Got it yesterday.
I use TLM103->Apollo->UA 1073 so I was comparing against that.
I also have the Shure SM7B to compared a directly emulated VMS microphone to.
Slate used "FG" in their VMS microphone names.
The FG7 emulation of the SM7B is to my testing exact. Impressive. Not my favorite mic for my vocals, but spot on none-the-less.
The FG67 was sonically similar but better than my chain. More presence.
Many other mics competed favorable with my chain.
Bottom line, this was a rather affordable expansion of my mic locker, allowing me to sell mic's by replacing them, to pay for itself.
I like the UA1073 better than the FG73, but the VMS chains were better. The best part is pairing the outsider UA1073 worked well for most of the VMS mics. (not the FG47 on my vocals at all, tho)
All in all, this seems like the Kemper to be what it claims to be. And the Mic/Preamp pairing remind me of the Amp/Cab discussions. The VMS must have a truely good dividing point to pair well with third-party preamp emulations.
I'm glad I bought it. It's solid, and rather than complicate things, makes them simpler as I can leave one mic setup and be done with all the other booms.
I only tested vocals, so I'll have to do an Acoustic audit to see which mics to sell/keep.
Initially I was not-wowed, but after recording for a few hours, doing direct A/B comparisons, this is an impressive, thoroughly professional solution. I AM now very impressed with it. Slate hit a home run.
Btw, having bought recently you get like 5 extra mics for free. I'm sure Slate will make many more, and there will be the temptation to buy them like we buy profiles. BUT I think it might be best to save that money in case there are problems with the product, the company goes away, other similar solutions come on line and you want variety, or just need to replace it one day as your computer needs changes and the newest products are different.