Hi Guys,
first off i want to complement you all on the fantastic community you guys have here, and the willingness to help each other. The Thread title isn't meant as dismissive or anything, but i have some thoughts and concerns and wanted to pick your brains about it.
I'm a professional musician who's been playing all kind of different amps for 15+ years now. I also play sessions so i'm used to hearing my amp back through mics, preamps and monitors or headphones. I have experience with programming digital devices and understand routing etc. My tonal references (either live or recorded) Mike Landau, Tom Bukovac, Robben Ford, and a lot of session tones
So, i've had a lunchbox + remote for a couple of days now, i was really looking forward to playing it and too start making sounds.(bought it brand new) First night i downloaded the rig manager, the free MBritt profiles and some BM profiles (along with what's already in the Kemper and rig manager) plugged in and put in my Shure se425 into the headphone input and was....underwhelmed. Everything sounded thin with a lot (and i mean a lot) of high end frequencies, didn't like it at all. (played my strat and tele) Read all the tips on the forum about space, cab, definition, pick etc. Didn't help much. This especially concerns rainy, and higher gain sounds. Clean sounds are ok, as soon as gainer profiles are introduced i'm not happy.
Next day i plugged it into my apogee, listened back over my studio monitors: Better results: More bass, less high end. But still some frequencies i can't get rid off. Another headphone also was better than the Shure but still.
There are a couple of things going on in my mind and i'm going to try to explain them.
First off: I'm missing something. Call me crazy (and a lot of you probably will lol) but i feel there's "harmonic content" missing. I just received a cd which i've played on about two months ago: My 6l6 amp with a pedalboard, SM57 and a Ribbon. And i'm feeling it's a richer sound, more complex, more alive than the Kemper profiles.
Identity/homogeneity: So, every studio you play, every record you play you will sound a little different. Even with the same gear (amps, guitars, mics, room) it will sound a little different, that's how things work with tubes, room, movement, cabs etc. in other words with "organic" materials. Isn't that what we want? I'f i'm playing on 10 records this year do i want them to sound EXACTLY the same? 'Cause that's what happens with the Kemper (if you use the same kinda sounds, but be honest: who goes from one end of the spectrum to the other regularly? you get hired because of the way you play and sound)
Also: if i use a MBritt profile of a Marshall and you use the same profile we have the same tone. We sound different because the player is different but the basic fundamentals of the tone are there. If i use a Marshall OF THE SAME KIND as somebody else we will sound different: Because no two amps are alike because there are a lot of factors that come into play: Tube age, component values etc etc
Another: With the Kemper it's easy to get a decent sound, but it totally removes (as i feel about it at least) the craftsmanship of getting tones and sounds true to YOUR identity. So the amps you choose with the mics you choose and the cabs etc etc and then GETTING a good sound which is a craft!
How i see it right now: Usefull, sure, ok sounding, but that's what it is. Usefull for getting sounds on demo's quickly and a easy solution for gigs that are fully in ear. But is this worth almost 2200 Euros? To me, right now, it isn't, i think. I can buy a Royer r121 and a 57 and still keep almost 600 euros in my pocket. (of course where not talking about preamps here but you get the picture)
This isn't about not willing to accept digital or something because i already bought the thing.
Please tell me your thoughts on this and any tips or ideas, thanks guys!