Hi Guys.
Before I get into the questions, I will list some background so you can get an idea where I'm coming from.
I've been a gigging amateur sometimes professional musician for nearly 30 years. I've played for audiences from 5 to 50,000 (When opening for headliners).
For the first 15 years I was a starving musician and had terrible but dependable cheap gear. I have literally played arenas with just a Peavey Bandit and a Boss chorus.
I was never a tube snob or a "vintage is always better" guy.
As I have gotten older and music became a hobby, I played 4-5 local shows a month. I've also been afforded better gear, but I also am a realist and have not seen the value in lugging in a ton of gear into a bar only to have to carry it out at the end of the night after I'm exhausted and half drunk. I've had a Bogner and a Boogie dual rec and wow those things are awesome but a bear to move and maintain. I also love a tele through a tweed, but limiting musically and still heavy and somewhat less bulky. I want it all.
What I am about to say may cause controversy, but I'm a grown man and can handle the flames. But I sold a dual rec and a pedalboard full of various effects and 4x12 to scale down to a Johnson Millenium JM150 Digital amplifier 2x12 (If anyone remembers those) and was in love. It was easy to program and sounded great. With my eyes closed, my rec models sounded very much like my real Boogie, but it breathed differently. I even bought a used spare as a backup. The first died a terrible death in a vehicle accident and the other died in the middle of a gig but luckily the preamp out still worked long enough to finish. I had difficulty getting the Johnson repaired seeing as how they went out business 15 years ago.
So I quickly purchased a Line 6 HD500 and a Tech 21 Powerengine 60 to get me through the rest of my gigs that year and then kind of retired from playing.
However I hate the sounds from the HD500. It sounds OK. but where the Johnson sounded like a princeton, a JCM 800, AC etc. The HD unit sounds just OK. The PE60 amp though has impressed me.
I'm getting the itch, and once Covid is over I think I'm gonna start gigging again.
If I start gigging again, its not for the money, its strictly for enjoyment. I want my rig to sound AMAZING through the mains, while satisfying to me on stage without lugging around a ton of gear. I need it to be flexible and be able to play a wide range of music and be configurable for nights when everything goes wrong. I also want to plug it in at home and get a grin on my face cranking either in the PE 60 or an old Marshall 2x12 cab I still have.
I have seen enough believers to feel that the Kemper is the way to go. but which one?
I LOVE the idea of the Stage running into my PE60, but I've heard that the PE 60 colors the sound. I'm willing to switch out the speaker to the kemper kone if that fits the bill.
A very big concern with that setup is that I need to know my presets are near to perfect before my gigs. I can't be doing a lot of tweaking on stage so I need an accurate representation of the sounds my audiences will hear.
If I got a small FRFR PA speaker to go with it, does it give that personal satisfaction when cranking it up at home?
Is the powered Kemper more fitting? Can it sound good through my big Marshall cab? This seems less advantageous as far as small gear footprint for live.
I don't have unlimited money and can't afford to buy three different combinations for home vs live.
Apologies for the long winded list of questions, experience has taught me to learn from others and not just make blind purchases.
TIA