Want to buy the Kemper Stage / Rack ...but..

  • I am a tube amp user but..as we are expecting a baby i will need to change the setup of my playing ( sell my amp) as i will need to practise only late evening / nights but also i will need something to carry with me for rehearsals .


    I am torn between the Kemper Stage or Toaster or Rack but also i have some other questions .


    1. I have only one Electric guitar which is tuned in standard and in one band we use a lot of downtunings (1 tone - 2 tone down) . How is the transpose effect in kemper? it works well or will i have to use an external pedal like digitech drop?


    2. If i am right the kemper came out in 2011 which is 10 years ago. How Kemper tones compare to Axe Fx II or III, Helix and Quad Cortex? (Amp Wise) . Is the Kemper in the end of its life cycle?


    3. The effects i will need to use are Drive, Fuzz, Delay and Reverb (Spring most of the times) . How are those effects in the Kemper quality wise compared to the other Modellers etc?

    (Drives, Fuzzes, Delays and verbs).


    4. As far as i know the Kemper doesn t work like a soundcard. I know that i can run backing tracks for practise through the aux in / FX Returns. How is the quality through these?. Please note that i will use the Kemper only through HEadphones when in Home. In Studio i will connect it to PA Speakers. The Headphones i have are Sennheiser HD600 (300ohm) Can the kemper drive those Cans?


    5. Are here any people that like NEil Young Tone (Crazy Horse Fender 5e3 Melt Distortion) . Any particular Profile that can you point me into to hear? I am really iterested in that tone. Also i Love the Plexi sound and AC30.


    6. If i will Go Kemper Stage will i miss something from the Toaster or Rack Version that i should look into? If i rememeber correctly when the Stage came out there were a lot of people reporting problems with the hardware. Are those problems still exist?


    7. How is the Kemper Stage using it live or in Studio Rehearsal?


    Please note that this thread is not about comparing the current guitar playing solutions in the market but for me to make the right choice. Apparently i am not able to try any of those units in my area so i am trying to make my decision by asking and collecting feedback .


    Thanks in advance

  • 2. The Kemper software is updated. I have the helix and a Stage. Both serve me well. I find the Kemper sounds better.


    3. Effects are fine, no complaints so far


    4. No problem. I’ve done this before. Yes it’ll sound fine in those HD600 headphones


    6. Never had a hardware issue so far. forums are not a good indication - there would be thousands of users out in the world without issues who won’t post on forums. has pretty much all the same features plus a few the larger units don’t have.


    7. Fine. Studio very easy when on headphones. Rehearsal when using a powered speaker may need some tweaking of the Output EQ and levels etc but that’s the same for every digital system.

  • ps. For sounds examples check out my YouTube channel (just search Dave Banen). The most recent posts for Next To Normal and Priscilla are all Kemper. Earlier ones are Helix.

  • My Kemper powered rack is Heaven in the daytime with a Kabinet and/or studio monitors, and total bliss at night time with headphones (and I crank them).


    You can continue to use the Kemper for the next 50 years and it will always make good tone. You don't get rid of an amp or guitar just because it is 10 years old. I have a Marshall amp from 1985 and it still sounds like the day it was made.


    The Kemper is both a live tool and a studio tool. It excels in both worlds.


    The Axe is nice but more expensive in the long run, and you don't get the community support like with Kemper. The Axe is also is more difficult to dial in tones, but in then end they both achieve the same thing. The Axe just takes longer to get there.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • 1. I have only one Electric guitar which is tuned in standard and in one band we use a lot of down tunings (1 tone - 2 tone down) . How is the transpose effect in Kemper? it works well or will i have to use an external pedal like Digitech drop?

    I primarily play along with songs on my stereo at home. I use the transpose function when I play all the time to play along with songs that are tuned down a half step and I love it. I have it built as a stomp in a few of my profiles so I can just tap a button on my foot controller and go.

  • I primarily play along with songs on my stereo at home. I use the transpose function when I play all the time to play along with songs that are tuned down a half step and I love it.

    Instead of transposing the guitar I transpose or fine tune the track I am playing along to using Transcribe! From seventhstring.com It is a fantastic little software app that makes learning and playing along to track super easy.


    Why not just use transpose on the Kemper? Because I can still hear the guitar strings at their natural pitch along with the transposed tones from the KPA. Having everything doubled a semitone apart can be a real pain in the backside ?

  • Instead of transposing the guitar I transpose or fine tune the track I am playing along to using Transcribe! From seventhstring.com It is a fantastic little software app that makes learning and playing along to track super easy.


    Why not just use transpose on the Kemper? Because I can still hear the guitar strings at their natural pitch along with the transposed tones from the KPA. Having everything doubled a semitone apart can be a real pain in the backside ?

    My music is entirely on mp3 these days. Before I got my Kemper I either changed the key of the mp3 with Pitch Switch or switched guitars since I always kept one guitar tuned down a half step (still, a hassle to switch guitars). At the volume I play you cannot hear the strings over the din. When I listen to AC/DC so do my neighbors. I will check out Transcribe for those songs that aren't exactly in standard or exactly one half step down. Pitch Switch does not offer any fine adjustment that I can recall.

  • I primarily play along with songs on my stereo at home. I use the transpose function when I play all the time to play along with songs that are tuned down a half step and I love it. I have it built as a stomp in a few of my profiles so I can just tap a button on my foot controller and go.

    Please tell me how to set this up? Is it an "effect" what is it called?

  • The KPA will provide you with great tone for decades to come. I wouldn't worry about it being obsolete any more than you would worry about your Les Paul being obsolete in 10 years ;).


    The stage has features that are not present in the toaster and rack versions and is less expensive than either of those options once you add in a foot controller (that isn't needed with the stage). I prefer a rack version with an external foot controller to minimize the cable mess on stage near my feet at the performance position. YMMV.


    Transpose works fine IMO; however, the latency drives me crazy. I have heard that it is about the same latency as other efx units that do the same thing. If you are used to it from your current setup, you will likely be OK with the KPAs implementation. As others have stated, I keep 2 guitars on stage. One standard tuning, the other Drop D. Anything else needed and we change the key of the original and/or use a Capo.


    The KPA is well known for capturing tube amp sound more so than any other digital solution. If you are an efx junkie, the Axe III Fx has more and better (in some areas) efx and routing capabilities. The efx in the KPA are really good though. As good as any solution for reverb and delay IMO. The new fuzz and distortions (which I haven't had that much time to fiddle with) are also pretty top-of-the-line. The phase/chorus/flanger stuff is being updated and I would rate the current implementation as "Ok".

  • The phase/chorus/flanger stuff is being updated


    Can we take it as a Leak...?:)

    I believe that CK confirmed that an update would be made to these time based effects back when we were still awaiting the new reverbs. I haven't heard anything recent.


    The order was (If I recall correctly):


    1) Delays

    2) Reverbs

    3) Drive/Fuzz

    4) Phase/Chorus/Flanger


    Since 1-3 are done (and quite amazing I might add), I can only assume that we will see 4 in the next few months.