I've owned several Axe-Fx units including the II and not once did I ever get a clean or mid-gain tone that sounds or feels so convincing as the Kemper, there is a compressed quality to every tone I hear from the Axe-Fx that I don't with the Kemper, something is definitely different with the Kemper, for the better IMO.
Exactly!
And then, on the 6th day he added Profiling, and on the 7th day he rested.
To me it sounds like the first half of the track is tone matched to the second half and not viceversa. Never heard the Kemper sound so compressed and so bad, tipical Fas sound ( which to me is always good when I hear it on tracks with other instruments BUT so bad when isolated)
what cesmag said
It also appears you can not only match amps, but isolated guitar tracks too.
The game is afoot!
Great - I would like to have the other mode (match to a recording) in the Kemper too
I think one thing KPA will need to do is improve how the GAIN reacts and sounds, every profile i've tried(over 600) that u need to add gain, you can only add just a bit, then it starts to sound very unnatural to me, I thought it was just me, had a couple friends come over today and they all agreed it didn't sound natural at all, so i unless you start with the right amount of gain you're going to need, the end result isn't very good in my opinion, it works better if you profile with a bit more gain than you need, and reduce it later, again that's what I hear and my opinion, the Noise gate also could be improved somehow, it works but unless you get it perfect, it affects the attack in a bad way, maybe a few more parameters needed??
When profiling a sound that you're really happy with in the amp, then the raw sound of the KPA is excellent, very close, I think that's the KPA's strongest, and the way I'll use it, then just adding some effects etc. and it's very easy with all the knobs to edit, I own both the Axe II and KPA, for all sounds that need advanced programing the AXE II is the way to go, and now with the tone matching stuff, it will get very interesting.. 
I think one thing KPA will need to do is improve how the GAIN reacts and sounds, every profile i've tried(over 600) that u need to add gain, you can only add just a bit, then it starts to sound very unnatural to me, I thought it was just me, had a couple friends come over today and they all agreed it didn't sound natural at all, so i unless you start with the right amount of gain you're going to need, the end result isn't very good in my opinion, it works better if you profile with a bit more gain than you need, and reduce it later, again that's what I hear and my opinion, the Noise gate also could be improved somehow, it works but unless you get it perfect, it affects the attack in a bad way, maybe a few more parameters needed??
When profiling a sound that you're really happy with in the amp, then the raw sound of the KPA is excellent, very close, I think that's the KPA's strongest, and the way I'll use it, then just adding some effects etc. and it's very easy with all the knobs to edit, I own both the Axe II and KPA, for all sounds that need advanced programing the AXE II is the way to go, and now with the tone matching stuff, it will get very interesting..
Exactly..for me a noise gate should work a little bit better..just like my old Rockron's Pro Gap Ultra "Hush"...Also there is a little bit latency..to my ears maybe 5 ms..In some situations you can feel it..especially with sounds with strong attack and fast picking..but it's not a big deal..Sound and feel of this unit is unbelivable..
As someone who doesn't own either the axe or kemper but trying to decide between the two, I am leaning towards the kemper because quite simply every sound clip I have heard between the two the kemper sounds better to me. It sounds more lifelike more real amp like.
between Fractal and KPA future looks bright for us guitar players
Good times indeed for electric guitarists! I'm from the "the amp is my sound" dinosaur period.
+1
I have to agree. I was on the waitlist for the axe 2 forever and I always thought it was a little fizzy... I listened to tons of clips. I didn't know anything about the kemper. I was just browsing the forums which I never do and stumbled on it a few weeks ago. Every clip I heard of the Kemper was close to near exact. I can't figure out why people at the axe forum are so excited about this new tone copy or whatever it is. I think sometimes people are just die hards and it doesn't matter what their ears tell them... My ears tell me of all the axe and kemper clips that the kemper has more dynamics and less fizz. I'm not sure how the axe will develop into reducing the fizz and turn into a kemper... If it was possible wouldn't it have been done before kempers release? I know the kemper has its problems, but I think a lot of time was spent into releasing the device with the best sound. You have to think that in order to compete the guys at kemper listened to an axe and improved upon the sound. It's pretty sad that right as it is released the competitor says "oh we're doing that", but then they don't release anything that functions. It doesn't seem smart to me. I mean the guys at kemper aren't saying "hey we're doing modeling." Profiling is kind of it's own thing and they feel they've made a better product otherwise it wouldn't have been released... I have to agree with them. My kemper is on order btw.
