The Ol' Music Store

    Haven't been to my music store in a while. Had some pedals up for sale that didn't sell. Well they finally did and I got a store credit of $200 which I didn't cash out cause I still buy strings. I can get them cheaper online, but I want to support a local shop and I like having a place to go to and talk music & gear.


    But one of the guys who knows me asked "You still playing that Kemper" and I'm like "coming up on 2 years and it's still a honeymoon". He was silent. I said I found MY guitar finally. And surprise for me, it was an LP Trad which I NEVER thought I'd like 1 or 10 years ago.


    He said "well, if you're playing it through a digital device, that kinda doesn't count"


    The funny part is, while I'm treated like a 2nd Class Citizen, I feel like I'm the President of Amplifier-dom!


    Part of me wants to be the Kemper Prophet, and part of me likes it's unknown status so I can feel like I'm in the UnderGround Club!

    it sux trying to defend the kemper due to the bad history of digital amps, especially when its an old timer. i was telling my friends uncle who is a great guitarist about the kemper, but i could see the look in his face, it was the look of an old tube amp user, stuck in his ways.

    Early solid state amps created the "tube are better" viewpoint in the 1960s. When distortion came into vogue toward the end of that decade, those amps couldn't do it well. Harsh, sterile, nasty fuzziness.


    They were no better in the 1970s for rock - Gibson, Fender, Peavey solid state amps from that era are less than collectible.


    Things got better in the 1980s - Rockman and Gallien Krueger made amps with sounds appropriate for the time, and other manufacturers started to dabble in digital.


    Ironically, as digital started to sound better, tube factories started opening back up, and "boutique" low power tube amplifiers started to be marketed to bedroom/casual guitarists. And, one of the ways they all justify their high price is "tubes are better" ;)


    Tube amps DO sound great. They also can only make a limited number of great sounds. If that is all somone needs, let them say "Get a Horse!".



    You can say to yourself " I finally got my Jet Pack!"


    [Blocked Image: http://www.davidszondy.com/jonny_quest/jetpack_01.jpg]

    When I mention the KPA to another guitarist I usually get the "oh, a modeler" reaction. It's tiring having to defend the poor lunchbox to those who are ignorant of its capabilities. Still, I keep trying ...

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

    Quote from viabcroce

    Funny... for some reason, I feel no need to defend the Profiler.


    A man's reputation comes from his sound, regardless what he gets it from :D


    This is true, but I'm referring to conversation with those who haven't heard it yet.

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

    My dad is 54, never played guitar in his life but he digs that I play and knows about all my gear cuz I tell him about everything. He has told me a few story's where he has gone to work and run into guitarists and told them my son bought a kemper, he always says they have no idea what that is lol

    in my case, I never have to argue about the kpa being modeler or not........when I play live or teaching, all I have to do is picking up my listeners jaws from the floor because they don't believe it sounds as it does! :)

    "...why being satisfied with an amp, as great as it can be, while you can have them all?" michael mellner


    "Rock in Ecclesia" - new album on iTunes or Google music

    The 'tube amps only' crowd is a dying breed. I was one of them....


    I think most old timers were first exposed to digital/modeling amps when the POD and other similar products came out. Those products were a bit sterile in my opinion. Many people heard them and said, "see? digital can't do it" and then they made the assumption that digital would never be able to do it.


    When I first heard about the Kemper (long before it was released) I was as skeptical as they come. When I saw the first videos I was blown away.


    I still haven't used mine in a live situation. I expect it will be strange at first through my DXR10 and will take some getting used to...for me and my bandmates.
    But the audience, hearing my guitar though FOH, will not be able to tell the difference...even the tube snobs.

    As a former tube snob it always cracks me up when the argument comes up. If they can clone a sheep why not an amp? Had one guy, yes a local music store owner, who wouldn't let go. I sent him some youtube vids of session players who couldn't tell their own amps from the profiles then I dared him to profile his favorite and A/B it. If he couldn't tell the difference I get a $1000 store credit. Guess he's not a gambler, still haven't heard back lol.

    The biggest thing to try and defend is that they all say that this is just a digital box that will be worth nothing in 5 years. Fine. That may be the case but I always say, the amount of savings on my spine and muscles and the reduced setup time is totally worth it, not to mention the tones!


    I just say, I can always buy your used tube amp for 1/2 of what you have paid for if I lose interest in it!


    At this point in time, this beautiful box does all I need and more. I don't see any negatives. Once the footswitch is released, it's a complete setup.

    At the same time, some people just have a certain sound in mind when they play and for them, the Kemper with all its multiple profiles and FX won't do it for them. There's little point in convincing those people. Just wait till their backs are turned and clone their amp and then tell them about it! ^^


    I've always been a digital/solid state guy, because when I was living with my parents there was no scope to mic up a cranked amp to record the high gain sounds I like to play with. Even now, I honestly feel that I could play a gig with an amp with just a clean and a high gain setting for the kind of music I'm doing, with maybe a few stompboxes for variety.


    I started with a dinky little Zoom 505II, then moved on to a Boss GT-8 after a couple of years. After a while, the digital nature of the device started to annoy me. So I started improving on it by incorporating analog effects in my GT-8 loop. I then bought a loop switching system to control everything simultaneously. Here's a picture of my old Frankenstein pedal board.


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    I used to run the dirt sections into the GT-8 as though it was a preamp and I really got sounds I liked out of it. Then I heard of the Kemper and was totally convinced. I sold a few FX and took the plunge and I'm glad to say I wasn't disappointed. It's helped simplify my setup... Just look at that over-sized plexi-glass pedalboard, I laugh about it now, but at the time, it was great.


    I honestly think even digital FX like the POD or GT processors aren't all that bad. They work well in the studio and in live settings, as has been demonstrated successfully thousands of times. The Kemper is just that damn good that we turn up our noses at them like the tube guys do about the Kemper. Takes time for things to get a grip on the public consciousness.