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[DaveM]

I'm sure most everyone on here has already played one......so I'm late to the game here in Germany.  A friend of mine recently got a Kemper and matching control pedal, and invited me over to try it.  Today I finally got a chance to visit his studio.....

I don't really know what I was expecting, but I was completely blown away by the "authenticity" of it all.  Spent about an hour running through various presets.  Sure, there were "those" presets that I'd never use live or in the studio, but the ones that caught my ear........they simply sounded INCREDIBLE. 

I was repeatedly blown away with the Fender, Vox and Marshall patches.  I thought that Keith Merrow's profiles (I assume they were of his old 5150 head) sounded particularly massive in the high-gain department. 

Technology has certainly come quite a long way.  Everything was so nice and crisp, and there were none of the fizzy digital artifacts that I experience with Line 6 gear. 

I now feel that I may have been a tube-snob for a bit too long.   



   

[rnolan]

Hey Dave, it has certainly come a long way. I can see how the better profiling computers/gadgets would be very useful (depending what you want/do). They still don't quite have the dynamic range that tubes have so are probably not the best choice for loud and live, again depends what you want. Understanding that tubes are still simply better (basic physics) doesn't make you a tube snob IMO. Would be interesting to do some ADA Impulse samples and compare with the original, but also store for use in the profiler.

IIRC Zilthy has used a line 6 at large stadium gigs and liked it, in the end it's whatever works for you.

[Systematic Chaos]

The Kemper enjoys a huge fan-base....especially here in Germany.
And truth be told, modeling and profiling (amps) has come a long way. The Kemper is a mainstay in almost every studio now and the possibility to profile your beloved AC30, that magic sounding Master Lead MkII or holy grail MkIIC+ DRGX, together with a speaker (cab) and mic of your preference/choice adds up to not only ease of use in the studio but also taking exactly *that* recorded tone up on stage without taking all of the aforementioned priceless and precious gear along.
And you don´t run the chance of having a tube fail in the mid of that amazing solo you´re laying down....
Put it through an FRFR system at any given volume and the sound is there. Period. They even come in a rack-mountable layout with integrated poweramp.
The bundle of that including the Kemper remote foot controller goes for the same $$$ as an AxeFX II (rack unit only)....at least that is a hell of a convincing argument if you plan to head down that road....
(http://www.thomann.de/gb/kemper_profiling_amp_powerrack_set.htm)


Sound-/feel-wise I´m with DaveM.....I checked them out and it sounds awesome....studio and stage.

For my humble use, the 11R for the price I paid is more than sufficient. It´s basically a very dedicated audio interface with the added bonus of a very realistic and dynamic amp modeling.
So I have an interface and the possibility do practice and jam in the living-/bedroom without annoying anyone.
For everything else, my Triaxis/MPX-G2/2:90 covers all my needs....but thats subjective and personal preference as I don´t need Marshalls, Vox,.... Boogie Mk Tones do it for me ;-)