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A more powerful approach is to use the Studio EQ The '''Treble Booster''' effectalso works well as a boost, but I find it doesn't offer enough control - it's basically a high shelf. It gets you both can be a bit more transparent sound (than the Screamer tends to add a little compression/color) as well as greater control over exactly how frequencies are manipulated. This features 2 fully parametric bands, plus low and doesn't cut any high shelvesend, so the tone can get quite harsh if used excessively. Sometimes The Lead Booster is more tame in that it's as easy as boosting is more of a hump than a parametric band by about + 4-6db, lowering the Q down to like -2 or -3shelf, taming both highs and then sweeping the frequency to find the sweet spot. Usually it's between 800 and 3lows; however,000 Hz. You can use the low shelf to trim some woofy low end - I find again that it is a -3db cut around 150 Hz to do the trickbit too limited for my purposes. If this isnThe '''Pure Booster''t refined enough I like to use the other parametric band for this purpose. I'll set only boosts the frequency to about 40 Hzsignal level, gain similar to about -4 db, and then lower Q until I can hear adjusting the lows start tightening upGain knob. Then you can start trying different settings It is only really useful to refine. Sometimes, you may need toggle on/off to also trim some extreme high end with the high shelf if you get a harsh, crackly switch between cleaner and dirtier levels of distortion in the high frequencies.
The Treble Booster effect also works well as a boost, but I find it doesn't offer enough control If pre- itEQ's basically a high shelf. It can be a bit more transparent than ing or boosting makes the Screamer and doesn't cut any high endtone too thin or scooped, so you can use post-eq to try to make up the tone can get quite harsh if used excessivelydifference. The Lead Booster is more tame in that it is more of a hump than a shelfThus, taming both highs and lows; however, I find again that it is a bit too limited for my purposes. The Pure Booster only pre-EQ/boosts should be thought of as changing the signal level, similar to adjusting nature of the Gain knobdistortion vs. It is only really useful to toggle on/off to switch between cleaner and dirtier levels changing the frequency balance of distortionthe signal.
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== Amp Settings ==
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* '''Direct Mix''' - Adds the direct (dry) guitar signal into the processed tone
The profiling process defaults all of these to 0.0, with the exception of Definition which varies depending on the profiled amp and Tube Shape which defaults to 3.3. If something seems "''off" '' about a profile, you may want to see if any of these parameters are radically changed. For some profiles, extreme values here can make an "organic" profile start to seem processed and fake. Try resetting them to default values and see if the tone improves.
'''Definition ''' gets quite tricky. It's set by the profiling process but can be altered after the fact. Many times a tightening boost in front of a modern high-gain amp will cause this to be set to max (10). It's very similar to a pre-distortion EQ, darkening or brightening the signal to adjust the relative balance of how the fundamentals vs. the overtones are distorted. While it works well for a quick tweak, I find it's no replacement for some finely-tuned parametric EQ in front the amp. If the tone sounds a bit too harsh or thin, try turning this ''down'', then using a Screamer or pre-EQ to add back any needed tightness or high-end saturation.
'''Power Sagging ''' affects the dynamics and feel of the amp, and can help get mutes to sound right. If the amp feels a bit too stiff and fast, try turning this up. A small tweak can make a big difference here. I commonly use values of 0.4 - 0.9. You'll know you've gone too far when the your notes start to sound smaller, less powerful, and more nasal.
The '''Pick ''' setting I find I usually like to leave alone; however, every now and then I'll bump it up or down a bit. The same goes for '''Clarity'''. While many love this setting, I find it takes away from the real tone of the amp and makes everything sound like a similar crunchy tone. Where I like to use a touch of Clarity is with a highly distorted tone. Sometimes to get that super-saturated chunk with the crisp high end shining through, you need to use a lot of gain, and things can get mushy. Clarity at ~1.0 can still sound quite natural but keep more definition to the tone without giving up saturation.
Turning up '''Tube Shape ''' can add a bit more bite or edge to the distortion, like you are pushing the power amp harder. I often like to add a bit here, but it's important not to overdo it. '''Tube Bias ''' is similar, although I find this one a bit trickier - it seems to add volume as you turn it up, which can lead to an instant impression that higher settings are better. However, too high can make dynamics become artificial-sounding and the tone a bit harsh.
