Advice on Buying a Kemper

    I've been doing a lot of reading, watching videos, and have played a Kemper a few times. I really like what I'm hearing, but have noticed a couple of things and am wondering if the Kemper is right for me. I only have one Friedman BE-100 amp, so I don't have more than one amp that I need to profile. I hardly ever play gigs or do any serious kind of recording. I like having amps and effects in one good quality unit, so I've narrowed it down to the Axe FX and Kemper. However, I've noticed that the Kemper seems to have less low end than the AxeFX. Also, I've noticed that the Kemper sounds great as long as I don't deviate too far from whatever settings were originally set when profiled. I don't use heavy effects, so I'm not too worried about that aspect, but I do like a good quality FX on some patches.


    I've used the AxeFX and really liked it too. However, for the way I use it, the AX8 doesn't meet my needs as well as the Axe FX II XL+, so having to lug around a rack unit is the only issue with that. I love the fact that I can plug directly into the USB of my computer and record wit Audacity. The quality is actually decent, so that's a big plus. I know you can't do that with the Kemper, but I wouldn't call it a deal-breaker. On the other hand, the Axe FX has a LOT of tweaks and I don't always like to mess with so much of that.


    I know this is the Kemper forum and there's going to be a bias towards the Kemper, but I've saved up a long time to buy one of these units and want to make sure it's a good fit for me. Therefore, I'd appreciate some good practical advice so I can make the right purchase decision. Please let me know what you think, and thanks in advance.

    Personally I don’t think you can wrong with either. I don’t notice any lack of low end on the kemper. What were you monitoring thru when you noticed this?


    If you were heavily into effects, I’d recommend the Ax. If not, then I can’t see any reason not to go for the kemper.

    Quote from Netheravon

    Personally I don’t think you can wrong with either. I don’t notice any lack of low end on the kemper. What were you monitoring thru when you noticed this?


    If you were heavily into effects, I’d recommend the Ax. If not, then I can’t see any reason not to go for the kemper.

    Thanks for responding. I tried a few different things. For practice, I like to use some good quality computer speakers through the headphone jack. It's just convenient sometimes. The unit I used was the powered rack, so of course the first thing I tried was directly into a cab - which sounded great. I used the AxeFX with a power amp through the same cab and the low end is bigger overall in most profiles on the AxeFX. When I try to get the bass up to par on the Kemper, something doesn't quite sound right, so I'm assuming that the profile needs to be done with a bit more low end or something?


    Lastly, I have an interface which I've hooked up to. I'd say the Kemper has a thicker midrange (which I like), but sometimes seems like it lacks a little meat in the low end. I'm not saying it's a big issue, but it's noticeable.


    I'm not too much into effects, but I usually use some reverb or delay for overdriven tones, sometimes a phaser or flanger for lead tones, and some reverb and chorus for cleans, but nothing too ambient or crazy. I have all the big Strymon boxes, so I'm covered for effects anyway. Though I do think the Axe FX has outstanding effects. I just haven't messed with effects enough on the Kemper to know enough to decide. However, as far as I can tell, the FX are good quality and effective enough for what I'd need.

    It really depends on what kind of person you are. What you want, what you like, what aspect of playing guitar makes you the most happy.


    To me it's a lot like comparing Lego and Playmobil. Is building a complex patch half the fun for you? Do you want to dive down into the deepest parameter settings. Then get the Axe since you cannot do this level of tweaking with a Kemper.
    If you are more of a "sit down and play for hours" kinda guy, then the Kemper is probably better, since a huge amount of awesome tones is just a drag and drop from the rig exchange away.


    Soundwise you cannot make a mistake with either unit.

    The Kemper sounds just as good as the profiled amp did when it was profiled.
    If you later would like to tweak the sounds you will get good results, but the Kemper “tone stacks” will not behave as the original amp.
    There is no loss of low end.


    In my opinion all modellers, like Fractal, Line6 and such, ADDS low end that wouldn’t be present in the amp it is supposed to sound like. My experience is that I have to dial out that low end every time I do recordings or live performances. This is not an issue with the Kemper.


    If your goal is to have the mic’ed up sound of your own amp in a more portable version, then Kemper is the ONLY way to go.


    However, after reading what you write, I suspect that what you really want is a high quality amp modeller with the possibility to tweak your own sounds. Axe FX is without a doubt the best modeller and multifx out there (Kemper is NOT a modeller). On the other hand, the Kemper is much easier to work with and learn. Coupled with rig manager and the rig exchange it is also insanely easy to find new and inspiring sounds.


    Personally I would always go with the Kemper.
    It is also, so far, a much better investment with regards to money value.

    I've kept up with the Line6 stuff since the beginning, owned a few, buy even after the Helix came out, I still didn't like it. To me, the Axe FX and Kemper are the best and there is no competition even close. Even the Positive Grid Bias and Amplifire are still on the level of the Helix.


