Buying an Atomic CLR

    I know what your saying and I agree with your sentiment


    but as I said, I didn't mean to impose or cause any feelings of superiority("fanboy"), if it did sorry



    i feel im amongst friends and we are trying to all help one another achieve the sound they are looking for


    thr matrix IS on par, but again FOR ME , I needed certain feature, and the neo soubds like its not only #1 I'm terms of reviews but it's lighter for my destroyed spine


    so no put downs intended, but I do speak honestly and bluntly , and based on all reviews and feedback here, the whole thing came down to Neo over matrix


    if you can convince me otherwise, I'll listen to your argument/review/perspective


    you can contact me here or PM


    :)

    I will be convinced when I hear that thing live - not any earlier (-;


    I already tried quite a lot (not with the Kemper though) but I bought and sold quite a lot of digital equipment (also bought and sold some amps though) and had no keeper yet when
    it was about using this stuff live.


    Had a Boss ME 70 - sold
    Had a Line6 POD HD 500 sold
    Used both into the Poweramp of a Bogner Alchemist 2x12 combo - sold that thing too (although its not that bad)
    Also tried a Tech 21 Power Engine - that thing was not working in band context - not loud enough and also not cutting through the mix - very thin beam - had an angle of 30-40° for sweetspot
    Now I have the Kemper + a Boss ME 80 (just to mess arround and also great because you do not have to use any menus).


    I wonder if I finally find a unit to get the sound of a digital unit into the bandcontext.... Actually I decided to just use tube amps with a 2x12 or 4x12 setup. This summer I heard a band playing live on a festival and when they took their equipment off stage after the gig that guy just had a small rack with 2... kempers.... and I was like "wtf" - so I will give it a try....
    Bought a Kemper 3 months ago (Rack version - not powered) and now decided to invest some additional monitor for a monitoring / rehearsal solution. But I am not convinced yet (-:

    Great post and history dude :)


    with that in mind, and my similar experimentation, SOMETIMES you have to take a leap of faith based on others (and rightly so thanks to digital age)


    now the German guys here know their shit, and I'm saying that as a non-German, so if they all agree, I do listen attentively to what they say


    i did same with kemper, I ditched the axe and 11r and took a leap of faith on kemper, I don't have any way of testing $50,000 worth of all the digital stuff out, you know? It's impossible


    its like a VERY expensive guitar, you can't always try it, you have to buy it to see


    I bought a one of 24 ibanez
    guitars(rarest guitar perhaps in the electric supersttrat market) from Sweden without touching it, cuz I had no way to try it first; best purchase of my life!!



    the kemper and this forum is proof enough to me that these fellas know what they are doing and talking about: so I listen :)

    Quote from guenterhaas

    I'm using the Matrix Q12a, it's a great FRFR-cab, eye-to-eye to the CLR. Ingo and myself made a comparison (Q12a/CLR) and to our surprise the cabs sounded nearly identical. So, it doesn't have to be a CLR and the CLR is not "the best", "better than anything else" ect. Of course it's an excellent FRFR-cab, but other dads have nice daughters, too. ;)
    I never liked this fanboyism: "what I have is the best"....


    You know I don't agree on this, but I guess it's OK :)


    As a side note, you don't have to be a fanboy to praise the CLR.
    I've never been a fanboy about anything I own (for example, I never thought the Profiler is better than the Axe-Fx).
    OTOH, the CLR's originality and characteristics are well known, so I don't see how anyone would argue on it being over the top. But I can agree on the fact that in a limited scenario, with specific uses, its qualities might not emerge or not be appreciated.
    Incidentally, playing guitar is not a really demanding test for a linear cab, so there may certainly be cabs which sound "equivalent". If you test them in different situations tho, specially if you could "weight" on-paper data published by different manufacturers, you'd end up noticing more special characteristics which are unique to the CLR.
    Of course, if phase-alignment or the peculiar diffusion pattern or the many other characteristics don't mean much for your uses or your ear you can say that another cab is good enough for the purpose. But this is something different than saying that they are equivalent.


    If someone is interested in having a deeper view on the CLR feel free to pm me an email address :)


    Peace

    Quote from chrislisting

    plus Tom king is a helluva guy, and I love supporting smaller, "local" business, especially for areas or interest I'm passionate about


    so NEO WEDGE IS ON DA WAY! :D lol


    Thats great to hear! Sounds like their not too hard to get a hold of after all. Now I have no excuses to not place an order :D .
    Seriously though, I would be foolish to do anything now. I have been recovering from shoulder surgery and gearing up to go back to work in the oilfield and 100+ hour work weeks. Even my current Atomic fr wedge will be collecting dust soon! I plan to do this a couple more years then get out.


