NAD: Kemper and review (like in 2018 anyone needs it)

[Steinmetzify]

Full disclosure; I'm a workaholic, and I promised my wife I'd take 4 days off for Memorial Day and my daughter's graduation; it's been driving me insane and I've been drinking to compensate.

That said:

So some of you know me, and some don't...I've been here for a minute, and gone thru a lot of guitars, amps and modelers/plugins. Everything from reliced Strats and Telemasters to custom built 8 string Meshuggah copies and Les Pauls, 7 strings, 8 strings, baritones, search my profile for started threads, for fuck's sake....AxeFxII, Marshall DSL, FJA modded Recto, used VHTs; literally ALL of the amp sim plugins, a shit ton of the amp pedals and a ton more stuff besides. I'm a RT case study, just like you guys. I have 27,000 IRs for fuck's sake. :facepalm:

I don't fuck around with reviews, I just say whether I like something or not, and what I wish they'd done different.

I dig this thing. It's not a joke, it's completely legit. Amp tones are there, feel is there, form factor is there....this thing is light, would be easy to gig, lends itself well to pedals etc...if you're on the fence, wait a second.

I want better FX....they're serviceable, but not AxeFx quality. I don't use FX that often but when I do, I want them to be world class...the delays are fine, the stompboxes are fine, the reverbs suck ass. Just FYI.

Also, this thing is something like EIGHT years old and THERE'S NO COMPUTER EDITOR?! There's literally not...there's a fan built version, but the fact that there's no official version just blows me away...the Axe has one, the Helix has one, literally every plugin on the planet has one, but this $1800 box doesn't? WHAAAAAT the FUCK. Get it done Kemper, damn.

Other good things.....you have guys like SinMix, Josh Middleton, Lasse Lammert and a ton more out there making profiles for this thing. Add some mids, you have seriously GREAT tones. I'm not joking....you have to do everything else that you'd do to a guitar tone to make them fit into the mix but they're RIGHT THERE, and they're super fun to play. Also, the only amp I've yet to find in my (admittedly limited) searches is a DAR FBM....and I've only looked on the Rig Exchange...I know guys that have access to them and own Kempers, just been busy and haven't asked yet.

All that said, am I glad I bought it after being on the fence for about 3 years? Yeah, I am. I'm blown away at what it sounds like and more importantly, what it FEELS like. It feels like a mic'd tube amp, in a way that a lot of things don't.

You know that thing, where if you're playing a tube amp and you hit two adjacent strings and they kind of shimmer and blend together? You know how if you do that on an amp sim, no matter which one, it clashes and sounds weird and fake? Not on here......it's the same as doing it on a 5150, or 6505, or FJA modded Rec, or Herbert or DSL or Pittbull UL or any of the other amps I've owned. I was blown away that it actually worked....just sitting here, going thru some profiles, hit a clean one with some delay and a bit of reverb and tried it.....it took a second to register that it actually worked, and then I spent the rest of that afternoon doing it on a shit ton of profiles to make sure it wasn't just that one. It worked on all of them.

Admittedly, I haven’t nor will I probably ever use this thing for what it’s intended for, which is to profile amps. I only own a 6505 combo, a Fryette GP/DI, a Spider 30 and a Peavey Bandit anymore. I have no interest in profiling them; if I want those tones I’ll use those amps. Look in other reviews for those features.

Anyway....I know it's 2018 and I'm beating a dead horse here, but for those of you that weren't sure, or maybe are still on the fence about giving up your tube amps for a more portable solution.....it's here and has been for a while.

Clip:

https://soundcloud.com/steinmetzify/kemperssoksetype

 

[Monkey Man]

Great review, man!

Yep, it's that authentic tube feel and sound that do it for me. Uncanny and unbelievable. You never get tired of hearing it either - it's not fatiguing like other "modellers".

I don't care about FX either; it's only going to be used for recording in place of real amps (none of which I can afford) in great rooms (yeah, right) and so on.

Fantastic that you're happy with your new baby, mate.

 

[thrashinbatman]

Glad to see another happy Kemper user! I bought mine last year, and I love it! It really has that feel of whatever it is you profile. My primary profile live is one I made of my ENGL Savage 120, and listening to the profile and the real deal side by side, it's uncanny how good it is. I've never been too miffed by the FX, but then again I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to FX.

 

[maddnotez]

I was way off with my guess haha.

What are you using to power it? I have been on and off the fence but this thread puts my halfway over but I am stuck on the rusty barbed wire.

 

[Ventura]

You know that thing, where if you're playing a tube amp and you hit two adjacent strings and they kind of shimmer and blend together.....?

Gawd - what an awesome litmus test of amp versus sim. Ya man, I love this when it happens and harmonizes with the gear. So love it. I'm working on a tune now where I have the ability to simple barre part of the chord and pick, or go legato and when I go legato, it rubs a couple adjacent strings that ring beautifully within the context of the played notes. It's what makes it magic.

