Should I make the trade?

    So long story short. I'm on the road a lot playing shows. Sometimes we use our own personal PA, sometimes we use the house system. I have a Mesa Lonestsr 2x12 and my pedalboard. I have a guy wanting to trade me an unpowered rack unit straight up for my Mesa. I know my Mesa retails for around $2100 and the rack retails for around 1600 or 1700$. I was hesitate about trading because I thought I would need a cab and the floorboard.. Now I'm learning that I can use my existing pedalboard with the Kemper? If that's the case then I could run a direct line from the kpa to the board and use my pedalboard right? I could get a cab and power amp on down the road if needed. So I'm curious, if you were me, would you make that trade?

    Used, you are right $1600 - $1800 typically. I would make sure you can live without the "amp in a room" feel before moving the Mesa. It was an easier transition for me...while others have struggled.


    I run external stomps into the Kemper with great results. You can sure run direct to FOH..stereo if need be.


    Would I trade? Gear isn't trading/selling all that high or fast these days. It seems that lighter and lower wattage are the new standard. I would pursue it and let your ears decide.
    To get a better feel of the market, you might want to look at the eBay completed/sold auctions to see what Lonestars have gone for in the past.
    Best!
    Paul

    Thanks for the input Paul. The reason I was hesitant to begin with is because the KPA I was looking at did not come with a footswitch, but now that I know I can use my board with it, that helps. A used Mesa Lonestar will pull 12-1500 on most days. Could I use the unpowered KPA with a powered speaker? The guy told me he would trade straight up.

    Go for it man ........I have a ROOM full of vintage and Modern valve amps and haven't plugged them in for years ..............


    Just get a good FRFR monitor ( PA speaker etc... )

    Yeah I know that you need a midi to control it, but I was told that you can use external effects with the KPA, so I was going to use my pedalboard I have right now that's loaded with a delay, boost, wah, etc until I could get a midi board. Is that possible?

    Hahaha I'll be profiling the Lonestar regardless if I get it. My buddy has one. I'm just still up in the air about not having a monitor system yet. Like I said, I could use my pedals in front of it, and then run a line out to the board. Most places I'll will have a house pa and monitor that I'll use but I would want my own

    I actually traded my Lonestar Classic for a Kemper and definitely regret it. I don't want to miss the Kemper but the Lonstar is such a versatile amp, still sweet with pedals in front and this is a sound and feeling what a Kemper never gave me and I haven't found any profile that comes close to what I was able to expect from my Lonestar setup.


    I run my Kemper into a Mesa Boogie Satellite return now and I like the best of both worlds solution to record and have versatile options to perform at high quality with FOH/ in rehearsal situations. But if I personally had the choice after experiencing both Kemper and Lonestar + individual stomps and effects... I would take the Mesa Lonestar back if my Kemper sold well with all the money I invested for profiles.


    Hope my post is helpful! Cheers, Andy

    You won't regret it if you're already used to monitoring with IEMs or wedges. As mentioned above, the lack of the "amp in the room" feeling is a bigger hurdle for some than others. No modeler will give you the feeling of a marshall stack behind you. But your ears and back will thank you, and the audience only hears the mic'd signal through the PA anyway. Going direct is the best way to send to FOH, in my opinion.


    I run my full traditional pedal board with the kemper. Wet fx in the loop. However I recently bought a midi controller so I can get rid of some of my individual pedals for clean boost, tremolo, phaser, secondary delay, etc, and replace them with the kemper's built in fx. So now my whole board is my wireless receiver, a couple overdrives, midi controller, exp pedal for volume plugged into the midi controller, and then my big delay and reverb units in the kemper's loop. The kemper takes drives and other pedals just like the real thing.

    I really really love my tone out of my Lonestar Classic. I never really get to crank it though. It loud enough to get it breathing. Here's my dilemma I guess. I love my tone and I've just now gotten to where I'm somewhat happy with it. The amp is always mic'd regardless of the gig so the audience is only hearing that. Most of the time I have a monitor that's provided by the house in front of me so that's basically what I am hearing. With the KPA I would still be using all of my own effects on my board, and I would be able other my guitar through the speakers behind me and my monitor. I am so dang torn. Lol the thought of being able to access so many tones, never having to change tubes, and the set up time are amazing.

    You can profile your Mesa, as others have said.
    If you're enough with that, an up\down switch will allow you basic patch changes, and with another pair you'd be able to accomplish other tasks (see the manuals on the matter to check what you'll be able to do w\o a proper footcontroller).


    You're right about the mic'ed cab and the monitor, the Profiler won't certainly sound worse than that ;)


    As for the active cab, a good linear one (like AA's CLR) will give you all the nuances the mic captured during the profiling stage. If you want more punch and a traditional feeling I'd take into consideration GRFR cabs such as Matrix or Gemini (and the like).
    As for me, I own two CLRs and am waiting for a Red Sound LG-12, a great GRFR that really impressed me.


    And remember: the Profiler is all in the rigs you'll be using: it's got no sound signature in itself; so be sure you set it properly, get to know it properly, and find the rigs that sound the way you want. Oh, and don't be afraid to turn some knobs :D

    I would say: Check it out!
    Rent a Kemper for one or two weeks if possible. Take time.
    Make a profile of your Mesa. Check it out.
    But my experience is you need a half year for understanding the ways and possibilities of the Kemper. After then you will say the same then all the other one here.
    Its a real step from a analog amp with tubes to a modern profiler/modeler with midi an morphing.
    It's the same step like from campfire to plasma-cutter. :thumbup:

    I wish I was able to rent one but unfortunately that's not an option for me. There's just nowhere close to western North Carolina that has one I don't think. I'm hesitant because I don't have a cab/power amp or monitor. I do have a PA with active speakers though that could possibly work. If I decide to get it, I'm basically stuck with it for awhile.