Dave Friedman’s view of kemper.....

  • Even guitarists can't agree on tone...a Judge is going to be buggered!!

    PRS Custom 22's - Fender Strats - Diezel VH4 - Carol Ann OD2 - Toneking Imperial MK2 - Colin the Kemper - CLR Neo ii.

  • It may just boil down to how scary the tech is becoming by getting that close as it is now. There will always be someone to say "eh close" but what happens one day when it really does break down those last barriers of defense?


    Short answer: Someone will still say they are way off.... ;)

  • Somehow I have the feeling that Dave Friedman was influenced by the constant anti-kemper statements of this Henning Pauly guy. In the first Tonetalk episodes, his statements weren't so direct and he called Profilers and Axe-FX good tools for certain things.


    In any case, I think the attitude is completely wrong: I bought a Friedman Amp, after I enjoyed it in Kemper. And I still prefer the real amp. But in many situations the Kemper is more practical.

  • With my Kemper, I can profile it and then tweak that sound till it's perfect for my mix, and then get that exact sound EVERY TIME I plug into it.

    No issues with where I stand, tube temperature or age, mic placement, wall voltage, temperature, humidity, the alignment of the stars, or any of the other factors that seem to always change the sound the next time I plug into the HJS.

    This is exactly what I'm enjoying.


    For years I gigged with a Rocktron Voodu Valve, a 1 U preamp that was midi controllable, so that I could bounce around from sound to sound and get consistent results. Oddly enough, the path that led the the Kemper was a smaller car where the rack + speaker wouldn't fit. A toaster and DXR-10 does. I was just looking for a simple bar band rig that would get the job done and fit in the car. I was completely unprepared for what I'd get out of the Kemper.


    And yet, through the Kemper, I've also become acquainted with other amps that I'd never played through, which is how I discovered that I love Friedmans. Last night I was watching a video on the Bogner Ecstasy after being impressed with some profiles of it. I have as much GAS as the next guy, and while I sold my old stable of amps, no one is dumb enough to bet on me never buying another one. If / when I do, it'll doubtless be a purchase driven by the Kemper.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • Chris Duncan I agree 100%. I would never have been exposed to many of these amps if not for my Kemper. And like you, I have gravitated more toward the Friedman profiles than anything else. They have become my primary live profiles. I don't think Kemper is causing Dave to lose business at all. I don't think most people think, "should I buy a Kemper or a Friedman?" I think most people are like me. More willing to spend that much money on the Kemper to give me access to unlimited sounds vs spending it on one amp, which is the way most of us were prior to using the Kemper. And yes, there will be those who go out and buy the real amp after using it on Kemper. So, I don't see how he is suffering because of it??!

  • I have a lot of respect for Dave Friedman. Amps like his Brown Eye are amazing and some major players use them. A lot of Kemper users too.


    His reaction may seem petty to some, but just look at this thread from the perspective of the other one where everyone is sledging Slate Digital for apparently touting some kind of profiler player.


    In Friedman’s case, he’s probably worried about his livelihood and the employees he has, not the fact that someone has his sounds.


    Even the question was loaded: not what you think of the Line 6 or the Axe FX. What do you think of the Kemper?


    I know everyone is saying they are going out and buying amps, but believe you me: the number of people who will buy an amp after buying a Kemper is really small.


    In fact, I was having a discussion with a band mate the other day and he said he only wants a profiler because he gets access to so many amps. I am sure he will never buy another amp in his life because the Kemper isn’t exactly cheap and some years ago, I would have been very sad at being unable to afford one once, forget about three times.


    So by all means, contest his views but don’t sledge the man. A lot of amp builders have similar circuits or based their designs on other circuits.


    That’s just the nature of the amp industry, there’s a finite number of designs and things you can do. Metropolous bases his amps on the Marshalls, so are some of the Top Hat Amps, so are a lot of others. Don’t single out Friedman.


