About to pull the trigger into Kemper World **Need Help

    I hate to be the negative Nancy but...to do it all again I would of gone axefx xl+, I found the ax8 limiting and the kemper even more limiting. I like the fact with the Kemper I can dictate what amps I want then a preselected here it is platform, but in the end how many versions of a Marshall can you have?


    Amp sim to amp profile really no difference and they respond the same. Fractal is better at drives and all effects, I’m still using outbound hardware cause of imperfections.


    I thought the kemper would be better at profiling the true amp as a di profile, but I was wrong, in the end the kemper has the same disconnect from a real cab as the axe, but the axe includes a speaker resonance option in the amp block to compensate, so I don’t have to use a spot for it.


    The kemper is based on their tone, the axe you can dial in your tone, and damn near as you would on the front of the amp. Throughout frfr and being simple amp tone I love the kemper but to invest again it doesn’t do anything better than axe and doesent do half of it either


    Now let’s talk about running dual amps, cabs, wet dry rig and all in one box, it’s why Larry Lalond uses a kemper for Primus gigs, and seems you need room as your sets get more complicated


    Also Fractal is constantly improving not just amp modeling but effects etc, I’ve only been a kemper user for 6 months but I feel listening to public response and wanting or thinking there’s room for improvement is limited. The Kemper and axefx run the same components but axe is upgraded every couple months, I have more room in my machine based on how many profiles so huge room to grow but no growth, we get spdif upgrades or some different volume layout. I came to Kemper cause I saw room for growth in the machine but the company seems to think they nailed it, haha


    It’s also like an apple vs android, android apps are free with purchase of the device, the kemper is pay to play by other users, so like a digital Randall rm100

    Edited 3 times, last by mnewse614 ().

    Quote from mnewse614

    And the kemper also has same limitations but more by a more extreme margin as their eq is wrong

    Have you ever heard the reference amps that the Axe FX models are based on? The ones I've heard sound very close, but they're not completely perfect, either. I own an Axe FX II XL+, by the way.


    Quote from mnewse614

    why is it considered reference amp in kemper?

    I have no idea what you're asking here.


    Quote from mnewse614

    also take your profile and play through the same cab with poweramp and tell me the kemper 100% covered lows and mids

    Using a direct profile, quite a few users will tell you that the profile is indistinguishable from the real amp.

    I have used a ax8 mark profile next to my buddies mark and was dead on, I have used my kemper with ola, reampzone, and other mark profiles and got buried, yes I know my gear. Kemper has tons of room to improve before they are leaders of innovation


    I also di profiled my vht pitbull and the output to speaker was not captured that’s why I use a slot for eq instead of something useful

    Quote from ColdFrixion

    Yes it does. The KPA can capture the sound of your actual rig. The Axe is great, but the models are limited to the sound of the reference amps that the company bases their models on.

    Have you tried tone matching with the Axe though? Done it with very good results, I must say, with a few of my own amps and compared to the kemper profiles of the same set ups as well. Done the same with bias "amp matching". All could get very close to the sound of my "real" rig. It's easier to do things wrong with bias and axe, in that regard, of course. Axe models, to me, are very close to the real stuff -- but can relatively easily be pushed closer to further bridge most of the gap with proper tone matching.

    Quote from mnewse614

    I have used a ax8 mark profile next to my buddies mark and was dead on, I have used my kemper with ola, reampzone, and other mark profiles and got buried, yes I know my gear. Kemper has tons of room to improve before they are leaders of innovation

    Two amps of the same make and model can (and often do) sound different, so just because your buddies amp sounded like the AX8's model doesn't mean every amp of the same make and model will, and that's the difference. The KPA isn't perfect, but it does allow a user to capture their specific amp. The Axe FX's amp models are based on reference amps that may or may not sound like your particular amp, even if it's the same make and model. Granted, the Axe FX has enough tone shaping tools that I'm sure you can build a preset that can sound like it, but the KPA can do it quickly, and that's one of its advantages. Profiling saves time.

    Quote from Dimi84

    Have you tried tone matching with the Axe though? Done it with very good results, I must say, with a few of my own amps and compared to the kemper profiles of the same set ups as well. Done the same with bias "amp matching". All could get very close to the sound of my "real" rig. It's easier to do things wrong with bias and axe, in that regard, of course.

    It offers less Kemper to same result axe

    Quote from ColdFrixion

    Two amps of the same make and model can (and often do) sound different, so just because your buddies amp sounded like the AX8's model doesn't mean every amp of the same make and model will, and that's the difference. The KPA isn't perfect, but it does allow a user to capture their specific amp. The Axe FX's amp models are based on reference amps that may or may not sound like your particular amp, even if it's the same make and model. Granted, the Axe FX has enough tone shaping tools that I'm sure you can build a preset that can sound like it, but the KPA can do it quickly, and that's one of its advantages. Profiling saves time.

    Quote from Dimi84

    Have you tried tone matching with the Axe though? Done it with very good results, I must say, with a few of my own amps and compared to the kemper profiles of the same set ups as well. Done the same with bias "amp matching". All could get very close to the sound of my "real" rig. It's easier to do things wrong with bias and axe, in that regard, of course.

    Sure, however for tone matching to yield the best results you need to tweak the settings to get the tone in the ballpark initially. At the end of the day, profiling is simple, convenient and pretty effective. No, it's not perfect, but it's often quicker than dialing stuff in by ear.

    Quote from mnewse614

    I’ve only been a kemper user for 6 months but I feel listening to public response and wanting or thinking there’s room for improvement is limited. The Kemper and axefx run the same components but axe is upgraded every couple months, I have more room in my machine based on how many profiles so huge room to grow but no growth, we get spdif upgrades or some different volume layout. I came to Kemper cause I saw room for growth in the machine but the company seems to think they nailed it, haha

    Yes, because the main goal from the start has been replicating source tones. On that end they did a good job to begin with, hence more limited growth than Axe Fx has had, which has gone through more "progress" on that end to reach where they are today. That said, no, I don't think kemper profiling is perfect. Plenty of tests that shed light into this. And I don't think kpa better than Axe either. Both are very good, just put a different emphasis on how to get particular tones.

    Quote from ColdFrixion

    Sure, however for tone matching to yield the best results you need to tweak the settings to get the tone in the ballpark initially. At the end of the day, profiling is simple, convenient and pretty effective. No, it's not perfect, but it's often quicker than dialing stuff in by ear.

    I agree, definitely.. which is why quite a few tests have failed to get best results out of bias and axe fx when it comes to their "matching" capabilities. Not that it's impossible to get better and better in doing that either. In rare cases I find it quite challenging, but usually not much trouble.