Amp/Axe FX ponderings....

ToneControl · January 2015

mind you KPA is an excellent thing to get

Ironically I play my real amps very un-FXed, so the advice I was going to give based on whether you use lots of pedals is disproved: I play the AF2 more, then tend to turn the amps on for purer sounds, but for recording, the KPA is easier than real amps to use

Deijavoo · January 2015

Well all of this is now pie in the sky as I'm officially broke for the next 3 years. Central heating warm air system broken down and new system needed with all the kit and kaboodle. Local firm quote of £4599, although hoping to swing a couple of mates rates quotes out too but it still ain't gonna be pretty.

Add that to the joiner and sparky visit needed in my house tomorrow too...

Never buy a house kids.

:x :x :x

Deijavoo · January 2015

Thanks for the pearls of wisdom though dudes.

Drew_TNBD · January 2015

Never buy kids, house.

Deijavoo · January 2015

That's another year off to a cracking fucking start again.

Nerine · January 2015

At least you don't have to buy an AxeFX now.
(The Kemper is better, sounds and feels much more real to me.) especially recorded.
I think profiling is a far superior method of capture rather than just simulation.

crunchman · January 2015

ToneControl said:

AF2 is considerably more flexible and tweakable than KPA, and patches are all free

KPA is pretty useless without good quality profiles, and they usually cost money
KPA is not very tweakable, even though it has more knobs, it has far less things you can adjust

There is more than enough to tweak on the Kemper. There are a whole bunch of settings I haven't touched yet. I haven't got enough time. I dread to think what the Axe FX must be like.

There are good profiles on the Kemper out of the box. There are nearly 300 profiles that come from the factory. Some of them are rubbish, but there are enough good ones there to get decent tones. There are also over 200 profiles that you can download from the Amp Factory in their free packs.

There are also more than 5000 profiles available for free on the rig exchange. If you search forums, you can get an idea of which ones are highly rated. There are loads of threads on the Kemper forum about where to find good free rigs.

Even if you do end up spending a couple of hundred on commercially available profiles it's still a lot cheaper than the Axe FX.

Where the Axe FX does score is in the effects. The Kemper effects are good but they are quite basic. If I look at what I can get from my Strymons (Timeline and Big Sky) the Kemper does fall short of that. By all accounts, the Axe FX effects are absolutely brilliant. I can put the Strymons in the loop of the Kemper if I want, although for every day use it's not really worth it.

paulmapp8306 · January 2015

Ha - horses for courses as Ive said countless times. Its soooo personal.

I have had a KPA for a while, and have an AFX2, after having an AFX standard for years. Both sound decent, and actually Id argue the KPA is NOT better sounding as a pure amp sim/sample per-se. It is easier to get a good start tone, but the AFX lets you craft the tone so much more.

FWIW, without starting the fire, and leaving all things aside bar the amp tones . .. .

The KPA lets you get the sound, tone and feel of a spacific real amp, set with whatever EQ/gain/master it was at capture. It will do that better than a AFX. You can tweek that prifile but MO the further you go from the original the less realistic it sounds.

The AFX will let you craft the tone/feel/sound in your head. It takes more work to nail everything (though if 98% satisfies you that much easier), but if you take the time to understand it and get to know it, the world is your stage.

paulmapp8306 · January 2015

You can put your Strymons in the loop of the AFX as well, if you want that particular FX, and cant create it with the AFX. Just saying.

crunchman · January 2015

paulmapp8306 said:

You can put your Strymons in the loop of the AFX as well, if you want that particular FX, and cant create it with the AFX. Just saying.

I've not used the AFX but by all accounts AFX delays and reverbs are so good that there would be no need for the Strymons with it.

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Amp/Axe FX ponderings....

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