Hello All!
I am pretty much a hard-core, tube amp nut that has been looking for a more compact and more versatile rig for my gigs but without sacrificing my tone. I own many of the amps that modelers try to emulate: 1959 Bassman, 1960 Deluxe, 1964 AC30, 1965 AC10SRT, 1973 Super Lead and a 1988 Boogie Mark III Simulclass. I still gig these amps from time to time but my main gig rig has been a Carol-Ann Tucana 3r through multiple cabs or a RedPlate RP40 combo for smaller jobs. I like the channel switching capabilities of these modern amps that allow them to deliver the goods at reasonable volumes without resorting to stompboxes which I dislike. And besides, these amps just sound so damn good!
I started my search into digital with the obligatory POD. Granted, I knew I was buying it only for a late-night practice tool, so I was not expecting it to compare to my tube amps. I finally decided to try a more modern modeler and bought and AmpliFire based upon the reports that it sounded and felt like a real tube amp. It sounds great through headphones on about 3 models if I use aftermarket IRs and tweak the hell out of them. However, when I tried it live at a rehearsal with one of my bands, it just sounded too flat and too processed to be useful for me. The other thing that I didn't like about the AmpliFire is that its Fender Tweed tones and Vox ACxx tones sound NOTHING like the real thing, and this is a shortcoming I have heard in other modelers as well. I still use the AmpliFire as my late-night, headphone practice tool and as long as I don't stray from the few models it does well, it is fine for that application. But I won't use it live.
I then looked at some more expensive modeler options but it seems that all of the fans of that technology always mention the effects and routing capabilities as their primary concern. I use minimal effects. I just want something that sounds, feels and reacts like my tube amps.
I then started researching the Kemper and after watching some pretty convincing YouTube videos showing profiled tweeds and ACs that even I had a tough time determining the vintage amp from the profile, it caught my interest. As I learned more about the capabilities of the Kemper and watched Michael Wagener's and other producers' interviews regarding the Kemper, it appeared to be the best solution for my needs.
To make my long story short, my powered Kemper with foot controller arrived today. I have only played around with it a bit through headphones and one of my guitar cabinets. It passed the ACxx test with flying colors through my heaphones so I am hopeful for the rest. Tomorrow l will try it through my studio monitors.
I have a rehearsal with a new band on Thursday and I would like to try out the Kemper then but, I could use some help on the following before I feel comfortable dragging it out with me:
1) What are the differences between BROWSER MODE and PERFORM MODE?
2) I am bit unclear about the differences between rigs, performances, and presets and how they are created, stored and recalled.
3) If you were in an AOR cover act and wanted to have 3-4 core amps with a few effects available, how would you best go about storing them so that they could easily be recalled through the foot controller?
I am not the patient type when it comes to reading manuals so I am hoping some of you experts can get me up to speed ASAP. I am sure I will have more questions as I start profiling my own amps and dig deeper into the unit's capabilities but so far, I am excited by the challenge. Thanks for listening and I look forward to your comments.