I've been more than a bit sceptical when it comes to other manufacturers touting their digital modellers/capture devices as an equal to the Kemper Profiler.
After all, I've been a Kemper user since 2013, and for the last few years, I've always been quite confident that the Kemper is the one to beat.
Looking at what's going on nowadays, there do seem to be some huge strides being made by other companies.
The Axe FX III, in particular, seems to be moving forward at a real rapid pace. They seem to have come out with a new firmware called Cygnus that improves the modelling. I know the usual argument that updates change the sound and the Kemper is still better, but some of the videos/clips are quite convincing.
Then we have the Quad Cortex, which though a bit underwhelming at launch, is likely to have more features coming up. The company has been putting out updates on the development of the device, and a lot of it looks promising. What really interests me was the fact that their "capture" technology didn't attract any lawsuits.
Then there's Line 6. Never know when they're going to put out their next generation processor, but I have a feeling that they are going to go big with the next one. With all the developments in tech over the years, it's entirely conceivable they pull a rabbit out of a hat. After all, they have been improving with every iteration of their flagship product.
Just quite an interesting time, I'm wondering when/whether Kemper is going to come out with a new machine. 2022/23 maybe? It'll be about 10 years of the Profiler then.
Here's a blind test video I saw that I found quite good. The user doesn't seem to get stuff sent to him for review and just buys them, which I thought makes it more credible. Possible he's on the forum too. I actually guessed which amp the Kemper was, can you?
Just goes to show that the quality of all the top end digital gear is now reaching a common level of tone.