Atomic Amplifire + CLR vs Kemper+ CLR

    I remember that a certain Mr. Chapman did a quite extensive video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYbul0RlwhQ ] on the subject. Therein he talks with the man behind the modeler. At 4:15 he makes some rather astonishing (given what he said at Anderton's Music on the subject) remarks about the KPA. So you may find out what this thing sounds like when fed into a (tube?) amp via return input and hooked to a substantial guitar cabinet. You also may hear what "his guitars" i.e. guitars bearing his brand, sound like.
    Maybe this is a place to look for an answer to the question at hand.
    Me myself and I were not convinced. The KPA is an entirely different animal.


    Greetings


    Joachim

    Quote from HamerJo

    I remember that a certain Mr. Chapman did a quite extensive video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYbul0RlwhQ ] on the subject. Therein he talks with the man behind the modeler. At 4:15 he makes some rather astonishing (given what he said at Anderton's Music on the subject) remarks about the KPA. So you may find out what this thing sounds like when fed into a (tube?) amp via return input and hooked to a substantial guitar cabinet. You also may hear what "his guitars" i.e. guitars bearing his brand, sound like.
    Maybe this is a place to look for an answer to the question at hand.
    Me myself and I were not convinced. The KPA is an entirely different animal.


    Greetings


    Joachim


    I lost all respect for Rob Chapman's opinions after this. I had both units. Enough said.

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

    Like 1

    Ok so update on the Amplifire after using it for several gigs this week. I could not get a good sound out of it by myself even after downloading the two preset packs on the website. I was about to list it on reverb.com when I remembered mbritt had made some presets for it, so I thought why not try them out, he's only charging $15. And now I have to say WOW. The amplifire is really fantastic. I am totally blown away by the sounds coming from this thing. Yes Rob Chapman's video was kind of ridiculous but I am equally blown away.


    It's not as powerful as the kemper, but I don't need something that powerful or flexible. For the last week my rig has been literally just my old pedalboard with a couple things removed that the amplifire replaced (small analog delay for solos, modulation stuff), running direct into FOH and monitoring with IEMs.


    I honestly might sell my kemper after another couple months with this thing.


    Here are the advantages that work for me:


    1) Faster set up time. Guitar goes into pedalboard with shure wireless w/ built in tuner, so literally all I do is: board on stage, plug in one IEC power cable to my board, and one XLR to FOH.
    2) Lighter. Eliminated my 4 space rack case + power conditioner for kemper (25+lbs).
    3) Simpler. Fewer routing options, less deep editing, etc. Bad for some people, less to think about for me =)
    4) Most importantly: lets me conveniently use my delay and reverb units in its fx loop without running two more cables back and forth across stage or keeping them in a midi rack back with the kemper. I'm no longer stuck only using clean amps with my delays and reverbs in front.

    Thanks for sharing that, Strabes.


    I'm curious:
    Are you able and willing to make some clips for us to listen to of these great tones?
    Is the latency on this thing as low as the Kemper's (undetectable even for latency-sensitive folks like lil' ol' me)?
    How cheap is it, and is it easy to get a deal due to, say, a decent margin on 'em?


    You've got me wondering about using one in the living room for practice...

    I bought the Amplifier as backup for the Kemper with DXR10/12 for monitoring. I listened many youtube movies about the Amplifier. First test at home with the Amplifier Ii could not get any decent sound out of the AA (even not with headphone), certainly not with the standard IR's. I found a few free IR's and the sound was much better. After putting and LPF between 5-8khz in every patch ithe AA sound great. I ordered Mbritts pack and again it's getting better, still have to use the LPF. First time rehearsel iI had instandly an very good sound, few days later an gig and I took he AA. I had never such an easy performance with 3 buttons and 6 sounds (no expressionpedal). But I must say the KPA with morphing, then I only have to use 2 presets with an expression pedal, that will be even more easy. All with all, the AA is very good but have to tweak, The KPA is always good, but depends on the profiles, because many profiles are not good :) So end of the story, rehearsel :AA, restaurants/bars etc.:AA, Home and the rest: KPA.

    Ok so I have an amplifire I bought recently. It isn't a bad unit. But the Kemper kills it for feel and tone. Which I guess is expected.


    There is still a sort of top end fizzy slightly sterile tone to the AF which is really difficult to dial out. I tried for ages and also paid for the MBRITT profiles (which improve things but not entirely). It also has a sort of 'tubbiness' to the tone at the bottom end which feels almost like latency - hard to describe - but not as touch sensitive as the Kemper.


    No means a bad unit - in fact it sounds pretty good until you turn on the Kemper and compare it. The Kemper sounds and feels like a tube amp full stop - the AF still sounds and feels like a modeller - even if it is an improvement on most VST emulations or old PODs.


    I would love a Kemper stripped down with the form factor of the AF!

    This sounds more like what I expected to hear, mate. Thanks for that.


    Maybe I'll forego it as a practice amp. I'll probably use my current Kemper for this purpose when I eventually buy the next model to come out. Hopefully, for my budget's sake, this will still be a long way off.


