Kemper Profiling Amplifier Rack BK Black + Remote Control, Profiling Amplifier Rack BK Black User manual
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER
The deeper view & reference manual 1.5
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© Copyright 2012 Kemper GmbH. All rights reserved.
www.kemperamps.com
Table Of Contents
Reference Manual
8 The deeper view
Volume
Master/Output Section
Volumes and Volume Link
Output Sources
17 Stack Section
3
Amplifier
EQ
Cabinet
22 Stomp Section
Wah Stomps (orange)
The Wah Parameters
Compressor and Noise Gate Stomps (cyan)
Noise Gate
Distortion Stomps (red)
Chorus and Modulation Stomps (blue)
Vintage Chorus
Phaser and Flanger (purple)
Phaser
Flanger
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER4
Equalizer Stomps (yellow)
Graphic Equalizer
Studio Equalizer
Metal Equalizer
Stereo Widener
Eect Loops (white)
44 Eects
Delay
Reverb
50 Rig
Tagging
Snapshots
Pedals
53 System
LCD/HW Setup
Pedal Settings
Date and Time
Version Information
56 Pedals, Program Changes and MIDI
Expression Pedals
Switches
Double Switches
Operation of a MIDI remote pedal
60 External Storage
Managing large amounts of rigs
67 MIDI parameter documentation
Index
5
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER6
Reference Manual
7
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER8
The deeper view
Welcome to the reference part of the KPA documentation. We assume that you have already read the first
part of the documentation (“The Basics”) by now, and therefore know your way around the product fairly
well. Most of this section is dedicated to the description of all the parameters for the Stomp modules and
eects; however, we will also provide additional details about certain aspects of the product and try to
give you a deeper understanding of how things work in our amplifier.
Volume
The VOLUME knob on the right side of the lower panel is the individual volume of the currently-selected
rig. Note that this parameter does not drive the sound into any power amp distortion, so it will not change
the character of the sound, only the volume. The setting is stored with the rig.
If you want to modify the overall volume of your Kemper Profiling Amplifier, use the MASTER VOLUME in-
stead.
The KPA is designed so that every profile, distortion or compression will produce approximately the same
loudness, thereby avoiding any extreme volume drops or peaks when you browse through the rigs. All the
factory rigs come with VOLUME set to the center position, which is the unity or default volume.
If you feel that clean rigs sound softer or louder than distorted rigs, please don’t try to fix it by adjust-
ing the volume of the rigs! Instead, you should readjust the “Clean Sens” parameter in the INPUT menu to
match your guitar to the KPA.
Try using the VOLUME knob to adjust the level of each rig to suit a particular song in a set list, rather than
to balance the level between all the rigs. Be sure to store the rig afterwards, if you want the volume change
to be permanent for that specific rig.
THE DEEPER VIEW 9
Master/Output Section
In the Output Section you find all settings that control the physical audio outputs of the Profiler. You can
set individual volumes and route dierent signals individually to several outputs. The whole Output section
settings can be stored as a local preset, in the way you have learned already with the stomps and eects.
Note: The volume level settings are not stored with the local output presets, as switching the presets
would result in dangerous volume jumps.
Note: The settings of the Output section are not stored per rig, but stay global settings. In the Profilers ter-
minology: They are locked and cannot be unlocked.
Volumes and Volume Link
In the first page of the Output menu you find individual volumes for dierent physical outputs.
Note: You will not find a volume for the Spdif output, because it is a good habit to keep the digital Spdif
signal at its full level.
When you press the correspondent button on top of the display, you can link or unlink the respective vol-
ume to the Master Volume Knob. Any volume that is linked will be controlled by the Master Volume Knob,
without having to enter the Output menu again. You can link more than one volume to the Master Volume
Knob. If you turn Master Volume, these volumes are adjusted relatively to each other. All Volumes can still
be controlled individually by the soft knobs in the Output menu.
An obvious live application is to unlink the Main Output that is going to the main mixing desk of the venue.
