Prob Selling my Kemper.

    Quote from JC MUSCLE SHOALS

    I’m wouldn’t make a judgement this quickly and also don’t base your opinions on the factory presets. I was also underwhelmed at first but after finding the right profiles for me (MBritt in my case), I am getting the best, most consistent tones of my life and I’ve had some nice amps.

    Sorry, but i totally disagree with that sentence...

    The first time i plugged my Stage in my DBR10 i was blown away with factory sounds and i played for hours... I had a Helix before and, FOR ME, i noticed immediatly the difference. :love:

    Factory presets (a lot of them) are made by profiles sellers. Of course, you won't love everyone but going through them you should find quickly one you like contrary to modelers....

    IMO, if it's not the case whether, you don't have the rig you need (FRFR among other things) or the Kemper is not your cup of Tea (don't like mic'd sound)....

    Quote from stressfest

    I sold my toaster a few months back. Loved the thing but missed the valves and a roar of a 4x12 or 4... So I bought a SLO 100 and an ENGL E-656.

    I don't regret my decision at all.

    Oh, I have a Kemper Stage arriving tomorrow :D

    I've had an SLO and a Morse model. Bought a Kemper and A-B'd them. There's nothing the Kemper couldn't do that those heads could besides increase muscle mass carrying them around in road cases necessary. Sold all my amps except for my vintage stuff. I'm positive I will never regret it. World class recording engineers and producers can't tell the difference between a good profile and the actual amp in a multi million dollar studio with pristine monitor systems and listening environments so I'm pretty certain you won't either.

    Quote from BayouTexan

    After 1 week with a Helix, I gave up on it. So, you got 2 months in with a Kemper and that is telling you it is there! You just need to pull it out.

    The weird thing is the Helix is easier for non-tweakers to use because there are fewer options. You get like 30 amps and that is it. You are done. The Kemper has about 20k on the exchange.

    But the Helix amps default to the worst possible settings. They sound like trash. So they are losing out on a market share they should be dominating. Add to this the PC editor is not user friendly at all. Just weird marketing decisions all around.

    But I love both the Helix and Kemper. They are two different beasts.

    Quote from RosboneMako

    The weird thing is the Helix is easier for non-tweakers to use because there are fewer options. You get like 30 amps and that is it. You are done. The Kemper has about 20k on the exchange.

    But the Helix amps default to the worst possible settings. They sound like trash. So they are losing out on a market share they should be dominating. Add to this the PC editor is not user friendly at all. Just weird marketing decisions all around.

    But I love both the Helix and Kemper. They are two different beasts.

    I did not give up on Helix because of the effects but because the amp tones were fake and awful no matter what IR and EQ I used. Didn't matter how easy it was to navigate.

    I agree that the Kemper is somewhat lack-luster out of the box for mid to high gain tone. I had to read and research a lot on how to dial in Kemper which I knew was less than the reading and research I would need for a Fractal.

    After 2 years, I still do not have the Kemper sounding exactly how I want but that could also be my lack of guitar playing experience. ;) I am much closer though.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    I've built many different tube amplifiers over the years (my designs and clones). I have owned most of the well-known amps as well. I cannot tell the difference between the real amps and the profiles. The profiling is so good that it does not need improvement IMO. I am not aware of any compelling reasons to change the profile quality.

    The Kemper has A LOT of functionality and requires that the user learn how to use and configure it. This can be relatively easy or more difficult depending on the user. It took some time (a few months) for me to learn how it is designed and how to best use it for my purposes. It is not plug and play as far as I am concerned. Not at all like the majority of tube amps that you simply plug into and turn a couple knobs before you are off and running. There are many configuration options and most are buried in digital menus. Rig Manager helps visualize the great majority of these parameters and was a big benefit to me. RM is the best place to start understanding what is possible. I also have quite a few cabs and a high-end PA in my house so monitoring was not part of the learning curve for me, but it may be for you.

    I had moments where I thought that I may have made a bad purchase mostly because I didn't like how much time I needed to invest to gain a firm understanding of the unit. Only after spending the time to learn did I realize how good the Kemper really is.

    Also, I believe a midi foot controller is mandatory for live performance with the Kemper, which requires an additional purchase For me the controller is necessary because I need/want to use much of what is offered and running the Kemper from the front panel is not realistic for me in practice. Learning about midi could be an additional learning curve for some.

    I would stick with it.

    Quote from Dynochrome

    I've had an SLO and a Morse model. Bought a Kemper and A-B'd them. There's nothing the Kemper couldn't do that those heads could besides increase muscle mass carrying them around in road cases necessary. Sold all my amps except for my vintage stuff. I'm positive I will never regret it. World class recording engineers and producers can't tell the difference between a good profile and the actual amp in a multi million dollar studio with pristine monitor systems and listening environments so I'm pretty certain you won't either.

    Absolutely 100% agree with you. I'm just a little old school, hate in ears, hate frfr .. so I just monitor out to the amp, a couple of 4x12's but line out to front of house. The Stage is primarily for fly gigs, festivals and such.. having the ability to take a snapshot of my tones and take them on the road, priceless.

    Quote from RosboneMako

    The weird thing is the Helix is easier for non-tweakers to use because there are fewer options. You get like 30 amps and that is it. You are done. The Kemper has about 20k on the exchange.

    But the Helix amps default to the worst possible settings. They sound like trash. So they are losing out on a market share they should be dominating. Add to this the PC editor is not user friendly at all. Just weird marketing decisions all around.

    But I love both the Helix and Kemper. They are two different beasts.

    I've owned Helix for two years (plus Variax and Powercab+) , so i could try some stuffs....

