Hi,
I’m Joey from the Netherlands and picked up my Kemper rack this week.
I have been using modeling amps for quite a few years now but have owned a few valve amps in the past. I started gigging 12 years ago on a Peavey Valveking and soon after that I bought myself a Engl Powerball. That amp was really to my likings but damn they are heavy, especially in a flightcase. So when my band fell apart I sold that thing immediately because what’s the point of having a 100 watt valve amp if you only play it at home. So I came across the poor mans Kemper in 2015; the Digitech GSP1101. I still love the thing for what it can do and how versatile it is. With my recent band, we went in-wat and build 1 complete rack for the whole band and it’s just plug n play. The ability to load IR’s really is where it powers up.
I have been playing with a Line6 POD X3 in the past and to be honest, I really don’t understand the point of use heavy equipment which is a pain to transport twice a week. Besides the fact that in a metalband with 2 guitarists, the audience doesn’t even hear (or care) the difference.
I have been thinking to buy a Kemper for 2 years now. The thing that hold me off was it’s price compared to the GSP1101. I mean the GSP works and I bought 2 units and a floorboard for €500. One is stuck in our rack and I don’t have to botter taking it home every week.
But since we are all stuck at home and started to recordings I felt the GSP lacked something. For 3 months I have been asking myself if buying a kemper was valid enough for that little bit of extra. So I went to my boss and asked if he could payout 100 hours which I had saved over the years and he said yes. Valid reason for me to buy a Kemper and not breaking the bank.
I bought a non-powered version. My goal is to play in-ear only and never touch an amp or cab anymore.