Now you can change the volume of your Monitor signal or Headphone while the important main signal re-
mains unchanged.
Note: When more than one volume is linked to the Master Volume Knob, and the highest volume has
reached its maximum, then softer volumes cannot be increased any more by the Master Volume Knob. This
is a necessary technical rule to preserve the relative volume settings. If one volume stays too soft, then
change the setting individually in the display.
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER10
Note: Linking or unlinking a volume never causes volume jumps. So it’s save to change the link settings
even live on stage.
Output Sources
In the second page of the Output menu you can modify the routing to the physical outputs, or in other
words, select the signal sources for the outputs. If you feel that every output delivers the signal that you
need, then feel free to skip this chapter. The factory settings for the signal sources cover most of the regu-
lar applications.
Each output can tap many dierent points in the signal flow. Here is a summarized description of signal
sources, that the outputs can tap. Not that not all sources are available for all outputs. The following listing
is not necessary the order of appearance but the best order for description.
O Self-explanatory – the output is muted.
Git Analog (Only available and default setting for the Direct Output).
The pure and clean instrument signal is sent to the Direct Output by an analog
splitter, no AD/DA conversion is taking place. The analog signal level is the same as
on the instrument input. Useful for reamping or running a second amp in parallel.
Git + Processing (Not available for Spdif Output).
Similar to “Git Analog” but AD conversion is taking place. This puts the noise gate
from the input section and the volume pedal in the signal path (if volume pedal is set
to “Pre Stomps”).
Note: The volume control of the respective outputs will have no impact on the source
settings “Git”, because they are made to reproduce the original instrument volume.
Git Studio Similar to “Git + Processing”, but here the instrument signal is sent out at studio
level, which is much louder as the original level. Thus no separate DI box is needed
to record the pure instrument for reamping purposes. Since the instrument volume is
high, the recommended leveling of “Clean Sense” in the Input Section is important.
Stack This signal is tapped directly behind the “Stack” section and does not include any
post amp eects.
THE DEEPER VIEW 11
Mod Stereo (Not available for Direct Output and Monitor Output, as these are mono outputs).
This stereo signal is tapped directly behind the MOD section and contains the whole
signal, but without Delay and Reverb.
Mod Mono Delivers a mono mix of the “Mod Stereo” signal.
Mod Left (or Right for Direct Output).
Delivers only one side of the stereo signal of “Mod Stereo” . This will sound similar to
Mod Mono but often less dense, depending what stereo eects are used.
Master Stereo (Default setting for Main Output and Spdif Output, not available for Direct Output
and Monitor Output, as these are mono outputs).
Represents the full signal with all eects in stereo.
Master Mono (Default setting for Monitor Output).
Delivers a mono mix of the “Master Stereo” signal.
Master Left (or Right for Direct Output).
Delivers only one side of the stereo signal of “Mod Stereo” . This will sound similar to
Master Mono but often less dense, depending what stereo eects are used.
Delay/Reverb
wet
The following three settings are only available for the Spdif Output. It allows you to simultaneously record
the pure instrument signal for reamping purposes (as described in “Git Studio”) and a mono amplifier
signal on your digital audio workstation. The pure instrument signal appears on the left side of the digital
Spdif signal, the amp signal on the right.
Git / Stack The left signal is the pure instrument, with noise gate and volume pedal (if volume
Git / Mod Left The same as above, but with the right signal taken from the left channel of the MOD
Git / Mod Mono The same as above, but with the right signal taken from the mono mix of the MOD
(Only available for Main Output and Spdif Output).
Only the wet stereo eect signal of the Delay and Reverb are sent to the Output. If
no Delay or Reverb is active, the output will remain silent.
pedal is set to “Pre Stomps”). The right signal side will carry the Stack signal and
does not include any post amp eects
section
section.
