Kemper Profiler Settings Guide
The definitive amp profiler. The Kemper Profiler captures the complete response of any amplifier into a playable digital twin. Knowing how to load profiles and dial the global controls separates a convincing tone from a digital approximation.
The best Kemper Profiler settings start with: Rig Volume at 5/10, Gain at 5/10, Bass at 5/10, Mid at 5/10, Treble at 5/10, Presence at 5/10, Cabinet at 8/10, Reverb Mix at 2/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Blues: Gain 4/10, Bass 5/10, Mid 7/10, Treble 5/10, Presence 5/10, Cabinet 8/10, Reverb Mix 3/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Rig Volume | 5/10 | Silent → Loud |
| Gain | 5/10 | Clean → Full |
| Bass | 5/10 | Thin → Thick |
| Mid | 5/10 | Scooped → Forward |
| Treble | 5/10 | Dark → Bright |
| Presence | 5/10 | Dark → Airy |
| Cabinet | 8/10 | No Cab → Full Cab |
| Reverb Mix | 2/10 | Dry → Wet |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Load a clean Fender or vintage Vox profile. Gain at 4 keeps the profiled crunch just at breakup. Mid pushed to 7 for single-note cut-through. Add Spring Reverb from the Rig effects stack.
British-voicing profiles (Marshall Plexi, JCM800 style). Gain at 6. The Kemper's Clarity parameter (in the Amp module) helps tighten the low end without thinning the midrange.
High-gain amp profiles (Mesa Dual Rectifier, ENGL Fireball, Peavey 5150 merch). Load a Direct Profile for more control over cab character. Add a Noise Gate stomp before the amp section. Keep Reverb Mix at 0 — reverb blurs palm mutes.
Load a clean Dumble, Two-Rock, or Fender Twin profile. Gain at 2. Use the Kemper's compressor stomp (before amp) set to low attack and medium sustain. Cabinet at 8 for studio polish via headphone or PA output.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
John Mayer has used Kemper live for years — profiling his Dumble ODS and Two-Rock Custom Reverb. Use a Dumble-style profile. Gain at 3, Mid pushed slightly. Add a Tube Screamer-style Drive stomp (drive minimum, level high) for the boost he uses into the clean channels.
Guthrie uses Kemper Profiler onstage with profiles of his boutique amplifiers. His settings vary widely by song. Use Touch Sense and Clean Sens parameters in the Input section to maximise dynamic response from picking attack — this is what gives his clean-to-crunch technique its sensitivity.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Set Input Clean Sens and Distortion Sense in the Input menu first — these define how the Kemper responds to your guitar's output level, and every profile will behave differently if this is wrong.
- The Rig Volume control is your loudness-matching tool, not a master volume. Bypass this and use the Kemper's Master Volume (or Output section) for stage volume.
- Direct Profiles (DI profiles) give you more control over cabinet character but require separate cab IRs. Studio Profiles (with cab baked in) are simpler for most players.
- The Morphing feature (assignable to expression pedal or Rig volume) can blend between two gain or EQ states in real-time — this replaces the need for a separate boost pedal on most rigs.
- Rig Manager (free software) lets you organise, preview, and back up profiles. Invest time here before a session — browsing profiles on the hardware is slow.
- For live use, enable the Output Section's Monitor Output and set it to Monitor Cab Off if going through a stage monitor or FRFR speaker — this prevents the cabinet simulation being applied twice.
FAQ
Kemper Profiler — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Kemper Profiler: Rig Volume at 5/10, Gain at 5/10, Bass at 5/10, Mid at 5/10, Treble at 5/10, Presence at 5/10, Cabinet at 8/10, Reverb Mix at 2/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Blues: Gain 4/10, Bass 5/10, Mid 7/10, Treble 5/10, Presence 5/10, Cabinet 8/10, Reverb Mix 3/10. Load a clean Fender or vintage Vox profile. Gain at 4 keeps the profiled crunch just at breakup. Mid pushed to 7 for single-note cut-through. Add Spring Reverb from the Rig effects stack.
For Classic Rock: Gain 6/10, Bass 5/10, Mid 6/10, Treble 6/10, Presence 6/10, Cabinet 8/10, Reverb Mix 2/10. British-voicing profiles (Marshall Plexi, JCM800 style). Gain at 6. The Kemper's Clarity parameter (in the Amp module) helps tighten the low end without thinning the midrange.
Rig Volume: Per-profile output level. Use to match loudness across profiles before comparing. Leave at 0 dB as starting point. (Silent to Loud). Gain: Override the profiled gain amount. Low values clean up the profiled crunch; high values push into saturation beyond the original profile. (Clean to Full). Bass: Low-frequency EQ applied post-profile. Broad cut/boost, reacts to the original amp character. (Thin to Thick). Mid: Mid-range presence. Critical for live cut-through — profiles that sound great in isolation often need a Mid push in a band context. (Scooped to Forward). Treble: High-frequency content. High values can introduce fizz in high-gain profiles; use Presence to add air without treble harshness. (Dark to Bright). Presence: High-frequency air and upper harmonic clarity. Applied in the power-amp section, post-EQ. Adds sparkle without sharpness. (Dark to Airy). Cabinet: Cabinet simulation blend. At 0, raw power-amp signal only (for use with real cabinet). At 10, full profiled cabinet character. Use 10 for headphones/PA/IEM. (No Cab to Full Cab). Reverb Mix: Amount of built-in reverb. The reverb stack is per-Rig and can be overridden globally. Low values (2–3) add presence without washing out the tone. (Dry to Wet)
Set Input Clean Sens and Distortion Sense in the Input menu first — these define how the Kemper responds to your guitar's output level, and every profile will behave differently if this is wrong. The Rig Volume control is your loudness-matching tool, not a master volume. Bypass this and use the Kemper's Master Volume (or Output section) for stage volume. Direct Profiles (DI profiles) give you more control over cabinet character but require separate cab IRs. Studio Profiles (with cab baked in) are simpler for most players. The Morphing feature (assignable to expression pedal or Rig volume) can blend between two gain or EQ states in real-time — this replaces the need for a separate boost pedal on most rigs. Rig Manager (free software) lets you organise, preview, and back up profiles. Invest time here before a session — browsing profiles on the hardware is slow. For live use, enable the Output Section's Monitor Output and set it to Monitor Cab Off if going through a stage monitor or FRFR speaker — this prevents the cabinet simulation being applied twice.
John Mayer settings: Gain 3/10, Bass 5/10, Mid 6/10, Treble 5/10, Presence 6/10, Cabinet 8/10, Reverb Mix 2/10. John Mayer has used Kemper live for years — profiling his Dumble ODS and Two-Rock Custom Reverb. Use a Dumble-style profile. Gain at 3, Mid pushed slightly. Add a Tube Screamer-style Drive stomp (drive minimum, level high) for the boost he uses into the clean channels.