I've been reading as much as I can about the Kemper and the Axe FX II over the last couple of months. I have concerns over both of them, but I think I'm learning toward the Kemper due to the fact that it APPEARS to be easier to use right out of the box.
About 99% of what I'd want to use this unit for is for live shows in a modern rock cover band (Shinedown, Papa Roach, Stone Temple Pilots, type of stuff). So with that in mind, knowing what you all know now about your Kemper, if you were in my situation, what would you buy to get the best possible sound out of this unit?
- Would you go with the powered or un-powered unit?
- I don't think I can afford the $999 Atomic wedge, plus shipping to the United States, so what would you say is the next best thing to use for speakers to get the most true and transparent sound from the Kemper.
- Would I need to get 2 monitors in order for it to be loud enough on stage? And be honest here. I'm playing with a drummer who hits VERY hard. I understand that the speakers may not push the air like a 4x12 cab would, but will I be able to crank this thing up loud and still not have it sound all harsh or brittle?
- If I want to run the unit in stereo, what should I buy for that type of a setup (I find it COMPLETELY RETARDED that there is just a mono out on the back of the powered version).
- What should I be looking at in terms of a footswitch? What do you all feel is the best one to use, that is also reasonably priced (the Mastermind GT stuff is stupidly expensive). I like the way the MFC controller for the Axe is set up so that you can have banks of presets, but then also be able to assign buttons to turn on and off effects within that preset.
Like I said, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the Kemper. So I just want to make sure I'm buying the best rig possible from the beginning instead of buying a certain monitor for example, only to find that what I should have bought was an unpowered version of another monitor.
Thanks for all the help guys!