Mark on new DION album Stomping ground

[jbaent]

Song already added to the Spotify colaborations playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1sI0IHsBN6GiStsiqeST5y?si=eKAT2OGCTmuxgkjecNvKYQ&utm_source=copy-link

[Eddie Fox]

Just for the record, there’s no such thing as clean guitar tones in live gigs when you’re in a big band like Mark’s. You need some saturation in order to cut through the mix otherwise your guitar will be buried under the other instruments. That being said I quite liked Mark’s playing and tone in Dion’s tune. Can’t say the same about the videoclip though lol

[Pottel]

really, REALLY liked Marks contribution, but the rest of the album ain't bad either! finally some good mk "news" in 2021.

[TheTimeWasWrong]

A Kemper could make sense for a tour because it avoid you to have to transport many amps, some of them really expensive and delicate, but in a recording studio of your own, where you have all your stuff, you have to be really lazy to use a Kemper instead of the real hings...

The Kemper is used on Back On The Dancefloor and One Song At A Time. You can get sounds from the Kemper that you can't get from a real amp and vice versa. Whether he used it on this track or not, it's just a 'new' toy for him, he never plays decades on the same gear.

My biggest problem with the Kemper still is dynamics. You can get beautiful clean sounds out of it, but it just doesn't breathe. Even on the best 2019 recordings, and taking his rusty fingers in account, you can hear it's challenging to play really soft *and* really loud with the Kemper.

[tobi777]

Kemper or not: the song is ok, but Mark plays the same licks in "autopilot mode" as so often, so I'm not so convinced.

As for the sound, Mark already had this somewhat rough sound since about 2005, which is not clean enough for me - even when he didn't use Kemper amps. This may be due to the fact that his signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it (which always surprised me, since he never wanted to achieve a sound like SRV) and that he uses different amps than he used to.I like the earlier sound better, but that's a matter of taste.

Also: I admire anyone who can actually recognize a Kemper in a big concert hall with often bad sound and lots of ambient noise.
At least in Berlin the acoustics were generally - as so often - so mediocre that you couldn't hear much at all out of the sound mush...

[quizzaciously]

Kemper or not: the song is ok, but Mark plays the same licks in "autopilot mode" as so often, so I'm not so convinced.

As for the sound, Mark already had this somewhat rough sound since about 2005, which is not clean enough for me - even when he didn't use Kemper amps. This may be due to the fact that his signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it (which always surprised me, since he never wanted to achieve a sound like SRV) and that he uses different amps than he used to.I like the earlier sound better, but that's a matter of taste.

Also: I admire anyone who can actually recognize a Kemper in a big concert hall with often bad sound and lots of ambient noise.
At least in Berlin the acoustics were generally - as so often - so mediocre that you couldn't hear much at all out of the sound mush...

I think a lot of people who are bashing Kemper usually listen to the live recordings and on that, you can make almost any instrument sound bad and out of place. Considering, that Mark's recent soundboards were, let's say, not of the finest quality, expecting a great guitar sound from these recordings is too much I think.

MK Strat is a strange beast indeed, I'm not a fan of colour choice and pickups are also could be different. But some people really love it, so!

[Knopflerfan]

Kemper or not: the song is ok, but Mark plays the same licks in "autopilot mode" as so often, so I'm not so convinced.

As for the sound, Mark already had this somewhat rough sound since about 2005, which is not clean enough for me - even when he didn't use Kemper amps. This may be due to the fact that his signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it (which always surprised me, since he never wanted to achieve a sound like SRV) and that he uses different amps than he used to.I like the earlier sound better, but that's a matter of taste.

Also: I admire anyone who can actually recognize a Kemper in a big concert hall with often bad sound and lots of ambient noise.
At least in Berlin the acoustics were generally - as so often - so mediocre that you couldn't hear much at all out of the sound mush...

I think a lot of people who are bashing Kemper usually listen to the live recordings and on that, you can make almost any instrument sound bad and out of place. Considering, that Mark's recent soundboards were, let's say, not of the finest quality, expecting a great guitar sound from these recordings is too much I think.

MK Strat is a strange beast indeed, I'm not a fan of colour choice and pickups are also could be different. But some people really love it, so!

Now't wrong with a good ol'e MK strat or two!!!

[dustyvalentino]

Kemper or not: the song is ok, but Mark plays the same licks in "autopilot mode" as so often, so I'm not so convinced.

As for the sound, Mark already had this somewhat rough sound since about 2005, which is not clean enough for me - even when he didn't use Kemper amps. This may be due to the fact that his signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it (which always surprised me, since he never wanted to achieve a sound like SRV) and that he uses different amps than he used to.I like the earlier sound better, but that's a matter of taste.

Also: I admire anyone who can actually recognize a Kemper in a big concert hall with often bad sound and lots of ambient noise.
At least in Berlin the acoustics were generally - as so often - so mediocre that you couldn't hear much at all out of the sound mush...

Yeah, I’ve never played through a Kemper but the one thing solid state/digital should be able to do is clean. Roland have done Good clean solid state since the 80s.

What has been difficult to recreate is valve amp distortion. As you say, MK hasn’t really had a true clean sound live for a while now, so that’s a choice, nothing to do with Kemper.

[PensaGhost]

Kemper or not: the song is ok, but Mark plays the same licks in "autopilot mode" as so often, so I'm not so convinced.

