Amp + Torpedo Studio compared to Axe FX II/Kemper.

[EvilBatman]

Many a year ago, I had an Axe FX Ultra that I feel was one of the best gear purchases I've made in the entire time I've played guitar. That said, it was one of many pieces I sold in order to buy a house and shrink down my amount of stuff since I was not playing much and did not think I would be playing much in the future. Fast forward to today, and I am ready to begin the rebuilding of my gear as over the past year or so, I have begun to play on a daily basis again. Now, I have no plans whatsoever to play in a live setting, but I do want to begin writing and recording music again with this plan. As it stands, my thoughts are to pick up an Axe FX II by the end of the year as the first step and reacquaint myself with what the device can do. After that, I would like to make some very specific amp purchases, but keep the overall size of my gear list somewhat small, as the Axe would serve both as a key tone component and the chief effects processor while the amps I'm thinking of would round out things I either cannot get with the Axe, or just simply want to own in physical reality.

For the amps, I'm thinking that a Two Notes Torpedo Studio is what I would like to run them in to as buying multiple cabs and mics does not really look like the direction I want to go, and I'm not all that concerned with the difference in feel of the tone in regards to mic'd/monitor sounds vs. in the room amp sound. (To be completely honest, I wouldn't mind picking up some cabs and specific speakers as I'm extremely picky when it comes to speakers, but even then, the plan would be to capture a ridiculous amount of IRs and then likely sell the cab and speakers. And this would be quite a bit further down the line.)

Now while I wrote that I'm not all that concerned with the feel of the tone, I would like to know how those of you that have spent time with the Axe FX and Kemper would compare the amp/Torpedo combo to them in terms of feel and sound through studio monitors and in general.

Also, a separate question for the Kemper players: Have you ever run in to a situation where you have been unhappy with or unable to attain a specific tone or character even with multiple profiles of the same amp combined with the various stack tweaking and other options offered in the Kemper? Again, I'm a bit picky and unfortunately, slightly off center when it comes to my tonal preferences. The deeper manipulation offered by the Axe FX II draws my attention, but I like that ability to sample all of the various profiles and combinations that are out there for the Kemper.

 

[Monkey Man]

I only know of two limitations with the Kemper that relate to your question:

The first is if you're trying to Profile an amp whilst using decent amounts of both preamp and power-amp distortion. The Kemper has difficulty getting a handle on things unless you dial back the power-amp stage.

The second concerns Big Muff-style stomp use - at some point about a year ago a FW update seemed to have changed the way a certain BM-style stomp effect (built-in algorithm) sounded. This appears to have inconvenienced only one user I'm aware of, a member called "Bommel", who's stoner tone/s suffered accordingly; he was in contact with the coders and I don't know what became of that.

The first issue is a real one 'though, in that it's specified in the manual all the way back to 2011 and is obviously a known limitation, but IMHO it's a "niche" situation, especially these days where power-amp distortion is utilised much-less and isn't even available on many amps anymore, unlike back in the '70s and '80s.

All-up, I reckon the tube-amp feel, along with the huge amount of amps and cabs on offer, will serve you well in your situation. Even if you decide to gig at some point for a little fun, your back will thank you. FWIMBW, you can "Lock" an amp (or any stomp, cab or whatever, for that matter) and scroll through "presets" (called Rigs), thus calling up their stomps, cabs or whatever you don't have locked, whilst auditioning / playing. You can use the Rig Manager app for this too obviously, meaning that you'll effectively have access to over 10 000 sets of free stomp / FX settings and cabs (before buying any 3rd-party ones) whilst your chosen amp is locked. Super-handy, and might negate the need for you to create all those IR's you anticipated recording. Bear in mind that many claim (myself included) that the Kemper's cab capture is more-sophisticated than a static IR - it seems to be "more-alive" / 3-dimentional and dynamic.

 

[Mattfig]

I have both....The Kemper only frustrates when the profile and settings are off...

If you LOVE your amp, the Torpedo is the way to go. AMAZING tool...It will sound different through the monitors but will record perfectly...Plus, there are so many IRs out there to try...Plus you can get cabs and make your own....

If you want to have access to millions of amps and a great tone, the Kemper is the way to go. I record with both mentioned as well as miked cabs and it all sounds great depending on the use....

They all sound very similar back through the console and react the same to me too...

 

[PBGas]

I have had 3 Kemper units over the years since they first came out. They record very nicely and are easy enough to use. I no longer have those for various reasons all related to me playing live.

These days, I run my JP-2C LE into a Two-Notes studio for FOH. It works great for one of my main gigs in an orchestra pit because there really is no room for a cab so I just bring the head and Studio and use the monitors they have which are great. It sounds phenomenal to my ears. I also use a Helix Rack in 4CM for my FX and as a backup in case something goes wrong with my amp. The Helix itself sounds amazing to FOH as well. Love the unit!

The difficult piece here is that your ears will have to decide on what is best for your situation. For me, the Amp/studio wins out every time because it is what I am used to and like.

In your case, you have been using the Fractal stuff and liked it so that may actually be your best bet since you have some familiarity with it.

 

[EvilBatman]

I have had 3 Kemper units over the years since they first came out. They record very nicely and are easy enough to use. I no longer have those for various reasons all related to me playing live.

These days, I run my JP-2C LE into a Two-Notes studio for FOH. It works great for one of my main gigs in an orchestra pit because there really is no room for a cab so I just bring the head and Studio and use the monitors they have which are great. It sounds phenomenal to my ears. I also use a Helix Rack in 4CM for my FX and as a backup in case something goes wrong with my amp. The Helix itself sounds amazing to FOH as well. Love the unit!

The difficult piece here is that your ears will have to decide on what is best for your situation. For me, the Amp/studio wins out every time because it is what I am used to and like.

In your case, you have been using the Fractal stuff and liked it so that may actually be your best bet since you have some familiarity with it.

Thanks for the info. Your JP-2C/Studio/Helix combo actually sounds very close to what I'm thinking of for my home rig. And especially considering that one of the few heads I'm looking at getting is a Mark II of some sort or a Studio/Strategy rack combo. On that front, how would you compare your JP-2C run through the Studio/Helix setup against a speaker cab and a speaker cab/mic if you can? Not feel per se, but are the tonal differences minute, moderate, or drastic?

Mattfig and Monkey Man, thank you for the information. Didn't know about the high preamp and high power amp distortion thing.

 

[Monkey Man]

Hay, no worries, Batman.

The thing is, it's always been in the manual, but not in advertising blurbs. It also hasn't been mentioned much in online videos 'cause let's face it, in most cases it's irrelevant these days.