Hi all, for the past year or so I have been agonising over replacing my rig. I had some fantastic sounding equipment - TC Electronics G Force, Rocktron Voodu Valve, Marshall JMP-1, Sound Sculpture Switchblade, ISP decimator ProrackG, ... to name but a few.
Trouble was to programme all of those devices to sound good together
took an age in tweaking, as well as being house in a large, heavy rack and requiring what seemed like miles of cabling.
I have been slowly selling my equipment off in order to fund the purchase of the AXE FX II.
Then about a month a go I stumbled upon the Kemper (watch a Keith Merrow Video). I couldn't believe the sounds that were coming out of it. I carried on watching countless videos and reading comparisons between the Kemper, real amps and the AXE FX 2.
The consensus seemed to be that both were excellent units, but objective opinions are hard to find, with most Kemper owners certain the Kemper is best whilst the opposite opinion is held my AXE FX 2 owners.
In the face of such opinion at more than £700 cheaper I went for the Kemper (black toaster edition).
I have had it a week or so now and I have to say - WOW!
Firstly, my concern when buying was not over the amp sounds, I was concerned about the effects. I didn't want to go back to a massive midi controlled rig again, but had resigned myself to the idea that I might have to get something like the TC electronics G Major 2 to provide me with the quality and diversity of effects I was looking for. NOT at all. I am seriously impressed by the on board effects particularly the chorus' and phaser vibe. I cannot see the need so an additional effects processor anymore.
In terms of the actual amp sounds I have been blown away.
I love heavy metal and so have been chugging away, but it is the clean tones that have really captured me. They just seem so full, warm and lush to anything I have played through before.
The last thing I wanted to say is that the interface is a joy. Far easier to programme and get GOOD sound out of than any of the devices I have named above. Don't get me wrong the equipment in my old rig sounded great (especially the G Force), but programming it was a pain.
Overall I am very satisfied indeed. All I need to do now is find some patches for Pink Floyd's Any Colour You Like and Echoes and I will be a happy man.
. I've had mine for over a year now and my honeymoon still isn't over. I'm still amazed by this little box and I haven't played this much for decades.
