Opinions on Kemper, line 6 helix ,axe fx ECT

sgosden · June 2018

Wazmeister said:

Ive just posted this on TGP, and thought Id add it here...

Like many of us, Im fortunate to have a fair bit of ‘expendable’ cash, and across the years I sure have spent it !!

Ive owned many great amps, and still own two; a Carr Rambler and a Redplate CDS2. Ive tried all the modelling formats, and for my needs, I find the Kemper to be an astonishing instrument.

I dont know what happened with the updates in say two years, but my second Kemper which Ive just bought, seems instantly superior to the previous one. I think that the main difference is MY approach; im know NOT using the PC software, but just the unit interface.

And indeed, here is the problem... how we ‘approach’ the Kemper. You see, it is incredibly versatile... but whereas the Helix rightfully get lauded for its versatility and flexibility, the Kemper tends not to receivesuch praise. Sure, it has its quirks - but ALL of the digital world is alien to me, and has a steep learning curve and a language of its own.

I compared the Helix to the Kemper for amp tones; there was no comparison imho... the Kemper was far superior. But I love the Helix and its routing options, and still own the wonderful HX.

The Kemper is what it is. Id love a more logical, easier interface too. But in the meantime...

Maybe sometimes, it is US who need to adapt and change ?

Im amazed, at home volumes only thus far, that the Kemper stands up (and beats sometimes) theincredible Rambler and Redplate. Indeed, in stereo with a clean Rambler, the Kemper slighlty breaking-up sound, has literally produced THE best home tones Ive ever heard...

Now, how will it fair live and with the band ? We shall see in the next few weeks...

This really isn't helping my kemper curiosity....

stratology · April 2019

Long time Kemper user here. I used to absolutely love the Kemper amp. Over time, it has turned into a love-hate relationship.

On the pro side:

The Kemper sounds fantastic (with the right profiles), is easy to use, easy to change sounds on the fly, easy to create good original sounds, lots of good sounding commercial profiles on the market. Touch responsive, the way the Kemper responds to playing nuances, like changes in pick attack, is at least as good, probably better, than any of the tube amps I used before.

Built in effects sound great. I sold my Strymon Timeline, because the Kemper delays are better, and stopped using my pedalboard.

On the con side:

It crashes a lot. If you look at rigs of pro players, they always have 2 or 3 Kemper amps in a rack. There's a reason for that.
Doing live gigs with only one unit, without backup, is not a good idea.

Kemper support is, arguably, the worst in the industry. Their attitude is 'blame the customer' for any kind of issues. When I got several crashes per hour, I was told they were caused by using the Looper and some Delays at the same time. Instead of fixing the issue, they told me to buy a looper pedal (which I did - TC Ditto X4 - great), and stop using the built in looper. No joke.

A recent software update changed how to the amp interprets a specific parameter (Input Swell in Delays). That means, applying the update screwed up all sounds of all players, worldwide, that used the Input Swell parameter. Most of my sounds became completely unusable. You pick a note, nothing happens for half a second, then a farting sound. Kemper support says they 'improved' the way the parameter behaves, and how Input Swell sounds. Software updates should never screw up user content, like existing patches.
The only fix was to roll back to an older release of the OS, and stay on that indefinitely, never update. Even trying to re-create the existing sounds from scratch is not an option, because the underlying sound of the Input Swell has changed (for the worse..).

Rig Manager software is so poorly written, it borders on being unusable - especially if you try to edit Performances. Copying Rigs from the Browse pool to Performances sometimes works, sometimes only a random selection of parameters of a Rig are copied. It allows duplicate names of files with different content. Randomly forgets how lists are sorted. Communication with the amp is hit and miss, not reliable.

If you have any hardware issues, you have to send the amp to the manufacturer in Germany. Long turnaround time. No authorised repair centres in other countries.

sweepy · April 2019

Never had a Kemper crash yet, @sgosden if you fancy a good thrash on a Kemper through an Atomic CLR or Studio monitors, then you are more than welcome as I’m in OX16

octatonic · April 2019

sweepy said:

Never had a Kemper crash yet, @sgosden if you fancy a good thrash on a Kemper through an Atomic CLR or Studio monitors, then you are more than welcome as I’m in OX16

Mine have never crashed either- neither the unpowered toaster that I sold, or the powered rack that I have now.

Jonathanthomas83 · April 2019

Agreed, mine's never crashed either.

Fiftyshadesofjay · April 2019

2-5 gigs a week during wedding season for 3 years, not one single crash.

firepaulmusic · April 2019

I’ve had Kemper, Helix and AX8. The AX8 has stayed with me now through nearly 100 gigs and I’m very happy with it. I go direct to PA and back though my own monitor bus to a single Yamaha DXR10 which I have behind me. My main amp models are Fender Deluxe Reverb with Suhr Riot, MXR Microamp and TS808 modelled stomp boxes. My other patch is based on a Bogner Shiva, my favourite real life amp as I’ve had four so far. I found the AX8 to sound and feel just as good as any real valve amp I’ve had, probably because I’m used to micing up an amp and the having some come back at me through monitors to keep stage volume down.
The Helix was great to programme but I personally found it sounded a bit sterile, hard to get the sound I was personally after.
The Kemper was superb through headphones but the experience didn’t translate as well live. I may revisit it a third time though as Im sure it’s a great unit. I spent a lot of money on MBritt patches which were the best I found for my taste...

Handsome_Chris · April 2019

I'm an owner of an Axe-FX II (AF2), GSP1101 and a Boss GT-1000. they are all great at what they do.

