The latest update includes seven new time-based effects with many of the delay types featuring a grit control that adds typical tape saturation and distortion to the wet signal.
Germany (November 18, 2016) -- Kemper today unveiled a range of breathtaking new delay effects for the Kemper Profiler. In Profiler OS Version 5.0 guitar players will find a giant leap forward in delay FX technology. Scheduled for release later this year Profiler owners now have the chance to preview the new delays immediately with the public beta version of OS 5.0. Though it is not recommended to use this version for touring and other critical applications yet, it is great fun to be able to check out the astonishing new delay concepts prior to the final release already.
The Kemper Profiler Delays: All-in!
Without a doubt, the new Profiler Delay effect types are some of the most advanced and comprehensive effects collections in the Profiler and also compared to other solutions. The Kemper approach to delay effects is quite different from what musicians are accustomed with: There is no dedicated Reverse Delay, Tape Delay or Ducking Delay. Kemper decided that it simply makes no sense splitting crucial tone design features into separate delay types. Instead, Kemper have equipped every single delay type with a range of tone shaping parameters ā and routing of course: Why not have a Dual Reverse Delay? Or a Serial Delay with analog tape character? Or a Melody Delay with ducking? All of these are possible with the new delays in the Profiler, from OS 5.0 and up.
The new Delay categories are:
- Single Delay
- Dual Delay
- Two Tap Delay
- Serial Two Tap Delay
- Rhythm Delay
- Quad Delay
- Dual Crystal Delay
These features are available in most of the new Profiler delays:
Most of the delays can be designed towards a tape delay tonality with parameters like Hi Cut/ Lo Cut, Cut More, Flutter Intensity and Flutter Shape, Grit (Tape Sat & Distortion). Many of the delay types feature a Grit control to add typical tape saturation and distortion to the delay signal. With less intensity of these controls, the delays will have both the sonic flavor of an analog bucket-brigade delay or a modern digital delay.
A number of delay types feature the parameters "Swell", "Smear" and "Cross Feedback". Each of these parameters will make the delay sound smoother and can turn a rhythmical delay into a more ambient, or reverb-like, effect. And together, they work even better!
All the Parameters at a glance
- Cut More - If the sound degradation of Low Cut and High Cut is not drastic enough or the build-up of the degradation is slow at long delay times the "Cut More" soft button doubles the impact of Low Cut and High Cut.
- Hold - "Hold" is an Action & Hold function, which turns the delay into an endless loop. The delay track will be repeated without losing or gaining level, and without sound degradation.
- Infinity - Infinity is another Action & Hold function to switch Feedback from the regular value (between 0 and 100%) to the Infinity feedback value that spans from 100% to 200% which is separately controllable. This feedback lets the delay repeats build up instead of decay, pushing them deeper into tape saturation, where they will repeat indefinitely, as the sound degrades over time.
- Cross Feedback - A small number of delay types - namely the Dual Delay and the Quad Delays - feature a "Cross Feedback" control. Increasing the value beyond zero causes each delay to not only feed its output signal back to its own input, but also to the other participating delay lines. This creates a more diffuse delay rhythm pattern, adding a reverb-like character to the delay.
- Reverse MixāØ - When set fully to the right, the delay is turned into a reverse delay. With intermediate values, you will get a mixture of the forward and reverse delay, which is quite unique.
- Swell - The Swell parameter engages an auto-swell effect at the input of the delay that lets the volume rise slowly with every new strike of the strings. At low values, only the pick attack is dampened, creating a smoother delay signal. With larger values, the onset of the notes is blurred, creating a pad-like delay.
- Smear - The Smear parameter adds a small reverberation unit to the delay, the intensity of which strengthens with every feedback repetition. Pick attacks become increasingly diffused, or smeared, giving the delay a reverb-like quality. In combination, Swell and Smear are a perfect recipe for ambient and ethereal delays.
- Super StereoāØ - When the Stereo parameter is moved above 100% a novel "super-stereo" effect takes over that lets the delay reflections appear well outside of the regular stereo image.
Version 5.0 of the Kemper Profiler OS is available as a public beta version immediately and for free from the Kemper Website: www.kemper-amps.com/downloads It is not recommended to use this version for critical applications like ongoing touring or any other ongoing production environments.
For more information:
Kemper Amps
Day 9 of Stompboxtober is live! Win today's featured pedal from EBS Sweden. Enter now and return tomorrow for more!
EBS BassIQ Blue Label Triple Envelope Filter Pedal
The EBS BassIQ produces sounds ranging from classic auto-wah effects to spaced-out "Funkadelic" and synth-bass sounds. It is for everyone looking for a fun, fat-sounding, and responsive envelope filter that reacts to how you play in a musical way.
A more affordable path to satisfying your 1176 lust.
An affordable alternative to Cali76 and 1176 comps that sounds brilliant. Effective, satisfying controls.
Big!
$269
Warm Audio Pedal76
warmaudio.com
Though compressors are often used to add excitement to flat tones, pedal compressors for guitar are often ā¦ boring. Not so theWarm Audio Pedal76. The FET-driven, CineMag transformer-equipped Pedal76 is fun to look at, fun to operate, and fun to experiment with. Well, maybe itās not fun fitting it on a pedalboardāat a little less than 6.5ā wide and about 3.25ā tall, itās big. But its potential to enliven your guitar sounds is also pretty huge.
Warm Audio already builds a very authentic and inexpensive clone of the Urei 1176, theWA76. But the font used for the modelās name, its control layout, and its dimensions all suggest a clone of Origin Effectsā much-admired first-generation Cali76, which makes this a sort of clone of an homage. Much of the 1176ās essence is retained in that evolution, however. The Pedal76 also approximates the 1176ās operational feel. The generous control spacing and the satisfying resistance in the knobs means fast, precise adjustments, which, in turn, invite fine-tuning and experimentation.
Well-worn 1176 formulas deliver very satisfying results from the Pedal76. The 10ā2ā4 recipe (the numbers correspond to compression ratio and āclockā positions on the ratio, attack, and release controls, respectively) illuminates lifeless tonesāadding body without flab, and an effervescent, sparkly color that preserves dynamics and overtones. Less subtle compression tricks sound fantastic, too. Drive from aggressive input levels is growling and thick but retains brightness and nuance. Heavy-duty compression ratios combined with fast attack and slow release times lend otherworldly sustain to jangly parts. Impractically large? Maybe. But Iād happily consider bumping the rest of my gain devices for the Pedal76.
Check out our demo of the Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Shaman Model! John Bohlinger walks you through the guitar's standout features, tones, and signature style.
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Vernon Reid Totem Series, ShamanWith three voices, tap tempo, and six presets, EQDās newest echo is an affordable, approachable master of utility.
A highly desirable combination of features and quality at a very fair price. Nice distinctions among delay voices. Controls are clear, easy to use, and can be effectively manipulated on the fly.
Analog voices may lack complexity to some ears.
$149
EarthQuaker Silos
earthquakerdevices.com
There is something satisfying, even comforting, about encountering a product of any kind that is greater than the sum of its partsāthings that embody a convergence of good design decisions, solid engineering, and empathy for users that considers their budgets and real-world needs. You feel some of that spirit inEarthQuakerās new Silos digital delay. Itās easy to use, its tone variations are practical and can provoke very different creative reactions, and at $149 itās very inexpensive, particularly when you consider its utility.
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voicesātwo of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, itās not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this canāt-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silosā utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly wonāt get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear ādigitalā voice, darker āanalogā voice, and a ātapeā voice which is darker still.
āThe three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.ā
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while itās true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silosā three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximityāan effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silosā affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats thatās sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voiceās pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silosā combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.