Planning to use fractal fx8 with kemper

    MIDI is working now. Had a dud MIDI lead. Sounds incredible with Kemper. I just used them together at band practice for the first time. Unreal!

    Hello all,


    Just to say that I got my FX8 recently to use with the Kemper. It really is a lovely combination. The FX are just superb - they have a warmth and depth to them that is on a par with Strymon and a notch above the Kemper.


    Kemper has a good delay - but the FX8 just sits in the mix better and the repeats have more body and warmth. The reverb on the FX8 is amazing - can do a modulated reverb too. You also have some warm chorus and flanger models. I have a strymon Ola which is a fantastic warm chorus and the FX8 can match it. The G3 drive models in the FX8 are really good and a notch above the Kemper I think. You also have midi control and amp relays. It really puts everything at your feet.


    In fact in almost all FX departments the FX8 is superior. The Kemper isn't bad but the FX8 just has this warm rounded tone to the FX. Kemper is a little thin in comparison. Kemper has better pitch shifting though. But I think the FX8 has a certain 'character' to the pitch shifter that the Kemper lacks, maybe it is just the warm rounded tone that the FX seem to have.


    Build quality of the FX8 is amazing. The Kemper is very 'plasticy' but the FX8 is solid metal frame - really heavy but seems robust.

    Yes it costs more than the Kemper foot controller. But you also have the advantage of a portable floorboard to use with amps and at gigs. It also has a fully featured looper.


    So I have the best of both worlds I think. Early days but I like this rig. It made me realise how much I miss stomping on pedals. Prodding buttons takes your hands away from the guitar.


    So I would say a good studio/gig rig is the Kemper and an FX8.

    I agree that some of the FXs in a FX8 can be see as an upgrade over the actual Kemper FXs but what do you mean about ''plasticy''? The Kemper is certainly not ''plasticy''?...

    Quote from Pick909

    I agree that some of the FXs in a FX8 can be see as an upgrade over the actual Kemper FXs but what do you mean about ''plasticy''? The Kemper is certainly not ''plasticy''?...


    Sorry I don't mean the sound. I think the plastic moulded buttons and knobs on the Kemper feel a bit cheap and in some cases unfinished.

    Quote from endlessnameless

    Sorry I don't mean the sound. I think the plastic moulded buttons and knobs on the Kemper feel a bit cheap and in some cases unfinished.


    I understood that you were talking about physicaly plasticy but I just questioned how could you think that. I personnaly certainly would not describe the Kemper as a plasticy device, I find it gigproof and solid built but in the same time very light which is great and innovative to me. Yes the buttons are plastic but not cheap considering they can get abuse with no problem, I gig with a KPA since 2012. ;)


    BTW I'm sure that the FX8 is a great device! Enjoy! :)

    Quote from Pick909

    I understood that you were talking about physicaly plasticy but I just questioned how could you think that. I personnaly certainly would not describe the Kemper as a plasticy device, I find it gigproof and solid built but in the same time very light which is great and innovative to me. Yes the buttons are plastic but not cheap considering they can get abuse with no problem, I gig with a KPA since 2012. ;)


    BTW I'm sure that the FX8 is a great device! Enjoy! :)


    Thanks! Yeah I havn't gigged with Kemper but glad to hear it stands up to live punishment!! Was just my impression! ;)

    I am still on the list but I have not gotten an invite yet. I am really looking for a single full effects box like this but now the damn Helix is coming.
    I really dont know what to do if I get the invite before the Helix comes out.
    I only want one of these for the effects. I really like the layout on the Helix. Wish I could play with both before making a decision.
    Any opinions on what I could expect from the FX 8 compared to the Helix? Only care about the effects.


    Great to have choices but I become more indecisive the older I get.

    Quote from Inthrutheout

    I am still on the list but I have not gotten an invite yet. I am really looking for a single full effects box like this but now the damn Helix is coming.
    I really dont know what to do if I get the invite before the Helix comes out.
    I only want one of these for the effects. I really like the layout on the Helix. Wish I could play with both before making a decision.
    Any opinions on what I could expect from the FX 8 compared to the Helix? Only care about the effects.


    Great to have choices but I become more indecisive the older I get.


    Well here is the thing. I am returning the FX8 because it has a few flaws imho. It slightly dulls the sound from the Kemper and takes away some of that 'alive' nuanace and feel. The drives are not 100% (as with most digital units) and the CPU seems to max out quite easily. It is also a very complex product with too many parameters to tweak to get the sound you want.


    To be fair the FX8 is probably the best sounding multi fx I have ever played. But no multi fx pedal seems to compare with individual high quality stomps for workflow and sound quality. So I am going back to my stomps.


    I reckon the Helix is unlikely to sound as good as the FX8 but that is just based on my experience of Line 6 having pretty poor A/D D/A conversion and a sort of digital crispiness to their products (M9 etc).


    But I am a bit of a tone snob so you may not mind for the added convenience of a multi.

    Thanks endlessnameless.
    So you believe it to be a tonesucker. Glad you pointed that out because the tone is why I like the Kemper so much. I am not willing to sacrifice that at all.
    You probably saved me some grief and money.
    I have no experience with Line 6 so I just go by what the general opinions tell me.

    OTOH, the FX8's ability to preserve the sound you input has been praised by many... And is one of the leverage points by Mothership. Could it be a matter of using proper cables and properly setting levels? :/

    Quote from viabcroce

    OTOH, the FX8's ability to preserve the sound you input has been praised by many... And is one of the leverage points by Mothership. Could it be a matter of using proper cables and properly setting levels? :/


    Praised by many? I have seen many threads saying that it adds a digital high end to the sound.


    All I can tell you is this - with the same cables at unity gain the air and dynamics of the kemper were ever so slightly dulled. Trust me - I tried all sorts of variations of input level - this is pure a/d d/a conversion loss. Not very much loss I must say - but enough for me anyway.


    The FX8 is the best at preserving tone of any multi fx I have used (I have used them all). However, it still took enough away from my tone for me to be bothered by it.


    Do bear in mind that I am very very picky about my tone and my hearing is very sensitive. Using my analog dry through FX stompboxes had slightly more clarity and punch.


    There were other reasons I returned the FX8 though. The processor limitations - the parameters (too many to get the sound you want) and the drives just don't compete with my analog boxes.


    It is built like a tank though and it a great travel rig - but I mainly play in a studio and record. So tone is king for me.


    Hi Felix.
    I've bought the Axe FX8 and connected it to my Kemper.
    Any questions ? (probably in german?)


    Gaul