Spent about an hour with a Kemper today

[yngzaklynch]

Not sure how I feel about it. Let me explain... the store had it set up for a wet dry thing. Wet signal went into two monitors on the desk and the dry signal went into a powered speaker wedge on the floor. Like the Axe FX it did sooooooooo much. I was overwhelmed at first. But we dialed in some killer XTC and CAA 100 tones. The cleans were great to. Got some nice Zepplin tone with a Marshall JMP profile. Thing is I simply didn't get the "holy shit best tone/feel ever" vibe. Maybe if we had put it into the lop of a nicer tube amp and into a good 4x12? Can't say. It was pretty damn cool but not quite sure the tone was so good that I would buy it.

Kemper owners would I get better results using a tube power amp and a guitar cab?

 

[H3000]

Not sure how I feel about it. Let me explain... the store had it set up for a wet dry thing. Wet signal went into two monitor on the desk and the dry signal went into a powered speaker wedge on the floor. Like the Axe FX it did sooooooooo much. I was overwhelmed at first. But we dialed in some killer XTC and CAA 100 tones. The cleans were great two. Got some nice Zepplin tone with a Marshall JMP profile. Thing is I simply didn't get the "holy shit best tone/feel ever" vibe. Maybe if we had put it into the lop of a nicer tube amp and into a good 4x12? Can't say. It was pretty damn cool but not quite sure the tone was so good that I would buy it.

Kemper owners would I get better results using a tube power amp and a guitar cab?

I am not a Kemper owner but have played them quite a bit and have found it is not just the power amp but the speakers and guitar and all the rest of the usual variables that contribute to the overall result but also.... the profiles make a HUGE difference ,I have heard some profiles that make the kemper sound terrible and other profiles that have definitely given me me that holy fuck that is the best tone ever moment ... best profile I have played is of a dan gower killer Kali , just fucking amazing tone and playing feel and very very real ...

 

[yngzaklynch]

Starting to wonder if it's more complicated than it's worth

 

[SkyhighRocks]

First thing I would say is to NOT try it in a store....

 

[yngzaklynch]

No other option

 

[SkyhighRocks]

No other option

I hear ya...it was just a general thought because most music stores have no idea how to correctly set them up (or an axe-fx). And as was stated above, the profiles make a HUGE difference. There are some crap ones out there.

 

[Dimebag11]

Use nice monitors. Don't use a power amp/cab, you'll lose a part of the Kemper tone/quality.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Ok so what do you power the monitors with?

 

[gibson5413]

I can't speak for the profiles they had loaded but that makes the biggest difference. I think it's as easy as it gets. I use monitors on my desktop but have it hooked up to an Atomic CLR powered wedge and it sounds and feels every bit as anything I have owned. It plays and sounds as immediate as any high gain tube amp I have owned. I am not going to say it is exact or replaces anything I have owned. I am super happy with it. I am hoping to grab a Henning Cherry Bomb sometime soon to play along with it. If you are going into it hoping to "get the "holy shit best tone/feel ever vibe" you may be setting yourself up to fail right off the bat. I wouldn't say it is the best but it is easily one of the best pieces of gear I have bought in the past 10 years (excluding my guitars). When I push the volume on my CLR I feel the air and get some thump as well.

Too bad you don't live closer. I think playing my setup you would change your mind.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Chad do you think that i might get better results plugging it into the return of my FJA5150 and then into my Marshall 4x12???

 

[gibson5413]

Chad do you think that i might get better results plugging it into the return of my FJA5150 and then into my Marshall 4x12???

I have heard that some people have loved it that way. Getting those tubes to push some air might be what you are looking for. Keep in mind that profiles are created with an amp and cab so you are going to get a a hint of the speaker that was used in your tone. The cool thing is that Kemper and other users have begun creating and posting "preamp only" profiles that eliminate the speaker cab portion of the profile so you are getting just the preamp signal. I think it would be worth a try. I would like to try it out myself but I am very happy with my setup.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Hmmm the plot thickens

 

[bstaley]

I would think it would sound best with a tube poweramp and a real 4x12 like my Axe II does, but I've never tried the Kemper. Maybe it's different.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Do kemper owners recommend the Kemper with the built in power amp???

 

[Dimebag11]

I've tried the Kemper many ways. The best is through some good powered monitors.

 

[gibson5413]

I've tried the Kemper many ways. The best is through some good powered monitors.

My favorite is through my Atomic CLR but I really liked my Matrix GT800FX and Bogner 2x12 with V30s.

 

[yngzaklynch]

See i already think buying this or an Axe FX is going to result in a lot more spending to accommodate the original purchase

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Didn't love the Kemper powered by a Mesa 2:90 in my Stereo rig.

 

[Shark Diver]

Chad do you think that i might get better results plugging it into the return of my FJA5150 and then into my Marshall 4x12???

I don't get why anyone would do this? At that point why not just use pedals with the FJA?

 

[crankyrayhanky]

Chad do you think that i might get better results plugging it into the return of my FJA5150 and then into my Marshall 4x12???

I don't get why anyone would do this? At that point why not just use pedals with the FJA?

I love the feel of my Recto>4x12
But now it's profiled, so I go KPA>fx return of Recto>4x12
I think I could get that going on stage with Cab off and send a xlr (cab on)> house PA

You sacrifice the diversity, as everything sort of has that Recto flavor (which is what I like)
I enjoy having that 4x12 blowing at you