Liquid Profiles "Feel"

  • Maybe I'm just dreaming, or a placebo effect of a shiny new toy. but to me, liquid profiles just feel better, much more reactive, especially to changes in volume knob. I'm excited to try these with a real cab to see if they finally get that last piece in the "amp in the room" sound. I just recently tried a kemper and kab back to back with some tube amps and there was something slightly different in the immediate attack. Feels like liquid profiling is another step closer to that. Much more impressed than I thought i'd be.

  • I'm impressed, too.

    I can play faster and more accurate, and the attack feels much better.

    The fingers are no more sticking on the fretboard.

    It feels somehow "relaxed".


    I played loud using a pair of good studio monitors.

    Best regards


    Bernhard


    Jam it !

  • I noticed it too. Just turn on the liquid on any profile and suddenly the harsh in the top of the eq disappears! Kemper fixed the last 5% of real amp quality... it's amazing, I need hemorrhoid medicine now because I play guitar too much

  • I agree the knobs behave differently with LP than without.


    Playing faster and more accurately is conflating technique with sound. If you can't play faster and more accurately when not plugged in, then you won't do be able to do it because of LP. I think I know what you are trying to say, but come on. Your left and right hands are either in sync or not. This is true whether you are plugged in or not and LP isn't going to fix it.

  • To be honest - I´m not a professional musician.

    I´m a hobbyist - maybe a good hobbyist, but not more.


    So I´m not professional enough to keep my left and right hand in good sync under all circumstances.

    Of course LP cannot fix my old hands.

    Somehow it helps and it makes me playing more with more fun.

    And if it´s placebo only - as long as it works for me ...

    Best regards


    Bernhard


    Jam it !

  • Thanks for the thoughtful clarification. I totally understand the more fun part! It is all about fun for me. And I get that the mental aspect plays a big role. Cheers to having fun and whatever adds to that!

  • I agree the knobs behave differently with LP than without.


    Playing faster and more accurately is conflating technique with sound. If you can't play faster and more accurately when not plugged in, then you won't do be able to do it because of LP. I think I know what you are trying to say, but come on. Your left and right hands are either in sync or not. This is true whether you are plugged in or not and LP isn't going to fix it.

    I agree with 100% but I will add that an uninspiring tone does have an affect on my playing. I definitely play my best with tone and feel that inspire me.


    When I first started playing I played on an old 60s 335 copy and no amp. No money for lessons or an amp then. OT here but this experience IMO helped me immensely especially when buying a guitar. If it does sound and feel right without and amp, I just move on.


    Oh I would love to still have the guitar.

  • Hey man I have to work for it if I want to keep my hands synchronized because of my age. I find that what "works best for me" is a simple finger/picking exercise. (43424142434241) those are the finger numbers start on the 12th fret 1st string, pick every note and move down on the first string until you reach the nut and up on the next string, do this chromatically on every string until you reach 6 string 12th fret. I believe the exercise was written for 144bpm 16th notes but I'm not sure.

    My left hand hurts every time I do this exercise but I know that I'm in sync when I'm done. I have other things I do for my memory lol but let's not go into that.

    I know some of you people are amazing guitarists and this tip is useless to you but to me this is a necessity that work very well and takes very little time out of my day. I still do all my other exercises before actually recording anything. This one is to get me in sync.

    And hobbies are awesome. I use to play professionally for a very long time but ever since it became a hobby I have fallen in love with the guitar all over again.

  • Playing faster and more accurately is conflating technique with sound. If you can't play faster and more accurately when not plugged in, then you won't do be able to do it because of LP. I think I know what you are trying to say, but come on. Your left and right hands are either in sync or not. This is true whether you are plugged in or not and LP isn't going to fix it.

    I mainly agree but...


    Sometimes sounds are more forgiving...playing a fast run with a lot of gain is easier than playing it clean....of course the technique is the same but a more forgiving sound covers mistakes, making you "feel" like you can play faster. I suspect this is what is going on.


    Alcohol has the same effect


    I remember many years ago trying out a crate amp in a shop...loads of gain, and harmonics were flying out. At that moment I felt like Steve Vai was an amateur, I could dust Paul Gilbert and Yngwie...well I could send him back to Sweden with the fire coming from my fingers.


    I got home, plugged into my home amp and boom I'm back to my cack handed noise....I was convinced that amp had some voodoo magic!