    You say L6 has made weird marketing decision but just to remind it, before Helix familly, L6 was playing in the non professional ball park, the HD500 was just sold at 500€... Now they can sell a device 1500€ with no shame... They took risks but the strategy was the good one

    There's a huge community of users (that can be very usefull).

    I don't find that Helix editor is not user friendly.... Some here asked to have baregraph to set parameters on Rig manager....

    I laugh when i read the number of Rigs on the exchange cause i fall into this trap ; wanted to try them all to find if there's another better Rig....:D^^, or this one, maybe this one....:P;(

    It's the most important thing to avoid with Kemper.... Just search the amp you are after and stop when you find it and work on it.

    When you don't know each device, i think you can have false ideas... Helix has a cool design and a beautiful color screen. The joystick seems to be very userfriendly (and it's the case) but if you want to modify a parameter in a stomp, you have to handle it to go onto the one you wanna change...

    As you say, there isn't a lot of amp/cabs (enough) but the possibilties to tweak them and change the sound are infinite... For me,the cab section is decisive ; the speaker simulation choice, the mic you choose, the mic position plus highcut/lowcut needs a hard work...So it seems to be simple but indeed it takes time. Another thing with Helix is Presets cloud ; i've never been happy with a preset i take on it...Helix possibilties are so important that presets are made in a total different configuration than yours. 4CM, one chain to an amp, the other one to the FOH, etc... Really strange chains...Parallele cabs/amps...Important sound level difference...

    I remember once, there was no sound ; the output block was set at 0dB, no need to tell you the time i spend to find where it was from X/:wacko:

    Kemper looks like an old complicated device design, but you reach immediatly what you want by pressing a button. It's been improved during all these years (:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:). The chain possibilities are less imortant but are enough for my needs. I've got less surprise when i catch a Rig on the exchanger...

    Quote from lbieber

    The Kemper has A LOT of functionality and requires that the user learn how to use and configure it. This can be relatively easy or more difficult depending on the user. It took some time (a few months) for me to learn how it is designed and how to best use it for my purposes. It is not plug and play as far as I am concerned. Not at all like the majority of tube amps that you simply plug into and turn a couple knobs before you are off and running. There are many configuration options and most are buried in digital menus. Rig Manager helps visualize the great majority of these parameters and was a big benefit to me. RM is the best place to start understanding what is possible. I also have quite a few cabs and a high-end PA in my house so monitoring was not part of the learning curve for me, but it may be for you.

    Agreed.

    Like most things, its always about balance...I don;t think tube amps are fully plug and play, you do spend sometime on set up but of course it is more standard in layout/familiar and way less options, but still time for find the "sweet spot". I also think we need sometime to "adjust" to new sounds. When I used to buy a tube amp, it would take me 3-6 months to really know if I liked it or not.

    It is of course quicker than any digital solution because you are limited in options. I personally don't think its about definition, or amp sag or pure cab, its the sheer number of profiles that are daunting.

    Imagine walking into a shop and seeing 20,000 amps and trying to decide which one is best....tweaking for me should be tweaking, to go from 90% happy to 100% not 20% to 100%.

    I also found the design was obvious once I realized it. Took me 6 months to notice that the front panel was laid out in the signal chain! Doh!

    Its a bit like learning the guitar itself. You often don't get instant gratification, you have to get past the initial learning curve to reap the rewards.

    First, a twin reverb and a good strat are a serious signature combo with a sound that will never be obsolete.

    There are some convincing twin reverbs in the KPA too and I would argue that the KPA reverb is far superior to the venerable twin reverb.

    The thing is, the KPA is also a convincing JCM800 and a convincing Mesa MK IV and a convincing Bogner Shiva ..... and it weighs 11 lbs :).

    I had a Fender HRD and a VHT UL. Both quite nice amps, and both heavy and difficult to transport.

    I can honestly say, I don't miss the tone of either of my great amps since I am able to get those tones and even better from the KPA. I REALLY don't miss carrying the amps from gig to gig though!

    Still, the KPA is not for everyone, and a Fender twin reverb is a super great amp that my great great grand kids will still be using when I am long gone to dust! Of course, my great great grand kids may well still be jaming out on my Kemper Rack and FC :)

    Quote from Steve5478

    You say L6 has made weird marketing decision

    My point was they should have:

    1) Made presets that sound good. Every preset on the Helix is meh at best. I have to tweak them a lot. All too bassy and flubby, etc. So they are making it hard for people to get a good tone.

    2) I have used several Line 6 products over the years and loved all of them. But the Helix PC interface is the worst of them so far. It may work great manually. I never manually adjust anything. Always connected to a PC. And Helix Edit is trash compared to the Kemper. It is clunky and bad. No where near Line 6 quality.

    The Helix should be turn it on and play. And sadly, it is not. Bad marketing decisions.

    As a long time Line 6 fan I was not impressed when they jumped from $500 POD to the $1500 Helix. Seemed like a money grab trying to get the Kemper and Fractal market. Many reviews say keep your Pod HD and just get an HX stomp for he effects etc. Because the Helix is not that much better than the old $500 units amp-wise.

    I went Helix LT for $1000. I could not see spending anymore than that if it is not much much better than my Pod HD or UX8. And I love it. Love the Kemper more because editing on Rig Manager is as easy as breathing. But I will keep both forever.

    Edited once, last by RosboneMako (December 20, 2022 at 12:56 PM).

    OP's latest post is four days old - since then this thread seems to have deteriorated into a platform for people to reiterate their opinion/thoughts on the broad subject of other guitar processors.
    This repeating of already stated personal findings isn't really helpful for the OP and it doesn't add anything new.

    back to topic please - which kinda means OP should probably be posting an update.
    If this thread continues like it did for the last whole page, it will be closed.

    thanks :)