That Diezel Ch2 profile is indeed fantastic! One of my favorites. It's a shame Cliff dialed it in deliberately to sound less than spectacular. I'm assuming this man knows a few things about getting a good basic tone (especially out of a Diezel profile), but that was a sorry attempt at best. And all of the Axe fanboys jump all over how "bad" the Kemper sounds?!!!! It's just sad to me.
Anyways...back to actually playing and recording.....
Best of luck to all competitors getting anything to sound as real as the Kemper. All of us guitarists appreciate moving forward in the quest for tone.....
It's obvious in a very short amount of time, Kemper has the industry in reactive mode. If there is something better out there, I will buy it. Until then....
Stay frosty -
JEL
And all of the Axe fanboys jump all over how "bad" the Kemper sounds?!!!! It's just sad to me.
Where?
And all of the Axe fanboys jump all over how "bad" the Kemper sounds?
JEL
In the last 4 or 5 months the Axe-FX lads have paid huge compliments to the Kemper soundclips.
Prior to that, in the previous 8 months, the KPA couldn't do clean tone very well, then it couldn't do mild breakup tones very well, it definitely couldn't do high gain, it was too thin, too fat, too short, too tall, too ugly, too everything.
However, things have changed.
Now the Axe-FX lads are showing the KPA the respect & dignity it deserved when it was first revealed more than a year ago.
You'll notice, the internet is not "blowing up" anymore, Axe-FX and Kemper guitarists are getting along, respecting eachother, talking to eachother, the way it should have been when the KPA was first revealed.
Where?
Yeah, I must have missed that post. Ironic isn't it that what JEL finds "sad" is almost the way I felt about his/her post.
For the record I own an AxeFX II and signed up to learn about the KPA, because maybe I'll buy one too. You know I've owned many amps from different companies over the years, different guitars, FX units, software, hardware, whatever, all at the same time. Because you use one doesn't mean your not allowed to use another too.
As far as the "versus" part of this thread, I've read some very silly stuff from all over the internet. Seriously what is the big deal? Why is everyone so hyper-sensitive about this stuff? I'm learning all I can, wherever I can about because I enjoy guitars and amps.
I wonder how long it will take for all of this overly dramatic and absurd "KPA vs Fractal" customer loyalty to become irrelevant when they are replaced by some highly innovative company that sells a $79 plug-in. But I guess there will always be the stomp box crowd to sell to.
Now if there is constructive comparisons with what we know of the technology and results of these two incredibly advanced products I'm here to learn.
You'll notice, the internet is not "blowing up" anymore, Axe-FX and Kemper guitarists are getting along, respecting eachother, talking to eachother, the way it should have been when the KPA was first revealed.
You said it better and faster than I could. Thanks!
I hope people realize we are all benefiting from the effort and vision of some real tech pioneers that are changing how guitarists create their sound. Good times are ahead, so enjoy!
For myself, I'm versus 'versus'.
For myself, I'm versus 'versus'.
Well, Prof, if all guitarists spent their lives in the "versus versus" world, Pink Floyd would still be composing "Dogs"...luckily for us they finally put aside the "Versus Versus" thing and recorded the 17 minute masterpiece.
I have an AxeII, I was one of the first orders for a KPA - it's currently lost by Fedex. I'm looking forward to using both devices for a long time and seeing how these 2 great companies continue to improve their products.
I'm looking forward to playing with both units and see how they inspire my playing.
