I had a dxr 10 but didn't get on with it and sold it eventually. To me it didn't replicate the sound of the amp through a guitar cab at all, sounded too hi-fi for my liking and made everything sounds digital.
Before that I was putting the kemper through the power amp of my Cornford MK50ii and got some great tones but recently got a Palmer Macht ss power amp and put that through my 2x12 with V30's and it sounds great, very amp like. Plus the Palmer is half the price of the Yamaha!
Could also be because you're comparing it to the tone through the guitar cab which is what you're used to.
When I first got my kemper I played it imto my Cornford Head 50W power amp through a 2x12 and thought it sounded great. Then to try and find a more portable solution I bought a DXR 10 because everyone was raving about them.
Almost straight away i realised I didn't like this option. At gig levels it was ok but not great and not a patch on my previous setup, but at bedroom levels definitely not for me. The tone just wasn't the same, didn't have the same meat to it, profiles sounded hi if and not amp like.
I ditched the DXR after a few months and now use a Palmer Macht 402 power amp through my 2x12 and it sounds incredible even at bedroom levels. i definitely recommend the Palmer and it's half the price of the Yamaha!
Palmer Macht 402 is a great choice.
I've been running a 2x12 with v30's and it sounds great, definitely get the amp like thump out if it. Plays great at bedroom volumes and gig levels. Plenty loud enough and half the price of the matrix amps
I picked up my Kemper a couple of months back and can honestly say it's the best bit of gear I have ever bought...and I've bought a lot of gear!!
i was running a Cornford MK50ii into a Cornford 2x12 cab and like you was generally pretty happy with that set up. When I bought the Cornford it was my dream amp and I thought I was never going to need another amp solution.
then I started reading about the Kemper and the GAS kicked in so I bought one. I honestly thought i'd try it out and then return it. However within a couple of hours I was getting the tones I really dreamt about. this was using the power amp section of the cornford so I knew I was only using half the potential of the Kemper!!
Now I'm running through a Yamaha DXR10 and this really let's the Kemper shine! And again I thought I wouldn't like this route but my doubts were soon put to rest.
ive taken profiles of my Cornford and to my ears it sounds 99% identical to the actual amp. It responds the same way when you switch pickups, lower the gain or use the volume knob on the guitar.
My band mates have commented that my sound has improved, more clarity and punch and I can also tailor my tones to the song as I play covers which is really cool and something I couldn't do before.
Of course these things are all subjective and in the ears of the listener but in my experience if you buy a kemper you won't regret it!!
