Aye but she doesn't know that!
(I jest... she knows the full story)
Posts by drew_fx
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Congrats then.
But does your wife already know you will crank the profiler?
Wont be as loud as a valve amp and a 2x12 or 4x12 -
LOL. I know I know... GAS the ever-lurking demon.
The wife offered to buy it for me, I didn't pressure her. She basically said she realises I wont be able to crank my valve amp in the new flat, and that she wants me to be happy. So she sees it as an investment in the new flat as much as anything. We're gonna pick it up on Saturday I think. I will evaluate them both side by side hardcore for the next few months, and make a decision. Will be interesting.
As I said; I just want a simpler workflow, but I have to know the tones are there.
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Well... I think I married the perfect girl! She said she'll buy me a Kemper to throw up against my Axe FX for a few months, so I can evaluate them side by side. Found one 2nd hand local to me, and picking it up on Saturday.
Wowzers.
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Well... I'm really happy with my live rig. Which is currently:
Amp: Diezel D-Moll
Cab: Egnater 4x12 with v30's
Pedalboard: Ernie Ball volume pedal + Dunlop 535Q wah + 808 tubescreamer clone + TC Nova Modulator + Line 6 M9So I don't especially care about using either the Axe FX II or the Kemper in a live situation. My main concerns are about having high-quality modelled tones for bedroom writing and recording sessions.
The Kemper appeals because I've gone through a lot of real world valve amps in my time, and some of them I really miss. Being able to have quality clones of them for nostalgia sake would be awesome. It also appeals to me because I can just reach out and grab the gain knob, the volume knob, the bass+mid+treble+presence knobs... and don't really have to mess around too much designing presets and screwing around with midi footpedals. That isn't really what I want to do with my free time. I just want to put down a bunch of guitar tracks with as minimum a fuss as possible.
I don't care about reamping. I don't care about being able to edit my effects after recording, or changing the tone after recording. Essentially I want the "I'm recording a real amp" experience as much as I possibly can have it in a small home studio bedroom sized room.
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How much of a "beating" would you take on the sale of the AxeFx?
If it's not much, and you could score a used KPA, the "rental fee" for trying the Kemper might be worth the peace of mind.
Otherwise, just wait until you've bought the house and go with the trial period.
If you are just interested in terrific sound and feel, the Kemper can't be beat...maybe equaled...maybe not. The effects are very nice and continually evolving. The workflow is sublimely simple, and, generally you can find a rig on the exchange (or paid) that will get you so close that minimal adjustments are all that are required.
Well I bought my Axe FX b-stock, so I can sell it for what it cost me. Chances are if I wanted to go back in the future though, I'd struggle to get another at the price I got it for. -
Unfortunately I cannot swing a card charge to get a 30 day trial. The wife and I are in the process of buying a house, so this is all really tricky in that respect!
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I feel a bit dubious starting this thread here, because I reckon I already know what you all are going to say!! Should I part-ex my Axe FX II for a Kemper?
It's something that has been on my mind for the past few days. I initially bought the Axe FX II and a Marshall Valvestate poweramp in an attempt to go fully digital for live performance. I don't like playing IR's through FRFR solutions, so the idea was to go through my 4x12 guitar cab and use the Axe as a preamp. I ended up not liking the Valvestate, and I have the Axe sounding good through the effects return of my Diezel D-Moll. But it's a Diezel D-Moll, such a crackin' amp! The Diezel snags 1st prize for tone over the Axe FX... and really, what's the point in using the Axe into the FX return of one of the best amps I've ever played? There is no point... just use the Diezel for live performance and forgetting going Axe for live.
Which leaves home recording. I've been using the Axe FX II for home recording since April and have by and large really been enjoying it. I like the Diezel models, the Bogner models, the Mesa Boogie models, a couple of the Marshall ones, and the Mesa 400 bass preamps. All in all... I'm getting pretty decent tones. But I do wish it were quicker. I don't like to tweak, and there are a bunch of amps I'd really like to have that the Axe FX does not have, and there are a bunch in there that I will never use.
The user interface of the Axe is quite daunting, even after all this time. I can get around on it no problem, but find myself tweaking parameter after parameter. I don't think the effects in it are particularly special. I prefer my Boss, TC Electronic, and Line 6 pedals (no really I do!!) because they're much more hands on and I can just grab a knob and turn it. So right now I pretty much only use the amp and cab block in the Axe.All in all... the Axe doesn't give me the tactile working environment that I really love from pedals and real amps. Even when I use the software, it feels like I'm using a super shit-hot plugin rather than an external bit of gear. I can't fault the sounds from the box at all. I started off on firmware 14, and then very quickly went to firmware 15. So I don't know what it was like in the early days, but these tones are great.
Now, I had a Kemper once. It lasted a few days before I sent it back. I liked the workflow and user interface of the unit, and I found it a doddle to use. But at the time I did not want all that money tied up in the Kemper as well as a high-end valve amp (Marshall Satriani JVM at the time!) but that situation has changed somewhat and it no longer irks me to the level that it used to. Everything has it's place I suppose. So partly it was that, and partly it was also that the included profiles didn't do much for me. I didn't want to risk running past my no-fuss return date, and so shipped it back. Again, I was thinking to use it for live use.