The '''Compressor ''' in the amp is great, mostly affecting crunch tones. It is neither pre or post distortion, but part of the profiling process itself, making it very transparent yet powerful.
== Cab Settings ==
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* '''Volume''' - Used to level different cabinets
I like to use the '''High and Low Shift ''' settings for mild adjustments if the cab sounds too boomy or fizzy. A little goes a long way, and I'm rarely tweaking past +/- 0.4 - ; beyond that and , things can start to sound a bit weird or artificial. High shift can also help to try to match another cab profile's tone, almost like you are moving the mic or changing its angle.
'''Character ''' I generally leave alone. A little boost can help accentuate the cab, but too much can make it sound fake. Going negative often sounds quite stiff or flat, and I avoid tweaking in this direction.
== Pre-EQ or Boosting ==
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''For detailed general advice Pre-EQ and Boosting, see [[Dialing in Distortion Tone]].''
I often like to use pre-EQ or some kind of boost/overdrive to tighten up or otherwise enhance the distorted tone. I almost always favor this approach over making big tweaks to the Definition parameter of the Amp block, although I do like to mess with Power Sagging, Tube Shape, and Tube Bias - they alter the tone in ways that are difficult or impossible to achieve using EQ/boosts.
The simplest and quickest way to do this is to use the '''Green Scream ''' effect, which is a model of a '''''Maxon''''' ''OD808'' pedal, which mirrors the circuit of the original '''''Ibanez''''' ''Tube Screamer''. The typical settings when using such as an overdrive is to set Drive down to 0% and Tone between 60 and 100%. '''The Green Scream effect's Tone parameter at the <0.0> (noon/center) setting matches 100% on a real Screamer.''' Turning up higher than <0.0> has no impact on the tone. I find I am almost always between -1.3 and <0.0>. Volume doesn't matter - I like to leave it at <0.0>. Some like to turn Volume up heavily, but this is only necessary on older real amps that couldn't be pushed into distortion without the input volume boost. It doesn't matter on a high-gain amp - you can use the Gain knob to get the right amount of distortion. The only time it may be worthwhile using a non-0.0 value is when you want to be able to toggle the Green Scream on/off to switch from a cleaner tone to a more distorted tone. A more powerful approach is to use the '''Studio EQ''' effect. It gets you both a more transparent sound (the Screamer tends to add a little compression/color) as well as greater control over exactly how frequencies are manipulated. This features 2 fully parametric bands, plus low and high shelves. Sometimes it's as easy as boosting a parametric band by about + 4-6db, lowering the Q down to like -2 or -3, and then sweeping the frequency to find the sweet spot. Usually it's between 800 and 3,000 Hz. You can use the low shelf to trim some woofy low end - I find a -3db cut around 150 Hz to do the trick. If this isn't refined enough I like to use the other parametric band for this purpose. I'll set the frequency to about 40 Hz, gain to about -4 db, and then lower Q until I can hear the lows start tightening up. Another thing I like to do is cut some of the warm midrange - this can make the amp get more aggressive sounding. Then you can start trying different settings to refine. Sometimes, you may need to also trim some extreme high end with the high shelf if you get a harsh, crackly distortion in the high frequencies.
== Swapping Cabs ==
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When browsing rigs, I like to save the Cab blocks of my absolute favorite rigs. These should have a great tone with little need to dig into the ToneStack or use Post-Stack EQ effects. Once you have a few stored, you should try these on rigs where the tone sounds off and tweaking isn't helping. You may find a rare amp profile get new life.
Keep in mind that the profiling process is not intelligent enough to completely segregate the characteristics of the real amp and cab. Much of the resonant characteristics of the power amp portion of the amp is tied to the cab being used, so by switching the cab profile, you are likely getting a sound that would not accurately match that same real amp paired with the real cab and mic setup of the new cab block. In most cases, the difference is somewhat subtle; and the tone of new Amp/Cab still sounds like a real rig rather than some digital concoction. This is especially the case where you are switching from similar cab profiles. For example, if the original rig used a '''''Mesa/Boogie''''' ''Rectifier 4x12'' particular model cab profile and the new cab profile used the same cab, the impact to the amp's tone should be negligible.
