Oh no - I think I want an axe fx/Kemper/helix thing..

mattdavis

koss59 said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

You don't really need to cover lots of sounds in a covers band. You just need dependable gear and to play the song correctly.
I wouldn't swap my amp for a helix, ever, and I say that as an owner of a helix

This is so true, and doesnt stop at covers bands either.
When I started doing gigs for well known original artists I was so paranoid about getting the sound right etc and all they care about is that the groove is there and you sound good.
Most don’t even care if you don’t play the parts as the originals and want you to change it as they’re sick of them.
I soon realised I needed to stop chasing tones and practice more.

Fact is, if you can get a decent clean tone and dirty rhythm and lead tone it doesnt matter if the flavour is Marshall, Fender, Mesa or whatever as long as you sound good.

That sounds like sage advice. Stop faffing - start practising 

sw67

I wouldn't sell a lazy J amp for a helix. I use a helix in a covers band with a RCF speaker. Its reliable , always sounds the same , easy to set up and transport so ideal for gigs. That said I will never give up amps and have another on order. My amps will be around long after the helix is landfill. 

Freebird

Wazmeister said:

sweepy said:

My experience so far having owned all 3
Best Amps. Kemper
Best FX.       Fractal
Ease of Use. Line 6

Spot on

I have a Kemper + FX8 + Helix Native. I think it's a good compromise, and it's more than I will ever need!

I'd still like a nice tube amp setup to complement it though, and I think there is room for both. Why restrict yourself, hey?

mattdavis

Freebird said:

Wazmeister said:

sweepy said:

My experience so far having owned all 3
Best Amps. Kemper
Best FX.       Fractal
Ease of Use. Line 6

Spot on

I have a Kemper + FX8 + Helix Native. I think it's a good compromise, and it's more than I will ever need!

I'd still like a nice tube amp setup to complement it though, and I think there is room for both. Why restrict yourself, hey?

Just been watching some demos of the Kemper - looks a lot more straightforward than the Fractal - and I love the idea of being able to profile my own amps (one day - with the help of someone clever - which means I would probably never do it). 

I think I would struggle to justify the extravagance of a boutique amp like the J and a Kemper as well. I’m lucky to have a few amps so my ‘77 Champ and ‘84 Jcm  800 would keep the tube need serviced. Temptation just increased.. 

Freebird

mattdavis said:
I've just been watching some demos of the Kemper - looks a lot more straightforward than the Fractal - and I love the idea of being able to profile my own amps (one day - with the help of someone clever - which means I would probably never do it). 

I think I would struggle to justify the extravagance of a boutique amp like the J and a Kemper as well. I’m lucky to have a few amps so my ‘77 Champ and ‘84 Jcm  800 would keep the tube need serviced. Temptation just increased.. 

If I owned tube amps and modellers, I wouldn't necessarily see them as competing directly against each other, as I think they both have their own unique uses. If I've got my studio hat on I would use the Kemper for simplification purposes, and if I had my Slash hat on I would use the tubes! I definately think there is room for both in this day and age, not to mention the Kemper always wins at 2am 

sweepy

I use an Eventide H9 with my Kemper through an Atomic CLR, sounds huge but is very controllable. The new OS and editor for the Kemper due later in the year will hopefully make it slightly less arcane than it is at the moment

NelsonP

I have a Mesa head + Marshall 4 x 12 which I have owned forever and it is rapidly becoming a museum piece. Sure it sounds great but it is too loud for home use and is a bugger to move anywhere.

I don't really see it as an either/or, but if pushed the modelling approach is better for me these days. It doesn't sound quite as sweet as a valve amp, but is still very good.

I now have a board based around an Atomic Amplifire which is brilliant. I don't play live any more, so the board is for home use via FRFR or headphones and jamming over at my mates house, straight into a PA, over backing tracks. My mate has a Plexi clone and a Marshall 4 x 12 and the Amplifire holds its own against it when running directly into the PA. Obviously it is much more versatile.

