For the record, I have always been a tube guy. I have a few Matchless amps that I love, but lugging them plus a 2x12 cab was getting really old. I finally gave in to the temptation and grabbed a Kemper (non-powered) a couple weeks ago. I was blown away when I first plugged in. The tones were amazing, both through headphones and the DXR10. Sure, it takes some searching to find the right profiles, but I quickly found 15 or so that I really love (all free). I also grabbed a used FCB1010 MIDI foot controller and installed the Uno4Kemper chip which works great.
Over the last week I have been programming our set list, using different amp and effects combos, that I would then control with the FCB1010. I quickly pieced the set together, which was very easy to do. I decided--what the hell, might as well try it at the outdoor show this weekend! Being the singer too, it's much easier switching to a preset with effects programmed in for a part of a song, as opposed to tap dancing pedals non-stop.
It sounded SO good...So good! I went straight into the PA. They had nice monitors so I didnt end up using my DXR10. I definitely recommend creating settings at gig volume though. I wasn't able to do this so I kind of guessed, based on headphone volume. Some of the amps had different volume levels and were "hotter" than I first thought, but overall not bad at all for throwing this together so fast.
I can pretty much safely say I have no plans to ever take a tube amp to a show again. This thing sounds that good, and involves hauling about 70 lbs less in gear. I get it now. I'm sold!
