Bought a new tube amp. Regretted it instantly.

    I had some nice tube amps Mesa, ENGL, Marshall, Blackstar etc. etc. When I got my Kemper, I saw no need for them and comparing them, found the Kemper superior for getting the sound to a P.A. or Recording desk. I sold them all except for my vintage collector stuff. For the following years, whenever amp G.A.S.would manifest, I cancel it by knowing I can just get a profile of it somewhere.

    his weekend I visited an excellent music store and heard this new hand wired 1 channel 20W all tube head from a very popular manufacturer with rave amp reviews on U Tube. (The salesman told me I had to hear it, that it was amazing) I played it, liked it a lot and thought I had to have one, even though I would likely just use it as a home studio toy.(1channel) Paid about $1,600.00 for it. Got it home and compared it to my Kemper. It wasn't the same at home and after getting used to it somewhat, I compared it A/B to the kemper that beat it in every way for doing the same types of sounds. There was nothing in that tube head I couldn't get or better with the Kemper. I returned it the same day.

    To my Kemper: Sorry I strayed, The grass is not greener over there in boutique tube amp land and although I did a bad thing and don't deserve forgiveness, it made me love you more. I find I love the idea of a tube amp, but they are not superior by any means. My mistake really reestablished how great a Kemper is. It's no wonder you still see them on Pro stages where they could use any $4,000.00 amp they wanted.

    I have a Powerhead, and a Boogie MKIV... There's something about the amp itslef, the "hair"..the way it pushes the cab in the room...the feel and bounce of the strings..It's truly magical..nothing like it... I profiled it , and play through my Kemper 99 % of the time...so many otions etc...roughly 90+ % of the way there complexity of the high gain (..as far as sounding and feeling the "same."..)... 100% ALL the way there for vibe and inspirational tone. Kinda hard to go spend $1000's for amp, when you've got Kemper.

    Its always a good idea to keep at least one combo or halfstack in the stable. That way when you get that craving for new tube smell, you can just grab your old trusty combo and drag it up and down the stairs a few times. Craving over.

    Quote from dfdfan

    Its always a good idea to keep at least one combo or halfstack in the stable. That way when you get that craving for new tube smell, you can just grab your old trusty combo and drag it up and down the stairs a few times. Craving over.

    Yep. I almost never sell any of my gear as the resale value never seems worth it incase I ever want to buy the same thing back at some point in future. Therefore, I still have my Mesa Studio .22, 2 Channel Dual Rec, Triaxis/2:ninety, Mark V:25 and my THD BiValve. Every so often I drag one out to try something different. Invariably I put them back in their cases and back in the container within an hour as the Kemper does exactly the same thing without the hassle and the unwanted noises.

    Quote from dfdfan

    Its always a good idea to keep at least one combo or halfstack in the stable. That way when you get that craving for new tube smell, you can just grab your old trusty combo and drag it up and down the stairs a few times. Craving over.

    Agreed. I still kinda want a Tweed Blues Jr. or a DSL40 but don't want to pay over $450.00 ish. Makes no sense that I do this and if I did, I would likely regret it, just not $1,600.00 of regret. It's more like buying furniture to look at.

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    Kemper does exactly the same thing without the hassle and the unwanted noises.

    Exactly.

    Quote from Dynochrome

    Agreed. I still kinda want a Tweed Blues Jr. or a DSL40 but don't want to pay over $450.00 ish.

    Hmmm. I have a DSL40C and I am not a fan of it. I put in a good Eminence and it got better, but it has this ridiculous high frequency that I cant get rid of. Its built into the power amp section or something, using effects loop makes no difference. It is always there. I always run it with treb and pres full off and its still too much.

    The irony is I cant even hear highs anymore and its still too much for me :pinch:


    The good part is the DSL is so bad, it prompted me to get my Kemper.

    Quote from Dynochrome

    To my Kemper: Sorry I strayed, The grass is not greener over there in boutique tube amp land and although I did a bad thing and don't deserve forgiveness, it made me love you more.

    True Kemper is awesome but I still love my amps and I'm not selling them. There is something primitive about playing through my Mesa Mark V, my Fenders or even my 6505 head. My other amps I could sell without remorse but not these ones. Kemper is just the most convenient tool I have ever bought without question. It does everything I need. I use it for recording writing and practicing but I have never used it live. Usually the Mesa Mark V combo is my go-to live and band practice amp.

    I got rid of almost everything but kept my mark v 35 and a koch little gristle for simple grab and goes just in case. And I kept my supergroup cause it's just mean and sometimes my neighbors deserve to be annoyed.

    Quote from Dynochrome

    I had some nice tube amps Mesa, ENGL, Marshall, Blackstar etc. etc. When I got my Kemper, I saw no need for them and comparing them, found the Kemper superior for getting the sound to a P.A. or Recording desk. I sold them all except for my vintage collector stuff. For the following years, whenever amp G.A.S.would manifest, I cancel it by knowing I can just get a profile of it somewhere.

    his weekend I visited an excellent music store and heard this new hand wired 1 channel 20W all tube head from a very popular manufacturer with rave amp reviews on U Tube. (The salesman told me I had to hear it, that it was amazing) I played it, liked it a lot and thought I had to have one, even though I would likely just use it as a home studio toy.(1channel) Paid about $1,600.00 for it. Got it home and compared it to my Kemper. It wasn't the same at home and after getting used to it somewhat, I compared it A/B to the kemper that beat it in every way for doing the same types of sounds. There was nothing in that tube head I couldn't get or better with the Kemper. I returned it the same day.

