces these sounds and analyzes the results. These characteristics are then recreated in the virtual

signal ﬂow of the KPA. Even the characteristics of the speaker cabinet and microphones, including all the

frequency buildups and cancellations, are detected and become a part of the proﬁle.

If that sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry about it. The important thing to understand is that those

weird sounds are how the KPA determines the unique way that your reference amp changes the sound of

your guitar dynamically over time. With the information the KPA gets from those weird sounds, it is able to

create a digital proﬁle of your reference amp.

You can also proﬁle solid-state amps and modeling amps, although the results from proﬁling modeled

amps can sometimes be underwhelming. The reason for this is that some emulations try to mimic the typi-

cal tube sound using techniques that don’t necessarily match the analog reality.

PROFILING AN AMP 41

 Proﬁling with eects in the recording chain

Many guitarists get their signature sound by combining distortion pedals, booster pedals and equalizers/

ﬁlters with a tube amp. If you want to do this, you can keep these in the signal chain during the proﬁling

process — they will all be accurately proﬁled as a part of the reference amp sound. However, there is one

exception: some distortion pedals use a special design that cannot be proﬁled accurately, for instance the

Tube Screamer.

If you do include your eects chain with your amp proﬁle, but are not happy with the result, try again with-

out the distortion pedal. Remember, you can always use one of the modeled distortion pedals in the KPA

instead when building your rig.

Other eects should be bypassed during the proﬁling process because they will adversely aect the re-

sult, making it sound less natural and dierent to the original amp tone. These include: compressors, noise

gates, and time/modulation/reverb eects such as delay, reverb, chorus, and so on.

You might also run into trouble when proﬁling a sound in which both the pre- and power amps of the ref-

erence ampliﬁer are driven into distortion. If the resulting proﬁle sounds unsatisfying, try to reduce the vol-

ume of the power amp. This will make the result sound somewhat more transparent, without signiﬁcantly

reducing the amount of distortion. The same is true for those modeling amps which oer a separate gain

control for pre- and power amp.

The KPA only allows for mono proﬁling. Stereo proﬁling is not currently supported, but really, how many

classic guitar amps feature true stereo circuitry, anyway?

Since the KPA sends its own test-tones into the reference amp during proﬁling, it should be obvious that

the sound of your guitar isn’t part of the result. The KPA is designed to react to any guitar in an identical

way to the reference amp that was proﬁled.

 Monitoring while taking proﬁles

The output of the reference amp can be monitored through the outputs of the KPA. This way, you can

switch between listening to the original reference amp signal and the proﬁled version using the soft but-

tons in the proﬁling mode. In fact, we recommend that in order to avoid any confusion between what you

are hearing and what the KPA is proﬁling, the reference amp should only be monitored using the KPA. To

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER42

ensure that you are only hearing your reference ampliﬁer through the KPA, it’s a good idea to place the

speaker cabinet of the reference amp in a dierent room (in other words, somewhere you won’t hear it)

and away from the monitor system you are using for the KPA. Keep in mind that this will not change the

result of the proﬁling process in any way, but will make A/B comparisons between the reference amp and

the KPA much easier.

If you want to make proﬁles of computer-based amp simulations, but without using any kind of external

mixer for monitoring purposes, you need to be careful not to create a feedback loop. One easy way to

avoid potential feedback loops is by using only headphones to monitor the output of the KPA while proﬁl-

ing. You can also make appropriate settings in your DAW to prevent the output signal of the KPA from be-

ing routed back into the KPA.

 Considerations regarding noise and hum

If you’re proﬁling a very high-gain sound, you’ll probably hear a certain amount of noise from your guitar

amp. This is the well-known “high-gain hiss” and nothing unusual. However, if you detect hum, or other

noisy artifacts, from your reference amp then you probably have a ground loop. Press the GROUND LIFT

switch on the back of the KPA for both the MAIN OUTPUTS and the RETURN INPUT. If that does not solve

the problem, try dierent combinations using the other GROUND LIFT switches. It is important that at

least one of the GROUND LIFT switches is not pressed to make sure that the KPA has at least one ground

connection.

 Remember that hum and noise is undesirable and might have a negative inﬂuence on the proﬁling process.

Often, the best results are achieved by pressing the GROUND LIFT buttons for all outputs except for the

DIRECT OUT.

 Other considerations

 Make sure that you are hearing the previously-selected rig in the KPA when you set the A/B comparison

to “Kemper amp”, and the to “Reference Amp” when you switch to reference amp. If you don’t, re-connect

your reference amp to the KPA.

 Playing back proﬁles over the MONITOR OUT using a regular guitar cabinet is one of the main features of

the KPA, but it is not recommend to use a guitar cabinet as a reference monitor for a proﬁling session. For

PROFILING AN AMP 43

best results it is crucial to do the proﬁling session in a typical studio setting using linear studio monitors or

a PA.

