Does anyone know how to get a (modern metal) tone like this?

1st Official Post

    There were not a lot of parts where the guitar was not being punched up by the bass and drums behind it. So it is hard to know what the tone was exactly. It did not stand out as being to crazy.


    I dont play this style of music but here is what I would suggest to start:


    1) That guitar and pickups provide a ton of that tone.

    If you are having trouble nailing that and you feel it is your guitar, may want to try an EQ as your first pedal. So you can adjust where the distortion is coming from. You can also tweak the low cut to get a tighter low end. Then you can roll back the AMP DEFINITION and get a thicker tone.


    2) There should be good amps on the Rig Exchange (which is what you are asking here) but most distorted amps will rock hard with the Kemper drive 808 MIN pedal. Mix at about 75% Drive around 3.


    3) A STUDIO EQ after the amp helps a lot for high gain. This setup will get you started.

    Low: 200Hz +3 dB

    P1: 550Hz - 3DB Q=.707

    P2: 3000Hz +3DB Q=.707

    HI: 1200Hz +1.5 dB


    With this setup you want the AMP bass/treble to be pretty flat to begin. Because those controls give a much wider change to the sound. Especially the MID control.


    Tweak the 500 and 3000 first. You can also make the Q values slightly larger to have a narrower filter,


    4) To thicken that up I would record in STEREO with the SPACE on at around 3. If not stereo you can try EASY REVERB Guitar room. You could also try some super fast delay.


    5) Adding a COMPRESSOR right in front of the KEMPER 808 PEDAL will also thicken the hell out of the sound.

    Intensity: 4.5

    Attack: 2.5

    Squash: 0

    Vol: +1

    Mix: 80%


    Hopefully someone hooks you up with an exact profile.

    cheers

    In another video he gives a link to the DI's of a tune and his Kemper profile which has an Archon and Mesa cab.


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    You gotta have the right guns when you enter the town of tone. And please, shoot ALL fanboys you come across!

    Like 3

    I agree about the bass and drums. But giving advice about EQ and compressor without knowing or heard any clip from dmiraie....

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

    Like 1

    I suggest any Archon , Engl, or EVH high gain profiles from STL or Cililabs (..I'm sure there are many other reputable sound studio offerings/profiles..) Some kind of modern boost in front (..built in profile)..Use V-30 cab ir sim.. (..a noise gate).the rest is your guitar's pick-ups and tuning, and of courswe -the bone tone, the tone you get form your technique ect... The sound in the mix will be different than what you may have going through a real guitar cab live. i.e.- The cab will push air and give you that fullness body in the room feel/sound, the tone through the monitors is "in the mix"..usually eq shelfed ..nothing below 80htz, nothing higher than 8khtz.

    Quote from GearJocke

    I agree about the bass and drums. But giving advice about EQ and compressor without knowing or heard any clip from dmiraie....

    The hardest part of the internet is finding exactly what you are looking for. So I always try to put as much info out there as I can. Some other person may be searching the net for a similar thing and land here. So a single line answer, that most people give, will not help the next person.


    It also sounded like the OP was not getting where he wanted from tones he had already. Most tones will be close to a straight up Marshall, etc. These settings will push any distorted amp into a thick chunk with a lot of high end bite. So it was just meant to let the user modify something they may already have until they find the profiles they are looking for.


    But I do agree with you that, this specific info may not help much if the profile is already tuned and shelved for this tone.

    These may help you:


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    I uploaded the wes hauch profile to my kemper stage, it does not sound like a real amp to me, I uploaded a ton of profiles from various professional profile makers and none of them come close to a real amp tone.


    I am playing through a mesa boogie compact recto 2x12 cab and using a SD power stage 170. I mostly use direct profiles, when I try out studio profiles with the cab off, it sounds just as fake and digital as the DI profiles.


    I am praying to God that maybe I am missing something in the amp settings or the output settings. I really want to like the kemper stage, I sold my Mesa Boogie JP2c, because I really believed that this thing could get the real amp sound, not even close to the real deal (in my experience at least) thinking of selling my kemper and going back to the real thing if I can't get a real amp tone out of it.


    do I need to buy a tube power amp? is that the missing link? is it my amp or output settings (I will do a snap shot of my settings on some of my DI and merged profiles that I am using on the next post.


    are you guys honest to God getting your kempers to truly sound like a real amp? I don't care if the kemper is lacking the feel of the amp, I think that is asking too much, Like believing in miracles, I just want it to "sound" like a real amp. I am very disappointed in my kemper now.


    I don't want to give up, I am hoping that I just don't know what I am doing and that I will get some advice from someone on this forum . I just want to be happy and my happiness is riding on getting my kemper stage to sound like a real amp, thanks..

    i don’t play metal but I bought a kemper because now I only gig direct to foh.
    all those modern tools as kemper or fractal or line6 are for me relevant only if you want portability, reliability and quick wiring.


    If I had to carry, like I used to, A cab, the kemper, a power amp I would never had bought a kemper stage. I would have keep my amps.

    I can't answer why you are not getting the sounds you like, but can it sound like a real amp? Totally.


    The key bits for me are:

    1) The right profiles are key - people start making big changes in EQ when the fundamental profile is not right. Professional profiles do not guarantee great results. Can you get any decent sounds or are they all duff/digital sounding? I would do a reset and start again if you've made lots of eq changes.

    2) Test at volume - a profile is never going to sound like a valve at full tilt at bedroom volumes

    3) Try to ignore that its digital. I kept thinking I couldn't get a great sound, particularly a 5150 sound. I then tried a 5150 and realized I didn't like the real amp itself. I have never had so many compliments on my live sound, particularly from sound engineers.

