Selling my pedals to buy a Kemper

joeyowen

Sigh, so it's come to this.  

I love my pedalboard, but it never really gets used.  I don't gig, and my Fender Deville hasn't been turned on in about a year.
I love playing guitar, but hate all the 'ffs' moments when I try and play as I use a free guitar amp vst and pedals sound shite through it anyway.

So, advice, do I sell up and put some cash toward a Kemper? 

Considerations:
I don't gig
I can't afford a Kemper, but might be able to afford buying pedals back one by one and all are easily available
I don't need to change sounds on the fly
I am a strict bedroom guitarist who would buy the rack mounted Kemper to sit in the rack/pile...
Fender Deville isn't in the best cosmetic condition, so sale value isn't really worth parting with.
I've got no guitars or kidneys to sell

Is there any reason not to do this?  Will the Kemper just turn on and work, something which i've gone without for years!

ps, this isn't a for sale thread, but pic for beautiful reference:

markblack

I'm a bedroom player as well. I had the same experience. Sold all my pedals and bought a Helix. Haven't looked back. Just sit down and play now. It's great. 

I don't know enough to start a helix vs kemper debate. But I'd say give the helix a look. You still have 'pedals'. 

I'd say go for it. 

simonk

If you like your amp, consider an FX8. The effects in it are excellent and mesh together extremely well. Kemper is great too.

mixolyd

Gear4Music and Thomann do 30 day returns on the Kemper.

ive been in a similar position myself for a while: don't play out, would love a Kemper especially with low volume practice in mind but I'm continually put off by the cost.

joeyowen

simonk said:

If you like your amp, consider an FX8. The effects in it are excellent and mesh together extremely well. Kemper is great too.


Sorry, I didn't say, amp is far too loud for the house! Kids, neighbours, woman etc... 

Teetonetal

I play a lot at home. Live in a flat, 2 kids under 3. No way can I plug in to an amp. SO I got a helix. Best thing I've ever done. It took me ages to get used to it, but now I just think it's incredible. Audio interface, pedal board hub and modeller rolled into one.

Plus is if you do start giging, it's an amp option and/or pedalboard option.

No idea on the kemper, but I think going to one of these high end modellers is ideal for the home player.

mixolyd

Also: NAMM is coming up, we may see a nice new modelling amp or unit there.

Jez6345789

Rarely play out 
record more than anything and play at home

love my Kemper its the ideal tool certainly does not annoy the neighbours and still sounds epic with good profiles.

i did not get instant gratifications from what was pre loaded originally think presets have been improved but now there are a boat load of good profiles free and paid for.

easy to use once you get your head round it.

Being skint and suffering for your bedroom art is still legitimate lol

Jonathanthomas83

I'd go for it if I were in your position. However, there's an alternative you may not have considered. Do what I do and use a reactive loadbox (Suhr Reactive Load or similar (not a traditional resistive load which could suck tone)) and a cabinet simulator (Impulse Response loader - through software or hardware (Two Notes Torpedo CAB)). It's not cheap but it'll be cheaper than the Kemper and you get to use your amp and your pedals.

RandallFlagg

I would go for the Helix or Fractal AX8. The Kemper has a slightly different approach in that it's profiles are snapshots of amps and cabs and may leave to scrolling and tweaking to find tones you like  a bit more than the Helix/AX8 plus they have more variety of effects. In my experience, there will be plenty of tweaking whatever modeller you get, that's what drives me potty about it but once you have a core suite of tones that you are happy with then it is switch on and play.

Consider your monitoring as well, how are going to be listening back? Headphones, FRFR or monitors? 

If money is tight you could also consider the Atomic Amplifire.

Wazmeister

simonk said:

If you like your amp, consider an FX8. The effects in it are excellent and mesh together extremely well. Kemper is great too.

This worked incredibly for me personally... indeed, the most liberating best piece of give Ive bought ever !

ICBM

I'm currently biting the bullet and doing something similar, although I don't think I'll get a Kemper (I have no interest in amp modelling). I recently realised I hadn't used my main pedalboard at a gig for nearly ten years - which is almost twice as long as I actually used it for… ridiculous. It just gets taken out every now and again to basically check it all still works, then put away again. So yesterday I took the decision to break it up, sell the pedals I won't use again (most of them) and look for a more flexible solution. I may also sell my main amp since I'm unlikely to use that either.

I would sell the Deville even if it's not worth much, like my amp it's probably taking up space and may be holding you back psychologically from making the break from a physical amp.

