The pop-rock star tapped a trio of shredders to bring her latest tour to life, and a mix of old-school and new-age amp tech covers their arena-ready spectrum of sounds.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts was last year’s pop-rock album of the year, with singles like “All-American Bitch,” “Get Him Back!,” and “Bad Idea Right?” igniting a revival of early-’00s pop-punk, but with quite a bit more nuance and grit.
Rodrigo’s tour behind the critically acclaimed record has been rolling around the world since February. To bring it on the road, the star has hired guitarists Emily Rosenfield and Daisy Spencer, along with bassist Moa Munoz. PG’s Chris Kies caught up with the three musicians before Rodrigo’s show at San Francisco’s Chase Center in early August to see what gear powers the pop-rock machine.
Special thanks for helping out to guitar techs Luis Munoz and Maurizio Pino.
Among a stable of sharp, fun axes, Rosenfield, who also plays with Rina Sawayama and has played guitar for Broadway productions of Rent and Hamilton, favors this eye-catching Gibson Kirk Douglas Signature SG. Strung with Ernie Ball Paradigm strings, the triple-humbucker configuration carries a fair bit of Jack White mojo—a great fit given White’s oddball influence on Rodrigo’s barbed take on pop-rock.
Black Cat
Spencer’s number-one is this Shabat Guitars Leopard, built by Los Angeles-based luthier Avi Shabat. The Jazzmaster-style guitar, which also takes Ernie Ball Paradigms, covers some shoegaze tonal territory that crops up through the carefully programmed set.
Rick Rock
As a teen in Sweden, bassist Moa Munoz grew up on a steady diet of rock and metal, and Rickenbacker basses seemed like the right tool for those jobs. She delivered mail to save up for this 1981 Rickenbacker 4001, and it’s still her top choice.
Kemper Tantrum
Munoz runs an onstage amp rig—powered by a Mesa Boogie Subway D-800 head and matching cab—but supplements that with a Line 6 Helix Rack and Control system. Spencer and Rosenfield run through Kemper Profiler systems, with Kemper Profiler Remote units at their feet to dance through their sound changes. They cover everything from acoustic ballads to sparkly cleans to alien octave jumps to full-on grunge sludge, so tune in to hear snippets of the sonic spectrum.
There are a few ways to think about powerful multi-modelers like the Fender Tone Master Pro. On one hand, they address 21st-century music industry realities—namely that everyone from wedding bands to high-profile touring acts can scarcely afford the techs and transport required to maintain and move heaps of gear. They are a natural fit for home recording, enabling a lot of players to make huge sounds in small spaces. Philosophically speaking, they also reflect the state—and possibilities—of a super-postmodern art moment, where every sound can be accessed, ingested, inhaled, scrambled, and reassembled in any way a musician’s whims and processing power may take them.
On the other hand, some find the notion of, say, playing, a virtual Marshall Super Lead without a 4x12 pushing air disorienting—the musical equivalent of walking the uncanny valley. Others find modelers less conducive to chance discoveries. On this latter count, though, Fender’s Tone Master Pro is a measurable step in the right direction. From the time you power up the unit and start tinkering with its engaging, intuitive touch screen, the Tone Master Pro reveals a knack for illuminating both well-trodden musical paths and unexpected detours with fluid facility. It’s satisfying to use in ways that could tempt even the most resolute analog devotee.
Applause for the Interface
The TMP’s touch screen user interface (and the way it dovetails with hardware elements like the rotary footswitches) is a huge part of its appeal. Lest you dismiss the well-executed representations of analog gear as merely “cute,” bear in mind that legions of modern engineers consider such skeuomorphic depictions of recording gear faster and easier to use in studio environments. That’s certainly the case here. The Pro’s interface facilitates casual experimentation and complex routing alike. It looks sharp. It’s also functional and flat-out fun—no small factor when courting reluctant and first-time modeler adopters. In theory, though, experienced users should find a lot to like in this thoughtfully executed touch screen.
The I/O array is practical and comparable to most competing modelers. There’s an option for two stereo effects loops or four mono effects loops, which opens up more possibilities via integration of your own favorite effects. As you’d expect, there are two stereo outs (one is fitted with XLR and ¼" jacks,) MIDI I/O, USB (for firmware updates), and more.
“The interface is functional and flat-out fun—no small factor when courting reluctant and first-time modeler adopters.”
The TMP does have some shortcomings compared to the competition. Most notably, you cannot capture amp sounds as you can with some other modelers in the TMP’s class. That also limits the breadth of sounds an extended user community can create and share.
Sounds Sourced from a Deep Well
I usually hear modelers as toppy and sometimes a bit woofy compared to real amp equivalents. (I’m also generally shocked by how many players claim modelers sound exactly the same as comparable amp rigs, but vive la differénce!) Most users find EQ fixes for these issues, and some of those solutions—high-end attenuation, primarily—were effective here. Still, I think it’s helpful to consider modeler sounds in context of the recorded environment. Check out the audio clip from the online version of this review. It contrasts a rhythm-and-lead loop played via a Tone Master Pro’s ’65 Deluxe Reverb model—miked with a virtual Shure SM57, on axis, at the speaker cap’s edge and sent straight into a UA Apollo Twin—with a real tube-driven ’65 Deluxe Reverb reissue miked with a real SM57 in precisely the same manner. Can you pick which is which? This is far from an airtight experiment. Heck, two real Deluxe Reverbs can sound pretty different. I hear minor differences in the two clips and, in isolation, prefer the airier, less-compressed sound of the real deal. But could I tell the difference in a mix with bass, drums, guitar, and organ? I’m not so sure. I also doubt I would scrap an inspired take from the Tone Master Pro in favor of a crappier one from an all-analog rig. These are real questions I might ask in a fast-moving recording session. Typically, the answer is “pick the take that suits the song, mood, and arrangement,” rather than “let’s use the less inspired take that, arguably, sounds 6 percent more like a vintage Deluxe.” Your opinions and process may differ.
