Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head BK

167

Amplifier

Since the introduction of modeling technology into the guitar amplifier world, guitarists have been able to access a variety of sounds and effects with relatively little effort.

But what if you want to take your own favourite sounds instead of the manufacturer's sound specifications? Prior to the release of the Kemper Profiling Amp, there were not many alternatives: either, as before the digital revolution, they dragged their entire equipment from place to place, or tried to adapt the modeled sounds of the modeling amp as far as possible to their own desires.

Kemper breaks new ground here. Instead of using predefined emulation of different amplifier models, the Profiling Amp (Nomen est Omen) creates an exact image of the sound set on the amplifier together with the connected speaker and microphone. This combines all the personal favourite sounds in one device. In addition, the sound profile can be edited with various floor effect emulations, master effects, equalizer, and so on. A separate amp fleet is not a mandatory requirement, because the Profiling Amplifier is already equipped with a large number of classic amplifier profiles. In addition, a large Kemper community has now established itself in the world where sound profiles are exchanged over the Internet.

  • Dimensions (W x H x D): 37.8 x 21.7 x 17.3 cm
  • Weight: 5.32 kg
  • Colour: Black

Connections:

  • Microphone input
  • Line input
  • Alternative input
  • DI output
  • Monitor output
  • Master output (jack and XLR)
  • S / PDIF digital input and output
  • MIDI In / Out / Thru
  • 2 Inputs for footswitch (jack)
  • Ethernet port
  • 2 USB ports
Available since March 2012
Item number 280362
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Design Desktop
Tube(s) No
Amp Modeling Yes
Effects Yes
Headphone Output Yes
Direct Out Yes
MIDI Interface Yes
Integrated Expression Pedal No
Connections for Pedals or Switches Yes
Aux-Input Yes
Integrated Tuner Yes
USB-Port Yes
Drum-Computer No
Integrated Effects 1
MIDI Connector(s) 1
Aux Input 1
USB Connection 1
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$1,190
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The new generation of guitar amplifiers!

For a long time now, many guitar amp manufacturers have been on a quest to pack the sound of the world’s most legendary amplifiers into a single unit – none of them with any real success until, in 2012, Kemper opened a new chapter in amp history with its Profiling Amplifier. Using the entirely new and unique "profiling" technology, the sound of any desired amplifier can be recorded with a microphone and then further edited and shaped in the Profiling Amplifier Head BK. The Kemper’s high-performance electronics and high-quality DSP effects, extensive routing options, wide selection of cab and microphone models, and intuitive user interface – styled after that of a real guitar amplifier – let you revive these legendary sounds, enhance them with contemporary features, and store them permanently: An ingenious concept that has ushered in a new era in guitar amplification.

The best guitar amps of all time, emulated to perfection

The Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head BK is a dream come true for guitarists, and the search for that perfect amplifier ends here. The profiling technology not only gives guitarists countless amp models at their fingertips – it also lets them directly record and preserve the sonic characteristics of any amplifier they want: In other words, the boundaries of flexibility have now been completely re-drawn. Innumerable other digital editing options, which include substituting different speaker or cabinet types for the one used in the original recording, adding high-quality effects, and a wide variety of internal and external connection and routing possibilities make the Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head BK without a doubt one of the most flexible guitar amplifiers on the market.

An ultra-flexible powerhouse for tone-chasers with pro aspirations

The Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head BK has compact dimensions and is ready for whatever challenges are in store, so there can be no doubt that this is a thoroughly professional piece of equipment. Fans of old vintage treasures can now harness the sound and characteristics of the originals – which are usually ruinously expensive and often very rare – and shape these to suit their own tastes without having to spend a fortune getting their hands on the real thing first. This powerhouse amp will delight tone-chasers and sound nerds alike with its extensive range of features and win over recording musicians with its impressive connectivity, which allows it to replace numerous guitar amps in the studio and ultimately save everyone a large amount of time and effort when it comes to cabling and miking.

About Kemper Amps

German firm Kemper Amps, or rather its founder Christoph Kemper, is no stranger to the music industry. His very first product, the virtual-analogue Access Virus synthesizer, was far ahead of its time and brought the company both unexpected success and an impressive reputation within the music profession. Continuing the momentum of this success, the company then developed the “Profiler” technology, which allows an astonishingly realistic reproduction of the sound of a miked amplifier to be made and thus represents the dawn of a new era in digital amplifier simulation. This technology is currently available in different variants of the Kemper Profiler system: As a basic head, as a top with a powerful Class-D power amp integrated, as a rack-mountable unit, and even as a floorboard.

