Kemper vs Helix vs Fractal vs head rush

    Just another boring comparison from someone who owns all of the above and uses all of them in the studio and live.
    Yeah I sold a bunch of heads and cans to get the big 3.
    I use all of the, for studio and live work.
    I’ve been a musician ,guitarist, keyboard and horn player for 30 years.
    My dad was also a professional musician with his own Grammy winning music studio.
    Here’s my five cents
    I just want people who are planning to spend the money some information that may help make the decision on which unit to purchase.


    Kemper
    1. Very easy to build a rig and optimize each component in the series.
    2. lot of control knobs for each of the critical adjusts on the fly
    3. Sounds you hear are real time profiles (recordings of your or someone elses amp run through algorithms) of the amp you want to capture.
    4. Infinite number of available free amps to load into Kemper....many impossible to purchase or find.
    5. Sound quality is superb and clarity of discreet notes jumps you into a real amp response environment
    6. IR’s are great and many more can be added via 3rd party
    7 very very good amp response to modulated playing soft to loud just like the amp,you profiled
    8 extremely honest and pro level effects in all categories
    9. The toaster version is light and complete to take to a gig no need for rack space
    10. No mutations or exogenous sound fragments for optimal recording

    Fractal Axe
    1 very difficult to program with the software and dam near impossible with the unit only
    2 accepts 3 rd party IR
    3. Multiple ims and outs for adding stomp boxes
    4. Great sound quality after 10 billion hours dialing in your sound
    5. Worlds smallest screen to read
    6 FW upgrades every 10 seconds with claims of better replication of models
    7. Hard to buy because of poor inventory management
    8. The most expensive rig out of the pack
    9 rack mountable
    10 sound on par with Kemper in most categories

    Line 6 Helix
    1 floor model delivers multiple stomp buttons and expression pedal plus 2 more external pedals
    2 the most ins and outs of the 3
    3 front headphone jack and volume.
    4 stupid simple to program
    5 GI is the best with capacity to create 4 separate rigs simultaneously and connect them to 4 separate amps
    6 capacitance touch switches to call up screen editing
    7 scribble strips for each switch which will label that switches effect or you can type anything for personalization
    8 light years ahead on sound quality and simplicity of editing or building you own rig
    9. Over 1000 slots for your created rigs
    10 snapshot mode yields multiple rig setups within an individual patch
    11. Phenomenal 3D sonic pleasure
    12. Built very sturdy from aluminum
    13 fast startup and shut down
    14 hands down the least expensive, easiest to program that delivers quality dual processor sound that is perfect for both
    Studio and live performance ..... :)

    Not sure I agree with everything, but it's nice to see someone not just sh*t on other units but rather try and offer some more balanced view, or at least something different than the usual "OMG Lel line 6 is death". I can respect that.


    That said, personally i like fractal's editor quite a lot. Any tone I have from kemper I can get out of axe and vice versa (minus effects stuff and dual distortion stages). Axe takes time to learn (amp knowledge also relevant when it comes to this) of course. It's about knowing what you are doing and taking advantage of amp matching too when needed. Editor fits great with all this considering the depth of the unit, in a recording environment or when trying to be creative and come up with fresh tones or do minor edits that make a difference.


    About helix: I find some of the amp models better than others. The issue for me is the much greater plethora of choice available in axe and kemper in terms of amp tones (especially direct amp tones).


    Now yes, you can also work with a helix amp that doesn't quite do what you like and get closer to what you want, but I've gotten better results with both axe and kemper when it comes to a variety of tones. Of course similar IR (even shot from a kemper profiles) gets you close to many tones just using helix as well.


    A weakness of kemper for me is what happens when one tries to profile dual distorting stages, as well as lack of a real editor. I find helix superior to kemper when it comes to such tones but that is not a surpising considering what kemper is/is not meant to do.


    Strength of kpa for me is hardware UI (against axe fx, not helix) and the unique approach to getting tones which is just not he same, conceptually, to axe amp matching, even if I can get similar results at the end of the day. The idea behind how things work is still intriguing to me. I would like to see improvements in Profiiling accuracy, but that is another story.

    Edited 4 times, last by Dimi84 ().

    Also I'm not a fan of Many kemper effects... Axe fx in on a league of its own there imo.


    That's often something people say to then dismiss axe fx amp tones as "so subpar" to kemper (maybe it sounds more "fair" to do so!), but like I said before, for the most part I get the same tones out of both units.


    Helix is close, but considering the concept of profiling and also deep editing of axe.. I still lean towards both these devices over line 6.

    I had a Helix for a few months. The sound just wasn't there for me, so I swapped it. The Snapshot mode (near-zero lag for live use - forget about changing presets if you don't want up to a second of lag!) was buggy as hell, too. We're all different, I guess.

    Both helix and headrush in title,


    Just helix in review.

    Great review.


    Predominantly, what I have read is that AxeII Fx and KPA generally have a pro following. Most agree that the KPA pure amp tone is the best, but the AxeII Fx has better efx and processing options.


    Most people that have tried all 3 tend to say that Helix doesn't compete in the same space, so this review is different in that regard.

    I prefer everything on the Kemper much more than all the other boxes!


    Yes, the AxeFX has the most FX options - but I don't need all this - the KPA's effects are great sounding and more than enough for me.
    (Still missing the Spring Reverb :)


    The best with the KPA is - I have time to play instead of endless tweaking - and re-tweaking after the next update.


    Still love the KPA after all the years!

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    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

    Like 3

    The editing software makes using the Axe a breeze, and if you think the Axe FX screen is small, you haven't seen the Amplifire's. Availability used to be an issue. Not anymore.

    Been playing for 45 years, but it was never my primary occupation. Regardless, I practiced hours every day. It’s my favourite thing to do, I guess. Close friend and other guitarist in the band has a Helix. I have a Kemper and a Fractal XL+. My final solution: I’m using both the Fractal and the Kemper in parallel, simultaneously. I tried to interconnect the two. But the simplest approach is to A+B them. I was handing the mixer two outs anyway, so I figured what the hell. Best tone in the city.


    I think both have relatively better tone than the Helix, but now that’s a very subjective opinion. Is Marshall better than Fender? My Aussie mates still argue about Holden vs Ford!


    The Kemper is easy to use, but profiling is a bit of an art. (I have loads of amps, but tend to use the third-party high-quality profiles.) The Fractal is complicated with many adjustments possible (I build guitar amps and it’s still a bit difficult to fathom some of these Fractal parameters), but the software is graphical and intuitive.


    My dad was an auto exec, but we had great records in the house. I play live.

    When will my talent upgrade be released?

    Quote from skydog

    I’m using both the Fractal and the Kemper in parallel, simultaneously. I tried to interconnect the two. But the simplest approach is to A+B them. I was handing the mixer two outs anyway, so I figured what the hell. Best tone in the city.

    Did you ever try running the Kemper into the FX loop of the Axe FX? If not, it's awesome.