Sorry, probably just random thoughts but I read the first post and it sounded familiar .

Fuengi

I'm a home player only and find a small amp and some pedals are easy to turn on and play. I has modelling amps previously but found I was forever fiddling to try to get a decent sound and not playing.
I got a Vox AC4  and love it, but I have a dedicated garden office / guitar room to play in, so not a bedroom player as such. 

Fiftyshadesofjay

In your position I'd definitely do it. I have a Kemper and an amp + pedals.

I never even entertain the idea of using my real amp at home, the Kemper is much more suitable. Effects are awesome since they updated the delays as well.

digitalscream

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I'd go for it if I were in your position. However, there's an alternative you may not have considered. Do what I do and use a reactive loadbox (Suhr Reactive Load or similar (not a traditional resistive load which could suck tone)) and a cabinet simulator (Impulse Response loader - through software or hardware (Two Notes Torpedo CAB)). It's not cheap but it'll be cheaper than the Kemper and you get to use your amp and your pedals.

This. It's certainly the cheapest and quickest route (given that you'll make a loss on your pedals, and you'll likely make a loss if you sell the Kemper later).

If you can keep the volume low on your amp, AMT's 15W PowerEater will do the job nicely. At £100 (after the FB discount), it's a bloody bargain and by far the cheapest reactive load on the market. Then you can use all your pedals and get the tones you want without mucking around.

Just load up Two Notes Wall of Sound III in your DAW, buy a couple of cabs (won't cost any more than a tenner) and you're set.

DrJazzTap

It's hugely tempting, it's something I need to think about. My pedal board is a bit of a running joke, I used to sell/swap and buy something different every other week. So I made a concerted effort a few years ago to finish it off and just sit on it. Like @ICBM i turn my on about twice a year to check it still all works. I have a few pedals that would raise a couple of hundred quid in total, it's not like I'm sat on a case of Strymons. @ICBM Is right though, I probably have an attachment to amp I no longer gig. I am going to try out a THR100 today and see what that's like.....maybe a boss katana as well. Which I know is amp shaped, just looking for something non valvey.

Jonathanthomas83

digitalscream said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I'd go for it if I were in your position. However, there's an alternative you may not have considered. Do what I do and use a reactive loadbox (Suhr Reactive Load or similar (not a traditional resistive load which could suck tone)) and a cabinet simulator (Impulse Response loader - through software or hardware (Two Notes Torpedo CAB)). It's not cheap but it'll be cheaper than the Kemper and you get to use your amp and your pedals.

This. It's certainly the cheapest and quickest route (given that you'll make a loss on your pedals, and you'll likely make a loss if you sell the Kemper later).

If you can keep the volume low on your amp, AMT's 15W PowerEater will do the job nicely. At £100 (after the FB discount), it's a bloody bargain and by far the cheapest reactive load on the market. Then you can use all your pedals and get the tones you want without mucking around.

Just load up Two Notes Wall of Sound III in your DAW, buy a couple of cabs (won't cost any more than a tenner) and you're set.

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Teetonetal

I would also suggest get the Sgear demo - that's an incredible sounding VST and pedals sound good into it. 

guitarfishbay

I'm all for digital at home.  Take your pick between the Kemper, Helix, and Fractal stuff, it all seems to sound good and have different strengths and weaknesses.  Plenty of threads/comparisons available all over the net.

I've not used my cabs at home for ages now.  I set up a practice project in Logic, with drum tracks to songs I play and various 1 bar midi clicks I can loop for different time signatures.  I have a bus with a stereo delay I really like which I switch on/off as I fancy it when noodling, that's about it.

fretmeister

I went for the Helix and sold most of my pedals. I've kept some bass specific ones that the Helix doesn't do, but with the outboard loops it is so easy to integrate them.

I haven't lusted after a pedal since.

Gadget

I have been weighing-up a similar question - ie: playing at home only, do I stick with amp + floor pedals, or go for an Ax8 / FX8?...

However, I came to the opposite conclusion to a lot of people here, in that I decided the Ax8 / Fx8 type would be great if I were gigging for portability, easy setup, less cables, more reliability, consistent sound, etc....

.. but at home, the separate pedals idea was best, as I didn't have to concern myself with the issues above and actually enjoy tweaking-away to my heart's content at home, swapping pedals in and out, etc.

I do also have an Axe FX in the desk too, though.

I would suggest buying or at least demo'ing the Kemper before you let your amp + pedals go, just in case...