 If your amp provides a spring reverb, remember to turn it o for the proﬁling process.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER44

Making connections

Connections for proﬁling a hardware guitar amp

Here are a few typical scenarios for the most common proﬁling setups:

• Connect your guitar to the INPUT jack of the KPA.

• Connect the DIRECT OUTPUT/SEND of the KPA to the guitar input of your hardware ampliﬁer.

• Connect your microphone or microphone preamp to the RETURN INPUT jack of the KPA (use either the

XLR or quarter-inch input depending on your microphone or microphone preamp).

Guitar In

Direct Out / Send

Reference Amp

Cabinet

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER

Input

Return

Main Outs

MAKING CONNECTIONS 45

The above assumes that you are miking the speaker cabinet connected to your reference amp. If you are

taking a direct, cabinet-simulated output either from the amp itself, or from a speaker load box such as the

Hughes & Kettner Redbox or Palmer boxes, you can connect the line-out from a load box directly to the

RETURN INPUT of your KPA.

The reference amp that you want to proﬁle has to be connected to the KPA in such a way that only the

KPA will send and receive the signals. This eectively turns the KPA into a monitoring device.

Avoid any other connections that might lead to confusion and end up corrupting the results. For example,

if you want to use several microphones with your reference amp you should route the signals of these

microphones to a subgroup of your mixer, and then route the output of that subgroup directly to the PRO-

FILING INPUT. You can use the EQ and phase switches on the mixer to optimize the mix. Make sure that

the signal is only routed to the KPA and isn’t duplicated at the main outs of the mixer.

Guitar In

Reference Amp

Cabinet

Direct Out / Send

Input

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER

Return

Main Outs

Output

Main Outs

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER46

It’s a good idea to make the KPA the central hub for all your guitar recordings and use it as your main

switching device. That way you can use all of your favorite amps alongside the internal eects of the KPA.

Once you’ve ﬁnished recording, it will only take a few button pushes to preserve the exact sound for future

use.

Connections for proﬁling a combination of amp and stomp box

Guitar In

Reference Amp

Cabinet

Stomp

Direct Out / Send

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER

Input

• Connect your guitar to the INPUT of the KPA.

• Connect the DIRECT OUTPUT/SEND from the KPA to the input of your stomp box.

• Connect the output of the stomp box to the input of your reference ampliﬁer.

• Connect the microphone or microphone preamp to the RETURN INPUT of the KPA.

Return

Main Outs

MAKING CONNECTIONS 47

 The KPA can only accurately proﬁle preamp stomp boxes such as overdrive and distortion pedals, Eqs and

ﬁlters, tube preamp pedals, and so on. Attempting to proﬁle a delay, reverb or modulation pedal is unlikely

to work as expected. In other words: your mileage might vary.

Connections for proﬁling a computer-based guitar amp simulation

• Connect your guitar to the INPUT of the KPA.

• Connect the DIRECT OUTPUT/SEND from the KPA to the appropriate input on your computer’s audio in-

terface.

• Route the output of your guitar amp simulation software to a speciﬁc hardware output of your computer’s

audio interface.

• Connect the output in question to the RETURN INPUT of the KPA.

 When proﬁling a guitar amp simulation, be sure to switch o the noise gate in your guitar amp simulation

software.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER48

Taking a proﬁle

Once the reference amp is setup just the way you like it, it’s time to start proﬁling Don’t worry, once you

read through this guide and tried it for yourself, we are sure you’ll agree that proﬁling is a very simple and

straightforward process.

Start by choosing a rig in Browse mode. It’s a good idea to choose a proﬁle that is somewhat related in

character to the reference amp. This will give you the chance to compare the existing rig with that of the

setup you are about to proﬁle, thereby ensuring that you get a result that is even better suited to your

needs.

 Switch o any eects loop in the rig you have chosen, to prevent your reference amp from sitting in the

eects loop of its own proﬁle. Eects loops are indicated by the LED color white.

Using other built-in KPA eects in the reference rig while you are proﬁling is not a problem. Those eects

you have engaged will still be audible when you switch to your reference amp, so you can conﬁgure the

KPA’s stomp boxes and other eects in the Proﬁling amp to suit your reference amp tone, even before tak-

ing the proﬁle. When you have taken the proﬁle and stored it as a part of a new rig, all the stomps and ef-

fects that were part of the original rig will be stored also.

 If you prefer a pure sound with no eects, you can either switch any stomps and eects o prior to proﬁl-

ing, or choose a rig with no active stomps and eects.

Next, turn the chicken-head to the Proﬁler position. At this point, you will still hear the previously selected

rig. Use the soft buttons to switch between the reference amp and the KPA/proﬁle.