The Profiler is up for anything

Whether it’s right next to the mixing desk in your studio rig, running through a power amp and speaker cab as part of your backline on stage, or in your living room for some quiet practice, the Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head BK’s outstanding flexibility means that the amp’s potential knows no limits other than those of the player’s imagination. The wide range of connection options include on-board digital interfaces, such as an S/PDIF input and output and two USB outputs, which make it easy to record the Profiling Amplifier Head BK’s signal to a DAW with zero loss in the studio. The Kemper Profiling Amplifier Head BK comes with presets of many of the best amplifiers of all time already installed, however, so your quest for the perfect tone can begin right away.

The ideal accessory: The Kemper Remote

The Kemper Profiler Remote is a floorboard that is compatible with every amp in the Profiling series and can be used to remotely control and enhance all of the Kemper’s key functions, making it the perfect addition to any setup. It features a built-in tuner, four connections for expression pedals, and a large display that provides a clear overview of the presets and effects that are currently selected. What is more, the remote can also be used to control the Profiling Amplifier’s looper function, and its “Morph” function is a highly practical feature that can be used to seamlessly crossfade between one or more parameters – making the transition from a dry crunch to a lead sound with delay as simple as pressing a footswitch, for example.

In the spotlight: Profiling

In fundamental terms, the Kemper Profiler is primarily a highly specialised measuring device which, by means of a complicated algorithm, is capable of precisely replicating the tonal characteristics of a signal chain. Generally, this chain first and foremost includes the amplifier that is to be emulated, the cabinet to which this is connected, and the microphone that is placed in front of it. This standard setup can additionally be expanded by adding pedals, which can also be profiled as part of the chain if desired. An "amp only“ profile can of course be created, however, by connecting the amplifier to a DI box instead of a conventional speaker cabinet. To determine the characteristics of the individual signal chain, the Kemper then sends various measurement signals through the amplifier that is connected, on the basis of which it then creates a so-called “profile” – which even professional musicians have difficulty in distinguishing from the original in terms of sound and dynamics. The user can subsequently customise this profile by fine-tuning a range of different parameters before naming and saving it. In this way, players can archive their entire amplifier collection virtually without restriction and take it with them to gigs and into the studio.

167 Customer ratings

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93 Reviews

b
Finally a digital amp that delivers!
borg64 08.11.2013
Having dabbled for many years with numerous digital 'pro' solutions for guitar and bass amplification, both in the hardware and software domain, I still found myself going back to the traditional way of recording guitars through micing up a proper rig when needing to 'push some air'.

Then the KPA was announced and raving user reports soon started pouring in throughout the internet. Users were saying that this new digital amp sounded equal to, and greatly surpassed the flexibility of, a professionally mic'd up guitar amp and cab. With a fair bit of scepticism involved, realizing this was still a new arrival on the scene and all those positive user reports could very well be a case of 'awesome brand new toy' syndrome, I bit the bullet and ordered one to try out for myself.

Upon receiving the unit, I upgraded the firmware and plugged in my Gibson. And I kept playing for hours. Damn, this was it! It actually felt like playing the real thing. The dynamics, tone and natural response from a real amp, but with unsurpassed flexibilty of shaping the final outcome.

I've been working with the KPA in my studio for more than a year now, both for recording and re-amping, and I'm positive I will never part with it unless there's an updated version I'll switch to in the future. Having said that, I'm not missing much at all. At times, there's a lot of menu diving due to the sheer possibilities of this thing, but a unit at this level of complexity, I'd say that Kemper has handled this as good as they can. I would love to see a software controller for increased overview of all the parameters and profiles available in the future, similar to the plugin controller of the Access Virus synth, but for now, I'm getting by just fine tweaking the unit itself and saving my creations in the Favourites 'folder' of the KPA, which makes browsing your current project tones a breeze.

Adding real pedals works as a charm, but is very dependent of what profile you're playing into, occasionally needing a bit of gain staging and proper think-through of the recording chain. Same goes when experimenting by switching around profiled amps with different cabs. When in need to play things safe, I just record both the 'amped' and the DI signal for possible future re-amping, which is easily set up and accomplished.