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER12
Now after the straight explanations of the output sources, here are some useful applications and com-
ments for your inspiration:
The Direct Output acts as an analog buer amp for the instrument input, when set to “Git Analog” – the
default setting. It qualifies well for reamping purposes as it provides a ground lift switch, as well as the
other analog outputs. Try dierent combinations of ground lifts for best hum and noise suppression. One
ground lift switch should always be o (that means “grounded”). Often you get best results if the Direct
Output is the one connection with no ground lift.
The Output Source setting for Direct Output is only active, when not in Profiler Mode and no analog ef-
fects loop (Stomp Loop) is active.
This can be used for a trick when you are profiling amplifiers: When you set Direct Output Source to “O”,
you can mute the reference amplifier by simply switching from Profiler mode to Browser mode. Back to
Profiler Mode your reference amp will play again.
Tip: the reference amp can also be muted while you stay in the Profiler mode. Simply press the ON/OFF
button while you listen to the profile (setting “Kemper Amp”) to mute the reference amp. This way you
can listen to the pure profile by your monitor speakers without having your reference amp play along. But
be aware that a valid A/B comparison of the original amp and the residual profile is only possible when
your reference amp is playing even when you listen to the profile, because muting the reference amp will
change the acoustic environment.
Use the Direct Output or any other output at setting “Git” for connecting an external instrument tuner.
The Monitor Output allows to run the amp sound without virtual cabinet, while other outputs still contain
the virtual cabinet. Engage “MonitorCabO” to switch o the cabinet. Any Output Source can be applied
to the Monitor Output with “MonitorCabO”. Of course the “Git” settings remain unaected by “Monitor-
CabO”. Read more about the Monitor features in the chapter “Monitor”.
The Main Output at Source setting “Delay/Reverb wet” will deliver the wet stereo eect signal of the Delay
and Reverb only. If you set the Direct Output to “Stack” or “Mod”, which is the complementary dry signal,
than you can send your amp signal through three cables to the front mixing desk. Your front mixer now
has the ability to mix the eect signal to the dry signal according to the actual room ambience of the ven-
ue. This method is called the Wet/Dry/Wet setup. Your mixer will love you for that!
And still you can use the Monitor Output separately from all that for your individual stage sound!
THE DEEPER VIEW 13
If you don’t need the Monitor Output on stage, you can expand the Wet/Dry/Wet setup to a four cable
Wet/Dry/Dry/Wet setup. Set the Monitor Output to “Mod Left” and the Direct Output to “Mod Right”.
Both Monitor and Direct Output form a new stereo sum, containing everything but Delay and Reverb. Now
you can send two stereo sums to the front mixing desk, where the Delay and Reverb signals are separated
from the non-reverberant eects (X and MOD).
Please take care that the cabinet for the Monitor Output is not switched o (“MonitorCabO” not en-
gaged). Also the volumes for Monitor and Direct Output should be the same.
If you want to control the volume of this setup, then link all participating volumes to the Master Volume
knob by the link buttons described above (Volume Link).
You can also setup an individually controllable stereo output separately from the Main Output: Set Monitor
Output Source to “Master Left” and Direct Output Source to “Master Right”. Link both volumes of Direct
and Monitor Output to the Master Volume Knob, and unlink Main Volume. Now you have a stereo monitor
signal, controllable by the Master Volume Knob, independent from the Main Output, that goes to the main
mixing desk.
Please be aware that you cannot disable the virtual cabinet for the Direct Output as well, as this function is
reserved for the Monitor Output only.
Monitor Output
The Monitor Output is dedicated to deliver a signal for your own monitoring on stage, unless it is not
“abused” for other purposes described above in the Chapter “Output Sources”.
You can connect the Monitor Output to a linear speaker or a side wedge on stage. If the speaker has no
power amp, you will need a separate power amp to drive the speaker.
The Monitor Output is also made for connecting it to a guitar speaker cabinet. Also in this case you will
need a power amp to drive the speaker. You can use any power amp, from tube amps to digital amps.
