AXE user looking to try this thing out...

    Hi all!


    Ive had an Axe Std (and now AxeII) for about 2 yrs. Love it. No real complaints. Love the MFC controller, love AxeEdit (when it works..). I am pretty happy with it. But you know how it goes as a musician, always trying new things.


    However, curiosity is getting the better of me and based on a) the great opinions about its out of the box sounds, and b) EASIER TWEAKING OF PRESETS, im considering trying out a KPA. Gotta see what the fuss is about!


    I think it will suit me well because I play pretty straightforward rigs- amp/cab, maybe a stomp, delay/verb, and occasionally chorus and univibe. So I dont think Id suffer from the fewer FX in the KPA at all.


    but here are the things that make me think i couldnt really practically make use of it- im hoping people who have been using it for a while can suggest methods or enlighten me to what might be coming down the road.


    1) Footswitch capability- can i use my MFC 101? Would there be any problems? Can I use CAT5 for connectivity, or must I use MIDI?


    2) Software editor/librarian. while no doubt the KPA seems FAR easier to dial in, and has a much better organize set of controls, I like tuning with my computer and organizing patches there. Any plans for this?


    3) USB sound card. I really like that the Axe can do this. I can play along with tunes through my headphones at night when the kiddies are asleep and not need to worry about an external interface. Any updates expected in this area? this one is huge for me- fixable of course with an interface, but would be nice to have integrated.


    In spite of these Im probably going to give it a spin- but any info would be helpful!


    Thanks so much in advance!

    I used to use the Axe II but found I really didn't use half of the options it came with. I pretty much use straight forward effects and a few amp tones.
    I tried the KPA and found it was much easier to dial in using the existing profiles available than the Axe. I now have over 2000+ although I had to weed through
    them to get the amps I liked. I am down to about 900 in the unit and that can be trimmed a lot more.
    Not having the editor isn't much of an issue although it would be great. KPA has added a favorite list and you can also use the snapshot function to save
    a handful of amps you really like.
    What sold me was the feel and dynamics of this unit. It just feels right. Most user profiles only needed minor tweaks to get where I wanted them.
    The effects are great. Love the reverb and delay. The profiled pedals available are also killer.


    You will need a sound card of some sort into your DAW, also the MFC would be setup using MIDI.

    Hi,
    The MFC works fine with the KPA via midi, but not with the cat 5 cable.
    I dont think there are any plans for either an editor or a usb interface.
    There has been a lot of talk about the possibility of a librarian, but honestly the interface is so easy an editor would actually be more fiddly to use than the unit itself.

    Quote from sheguitarplayer

    Hi,
    The MFC works fine with the KPA via midi, but not with the cat 5 cable.
    I dont think there are any plans for either an editor or a usb interface.
    There has been a lot of talk about the possibility of a librarian, but honestly the interface is so easy an editor would actually be more fiddly to use than the unit itself.


    Good to know about the librarian.. if the front panel is intuitive enough i may not need this crutch.



    Good to know also the mfc works well-- too bad about the usb but thats a small issue in the grand scheme of things.



    PS if there are any that have tried both units extensively please PM me with your thoughts-- i dont want to ask for public comparisons because (at least on tgp) those end up out of control!!

    Eye,


    I was one of the first guys to get an axe ultra when they came out and I gigged with it for 2 years.
    I just bought a Kemper and it will be here tomorrow. I'll report my findings as soon as I had some time to screw around with it over the weekend.
    I will give a very unbiased review since I am VERY familiar with the AXE-FX .


    With that said I got rid of my AXE because every time Cliff came out with a new version I had to re-tweak my sounds and that got to be a HUGE PITA.
    I don't think I had the same sound at any of my gigs in the 2 years that I played out with the AXE . I was to busy tweaking and trying new amp models which all my presets essentially started to all sound the same regardless of what amp model I was using
    because of how I programmed the thing hahahaha(until the next update came out that is lol )


    I got tired of tweaking and to be honest with you, I was always trying to get my AXE to sound like my regular rig, so this is why I'm now trying the Kemper.
    It just seems like a better/easier way to get WHAT I want out of a modelor.


