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:
Comments
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.
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.
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.
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
View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
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.
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 .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
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.
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.
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.
View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
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.
I haven't lusted after a pedal since.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
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...