    There’s a reason his amps are popular, and it’s not because they’re based on a Marshall. They sound bloody good.


    So yeah, he doesn’t like the Kemper. I can see his point of view. At least he didn’t say it doesn’t sound like his amps or anything. He’s honest about his views of his sounds being cloned, then tries to justify his amps to anyone who might want to compare products.


    Nothing worth trashing him as an amp builder for, among other things.


    If I have the opportunity, I will definitely buy one of his amps.

  • They sound bloody good.

    On this we definitely agree!

    I know everyone is saying they are going out and buying amps, but believe you me: the number of people who will buy an amp after buying a Kemper is really small.

    While there may be some merit to that, I also know lots of guys who are tube amp purists and turn up their nose at Kemper, Fractal, Line 6 and anything else that's not a "real" amp. Like anything else with music, there's a lot of religion so no matter how good a job Kemper and everyone else does, I think there's always going to be a solid market for tube amps.


    In fact, for every one guitarist I know who uses digital amps, there's a dozen more who wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

    Edited once, last by Chris Duncan ().

  • On this we definitely agree!

    While there may be some merit to that, I also know lots of guys who are tube amp purists and turn up their nose at Kemper, Fractal, Line 6 and anything else that's not a "real" amp. Like anything else with music, there's a lot of religion so no matter how good a job Kemper and everyone else does, I think there's always going to be a solid market for tube amps.


    In fact, for every one guitarist I know who uses digital amps, there's a dozen more who wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole.


    Yes, but how many posts have we seen here for example where someone with a Kemper buys a tube amp? Which was the argument being made, that somehow profiles generate interest in amps beyond buying a profile pack.


    I've seen far more intro threads where guys say they sold everything.


    That's not to say nobody buys amps or has an amp. We're a minority though. It's really expensiveto have so much gear, and I often wonder what the hell I'm doing with my life savings.


    Good thing I'm 36, a bit of time to save for retirement. But Iwould always advise people to think of saving, hence the "why kemper and amps" line of thinking.


    At any rate, I didn't think the comments about Friedman were warranted. Sometimes we get so personal about figures like that, we forget they're people, just like us.


    If i was an amp builder and people were cloning my sounds with a Kemper, I'd be worried too.

  • and it sounds great...... if I'm standing right in front of it.

    Move to either side a foot or so and the tone changes.

    So much for the "amp in the room" sound....

    This is exactly the reason I am so glad to have the Kemper too. I don't miss standing in front of my Boogies on stage and never being able to get a consistent sound. I don't run around on stage like Angus Young but I don't exactly like to stand in one spot all night either which is the main reason I just can't get on with 4x12 cabs. A pair of 1x12 angled for some dispersion is a bit better but the Kemper experience is just som much more stage friendly to my ears.

  • Chutzpah:


    A child who, after killing his father and mother, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he's an orphan.

    I wonder if my Kemper can profile the correct pronunciation of the 'ch' sound in the word Chutzpah. Probably gets the tone, but not the spittle running down my chin.

  • I’m going to chime, in agreement with others. It’s disingenuous for Friedman to accuse Kemper or Fractal of piracy. They actually invented something new. I build a lot of my own stuff. If anyone thinks they aren’t standing on another’s shoulders, then they’re full of themselves. There are only a handful of guitar amp circuits. All the rest are only modifications. There are only a handful of pedal fuzz, distortion, and OD designs. All of the rest are only modifications. Friedman makes nice amps. They are not original. They are modifications of originals. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of these guys are really good. But they shouldn’t be calling people pirates. Take away the (mostly) Marshall circuits in Friedman’s amps, and your left with silent cabinets. Speaking cabinets, look at his cabinets. Remind you of anything, lol? On the other hand, I’ll give credit where credit is due. I just went to his website. Good news! He has just invented the wah-wah pedal! (Heads-up Mr Plunkett!)

    When will my talent upgrade be released?