 Output levels

Set the output level of the reference amp to roughly the same level as the internal sound of the KPA. You

can check level dierences by switching back and forth between the current rig and your reference amp.

You can adjust the incoming volume of your reference amp with the “Proﬁling Return Level” parameter. If

the master LED turns red when you play your reference ampliﬁer, the level is too hot. Once the proﬁling

procedure is ﬁnished, the KPA will ﬁne tune the monitoring volume automatically so there will be no dier-

ence in perceived loudness.

TAKING A PROFILE 49

Please remember to leave a few decibels of headroom in your microphone preamps and the rest of the

signal chain. The test signals can get a bit louder than a regular guitar signal, and might cause clipping in

your signal chain if you don’t leave enough headroom. Be sure to watch your level meters while the proﬁl-

ing is in progress, just to be sure there are no overloads.

Press the soft button labeled “Next”.

On this page you can inform the KPA whether the sound you want to proﬁle is clean or distorted by press-

ing the appropriate soft buttons. If your reference amp has a clean sound you can set the KPA to “Clean”.

In truth, this step isn’t strictly necessary; the KPA will detect if the reference amp is clean automatically

during the proﬁling process. However, if you already know you’re proﬁling a clean amp, setting the KPA to

“Clean” before you begin proﬁling will ensure that no extremely loud signals are sent to the reference amp.

Why might you want to do this? Remember, a clean ampliﬁer has a wider dynamic range than a distorted

amp (because amp distortion also has a compressing eect), so pressing “Clean” can save your monitoring

equipment and your ears. To proﬁle a distorted sound, press — you guessed it — “Distorted”. You can also

use the EQ in this page to further shape the sound of the reference amp before you start proﬁling.

As soon as you select “Start proﬁling”, the KPA will send measurement signals (those weird sounds we

talked about at the beginning of this guide) to the reference amp.

Reﬁning the proﬁle

What if the proﬁle isn’t perfect? Maybe the characteristics of the distortion behavior don‘t match exactly,

or perhaps some frequency ranges are more prominent than others? In these rare cases, never fear! If the

automatic proﬁling process was unable to catch all the nuances of the reference amp, you can use the “Re-

ﬁne proﬁle” function.

Simply press “Reﬁne proﬁle” and play your guitar for about 20 seconds. This is no time for a meaningful

solo - you need to play several chords, with attitude! This will generate intermodulation in the distortion

that the KPA needs to do its reﬁning. In particular, you may ﬁnd that slightly crunchy sounds will beneﬁt

from the Reﬁne proﬁle process. Be sure to strum especially hard so that the KPA has a chance to analyze

the transients.

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER50

With completely clean sounds you don’t need to worry about reﬁning the distortion characteristics, so

“Reﬁne proﬁle” isn’t available. If you ﬁnd that the proﬁle oers a wider dynamic range, and a higher vol-

ume in the transients compared to the original, the reason is probably that the original sound was, in fact,

slightly distorted. This would have caused a small amount of compression, thereby aecting the result of

the proﬁling process. In such a case, simply repeat the whole procedure, but without using the “Clean” op-

tion.

Power amp tubes generate a dierent type of overtone structure than preamp tubes. They distort with a

harsher sound, because the negative feedback in the power amp circuit linearizes the tube ampliﬁcation.

This makes the distortion curve edgier. If you notice in the A/B comparison that the reference amp pro-

duces more high frequency distortion when light distortion is applied, you should set the “Tube Shape”

parameter to about 9.0, to get the same behavior from the proﬁle.

When you feel that you have reﬁned the proﬁle enough, press the blinking soft button to stop the process.

Now make another A/B comparison to check the result. Repeat the process if necessary as many times as

needed.

The resulting proﬁle

Once you are happy with the result of the proﬁling, you can store the sound in the KPA as a new rig. We

highly recommend that you save the proﬁle before you start modifying its parameters to preserve the

original settings.

Congratulations! You have added a new amp and a new cabinet to your KPA’s arsenal. You are now free to

combine each of them with other amps or cabinets in the KPA to create new hybrid stacks.

You will notice that the GAIN knob is automatically set to the same (audible) position as the reference amp

and the amp volume is the same as the other amp volumes to make it easy to compare dierent amps. The

actual gain range of the KPA is probably much larger than your original amp. This means that you can play

the new proﬁle from ultra clean to super distorted, even if you couldn’t do so on the reference amp itself.

In those situations where the reference amp was clean, the GAIN knob will be set to the minimum posi-

tion, while retaining all of the original volume. Of course, you’ll have no trouble turning up the GAIN knob

TAKING A PROFILE 51

to distort this sound if you want to! Inside the KPA, the “Preamp Deﬁnition” parameter has been set to the

center position, and can be modiﬁed at any time.