A very cool thing is the vast range of user created profiles, both free and commercial, that broadens the usability of the KPA to near-ridiculous proportions. Again, a software controller to organize and overview the unit's current profiles would be most welcome, but it still works as is. And, just like with the Access Virus, you get continuous official updates with added features, effects and content free of charge. It has become even better with time, and is without a doubt an integral part of my studio setup when it comes to recording and re-amping electric guitars and basses. It's fun as hell on synths too.

Buy it.
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T
Excellent kit for studio and small gig use
Tom9313 08.04.2015
I've been using the Kemper for a few months now, both in my (very simple) home studio and for small gigs. I'm actually running four instruments through it, a NS/Stick (fretless bass, effectively), electric guitars, a cello and sax with the acoustic instruments using a Mixing Link pre-amp. I've also put an Eventide H9 and Ditto X2 in the external stereo loop, and some other outboard processing in before the input (a sitar pedal and compressor).

In the studio, quality is excellent - running either line out or SPDIF into a Scarlett 18i6 interface produces beautifully clear noise-free recordings for all instruments. It's great to be able to plug in my bass, flick to an appropriate profile and record that, then switch to another instrument and with a single button press have everything set up to record that completely different sound perfectly. Fantastic when you don't want gear changes to interrupt your flow.

I've also used the profiler running directly in a variety of PA systems (conventional and a Bose line array on one occasion) for small gigs with a four piece 'prog folk' band. My main worry was that without a bass amp behind me I'd have trouble hearing myself (we're not playing in venues that would really justify conventional monitors) but it's not been a problem and I've had plenty of compliments on the bass tone. I'm also a big fan of the size and form factor in this case - gig bag for the bass on my back and one hand each for the kemper in its padded bag and my pedalboard and I can carry my entire rig in one go without breaking my back.

I've not actually tried to profile any amps, and I don't own the kemper remote (although I suspect I will soon), so I've really only used the 'off the shelf' functions of the device, including the pc/mac software for managing rigs (kemper's rigs are a combination of amp, effects, input configuration etc). I've used some free rigs from the rig exchange (something like 5000 of them on there last time I checked) and also purchased some from online sellers, one in particular which managed the 'edge of breakup' tone I was after for my telecaster.

All in all, not only is the kemper excellent quality and a pleasure to use, but it's actually replaced a load of gear that in total cost considerably more. It's saved me money, chiropracters's appointments, space, and made composing and gigging more productive and sound better. As you can probably tell I'm a fan, I'd recommend this to anyone but especially to multi-instrumentalists.

My only reservation is whether I'd have preferred the white one...
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End of the road
Levente 28.08.2014
Best purchase I ever made for guitar. I've owned many modeling devices over the years, PODs, BOSSs etc., and real tube amps too. I've always needed the ability to get good amp tone when I'm gigging, at rehearsal or in my bedroom. This thing totally captures the nuances of the profiled amp, so you can have the tone that someone spent tweaking for hours with the best mics, preamps, ect. forever, except now useable at any volume. Better yet, once captured you can do things to it with the innovative controls that are impossible with a real amp. For example, a good amp cleans up as you pick softer and back your guitar's volume off. But if you back your guitar's volume too much, you'll lose too much volume to make it practical. In the Kemper with the built in compressor within the amp section, you can make it so that as you back off your guitar's volume, the amp still cleans up, but the volume will be compensated.

The unit is not only have the "factory snapshot" profiles, but you can download thousands of free shared profiles on the Kemper web, and you can buy professionally modeled profiles from 3rd party companies. Pair this with a quality powered PA speaker like the Yamaha dxr10, you'll never miss playing through a real amp again. Best yet, capture your best sound and have the ability to use it at more reasonable volumes.

If that's not enough, you can actually turn off the Cabinet modeling and run this thing through a real guitar cab. All you need is something to power your guitar cab with, (best solutions is a solid state poweramp which is not colouring your tone, or you can buy the Kemper Powerhead which have a built-in mono poweramp).

The effect section is wonderful, you can adjust every important parameter, and the sound is awesome. With a 3rd party MIDI footcontroller (Behringer FCB 1010 with UNO mod for example) you can easily handle the most musical situations.
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This gear is fantastic...
Heroseob 07.04.2021
very good. I love it...
But..
it took about seven weeks to get this product. (KOREA)
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