FW 3.0 may alleviate some of this. It allows the creation of "merged" profiles, where a DI profile (no real cab) is merged with a "full" profile (real cab was used). These calculate the difference between the DI and full profiles, and push much of the resonance that is characteristic of the power amp into the amp profile. This allows more of the amp's character to be retained when switching cab profiles.
When swapping cabs, I've found using a Merged Cab to replace a Studio Cab or vice versa doesn't always work very well. The merging process's separation of amp/cab can vary greatly from the same amp/cab as a studio profile, so you can get frequency responses that sound very off - extremely thin, boomy, dull, scooped, nasal etc. Thus, it's a good idea to save both the Studio and Merged variations of a cab profile if they are available, so you can potentially apply a quick swap to ''any'' profile, not just ones that match the cab profile type you saved.
== Tweaking vs. Auditioning ==
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While the KPA can be tweaked heavily while still sounding organic like a real amp/cab, this may involve a fair amount of time and effort. Since there are literally thousands of free and commercial profiles available, it becomes a question of ''efficiency '' as far as trying to tweak profiles vs. auditioning other profiles. '''My advice is to audition first and tweak later. ''' The Rig Manager software allows auditioning the free rigs on the Rig Exchange to be quick and simple. For any given amp or tone, find the best 2-5 profiles available and save them onto your KPA or a Local Library folder in Rig Manager. When auditioning, it is perfectly acceptable to make quick tweaks, such as adjusting Gain, enabling/disabling effects (or loading your favored effect presets), adjusting the ToneStack EQ, or adding a simple boost. If you have to start digging into the Amp/Cab parameters, add a post-stack EQ effect, switch the Cab profile, or dial in some intense pre-Stack EQ, the profile may simply be a dud that is not worth your time. Continue to search for better profiles. Only when you've exhausted your audition choices should you revisit the so-so to good profiles and start doing advanced tweaking.
== Gain Staging and Clipping ==
{{Crumbs|blue|6|Kemper KPA Core Tone Tweaking#Amp Settings|Amp Settings|Kemper KPA Core Tone Tweaking#Cab Settings|Cab Settings|Kemper KPA Core Tone Tweaking#Pre-EQ or Boosting|Pre-EQ|Kemper KPA Core Tone Tweaking#Swapping Cabs|Cab Swap|Kemper KPA Core Tone Tweaking#Tweaking vs. Auditioning|Tweak vs.Audition|Kemper KPA Core Tone Tweaking#Gain Staging and Clipping|Gain Staging|Kemper KPA Core Tone Tweaking#Post EQ|Post EQ}} The KPA is smart - '''it is impossible to clip its digital signal path'''. You can chain together numerous EQ's or other effects that boost volume without having to worry about getting unwanted clipping as you would with real world devices or most modelers/multi-FX units.
The ''only '' thing that can be clipped is the Output block (D>A converter or SPDIF), which happens when the digital signal is too hot. This is easily remedied by turning the Volume knob down. You could also edit each effect to be more volume-neutral, but often you want to toggle those on/off ''for'' the volume change such as for a solo boost.
'''Be wary of rigs in the Rig Exchange that may be clipping.''' There are lots that have the Volume turned up or use Boost effects post-stack that push the volume too high. Just turn down Volume and see if the tone cleans up. Even a heavily distorted tone will sound bad (or at least harsher than it should) if subjected to this kind of clipping.
== Post EQ ==
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''For general EQ'ing advice, see [[EQ]].''
Loop some drums and bass while dialing in your tone. If you are creating a track, definitely reamp - you will hear things much better when you aren't playing. My philosophy is that a good tone should sound good in all situations - low volume, high volume, inside, and outside a mix. But a great tone will always sound great in a mix at a high volume, and honestly it's more important to sound good in a mix than good solo. Pulling that tone outside the mix and lowering the volume may reduce its charm, but you'll still be able to tell its a good tone. Comparatively, a "killer" tone you dialed up in the headphones at low volume outside a mix is more likely to sound like garbage inside a mix than if you took the opposite approach. If you absolutely can't get your own drums and bass or even find a suitable backing track, you can import a track from ___ band you like the sound of - in this case, pan that track 50% L and pan your guitar sound 50% R to get some separation. Now you can tweak EQ and really hear how it affects the sound in a mix.
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