When it comes to crunch or high-gain sounds, the “Preamp Deﬁnition” value is automatically set to a posi-

tion that matches the reference amp. You can thus identify the virtual age of the reference amp and even

modify it on-the-ﬂy.

When you create a new proﬁle, “Power sagging” is set to zero by default. By increasing the amount of

power sagging, you can increase the dynamic range of your proﬁle. This can be especially useful if you

have proﬁled a reference amp that had a distorted sound with a limited dynamic range.

 Tip: If you set “Power sagging” to the two O’clock position, and set “Preamp Deﬁnition” a little higher than

its original setting, you can make the proﬁle of a great reference ampliﬁer sound even better, and more dy-

namic, than the original!

The sound of the reference amp’s equalizer circuitry becomes an intrinsic part of the proﬁle, but the actual

settings of the equalizer knobs are not replicated. We assume that the sound of the reference amp is ex-

actly the tone that you want to achieve, hence the equalizer in the KPA is set to a neutral state, leaving you

free to tweak the sound to your taste.

To make another amp proﬁle, just press the soft button labeled “Create New Proﬁle”. See? We told you it

was easy!

 Proﬁling a rotary speaker cabinet

The Kemper Proﬁling Amp already ships with some rotary speaker proﬁles and rigs which were captured

from the real thing, but if you have access to a dierent brand of rotary speaker, you can take your own

proﬁles, too.

To do this, ﬁrst set up the rotary speaker as you would in a normal recording situation. Next, connect the

whole chain to the KPA, just as you would with a guitar amp. This time, however, two microphones should

be used to capture the cabinet - one for the bass rotor, and one for the tweeter horn.

Connect the microphones to a mixer, create a mono mix of the two, and send this to the KPA’s RETURN

INPUT. The idea is for both microphones to be captured at the same time, resulting in a single proﬁle.

Now, switch your Rotary speaker to high speed and start the proﬁling procedure. The proﬁling process will

ignore the rotation of the cabinet and only capture the typical sound character. The resulting proﬁle will

KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER52

probably sound weird and uninspiring on its own, but when you engage the “Rotary speaker” stomp in the

MOD module, you’ll hear the rich and animated sound of your original rotary cabinet.

 Tip: Although the proﬁle is captured in mono, you can use the “Rotary speaker” stomp in the MOD or X

slot to recreate the typical stereo movement of the signal. The Rotary speaker eect will automatically

separate the bass rotor from the tweeter horn.

Under the hood

In case you enjoy reading about technical details, below is a description of what the KPA is doing during

the proﬁling process:

During the ﬁrst phase, you will hear white noise with a rising amplitude. The KPA is now collecting data

about the frequency response of the reference amp. The frequency response will change dramatically as

the gain increases. This is how the KPA learns about the circuitry of the reference amp and the frequency

response of the cabinet. Also, the characteristic impedance curve of the speaker, including its feedback to

the power amp, is detected in ﬁne detail.

In the next phase, slowly pulsating white noise is sent to the reference amp. The volume of the white noise

is set to a level at which the reference amp starts to distort. This is how the KPA learns about the dynamic

distortion curve of the tubes in the reference ampliﬁer. Using this information, the KPA is able to recreate

that curve with the highest possible accuracy. This is also true for transistor-based and digitally-modeled

distortions.

In the third step, the KPA sends a complex tonal texture that follows a mathematically-based set of rules

to the reference amp. This texture creates unique interference patterns that allow the KPA to take a “ﬁn-

gerprint” of the DNA of the reference amp’s particular sound. The distortion of the speaker, along with

the partial pattern of the loudspeaker diaphragm (also known as “cone breakup”) are excited by this tonal

mixture. They complete the characteristic interference pattern that the KPA will reproduce faithfully, once

the measurements have been taken.

If the reference amp is clean, the KPA skips the third phase (because there is no distortion to be mea-

sured).

Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head WH White, Profiling Amplifier Head WH White + Remote Control, Profiling Amplifier Head BK Black + Remote Control, Profiling Amplifier Head BK Black User manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Okay, so what did I just buy?

WHAT IS PROFILING? 9

Getting started

More on connecting your gear

Choose your rig

Stomps

Stack

Front Panel controls

Back panel overview

Using the tuner

Stack section

EQ button

Cabinet button

Tap tempo

CONFIGURE YOUR SYSTEM PREFERENCES 33

System button

Module button behavior

Using a MIDI pedal to switch rigs

Rig button

Quick button

Using performance mode

Editing performances

Updates, backup and sharing sounds

Updating the operating system

Creating and restoring backups

Importing rigs, performances and local presets

KPA and MIDI

General considerations

Making connections

Under the hood