Bought An Eleven Rack Yesterday And a Kemper Today.

    So it takes three months of reading reviews, watching videos and listening to sound tracks trying to decide on a modeler. Then in a matter of two days I buy an Eleven Rack and a Kemper Profiling Amp. The Eleven Rack is used, but really never used. I won't have any problem getting my money back if I decide to sell it. I bought the Kemper from Musicians Friend with a $300 discount coupon they had given me. That and 12 months same as cash makes it a no brain'r. They both should be here later in the week. I plan to try both and give each a fair shot. If I determine the Eleven Rack is close enough to satisfy me compared to the KPA, I'll send the KPA back. If the KPA is far superior to the Eleven Rack, I'll sell the Eleven Rack.


    I love great cleans like the Amp Factory's Champ 64 and the Lindy Frallin VVT. But, what stock clean presets do you recommend to try when the KPA arrives? Also, any advice on settings etc to get the best results right off the bat? For instance I was told to turn off the noise gate on the presets of the Eleven Rack. This is going to be fun. I'm going to run both through a friends Mackie HR824 studio monitors.


    Thanks

    I'm betting that the KPA stays. Let us know after you have it in hand and upgraded to the latest version. I'll toss a couple of my favorite clean rigs at you, and I'm sure others will too. :thumbup:

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

    First think to do before to start playing is to adjust the clean sense for your guitar. Very important if you're after clean sounds.

    "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" Serghei Rachmaninoff


    If you are looking for great tones take a look on the Caveman Profiles (if you lower the gain you get a no-brainer clean) and the Rivera's.
    If you are looking for harder tones I'm in love with Radioactivator's and Makko V2.
    I'm shocked every day by my KPA, must be honest. I cannot believe how it can sound good and how many new sounds i can discover every day.
    Amp GAS has gone, guitar GAS has come :D

    Quote from Zappledan

    I'm betting that the KPA stays. Let us know after you have it in hand and upgraded to the latest version. I'll toss a couple of my favorite clean rigs at you, and I'm sure others will too. :thumbup:

    What is the latest version and what are the changes in the KPA? Do I need to register the KPA to get the upgrade? Is upgrading an easy function? I wouldn't want to register the KPA until I'm sure I'm keeping it.

    Quote from Jimmyno

    If you are looking for great tones take a look on the Caveman Profiles (if you lower the gain you get a no-brainer clean) and the Rivera's.
    If you are looking for harder tones I'm in love with Radioactivator's and Makko V2.
    I'm shocked every day by my KPA, must be honest. I cannot believe how it can sound good and how many new sounds i can discover every day.
    Amp GAS has gone, guitar GAS has come :D

    I've already been through the guitar GAS, The amp GAS and just about every kind of GAS you can think of. That's one of the reason I'm hoping I love one of these units so I can clean out these amps and pedals around here. As far as the guitars, I've found that perfect Strat, perfect Tele and Perfect USA Hamer Studio. :thumbup:

    Quote from resonator48

    What is the latest version and what are the changes in the KPA? Do I need to register the KPA to get the upgrade? Is upgrading an easy function? I wouldn't want to register the KPA until I'm sure I'm keeping it.


    I'm pretty sure that you'll have to register it to get the upgrade version on the website. I wouldn't worry about that. Just do it.

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

    Quote from FractusAnimus

    I just sold my 11 Rack on eBay, did you buy it? How cool would that be! :P

    I bought mine from a forum member on The Gear Page. The seller is a med student at Brown University. He bought the Eleven Rack with the expansion pack new at the end of August. He never even plugged it in or loaded Pro Tools. He didn't have anything to run it through and had ordered a custom power amp and cab that had to be built. While he was waiting the power amp and cab, he decided to go for a Axe FXii. The Eleven Rack is virtually brand new and the Pro Tools 9 that came with it is eligible for a free upgrade to Pro Tools 10. If I keep it, I can register everything as new in my name. If I sell it, It will be the same for the buyer because I will not load the Pro Tools or register anything unless I decide to keep it. I'm sure I can get my $500 back.

    Quote from Zappledan


    I'm pretty sure that you'll have to register it to get the upgrade version on the website. I wouldn't worry about that. Just do it.

    I'd be afraid Musicians Friend would not take it back if I register it. How big of a deal is the latest firmware. It may come with the latest firmware because Musicians Friend doesn't keep the KPA in stock, they have it dropped shipped straight from Kemper.

    Quote from resonator48

    I'd be afraid Musicians Friend would not take it back if I register it. How big of a deal is the latest firmware. It may come with the latest firmware because Musicians Friend doesn't keep the KPA in stock, they have it dropped shipped straight from Kemper.

    I wouldn't be afraid of registering it. I bought one used, and the previous owner just "un-registered" it, and I registered it afterwards.

    First install the latest firmware.
    Then install some important cab files.
    Yes, with the new firmware you can browse through every single cab of every Profile, and save whichever cabs you want...but to get going quickly it's best you install some cabs straight away.
    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55111…inets%20August%202012.zip


    You'll get some great tones from the 11R.
    If you do a quick one hour comparison between the 11R and KPA you'll more than likely conclude that there isn't that much of a difference.
    However, don't come to any conclusions after the one hour test.
    Give yourself a week or so to 'learn' the Kemper, after that week you'll realise there is no comparison, the Kemper potential is enormous and never ending, the 11R potential is what you heard in the first hour.