But right now, I am perfectly happy to use a real valve amp for live use. I'm focusing purely on studio recording. I want a fast user experience where I don't have to worry about going through hundreds and hundreds of IR's, or tweaking endless lists of parameters. That part of the Kemper appeals to me. In my head, I'd profile my Diezel D-Moll every-which-way-but-Sunday, and use that for home recording. But I'm still not 100% sure if it sounds as good as the Axe FX... my experience with the Kemper is too limiting.
I know that at a push I prefer the Kemper user interface, I prefer the Kemper form-factor (I like the toaster rather than a rack unit!), and I don't need the uber flexibility you get with the Axe FX. As much as I like it, I kind of feel it's wasted on me a bit. So what are your thoughts. Now that I've got it, stick with the Axe FX and just continue to use... I dunno practically 0.2% of it's features? Or part-ex it for a Kemper, pocket some of the money (around £500 judging by the marketplace right now!) and use my pedals with the Kemper to make up for the lack of effects flexibility within the Kemper itself?
Part of this is just GAS. Part of it is the grass is greener. Part of it is a desire for quicker workflow. Part of it is a desire for amps the Axe doesn't have. Part of it is that I've got a bunch of duplication in my available effects options. I guess I'm just daydreaming about a simpler set of options. I do know that I don't want/need and cannot afford both of them.
Am I just a nutter??
PS: If anyone in London has a Kemper and wants to swing by my flat and do some comparisons with me, I'd be well up for that!
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I don't care about what you guys think. Don't want to hear psychological explanations about his behaviour. This is not what I am interested into.
Sorry guys, was just trying to make my point
LOL. I'm sorry if I brushed you up the wrong way, it came off the back of doing a whole bunch of research on the Kemper for live use, and nearly every single time someone who was really into FRFR would come into the conversation, poo-poo the attempt at using a real guitar cab with phrases like "why would you want to do that?" or "You're missing the point of the Kemper if you do that"... so perhaps I was a little defensive myself
But I really would love to see more discussion on using the KPA into a real guitar cab, bypassing the KPA built-in cabs, and how effective it can be. Because it's a lot of money to spend for something that might not even work that well.
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I like guitar cabs. I like the way they push the air. A PA speaker doesn't do the same thing, and also feedback through a full frequency speaker does not sound as musical as it does through a guitar cab. That's my opinion.
What I am interested in is hearing from people using the KPA or the KPH into a 4x12 guitar cab, and how they feel it compares to a real valve amp. The Kemper itself compares very well to a RECORDING of a real valve amp, to the point where I would choose the Kemper without any problem. But for live performance, I am interested to hear from those people doing it in this way... I don't care about justifications for FRFR, or scientific defensiveness for using a CLR or whatever... that isn't what I want to do.
Just IMHO.
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Hey guys, I actually work for FXpansion - I'm here purely as a Kemper enthusiast though, so don't barrage me with support requests please!
Saying that, the BFD2 stock libraries can be made to sound heavy. But there is a limit; with drum samples it's all about the raw setup of the drums. I'm happy to say that with BFD3, we had John Emrich covering the poppier, jazz, more natural side of things. For the heavier aimed kits, we had Rail at Platinum Samples handling the recording. His work speaks for itself: http://www.platinumsamples.com
I did this with BFD2 and some of the Platinum Samples expansion drums:
http://thelandswithmetalbeasts.bandcamp.com/(ohhh, except the last track... that one is Superior Drummer 2)
But I do really love the BFD3 kits, particularly the DW kicks and the Gretsch toms. With BFD stuff, it's all about giving you the tools to craft out your own drum sound. We don't prescribe a "here are you metal drums, here are your rock drums, here are your pop drums..." mentality - I've used stuff in our Jazz & Funk pack in metal productions before!! It's all about how you treat it.
Anyway.. getting off my soapbox now. We'll have a demo of BFD3 very shortly which will come with some demo drums and kits, presets. You'll be able to grab it at our site, hopefully before the end of the month!
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torx is very very common.
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Aye, I'm trying various avenues
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At the time, I was concerned with playing out live with the Kemper (I don't like FRFR) so the amp stayed and the profiler went. But I now have an EVH5153 50watt which I really dig for live use, so the Kemper would be purely for studio use, and to satisfy my GAS whenever another amp tempts me! Just go and get the profile instead!
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Yeah yeah, keep rubbing it in
I have other amps, and this one is just sitting here not being used. I owned a Kemper briefly early in the year, and really liked it. But couldn't justify owning so many bits of gear - hence my idea of a swap!
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Decided to keep!
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No-one? C'mon, it'll take a minute and will help with a purchasing decision!
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Looking to hear a recording of the latest firmware, which apparently speeds up the rig patch changing.
So I'd like to hear a single sustained power chord, with a rig change
during the sustain of the note, so I can hear what the gap of silence is
like. Would be much appreciated!! -
When I hear about an interesting new amp, my first thought is always: "Its just a matter of time before it shows up on the Rig Exchange."
I already had THE Marshall for me, and I already had THE Fender for me before I got a Kemper. The profile of my Marshall sounds better at lower volume than the Marshall does, and if I was playing the Kemper at the volume level that I used to profile the Marshall, the sheer sonic onslaught would mask any subtle differences between the two sound sources.
So did you end up getting rid of your Marshall and Fender, or did you keep them along with the Kemper?