    To my Kemper: Sorry I strayed, The grass is not greener over there in boutique tube amp land and although I did a bad thing and don't deserve forgiveness, it made me love you more. I find I love the idea of a tube amp, but they are not superior by any means. My mistake really reestablished how great a Kemper is. It's no wonder you still see them on Pro stages where they could use any $4,000.00 amp they wanted.

    The key question here is....has your Kemper forgiven you for this heinous crime or is it still sulking?


    In all seriousness this highlights a few problems aspects to me:


    1) I rarely gell with any amp immediately and trying in a shop never gives a good account - most amps I've bought have been based upon reviews and the type of sound I am trying to get. In a shop it gives you an idea but until you really play with it you don't know. For me it takes time to get used to the sound to then decide if I like it. This makes buying amps always difficult so your above account is not surprising to me...been there dude!


    2) Convenience is such a huge element to me - a one stop shop for everything I'll ever need


    3) Not only can I not pick out the difference between a Kemper and a real amp, I don't think I play well enough to make use of any difference. Its a bit like upgrading the suspension on your car, whilst it will make some difference to me day to day, its only a true racing driver on a circuit will be able to exploit that full potential....and I'm ok with that.

    Quote from V8guitar

    3) Not only can I not pick out the difference between a Kemper and a real amp, I don't think I play well enough to make use of any difference. Its a bit like upgrading the suspension on your car, whilst it will make some difference to me day to day, its only a true racing driver on a circuit will be able to exploit that full potential....and I'm ok with that.

    The problem is that we guitarists are typically so deluded that think we are the musical equivalent of the “true racing driver on a circuit”. Unfortunately, 99.999999999% of us aren’t and never will be.

    Quote from RosboneMako

    Hmmm. I have a DSL40C and I am not a fan of it

    After looking into them a bit, I agree. The clips of them that I have heard sounded like a metal zone pedal. I have some profiles by MB of one that sound pretty good by comparison. I tried one of the bigger DSL heads and liked it but it was a low volume where everything with gain can sound good. I had the predecessor, the JCM2000 and it was just OK.

    Quote from dfdfan

    I got rid of almost everything but kept my mark v 35 and a koch little gristle for simple grab and goes just in case. And I kept my supergroup cause it's just mean and sometimes my neighbors deserve to be annoyed.

    I could blow neighbors off of their couches just fine with my 600w Kemper. (If I wanted to)

    Quote from V8guitar

    The key question here is....has your Kemper forgiven you for this heinous crime or is it still sulking?

    After defeating the expensive boutique handwired amp in a A/B comparison, it was hard to live with for a few days.

    The Kemper understands I was a longtime G.A.S sufferer and relapses can occur.

    Quote from RosboneMako

    Hmmm. I have a DSL40C and I am not a fan of it. I put in a good Eminence and it got better, but it has this ridiculous high frequency that I cant get rid of. Its built into the power amp section or something, using effects loop makes no difference. It is always there. I always run it with treb and pres full off and its still too much.

    The irony is I cant even hear highs anymore and its still too much for me :pinch:


    The good part is the DSL is so bad, it prompted me to get my Kemper.

    Is this the new or the old DSL40? (sorry, can't remember when the new ones were release, so I'm not very specific here)

    I fired up my old Soldano Hot Rod 50 with a Soldano 4x12 with Celestion G12H30s for about a half hour this afternoon. It was my daily driver when I switched to a Kemper. I prefer my Kemper rig for many reasons but I could clearly recall why I dug that Hot Rod so much. It's just big brutal muscular tone. As much as I love the Marshall 2204 this Hot Rod beats it every time. There is something special about a tube amp and a 4x12 cabinet.

    Quote from Michael_dk

    Is this the new or the old DSL40? (sorry, can't remember when the new ones were release, so I'm not very specific here)

    There is the DSL40 DSL 40C and DSL 40CR. CR has dual masters and midi control. The first one had a different amp sound than the C or CR which are supposedly similar.

    Quote from alerich

    I fired up my old Soldano Hot Rod 50 with a Soldano 4x12 with Celestion G12H30s for about a half hour this afternoon. It was my daily driver when I switched to a Kemper. I prefer my Kemper rig for many reasons but I could clearly recall why I dug that Hot Rod so much. It's just big brutal muscular tone. As much as I love the Marshall 2204 this Hot Rod beats it every time. There is something special about a tube amp and a 4x12 cabinet.

    I just got done jamming straight into a small closed back 1x12 with a Lynchback. At low volume this cab isn't that great, kinda dull. Cranking it up to 50W on the meter (actually 25 because it's 8ohm) it roared to life and was just like or better than playing any tube amp through it. I think a lot of what people like about tube amps is the volume and people tend to play their Kempers through IEM or studio monitors at a polite volume which is fine for live but isn't like cranking it in a room through a speaker. When you do that, Kemper becomes an "amp" just like a JCM800 or whatever you pick.

    Quote from Michael_dk

    Is this the new or the old DSL40? (sorry, can't remember when the new ones were release, so I'm not very specific here)

    I have not tracked the versions. I have the DSL40C. There was a popular ez to do mod people did on the C to get the channels more tonally balanced. I think Marshall included that mod on the CR version.


    I never spend money on equipment (because I am not very good at guitar). But I splurged and got the Les Paul Traditional (avatar) and the DSL40C on the cheap. I had an old JCM800 that I let go to a friend. So I thought the DSL would be a good replacement. Its ok. I still have it. It is no JCM800. But I only pull it out to make profiles on the Kemper when I get bored. I never use it.


    NOTE: I dont play loud. That extra high freq may be a good thing at volume. I will have to do some profiles some day. I have heard people say a TubeScreamer and the DSL are all you need for metal. Maybe they are playing really loud.