KSR - Tight without boost?

C

ChrisWuelling

New member
I have a KSR Artemis that is pretty bananas as far as switching options and tweakability. However, I feel like I can’t get the tightness and response I’m looking for on palm mutes and chugs. For reference, I’m not playing clanky djent or anything…just standard Metallica style chugs.

I’ve seen posts and videos where players are getting tight sounds without a boost and wondering what I’m missing. It does sound great with a boost, but I’m just curious if I can get what I’m looking for without a boost.

It may just be that now I gravitate more toward a modded Marshall thing - I’m in love with the Splawn Nitro model in the Axe FX so much so that I have an actual Nitro on the way. I know the KSR is more in the recto/SLO camp.

Anyway if you have any of the KSR models, the same things should apply so I’d appreciate any tweaking tips. Thanks in advance!
 
The Artemis has some complicated switches to it, but I find setting the lead gain 1 and 2 to 1 o’clock on purple seems to do the trick what’s the setting you are using?
 
I have typically been on the white mode as I find when I go to purple and red things get even more tubby. Hmmm maybe something is wrong with mine but I got it brand new from Kyle within the last 6 months.

Also I usually have the gain at noon or 1.
 
How close is your pickup to the strings? When my palm mutes sound congested or whatever, I'll lower the pup away from the wound strings a bit to reduce the bass that's hitting the front end of the amp, and then bump up the bass in the amp's tone stack.
 
Good advice, but my palm mutes sound totally good on anything else I play through and have dialed in accordingly, so ideally I need to tweak something on the amp.
 
My friend has an Artemis and I feel like it's the best KSR has to offer. I own a Gemini V2 and while I like it, the Artemis is more versatile. With that said, the KSR stuff is plenty tight, especially the models with updated "feel" controls. It can get too dry and tight actually. Does your amp have that feel control? Early models don't have them but the newer ones do.
 
Hi everyone, new guy here don’t beat me up too bad! I own an Ares (V2 with feel knobs instead of switches). In my opinion if the bright switches are on, the Ares can do the clanky djent thing, but can stay relatively tight without them engaged. I’m not a djent guy, but for just all around killer metal tones my favorite boosts for it are the This Heavy Earth Impaler (that I got from @PurityS.L.G !) and the Spooky Vibes Night Terror. Hope that helps!
 
PurityS.L.G said:
My friend has an Artemis and I feel like it's the best KSR has to offer. I own a Gemini V2 and while I like it, the Artemis is more versatile. With that said, the KSR stuff is plenty tight, especially the models with updated "feel" controls. It can get too dry and tight actually. Does your amp have that feel control? Early models don't have them but the newer ones do.
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Artemis's do not have the "feel" control knobs like the other amps in KSR's line up.
 
On my Artemis II, I usually play the light blue channel on the Lead 1 (no extra gain knob), bright switch on, Fat switch on kind of white color, voice off. That works pretty well. Roughly Bass 7, Mid 4 or 5, Treble 6 or 7, presence 7, depth 4.
I also have an EQ pedal in front in a frown (pushing mids) and then to a Suhr RL then to a 5 band Mesa EQ pedal in the traditional scoop (bass and treble high, mid really low like how you dial it in on a Mark series). AxeFxIII has that EQ pedal and works great.

I never use the loop, all my time based effects are after the SuhrRL, but if you’re using the loop, the levels on the back can also make a difference.

I have that EQ/SuhrRL on every amp I play. From the Mesa EQ into the Axefx for IR and to studio monitors. The IR can make it or break it too.
 
stratjacket said:
On my Artemis II, I usually play the light blue channel on the Lead 1 (no extra gain knob), bright switch on, Fat switch on kind of white color, voice off. That works pretty well. Roughly Bass 7, Mid 4 or 5, Treble 6 or 7, presence 7, depth 4.
I also have an EQ pedal in front in a frown (pushing mids) and then to a Suhr RL then to a 5 band Mesa EQ pedal in the traditional scoop (bass and treble high, mid really low like how you dial it in on a Mark series). AxeFxIII has that EQ pedal and works great.