  • I hear what you are saying. Your Crate story is making my point. If you can't play cleanly on an unplugged guitar then you can't REALLY do it just because it is plugged in to a hot amp. All the distortion, gain, harmonics, compression etc... will not change that. It may make it more likely for you to believe your fantasy(drunken or not) that your playing is better than it actually is. A hot amp will allow for certain sounds to be accentuated, such as pick harmonics, feedback, etc... but in the end your picking is what it is. You will not play any faster even though you may be deluded into thinking you can.

  • I hear what you are saying. Your Crate story is making my point. If you can't play cleanly on an unplugged guitar then you can't REALLY do it just because it is plugged in to a hot amp. All the distortion, gain, harmonics, compression etc... will not change that. It may make it more likely for you to believe your fantasy(drunken or not) that your playing is better than it actually is. A hot amp will allow for certain sounds to be accentuated, such as pick harmonics, feedback, etc... but in the end your picking is what it is. You will not play any faster even though you may be deluded into thinking you can.

    ...but I live on delusion...nothing worse than hearing my raw playing ha!


    Seriously, a good exercise I've found is when recording with your plug in, you can of course remove it to hear just a clean guitar...then you really know....

  • ...but I live on delusion...nothing worse than hearing my raw playing ha!


    Seriously, a good exercise I've found is when recording with your plug in, you can of course remove it to hear just a clean guitar...then you really know....

    I've played long enough to know how to get the sounds I want from an electric rig, analog or digital. So, I don't spend much time tweaking rigs. I also know how to mute an electric, so no need to be plugged in for that. The great majority of my playing is done unplugged on an electric. No place to hide when unplugged in that scenario. I know that if I can perform well on an unplugged, electric I won't have any issues when plugged in. A side benefit is that it saves my ears and I enjoy the playing through an amp that much more when I do plug in.


    I also play quite a bit of acoustic which keeps me honest. But I view acoustic as an almost completely different instrument than electric.

  • No place to hide when unplugged in that scenario. I know that if I can perform well on an unplugged, electric I won't have any issues when plugged in.

    the other side of the coin: i used to practise and play a lot like that, but i found that when i plugged back into the amp my playing got less dynamic control, and i also missed a lot of noises that my left hand created but only amplified.

  • the other side of the coin: i used to practise and play a lot like that, but i found that when i plugged back into the amp my playing got less dynamic control, and i also missed a lot of noises that my left hand created but only amplified.

    That can happen and is why I mentioned that I know how to mute an electric.

  • That can happen and is why I mentioned that I know how to mute an electric.

    The answer is of course both. I often also play without being plugged in but amplified does bring other dynamics to either guard against or emphasis ( e.g. sustain) - its like playing sitting down versus standing up...both different, both useful at different stages.


    Acoustic - totally agree on it being a different instrument, especially the newer techniques to use the body of the guitar as a rhythmic tool. I've just joined another band ( Bowie tribute) and I play acoustic for most of the set...even the added physicality is hard!

  • As far as I can tell from everything I've read/watched/heard on the subject, there's nothing different about how the profile is captured with LQP - if it feels better, I'd say it's as simple as you're finding it easier to dial in a good tone with the new Liquid tonestacks, and a good sound (even just the difference between a bad tonal balance and a good one) does inspire better playing!


    While technically, yes, as others have pointed out, in theory you should be able to play with the same speed/accuracy whether unplugged or thru the best amp in the world, nonetheless, in practice, the tone does make a difference. I've noticed this when browsing profiles - when I find one I like, I'll start playing noticeably better - with ones that are tonally way off or whatever, my playing becomes scrappy. I imagine LQP has just made it that much easier to get an inspiring tone.

  • There a real definite enjoyable more amp like immediate attack an clarity goin on. Im doin everything I can to get a real sound an feel with a cab from the kemper an LP has me tickled pink. Especially on semi cleans. I keep going for the vox tonestacks and SOLDANO ones for some reason.

    People say things like oh tones in the fingers an I dont agree. Im very sensitive to what I play, if i have a sound i dont connect with I can not play. I always feel embarrassed in guitar stores if they hand me a guitar I just dont agree with. I saw a interview with George Lynch saying the same that he can not play for the life of him if he does not have his gear.

  • People say things like oh tones in the fingers an I dont agree. Im very sensitive to what I play, if i have a sound i dont connect with I can not play. I always feel embarrassed in guitar stores if they hand me a guitar I just dont agree with. I saw a interview with George Lynch saying the same that he can not play for the life of him if he does not have his gear.

    Yep, people love to repeat that "tone is in the fingers" line but I think it's more accurate to say the playing style is - as in, yes, Slash is still going to sound like Slash thru a cr*ppy amp - but he's going to sound like Slash with a cr*ppy tone