Display MoreI think we're just recycling the same things in the conversation, but I'll do a final attempt to organise my thoughts and clear up some (in my opinion) misconseptions I see repeatedly here:
-There is no guitar sound that "translates". Whatever you do, if the sound engineer cuts all your middle and treble at his desk, you won't be heard.
-There is no guitar sound that "cuts" in general. For example, Petrucci's tone is much different than Slash's tone which is much different than Doug Aldrich's tone which is different to Mayer's tone which differs than Slipknot's guitar tone. They all "cut", but in completely different band mixes. The sound guy will create a mix and will alter you sound as much as he believes he has to, in order to achive a pleasing outcome according to his taste and ears. If for example your bassist's tone is mid-heavy, or your keyboard player plays with three hands in 6 octaves range , you won't "cut" as easily.
-When I gig with my tube rig, I always carry a 57 with me and I position it myself. That way I know EXACTLY what I'm giving to the sound engineer, as everyone would know with the master output of the Kemper. It's the exactly same thing.
-Top Jimi merged profiles are awful with real cabs. I've also tried the Brown ones, the Friedman BE and the Super lead. The studio ones are great, but the merged with real cabs are so plastic, loose and thin that no miking technique would make them sound good. In fact I wonder how could somebody use them live with a real cab lol!
-The "full Kemper experience" is very subjective...someone wants to mess with a hundred sounds and effects and doesn't care for the response of the real thing but someone else needs 5 great tube tones AND the smooth feel of a real amp.
-Mic bleeding exists from the beggining of time . Most sound engineers are used to mic bleeding and it doesnt stop them from making great mixes, in the studio or live. In fact, most of them expect it, especially in live situations. Even if the guitar signal is "clean", there will be so much bleeding from the drums to all other mikes.
-Tube amps and guitar cabs exist from the beggining of time . All the great records we've heard and all the great live shows we have enjoyed have guitar tones from real amps and real cabs.
So, what exactly are we discussing here?
Are we talking about "real cab vs frfr"? If we do, the answer has been given many years now. Think of your favorite player's tone: It's coming from a real cab, in the studio or live. But I don't think that's the discussion here.
Are we talking about "kemper vs tube amp"? My first though is "for the studio Kemper, for gigging I don't know yet", which leads us to the next question:
"Kemper live better with a real cab or an FRFR"?
The response of the real amp and cab is part of the instrument for the moderate/advanced blues/rock guitar player, either we like that or not.
So, if Kemper can deliver that, it's fine for gigging. But can it? I don't think so. It is close, but I have mentioned numerous times in my previous posts the annoying unnatural excessive pick attack that can't be reduced, and the notes that thin out at high strings and high frets when used with a real cab at high volumes. And of course, many others have mentioned it and I posted the links.
Whoever wants to use an FRFR is free to do it. I guess that way is better if we take for granted that Kemper cannot reproduce the original tone and response of a tube amp with real cabs. But come on guys, the best FRFR with the best profile cannot come even close to the sound and the feel of a real tube amp and a real cab in your face.
If you are happy with it, fine by me, everybody can do what he wants with his tone in the free world! But the ideal thing would be to get the tube sound with the Kemper with a real cab so when gigging to get the feel and the response AND the great sound and the effects etc...
Anyway sorry for the big text, just my 2 cents...
I disagree with quite a few of the points you made.
1) Just as there are tones that cut, there are tones that get buried. Even the guitar that you use with a profile makes a huge difference. It would have been great if we had tone stacks with the Kemper. As things stand as far as tweaking, it's actually better to have hundreds of rigs so that you don't get caught wrong footed. Also as far as "translating", that depends as much on what you are playing the Kemper through. FRFR cabinets will probably surprise you, you should try them. Just like studio monitors, but able to push some real volumes.
2) I think of the Kemper as less of a studio tool and more of a live tool actually. Who wants to be in a small club blasting people in the front row with your 4x12? The Kemper makes things simple with FRFR. But in my studio, I want to record with real amps, specifically because of the difference in "body" that you mentioned in earlier post. Plus the fact that I can dial in my own tone rather than rely on someone else's "mixing decisions".
3) I think the difficulty you're having is more with your issues with FRFR rather than any real shortcoming. Have you played your Kemper through a studio monitor often? It is a really killer tone. In a live situation, the Kemper feeding a PA and a stage monitor makes for a pleasurable experience for not just you, but the audience as well.
4) I experience no notes thinning out at higher registers when playing my Kemper through my studio monitors. Are your speakers working at 100%? Have you tried increasing treble just as a test?