Spent about an hour with a Kemper today

[yngwieaddict]

I try first my kemper with Matrix Q12A and really don't like the feeling, the sound, very "artificial".

I'm running it with a Matrix GT1000 poweramp and two 2x12 Port-city with V30 speaker. The sound is perfect for me (a nd a lot of friends, and one of them was the tech of Lukather and is not a kemper fan or fractal audio system.
he was really surprised by the result of my rig in terms of dynamics, "thickness" of the sound. we tried CAE 3+ preset (because he used to play with this preamp for 10 years) and find it really cloth to the real preamp....

But the sound of my system is subjective, the most important thing is that I dig my sounds....
It's like watching a film on a good old plasma Tv (whic is my current rig) and a brand new LED one.

 

[Chris O]

My first attempt with the Kemper - the first shipment that came in a couple years back - was a failure. I tried to use it like I did my AxeFx - into a power amp and guitar cab. Awful. Returned it, and was utterly disappointed.

Then people started raving about it and the WAR was on!

I got another one recently, and I'm running it FRFR into a pair of Alto TS112a monitors, and I'm VERY HAPPY with it now. I'm 50/50 with it and the Axe. They both do what they do well, and I love them both. If I had to sell one or the other, it would be a VERY difficult choice to make.

 

[yngwieaddict]

Axe fx Ultra or Axe FX 2 ?

 

[thiswaythatway]

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

Me neither and that poweramp usually makes anything sound great. I mean, everything sounded ok but it sure as hell didn't give me gas. I had much better results with an Axe-Fx standard on a Mesa 2:90.

 

[gibson5413]

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

I mean, everything sounded ok but it sure as hell didn't give me gas.

This is the answer right here. It isn't for everyone and for sure isn't a magic bullet in terms of gear. Play what you like and don't convince yourself it is the be all end all. For my situation, it is a perfect fit and sounds amazing. That doesn't mean I don't want a Cherry Bomb. Not everyone loves the amps each of you play either. We are all just fickle musicians trying to find something inspirational to play. For me, the Kemper fits that bill.

 

[Elric]

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

Absolutely. For the most part it is a complete redo your rig scenario for the cutting edge modelers if you want to go with the full blown modern FRFR paradigm.

Just like anything else, the entire rig is only as strong as its weakest link and the paradigm is completely different, so aside from the guitar, you are going to rebuy everything else for the most part. Also if you are looking for an optimal setup going with cheapo stuff for any link isn't going to work since everything is important. So it is seriously expensive. Maybe moreso than all but the most expensive boutique amp setups. (For live rigs anyway, studio is another matter).

FWIW, the Axe is likely MUCH better as a standalone preamp (due to the component based modeling approach) if you want to do the tube power amp + guitar cab thing, but you are bypassing a lot of its capabilities in that mode. I've used an Ultra in place of a tube preamp and it IS fully awesome in that mode but in the $2K range, any preamp asking for that kind of dough better damn well be. That's like a triaxis+jmp+mp1+fx unit with money left over for a tube screamer and some cables expensive.

 

[Anonymous]

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?

As far as I'm concerned it is a recording solution and at that it is unparalleled to me as far as the tones you get with incredible ease of use any time of day or night. If I'm gonna just jam I'd rather plug into one of my amps…

Steve

 

[tfridgen]

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?

As far as I'm concerned it is a recording solution and at that it is unparalleled to me as far as the tones you get with incredible ease of use any time of day or night. If I'm gonna just jam I'd rather plug into one of my amps…

Steve

Yup, that's how I've been using it as well. Went the CLR route, matrix+cab route, tube power amp + cab route(which is pretty awesome by the way) but I came back to jamming with a tube head and am loving it. I just didn't want to keep moving it around from my studio to my garage, to my buddy's place, to a gig....etc...etc.... So for now it stays put in the studio where it absolutely blows away anything I've ever tried for recording killer bass and guitar sounds.

 

[rupe]

Which store has a Kemper?

 

[yngzaklynch]

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

????

 

[rupe]

Not gonna fill me in????

 

[yngzaklynch]

Main street music in Irwin. The guys that used to run Swissvale music

 

[rupe]

Main street music in Irwin. The guys that used to run Swissvale music

Cool, thanks. Did Swissvale music close? I haven't been there in years.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I went with zzounds
They did a price match+ on a mFriend 15% off sale; winded up like 18% off

 

[yngzaklynch]

Main street music in Irwin. The guys that used to run Swissvale music

Cool, thanks. Did Swissvale music close? I haven't been there in years.

Pretty sure. Kevin and another guy opened Main Street in Irwin. They have one Kemper left.

 

[Chris O]

Axe fx Ultra or Axe FX 2 ?

Had the Ultra and the 2, sold the Ultra to get the Kemper, still have the 2, and now a Kemper as well.

 

[PBGas]

I had the Kemper. It was great in the studio. It has some amazing features.

Live....I just could not make it work for me. I moved on to something else that works better for me in both places.

 

[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?

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

Not being a dick - but you take the Recto and Cab anyway, and now the Kemper and run it through the very amp you are using profiles of?

 

[tfridgen]

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

Not being a dick - but you take the Recto and Cab anyway, and now the Kemper and run it through the very amp you are using profiles of?

You forgot to read the part where now he can take an xlr(cab on) feed to FOH. Great idea for maximum versatility!

 

[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?

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

Not being a dick - but you take the Recto and Cab anyway, and now the Kemper and run it through the very amp you are using profiles of?

You forgot to read the part where now he can take an xlr(cab on) feed to FOH. Great idea for maximum versatility!

But you could take a Palmer PD09 that's as big as a pedal and do the same thing. I mean to each their own - it just seems strange to run profiles thru the very amp that has been profiled. I'm sure half the stuff I've done has made no sense to some people too.