Axe-FX II or Kemper?

[thiswaythatway]

I owned the Axe 2 twice and while it is a great unit it didn't work for me because it actually steered me away from playing my guitar. All I did was tone chase and tweak. Some amp sims are better than others but don't expect them all to nail every amp it tries to. The the Axe sounds to me is on a tube poweramp, I've tried the FRFR setup a few times and didn't like it.

 

[Dale B]

I've been looking at these two for a while now, Bob. I haven't had the time to pull the trigger, but I would go with the Kemper. The reason being is it looks a heck of a lot easier to manage than the AxeFx. Both units are killer and better than anything that was considered "modeling" nearly 15 years ago.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

The axe fx 2 destroys the kemper in tone. Forget the rest of the arguments. Only tone matters.

The recent axe developments solved any feel issues discussed above. I agree a tube power amp is best, it's how I use it.


I'll say this? Did you like line 6 modeling? Any problems with the line 6 high end or did it sound fine to you?

If so you will hate the kemper. The only thing I hear when playing a kemper or listening to a recorded track is that damn aliasing. Ruins the entire experience for me.

That haze of high end hash that cannot be dialed out. All unrelated to the fundamentals. Yuck.

Axe fx 2 has none.

Even the digi design 11 rack doesn't alias.

 

[PBGas]

The Problem with the Kemper is actually being able to buy one in North America. The company has a terrible supply/demand ratio. I remember when I got one a couple of years back. I ordered in March and it didn't show up until the end of Sept. Great unit, but I don't feel like waiting until next July to get one. Ridiculous. I sold it because it was missing so many features and I needed another workable solution for playing live. I get the whole economics of the situation but if you have that much demand for a product then you actually are supposed to manufacture more of them. I was thinking of getting another one but I'll just move on to something else that is available. Perhaps someday when these things are available again, I may get one. I'm thinking though the Axe 2 in the used market may be a great buy.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

How is it that MWagner can't tell the difference between his amp & Kemper but you hear harsh hi end aliasing? Maybe you had a bad experience with a profile, but there's 1000s out there
Eleven Rack? Lol

 

[animal]

The axe fx 2 destroys the kemper in tone. Forget the rest of the arguments. Only tone matters.

The recent axe developments solved any feel issues discussed above. I agree a tube power amp is best, it's how I use it.


I'll say this? Did you like line 6 modeling? Any problems with the line 6 high end or did it sound fine to you?

If so you will hate the kemper. The only thing I hear when playing a kemper or listening to a recorded track is that damn aliasing. Ruins the entire experience for me.

That haze of high end hash that cannot be dialed out. All unrelated to the fundamentals. Yuck.

Axe fx 2 has none.

Even the digi design 11 rack doesn't alias.

bollocks

There was a slight issue and that got taken care of many fw revisions ago
I trust sneap , lasse and wagners opinions on tone ...thats enough for me lol

And lol at the "recent developments fixed the feel issues" been hearing this garbage back since the ultra days

 

[TrueTone500]

I'm not kidding here... If this pro-Kemper talk continues, I swear I'm going to pull the trigger an another one!

 

[Anonymous]

The axe fx 2 destroys the kemper in tone. Forget the rest of the arguments. Only tone matters.

The recent axe developments solved any feel issues discussed above. I agree a tube power amp is best, it's how I use it.


I'll say this? Did you like line 6 modeling? Any problems with the line 6 high end or did it sound fine to you?

If so you will hate the kemper. The only thing I hear when playing a kemper or listening to a recorded track is that damn aliasing. Ruins the entire experience for me.

That haze of high end hash that cannot be dialed out. All unrelated to the fundamentals. Yuck.

Axe fx 2 has none.

Even the digi design 11 rack doesn't alias.

I couldn't disagree more with your position on the Kemper and this "aliasing"...

Steve

 

[crankyrayhanky]

There was a slight issue and that got taken care of many fw revisions ago
I trust sneap , lasse and wagners opinions on tone ...thats enough for me lol

And lol at the "recent developments fixed the feel issues" been hearing this garbage back since the ultra days

Funny because I agree with you, but reread your post

 

[gibson5413]

The axe fx 2 destroys the kemper in tone. Forget the rest of the arguments. Only tone matters.

Lulz!

 

[spanny]

I prefer the Axe FX II, but I also havent spent too much time using the Kemper either. So my advice is about as useful and my post here...

 

[animal]

There was a slight issue and that got taken care of many fw revisions ago
I trust sneap , lasse and wagners opinions on tone ...thats enough for me lol

And lol at the "recent developments fixed the feel issues" been hearing this garbage back since the ultra days

Funny because I agree with you, but reread your post

well was talking about kemper issue up top and the axe down the bottom
not saying issues don't get fixed up with the axe fw either , just saying the whole "real" thing has been going on forever and anytime someone makes a comparison its like "oh well you haven't tried FW13 yet" etc etc

 

[Bob Savage]

fluff's Kemper - Uberschall video sounds killer.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

That's a good point...Kemper came out as a work in progress and really delivered huge free upgrades over the years. Fractal keeps releasing new hardware every 18 months or so....kind of reminds me of Avid business practices (not a good thing)

 

[Mailman1971]

fluff's Kemper - Uberschall video sounds killer.

Yeah....Fluff always brings bad ass clips!
That Uber clip sounded excellent. Let the tweakers and recorders get the profiles down....then purchase the finished product off them or swap profiles. Tons and tons of good tones out there that sound damn near identical to the 'amp'.
I have wanted the Kemper for a while.

 

[blackba]

That's a good point...Kemper came out as a work in progress and really delivered huge free upgrades over the years. Fractal keeps releasing new hardware every 18 months or so....kind of reminds me of Avid business practices (not a good thing)

That's part of what has kept me away from the ax-fx. I have seen what happens with the value of old modeling hardware with line 6. I wonder how long before we will have a kemper 2.....

 

[dsquared]

Owned both, both are great, I sold the Axe and kept the Kemper. Hard to go wrong with either but I definitely love the Kemper. I was just thinking the other day that I should sell my IIC+ because the KPA sounds so good.

 

[RSRD]

fluff's Kemper - Uberschall video sounds killer.

I actually thought the clean sounded the best!!

 

[Shask]

Honestly, I think you have been around gear long enough that either would work for you.

I have an Axe-FX II. I have wanted nothing else since I got it.

When I decided, I thought about it like a synthesizer versus a sampler. Do you want to have endless options to build anything you want, or do you want to sort through endless amounts of "pre-built" stuff to find your favorites?

What work flow do yo prefer?

 

[SkyhighRocks]

Honestly, I think you have been around gear long enough that either would work for you.

I have an Axe-FX II. I have wanted nothing else since I got it.

When I decided, I thought about it like a synthesizer versus a sampler. Do you want to have endless options to build anything you want, or do you want to sort through endless amounts of "pre-built" stuff to find your favorites?

What work flow do yo prefer?

You can do the same with the Kemper...you don't have to keep the profiles as is...I've built my own from other base tones.