    I had an Axe FX II XL+, but find it quite cumbersome to dial in and mess around with all the I/O and settings. Also, there are a lot of phenomenal clean sounds with the stock presets, but only a few distortion sounds in the factory presets that I really liked on the Axe FX. It was necessary to buy an amp pack to get a more usable set of presets to work with. When I used the Kemper, the amp profiles were immediately satisfying, and it's great that I could plug it right into a guitar cab and get a nice tone. However, when tweaking the EQ, gain, and a few other things, something seems to go off in the process as if there's only so much tolerance for changes with each profile.


    That's not too much of a concern because I like to find a good sound and not have to work at it too much. As far as effects, well like I said, I use them, but nothing fancy. I like that the Kemper has a more affordable foot controller that's not huge like the Axe FX controller. However, since I'm considering the Axe FX III, it apparently has a more portable foot controller.


    Anyway, I'd rather not struggle with things. For example, I had a heck of a time getting a satisfying Dimebag tone from the AxeFX, and the patches I found were only OK except for maybe one, but that had to be purchased. After looking around at various patches for Fractal and Kemper, it seems like Kemper is a little easier to get different rigs like Pantera, Metallica, Eric Johnson, etc... I know that can all be done fine with the AxeFX to a high degree of detail, but I just want to play.


    I'm really leaning towards the Kemper. My only concern was that people keep telling me that it's mostly good for profiling your own rig to carry around instead of your amps. It seems like it offers more than that, but I just don't have one that I can borrow anymore, so I'm going to have to go on your advice.


    By the way, what's the general consensus regarding the powered version v. non-powered? It seems like a steep price tag when I can just buy a Fryette Powerstation or something. However, having said that, the Kemper I was borrowing had the power supply and it was actually pretty darned good through my guitar cab. Anyway, is the powered version worth the investment or do you prefer a tube power amp?

    Quote from MistaGuitah

    I'm really leaning towards the Kemper. My only concern was that people keep telling me that it's mostly good for profiling your own rig to carry around instead of your amps. It seems like it offers more than that, but I just don't have one that I can borrow anymore, so I'm going to have to go on your advice.



    By the way, what's the general consensus regarding the powered version v. non-powered? It seems like a steep price tag when I can just buy a Fryette Powerstation or something. However, having said that, the Kemper I was borrowing had the power supply and it was actually pretty darned good through my guitar cab. Anyway, is the powered version worth the investment or do you prefer a tube power amp?

    The Kemper is RAD and with right profiles it'll blow you away, not just your own amps but the commercial ones available who have the right tools to make them primo. No kidding, there are many wicked vendors, not to mention the free packs from Kemper and many of users in the community who have made great profiles as well.


    Sounds like you want less fuss so, go powered. Besides, power tubes color your tone sometimes for the bad or good.

    Quote from MistaGuitah


    My only concern was that people keep telling me that it's mostly good for profiling your own rig to carry around instead of your amps. It seems like it offers more than that, but I just don't have one that I can borrow anymore, so I'm going to have to go on your advice.

    I've been using a Kemper exclusively for more than 3 years and never profiled an amp--even though it's sitting next to a 5150 right now. There are so many great free and commercial rigs out there that I've never felt the need to profile my own.

    What about the lack of a software interface? Wouldn't that be something very useful? I wonder why they didn't make anything other than a preset manager. How much hassle do you think it would save if they provided software?

    Quote from MistaGuitah

    Also, I've noticed that the Kemper sounds great as long as I don't deviate too far from whatever settings were originally set when profiled.

    You're right about that. A profile is a snapshot of an amp with some precise settings and sometimes the sound becomes a little bit "digital" if you go too far from the original settings. But if it's a profile you like you won't have to do that anyway.


    And, IMO, it depends if you really want to keep your own amp with your own settings everywhere, and the Kemper does that perfectly, or, let's say, at 95%. 8)

    I just listened to several of the stock patches again and am really liking what I hear. The Kemper seems to have a little more something in the midrange that the Axe FX doesn't have. Some of the reviews I've read, people have complained about the Kemper midrange, but I think it sounds great. I might just go ahead and pick up a powered rack with remote. Thanks for the input everyone.

    I was in a similar situation a couple months ago. I went with a powerhead with remote even though I own a Freyette Power Station. I wanted to have the flexibility of not having to carry a power amp and be able to play thru any available cab if need be.
    In just want to add I bought mine as a demo from Sweetwater. My demo was like new. Still had the plastic on the displays, arrived in factory boxes. Demos from Sweetwater are reduced in price by 10%. They're having a demo sale at this moment. Might be worth looking into to save a few bucks in case one pops up. Put it in a wishlist and they usually will notify you if one comes available if they don't have one in stock already. Just thought I'd mention it as an option.

