Kemper inbound!! \m/

[Serratus]

So I am now waiting for my Kemper PowerRack to arrive I play a Diezel Herbert at the moment, and while I absolutely love it, I am having more and more issues with my back, and lifting the 60lb Herbert all the time is doing it no good at all! So I'm gonna try the Kemper - I want to run the stereo out to the PA and also run my normal guitar cab on stage using the power amp. Really looking forward to trying it out, although I do think that it's gonna take a while experimenting to get the tone I want! The general consensus seems to be that you can get them sounding 100% like any amp you want, with the feel being something like 95% like a real valve amp - that's the only thing I'm worried about really, because I've played valve amps exclusively for the last 20 years!! We'll see......

 

[thawn5150]

Congrats.. Profiling your amp is the way to go. There are some great profiles out there but profiling your amp will give you the sound you are used to. Its an amazing machine. When you use a cab for a monitor make sure you turn off the cab sims on the monitor out of the kemper Enjoy !

 

[PBGas]

Good luck getting the Herbert to sound anything like it in the Kemper. It is one of the harder amps to profile. I had one. Great amp. I've had a few Kemper units and I keep going back to an amp. It just isn't for me. I usually will gig with my head and a Torpedo Live now as I did in the past.

No denying the convenience of having everything in the box with the Kemper and the Axe units. They are great units as well for recording.

 

[IceMan]

The latest update gives you the ability to direct profile your amp now for a more accurate capture of the amp without introducing other factors like cab and mike to the equation. Of course I just sold my Kemper before this latest update!!! But I eagerly await some clips from some amps captured this way!!

 

[dallasb]

Major Congratz! KPA is a cool unit. A few caveats tho-

Do yourself a favor and ignore those percentages. KPA Axe FX its all this BS stuff being spouted out about "it's exactly like an amp" "it's better than an amp"

And the same happens with every firmware revision or newer product line.

I own both and am not impartial. First thing to do is get rid of the notion that the unit is just like your amp. Trust me, it won't be. It's very different, and unique in it's own way.

Some paid Marshall and other profiles are better than factory. Factory profiles are also decent. I have profiled my amps as well as other amps friends have. It's kind of amp like until you really crank things up through a guitar cabinet. I have to use guitar cabs because I absolutely lothe the FRFR or powered pa speaker ideas so many are going with. I spent a small fortune on those wedges and sent them back. That is nothing like a guitar cab backline, so I have no clue what most were bragging about. My assumption was most seldom gig out anyway so its in a simple small jam room with carpet and bass traps maybe on the wall, and the guys seldom get to crank the system so its so awesome at earphone levels. Just like an amp!

Was not true for me at all. KPA does sound more amp like and works better with guitar cabs and tube power amps. Otoh though, it kind of defeats the idea of a simplified rig.

I love what these units can offer, but I still use a traditional head and cab rig. Some smaller places I'll grab my Mesa MkV and single 12 cab.

Just want you to realize the digital realm takes some getting used to. You may notice it more with a band at actual band volumes more than when you practice at home or with headphones.

 

[Serratus]

I completely realise that it's going to take a lot of work and experimenting to get the most out of it, and even then I might not get on with it. There definitely seems to be two camps - one that gets on with it really well, and the other that doesn't at all, so it will be interesting. I'm not necessarily expecting it to be 'better' than my amp, although I do think that running it through my cab and simultaneously FRFR through the PA might make the band sound better, even if I end up not liking it!!!lol But I do have to think of my back - if only we had roadies!! So it's all a compromise really....

 

[Serratus]

Oh and my plan is to get some sounds sorted at home and then rehearse with the band before I gig it, so that should give me a good idea of the full amplified sound before gigging, and I can hang on to my Herbert for a while so I have time to experiment before deciding for sure

 

[JerEvil]

Congrats man. Love my Kemper. Best get purchase I've made in over a decade. Sounds great direct to FOH, to your recording desk AND with power amp and cab. Experiment and find sounds that work for YOU and your situation.

 

[SkyhighRocks]

Congrats! Welcome to a really cool world

 

[coolfeel]

Are these similar to the AxeFx

 

[Racerxrated]

Are these similar to the AxeFx

Oh no. Just google "axe fx vs kemper" and you'll get 10000 hits. First read the prior post a few entries back...

 

[dallasb]

Are these similar to the AxeFx

Not at all. KPA has a more amp with cab quality sound. The latest Axe2 or XL model firmwares have added some improvement.

Each are their own thing. If you are an fx junky the Axe has it all over the KPA. If you are in this for amp like quality sound with less fx combinations, the KPA is the winner (still even after FAS firmware changes).

Fractal amp models have their own identity. Cab models can change some things, but the features you have to sort through or tweak to get just a simple Plexi type dynamic are crazy. KPA has it's own variants of the amps being digitally converted.

