May I buy the AxeFxIII for high gain? Or a pedal?

  • Hi!

    I use the Kemper now for several years and have my own since early 2020. I’m perfectly pleased with single coil cleans to mid gain sounds, but I REALLY struggle to find something THAT good for high gain tones.

    The notes don’t « sing » and it’s always a little bit too much fizzy. Even when I push the mids it’s always like the fondamental profiles are V shaped.


    of course many amps have that pronounced highs, so it’s from the profiles. But I can’t get any profile that sound like a nice high gain amp. I mean it’s powerful and saturated but rarely harsh and fizzy.


    I follow Bret Kingman and Leon Todd on YouTube and those guys can have high gain tones within minutes of small tweaking… so maybe should I get an AxeFxIII and compare both myself side by side (I already had an AxeFxIII but in bad conditions, could only listen to it with earbuds and with a 7 string guitar and found the clean sounds a little bit to sterile at this time)


    And of course I tried sinmix and have pretty all the best profiles on the market.

  • So what is your real question here?


    You can in my mind get great high gain profiles for the KPA. They do exist and many people ( myself included) are happy. I suspect its a set up issue or monitoring.


    Are you asking if the Axe does better high gain sounds?


    Are you asking if a pedal will solve your problem?

  • Better is subjective and although there are some users on here with both that can give their views.


    I think you have an inherent issue prior to trying to e.q. it out. I don;t e.q .anything significantly. I think you need to look at base level set up before going mad with eq or putting a pedal in front.


    I would suggest:

    • Check your monitoring ( same issue with headphones)?
    • Use multiple profiles from various sources - I find Sinmix a bit thin and arguably harsh ( which I think you said you did)

    Rather than e.q, I know few people use high and low pass filters..

  • The sounds you get from commercial profilers and from Rig Exchange are made from amps that have been tweaked with various purposes in mind and you might find them inappropriate if you try to use them for a different purpose than what was intended from the creator. For example, if you use profiles made with a live sound in mind, you might find them too muddy and not clear enough once you lower their volume and try to record with them. Getting an Axe FX or other gear won't solve someone's misunderstanding of acoustic properties, which I feel it at the core of most sonic problems people run into with the Kemper. They often pick a flashy sound on rig exchange or from a commercial profiler that sounds great on youtube and then show up at rehearsal, the volume goes up and it's being played through a different system with a less/more neutral sound and all of a sudden their nice profile sounds terrible. If you don't want to make your own profiles, the solution is just to try a lot of profiles in a variety of different sonic situations and on different systems (headphones/in-ears/studio speakers/FRFR). Also, since you're talking about harsh and fizzy - you can try to isolate sounds from recordings if you can to see what you should aim for - it can be pretty eye-opening to see how a sound can be great in a mix and not so great in isolation.

  • Tone is incredibly subjective and one man’s better is another man’s horrible.


    I have absolutely no doubt that the Kemper can produce high gain tones that are as good as anything out there. I also have no doubt the AxeFX/Helix/QC can all produce similarly awesome tones. Which is better is simply personal taste. The main reasons to choose one over the other are features and workflow.


    The grass always seems greener on the other side.


    Just as an example, the most hyped piece of gear on the market just now is the Quad Cortex. So many people have been saying that it captures amps more accurately than the Kemper for both tone and feel/response. However, I watched a blind test video the other day (Tone Wars) where three different guitarists (all high gain players) each profiled an amp of their choice on both the KPA and QC. Then they played each along with a song and in isolation. At the beginning they were all expecting to see the new Kemper Killer reign supreme. However, when the scores were tallied an the amps revealed, all three had chosen the KPA as being closest in sound and feel to the real amp. These were all high gain players testing high gain sounds.


    As I was watching the video, I kept choosing the same amp as they did and this became even more so the longer I had to listen. The QC became more and more tiring and ice picky the longer I listened.


    Basically, the KPA can do high gain as well as anything its just a matter of personal taste which system suits your needs best. Remember, we are all guitarists and we are all suckers for new gear but in reality the gear we already have is almost always capable of much more than WE are.

  • AxeFX isn’t better. It’s different.


    If you *like* that difference…..then it’s better.


    But the list of touring acts that use the Kemper to get super high-gain sounds is quite long.

    Buy a pedal. Buying an AxeFX for basically one thing is like buying a Ferrari only to get groceries living in downtown.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • I think what you might be looking for to get notes to sing at high gain with good harmonic resonance is to just put a Lead Booster in the stomp section of a high-gain profile. The Tone parameter is uber sensitive, and you have Mix % and Volume to shape how you like the guitar to sing and dance.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • If you really want people to help here you should tell more about your setup and also provide some examples of the tones and uses you are looking for.


    And you will likely get ways of getting what you need from the Kemper. Don't expect people here to come and tell you to go and buy an AXE-FX.


    My point of view is that with any device you can get any tone you want. Nowadays it is more about the workflow and the experience one has with the device than the real capabilities that they have. Because all of them are very good.

