Back in May, Kemper teased the imminent arrival of its new Liquid Profiling technology, which adds modeled EQ and gain controls to corresponding amp profiles. Now, Liquid Profiles have been officially launched.
The initial news was warmly received by Kemper loyalists, with Liquid Profiles vowing to overcome a common critique of Kemper profiles – the authenticity of the profile’s tone when controls get altered.
Enthusiastically marketed as delivering the best of both modeling and profiling technology, Kemper’s Liquid Profiling marks a significant update to the brand’s core tonal capabilities, going way beyond the default parameters that have so far dictated profile tweakability.
Instead, with Liquid Profiles, a model of an amp channel’s specific tone controls will work in tandem with a profile of that chosen amp, meaning any changes to the EQ – hoiking up the treble, for example – will see the profile adapt accordingly to how the real amp would.
The application of Liquid Profiles is certainly enticing. Before, those playing through profiles of their own amps would be at the mercy of Kemper’s standard EQ controls. With Liquid Profiles, the exact response of that guitar amp will be accessible – at least in theory.
It’s important to note that the update sees profiling and modeling technologies working together: the profile provides the core sound, while the channel strip model supplies the gain, EQ and other parameter controls.
As Chris Kemper noted upon the initial release while demoing Liquid Profiles, “This is a profile, not a modeling amp. We didn’t want to model the distortion or the cabinet – just what you have in your hands. It’s the gain control, it’s bass, middle, treble, presence, the Bright channel. It’s so small and it’s not difficult to be authentic with these small things.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
The benefits for players are significant. Those who swear by the Kemper will no longer need multiple profiles of the same amp with different settings to get by, and instead have been promised the authentic tone tweaking experience of the real deal.
Players can profile their own gear – it looks to be just as straightforward as before, though with some extra focus on the chosen amp’s controls in varying positions – but there are also a host of Kemper-created ones available.
Further still, amp profiles and channel EQs and tone stacks can be mixed and matched for even more tonal experimentation – that means the “tone stacks of a classic Class A” amp can be used in tandem with a Plexi Head profile.
Liquid Profiling’s beta version is available to download for free now, though Kemper has accompanied the release with the caveat that players should avoid taking it on tour with them for the time being.
For more information, head over to Kemper.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
“I called Supro and said, 'Hey I’m really digging this amp. Is there any way we can just give it a little more horsepower?'” Blues rock ace Tyler Bryant supercharges Supro’s flagship Black Magick combo for his new signature amp
“No menus, no apps, just a familiar and intuitive interface that makes dialing in tones easy”: Fender has rebooted its top-selling Champion modeling amp family – and prices start at $129