When you use a tube amp, please connect the Monitor Output to the eect return of the tube amp. This
way you only use the power amp portion of your tube amp, while the pre amp is not in the signal flow. The
pre amp would otherwise color the sound.
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER14
Running your Profiler through a guitar speaker cabinet is a special case, that needs some more explana-
tion:
The guitar speaker is a special speaker, as it is only capable of transmitting a limited frequency response.
Listening to music through a guitar speaker is not fun, due to that reason. But for guitar playing, espe-
cially for distorted sounds it is a must, as it damps the harsh high frequencies of the distortion. The lower
frequency components are heavily colored by the guitar speaker. This is why it is an important part of the
guitar sound.
To record the guitar sound through a guitar cabinet or further amplify it for a live concert it is inevitable
to place one or more microphones in front of the speaker to capture the complete sound of the rig. The
choice and positioning of the microphones will add even more flavor to the sound, and is an art of its own,
but fortunately easy to learn.
The Profiles in your Kemper Profiling Amp are captured by the same way. To have an authentic sound it is
as easy as connecting the Main Output of the Profiler to your studio or live mixing desk.
Now here is the crux: We have met many users of the Profiler that have a hard time to get used to the
sounds of our rigs, as they are taken by microphones. Many users are not familiar with these sounds, be-
cause they have been using their existing tube amps at home, in the rehearsal room or on small stages
without a monitoring system. They feel the miked sound is not the real guitar sound.
But we have to state: The miked sound IS the real sound. It is the sound that you hear on every record and
on every big concert. This is the sound that you will present to your audience. There is no other way to get
the sound of your amp on a recording or a big PA than by using microphones. It is standard since decades
to use close microphones in front of the speaker to capture the sound. Have you ever had the chance to
listen to the pure amp sound of your guitar heroes? Probably not, because you needed an invitation to
their home or rehearsal room. What you have heard is their great sound through a perfect microphone set-
ting – the only way they can present their art to you.
You hopefully understand now that it’s a good idea to get familiar with and care about the miked sound,
because this is what your audience will hear. You will get better results when you run the full profiles and
rigs through the monitor system of the live venue, as the singer and keyboarder use to do. This gives you a
better control about the sound in relation to the other instruments. Many professional musicians work like
this, they listen to the whole stage sound by stage monitors or in-ear monitors.
There are two more drawbacks of guitar cabinets: They are heavy, and they have a focused sound.
THE DEEPER VIEW 15
Focused means, the high frequencies are the loudest when you listen on the axis of the speakers. The high
frequencies are damped when you listen o-axis. Every speaker has a bit of this focus eect, but guitar
cabinets are really bad. The closer you stand by the cabinet, the more you get of axis and out of the focus,
because your ears are positioned much higher than the axis of the speakers. You will need quite a loud
volume to sit well in the musical mix on stage. Guess who are the victims? Your fellow musicians and your
audience in a small venue, who listen much closer to the axis of your speaker. Again they don’t hear what
you hear. And this might be the reason why guitarists are suspected to play too loud: It’s the focus.
Enough said.
The Profiler oers the possibility to run a guitar speaker cabinet, as mentioned. To make it sound perfect,
you have to bypass the virtual cabinet of the profile by engaging “MonitorCabO” in the Master/Output
menu. If you don’t do that, you will run your sound by the virtual and real cabinet in a row, causing the rig
to sound mued and overdone.
If you switch o the cabinet in the STACK section instead, the virtual cabinet will be bypassed for all out-
puts.
The sound you get is not the raw pre amp or power amp sound of the profile. Instead, the impedance
curve of the original cabinet that has been used for the original profile is retained. That means, you can
use a solid state power amp or a digital (class d) power amp to drive your cabinet. It is not necessary, and
would be a bit contradictionary to use a tube power amp, even though you can.
This might require some more explanation: There are two main dierences between tube power amps and
solid state power amps. While solid state amps try to optain a linear frequency response, tube power amps
often create an “artistic” nonlinear frequency response.