    That was my personal experience, I might be wrong, but that's what happened with myself and a bunch of studio engineers/guitarists who've tested both in the studio over the last 10 months.


    All the best, I hope you at least like one of them and decide to keep whichever one you prefer...don't forget, you can go back to micing tube amps. :D:thumbup:

    Thanks for the advice. By the way, what is the latest firmware? It's coming straight from Kemper so it may have the latest firmware installed. As far as giving it time, I have 45 days with Musicians Friend's return policy. But, I'm curious as to what is going to actually change from my initial audition with the KPA. I understand that the Eleven Rack is not going to be upgraded from what it is now. It's going to be pretty much "What you see (or hear) is what you get.". But if I take the first day or two and find amps/settings with the tones that I'm after, what's going to change after a week, month or so. I know it will be upgraded on a regular basis and there will be new amp/rigs coming along, but to be honest, I've found enough great amps/rigs in the Amp Factory to last me forever. I knew going into buying the KPA that I'd search for the sounds I'm looking for and pretty much be done after that. Maybe a half dozen amp models is all I'm ever going to need or want. I'm a soon to be 65 year old guitar/amp lover that want's to downsize from a music room full of amps/FX to a system that sounds close to the amps I love and will fit on a desktop. Something I can take back and forth from Ohio to Florida (Snowbird) every year. My setup will be Modeler, DR-880 Drum Machine, Boss eBand and laptop for backing tracks, Small Mixer, Studio Monitors. Having Pro Tools and an interface to work with amps, cabs, fx, manage presets like the Eleven Rack is good. I'm sure the KPA will have something similar sometime in the future. So there you have the whole story.

    I totally agree! The eleven rack is a very very nice modeler with more than enough tones for a guitarist, but it leaves something to be desired with respect to 100% tube conviction. I have a few patches that come so so close, but with some of the better tones I have tried on Kemper (factory patches) they really made me GAS for the Kemper and with profiles from Amp Factory I am salivating! As I stated I already sold my Eleven Rack on eBay and still don't have a Kemper.Hey if you like your 11R and not the KPA, perhaps you could sell it to me :thumbup:

    Quote from resonator48

    Thanks for the advice. By the way, what is the latest firmware? It's coming straight from Kemper so it may have the latest firmware installed. As far as giving it time, I have 45 days with Musicians Friend's return policy. But, I'm curious as to what is going to actually change from my initial audition with the KPA. I understand that the Eleven Rack is not going to be upgraded from what it is now. It's going to be pretty much "What you see (or hear) is what you get.". But if I take the first day or two and find amps/settings with the tones that I'm after, what's going to change after a week, month or so. I know it will be upgraded on a regular basis and there will be new amp/rigs coming along, but to be honest, I've found enough great amps/rigs in the Amp Factory to last me forever. I knew going into buying the KPA that I'd search for the sounds I'm looking for and pretty much be done after that. Maybe a half dozen amp models is all I'm ever going to need or want. I'm a soon to be 65 year old guitar/amp lover that want's to downsize from a music room full of amps/FX to a system that sounds close to the amps I love and will fit on a desktop. Something I can take back and forth from Ohio to Florida (Snowbird) every year. My setup will be Modeler, DR-880 Drum Machine, Boss eBand and laptop for backing tracks, Small Mixer, Studio Monitors. Having Pro Tools and an interface to work with amps, cabs, fx, manage presets like the Eleven Rack is good. I'm sure the KPA will have something similar sometime in the future. So there you have the whole story.

    It takes some time for your ears to get used to the organic rawness of the Kemper tones.
    Tweaking is extremely easy, but it still takes a few days to get acquainted with how everything works & how to get the best out of the Profiles...and, to check out the different 'authors' of the Profiles and choose your favourites.


    For example.
    The majority of the stock Kemper Profiles are pure Profiles, they're not Rigs.
    Whereas, Andy's Profiles are not just Profiles...he takes his Profiles and he turns them into Rigs.
    He adds EQs, and FX, etc...there's lots to learn from his Profiles/Rigs...save his EQ stomps, etc, you can use them on other Profiles.
    Try Andy's Profiles with different cabs, you never know, they might or might not sound better to you with a different cab/mic.


    Armin also does some clever things to his Profiles, and so do tons of other great Profile 'Authors'...lot's to learn from all of them.


    Don't forget the Till's Cabs (they're on the file I linked).
    Use the Till's cabs on any Mesa, Marshall, or any high gain Profiles and you'll be amazed at the magic they produce.


    That's what I mean by give it a few days, a firmware update won't change the tones, a few days of experience will change the tones and get them matched to your guitars/pickups, etc.

    Quote from Jimmyno

    If you are looking for great tones take a look on the Caveman Profiles (if you lower the gain you get a no-brainer clean) and the Rivera's.
    If you are looking for harder tones I'm in love with Radioactivator's and Makko V2.
    I'm shocked every day by my KPA, must be honest. I cannot believe how it can sound good and how many new sounds i can discover every day.
    Amp GAS has gone, guitar GAS has come :D

    Haaaaaa! Yep, I've been wanting a new strat lately...