My current fave is the Boss GT-1000 as it's compact, I find it really easy to configure, and it sounds alright too. I originally bought it as a controller of the AF2; however, I've started to use it as a modeller + multi-fx beastie. It's delightful.

Stevepage · April 2019

I have the Helix LT. I'm satisfied with the tone I've got with it. I couldn't justify the price difference for a Kemper or Axe FX even though I'm sure they're great, I just don't think they'd be a thousand pounds better.

stratology · April 2019

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

2-5 gigs a week during wedding season for 3 years, not one single crash.

Wow, I wish I was that lucky. Had another crash during rehearsal yesterday...

Fiftyshadesofjay · April 2019

stratology said:

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

2-5 gigs a week during wedding season for 3 years, not one single crash.

Wow, I wish I was that lucky. Had another crash during rehearsal yesterday...

Are you using a full release firmware or beta? Failing that your Kemper could be faulty?

PolarityMan · April 2019

Just to fan the flames even more......the kemper is hugely regarded in the production world and Ive listened to many many interviews where producers have talked about managing to fool the band in blind tests with the kemper and real amps or just re-amping DI's through the kemper after a band has tracked.

So.....what the pros are endorsed for and what they use live might not actually be what is on the record. I reckon if you like rock music from the last 5 years or so there are undoubtedly tones you like that were got from a kemper.

octatonic · April 2019

PolarityMan said:

Just to fan the flames even more......the kemper is hugely regarded in the production world and Ive listened to many many interviews where producers have talked about managing to fool the band in blind tests with the kemper and real amps or just re-amping DI's through the kemper after a band has tracked.

So.....what the pros are endorsed for and what they use live might not actually be what is on the record. I reckon if you like rock music from the last 5 years or so there are undoubtedly tones you like that were got from a kemper.

Yes, it is very common- either Kemper or Axe FX II or III.

Fiftyshadesofjay · April 2019

I’ve tracked pro recordings with the Kemper. On the last album I did we mic’d a 5153 and tracked with it. Profiled it and ended up using the profiles for overdubs.

When I went in to do an extra track we just used the profile, seemed pointless to mic an amp again when we had the same tone more or less ready to go. No other band members could tell the difference.

octatonic · April 2019

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

I’ve tracked pro recordings with the Kemper. On the last album I did we mic’d a 5153 and tracked with it. Profiled it and ended up using the profiles for overdubs.

When I went in to do an extra track we just used the profile, seemed pointless to mic an amp again when we had the same tone more or less ready to go. No other band members could tell the difference.

I've profiled all my amps as well, with different mics and cabs.

I did the same with Tone Match on the Axe FX II, but Kemper is better for this.

Freebird · April 2019

For recording purposes something like a Kemper is a no-brainer. I have guitars with single-coils, humbuckers and a bass, so I would need multiple amps and mics to record this lot (plus room treatment).

For home thrills and playing out, I would probably choose a real amp, so ideally everybody should have both! Given this mindset I would probably choose a Kemper, as I think it has the most accurate amp models.

FarleyUK · April 2019

I've used a Helix, an AX8 and a Kemper - and to me, the only one to actually capture the 'feel' and response of a tube amp was the Kemper (by a country mile). They all sounded great, but neither the Fractal nor the Line 6 stuff seems to capture the same response and feel you get from an amp. To me, the Kemper is easily the front-runner out of the three.

I was thinking of trying an AXE FX-III.... but looking at the cost - and the general attitude of the business, plus the lack of foot controllers - made me think twice. From what I hear though, they still don't match the Kemper for playability.

octatonic · April 2019

FarleyUK said:

I've used a Helix, an AX8 and a Kemper - and to me, the only one to actually capture the 'feel' and response of a tube amp was the Kemper (by a country mile). They all sounded great, but neither the Fractal nor the Line 6 stuff seems to capture the same response and feel you get from an amp. To me, the Kemper is easily the front-runner out of the three.

I was thinking of trying an AXE FX-III.... but looking at the cost - and the general attitude of the business, plus the lack of foot controllers - made me think twice. From what I hear though, they still don't match the Kemper for playability.

AxeI II isn't a massive step up from the II in terms of 'quality'.
You get more DSP, so can run many more blocks, but the basic sound of it is essentially the same.

bingefeller · April 2019

I have a GT-1000 and really like it. It's easy to edit the patches and the Boss Tone Studio is very good. Boss are constantly updating the GT-1000 too and are actually listening to their users - there is a Boss Facebook group with some Boss reps on there who take feedback regularly.

Not sure if it's amp like or not as I don't have enough experience with "proper" amps to compare.

I view the GT-1000 as creating an overall tone, which I see as its own entity. I don't think about amps or anything when I'm creating a sound. Sometimes you can get too hung up on trying to get something to be "amp like" and that takes the fun away from playing.

Freebird · April 2019

FarleyUK said:

I've used a Helix, an AX8 and a Kemper - and to me, the only one to actually capture the 'feel' and response of a tube amp was the Kemper (by a country mile). They all sounded great, but neither the Fractal nor the Line 6 stuff seems to capture the same response and feel you get from an amp. To me, the Kemper is easily the front-runner out of the three.

I was thinking of trying an AXE FX-III.... but looking at the cost - and the general attitude of the business, plus the lack of foot controllers - made me think twice. From what I hear though, they still don't match the Kemper for playability.

Kemper & FX8

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Opinions on Kemper, line 6 helix ,axe fx ECT

Comments