    This was my experience too.

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

    Like 1
    Quote from Monkey_Man

    Thank you for the further comfort-titty-mastication, Zappledan.


    haha! comfort titty is the name of my new band!


    I see a lot of people on other forums trying to kid themselves that the amplifire is up there with the Kemper. Reminds me of those a few years back who tried to convince themselves that Zoom G3 was up there with the best FX units. I wanted to convince myself it was - but it ain't. I think the form factor and design is the best feature - but it is way overpriced for what it is. I think a Tech 21 pedal would be a better small form factor backup/practice tool. Or even one of those Joyo ones.

    Quote from lonestargtr

    As much as I like titties... I like Kemper the best no contest. But I got some decent tones out of the Amplifire and axe. The KPA is my fave but there is more than one way to skin a cat.


    Can't argue with that. Wise words, Michael. I just feel kind of bad for the poor cat. :P


    Cheers,
    John

    Quote from lonestargtr

    As much as I like titties... I like Kemper the best no contest. But I got some decent tones out of the Amplifire and axe. The KPA is my fave but there is more than one way to skin a cat.


    Yeah - with a sharp knife... or your fingernails. Thank God we've got a sharp knife.


    Not arguing with your valid point Michael; just sayin'. ;)

    There are more ways to Roma and the KPA is on the road and the AA too and sometimes we have to drive 80 and sometimes 180 and the AA goes to 175. And hopefully we not hit a cat. Wise word from Michael.

    Although this should be taken with a grain of salt, I want to share this quite interesting experience:


    I figured out that I wanted to sell my CLR active wedge. It sounded good but I prefer the amp in the room tone for personal monitoring. Very soon after I put it up for sale I got a text from a guy I had dealt with before. He bought an Amplifire, and he wanted to try it with the CLR to see if it was the right setup for him. I thought "yey, finally going to hear the Amplifire in person" as I was quite curious about it myself and I thought about getting one as a portable alternative to the Kemper. He had experience with the Amplifire through the poweramp and cab of his Hayden Mofo only, and he thought it sounded better with cab sim on for some reason. His first impression of the CLR was that it sounded much better than through his home rig! He browsed through a couple of presets, everything from M Britt to the Amp Factory and a few he made himself. From my perspective it sounded alright but nothing mindblowing, although better than my experience with the Helix for instance. Not totally convinced, he asked me to power up the Kemper. He is a Marshall guy like me so I found a custom profile I had made of TopJimis 68' Marshall Plexi with a Choptones V30 IR. Standing there and watching him play was a pleasure in itself, they guy looked like he was in heaven, like "ohh that's the stuff!". I showed off more Marshall profiles which I have plenty of, but I think his conclusion was made after the first chord on the Plexi profile. It probably doesn't come as a surprise that he went home with no CLR, and a few days later he sold the Amplifire. Please note that I did not play a single note through the Amplifire, and this was purely my observations. I still think the Amplifire is great, but I also think that it requires quite a lot of tweaking to get your tone.

    Quote from Alfi27

    Although this should be taken with a grain of salt, I want to share this quite interesting experience:


    I figured out that I wanted to sell my CLR active wedge. It sounded good but I prefer the amp in the room tone for personal monitoring. Very soon after I put it up for sale I got a text from a guy I had dealt with before. He bought an Amplifire, and he wanted to try it with the CLR to see if it was the right setup for him. I thought "yey, finally going to hear the Amplifire in person" as I was quite curious about it myself and I thought about getting one as a portable alternative to the Kemper. He had experience with the Amplifire through the poweramp and cab of his Hayden Mofo only, and he thought it sounded better with cab sim on for some reason. His first impression of the CLR was that it sounded much better than through his home rig! He browsed through a couple of presets, everything from M Britt to the Amp Factory and a few he made himself. From my perspective it sounded alright but nothing mindblowing, although better than my experience with the Helix for instance. Not totally convinced, he asked me to power up the Kemper. He is a Marshall guy like me so I found a custom profile I had made of TopJimis 68' Marshall Plexi with a Choptones V30 IR. Standing there and watching him play was a pleasure in itself, they guy looked like he was in heaven, like "ohh that's the stuff!". I showed off more Marshall profiles which I have plenty of, but I think his conclusion was made after the first chord on the Plexi profile. It probably doesn't come as a surprise that he went home with no CLR, and a few days later he sold the Amplifire. Please note that I did not play a single note through the Amplifire, and this was purely my observations. I still think the Amplifire is great, but I also think that it requires quite a lot of tweaking to get your tone.


    Alfi,


    Don't keep us in suspense. :D


    I presume he sold the Amplifire with the express purpose of ordering a Kemper, yes?


    Cheers,
    John

    Haha! Well, I left the conclusion out because it is kind of a bummer.. Did not see it coming myself to be honest. He thought the Kemper is a great piece of gear but too expensive for just playing at home, so he bought an old defect Marshall Plexi as a project and eventually shipping it to Tommy Folkesson to get it modded :)