If you have an amp and swap tubes, cabs etc, KPA will capture that better than the static factory models do from Axe Fx.

You can browse Axe Fx patches all day, or tweak your own. Most of the basic models will sound the same. With KPA you can find another's grail Plexi, JMP, 800, etc and those simple nuances can be experienced in the profile.

Axe FX has tone match, but that's not really the same thing as profiling, which captures every detail from room, mic, cab , speaker type, speaker quality, as well as any amplifier details such as modded versions, tube variants, OT variants, customizations. You can also profile multi-channel amps. Favorite settings you use are easy to profile and recall.

So there are far more advantages to KPA than Axe FX when it comes to the amp and cabinet/room, etc since YOU control those options vs a more homogenized everyone gets the same thing amp model which is in Axe FX and other version modelers.

Axe FX is sweet if you tweak, or if you are happy using amp models based on a more fixed design. KPA is more the WYSIWYG type thing. That changes dependent upon the persons, room environment, gear quality, user experience for any profiled amps and cabs. KPA isn't really made to tweak the various amp parameters since it provides as closely as possible what a particular amp, cab and mic sounded like. And we all know most amps seldom sound the same. Too many variables. KPA shines in providing the variable qualities of that "one" amp.

 

[Michi]

Congrats! And welcome to the other side .

 

[DADA]

Are these similar to the AxeFx

Not at all. KPA has a more amp with cab quality sound. The latest Axe2 or XL model firmwares have added some improvement.

Each are their own thing. If you are an fx junky the Axe has it all over the KPA. If you are in this for amp like quality sound with less fx combinations, the KPA is the winner (still even after FAS firmware changes).

Fractal amp models have their own identity. Cab models can change some things, but the features you have to sort through or tweak to get just a simple Plexi type dynamic are crazy. KPA has it's own variants of the amps being digitally converted.

If you have an amp and swap tubes, cabs etc, KPA will capture that better than the static factory models do from Axe Fx.

You can browse Axe Fx patches all day, or tweak your own. Most of the basic models will sound the same. With KPA you can find another's grail Plexi, JMP, 800, etc and those simple nuances can be experienced in the profile.

Axe FX has tone match, but that's not really the same thing as profiling, which captures every detail from room, mic, cab , speaker type, speaker quality, as well as any amplifier details such as modded versions, tube variants, OT variants, customizations. You can also profile multi-channel amps. Favorite settings you use are easy to profile and recall.

So there are far more advantages to KPA than Axe FX when it comes to the amp and cabinet/room, etc since YOU control those options vs a more homogenized everyone gets the same thing amp model which is in Axe FX and other version modelers.

Axe FX is sweet if you tweak, or if you are happy using amp models based on a more fixed design. KPA is more the WYSIWYG type thing. That changes dependent upon the persons, room environment, gear quality, user experience for any profiled amps and cabs. KPA isn't really made to tweak the various amp parameters since it provides as closely as possible what a particular amp, cab and mic sounded like. And we all know most amps seldom sound the same. Too many variables. KPA shines in providing the variable qualities of that "one" amp.

Let me translate:
So after 184 firmware updates in the last 4 years of the AFX, The Mighty Kemper was and is still better in core amp/cab feeling and sound.

 

[Serratus]

Well, it arrived today and so far I am super impressed - I'm running it through my Zilla super fat boy loaded with creambacks using the internal power amp (with the cabinet turned off in the monitor output). Am loving it - the feel is really good, and the Diezel profiles that I've tried so far sound very close to my Herbie. I realise it'll probably seem very different when I try it with the band, but it's all good so far!

 

[g4hire]

I envy you, mine is on backorder lol.

 

[Moshaholic]

Congrats...!!!

I just bought a brand new unpowered toaster last night and it should be here on Friday.

I already have a sweet matrix power amp I use for wet/dry with my Friedman that i plan on using with it.

I plan on using the Kemper for home recording and jamming mostly to give my tube amps a break and mess with something different.

FWIW I bought a brand new Kemper back in August 2012 around when they first came out...

It sounded great for a day or two, but then I had nothing but weird behavior and problems after updating the firmware and the unit didn't seem to sound orf feel the same as it did... I tried everything from sideways and restoring the old firm ware but man it was a mess and the unit kept locking up... maybe i just had a bad unit... I dunno but it sucked ass.

While I ended up returning it because of a 2 days of utter frustration, I honestly felt unit was a killer product miles ahead of its time and just needed a while for Kemper to get all the kinks worked out...

That was over 2 /12 years ago and from what I am hearing and seeing the units are more popular than I ever thought they would be...

Cant wait to try it again after all this time... and rock all these killer profiles that are out now.

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

How does the KPA compare to the Line6 Amplifi 150?

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

Just kidding.

 

[SkyhighRocks]

How does the KPA compare to the Line6 Amplifi 150?

It's not a contest.