    4) Basics sorted? i.e. cab section is switched on ? Can you get a reasonable sound via headphones? Try to trouble shoot but eliminating elements from your sound. Can you record your sound and post on here?


    Just remember though, the emphasis from the KPA is Studio/FOH sound not amp in the room. Can you get a good sound via a PA or in the studio?


    Also, cabs are such a massive part of the sound, power amp not so much so have a look at that ( although it wouldn't make it digital sounding and the Mesa is obviously a good cab).


    Not everyone bonds with the KPA, but so many users get great sounds. It shows that there are so many parts to the sound in the signal chain.


    Hope you get it sorted dude.

    I have a Mesa Boogie MK4 and a Kemper Powerhead. The profles I have from Cililabs , Choptones, and STL are beyond brutal, organic and inspiring. Keep in mind that the Kemper's main function is to give you the big sound direct (thru PA or direct recording..) Getting that 50w/100w tube head pushing a cab from Kemper is "different" and can be challenging. The SDPowerstage is "ok" and will get the job done, but if you're missing that "bounce & response " live and loud, you should "slave" it into the fx return of a tube head (,,,,literally ANY will do) thru the speaker cab of your liking. This will probably give you what you're missing. As far a ust "tone," No problems at all getting brutal tight fat inspiing tones. I wish I could dial it in while you're playing lol... The other option is a tube poweramp... If ou are unable to find an inspiring tone in any of these scenarios, Kemper (..or any modeler/profiler) may not be for you, and that's ok.

    Quote from dmiraie

    I've had my Kemper for a while and can't seem to get anywhere close.. If you could link audio as well that would be much appreciated, thnx


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8LYBuvApR4

    I've been struggling to get tone related to Josh Middleton's videos for the last 4 months. Actually the tone you posted sucks in compariston to Josh Middletons kemper tones. Check the discussion and the videos here

    JTM Profiles - Heavy Tones Bundle 2 - Josh Middleton

    His metal guitar tones are magnificent, they are the best tones I've every heard not only from kemper users but from big metal bands and famous producers. But...profiles are not enough. I have an esp eclipse 1 with emg 81-85 tuned at D standard (as his guitars only with other pickups). When I compare his profiles alone , as he demonstrates them in one of his videos, with my guitar they are very close. When I record them they are far from similar. So, one thing is that when I record the sound changes...

    Anyway, I dont know what's going on with the kemper community. Isn't there someone who could give us some tips?
    HEY ARE THERE METAL GUYS USING THE KEMPER? IS ANYBODY ABLE TO GIVE SOME TIPS?

    I bought JM kemper high gain pack 2 and still I cant get close enough to his tones. I think it is the mixing knowledge that makes the difference . I am about to take one of his videos eg the Peavey 5150, record his guitar parts with his profiles and re-make his song with the bass and drums. My goal would be to get as close as I can to his tone...

    Using 2 tracks of peavey 5150 and 2 tracks of dual rectifier with tons of eq in the daw this is the best I could get so far.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/0bhs…20Guitars%20test.mp3?dl=0

    I have become literally obsessed with this matter. I sleep thinking of what to do in order to get closer to his tones. I wake up I try, I test to the monitors, the studio headphones, the earbuds, the car I come back re-shaping, I listen to his videos and again and again the same cycle.

    I bought the kemper to be easier to reproduce tones that I hear from videos but it's still the same. The profiles I buy dont sound as good as in their mixes. Seriously, are there any metalhead in here who could give us some serious tip on that?

    Quote from Frank Black

    are you guys honest to God getting your kempers to truly sound like a real amp? I don't care if the kemper is lacking the feel of the amp, I think that is asking too much, Like believing in miracles, I just want it to "sound" like a real amp. I am very disappointed in my kemper now.

    Yes.


    I still have the following real amps and cabs;


    Mesa Studio 22 combo

    Mesa Mark V:25 head

    Mesa Rev G 2 channel Dual Rectifier head

    Mesa Triaxis and Stereo 2:ninety power amp

    THD BiValve head

    Mesa 1x12 EVM12L Thiele cabs (x2)

    Mesa Horizontal Recto 212 with Black Shadow C90s


    I honestly haven’t plugged any of them in for more than 10 minutes each since I got the Kemper. Any time I do a side by side comparison I always end up liking the profiles at least as much (sometimes more) than my real amps.

    I don't even eq the profile I end up recording with..Literally that good. I also profiled my MK4 thru a recto OS cab...it's the main tone I use for live and recording (..along with 5153 50W El34 profile for recording..mixed, they sound amazing..) I also bought the JTM Heavy Tones 2...Holy crap, spot on crushing goodness dripping with tone. If your Kemper does not sound like that, there is somethong wrong. On another note, my buddy has the Stage, and some of his factory preset profiles (5153 to be specific) is rediculous..I wanted to profule his Stage. You can hear proof of this on Tone Wars "opening Kemper Stage and plugging in first time" video. That tone right out of the box is amazing.

    Quote from steinweiner

    I don't even eq the profile I end up recording with..Literally that good. I also profiled my MK4 thru a recto OS cab...it's the main tone I use for live and recording (..along with 5153 50W El34 profile for recording..mixed, they sound amazing..) I also bought the JTM Heavy Tones 2...Holy crap, spot on crushing goodness dripping with tone. If your Kemper does not sound like that, there is somethong wrong. On another note, my buddy has the Stage, and some of his factory preset profiles (5153 to be specific) is rediculous..I wanted to profule his Stage. You can hear proof of this on Tone Wars "opening Kemper Stage and plugging in first time" video. That tone right out of the box is amazing.

    Post a sample of the tones you're talking about please. What audio interface do you use?