Kemper Versus Axe FX II - My opinion

Quote from ckemper

you don't care too much what the sound is that your audience is presented from the PA

Problem is that 98% of the audience doesn't care too. Guess you can be happy when they can distinuish a clean and crunch sound

Quote from mDan

Problem is that 98% of the audience doesn't care too. Guess you can be happy when they can distinuish a clean and crunch sound

I think a guitarist with a huge PA tone has done 50% of the job. For me, when you play a gig you have to seduce the audience. If a girl doesn't look cute, you will not be interested by her after 2 seconds. It is the same here. You have to be beautiful for your audience

I have worked hard my live profiles to make them sound the greatest as possible in a PA, and honestly it is in the same ballpark to what I hear in my headphones and in my wedges monitor. I own a MarkIIC+ and played a lot live with it, and now I have the same feeling with the KPA through my wedges. I remember when I began guitar, I went to see a local band and the guitarist had this huge Lukather tone, and it was unbelievable even when he played a simple powerchord...

I bet if a guitar player has a fizzy, trebly PA tone, people who don't care in fact will be tired quickly and will not caught in his sonic web...

Quote from Deny

Thanks for the very informative review!
Personally I'm always struggling with making the KPA sound like a real amp in the room (flame suit on) :p

With fw 2.6 the low end got a lot closer IMHO, but I still have a hard time dialing the top end. I've tried lots of things but still haven't got it the way I want; if I take some of the top end off the profile loses its "bite" or "edge", whatever you wanna call it. Tried lowering the cab high shift, doesn't sound natural to my ears plus it affects the mids/bottom end as well. Tried boosting high frequencies below the high shelf cut point in a variety of ways, with limited success. Raising the bias in the amp block or using a booster/distortion pedal before the amp helps, but does not solve the top end problem by itself. Some times lowering the definition helps, but at the cost of... well, definition

Anyway, it's not that I don't like the KPA - I love it - it's just that I'm a perfectionist and invest a lot of time and sweat trying to marry stage and PA sounds so the audience hears what I hear, and I feel inspired enough by what I hear so I'll be able to play better.

I struggle with the top end the exact same way you do , its tricky to dial it in without it getting too bright especially for lead work it gets thin and bitey raising treble but i hate taking away definition also , which helps fix the thin bitey thing but then it becomes hard to play pick harmonics, maybe its just me , but i struggle with that alot with the kpa tones.

Dont get me wrong i love the unit , i just allways have trouble dialing in the high end

Quote from djemass

I think a guitarist with a huge PA tone has done 50% of the job. For me, when you play a gig you have to seduce the audience. If a girl doesn't look cute, you will not be interested by her after 2 seconds. It is the same here. You have to be beautiful for your audience

I have worked hard my live profiles to make them sound the greatest as possible in a PA, and honestly it is in the same ballpark to what I hear in my headphones and in my wedges monitor. I own a MarkIIC+ and played a lot live with it, and now I have the same feeling with the KPA through my wedges. I remember when I began guitar, I went to see a local band and the guitarist had this huge Lukather tone, and it was unbelievable even when he played a simple powerchord...

I bet if a guitar player has a fizzy, trebly PA tone, people who don't care in fact will be tired quickly and will not caught in his sonic web...

I'm betting the soundguy likes you too for this same reason. Keep your sound guys happy! "If you tone is crappy, your soundguy's unhappy".... And then he won't autotune your lead singer anymore, to everybody's detriment.........

Quote from JHERCULEES1

I struggle with the top end the exact same way you do , its tricky to dial it in without it getting too bright especially for lead work it gets thin and bitey raising treble but i hate taking away definition also , which helps fix the thin bitey thing but then it becomes hard to play pick harmonics, maybe its just me , but i struggle with that alot with the kpa tones.

Dont get me wrong i love the unit , i just allways have trouble dialing in the high end

Suggestion: put an EQ before and after the stack. Before to get your pinch harmonics nice and gainy as needed, after to take away the biting frequencies. Haven't tried it myself, but I would imagine this could be part of a solution, at least. No need to thank me - especially if the advice sucks...

Drew, just to make sure everyone is on the same page, the pre-amp only or Direct Out profiles will only sound like the pre-amp they were profiled with when the cab block is left on. I think of the cab block as the resonance of the system - most of that resonance is probably attributable to the cabinet, but there's definitely some in the pre and power amp. You would definitely need to find some quality DO profiles to run the KPA in your amp's loop.

I think your review is spot on. I listened to lots of Axe clips before deciding on the Kemper, but I could definitely hear that sterility from the Axe tone. The Kemper really hits the richness and thickness of a real amp/cab. That was the kicker for me - I wanted most of all a realistic amp tone. Effects and other frills were secondary for me.

You did omit where the Axe apparently performs better, though. From what I've seen, the Axe switches patches faster. It also cleans up better when rolling down the volume knob. For me, the Kemper does both of these very well, and I don't need perfection in these regards. The Axe has more routing and advanced tweaking options, but again, I don't need or even want them. It seems like a longer way to get to a sub-par result. And of course the Axe has way more effects - I certainly wouldn't mind having them, but do I need them? No - I don't use all of the KPA's effects!

