- #418
- Publié par
Manu le 13 Sep 2011, 11:18
Michael Elsner et Alan Litten racontent leur dernier jour à Nashville :
We’ve wrapped up day 6 of the Kemper Profiling Sessions and wanted to share some thoughts on our experience this past week with the KPA.
It was fascinating to hear how radically different an amplifier can sound based purely on what mic you use, as well as where and how it’s placed. Each microphone brought out a different tonal quality from the same amp with the same settings. While we couldn’t profile every possible configuration with every amplifier, we’ve been able to compile an amazing collection of vintage, modern, and boutique amps using a great collection of microphones. Our goal was to give you several quite different, but useable, profiles of each amp.
The profiling process has been so well thought out with the KPA to the point where anyone can do it. With its simplicity, one should be able to set up an amp and a mic to gather a profile within a matter of minutes. That being said, we want to touch quickly on our experience with the microphones we’ve used for this process.
The Shure SM57 and Royer R121 have been the ‘standards’ for guitars because of their consistent reproduction of the amplifier. After spending 6 full days profiling such a vast array of amplifiers, they’ve truly proven themselves as to why they are the standard. However, several large diaphragm tube microphones such as Blue’s Cactus and Blueberry as well at the Telefunken AK47mkII have also proven themselves to be new standards for guitar amps. Their clarity, detail, definition and extended frequency response were fantastic in reproducing and enhancing the sound the amplifiers were giving us.
Also of note would be the Blue Woodpecker and Telefunken CU-29. The Woodpecker was surprising in that it has a much wider frequency response than what we expected out of a ribbon mic. The CU-29, which is more specifically voiced for guitars because of its pronounced mid-range, could really make the guitar tone cut through a mix.
We also used two Sennheiser microphones this week, the MD421 and e906. The 421, with its shimmering highs and warm lows, really enhanced our clean tones. The e906’s pronounced mid-range worked especially well with our high gain amplifiers and settings.
Final Thoughts from Alan:
When I learned about the KPA earlier this year, I thought ‘if it does half of what they say it will do, it will be the coolest thing to happen to the guitar community since the invention of tubes.’ In July, Kemper brought the KPA to Room With a View where we demo’d it with some of Nashville’s top session guitarists. We were all astonished at what it seemed to be capable of.
After an intense week of profiling amplifiers with the KPA, I am still as speechless as I was after seeing it for the first time two months ago. Nearly every profile was indistinguishable from the original source amplifier, while the few inconsistencies required only very slight tweaks.
While not totally inclusive of every amp on the market, this collection represents some of the most desired amplifiers that players from all walks of life will be proud to have in their collection.
Final thoughts from Michael:
As you can imagine, spending a week in a studio with such a wide assortment of amplifiers has been a complete joy. I’ve been fortunate in my career to have had the pleasure of playing many classic and boutique amplifiers, but never so many in such a short amount of time. Many people will talk about the amount of amps that have been profiled with the KPA, however, after moving these amps and cabinets around all week, I would like to mention how light the KPA is. All humor aside, I’m even more of a fan and proponent of the KPA after hearing it prove itself time and again. We’ve captured over 100 profiles this week of various amp, cabinet and microphone configurations. In the process of A/B’ing the tones with the source amplifier, I couldn’t tell a difference and often became lost in determining which was the KPA and which was the real amp. This amp is a complete game-changer in the world of guitar amplification and I’m very happy and excited to have been a part of it.
We want to take a moment to thank the guys at Kemper for allowing us this opportunity to gather these profiles. Thanks to Rock Block Guitars here in Nashville for loaning us some boutique amps and cabinets, and a very special thanks goes out to M. Lange for his insight, experience, and use of his vast amp and cab collection.
-Michael Elsner & Alan Litten
Room With A View Studios, Nashville, TN.
Sept 12, 2011=
