Kemper Amps Forum

I've been playing guitar for about 32 years, though I have to say the last 10 years or so I've been focusing on my career outside of music (user interface design) which has made me more than a bit rusty, but like you I'm also a lover of great sound. That can come from many places, synthesizers also occupy a lot of my musical time. Some weeks I can squeeze in 5-6 hours of play time, but often it's less. Depends on work and basic life. For a long time I thought, "Amp modelers are good enough for my needs and the flexibility is awesome." It was true too. There are great sounds to be had these days in the better amp modelers, there's no doubt about that. We live in an awesome time!

I always felt there was a special something... not in all guitar tones, but in some of my favorite types, that I don't get out of amp modelers I've tried including the Axe FX. Until the Kemper I figured this was the price you paid for a tube amp. By price I mean, the volume, mic'ing issues, limitations and flexibility. So, while I didn't have the cash for an Axe FX... I found the cash for the Kemper. So if you have it and want the best tech available, I think you know the answer.

Now, could you be happy without it? Sure. There are some monster tones in Amplitube and S-Gear at a fraction of the price. Here's why I say get it though. Since I've purchased it I yearn to get back to it like I've not yearned to play in a long, long time. Good gear, as you probably already know, is a joy to play and can inspire you like nothing else. If money's not an issue, why not? My guess is that it will hold it's value for a pretty good run so if you tire of it you can always sell it. You can also use it to beef up synth tones as well. Also, until I had the Kemper I was always on the look out for something "new" in the world of amp simulators. Since I got it I have no more G.A.S. for guitar gear. IK released a special new pack that's supposed to be great, but I couldn't care less about it.. in fact, I sold my Amplitube 3 license.

I'm like you, a guitar hobbyist. The Kemper when I bought it, was a bit more than I needed. I already had an eleven rack, and, for all intents and purposes , it is plenty of bang for the buck. There isn't anything I couldn't do with the 11R, especially for my skill level.
However, I was still chasing "The tone" in my head. I heard and reviewed the 'space lunch box' as in depth as I could. I was too damned intrigued! I purchased it, and for the first time after using modelers, I felt like I was playing through a real amp, thousands of them! My feeling now is, I will be playing for the rest of my life, I'm glad I made the one-time investment.
So your answer may be: the Kemper may be overkill for you now, but after you've spent the time learning to use all of the bells and whistles, and progressing with it, you might find it really is- all you'll ever need.

Quoted from "stompman"

"is the Kemper overkill for me???".

Hi stompman,
the way I see it is that I do not need a justification or a rational reason for buying something that gives me joy! I just can't see any reason in it

If you like the idea, and can afford it, and are going to "pay" in person (don't know: no more cinemas for a year, rather than no more buffalo mozzarella...)... well, go for it!
I don't think you're going to get better tones for your headphones with any other solution (provided the HP are well-coupled with the device of course).

PS: welcome!

Quoted from "stompman"

I'm not concerned about the price. I just want to make sure that it will deliver the goods.

It WILL deliver "the goods", rest assured.

Oh yes, good headphone will let you fully experience the awesomeness... It is actually where it shine.

The only problem of the Kemper is the insanely large amount of awesome profile available

Quoted from "vibracore"

no more cinemas for a year, rather than no more buffalo mozzarella...

I definitely agree!!!
Keep getting your Mozzarella di Buffalo (the cheaper cow's milk Mozzarella sucks!) but cut back on the cinema!
(Oh man! Italians and Greeks always think with their stomachs!)

Quoted from "stompman"

I am as steeldragon72 says above - "chasing the tone in my head". But I also don't want to noodle away on a processor for hours to try and get there (which is why I like the Kemper - it really seems to be built for players not tweakers).

One of my favorite guitar tones right now is Pete Loeffler from Chevelle. I've researched his rig a bit and he really doesn't appear to use a whole lot of effects. Basically a solid Mesa Mark IV tone with a bit wrapped around it. I think his PRS pickups are even stock. That is inspiring and I think shows how good of a tone you can get out of the right rig setup. Anyway, rest assured that if (most likely when) I get the Kemper, I'll be downloading all the Mark IV tones I can find And of course I'll be happy to upload any "tweaked" tones I create if users upload these types of tones as well as "new" profiles. To me the rig exchange is a huge benefit of the Kemper vs. others with preloaded tones where most of the preloaded tones simply don't fit a specific users needs.

As a side note, I looked at some mini tube amps for a while, but once I realized how much the tone suffers through a digital out (e.g., for headphones) and how expensive it is to buy a quality speaker simulator that will put the proper load on the amp my search ended rather abruptly. Not to mention the fact that I would have to live with a specific range of tones for the forseeable future from a single amp.

Again, thx for sharing your thoughts!

Every tone I've ever imagined is in the Kemper, and some that I never imagined were possible. (listen to the clip)
If you can afford the price then it's an easy decision, buy it.

IMO, use your Kemper through any set of studio monitors rather than headphones, it sounds great through headphones, but no guitar amp deserves to be played & judged through headphones.

Listen to this clip through expensive headphones and then listen to it through cheap studio monitors...you'll see what I mean.
http://soundcloud.com/jayapala/folk-song-kpa-d-clone-demo-dt