Anyway - great to see ya here - great review - and yep - you've been through a shit-tonne of a gear man - you're one of us "recovering gear-oholics"

Glad to see ya here man....
And there's my minute up and gone.

Bye!
mo

 

[JTyson]

Clips??
And heavy rhythm clips at that?
In standard or drop D at lowest??
Pretty please?
I only ask because I know you can do a good clip of this thing based on past clips you've done
I know it does great cleans and leads, but some of the heavy rhythm clips Ive heard were not so stellar, hard to tell if its the way it actually sounds, or the way it was recorded

 

[Steinmetzify]

Clips??
And heavy rhythm clips at that?
In standard or drop D at lowest??
Pretty please?
I only ask because I know you can do a good clip of this thing based on past clips you've done
I know it does great cleans and leads, but some of the heavy rhythm clips Ive heard were not so stellar, hard to tell if its the way it actually sounds, or the way it was recorded

Argh dude.....I don't have any guitars here that high.....everything I have here is in drop B. There's a clip up there but it's tuned pretty low compared to what you're wanting.

I'm supposed to take this to a bud to try out sometime next week, he's got a ton of guitars in all kinds of tunings so I'll see what we can get done.

I will say this though...it's the way it actually sounds. I'm not going to say that there's some stuff out there for review that they didn't do some studio magic to, but you can get seriously heavy and it sounds and feels great. I didn't buy this thing for cleans and mid gain, you know that.

 

[Bronco]

Full disclosure; I'm a workaholic, and I promised my wife I'd take 4 days off for Memorial Day and my daughter's graduation; it's been driving me insane and I've been drinking to compensate.

That said:

So some of you know me, and some don't...I've been here for a minute, and gone thru a lot of guitars, amps and modelers/plugins. Everything from reliced Strats and Telemasters to custom built 8 string Meshuggah copies and Les Pauls, 7 strings, 8 strings, baritones, search my profile for started threads, for fuck's sake....AxeFxII, Marshall DSL, FJA modded Recto, used VHTs; literally ALL of the amp sim plugins, a shit ton of the amp pedals and a ton more stuff besides. I'm a RT case study, just like you guys. I have 27,000 IRs for fuck's sake. :facepalm:

I don't fuck around with reviews, I just say whether I like something or not, and what I wish they'd done different.

I dig this thing. It's not a joke, it's completely legit. Amp tones are there, feel is there, form factor is there....this thing is light, would be easy to gig, lends itself well to pedals etc...if you're on the fence, wait a second.

I want better FX....they're serviceable, but not AxeFx quality. I don't use FX that often but when I do, I want them to be world class...the delays are fine, the stompboxes are fine, the reverbs suck ass. Just FYI.

Also, this thing is something like EIGHT years old and THERE'S NO COMPUTER EDITOR?! There's literally not...there's a fan built version, but the fact that there's no official version just blows me away...the Axe has one, the Helix has one, literally every plugin on the planet has one, but this $1800 box doesn't? WHAAAAAT the FUCK. Get it done Kemper, damn.

Other good things.....you have guys like SinMix, Josh Middleton, Lasse Lammert and a ton more out there making profiles for this thing. Add some mids, you have seriously GREAT tones. I'm not joking....you have to do everything else that you'd do to a guitar tone to make them fit into the mix but they're RIGHT THERE, and they're super fun to play. Also, the only amp I've yet to find in my (admittedly limited) searches is a DAR FBM....and I've only looked on the Rig Exchange...I know guys that have access to them and own Kempers, just been busy and haven't asked yet.

All that said, am I glad I bought it after being on the fence for about 3 years? Yeah, I am. I'm blown away at what it sounds like and more importantly, what it FEELS like. It feels like a mic'd tube amp, in a way that a lot of things don't.

You know that thing, where if you're playing a tube amp and you hit two adjacent strings and they kind of shimmer and blend together? You know how if you do that on an amp sim, no matter which one, it clashes and sounds weird and fake? Not on here......it's the same as doing it on a 5150, or 6505, or FJA modded Rec, or Herbert or DSL or Pittbull UL or any of the other amps I've owned. I was blown away that it actually worked....just sitting here, going thru some profiles, hit a clean one with some delay and a bit of reverb and tried it.....it took a second to register that it actually worked, and then I spent the rest of that afternoon doing it on a shit ton of profiles to make sure it wasn't just that one. It worked on all of them.

Admittedly, I haven’t nor will I probably ever use this thing for what it’s intended for, which is to profile amps. I only own a 6505 combo, a Fryette GP/DI, a Spider 30 and a Peavey Bandit anymore. I have no interest in profiling them; if I want those tones I’ll use those amps. Look in other reviews for those features.