Solid state amps oer a low output impedance that dampens the resonances of the speaker. Tube power
amps don’t dampen that well, and let the speaker act out their resonances, thus creating an individual fre-
quency responce in addition to the tube power amps responce. This is sometimes called “interaction of the
amp and the speaker” by whatever reason. But technically spoken a solid state amp interacts to a higher
degree with the speakers by actively dampen the individual resonances of the speaker.
This behaviour makes the sound of solid state amps and digital amps more predictable, since they do not
recolour the sound. It allows the Profiler to colour the sound by the original impedance curve of the origi-
nal virtual cabinet, bringing the sound very close to how the original amp used to sound “in the room”.
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER16
This way you can run profiles of dierent amp models by the same monitor cabinet, even if your cabinet
does not match perfectly to certain amp models.
Of course we cannot anticipate the exact sound of the speaker cabinet you use. Some little finetuning on
the global Monitor Equalizer will help you to create the perfect “amp in the room” sound.
You can use tube power amps, too. If you own a tube guitar amp with a send and return jack on the back,
you can connect the Monitor Output of the Profiler straight to the return jack of your tube amp and thus
bypassing the pre amp section. This guarantees for the least colouration of the sound. Still your tube pow-
er amp will additionally colour the sound. You are running a tube power amp and a virtual tube power amp
in a row. You might need some larger corrections of the global Monitor Equalizer to make it sound right.
If you own a matching tube amp and cabinet and you want to replace the preamp by the Profiler but still
use the cabinet, you might get better results by profiling the preamp (tap it on the eect send of your
tube amp) and play the profile to the eect return of the tube amp.
STACK SECTION 17
Stack Section
The Stack section is the heart of the KPA. It represents the raw virtual guitar amplifier as defined by the
profile. Every profile is represented by the 3 modules that make the Stack section.
Amplifier
The AMPLIFIER button calls up a list of parameters that allow you to change the character of the profiled
amplifier in numerous ways using the soft knobs.
Definition
The “Definition” parameter controls the characteristic fingerprint of the preamp. The profiling process au-
tomatically sets “Definition” to a value that represents the reference amp. You could, for example, use it 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 into distor-
tion. 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 keep experimenting until you get the balance that sounds best to you.
Vintage amps distort the lower harmonics in the guitar signal which gives them their bluesy sound. These
amps were originally designed to deliver a clean sound, so to achieve a creamy distortion, these amps
need to be driven by a typical transistor-based device like a treble booster.
Modern tube amps use a dierent approach, in which the higher overtones of the guitar strings are the
driving force for the distorted sound. The expensive boutique amps take this concept one step further, by
providing an extreme level of top-end frequencies and a large dynamic range. The distortion has a spar-
kling quality to it, and preserves every nuance of the strings and pickups. Together with the characteristics
of the actual speaker, the individual distortion behavior creates the fingerprint that identifies the amplifier.
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER18
Power Sagging
“Power Sagging” models the interaction between the guitar signal and the distortion stage. 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 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 spar-
kling clean notes sound louder than distorted ones, so you can use it to expand the dynamic range of the
original sound. With “Power Sagging” set to 0%, the original dynamic range of the profile is maintained.
Power sagging is a phenomenon that occurs when the tubes draw a lot of electric power at high distor-
tion rates, thereby weakening the supply voltage. Under such load, the tubes will change their distortion
characteristics and sort of shut down; then as soon as the load lessens, the tubes catch their breath again.
What might at first seem like a technical limitation of the tube amp design has turned out to be a real ben-
efit for the musical expressivity of the guitarist. The KPA masters this technical behavior without degrad-
ing or changing the basic character of the amp model whatsoever.
• The amplifier interacts with the guitarist and reacts to the plectrum and fingers with the highest possible
sensitivity.
• The guitar sound gains extra energy and presence, without raising the perceived volume of the distorted
signal.
• Muted picking gives better results than usual, as the plectrum will not be suppressed.
