I believe a well educated and experienced person can make a lot of different gear sound or feel good. Sometimes you need the right combination but sometimes just having worked with lots of different gear can allow one persons meh turn into a pretty decent tone. I know that sometimes I can play an awesome profile setting all night and the next day it just sounds off somehow. In the end it all boils down to being able to tweak a sound to sound good recorded or live in different settings for me though. It is easy to go in over the top in the deep end with such versatile gear but the more you tweak the faster and easier it gets for everyone in the end.
The 'feel' - Kemper and Axe FX II
- SloeGin
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I love the feel of the Kemper... And this is coming from someone that has used Marshall tube amps almost exclusively for over 40 years.... This product is truly remarkable and is easy to tweak in a live band or studio setting. Have never tried an Axefx...
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I think feel in this case is not the classic "tone in the fingers" debate. Play an amp with tubes, play a solid state amp. There's a difference in response. I do notice a significant difference in playability with the Kemper versus a processor. Closer to a tube amp, might not be 100%, or maybe that's just in my head.
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I have owned both in the past and now have the Kemper. To my ears - the Kemper had better feel and dynamics. The effects routing and quality of the Axe FX 2 is amazing but, I just love amp tone first and foremost. The Kemper has the power tube push feel that I enjoy very much.
In the end it's all just gear, albeit incredible guitar processing gear and everyone's opinion is different. -
i would be happy with either one, but i find the kemper feels more like the real thing. the axe (I or II) sounds somwhat flat / one-dimensional. i think it is due to the IR/cab section
As an Axe II owner for the last year and a half, I completely agree. The IR/cab section is the Axe's weakest point. The quality of your overall tone and feel is greatly dependent on the IR. Many just aren't up to par.To answer the OP's original question, I think the "feel" of the Kemper is approximately equal to the Axe. However, I agree with the above as I also think the Axe seems more flat and one dimensional. I attribute that more to the tone, but sometimes it's tough to tell whether your impressions are being influenced by tone, feel, or a combination of both.
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My impression is that the FXII just about requires the effects to get realistic sounds live or in the mix. The amps by themselves with IR's are a bit less realistic than the Kemper. Mind you, heads and tails above any other competition. But if you use effects, and when you use them, it comes alive.
The Kemper straight up sounds real, although I like high volume on my profiles more than low volume so I can get every nuance out of it, and only a tad reverb. Most of the best patches do have some EQ on them, but this comes in handy more per guitar you are playing than anything else (strat vs lp)
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This is why I am testing this little baby in combination with real guitar cabinets to avoid IR's in a live situation. More dynamics and depth/3D sound to my ears. Still in the honeymoon phase. But man what a difference
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Putting aside the 'feel' when it comes to Axe VS KPA debates, for me, more importantly, the Axe tones sound very 'modern', like a much improved version of the HD500/GT100.
Some guitarists prefer this because they're so used to the years and years of Line 6 and Boss digital tones that their ears have trouble adapting to the reality of the KPA.The KPA sounds like the reality, everything else sounds like a digitally modelled version of reality.
IMO