Anyway....I know it's 2018 and I'm beating a dead horse here, but for those of you that weren't sure, or maybe are still on the fence about giving up your tube amps for a more portable solution.....it's here and has been for a while.

Clip:

https://soundcloud.com/steinmetzify/kemperssoksetype

Great rant/review...I feel pretty much exactly the same way. Well said...I took the plunge a year ago and it's pretty much all I play now.

 

[ewill52]

You're killin' me. I've been saving gig money for a 101b. Now I'm thinking I could do this and a Matrix and have that and a bazilion other amps too. Dammit.

 

[Steinmetzify]

You're killin' me. I've been saving gig money for a 101b. Now I'm thinking I could do this and a Matrix and have that and a bazilion other amps too. Dammit.

It's a good idea.....like I said, it's legit.

The only caveat I'd offer is that there might not be (in the literally thousands of free profiles and just as many that you can buy) a 101b profile out there that's dialed in the EXACT way you'd dial it, so there's that compromise, you know? I'm not super picky (not RT picky anyway) about how a certain amp is dialed in...if it sounds good and feels good but it's not quite there I'll boost the front end and add some mids and be good.

Could always beg or borrow the 101b to make your own profiles though....

 

[thrashinbatman]

Yeah, that was my issue with the Kemper, which is why I bought an ENGL Savage to complement it. That's my main tone and I have a specific way I like it to be dialed in, so I have it for recording and making profiles, but most of my use is with the Kemper. If you amass a lot of profiles, like for e.g. buying a ChopTones pack with like 300 profiles can give you enough flexibility to make up for it, and getting Direct Profiles and adding cabs you like can get you close enough to at least simulate actually having the amp.

 

[JTyson]

Clips??
And heavy rhythm clips at that?
In standard or drop D at lowest??
Pretty please?
I only ask because I know you can do a good clip of this thing based on past clips you've done
I know it does great cleans and leads, but some of the heavy rhythm clips Ive heard were not so stellar, hard to tell if its the way it actually sounds, or the way it was recorded

Argh dude.....I don't have any guitars here that high.....everything I have here is in drop B. There's a clip up there but it's tuned pretty low compared to what you're wanting.

I'm supposed to take this to a bud to try out sometime next week, he's got a ton of guitars in all kinds of tunings so I'll see what we can get done.

I will say this though...it's the way it actually sounds. I'm not going to say that there's some stuff out there for review that they didn't do some studio magic to, but you can get seriously heavy and it sounds and feels great. I didn't buy this thing for cleans and mid gain, you know that.

Yeah, thats why I said that. No worries

 

[errrrrl]

Great write up. Damn... always wanted a Kemper, this thread isn't really helping. I guess my fear is what if it sounds better than my tube amps ... btw any advantages of rack vs the toaster if size wasn't an issue?

 

[Mattfig]

Kemper is the answer. Felt this way for a few years. It will become the standard for touring if it isn't considered such already....

BTW, my profiles are on sale for 50% off until June 1....Use code May2018 at www.mattfig.com ... Thanks!

 

[Mailman1971]

Cool shit Scotty !!

 

[thrashinbatman]

Great write up. Damn... always wanted a Kemper, this thread isn't really helping. I guess my fear is what if it sounds better than my tube amps ... btw any advantages of rack vs the toaster if size wasn't an issue?

Nah, they're exactly the same. The only difference is that the rack version can fit in a rack. So if you wanna use it live it's easier to get all of your gear contained in a rack case.

 

[errrrrl]

Great write up. Damn... always wanted a Kemper, this thread isn't really helping. I guess my fear is what if it sounds better than my tube amps ... btw any advantages of rack vs the toaster if size wasn't an issue?

Nah, they're exactly the same. The only difference is that the rack version can fit in a rack. So if you wanna use it live it's easier to get all of your gear contained in a rack case.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[Mattfig]

Great write up. Damn... always wanted a Kemper, this thread isn't really helping. I guess my fear is what if it sounds better than my tube amps ... btw any advantages of rack vs the toaster if size wasn't an issue?

Actually there are some slight differences between Toaster and Rack....The big one is that the rack does NOT have LEDs around the EQ knobs....The toaster does.....That is why I bought the toaster....

As for sounding better, the KPA puts out what you put in, or in this case, choose to use for profiles....I can take any of my amps and extract their soul into Kemper to take anywhere. And it sounds as good!

 

[rickenbacker198]

Thanks for the straight up review.
I’ve had a kemper since they were new, use it all the time for recording.
No it’s not exact , but yeah it’s close, same vibe.

I don’t know about you guys?? .., but I seem to have a hard time remembering how good we’ve got it!

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

if it sounded great into a real 4x12 I'd own one again, but turning cab sim off kills the whole thing and there's no (to my knowledge) great FRFR speaker that sounds like a cab instead of playing through a PA style speaker. Kemper to FOH for gigging is simply hard to beat though.