    I like the idea of being able to profile my amp instead of trying to replicate it with the endless tweaking I had to do with the AXE.


    (not a dig on the axe-fx.. I think it's a killer piece, it's just that if things work out like I plan, I'm pretty sure the Kemper will suit me better)

    Quote from Gainfreak

    With that said I got rid of my AXE because every time Cliff came out with a new version I had to re-tweak my sounds and that got to be a HUGE PITA.
    I don't think I had the same sound at any of my gigs in the 2 years that I played out with the AXE . I was to busy tweaking and trying new amp models which all my presets essentially started to all sound the same regardless of what amp model I was using
    because of how I programmed the thing hahahaha(until the next update came out that is lol )


    Agree on that PITA assessment. Every time i raise it at the Fractal Forum people jump all over you "oh its not that big of a deal", "oh my patches sounded better without any changing", "oh have you looked at the Wiki" :) Cliff gets his butt kissed so widely there, I dont think he will ever give FW updates that dont require re-configuration, because so many chime in on his defense and he probably thinks most users are OK with it.



    I would miss the MFC/Axe integration- that is really nice. But again, not an insurmountable problem.

    Quote from eyeguy

    Agree on that PITA assessment. Every time i raise it at the Fractal Forum people jump all over you "oh its not that big of a deal", "oh my patches sounded better without any changing", "oh have you looked at the Wiki" :) Cliff gets his butt kissed so widely there, I dont think he will ever give FW updates that dont require re-configuration, because so many chime in on his defense and he probably thinks most users are OK with it.




    I would miss the MFC/Axe integration- that is really nice. But again, not an insurmountable problem.

    It was/is a HUGE PITA and it is a BIG deal. When I used the Axe I spent hours getting things right and by the time I did that there was a "NEW" software version ready. Now, I totally appreciated the hard work that went into those updates and it was really great for him to keep adding new stuff, but just when I got things worked out the curiosity got the better of me , so then Id always go ahead and update the thing only to find all my patches hosed. Once that happened id only have the option to go back to a previous version that I was happy with, that might of had bugs in it that were fixed, or id usually suck it up and fix my patches which never came out the same hahaha. Well that got old QUICK.


    I hear you about that forum. It's almost cult like in my humble opinion and GOD forbid you you say something that goes against the grain. ?( :cursing:

    sooner or later there will be a kemper specific floor-controller which does the job, is powered via cat-5, 2way-communication, all you need.
    then sell your bulky, heavy, expensive mfc and just get the kemper controller and a nice bottle of scotch without any loss... : )

    Quote from kilihahn

    sooner or later there will be a kemper specific floor-controller which does the job, is powered via cat-5, 2way-communication, all you need.
    then sell your bulky, heavy, expensive mfc and just get the kemper controller and a nice bottle of scotch without any loss... : )

    that would be cool-- any rough idea when this is expected?

    Man,


    The amount of guys switching from the snax to the KPA is growing by the day.
    And I thought I was one of the few that did not like the FW tweak issues, the ball licking fanboyism, the agressivenes of moderation, the II introduction meltdown, etc. etc. etc.


    Funny to encounter the same faces here after I was permanently banned from the FAS forum already more then a year ago. Nice to see you guys here!


    Enjoy your new toys! And please be more "fully grown manly" here


    And sorry to Cliff for me refusing putting him on a statue. And never forget that the biggest invention ever for humanity is the sewer system. The rest is just toys for boys.


    Edited 3 times, last by DADA ().

    To be brutally honest with you it took a long time for good clips to come out from the A/F camp. I was there from the beginning and there were more crap clips coming out of that box then good (all IMHO)
    I noticed people to getting great sounds from the Kemper as soon as the Kempers started taking off which told me right away that there is something to this thing. Cliff can spout data sheets all day long and try and run a smear campaign against the Kemper crew all he want's. At the end of the day, people will use their ears and i personally think the Kemper sounds better based on the clips I've heard. That's just my opinion but Lord help me if I said that on the AF forum. With that said, I'll be able to make a more intelligent decision after I get mine and run it through its paces and I'll give the same honest opinion as Ive always have.


