ToneX vs Kemper Player

Thanks for the link. The analysis in the video was well done and seemed well thought out.

In my opinion, the difference between the ToneX and Kemper is neglible. Both units are more than good enough for my purpose of replicating an amp's tone.

Null tests are interesting, but the biggest takeaway for me is that there is nothing in the comparison that actually matters to me. The Kemper algo is so close to the real amps that I don't think there is really anything significant to improve on. Two units that essentially get the 'same' results.

I already own the Kemper so ToneX holds no interest for me.

Disclaimer:

I don't own and have never used a Kemper Player or ToneX. I quit using modelers years ago when I upgraded my Line6 POD xtLive to a POD HD500 and went back to amps due to a serious lack of satisfaction. Two years ago I came across a good deal on a Kemper Stage and my amps don't get much use these days. A year later I bought a Kemper Rack and a Fender Tone Master Pro, sold the Stage a couple of weeks ago and then the Player was announced. I've been looking for info on the Player and decided it's not something I could use because I don't play out anymore and I have no interest in pedal boards. I considered getting a Player to use with my Pedal Steel Guitar just because of the size but I can use the Rack and iPad just as easy and not limit the number of FX.

Having said all that, if I were to by either unit it would be the Player. because ...

1. Kemper has 110 FX and the ToneX has 4 . Kemper has 27.5 times the FX for a price difference of $300. That alone seems enough to justify the cost difference. Plus, upgrades paid and free will be coming for the Player, idk about the ToneX.

2. Kemper offers 4 USB in/out audio interface ToneX offers 2 USB channels in/out.

3. Kemper is designed for an external screen, which for me means easier to read from an iPad on a stand rather than a small screen on the floor. Not to mention easier to tweak settings or select rigs or use Bluetooth for backing tracks.

4. As far as "more accurate profiles", the sound difference is almost undetectable to my ears on what videos I have seen. I have no way to tell what they sound like live in the room.

Quote from Edward Dixon

1. Kemper has 110 FX and the ToneX has 4 . Kemper has 27.5 times the FX for a price difference of $300. That alone seems enough to justify the cost difference. Plus, upgrades paid and free will be coming for the Player, idk about the ToneX.

Note that the Player doesn't have this amount of FX - far less than its big brothers, in fact.

Just a word of caution

I got those numbers from the video posted. The Player manual lists the effects but I didn't see any total number of FX included and didn't want to count them. How many are actually available n the Player?

edit: Looks like he got the number of FX slots available wrong too. The video says 5 but my understanding is 4.

When you start getting into null tests, graphs and plots to really tell the difference....it reminds me of when I used to work at a motorcycle dealer.

People would come in poring over the spec sheets "This one is better than that!!" they'd say. Insisting one bike was better than another. All I know is that the most fun I had on a motorcycle I didn't own myself was on a base-model Triumph Bonneville Black. It was THE cheapest bike in the line, and one of the least expensive bikes going.

All I cared about was the grin plastered on my face the entire time.

You don't ride a spec sheet and you don't play a null test. Try them both and pick the one you like. There is no 'better'....that's utter crap. Especially when it comes to music and creativity. Nearly the entirety of Def Leppard's Hysteria album was recorded using a Rockman. Some of Journey's best sounds were made with Neil Schon using a little Marshall practice amp. Transistors! The horror!!

Ruefus you are so right!

I own both a Tonex and a Kemper Profiler Player.

I loaded the Tonex with Amalgam captures, and it does sound good. I loaded Amalgam captures on the KPP, and to my ears, it sounds even better. I’ve moved on to Rigbusters Liquid Profiles of the same amp models and it sounds yet better again.

Accuracy (matching the exact sound of an amp) is irrelevant in most situations. As a player who owns the original amp, you may notice the difference. No one else will! On the other hand, accurate recreation of the amp’s gain and tone stack controls makes a big difference to the player and the listeners (Liquid Profiling).

The Kemper feels like a piece of pro gear, where the Tonex doesn’t. Is that inherently a problem? No, but I prefer the pro build quality of the Kemper.

The amp tone capture technology is important, but it’s just part of a bigger picture. What matters the most is that the Kemper has been tuned and polished by one of the best pairs of ears in the business, Cristoph Kemper. CK and his team understand the needs of players on a level almost no one else does. Kemper proved that first with the legendary Access Virus synthesizer and then with the Profiler. Both are unmatched “solutions” for musicians playing live and in the studio, or for just plain old fun.

But as they say, horses for courses (to each his own).