AxeFX & Kemper - thinking the unthinkable and selling my soul to the devil

Jonathanthomas83

So, I made a tit of myself on an AxeFX thread and it's come back to bite me on the arse...

Jonathanthomas83 said:

This is the issue I have with stuff like this, I know these units are not particularly new but my trusty valve amp will never need such firmware updates and go obsolete. Don't want to start any arguments, but this has always put me off buying the AxeFX and where digital fails, IMO. It's the same with buying consoles or PC parts. Upgrading is a necessary evil...something we don't need to worry about with valve amps.

On Saturday, took my "trusty valve amp" to my first rehearsal in years and it crapped out on my...couldn't believe it. I use this thing daily at home and now it decides to cause issues. I won't go into the details, but needless to say, it let me down and I was gutted.

 Got me thinking about the AxeFX and Kemper, and I've been ogling video's all weekend raving about how great they are. I've been pleasantly surprised by what I've heard.

 It's not just about reliability and consistent tone, it's also about portability. If I could get my sounds easily from one box, that sounds like a good plan. I'm at a point where I think that I don't really care about what gear I use, if I'm happy with the sound, that should be enough for me - this mindset is helping and allowing me to see past my fascination with pedals and the merry go round that comes along with having a cool pedalboard.

 So the question is, where do I start? Do I go Kemper or AxeFX? There's a huge price difference. Anyone local have one I can try out? I've heard that the midi implementation on the Kemper isn't that great, in comparison with AxeFX. But heard that the amp's sound more real on the Kemper. I like all the effects on the AxeFX, but with the Kemper, I guess I'd be able to keep some of my existing board.

 So I've got a lot to think about, can anybody who has experience with these things chime in and lend some advice?

 Also, those who have made the shift, have you gone all in or do you still have your amps lying about? I'm kind of an all in or nothing kind of guy and would be hesitant to keep anything lying around that I'm not using.

 Cheers!

Jez6345789

Having not used the Axefx I have no comparative experience but a year on remain committed to the Kemper.

i don't play anything much in the modern metal arena but love all the classic amps you can call up that I would never get to own, again I am simplistic with effects and only ever use the classic stuff delay verb, and then odd stuff once in a while. 

if if you get one from Thomann you get the 3 year warranty collected back to Kemper if it goes wrong mine has not misbehaved but nice to know past  1 year Andertons said your job to ship it back as they only acknowledge the legal 12 month UK warranty.

Good third party profiles converted me I nearly sent it back due to the low quality of a lot of the original stuff not sure if that improved but there are a lot more really good profiles out there now in all types of Amps.

i tend to be home studio based so not lugging to the dog and Gun every Friday night but when I have used it with a powered cab for rehearsal or a PA everyone comments on how good it sounds.

if you use Thomann you get 30 days to send it back there's your free trial

kjdowd

I've had really good experiences with both the helix and the ax8. Not tried the kemper but I think that you can't really go wrong. 

mburekenge

Don't do it! Stay strong.

there will be another black box with flashing lights out in another 6 months that will be better, and in another 6... and on and on

Sporky

I think it depends a bit on how you want to approach this.

The Kemper is probably the simplest to incorporate in your existing rig - it is mostly aimed at the amp modelling.

But one of the AxeFX units or a Helix could replace the whole lot, including your pedals, and give you much more flexibility with scenes/snapshots and expression controllers.

In terms of sound quality I would say they are all excellent, so your choice ought to be driven by how much change you want from your current rig, and which one you get on with best in terms of the user interface.

fretmeister

Don't discount the Helix.

The 3 big guys, Helix, Axe-FX, Kemper are all excellent now to the point where 99% of players will get the sound they want from any of them, so the differences are in the form factor and the interface and that sort of thing.

Try them all.

digitalscream

My experience is that the AxeFX gear sounds...like an AxeFX. There's a very definite something which is unique to them, and you either love it or you hate it.

I haven't really heard enough of the Helix to be able to tell, but the clips I have heard suggest that this isn't anywhere near so much of a "problem".

