Explain me Kemper (and now, AXE FX)

[The Scarecrow]

So, I'm keen on buying a toaster. I've traditionally been a tube guy, but about 4-5 years ago, I moved into the Katana and never looked back. Used a Kemper generated profile for last recording and was really impressed with what I found.

I know there's a plethora of info on the webs, but I'd really be keen to hear from the forumites who've got first hand experience.

I don't want the rabbit-hole deep-dive of a Fractal, and the Kemper seems to be a bit more intuitive/easier to navigate. Basically, I'm a set and forget type of guy, but I'd like to be able to have the ability to have one setup I can use at home, on stage and in the studio.

I'd be looking at the powered version to save myself the hassle of extra gear. I don't want to go to huge rack style setup.

Gimme your 2c.

[griff]

Bought mine a few months back. I love it. I only use it for the cover band I'm in straight to PA with IEMs for monitoring. Best FOH sound I've ever had, even over load box and FM3.

- Don't get caught up in the great profile search. If you're serious, spend some money on Michael Britt presets or similar, they're volume matched and designed for live use. Choose a few that need minimal tweaking and stick with them. (There are great profiles on rig exchange, it just takes some searching)

- Trial your tones through a generic PA of some sort so they translate well from venue to venue. Profiles that sounded good to me through my headphones really didn't work well through our PA

- I don't really like the sound of profiles with cab Sims turned off going through power amp and cab. Some do, but not me. So it's just EIMs or foldbacks at gigs for me.

- When tweaking, use small tweaks on the dials or can start to sound a bit unnatural. So try and find profiles that are very close to how you want them to sound.
The built in overdrives and FX are excellent.

Can't think of anything else. Awesome units but still pricey. Plenty of people saying they will vanish because of ToneX but I don't agree. The Kemper still sounds like a mic'd up tube amp however way you look at it, it's just 3 X the cost., but does a LOT.

[The Scarecrow]

Bought mine a few months back. I love it. I only use it for the cover band I'm in straight to PA with IEMs for monitoring. Best FOH sound I've ever had, even over load box and FM3.

- Don't get caught up in the great profile search. If you're serious, spend some money on Michael Britt presets or similar, they're volume matched and designed for live use. Choose a few that need minimal tweaking and stick with them. (There are great profiles on rig exchange, it just takes some searching)

- Trial your tones through a generic PA of some sort so they translate well from venue to venue. Profiles that sounded good to me through my headphones really didn't work well through our PA

- I don't really like the sound of profiles with cab Sims turned off going through power amp and cab. Some do, but not me. So it's just EIMs or foldbacks at gigs for me.

- When tweaking, use small tweaks on the dials or can start to sound a bit unnatural. So try and find profiles that are very close to how you want them to sound.
The built in overdrives and FX are excellent.

Can't think of anything else. Awesome units but still pricey. Plenty of people saying they will vanish because of ToneX but I don't agree. The Kemper still sounds like a mic'd up tube amp however way you look at it, it's just 3 X the cost.

Marvelous. Much experience running straight into a guitar cab? This would be about 50% of it's use I wager.

[griff]

A little bit but but not at very high volume. It sounded a bit flat through a Powerstage 200. I've just got used to the fact that it's not an amp in the room solution for me and I'm fine with that. If you can try one out through your cab before you buy that would be the answer.
Plenty of people think they sound marvelous through a tube power amp but you've already said you want to cut back on hauling gear. The Kemper Kabinet is another option

[griff]

But honestly, EIMs is the answer imo.

[codedog]

I have only used the Stage version. Can't comment on any aspects of Toaster specific things, or use in live performance. I agree on the "chasing profiles" though. In my case, it ends up being "collecting profiles" (mostly when they're discounted), almost purely out of curiosity. The use of IEM (or headphones) is interesting though. I don't feel comfortable with things on my head or in my ears while playing.

[Lyle]

- Don't get caught up in the great profile search. If you're serious, spend some money on Michael Britt presets or similar, they're volume matched and designed for live use. Choose a few that need minimal tweaking and stick with them. (There are great profiles on rig exchange, it just takes some searching)

This is good advice. I have a Helix and stick to 2 or 3 Michael Britt presets, covers 95% of what I want.