Quote from meambobbo

Drew, just to make sure everyone is on the same page, the pre-amp only or Direct Out profiles will only sound like the pre-amp they were profiled with when the cab block is left on. I think of the cab block as the resonance of the system - most of that resonance is probably attributable to the cabinet, but there's definitely some in the pre and power amp. You would definitely need to find some quality DO profiles to run the KPA in your amp's loop.

I think your review is spot on. I listened to lots of Axe clips before deciding on the Kemper, but I could definitely hear that sterility from the Axe tone. The Kemper really hits the richness and thickness of a real amp/cab. That was the kicker for me - I wanted most of all a realistic amp tone. Effects and other frills were secondary for me.

You did omit where the Axe apparently performs better, though. From what I've seen, the Axe switches patches faster. It also cleans up better when rolling down the volume knob. For me, the Kemper does both of these very well, and I don't need perfection in these regards. The Axe has more routing and advanced tweaking options, but again, I don't need or even want them. It seems like a longer way to get to a sub-par result. And of course the Axe has way more effects - I certainly wouldn't mind having them, but do I need them? No - I don't use all of the KPA's effects!

Hi Meambobbo. You might want to listen to Axe FX firmware 15s sounds. They represent what I feel is a real breakthrough in terms of richness, thickness and authenticity. I did not feel this quality of tones existed in previous versions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxcMgs5GuXE

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/…0-amp-models-reamped.html

Of course Im not biased one way or the other since I own and enjoy both Kemper and Axe FX 2

To this day , I am so glad I never went the Axe fx route and bought a kemper 2 years ago. I was looking at both at the time..

With Axe FX he keeps milking you to buy a totally new unit with minor upgrades which when a new version comes out the previous version is worth less right away started with Axe fx then the ultra , axe fx 2 now its the Axe FX XL ....

I'm kinda glad he lost a big share of his market to Kemper.

I love my Kemper

What kriswyle said!

Quote from kriswylde

o this day , I am so glad I never went the Axe fx route and bought a kemper 2 years ago. I was looking at both at the time..

With Axe FX he keeps milking you to buy a totally new unit with minor upgrades which when a new version comes out the previous version is worth less right away started with Axe fx then the ultra , axe fx 2 now its the Axe FX XL ....

I'm kinda glad he lost a big share of his market to Kemper.

I love my Kemper

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I wasnt aware of that. Id love to see your source and the exact amounts of the loss. Do you have a link?

Quote from lasvideo

I wasnt aware of that. Id love to see your source and the exact amounts of the loss. Do you have a link?

Only anecdotal evidence, but before the Kemper was available, there was a waiting list for the AXE.

Quote from steeldragon72

Only anecdotal evidence, but before the Kemper was available, there was a waiting list for the AXE.

And based on my frequenting the FAS site, from what Ive seen there still is. Like I said, I have both and think they each have a lot to offer. But then again I have several guitars for the same reason.

I don't have exact numbers , but it's kinda obvious , many people I know sold or are trying hard to sell their axe to buy Kemper and just checked for fun there is no waiting list to buy Axe fx 2 XL at the moment.... its in stock !!! A few years ago right before Kemper came out , there was 6 month waiting list. During that period I heard of Kemper, so glad there was that wait otherwise I would of bought an Axe FX version 1 which is worth nothing today and would have had to sell it at a loss to buy the Kemper which is so much better IMO

I see 4 various versions of Axe FX for sale in my area , been there for months, not sold !!! Its a hard sell now for an Axe fx unless you lower your price, or have a v2 but even then people want the latest... anyway that is what I notice here ...

I do not like the owners attitude and the way he runs his biz.

This is 4 th generations of Axe in not that many years , he's as bad or worse than all these portable phone Co, a new version with a minor upgrade every year , more memory , more this more that . If he would of built it right with the consumer in mind, wouldn't need to upgrade to 4 generations of this machine in so little time ... When I buy pro gear over 2gran, I don't want it to be worth nothing cuz everyone want the new latest version that just came out which is always much better.

I agree. I also do not like "the owner attitude", which has been one of the reasons why I looked elsewhere.

Seems obvious to me that two cocks in the same courtyard can't have the whole ground for each of them. Before the Profiler hit the market the Axe had no contenders.
I can't see what you find weird in stating that the Profiler has/is eating Axe's market shares. This has nothing to do with how you like your unit, or Fractal still being on the market.
Again, lasvideo, no need to feel attacked for what you chose (PS: I checked it this time, it's spelled correctly ).

Peace

Quote from viabcroce

Seems obvious to me that two cocks in the same courtyard can't have the whole ground for each of them. Before the Profiler hit the market the Axe had no contenders.

This.

Best post of the week for me

Eh... Contradict what, specifically?

Kriswylde - "I don't have exact numbers ."

Yes, I suspected as much.

As I said, I love them both. Threads like this are a waste of time and energy. So..moving on.