Blind Test: Line 6 Helix, Kemper, Fractal AX8, Bias Amp 2.0, Headrush

  • Found this on YouTube. Not linking to the video, yet, since the result has been published.


    Rank the five clips in order of preference. And can you pick out the Kemper?


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  • sample 3 sounds familiar to me and mix ready , may be the KPA , I don't know how other gear sounds ...

    Exaktly :thumbup:
    3 sounds definitly more "mix ready" - so: Kemper!! Definetly! I like that sound the most, listening with studio monitors.


    For a more "amp in the room" sound or live-ready sound I would maybe go with example 2. Sounds good.
    1 is a bit lame, but o.k. - I think I could work with that, too. Definitely better than 4 in my opinion.


    And I didn't like number 5 at all - the worst sound for me.


    (I love blindtests for fun! I don't take it too serious, really. Every unit can be tweaked in one or the other direction, for better or worse results...)

  • I would prefer a sound/profile of an amp which points out more a dynamic playing with the right hand.
    So less drive, more dynamic.
    For me, all 5 examples are „rotzen“ like we call it in Germany. Not a dynamic sound. And dynamic is the advantage of the Kemper.

  • I would prefer a sound/profile of an amp which points out more a dynamic playing with the right hand.
    So less drive, more dynamic.
    For me, all 5 examples are „rotzen“ like we call it in Germany. Not a dynamic sound. And dynamic is the advantage of the Kemper.

    How do Germans get the quotes to go to the bottom? That's cool! Reminds me of the upside down exclamation point in Spanish.

  • Result:


    1. Bias
    2. Fractal AX8
    3. Kemper
    4. Helix
    5. Headrush


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    I liked 1 and 2 the best, and I was 95% sure no. 1 was the Kemper. Well well...

  • This shows again, that Kemper pictures an authentic MICED signal chain (including an amp :thumbup: ), where other modelling units usually cover a more "amp-in-the-room" sound. Example 5 does sound very unnatural in many ways and you'll need heavy eq'ing to fit that in a mix too - it will still sound plastic, digital (just my opinion). But more and more people grow up with digital practice amps, modelling devices and vst - they get used to that kind of sound!


    When you want to get an idea, how a guitar track (with miced tube amps) should sound, that works in a mix: Search your favourite songs or famous tunes on utube by adding "isolated guitar tracks". There will pop up some examples (like early Metallica recordings, Dire Straits...) and you can "train" your ears. Of course some of those tracks have been also "treated" in the studio - but you get an idea how to start and how a miced cab does sound.


    It's of course a matter of taste too! And for sure there are situations a production can benefit from a specific sound character (axe-fx -djent). I also liked the Axe-AX8 second best in the blind test :whistling::saint:

    Edited once, last by Ibot39 ().

  • IF this test was indicative of reality I'd have sold my KPA 2 years ago, lol.


    Certainly I've never thought the KPA was dead last in any units I've compared it to directly or it would go out the door!


    Methinks there is something amiss with this comparison...