    Id also like to mention that Cliff did hook me up with a great deal on the AXE-FX and I must have thanked him a handful of times in public and I never once was acknowledged for it. I just brushed it off that he might not have seen my posts thanking him but if I'm being honest, The guys is brilliant at what he does but his people skills blow donkey balls. I've come to realize that Tom King was the real deal and it was more then likely him who told Cliff to hook me up and I believe Tom was/is more responsible for the AXE taking off then anyone else in my humble opinion. I love Tom and wish him the best. One day Cliffs rude behavior will bite him in the ass, as I'm sure my big mouth might come back and bite me in the ass, but at least I'm honest. 8) :D

    Edited 2 times, last by Gainfreak ().

    Agree on the general attitude of Cliff. Very similiar to Jay Mitchell. Very smart guys, and a subtle arrogance underlies many of thier posts. Sometimes not so subtle. I think the blatant a$$ kissing has gone to his head, and he seems to look down on his customers. People run to his defense and say "who cares, look how great the Axe is!" But those little things do matter, and can leave a bad taste in ppls mouths.


    As I said I do love the Axe, and it really isnt lacking anything i need (although some frustrations in UI, FW update compatibility, AxeEdit)... and while Cliff's general attitude kinda sucks, I DO love the product. But Im also looking to give the Kemper a spin, as I am certainly not an axe-for-life club member.

    Quote from eyeguy

    Agree on the general attitude of Cliff. Very similiar to Jay Mitchell. Very smart guys, and a subtle arrogance underlies many of thier posts. Sometimes not so subtle. I think the blatant a$$ kissing has gone to his head, and he seems to look down on his customers. People run to his defense and say "who cares, look how great the Axe is!" But those little things do matter, and can leave a bad taste in ppls mouths.


    As I said I do love the Axe, and it really isnt lacking anything i need (although some frustrations in UI, FW update compatibility, AxeEdit)... and while Cliff's general attitude kinda sucks, I DO love the product. But Im also looking to give the Kemper a spin, as I am certainly not an axe-for-life club member.

    Well It has been confirmed that Cliff did not see my posts over the years, so I owe him an apology. Sorry Cliff 8)
    With that said, I still agree there is still most definitely a subtle or not so subtle arrogance in many of their post. At the end of the day I'm just happy that we have so many killer products available. I wish both the Kemper and A/F crew much continued success.
    I get the Kemper today. I'll put it through the paces and report back. If it does what I hope it will do, I'll have some live video of it when I play out with it. I don't see a lot of videos of the Kemper being used in a live band situation and hopefully I can change that.


    All the best!


    ~R~

    man its so hard to get a true unbiased opinion, so really looking fwd to yours.


    what im mainly curious about is-- yes- the kpa should sound better out of the box, because its profiled to an amp which has been dialed in with gain/tone controls. Its snapshotting someone elses already achieved great tone.


    Axe requires you to dial in a sound, much like you would on a real new amp- you cant turn on a new amp and not look at the dials of course.


    So my main question is-- given an EASY, small amount of tweaking using just the gain/tone controls on the Axe, can the KPA sound/feel better than the Axe. Screw all the deep amp editing features in the Axe (which drive me nuts- the documentation on what these do is AWFUL). With that in mind, hopefully you can shed some light!!

    I will most definitely give you a totally unbiased review but it will only be based on my opinion.
    I think some people forget to mention it's their OPINION when review something hahaha!


    I know what it is that I loved about the AXE-FX and I also know what I didn't like about it but we are all different. What might not have worked for me might have been a God-send for someone else :D

    Make sure you download the user high gain rigs gainfreak. There are tons of modded Marshall's, friedmans, 5153's, stellar diezel patches, fortins etc. also tills cabs, but I'm sure you are aware of all of this.

    Quote from VESmedic1

    Make sure you download the user high gain rigs gainfreak. There are tons of modded Marshall's, friedmans, 5153's, stellar diezel patches, fortins etc. also tills cabs, but I'm sure you are aware of all of this.

    Will do!


    I'm thinking that this is going to be a pretty sleepless weekend lol :D
    The Kemper just rolled in from Fed-ex 8o :thumbup: