Is there any software that can give the Kemper a run for its money?

  • Mercuriall or S-Gear all the way, man! For plugs, these are the bomb! :thumbup: Seriously tho' the Kemper kicks ass.


    You gotta wine and dine your wife dude, give her a spa day or some back-rub gift certificates from yours truly! Trust me, it'll be worth it for You & Her. LOL! ;) Especially if you're going to use it for gigs, no question you'll be happier with a KPA over the a DSL, TSL or whatevs...


    As an aside, if you wait till Black Friday they'll all be cheaper. Whether you're saving the tax at your local dealer on the Kemper or getting the plugs at a discount. Of course this is three months from now but still worth noting!

  • It's pushing the definition of "software" but some people like the UAD Softube stuff. I guess if I didn't have a Kemper it'd be alright, nothing that could stop me from pushing out a few tracks and having fun, but I have a Kemper. There's nothing else out there that does what the Kemper does, it's a special tool with a special purpose.


    You're really asking - what else sounds or feels as good as a real tube amp, but isn't a tube amp. The answer is nothing, yet. Eventually it'll get there, most sims sounds decent enough these days, at least enough to inspire you to create stuff, but nothing software feels good to play. The Kemper is the closest to the real amps in terms of digital because you can profile your own amp and setup and compare apples to apples, unlike every other digital solution, but even it could be improved.

  • BTW... Spark is on sale right now for $40 off (not sure about where you are but...) and you get 5 activation keys for your system/s.

    Spark is worth every penny. One of the best Heavy Marshall tones as far as plugins go and it also feels very good. S-Gear is also excellent for recording.

  • If you dont have the requirement of carrying your sounds to gigs or recording sessions....id consider sgear.
    That one at least sound and feels good....where the other usual suspects I tried are pretty bad imho.


    To me one of the buying reasons for kpa was that I can carry all my sounds for different applications, gig through pa, gig with amp, recording anywhere. If you dont need that....million other ways to go ;)


    Its all taste...but id never consider another modeler, they just dont feel and sound right to me.


    What I would consider besides sgear:


    Amp with a mic...that Offcourse works, but loud, hassle to set up.
    Cheap mooer pre amp (those sound not half bad) with some pedals in front. Budget friendly, user friendly, sounds decent....but...that gives you 1 amp type.
    2 channel combo / pre amp where u feed the send of the loop in your ir loaded daw, or into a hardware ir...that option also gives you something to play with when you dont record. ;)


    Anyway...good luck deciding. For any application kpa has been the most userfriendly and versatile solution....but there are other ways to record a track ;)

  • ???????


    Just record the Kemper from the output of the Kemper


    gee...

    What issue do you think you're discussing?

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

  • However, when it came to actually shelling out the 2k I had a bit of a crisis of conscience… ie, my wife would go crazy if she found out.

    There was ploy, on one music site, about giving the guy in the shop an extra ten bucks, for a receipt that says the same price as you 'told your wife it cost'.
    It 'was' a humorous post, but there's a point in there actually... :)

  • Bit of advice please guys. I sold all my gear a few years ago but have recently got back into gigging/recording. I’m currently using a TSL100 borrowed from a friend, but decided that I’d get a powered Kemper as it’s an investment and I’d never need another amp again. However, when it came to actually shelling out the 2k I had a bit of a crisis of conscience… ie, my wife would go crazy if she found out. I’m basically wondering if I can save some money by using a valve amp live and modelling software for recording. I play hard rock/heavy metal so I’d just go for a good old DSL50 for live purposes – I can pick one up for around £350. That’s the easy part. I know very, very little about recording but it’s something I’m slowly getting more into. Can anyone advise if there are any guitar amp software packages that can compare to the Kemper? I use FL Studio so it would need to interface with that somehow – as I say, I’m a bit out of my depth here. I don’t mind spending a few hundred quid on decent software if overall it will save me in the region of a grand compared to the Kemper. Any help much appreciated.

    Its very subjective is the easy answer. Presuming you mean Marshall TSL 100? I had a Marshall TSL 60 and currently have a DSL which I'm happy with.


    Start cheap and see if your happy with that, recording can eat into your budget quickly. Saying that, if you know your in it for the long run investing in a good interface is advisable. RME if you can afford it, otherwise MOTU, Focusrite could be good options.


    Try VST's/Amp software and see if that works for you. You can demo all the software out there. If it does work, your going to save money. The other option would be to get a load box and connect your amp to your interface. About £500 for the load box. Mike the amp if your living situation allows, for the price of a mike and some time to learn about miking.


    Getting a Kemper isn't the cheapest option. Many seem to be happy with it, I have been struggling. But I will say its better than the Helix which I returned very quickly. But many are completely happy with the Helix. Try them for yourself.