  • ... Also, since you're talking about harsh and fizzy - you can try to isolate sounds from recordings if you can to see what you should aim for - it can be pretty eye-opening to see how a sound can be great in a mix and not so great in isolation.

    This!

    There are free / sample high gain profiles out there from people who definitely know how to make great rigs that work in a mix or in a live situation.


    So it is possible that the sound you are looking for is not matching with profiles created by some of this pro profilers. In this case it may also be possible that it would be easier for you to tweak and find YOUR sound on the AXE-FX. If this then is a "good" sound that works in a mix is a total different thing.


    Before buying an AXE I would try to experiment with a few profiles using different cabs and some IR. You can use the same IR from a tone you like or you would use with the AXE for example.

  • Yes you may buy the Axe!


    Get an Axe Fx and see for yourself. We can all tell you that the KPA does a killer job creating high gain tones, but you are the ultimate judge of your own sound. I got the KPA, profiled my own amps and they are the primary profiles that I use, but some of the profiles that I have installed are killer and I play high gain stuff.


    YOU ARE YOUR OWN JUDGE.

  • I always recommend to playback your favorite band via your monitoring system - do you like the sound?

    Then your monitoring system is able to create what you like.


    The next step is to playback some profile demo's e.g. from commercial profile sellers via your monitoring system - do you like the sound?

    Then you need just other profiles - or learn how to tweak the ones you own with the many KPA tweaking features.


    If this all does not work - try other gear - there are so many options available - use what you like most :)

    (All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with soundside.de)


    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

  • I know what you mean by « v shape ». I feel it too on high gain.


    Never had an axe so can’t really tell but for my ears, the axe is more « studio sound ready » as the kemper is better at « real amp mic-ed sound ».


    For the treble thing I had great results by lowering the gain on amp block and boosting with the « pushing Mars » with OCD distortion.


    The kemper have so many ways to get the sound you want, you really have to get into it.

  • If you're dissapointed with what you already got, you will be dissapointed with an axefx too. Have you recorded yourself and listened? You will hear things differently if you record your self. Either solo or with your band or with some drum plugin. Leave it for a couple of days and listen again. Maybe it's no so bad after all? Do your guitar(s)have a proper setup? Maybe you only have too low action? That will make any sound fizzy and harsh.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • I have yet to hear a high-gain tone on youtube or on an album, CD, etc. that does not have top end fizz. The fizz is most prominent when using good quality studio monitors or studio headphones. Just listen to the top-end fizz on one of the greatest high gain solos of all time -- Eruption. When the drums and cymbals kick in then the fizz gets countered and almost totally disappears, then it's back again with just the guitar.


    IMO, the reason you hear the fizz is because of how a mic interprets the compressed sound which is way different than human ears. I had struggled with this myself until I really paid attention to guitar recordings in and out of mixes. I never noticed fizz in songs before but I never listened to music with proper recording equipment before either. Every recording was made with a mic so there is no way getting around it unless you strictly limit yourself to playing un-mic'd which is nearly impossible and not much fun for an audience.


    Technology may gets mics closer to the human ear for high-gain in the near future, but I imagine that once in a mix, the sound engineer may have to use a fizz plugin to make it sound the way we are used to??


    BTW, I tried a Helix out and dumped that thing fast after 2 weeks. Kemper is a dream!

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • I owned an Axe3 rack and the FM3 versions for a while. Re-sold the axe rack and returned the FM3. I really liked their high distortion type sounds. They felt great but... they all kinda sounded and felt the same to me and their slight break up and crunch sounds didn't do it for me but....


    For my Kemper I was getting some weird fuzziness, don't know how else to describe it, at times. It didn't feel awesome to me for heavy distortion. I thought it might be my mixer or I had phase issues (was running a parallel signal path in my rack going from the Kemper monitor out and sometimes split the direct outs, was trying all kinds of stuff with my routing and external rack gear and pedals for a time).


    At any rate what did it for me was just running some OD and distortion pedals in front of the Kemper. Gave it a feel I liked better, same with compression too BTW. Right now I'm running a Keeley tone workstation in-front of my Kemper and love it. Also an Origin Effects revival drive. I know the Kemper can do great OD, distortion and compression pedal effects too but I really like using those external pedals in front of it. My current goto high gain profile is the free one from Bert Meulendijk called Gainland.

    Edited 2 times, last by DCDave07 ().

  • i own the Axe 3 and Kemper Stage and for me both devices are killers,but since i get my Kemper Stage i havent touch the Axe 3 in weeks,Kemper can give you awesome high tones you just need to find the right profiles.

    Guitar: Fender Strat HSS<3 Schecter Custom Solo II

    Signal Chain: Kemper->AxeFX 3>Neural QC>Apollo Twin->M-Audio Monitors

    Computer:Mac Studio

  • I think people need to know how you're listening to your Kemper. Guitar cab? PA? Studio monitors? Kabinet? Headphones? High volume? Bedroom level?


    All of these will determine what you should expect to hear.