High-gain sounds, too, are represented in plentitude. Predictably, perhaps, the top-end spikiness I heard in clean tones was more pronounced in these settings. The TMP’s EQ tools, including virtual mic placement, can make a pronounced difference in lending gentler contours to these frequencies. And again, in the context of a recorded mix, these sounds are likely to pass more than a few blindfold tests.
The Verdict
Big-ticket modelers tend to incite more tribalism and snobbery than almost any other guitar equipment—which is saying a lot. But while one could make valid gripes about any of these platforms, a certain truth that holds for any piece of musical gear applies here: No two players, nor their music predilections, needs, creative urges, or life realities, are alike. The Tone Master Pro’s approachability and thoughtful interface design make it well-suited to players that will benefit from quick integration, fast workflow, and a graphic interface that employs lucid representations of familiar analog equipment.
The Tone Master Pro often sounds authentic and inspiring, as do many of its competitors. Are any of them light years beyond each other in fidelity, or bound to spoil an otherwise stirring mix, song, or performance? That depends on the music you make, and the emphasis you place on tone purity. At the time of this writing, The Tone Master Pro costs the same $1,699 that you will spend for a Neural Quad Cortex or Line 6 Helix, and 100 bucks more than a Kemper Profiler. If you find the sound from a certain modeler appreciably superior and indispensable, find significant value in a more mature user community that has already generated oodles of tradable presets, or find the lack of an amp capture function a deal-breaker, you might ask how much time you’ll save using Fender’s exceptional workflow and interface—and how much real creativity that might spark. For many players for whom fluid creation is as important as tone nuance, or for whom modeling is a new experience, the Tone Master Pro’s intuitive operation could tip the scales in Fender’s favor.
The Kemper Profiler Player is a compact stomp pedal-sized package that offers professional amp tones, studio-grade FX, and seamless switching capabilities.
Requiring only the floorboard space of two standard distortion pedals the PROFILER Player turns any pedal board into an arena-grade touring rig. And, what’s more, the Player indeed itself is already the arena-grade touring rig that fits in every guitar bag. It offers the full arsenal of KEMPER amp tones (yes, the Amp section of the Player sounds identical to the Amp section of its famous Big Brothers - it loads any amp Profile from the vast library of existing free and commercial Profiles), selected FX settings, IR loading, and switching capabilities - at home, in the studio, in the rehearsal room, and on stage. Made in Germany.
This is simply because the acclaimed KEMPER Profiling Technology, including the new and acclaimed Liquid Profiling tech, and the unparalleled KEMPER FX, all combined with seamless switching now comes in one straightforward stomp pedal-sized package. The PROFILER Player features three freely assignable footswitches and the essential control knobs and buttons. The comfortable on-board LED system provides detailed visual feedback on the current device status at all times. For digging deeper into every aspect of the FX, enter Rig Manager, the only guitar amp control and editing solution that is available for all relevant platforms. It works on iPhones, iPads, Android Phones, Android Tablets, Kindle Fire, macOS, and Windows. All are available for free from the App Stores and the Kemper Website.
The Player offers a massive, well-curated selection of 136 different FX settings from the legendary KEMPER PROFILER FX arsenal of over 444 FX presets in total. All the important tools of the trade are just ready to be engaged with the next switch!
The Player’s signal chain comprises 4 effect blocks in addition to the amplifier stack. Up to two effects can be placed "pre" the amp stack, and another two "post" the amp. The post-amp modules of the effect chain are ideal for delay and reverb effects. Both delay and reverb offer "spillover" at any time, meaning the sonic tail is not cut off when changing to another Rig.
The Player connects seamlessly to one or two KEMPER Power Cabinets, making it a combo amp solution with the „cab-in-the-room“ sound.
Size does matter! Musicians need to be mobile and flexible at all times. But they also always need to be the best version of themselves in terms of musicality and tone - now it is easy because the Player is here and with you! All the time!
Fully compatible with KEMPER PROFILER Amp Rigs
Sturdy metal pedal housing
127 dB dynamic range Guitar Input - amongst the best in the industry
3 Footswitches for Rig, FX, and Performance switching (Further control units supported)
All Push-pots for additional second-level parameter access
Amp controls Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Rig Volume
4 x PROFILER FX - 2 pre and 2 post amp stack
FX 1 and FX 2 Control and switch
High Power Headphone Output
Loads Cabinet IRs
Master Volume
Bluetooth and WiFi Connectivity (Audio streaming for Spotify, etc. & ext. Control/Editing)
Connects to RigManager remote app on all relevant platforms
Supports KEMPER Kone Technology for running speaker Imprints with KEMPER Power Kabinets
Audio Interface 4/4 via USB
MIDI via USB - Supports typical USB2MIDI cables
Three separate Output Groups: XLR FOH/ Studio Out, Independent 2 x 1/4“ TSR Jack Stereo Monitor Out, Stereo Headphone Out
USB B/A for external connections (Computer, USB Stick)
9V Power Supply
50 Rigs on board plus access to thousands of rigs from the Factory Content/ Rig Exchange etc.
Editor apps for iOS, iPad OS, Android, Kindle Fire, MacOS, Windows
The KEMPER PROFILER Player is available for Euro/ USD 698,- from the KEMPER Online Store and selected Dealers worldwide.