• The realms of clean and distorted sounds move closer together, causing the velocity and energy of the
crunch sounds to grow. The amp doesn’t just distort everything mercilessly - instead, all of the fine nuances are represented faithfully. The overall sound becomes much more alive, with more punch and juice. It
almost sounds as if a compressor has been switched o, thereby allowing the guitar to establish itself a lot
easier among the other instruments on stage, such as the drums or bass.
As the dynamic range of an analog tube amp is limited by the laws of physics, power sagging can only go
to a certain level before the breakdown of supply voltage destroys the beauty of the distortion character-
istics. The KPA allows for a much wider dynamic range, while preserving the character of the tubes at the
same time.
STACK SECTION 19
Turning down the volume knob on the guitar results in a very natural, clean sound with full dynamics and
lots of energy.
Power sagging cannot be reproduced using a conventional compressor, but it can be further enhanced
with our dedicated compressor circuit. The breathing of the tubes becomes most apparent with dynami-
cally played, semi-distorted or so called crunch sounds. With fully distorted sounds the tubes are always
under full load, while clean sounds don’t put any load on the tubes at all. With sounds such as these, pow-
er sagging has only a minor eect.
Pick
The “Pick” parameter allows you to control the level and sharpness of the pick attack independently from
the sustained portion of the sound. The result is also independent from the amount of distortion. You can
use this parameter to make clean sounds even more percussive without having to use a compressor. With
fully distorted sounds, you can revive the attack phase of any notes that get drowned in the natural com-
pression caused by distortion. If you set “Pick” to a negative value, it will soften the attack, resulting in a
more fluid sound.
Compressor
This compressor is dierent from the stomp compressor, because it is a part of the simulated amp circuit.
In other words, it allows for completely dierent sounds compared to compressors that are inserted before
(pre-) or after (post-) the amp section. Distorted signals are not aected by compression, so only clean
signals will be boosted. The dynamics of your playing are fully retained, so, purely by 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 dy-
namic crunch into a clean, compressed sound with full energy.
Clarity
“Clarity” changes the sound of the distortion in a new and unique way. Turning the “Clarity” soft knob to
the right will bring the clean character of the sound into focus without lowering the amount of distortion.
The distortion itself will become less forward in the mid frequencies and sound far more transparent.
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER20
Tube Shape
“Tube Shape” controls the distortion characteristics of the tubes, ranging from very soft to very hard. All
kinds of crunch sounds can be dialed up, from warm blues to singing metallic to harsh. Depending on the
gain setting or the playing style, the resulting eect can be rather subtle; completely distorted sounds are
mostly unaected by this parameter, as are clean sounds. Set the value to 3 o’clock to simulate the typi-
cal sound of preamp tubes. To achieve a power amp tube character, try setting “Tube Shape” to 9 o’clock.
Power amp tubes produce a much harder distortion, because the negative feedback in the power amp cir-
cuit linearizes the tube amplification, making the distortion curve edgier.
Tube Bias
“Tube Bias” influences the overtone structure of the distortion. While the eect on the character of the
sound is fairly subtle, you should feel a quite a dierence in the distortion dynamics: as you increase the
amount of “Tube Bias” the guitar will go into distortion much earlier in the dynamic range, yet still retain a
lot of dynamic headroom. At maximum value the distortion characteristics mimic those of a Tube Scream-
er.
EQ
Holding the EQ button will bring the equalizer into focus. Use the soft knobs to control the frequency
bands of the equalizer. We assume that you will have set the equalizer of the reference amp to your pre-
ferred setting before profiling. Eectively, the equalizer in the KPA is a recreation of a generic passive
tonestack, but it is designed to have more impact on the frequency bands. When all soft knobs are in the
middle position, you will hear the unaltered sound of the profile.
Cabinet
The CABINET button brings the cabinet section into focus. You can freely combine cabinets and amps
from dierent profiles to create new stacks. The cabinet has three parameters to tweak its character in an
artificial way:
STACK SECTION 21
High Shift, Low Shift
Both of these parameters influence the characteristic formants of a cabinet profile, thereby simulating a
change in size. “High Shift” will make the higher formants more prominent, whereas “Low Shift” does the
same for the lower frequencies.
