Thinking about taking the plunge

    I have recently registered for the forum as the Kemper has gotten my attention. I'm pretty old school and have been looking for the best solution for playing direct to a PA. I have tried all the usual suspects and have become frustrated with the amount of time that has to be invested to get a reasonable guitar tone. I have also thought about the new Quilter amps as they have a very respectable DI built in. I am not a studio player and have no background as such. My question is: will the Kemper be essentially a "plug and play" amp for most profiles that I would use or does one have to spend a lot of time adjusting volumes, EQ, etc.? I assume a midi controller is a necessity for live playing. What do most people use?


    Thanks in advance.

    Hi RocDoc, welcome :)

    usually, a profile represents a mic'ed amp and cab. So this is the sound you have to expect from it. Once you are OK with it, tones and feeling are exceptionally good.
    The best sound (I mean the most faithful to the profile) is got through the most possible linear amp and cab, tho many use a guitar setup and are satisfied with their (tonically) less versatile sound.

    A common misconception about the Profiler is considering most of the profiles (specially the factory ones) mediocre "like in all the modellers". This is generally false. Any factory profile sounded good to its creator (usually a well-known professional musician, producer or session man) for their guitar, monitor/cab and needs.
    It goes by itself that a profile meant to fit a mix will generally sound weak or unpleasant by itself (just listen to some isolated tracks on the Tube). Also, a tone tweaked for a Strato may sound weird when used with a metal-oriented guitar. Or, if the profile's author listened through a darker cab than yours, good chances are their profile will sound overly bright... and so on.

    While waiting for the proprietary MIDI pedalboard, among the cheapest (but trustable) ones the Behringer with a cheap modified FW chip gets most success here.

    :)

    I had concerns before I bought mine due to the fact that I always played tube amps and don't like overly complicated gear. I couldn't be happier with the KPA. Finding a good sound is a breeze. The hardest part is picking a favorite. The KPA is only as complicated as you want it to be.

    I bought the Kemper a few months ago and have been loving it. A few days ago I dropped $2500 on the Axe FX II and was expecting to be "blown away"...well, I wasn't. I just about got lynched on other forums for saying that I preferred the Kemper but I do. I find it to be the best producer of guitar tone out there. Period. Get it, well worth the money.

    I was in a similar boat as you. I wanted simplicity but some flexibility. I have been using modelers for a long time and had become somewhat disenchantend with them. the Axe was way to complicated and I don't need hundreds if effects with pages of tweaks available. I bought a Kemper last week expecting more of the same. So far I'm floored. This is just what I wanted. Great sounds with very little tweaking and the ability to choose what amps I want to add.

    IMO, the Kemper would be the easiest transition from real amp to the world of digital amps.

    I would also recommend the Atomic CLR for a cab. Sounds great, loud, and versatile.

    Absolute best purchase I've ever made for guitar. I've needed a direct rig for the past 8 years and have gone through lots of gear, including the Pod HD500, and standard stomps into a Sansamp, the original blue Vox tone lab with the tube inside, and the Kemper blows them all away. The basic quality and musicality of it is hands down the best option on the planet. But in addition to quality, you also get quantity, with the number of outstanding sounding profiles built in, available for free down load, and for purchase. It's easy to set up, relative. The coolest thing is that volume is automatically compensated with gain. Just set the input adjustment for your guitar and all the profiles are balanced perfectly. Crank the gain up or down on a profile and the volume is adjusted automatically. In fact, I've never had guitar tone this good before, as the profiles are better than any other the more affordable tube amp set ups I've owned over the years. Plus the ability to get these tones at any volume and with a wider dispersion using a monitor than using a beamy guitar cab. It's also a lighter set up than hauling a tube amp and cabinet around. just this light box, and my 32 pound active monitor (Qsc k10). The behringer Fcb1010 with the uno for Kemper chip is a great controller for cheap. This thing is also the best possible tool for recording guitar in the studio. You can't possibly get better tone than this thing. If you can, simply use the Kemper to profile it and still have the best tone available. You can't lose.

    I'm selling/sold all my gear.... mesa...everything... there is no reason to own anything else, I played at church for 2 weeks DI... and no one noticed anything different other than they thought I got another pedal... because the tone was amazing...

    I'm down from loading and setting up a half a pick up bed full of stuff... Kemper, Behringer with a cheap modified chip midi controller, guitar!

    Fyi... I've just had my Kemper for a month! amazing tone.....now.... for me... there has been a little of a learning curve, I hate reading manuals...lol

    I am very happy with mine.

    but to address your concerns, just keep in mind there is a veritable sea of profiles out there, and if your goal is to try them all to find your favorites; it can take a long time. however, if you were to (as mentioned), scan the factory profiles, there are lots of good sounds out there. There's lots of awesome free profiles available through the rig exchange, or on people's websites. And there are lots of commercial ones out there, all of which are guaranteed to have a few demo clips.

    keep in mind most profiles are not necessarily dialed-in for a mix-ready tone (this will of course depend on your mix!!!!), or the profiled settings might not jive completely with you at first. the best explanation is that the profiles are "raw" attempts at often neutral settings on the amp. profiles themselves, while being a "snapshot" of a amp/cab/mic setup, are actually much more than that. there are numerous methods, including amp and cabinet profile parameters, that can improve or at least change a profile's tone.

    so, in terms of the tone hunt, it can be long and daunting, or quick and simple, depending on how demanding you are of your tone, and in terms of how much you are willing to pay - the commercial vendors definitely offer a high-quality product, higher on average than the rig exchange. although, i've found both free and commercial offerings that are absolutely incredible quality.

    in terms of effects and user interface, the unit is very powerful, yet very intuitive and welcoming to use. The parallel/serial delay and reverb interaction is compacted into a single parameter. you can lock certain elements to apply globally. there's copy/paste buttons you can use for settings. there's a graphical display where you can change the order of effects.

    the tone quality is unrivaled.

    The Kemper is a virtual rig. Once you own a Kemper you essentially own every amp and cab ever manufactured plus every amp and cab that has yet to be created. You are basically spoilt for choice whenever you play. And all this comes with you not being asked to do anything more than what you already do now; decide which amp, cab, speakers, stomps and effects you wish to employ and what settings you wish to use with them. It's simple to operate and intuitive.