I've only been a Kemper user for about 6 months and I'm very OCD on gear. I'm posting this cause lately I've read negative threads and reviews and would like to share my personal opinion for new users and maybe some veterans.
I traded to guitar center a brand new engl retro 100 and evh 5153 1x12 combo to get a new kemper, I didn't want to get a used computer.
I used countless rig exchange profiles and bought around 9 from different makers. They're all good but in the end they're profiling they're tone from the amp, once you introduce kempers eq and gain adjustments it quickly no longer becomes that amp. Also these makers run through a preamp and daw to make their profiles which colors and changes the overall sound, tone, and feel.
Once I got accustomed to my kemper I decided to profile my vht pitbull. I tried mics,cords, position etc but fell short. I did a DI profile of my amp then traded the amp the next day.
To this day my personal di profile of my pitbull is my favorite cause it sounds and feels like my amp. Once I tweak the kemper settings I start to "modify" my amp, it can be harsh, dark or perfectly matched it's my choice. I like profiling directly to kemper than anything in between the chain to color.
In conclusion I'm tired of hearing cocked wah, bass heavy or other, your golden ears suck, you get what you put in. The kemper is my best investment I use di amps with ownhammers irs same as I would in real life. My profile kills through my new set up a carvin dcm3000l, I had a crown xls2000 and my tone sucked the equipment used makes a difference on what you hear.
The product does what it says it does, it takes a snapshot of an amp, it does not model