Character
Use this parameter to change the overall character of the cab. Turning the knob to the right of center will
enlarge the peaks and notches in the frequency response curve. This will emphasize the character of the
cabinet, and may sound too penetrating at extreme values. Turning it to left of center will smooth the dif-
ferences between the peaks and notches in the frequency response curve, and flatten the character of the
cabinet. Towards the leftmost position, the sound will resemble that of analog cabinet simulations (which
often have a very simple frequency response and little character).
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER22
Stomp Section
The STOMPS section holds 4 Stomp modules called A, B, C and D which are placed in the signal flow be-
fore the amplifier stack. The modules represent your choice of virtual stomp boxes. The STOMPS section is
all mono because the amplifier will only accept a mono signal. In dierence to that, the X and MOD stomps
in the EFFECT section work in stereo, if desired.
The Stomp modules oer you all kinds of eects which are identified by eight dierent colors that are
easy to memorize:
Distortion Red
Wah Orange
Chorus Blue
Phaser & Flanger Purple
Compressor Cyan
EQ Yellow
Delay Green
Eect Loop White
Press and hold any STOMP button to bring it into focus. If the stomp is active the display will change its
color to match the eect. The soft knobs will display the parameters available to edit.
There are two ways to choose a new eect: either turn the BROWSE knob to select a new local eect pre-
set, or turn TYPE, to change the basic algorithm of the module.
Many parameters are common to several dierent eects, such as “Mix”, “Volume”, “Rate” – to name just
a few. When you change the algorithm of an eect using the TYPE knob, the values of these mutual pa-
rameters will not be changed. This allows for eect types that share a mutual parameter set to keep these
values. For example, you can create a great flanger eect with your desired rate and depth setting. Then
STOMP SECTION 23
select the phaser by turning TYPE to check the same settings with the phaser algorithm, that is somewhat
relative to the flanger. Some generic parameters, common to most of the stomp eects, are:
Mix
Controls the amount of eect in the signal. At the default setting of 100% you get the most intense eect.
With some eects, such as Wah or Compressor – only the eect signal is audible at the 100% position to
give the strongest eect. With other eects, typically modulation eects like flanger or phaser, the dry sig-
nal is still in the mix for maximum interference with the eect signal.
When MIX is at 0% you will hear no eect. The MIX control is scaled to perfection individually per eect,
so there is no volume drop or boost at the 50% position. Some eects, such as the Air Chorus, don’t oer
a MIX control, as this would contradict the character of the eect.
Volume
The “Volume” control allows you to change the gain for driving the next distortion stage. The output vol-
ume of the stomp eect can be boosted, or attenuated, by +/-24 dB, which is much more than in the real
world. This will reduce the need to switch to a dierent rig, if all you need to do is boost a solo sound; just
dial the stomp eect that you need for the solo and boost the Volume control. By activating this stomp
you engage the eect and the boost at the same time.
Stereo
The “Stereo” parameter is only available for the X and MOD modules in the EFFECTS section. It controls
the stereo intensity of these eects. With modulation eects this is done by osetting the LFO modulation
phases of the left and right side. For other eects parameters, such as filters, frequencies are shifted in op-
posite directions for the left and right sides. That way, even the Wah Wah can create a stereo eect, when
dialed up in the eects section!
The recommended value for most eects is +50% (or +90°), which will often produce the nicest stereo im-
age. At the middle zero position the eect will be fully mono. With negative values you will get the same
KEMPER PROFILING AMPLIFIER24
stereo eects as with positive values, but the left and right sides are reversed. With extreme settings of
the stereo parameter, you can exaggerate the stereo width.
Wah Stomps
The Wah eects are a versatile collection of dierent eects, that can all be controlled by a Wah pedal.