    I could hardly justify my Kemper purchase, but the past couple months its been a joy to pick up one of my guitars. I don't regret the purchase. Maybe there will be a Kemper mark II in a couple years when I will try to be an active part time musician again, maybe not. If so, My Kemper will still be a superb option, or if I just have to have the latest and best, an upgrade will not be a financial issue.... Of course, more important than that, would be upgrading my atomic fr 50 wedge. Maybe there will be some decent used clr's floating around on the used market by then ;)

    Dude , same boat: I was having a HARD time justifying it too after I got my kemper, and I had to deal with a defective unit and now the pe60 and bx5a are all gone/damaged, but I got the new replacement decided to take the higher road and totally invest in the best!


    KEMPER 4 LIFE!

    I've been reading a couple of reviews on this unit that says it is "boxy" sounding. Would there be any truth to that? I only tried one for a very short time and didn't get a chance to use it live at all or at a higher volume. It was borrowed from a friend for a day.

    Quote from PBGas

    I've been reading a couple of reviews on this unit that says it is "boxy" sounding. Would there be any truth to that? I only tried one for a very short time and didn't get a chance to use it live at all or at a higher volume. It was borrowed from a friend for a day.


    OMG. Definitely (and definitively) not. There's nothing more linear out there for the price.
    Some people believe they can measure things by ear... And some other listen to a system made of say 5 elements and they pretend they're listening to just one.

    Quote from PBGas

    I've been reading a couple of reviews on this unit that says it is "boxy" sounding. Would there be any truth to that? I only tried one for a very short time and didn't get a chance to use it live at all or at a higher volume. It was borrowed from a friend for a day.



    I don't find anything "boxy" in the CLR. It's what you put in is what you get out.


    It's possible that the people who say it's "boxy" sounding had profiles tweaked with a pair of shitty sounding studio monitors or other speakers that we're really far from flat.
    I got a pair of Genelecs 8030's and older 1030's and the profiles that sounded awesome with them, sounded as good with the CLR.

    gear>kemper rack-atomicCLR-fcb1010-espViper400-gretschJet-Firebird-7


    Actually, Trivium is also using Kempers for both guitarists and the bass player. They don't take any cabinets with them on tour.
    http://www.premierguitar.com/a…20916-rig-rundown-trivium


    This is what pushed me over in buying a Kemper too. But for me it's not practical to not have a cab. At least, need speakers for rehearsel and on stage to hear myself. And I want to use them at home too.


    Since I play metal too, I really need something that packs a punch. The look of the Matrix FR212 appeals to me, because they look like they indeed pack a punch with 2 speakers integrated. Unfortunately, looking at pics on the internet doesn't tell you a whole lot. Which is also a bit of a problem for me. Can't try it out in a local store, which forces you to have blind faith in what you read on forums and looking at specs. But you don't know what you buy until you have it connected to the Kemper to know for sure if it's your thing. I don't have much knowledge about speaker systems, so find it quite hard to make a choice.


    Cheers

    Cant you always send it back if you don't like it? It's not really like having to buy blindly.


    :)


    PS: Owned for a long time a couple of 8030. They sound like a strange radio in comparison with the CLRs. Sold them w/o any hesitation.

    Quote from viabcroce

    Cant you always send it back if you don't like it? It's not really like having to buy blindly.


    :)


    PS: Owned for a long time a couple of 8030. They sound like a strange radio in comparison with the CLRs. Sold them w/o any hesitation.


    Then you propably had bad ones, because I have never heard a strange radio sounding Genelec's ;) 8030's are studio quality nearfield monitors, at least for me.. : >

    gear>kemper rack-atomicCLR-fcb1010-espViper400-gretschJet-Firebird-7

    Quote from onosnd

    Then you propably had bad ones, because I have never heard a strange radio sounding Genelec's ;) 8030's are studio quality nearfield monitors, at least for me.. : >


    You're right, I'm using Klein & Hummel O110, Genelec 8030 and ADAM Sub 8, I never heard any strange "radio-sound" on the Genelecs. Of course the Genelecs are MUCH smaller than a CLR, but they offer an incredible bass for that small size.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    first name: Guenter / family name: Haas / www.guenterhaas.de

    No, they worked perfectly. My observation was based on a direct comparison with the CLRs. Never liked their sound. A matter of personal taste, I agree :)
    Of course, not all the "FRFRs" sound the same.


    :)

    @ Lamballio


    yes the 2x12 looks like a real guitar cab (and has 1.000 Watts!!) I think its the best looking cab and the most "traditional" looking.
    But thats just the look - from what I read / heard also the sound should be similar to 2 x Q12a´s but with a little bit more low end.


    Anyways - buying one 2x12 creates another problem - I would not carry this thing every week to our rehearsal room - if I leave it in the room I still want something to play at home and not feeling to use small studio monitors every time. Then I would need something like the DXR 10 or the Q12a as an addition + I would need a Matrix GT 1000 to power the 2x12.... doh.... My wife will kill me spending all the money