    @MistaGuitah


    Brah BUY IT..(you cant fail)
    ONLY.if you make sure you have a good FRFR or speaker out put
    its the ONLY reason i see people go wrong

    PLAY THE FING THING IN STEREO..(i use 2 mission stereo cabs)
    out of this world.


    1) FRFR essential
    2) stereo essential
    3) prove us wrong


    Bu it already and come back and tell us how killer it is


    Ash

    Have a beer and don't sneer. -CJ. Two non powered Kempers -Two mission stereo FRFR Cabs - Ditto X4 -TC electronic Mimiq.

    Like 1

    Its all down tot the profile you select, there are thousands to choose from.


    AXE FX is a great unit and stronger on effects.


    I believe ( no evidence) that the Kemper has it on amp feel).


    Never had an issue with low end, I think its down to the profile you use.


    Disagree on stereo...not necessary.

    I never use it to profile amps. I had a play with that initially, then realised that the commercial profiles were way better than I could achieve so why bother.


    I don't agree that the Fractal has more bottom end. You can EQ as much of that as you want into either. In the context of a mix you often get better results with less low end than when you're just playing alone.


    If you're going to upgrade to even an entry level dedicated audio interface it will likely have S/PDIF, which lets you record directly in digital from the Kemper, which is what many do.

    Quote from Charvelguy

    I was in a similar situation a couple months ago. I went with a powerhead with remote even though I own a Freyette Power Station. I wanted to have the flexibility of not having to carry a power amp and be able to play thru any available cab if need be.
    In just want to add I bought mine as a demo from Sweetwater. My demo was like new. Still had the plastic on the displays, arrived in factory boxes. Demos from Sweetwater are reduced in price by 10%. They're having a demo sale at this moment. Might be worth looking into to save a few bucks in case one pops up. Put it in a wishlist and they usually will notify you if one comes available if they don't have one in stock already. Just thought I'd mention it as an option.

    Yep, I was looking at those too, but they ran out of demo units at the moment. I have the store credit at Sweetwater, I just have to wait around for the right deal to come along.

    That's one thing I really liked about the powered head - the amp-like feel. I don't think I'll be able to afford the powered head because I'll need the remote, so I hope that it's equally as good through a Fryette Power Station.

    Quote from Finally

    I never use it to profile amps. I had a play with that initially, then realised that the commercial profiles were way better than I could achieve so why bother.


    I don't agree that the Fractal has more bottom end. You can EQ as much of that as you want into either. In the context of a mix you often get better results with less low end than when you're just playing alone.


    If you're going to upgrade to even an entry level dedicated audio interface it will likely have S/PDIF, which lets you record directly in digital from the Kemper, which is what many do.

    What I like about the Axe FX is that you start with the amp and then tweak and add effects from there. Because I've only played the Kemper a few times, it's still kind of hard to wrap my head around the concept of using profiles rather than having a virtual amp to start with. This video makes only a little sense at the moment because I don't have a unit with me to work with. Do you know exactly what he's talking about?


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EygtX53sVb8&t=499s

    For the purposes of this conversation, a profile is a virtual amp that you can then tweak and change quite significantly, including adding/removing effects.


    I wouldn't get too hung up about the profiling aspect, although its very cool and something no other amp can do. The end result is a virtual amp which you can modify way beyond what you'll ever need.


    For what you are talking about, there are loads of sound options ( rig exchange has over 10,000 free ones to choose from) so again its fun to profile your fav amp but not necessary.


    You will not get any issue using a separate amp as long as its good quality BUT for convenience I'd try to get the powerhead/powerrack. So much easier I find...


    If you can't afford it, get the FCB1010 temporarily instead of the remote and the save up for the remote..A separate power amp means you can run Stereo but I disagree with ash on whether that's important - thats up to you :).


    I have the power rack and I use it like a convention amp, into a 4 x12 BUT, instead of miking the 4 x12 which I use just for a bit of monitoring, I take a direct out into the PA. Sound engineers love it and it's so easy to set up and run. Hence for live I feel the powered version is easier and more convenient. For some gigs I just run my own PA monitor...again because its powered means I have a cheaper unpowered monitor.


    You will not regret the unpowered version but if you can run to it the powered one is worth the extra..


    The Axe is also a great tool BTW.

    Have you tried a tube power amp with the Kemper? If so, how do you think it compares with built-in power supply? I'm not sure there is any advantage of using a tube power amp with the Kemper, but some people seem to think a tube power amp is more organic.

    The Kemper is fundamentally the same concept. You choose an amp, then add whatever effects and tone shaping you want.


    With the Kemper the amp tones are fully formed snapshots of an amp with certain settings. While you can tweak these drastically, the tweaking isn't exactly like the copied amp. If you want a clean and a heavy amp distortion sound you'd use 2 profiles normally, rather than using the gain knob (which doesn't mimic the gain control on the amp). It's easy.