Gemini 2 or Blueamps?

  • I have at setup with 2 DXR10's that I'm fairly happy with. They sound good but I really miss the amp in the room feeling.

    I use my Kemper live with a band.


    I've decided to pull the trigger and buy a new cabinet


    I have e few criterias:


    1: It has to feel as close to a real guitar cabinet as possible but still being FRFR (or close to it)


    2: Stereo


    3: It has to be able to play LOUD!


    So.. I been googling my ass of the last to days and and narrowed it down to these cabinet.


    Mission Engineering Gemini 2


    Blueamps Ultimate or Spark



    Gemini 2:


    How annoying is the fan in the live version? I'm only gonna use the cabinet in a live setup


    Is it like a real cabinet feel you get from it?



    Blueamps


    Any experience from users are very welcome.


    They are easier to get here in Europe than the Gemini2 since company the is located in Germany


    But do they fit my criterias?

  • I have a Gemini 2 that I only play at home and I don't record with it. It sounds great and I love the stereo capability. The power supply fan noise wasn't loud but it was "irritating" to me. Seemed the more I heard it the more it bothered me, especially playing at low volume levels. It's a really small fan so the noise was high pitched. So, I replaced the power supply inside the cabinet with one with a fanless design. I do electronic work in a power plant for a living so this was fairly easy to me. I would probably just pay the difference for the Studio version of the cabinet with the fanless power supply if you choose to purchase the Gemini 2 for use other than live, especially if you don't feel comfortable changing out the power supply yourself. And this could also void the warranty I would think although I could reinstall the old power supply if I needed to. I think the fan noise could be an issue for you in a studio enviroment though. But since you are using it live I wouldn't worry about the fan too much.


    I also have a Marshall 4x12 that I occasionally run the Kemper through with a Camplifier. It does have a more "real cabinet" feel than the Gemini 2 but if I could only pick one I think I would stick with the Gemini due to the fact that its FRFR. The Empower knob on the back of the Gemini 2 does help the cabinet to sound more like a real cab or a true FRFR by just turning the knob by rolling off the highs. Another thing is the cabinet sims really do change the sound of an amp. I think people concentrate too much on the amp part of a profile when the different cabinet sims can really give you a different sound even with the same amp profile. A FRFR just makes the Kemper so much more versatile IMO.


    And oh yeah the Gemini 2 is loud. Very loud.


    I'm not familiar with Blueamp.


    Good luck with your decision. Hopefully some of this rambling is useful for you.


    Trey

  • Thanks a lot Trey.


    I’m NOT gonna mess with the power supply. I`m sure I would end up dead If I do :)


    The studio version i waaay more expensive here in Europe than in US. 1949 euros (about 2500 dollars)


    That’s why I hope the live version is good enough for live use only.

  • I just got a Red Sound RS-LG12 Neo , 400w active cab , it's GRFR ... so all the nasty frequencies are allready filtered out ...


    Really love it , check it out as well ... Cool ppl to deal with , truly handmade craftmanship !


    Raf

    Kemper stage with 2 mission pedals (in a Thon line 6 FBV case) and a Zilla 212 (K-100/V30) , SD powerstage 700 poweramp

    Edited once, last by Roeffel ().

  • Thanks Raf. Will check them out.


    I see that Thomann has them. But not the “Neo” Version


    do you know the diffence between RS-LG12 and RS-LG12 Neo?


    I Can see the neo is a bit more expensive

  • I ordered two RS-LG12


    they didn't have the neo version and I'm not sure what the difference is.

    NEO has 400 W vs 250 W and the weight is a few kg 's less ...


    Raf

    Kemper stage with 2 mission pedals (in a Thon line 6 FBV case) and a Zilla 212 (K-100/V30) , SD powerstage 700 poweramp

  • Neo!


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    https://shop.triadestrumenti.i…ound_rs-lg12_active_green

  • damn!! isn't he a little young to play like that 8|


    really looking forward to get my cabinets !

    Let me know how they sound Mike. I placed one more link in my post. The price for the powered version is not so bad imho. You know I play the rcf nx 10 sma. I think when I didnt had the rcf I would go for the red sound neo.

  • I'll let you know. I ordered the powered version (same as in your link)

    The price is ok, but since I want to play in stereo i ordered two,

    guess that makes the price double ok..or? :/;)

    thats' quite an investment 8|


    Raf

    Kemper stage with 2 mission pedals (in a Thon line 6 FBV case) and a Zilla 212 (K-100/V30) , SD powerstage 700 poweramp

  • Stereo is always better :P


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    Ash

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

  • Hey Mike,


    I play a

    • Blueamps Spark (19kg, 2x 180 W RMS (2x 360 W max) and a
    • Camper 212 (25 kg, 2x 180 W/8 Ohm (2x 360 W max) and love them both.


    Concerning your criteria:


    1: It has to feel as close to a real guitar cabinet as possible but still being FRFR (or close to it)

    Well they definetly look like guitar Cabinets. The Spark is a FRFR-Amp and the Camper212 is what they call GFR.
    They both feel natural and sound great, no harshness or cold treble and no real amp noises.
    All my favourite Profiles (Marshall, Fender Dlx) and even the Acoustic-Amp-Profiles Sound great with both.


    2: Stereo

    Both can be run in STEREO. I love that and will never play mono again 8)
    And they are easy to carry, especially the Spark.


    3: It has to be able to play LOUD!

    You can get all the technical specs from the blueamps.de -site.
    Despite that the Spark is really loud. I never needed to turn the volume up at 100% when I play it live in my Funk & Soul-Band with 8 other musicians (dr, bs, key, tr, tb, tsx, asx, voc). There is still a volume reserve left.
    Whereas the Camper212 gets to its limit with my Rockband. I once played at 100% at a big stage with a lot of stagemonitors. The camper stood 5-6 meter away and the Kemper was near 100% volume. But it worked and I got compliments for my sound of another guitar player, who had a Mesa Boogie on stage.


    To my ears the 4 Speakers of the Spark cut better through the sound of a loud band. It is compact and I don't miss a Subwoofer to add more bass, altough I love a warm guitar sound.

    Hope that helps.


    Tom

  • So far I have only tried one of the speakers. My band is getting a new PA soon, so I wanna se If one speaker is enoug because they are not cheap:)


    The speaker sounds and feels ABOSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!

    I have the amp-in-the-room feeling again and feedback is so much easier to get

    I am extremely happy..

    Thanks to Roeffel for pointing me in the Red Sound direction:)


    But there is one thing....


    We play pretty loud and I found out that the speakers clipping lamp was flickering sometimes.

    I don’t know how big a problem this is.


    Would it help to connect a speaker more? (I’m not able to try that before thursday next week) or should I return them both and get the NEO version which is more powerful?


    Right now I lean towards the NEO version..

  • I got the neo just for that reason , the extra power ...


    I set it up as descibed : volume at 8 , then adjust kemper monitor out till clipping , which was 11db in my case ...


    Id go for the neo rack form cab if I had the choice


    Raf

    Kemper stage with 2 mission pedals (in a Thon line 6 FBV case) and a Zilla 212 (K-100/V30) , SD powerstage 700 poweramp