Axe-Fx User Considering Kemper Powerhead - Convince Me (seriously)

    Quote from viabcroce

    Hey Dada, would you supply a link to the above? Thsnks! :)


    Here you go: http://mixdownmag.com.au/2013/07/03/fear-factory-2/


    Greetings


    Here some more info on his Wiki page:

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    In the early days, his guitar tone derived from a modified Marshall JCM800 head with scooped mids and high treble settings to produce the thrashy, chugging tone which has been so influential to the metal genre. After it was stolen, he switched to the Line 6 POD Pro with a Mesa/Boogie tube power amp. This setup was used to record Digimortal. Currently with Fear Factory, Cazares endorsed the Line 6 Vetta II HD and POD X3 Pro processor with a Mesa/Boogie tube power amp with Mesa/Boogie oversized Rectifier 4x12 cabinets. When playing live, Cazares mostly uses the speaker cabinets for monitoring, or does not use them at all, since his signal is also run into the venue's PA. In 2011, Cazares replaced the POD X3 Pro for the most recent version, the POD HD Pro. He has also replaced his Mesa/Boogie tube power amp for a Matrix GT800FX 800W solid state power amp, and his Mesa/Boogie Rectifier 4x12 for a custom-built cabinet built by David Laboga. Sometime in 2012 or 2013, Cazares eventually switched from Line6 to Fractal Audio, making use of their Axe-FX II. This was short lived, as he would soon switch to using a Kemper Profiling Amp, an amplifier that could "profile" other guitar amps, allowing him to get a tone similar to previous albums.

    To answer a question of the OP, after spending two years waiting for Axe Fx to come out with FW 10, which I felt was a game changer, I bought the KPA instead. It became my opinion that with the Axe I would spend too much time diggng into menus trying to tweak the right sound. Not saying that can't be fun, but, let's go to last Satyrday. Suddenly found that I needed five new sounds. Went to the KPA and, luckily for me, there was already one in there that was dead on. One down, four to go. I then found another that, by it's name, was going to be like another sound I needed. It wasn't quite right for me, but, in less than a minute ir two, I had it perfect. As for the other three sounds, they were all based on a Fender Twin. Went to that, p,ayed with the eq and had the next one. Changed the eq and had the fourth. The fifthe required some oedals and banged that right out. All in less than 15 minutes. Didn't have to dig deep into menus. And everyone agreed it sounded great. It took me longer to enter the new names than to twek the sounds. Granted, not the most difficult assignment, but about all I did was twist ome knobs. Couldn't have been simpler and, for me, was an important selling point for the KPA.

    Quote from vltjd

    To answer a question of the OP, after spending two years waiting for Axe Fx to come out with FW 10, which I felt was a game changer, I bought the KPA instead. It became my opinion that with the Axe I would spend too much time diggng into menus trying to tweak the right sound. Not saying that can't be fun, but, let's go to last Satyrday. Suddenly found that I needed five new sounds. Went to the KPA and, luckily for me, there was already one in there that was dead on. One down, four to go. I then found another that, by it's name, was going to be like another sound I needed. It wasn't quite right for me, but, in less than a minute ir two, I had it perfect. As for the other three sounds, they were all based on a Fender Twin. Went to that, p,ayed with the eq and had the next one. Changed the eq and had the fourth. The fifthe required some oedals and banged that right out. All in less than 15 minutes. Didn't have to dig deep into menus. And everyone agreed it sounded great. It took me longer to enter the new names than to twek the sounds. Granted, not the most difficult assignment, but about all I did was twist ome knobs. Couldn't have been simpler and, for me, was an important selling point for the KPA.

    This sounds exactly why I decided to buy a Kemper. For me, it's not an either/or decision. Firmware 10 for the Axe-Fx was a game-changer. It really took the Axe to a higher level. The Axe, for me, is going to be a great recording tool, and that's not to say that I'll never gig with it again. It's a great box.


    But I'm looking forward to having something that I can tweak like a real amp.

    I'm glad you guys had better luck with the "10" than myself lol....that was one of the big reasons I bought the kemper lol


    Wish Dino would share some profiles! My friends said they saw FF recently and it was the best they ever heard him sound (and they have seen him on every tour)

    The toaster format is cool and the power amp in the PowerHead is surprisingly good - I use mine with a XiTone non-powered wedge and prefer it to guitar cabs w/ the cab block off. As far as which is easier for you to tweak - that's something your going to have to experience for yourself. If you do try the KPA, use Kemper's Cabmaker and convert your favorite IRs - having your favorite cabs in the Kemper helps get going with the KPA by having a familiar quality to the tones (there's always time to play with the cabs in the Kemper).

    The XiTone sounds better with the Powerhead than any other amp I've used (Matrix, Crown, etc). I've sold my other power amps and at home I'm even running my Axe II into the loop return of the Powerhead - the Kemper/XiTone and Axe/XiTone sound killer through the Powerhead's loop return.

    Edited 2 times, last by MaxTwang ().

    Hey everyone - just a quick note to keep it from going off-topic, but thanks to this discussion I moved my non-powered lunchbox order with Sweetwater to a Powerhead order, and instead of waiting another 2-55+ weeks for a non-powered version to be in stock, should have a Powerhead in the next week or less! Thanks for the information and smokinhalfnote - thanks for the specifics of your setup. I, too, will be putting my KPA into a vertical 2x12 Mesa V30 when I want some amplification. I too, am coming from the AxeFX II and am tired of the endless tweaking to get a good sound or after a FW update. I'm also looking forward to a more amp-like interface on the front instead of amazingly deep menus or a desktop app required to get to most of the settings without spending amazing amounts of time paging through UI on the front of the AxeFX. I might miss some of the effects, but honestly, I didn't use most of them and just want a good sound to work with and get into. I can always buy more outboard gear to add fx... :)