I never use the loop, all my time based effects are after the SuhrRL, but if you’re using the loop, the levels on the back can also make a difference.

I have that EQ/SuhrRL on every amp I play. From the Mesa EQ into the Axefx for IR and to studio monitors. The IR can make it or break it too.
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This is super helpful - thank you! I have used the loop in the past, but right now I’m just using the Artemis in the loop of my axe fx with a Suhr RL. However, I actually had Kyle add an internal load as well as a NFB control to my Artemis, so I don’t know that I will continue to use the Suhr. I need to compare some more.

Using a pre-EQ in the axe fx before the Artemis is probably a good route. Just wanted to make sure I’m not missing something with dialing this beast in.
 
On the note of IRs - I typically have been using a York Audio Mesa 212 with V30s. Do KSRs like different speakers more?
 
Jetdanger said:
Hi everyone, new guy here don’t beat me up too bad! I own an Ares (V2 with feel knobs instead of switches). In my opinion if the bright switches are on, the Ares can do the clanky djent thing, but can stay relatively tight without them engaged. I’m not a djent guy, but for just all around killer metal tones my favorite boosts for it are the This Heavy Earth Impaler (that I got from @PurityS.L.G !) and the Spooky Vibes Night Terror. Hope that helps!
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I'm such a dumbass. I mixed up Artemis with your Ares LOL!
xfactor23 said:
Artemis's do not have the "feel" control knobs like the other amps in KSR's line up.
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You're right. My bad!
 
I had an Ares and Gemini and they were pretty rad. Everybody has a different idea of what "tight" means. But I was fairly happy with them. If I ever wanted another amp in the modern SLO/Recto/Cobra/5150 camp, I would get a KSR.
 
FourT6and2 said:
I had an Ares and Gemini and they were pretty rad. Everybody has a different idea of what "tight" means. But I was fairly happy with them. If I ever wanted another amp in the modern SLO/Recto/Cobra/5150 camp, I would get a KSR.
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Absolutely, I think they are best in class for that "modern" sound, and by a pretty long ways
 
Tight is gonna mean different things to different people, and other gear, especially pickups/guitar, are gonna be part of the "tight" equation also. But the two KSR I owned could get close to being tight enough for my taste without a boost but needed a lot of volume to do so. That was the Ares and Orion. Even then the attack and sharpness and cut in certain low frequencies still isn't there for me. Its the boost that adds that attack and tidies up the tubby lows making things seem "tighter" faster responding if you will. Orion was much closer to giving it up unboosted than the Ares but I still preferred a boost.

I've learned I prefer amps that need a boost. Those that don't seem too limited for me most times. I like the varying degree of "tight" I can get with different boosts instead of being stuck with an amp that is tight enough, and for me there aren't many that are tight enough. Hellion is but also loves boosts on other settings so soooo much versatility, but something like the Engl Savage MKI to me sucked with a boost, or the Gower Rockmonster sounded incredible without a boost but you then had that one sound/feel and you better like it.
 
ChrisWuelling said:
On the note of IRs - I typically have been using a York Audio Mesa 212 with V30s. Do KSRs like different speakers more?
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The amp would see and react to the SuhrRL or the internal RL, so I don't think it actually sees the IR (maybe some of our amp guru's here can correct me if I'm wrong on that). The SuhrRL is modeled after a Greenback, so that's what the amp should see off the output jack. Works great on all my amps.

So the IR would just be to your taste, like adding a preset EQ at the end of your chain. If you're coming into your AxeFx after the RL, then you can try others and see if you can get a better chug. I use the Bogren Digital IR's, that ended my search or desire for any other IR's. I like to use 2 IR's loaded in the AxeFx panned R and L.
 
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