As for the sound, Mark already had this somewhat rough sound since about 2005, which is not clean enough for me - even when he didn't use Kemper amps. This may be due to the fact that his signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it (which always surprised me, since he never wanted to achieve a sound like SRV) and that he uses different amps than he used to.I like the earlier sound better, but that's a matter of taste.

Also: I admire anyone who can actually recognize a Kemper in a big concert hall with often bad sound and lots of ambient noise.
At least in Berlin the acoustics were generally - as so often - so mediocre that you couldn't hear much at all out of the sound mush...

Live is when/where you can hear the kemper difference mostly.
In a recording the sound is compressed and the difference is much smaller.

I heard it live in Milan which has an excellent sound for an indoor sports venue
and in Verona where the acoustics is great and is really close to the Royal Albert Hall.

During Money for Nothing in Verona the sound was so bad that I almost wanted to go out, first time ever since 1992.
I still enjoyed because it was Mark, because it was MFN and because it was Verona,
but I can assure you his guitar sound was bad.

[quizzaciously]

Live is when/where you can hear the kemper difference mostly.
In a recording the sound is compressed and the difference is much smaller.

I heard it live in Milan which has an excellent sound for an indoor sports venue
and in Verona where the acoustics is great and is really close to the Royal Albert Hall.

During Money for Nothing in Verona the sound was so bad that I almost wanted to go out, first time ever since 1992.
I still enjoyed because it was Mark, because it was MFN and because it was Verona,
but I can assure you his guitar sound was bad.

I think the bigger problem on the last tour was that he played Money For Nothing so sloppy at times you almost couldn't believe it. It broke my heart when I first heard it and honestly, I don't want to listen to that again. So Kemper or not, I personally never revisit his Kemper recordings anyway

[dustyvalentino]

Live is when/where you can hear the kemper difference mostly.
In a recording the sound is compressed and the difference is much smaller.

I heard it live in Milan which has an excellent sound for an indoor sports venue
and in Verona where the acoustics is great and is really close to the Royal Albert Hall.

During Money for Nothing in Verona the sound was so bad that I almost wanted to go out, first time ever since 1992.
I still enjoyed because it was Mark, because it was MFN and because it was Verona,
but I can assure you his guitar sound was bad.

I think the bigger problem on the last tour was that he played Money For Nothing so sloppy at times you almost couldn't believe it. It broke my heart when I first heard it and honestly, I don't want to listen to that again. So Kemper or not, I personally never revisit his Kemper recordings anyway

Agreed, messed up the intro badly in Glasgow.

[Eddie Fox]

Kemper or not: the song is ok, but Mark plays the same licks in "autopilot mode" as so often, so I'm not so convinced.

As for the sound, Mark already had this somewhat rough sound since about 2005, which is not clean enough for me - even when he didn't use Kemper amps. This may be due to the fact that his signature Strat has Texas Special pickups in it (which always surprised me, since he never wanted to achieve a sound like SRV) and that he uses different amps than he used to.I like the earlier sound better, but that's a matter of taste.

Also: I admire anyone who can actually recognize a Kemper in a big concert hall with often bad sound and lots of ambient noise.
At least in Berlin the acoustics were generally - as so often - so mediocre that you couldn't hear much at all out of the sound mush...

I think a lot of people who are bashing Kemper usually listen to the live recordings and on that, you can make almost any instrument sound bad and out of place. Considering, that Mark's recent soundboards were, let's say, not of the finest quality, expecting a great guitar sound from these recordings is too much I think.

MK Strat is a strange beast indeed, I'm not a fan of colour choice and pickups are also could be different. But some people really love it, so!

I have TS on one of my teles and love it. I don’t know, perhaps the fact Mark’s a fingerpicker led him to that choice, going for hotter pups.

[hunter]

Strat into Komet amp and 4x12 cabinet according to Guy on his forum today.

[PensaGhost]

Live is when/where you can hear the kemper difference mostly.
In a recording the sound is compressed and the difference is much smaller.

I heard it live in Milan which has an excellent sound for an indoor sports venue
and in Verona where the acoustics is great and is really close to the Royal Albert Hall.

During Money for Nothing in Verona the sound was so bad that I almost wanted to go out, first time ever since 1992.
I still enjoyed because it was Mark, because it was MFN and because it was Verona,
but I can assure you his guitar sound was bad.

I think the bigger problem on the last tour was that he played Money For Nothing so sloppy at times you almost couldn't believe it. It broke my heart when I first heard it and honestly, I don't want to listen to that again. So Kemper or not, I personally never revisit his Kemper recordings anyway

his touch is perfectly fine, it's the only thing that is still at 99%

He can use 100 different amps and have a great sound, a digital simulation is the only thing he must avoid

[hunter]

I didn't attend any 2019 shows, but a guitarist friend of mine was at RAH and at a couple of other venues and said Mark overall used too much gain and that the overdriven sound made everything sound very similar. A lot of nuances were lost. Going by the many recordings I've heard from that tour, that's my opinion too.


I totally understand the convenience of using a modeller, especially for one-off gigs that require quick setup (radio shows for instance), but using it on a world tour seems strange, especially by a guy like Mark who has always been very particular about getting good guitar tone and dynamics. I agree with PensaGhost here.