Alternatively, you can switch from Pedal Mode to Touch Mode and control the eect using your picking
strength.
Wah Wah This is the classic Wah pedal eect. By modifying the “Peak” parameter you can
Wah Low Pass An alternative Wah pedal eect derived from the Access Virus synthesizer.
Wah High Pass Similar to the Low Pass Wah, but it will cut the low end of your guitar sound
Wah Vowel A vowel filter, that simulates a talkbox eect. The vowels are extended to a
Wah Phaser A huge phaser eect that you can control using the Wah pedal. The Wah
(orange)
achieve dierent Wah characteristics.
It’s a 4-pole lowpass filter, with the “Peak” parameter emphasizing the filter
resonance.
when you move the pedal up.
broader range compared to existing vowel filters, as it includes some european
vowels as well. The range is: U O Â A Ä E I IÜ Ü Ö OE O U - Choose the desired
range using the “Manual” and “Range” parameters.
Phaser is derived from the regular phaser eect, that is described in detail
later. In addition to the common Wah parameter it has inherited two additional
parameters from the regular phaser: “Stages” and “Peak Spread”.
Wah Flanger The Flanger is a special version of the flanger, based on a delay with feedback,
that creates a pitched resonance or ringing eect. Use the “Manual” parameter,
or the pedal, to control the delay time, or pitch. Use the “Peak” parameter to
control the intensity of the resonance.
Rate Reducer This eect reduces the sampling rate of the audio signal passing through. The
sampling frequency is controlled with the ‘Manual’ parameter. Lowering the
sample rate results in a raspy, scratchy quality as well as aliasing. Use the ‘Peak’
parameter to continuously control the quality of the sample rate interpolation,
which will alter the harmonic content drastically.
STOMP SECTION 25
Ring Modulator Here, the signal is modulated by a sine oscillator. The pitch of the oscillator is
controlled with the ‘Manual’ parameter - note that the ‘Manual’ parameter is
bipolar, therefore a setting of ‘0’ will have no eect. Lower settings produce
a tremolo-like eect, whereas higher settings bend the complete harmonic
structure of the instrument into a bell-like character by shifting every frequency
component either upwards (sum frequency) or downwards (dierence
frequency).
The ‘Stereo’ parameter divides the sum and dierence frequencies into the left
and right channel. The bipolar nature of the ‘Manual’ parameter can now be
used to reverse the stereo panorama.
As usual, the ‘Mix’ parameter adds the direct signal. With ‘Mix’ in the middle
position, the ring modulation becomes amplitude modulation.
Frequency Shifter The frequency shifter is a rarely seen eect and can be thought of as a ‘deluxe’
ring modulator. Even today, only a handful of frequency shifters exist in the
digital domain.
It is as useful in creating beautiful, subtle harmonic deviations as it is in
producing high-pitched, clangourous noise. Like the ring modulator, it uses
a sine wave to modulate the signal, but in such a way as to produce only the
‘sum’ or ‘dierence’ frequencies of the two signals. In contrast to a pitch shifter,
which preserves the dependencies of the harmonics, the frequency shifter
bends these dependencies, resulting in a bell-like spectrum. It’s not unlike a
shortwave radio that hasn’t been tuned correctly.
Use the ‘Manual’ parameter to determine the pitch of the sine wave. This is
a bipolar parameter where the centre position (0) will result in no audible
frequency shifting.
Turning ‘Manual’ clockwise results in a linear frequency shift upwards, while
turning it counter-clockwise results in a downwards shift. Note how the shifted
signal loses its harmonic structure.
When ‘Manual’ is adjusted to the far left, you will notice that the pitch starts to
rise again. This is the result of frequencies being shifted past 0Hz, which causes
them to be mirrored upwards.
The ‘Stereo’ parameter allows continuous adjustment of the phase of the left
and right channels, thereby creating a subtle, or blatant, stereo-widening eect.
At the lowest pitch, or longest delay, it will resonate on an E major chord.
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