KPA vs. real tubeamp - strictly for home use

Didn't own a tube amp since the release of the KPA (except my hifi amp)

I like you guys think Kemper is 99% close to the real amp !
I wrote 99% as well , and than edit it to 90% , just to keep it conservative , and to wait for Nio (once he get Kemper ) to comeback and tell me I was wrong , because it is not 90% but 99%

I am a little bit careful with the % numbers of real tube sound/feeling....

... since I love both real tube amps and digital boxes since ages.

Starting with the Korg A3, then the Pod, Vetta, ...., AxeFx Ultra, AxeFx II and now the KPA ....

each time a new nice digital box came to the market - users talked about 99% close to the real thing - and a lot of them sold all their tube amps for the 99% real POD sound

Will anybody buy a POD Gen1 - it's 99% real?

The funniest thing is the AxeFx - even for the first generation it was claimed 99% close, the AxeFx II was sold as to be 100% close - and each time a new firmware comes (10 times for AxeFx II) most users say it sounds so much better, realer, closer, more tube like, ....

Let's stay to the fact's - a modeller or profiler is as close to the real thing as a sampler is close to a great piano or hammond organ sound.

Close enough to get most of the people fooled - but it's not 100% the real thing - and will never be.

But if anybody things about buying a digital box for amp sounds - I can currently only recommend the KPA - it's the best digital box on the market - and a lot of fun to use.

Here's the use case for me: greater than 90% of my home playing is through headphones while the rest of the family is asleep. In this scenario the KPA excels above anything else I've tried, which is darn near everything except the 11r and AxeFX (including nearly all the major VST amp modelers). That said, I gravitate towards a few key tones. While I have a larger library of profiles for references, I rarely ever play them. As such, if I did not have volume constraints I'd probably just go with a (more affordable) traditional amp and some type of MFX for effects. That said, if you're the type of player who craves variety, I believe the KPA is nearly infinite in that regard. It's a rather brilliant device which needs to be experienced to be truly appreciated.

Armin , I agree with you that those 90 or 99% figures sucks .
But what another method or analogy do you recommend to explain Kemper vs real amp analogy to novice, who never used Kemper ?

There is another approach in assessing Kemper tone /sound I like to highlight :
1. Kemper with headphones
2.Kemper with PC monitors -speakers
3.Kemper trough guitar amp and cab
4.Kemper via PA system directly
5.Kemper via guitar amp/cab micked through PA system
6. Kemper via -you name it ...
7......?

Who is the guy on this Forum who tried all of this combinations?
If there is such a guy, what is a difference in Kemper "reality between them ?
Is the combination 5 more real and close to the real amp than set up 1 ?? etc..etc ..

I am lucky enough to have such a house/home layout that I can play my 100W hand wired amp through 150 W Mesa Boogie cab + 150 W Marshall cab , having my amp and Kemper volume on 50 % .
More than that , start to shaking my windows too much .....
I have the same favored profile in different versions/setups for each and every set up above, because they all sound different .

Regarding real/amp + 2 cabs set up ,that air push , kicking me in stomach with every guitar power chord , is unmistakable .
No body on this Earth will guess what is real amp and what is Kemper when I play it trough that set up, because of that physical , air pushing effect accompanied with bloody real Kemper drive.

In this case, Guitartone (Lance) is right, Kemper become more real than real thing, because this is ALREADY RECORDED sound, remember ?
So, in numbers which sucks, I will give 120% to Kemper vs real amp ,in this case (case No 3 from the list above , meaning 100W amp through 300W cabs in total ,plus cost of fixing broken windows ... )
So," strictly for home use" can have lots of different meanings which still has to be EXPLORED ! b

percentages and amount of KPA applications apart (especially at home) , in my experience of several tens of profiling processes, always using a professional studio and gears for that,
I never got exact the same reference amp sound . there is always a constant harmonic focal point shifting, which produces a tone as nice the original, or even more, but not equal, and IMHO a little less real amp like.
whether for you this is not primary. but instead is primary, a great versatility, and a large amount of excellent rig. then take a KPA.
For my needs, I continue to record real amps with a better result than with the KPA, but I also hope that with the next firmware upgrades this difference becomes smaller and smaller. in the meantime my jewelry tubes collection, stays in place without a speck of dust

By now the kemper is used on many big albums by studio producers like Andy Sneap, M Wagener and more.
Both used as re-amping and by itself and no one can tell what part is the kemper on the records.

Here is a good A/B blind test example by producer Lasse Lammert.
At what exact time is the real amp and when is the kemper?

Kemper vs Mesa
[YOUTUBE]

Yes, if we compare the real thing miked vs the same setup profiled it sounds almost identicall.

Quote from Armin

Yes, you are right.

Since I own the KPA I sold 3 of my tube amps (Elmwood M60, Mesa Boogie MK V, Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special) and bought a new one (Mesa Boogie Mini Rectifier).

I love both real tube amps and the KPA.

Is it the same - no.

The KPA is much more versatile, for playing at late night much better sounding, for recordings once you have some great profiles very good, it has very good effects inbuilt, you can store your setups (rigs), play via headphones, ...

Will it replace all my tube amps - no!

So if you have ONE tube amp sound you love very much - get that tube amp.
If you are after MANY great tube amp sounds - get all these tube amps or get the KPA.

To play the KPA via some great speakers is as much fun as to play a great tube amp - you can't compare it with other 'modelers'.

Display More

Armin - I agree with you 100%!

1) Needs

Quote from Nio

buy an amp which should satisfy my needs

Quote from Nio

Dr. Z Maz 8, TwoRock Studio Pro 35, Bogner Goldfinger, Bogner Duende

so you have already quite a fleet of good amps. If you know exactly what is missing - get it. If not, the Profiler might be helpful, because it is very versatile. Maybe what you are missing is not a new amp but the possibility to taylor the sound of your existing amps. That is another point where the KEMPER is realy great at. I don't think of the KEMPER as another amp, to me it is more like a recorder. Or better: a "Profiler". BTW: I would never sell any amps just because I have done a profile of it. There are so many different ways of how to do a profile...

2) Sweet spot
Another big problem when playing at home is that most amps only sound good at their sweet spot - which is usually quite loud. Unless you are really independent from noise-sensitive neighbors the KEMPER Profiler is perfect for playing the sweet spot sound at any volume. I have tested a lot of power attenuators and other stuff - and nothing comes close to profiling your favourite amp and then playing it through the KEMPER.

The real question is can you get the sound you are looking for out of the equipment you are using. Most amps can't cover every sound you may need. With the wide array of amp sounds in the Kemper, and it's flexibility, the answer is that whatever you're looking for is in there. A little tweak here, a little tweak there and you've got it. Does it mean you have to give up your tube amps? No. Does it mean you might want to? Maybe. I still have several tube amps but, once I get them profiled, maybe I won't have them anymore.