Reasure me...

    Quote from kojak_

    higain patches are the trickiest to get right. if you tighten them up using advanced amp parameters, you'll get a cocked wah sound. remember the pick attack on the old boss COSM? most of the 'higain' profiles on the rigexchange are hopelessly overgained and sound mushy/fizzy as well. this is likely to get you dissapointed at first if you're used to the axe where you can turn any amp into a tight metal monster by adjusting the damping and transformer hipass frequency.
    good news is that if you start with a good profile of an amp dialed in and mic'ed properly, it'll sound just as good as the real thing.
    still, i really hope that an advanced parameter to get rid of this cocked wah sound when tweaking higain patches comes with the newer firmwares. something to control 'grain' of the distortion while tweaking would be a godsend.


    Don't get blinded by special names of advanced parameters. When you tweak a virtual transformer, you simply modify the frequency responce as with an equalizer. Use our Studio Equalizer on X Effext to control the high end.
    If you really need advanced parameters, I will grab some EQ configurations for you and give it different names :)
    Might be good for our marketing, since some say the Profiler does not allow deep editing.

    If you are playing many live gigs, I would be sure to verify you can adequately control the KPA and integrate it into your live rig.


    Many here still leave the KPA at home in the studio while we await the release of the official comprehensive KPA foot controller


    These threads have the most detailed info on KPA MIDI control
    http://kemper-amps.com/forum/i…ad&postID=42980#post42980
    http://kemper-amps.com/forum/i…2483&highlight=#post42483
    ====
    http://kemper-amps.com/forum/i…ad&threadID=3187&pageNo=1

    Here is an updated list including new CCs introduced in public beta 1.0.3


    Complete list of MIDI control change numbers (CC#s)


    #1 Pedal 1 (Wah Pedals)*
    #7 Pedal 2 (Volume Pedals)*
    #16 Stomp Invert**
    #17 Stomp A
    #18 Stomp B
    #19 Stomp C
    #20 Stomp D
    #23 Stomp X
    #24 Stomp MOD
    #26 Delay (mute trails)
    #27 Delay Mix (keep trails)
    #28 Reverb (mute trails)
    #29 Reverb Mix (keep trails)
    #30 TAP
    #31 Tuner select
    #33 Rotary Speaker (slow/fast)


    * since operating system 1.0.1 public beta
    **since operating system 1.0.3 public beta


    For further details regarding MIDI operations please refer to the KPA Reference Manual, which you can download from our support page.


    ==


    Still "missing in action" is the complete KPA MIDI Implementation Document - with all known NRPN messages for the Amp Gain and EQ controls.


    http://kemper-amps.com/forum/i…page=Thread&threadID=4866


    As a result, my KPA stays home in the studio , while the "stunt double" (POD HD500) goes to gigs.

    Ive used both a Kemper and an axefx2 through a Matrix GT1000fx and a 4x12 evh cab. IMHO The Kemper always sounds more full, bright and lively compared to a compressed 'blanket over the speakers' sound of the axefx2. In my experience the side by side comparison is quite dramatic in this type of set up.The Kemper also responds much more realistically to the type of guitar and how you play it.
    I always felt the axefx (both the current and previous versions) were unnaturally very forgiving and flattered your playing at the expense of losing personality and feel.
    As a stop gap for live use the behringer fcb1010 (with uno chip) works very well as an inexpensive foot controller for live use.

    Quote from Ace79

    Hey Guys,


    Thanks for all the great replies. So, is $1850 pretty much a firm price everywhere? is anybody budging on this? Any preferences on where to buy?

    I got mine from Sweetwater. They're very good guys and always on the up and up. They matched a JRRshop 15% off sale that was going on at the time. Initially I ordered it from JRR Shop, but it turned out they didn't have it in stock and their site wasn't designed to reflect the stock status. I was eager to get one so I cancelled my order went to Sweetwater. I'd try jrrshop.com again if they're having a sale, but call them direct and make sure they have it, don't use the site.


    It turned out they ended up getting it shortly after so check out jrrshop.com too as the owner is always having a really good sale on things. I'm sure they'll be doing a Labor Day 15% off sale. Sweetwater is the place to go if you have a lot of questions, but tbh, there was a little resistance getting them to match the sale price... and the guy I bought from is an old friend and bandmate. (No we left each other on very good terms. :rolleyes: )


    As for the reliability and quality of the Kemper, it seems very solid to me. I had it freeze once on startup, but that was before I installed the latest firmware. Since then I've not had a single issue. I've never owned an Axe FX, but I've played with one and listened to many examples and it always stuck me as a very good "amp modeler." The Kemper is different technology and sounds different. It doesn't sound like a "modeler." It sounds like an amp.

    Thanks zerocrossing,
    That's what I wanted to hear. I have a good contact at JRR shop, bought a Peluso mic and a few other things from them and good experiences, so I will call them first.

    Quote from Ace79

    Thanks zerocrossing,
    That's what I wanted to hear. I have a good contact at JRR shop, bought a Peluso mic and a few other things from them and good experiences, so I will call them first.

    Yeah, I had a good back and forth with the owner of JRR and he's ga-ga over the Kemper. It was up between the Kemper and Line6's POD HD500/DT25 for me and he steered me toward the Kemper. They could have sold me either and the Line6 rig would have been a bigger sale, so I felt his opinion was based on his personal preference. In the end I think I made the right decision for sure.