I posted this a few weeks ago around the different boards on the web...it is my sort of review of this thing...and personally I think it is kick axx!
What I am not:
I can’t/won’t solo your face off. I don’t really play Eric Johnson, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray, Keith Urban, gtr hero of the day..etc. I will never be a guitar hero. I’m not flashy, but I am solid.
What I am:
A full time musician who owns a production company and I record almost everyday. I play 80-90% rhythm guitar and hooks. I’m mostly just play parts to help build a song, groove, and support a vocal. Usually, it is pop or indie flavored music for TV/Film and/or independent artists. I have (or had) Divided by 13’s (jrt and Rsa23) Voxes, Fenders, a VHT Deliverance, a few boogies, most recently the Trans Atlantic 15, and a 70’s Traynor that is a smoking amp.
Today was my first day with the Kemper. I record guitars during the day at my home while my co-workers are doing other things (drums/vocals/programming) at the studio. Normally I crank my amps while my wife is away. Working at home has caused a few problems though. The problems being I miss out on too many client meetings and decisions that are made “the office”, and more importantly, my wife an I are planning on using what is now my studio room as a baby room.. ☺ So, I’ve been searching for an alternative to get back to the studio daily to be more a part of my business and not drive everyone away with a cranking amp. The studio isn’t too soundproof and the guitar amp area resides right next to the vocal booth.
Anyways…after reading the hype, I have a friend that has a kemper and he let me use it for today (and he will have a hard time getting it back!!). I have an Eleven Rack (without the EXRP) and have played several of the Line 6 units. (I have not played the AXE FX).
So..The first preset I that came up when I turned it on had some delay on it. I killed the delay cause that isn’t what I wanted to hear. I was immediately greeted by a great AC30 sound: Warm, chimey and dynamic. There was no trace of plonkiness or plinkiness that is associated with all non-amp units that I have ever tried. There was no latency, it felt like alive, like I was actually playing an amp. No harshness, no fizzies, and when I dug in, it compressed/saturated like my guitar does when I play my amp, when I played lighter, it gave me sparkle and chime. My jaw just sort of dropped and I thought, I can use this. This was very intriguing.
I spent the next hour and a half have a blast dialing thru presets. Many were good, several were great and a quite a few fantastic, ones that I would use (and did for the next few hours). Each one was fat and big in a track. No hassle moving microphones or switching heads, the profilers already did that. Even the sounds that didn’t speak to ME, were definitely usable in the right setting. Every guitar maintained its own voice thru the unit. The effects are great, but I found myself turning them off because the sounds don’t need them (unlike some of the products I’ve used that need the effects to cover up a basic tone).
Within that hour and a half, I learned everything that I needed to be up and tracking using and editing the profiles that were already loaded. I must say, I was pretty speechless at how easy it was to come up with great it sounds and how intuitive it is to use. At one point I had a great saturated sound for a melody hook that I wanted to poke thru a huge layer of guitars. I went in and adjusted the pick sensitivity and it edged out perfect in the track.
I usually am pretty burned out by the end of the day and my ears are tired, but am excited to get back at it tomorrow. I will hopefully be able to dig into the actual profiling process and profile my own amps in the next couple of weeks.
Day two: I walked into a session with a friend whom I know first used this unit several months ago to go track in Korea for a week. He didn’t know what he would run into as far as amps over there, so they profiled his heads and he took this unit over. I hadn’t really talked to him too much since. He greeted me at the door showing me his Kemper. I unloaded “mine” from the car and I proceeded to ask him to talk me down off the ledge of getting this. I expected a “it sounds great..but” as I am still in the honeymoon phase and he has had it for months. There was none. He loves it and couldn’t find a bad thing to say about it. His jaw still drops. He has a great collection of amps and said that the presets are great, but once he got his amps in there (he said he re-profiled them a few weeks ago), that he can't believe it and he can't tell the difference. I asked him about running his pedalboard in front of it, as I haven't done that yet, and he said again, it's like it IS his amp.
So…at this point (in the honeymoon)…I’m thinking this is could be game changer for me. A ton of great amps that sound and feel realistic at your fingertips. No worries about switching heads/cabs/miking, a fairly wide selection of effects that you don't need to cover up a crappy sound, and it gets you a great and usable sounds in seconds with no tweaking. I'm loving this..
t.
Since then, the honeymoon is over and I'm still in love with the Kemper. I've been able to download some amazing profiles which are awesome and inspiring for writing tunes and just jamming...
Todd