Honestly I bought the Amplifire because at that time Kemper, Helix and Fractal were all too expensive. Cheapest of those was £1500 at the time. But now I have now integrated it into a board it is great. The irony is that now I've spent more than it would have cost to buy a Helix (!). But I've got exactly what I want. Not sure what I would buy if I had my time again. It would probably be a straight shootout between an Amplifire 6, HX stomp and Fractal FM3.

You also need to consider FRFR options - Laney IRT-X, LFR112, Alto TS, Yamaha DXR, Line 6 powercab, Atomic CLR etc...

Gratuitous board pic.....

Kebabkid

Keep forgetting about the very recent FM3 from Fractal Audio

mattdavis

Cheers all. Off to try a Kemper for the first time and see what the fuss is about. 

mattdavis

Wow - was very easy to get great sounds very quickly with the Kemper. Only listening through headphones mind you. I thought the effects were great actually. A little tricky to work out the controls vs the Helix, and the Kemper is an ugly bugger - but sounded awesome. The amp/cab models on Helix (it was the Rack through headphones again) were less immediately inspiring but still impressive. 
Overall I think it would be the Kemper that I’d get on with. But I did realise is that actually I probably only want about 3 different types of principle core sounds - (wonder if a Kemper-lite is on the horizon) and my j20 plus pedals can do most of it! 
All good fun..

sweepy

You’ll love the Dumble, Two Rock, Ceriatone profiles, incredibly touch responsive and playable

NelsonP

Sounds like an afternoon well spent.

Agree that most of the time all you need is something like:
Fender Clean
Marshall Crunch
Something high gainy
...and as many good effects as you can get.

The big advantage of the modelling route is that you can switch between these, with any combination of effects with a single button press. A loop switcher on a regular board will achieve something similar, but only if you can use it to switch channels on your amp at the same time.

Freebird

mattdavis said:

Wow - was very easy to get great sounds very quickly with the Kemper. Only listening through headphones mind you. I thought the effects were great actually. A little tricky to work out the controls vs the Helix, and the Kemper is an ugly bugger - but sounded awesome. The amp/cab models on Helix (it was the Rack through headphones again) were less immediately inspiring but still impressive. 
Overall I think it would be the Kemper that I’d get on with. But I did realise is that actually I probably only want about 3 different types of principle core sounds - (wonder if a Kemper-lite is on the horizon) and my j20 plus pedals can do most of it! 
All good fun..

Kemper profiles have the amp EQ settings and gain levels baked in, so it's simply a case of finding the right profiles that suit your guitar. There is room for a bit of tweaking, but I tend to look for profiles that sound good with minimal intervention on my part.

mattdavis

Freebird said:

mattdavis said:

Wow - was very easy to get great sounds very quickly with the Kemper. Only listening through headphones mind you. I thought the effects were great actually. A little tricky to work out the controls vs the Helix, and the Kemper is an ugly bugger - but sounded awesome. The amp/cab models on Helix (it was the Rack through headphones again) were less immediately inspiring but still impressive. 
Overall I think it would be the Kemper that I’d get on with. But I did realise is that actually I probably only want about 3 different types of principle core sounds - (wonder if a Kemper-lite is on the horizon) and my j20 plus pedals can do most of it! 
All good fun..

Kemper profiles have the amp EQ settings and gain levels baked in, so it's simply a case of finding the right profiles that suit your guitar. There is room for a bit of tweaking, but I tend to look for profiles that sound good with minimal intervention on my part.

That did seem to be the case but the dedicated eq and gain knobs did allow significant change in tones, as you would expect on a real amp. 
Bloody loved it

sweepy

Welcome to the club

John_A

Question for Kemper uses.  Is patch switching gapless, or does it have the equivalent of Helix snapshots?

Wazmeister

If I had the money, I'd def own a Kemper again... Superb unit.

Freebird

.

Wazmeister said:

If I had the money, I'd def own a Kemper again... Superb unit.

Like I said I don't think it's an either/or situation, next time have both, and that goes for @JonathanThomas83 too!    You can't be faffing around changing the entire rig every time, and besides that nothing beats a late night noodle on the Kemper with the headphones, and it goes where you go.