NAMM 2015: Kemper Profiler Update

Firmware Version 3.0 allows for separate profiling of Amps and Cabs and more   22-Jan-15

Kemper has announced the next level of their acclaimed Profiling technology. The Profiler Firmware Version 3.0 now allows for profiling the guitar amps' output independently from the connected guitar cabinet.

This opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Guitar players can profile their favorite amp sound and afterwards play thru a neutral power amp or the Profiler's built in Class D amp into a guitar cabinet with the exact tone and behavior of their original tube amp. It also allows for freely combining "Direct Amp Profiles" with individually profiled cabs or imported impulse responses. The result is a complete Profile that can run a physical guitar cabinet onstage for monitoring and simultaneously feed the virtual guitar-speaker sound to the main PA.

Furthermore the new Firmware supports the tight integration of the Profiler Remote control pedal, featuring the smoothest preset switching available, a 30 second Looper and new Rig Pack created in cooperation with producer  Michael Wagener in Nashville, Michael Britt of Lonestar and with Profile vendor The Amp Factory. Here's more details from Kemper...

More than 50 new Factory Profiles
The new Rig Packs contain a selection of "Merged Profiles", created with the new direct profiling technology. Kemper have spent some significant profiling time with studio legend Michael Wagener at his Nashville based Wireworld studios and have profiled everything from legendary preamps, amps and cabinets that have been used on numerous platinum selling records.

Michael Britt is the guitarist with the Nashville based platinum band Lonestar and has created a great collection of profiles which were already showcased by Pete Thorn in this video.

The Amp Factory collection consists of amps like Redplate, Clean Blackface, Driven Tweed, Fender Tweed Deluxe 58, Toneking Metro, Evil Robot, d/13 jtr37, Carr Roamer, Two Rock Bionyx and Marshall Jtm45.

Understanding Direct Profiling
The Kemper profiling technology has already had an incredible impact in the guitarists' community for being able to capture the sound and feel of the classic guitar rig: Tube Amp/ Cabinet/ Microphone. These profiles are called  "Studio Profiles".

Now with Direct Profiling Kemper have gone even further and are able to capture the sound of a tube-amp including its power-amp separately from the cab - even when the cabinet load is active. This works by tapping the sound exactly where it hits the speaker cabinet: The speaker output! As high voltage and high wattage are present, a dedicated DI is required. This specialized DI box is capable of scaling down the tube power amp voltage to a line-level signal, suitable for the Profiler, on a XLR output jack. The high-power signal is forwarded to the speaker cabinet through a different output jack.

What is the purpose of this when the sound of the speaker will not be captured in the Profile? The purpose is to capture the amp including the complex impedance behavior of the speaker. This method captures those often discussed interactions between the power tube-amp and the connected speaker cabinet. When the Profile is played back through the Profiler's built-in class D amp, or an external solid state power amp, it will recreate the same impedance situation to the connected speaker-cabinet. This is the key to making the built-in power-amp sound like a real tube power-amp.

The Direct Amp Profile can later be merged with the respective cabinet portion of a Studio Profile. Alternatively, Direct Amp Profiles can be paired with arbitrary cabinet impulse-responses, imported by our CabMaker 2.0 software. The result is a complete Profile that can run a physical guitar- cabinet onstage for monitoring, and simultaneously feed the virtual guitar-speaker sound to the main PA.

About The Profiler
The Kemper Profiling Amplifier represents a radical new approach to guitar sound. For decades, the electric guitarist has effectively been shackled to the tube amplifier as the only solution for getting "that sound". This combination may indeed be glorious, but it is far from ideal; achieving consistent results between practice, studio, and touring situations continues to challenge the guitarist, just as it has since the early 1930's. With the advent of the Kemper Profiling Amplifier, everything has changed. For the first time in history, guitar players are free to create the most unique and individual tones that reflect the very essence of the individual player, and then capture these exact sounds into the digital domain with Kemper's unique technology.

Pricing and Availability:
The Firmware is free for all users of The Profiler. It will be available later in Q1.

More information:

• www.kemper-amps.com