The Kemper, however, sounds like the amp you profiled (assuming the profile was made well). It's a hell of a lot less flexible than either the AxeFX or the Helix, though; not so many effects, very little in the way of fancy routing options and the like.

It comes down to what you want to do with it, really; if you want to experiment, I'd say Helix. If you want to just do a straight replacement of your gear with a single digital box, I'd say Kemper. If you enjoy spending lots of time fiddling with deep editing, go for the AxeFX.

Personally, I'm going Kemper as soon as funds allow. It's worth noting that with some ingenuity, you can actually use the Kemper to improve on the original amp by getting around some of its shortcomings (like my Kraken's second channel).

Teetonetal

Don't discount helix just because its line 6. I'm so happy with mine, it's revolutionized my guitar playing life.

mburekenge said:

Don't do it! Stay strong.

there will be another black box with flashing lights out in another 6 months that will be better, and in another 6... and on and on

Not sure about that... they seem to be doing the firmware update thing these days to increase the life cycle. Besides, some people do this with valve amps too... 

guitarfishbay

Put a chocolate biscuit in front of you but don't eat it. If you can ignore it for 5 minutes you'll be ok with an Axe FX. There is not any need to deep edit patches, most users don't use deep editing the majority of the time. But if you want to, you can. Personally I think if the amp model doesn't sound right, pick another. There are 250+ models included, so most people will find what they want in there.

However some people are searching for the perfect unicorn tone, and the fact you can deep edit means they feel they should. I do think the Axe FX 2 better suits someone who knows exactly what they want, and ideally that amp is modelled in there. I mostly use Rectifiers and 6505/5150 IIIs and the models sound really good IMO, in fact for recording I'm having more success than when I had a real Rectifier. People who've been trying to get the sounds of amps not modelled have sometimes been less successful though, so if you want a really specific sound the Kemper may be better.

I think the Helix is worth a look but I feel the low end of the higher gain amps doesn't quite have that tracks the note low end weight (but I feel the Fractal and Kemper do), the mid gain and clean sounds seem pretty good. The interface looks the best of all these units and the effects seem good. I've not used it but heard many clips @Drew_TNBD has made with it (and also he's had all these units and picked the Helix). 

For my needs I still think the Axe FX 2 fits me best and works the way I want it to, but if I was keeping amps I'd get the Kemper to make my own profiles, or if I was more interested in messing with effects a lot and less interested in high gain amps I'd get the Helix.

All 3 units can get a good sound, it basically comes down to priorities and workflow.

WarpedSounds

What is the expected life cycle of components in the new modellers?

Sporky

WarpedSounds said:

What is the expected life cycle of components in the new modellers?

Same as anything else.

They are designed.
They are manufactured.
They are used.
They are recycled.

WarpedSounds

I meant how long are they expected to last before failure?

ThorpyFX

WarpedSounds said:

I meant how long are they expected to last before failure?

That would be extremely difficult to ascertain. How long do your TV's last or any other home electronics kit?

guitarfishbay

I don't think any of the manufacturers have published those stats, in fact not sure how many tech companies do it in general. 

Sporky

You really want a MTBF list for every individual component in each of the new modellers? What would that actually tell you about the complete units?

fretmeister

WarpedSounds said:

I meant how long are they expected to last before failure?

Not a clue.

But my origonal POD 2.0 is still going strong.

As is my PODXT

The original POD.- must be getting on for 10 years old now?

Sassafras

Whatever you get you'll still need to run it through an amp which can crap out at anytime, same as anything.

WarpedSounds

Just wondered about batteries and HDs. An Apple boffin recently told me their batteries are built to last around three years, for example. 

Sporky

I don't think any of them have hard drives on board, and any batteries will just be for memory backup so replaceable.

kjdowd

I appreciate that this is hardly representative, but the only pieces of kit that I have ever had a problem with during a gig are valve amps. 

On the long term serviceability point, I've only heard good things about line 6 and fractal in this regard. 

guitarfishbay

The battery in the Axe FX 2 is supposed to last over 10 years and is user replaceable