[jeremyb]

One thing to consider with the Kemper is given its age, surely they'll have a newer and more powerful unit in the works? I mean the current model came out the same time as the HD500

[robthemac]

. The use of IEM (or headphones) is interesting though. I don't feel comfortable with things on my head or in my ears while playing.

Do you listen to IEMs recreationally? I have only used them live a couple of times and never felt anything other than comfortable. But I wonder if it's because they're in my ears for an hour or more each day anyway, just listening to music.

[codedog]

. The use of IEM (or headphones) is interesting though. I don't feel comfortable with things on my head or in my ears while playing.

Do you listen to IEMs recreationally? I have only used them live a couple of times and never felt anything other than comfortable. But I wonder if it's because they're in my ears for an hour or more each day anyway, just listening to music.

No, I don't. At work I rarely have the luxury of sitting at my desk, keeping to myself, and listening to music. At home I prefer to have my ears able to hear the environment too, namely my dogs barking, cats yowling/fighting, people at the gate, etc.

[codedog]

- Don't get caught up in the great profile search. If you're serious, spend some money on Michael Britt presets or similar, they're volume matched and designed for live use. Choose a few that need minimal tweaking and stick with them. (There are great profiles on rig exchange, it just takes some searching)

This is good advice. I have a Helix and stick to 2 or 3 Michael Britt presets, covers 95% of what I want.

I agree. On the Kemper I end up using a Princeton for clean, and Tweed or Trainwreck for the rest, most of the time. Has not stopped me from ending up with gizillion other profiles though. Just coz...

[The Scarecrow]

One thing to consider with the Kemper is given its age, surely they'll have a newer and more powerful unit in the works? I mean the current model came out the same time as the HD500

True, but I thought they promised lifetime support on this sort of thing.

[griff]

My money is they're not working on anything new. Can't get much better than what they've already done anyway. Improvements if any, will come in the way of algorithms/updates etc
And yeah. Lifetime warranty with all Kempers. Ya just gotta send it to Germany at your cost.

[Kiwiaxe]

As the long term owner and fanboy of the Kemper, I'll put in my 2c worth!

I've owned and gigged using the Kemper since 2013. I've tried various FRFR solutions at home (Mackie, then Atomic CLR) now using Redsound speakers which I believe you can get from independent music (I got them direct from Italy) to represent FOH sound, but actually I mostly use a powered Kemper Kabinet for small gig or home use. When I was seriously gigging, using IEMs was fantastic.

If I was starting again, I'd go:
- Kemper Stage plus Kemper Kabinet
- two Mission Engineering expression pedals (one for morph, the other for wah/volume so needs to be the switching one)
- IEMs for live use, tho can use the Kabinet if you wanted.

Big advantage of the Stage is the lack of need for the additional Remote. Also it has built in wifi so you can control it from your iPad (you can do this with the head/rack versions too but its messy as you need to find certain PPOE units plus a small wifi router, etc).

I wouldn't go built-in power amp unless you think you aren't going to go FRFR. I just don't think you'd find you get the benefit of it.

I've tried ALL the profiles. The one I recommend is to wait until ToneJunkie have a big sale on - they do good flash sales - and try to grab their "everything pack" for 80-90% off to make it about US$100. It has everything you could ever want!

I would not be afraid of Kemper v2. There's been no suggestion of it being a thing. The Kemper now has been upgraded with firmware so much over the last few years that I can't really see what else they'd change. But even if you spend $2k-ish on a second hand Stage, I can't see it dropping in price any time soon and you'll get a ton of use out of it.

[codedog]

I don't want the rabbit-hole deep-dive of a Fractal, and the Kemper seems to be a bit more intuitive/easier to navigate. Basically, I'm a set and forget type of guy, but I'd like to be able to have the ability to have one setup I can use at home, on stage and in the studio.

I am now using a Kemper Stage. Before that, I was using a Fractal AX8. On that platform I found the Austin Buddy presets to be totally amazing. I assume he has carried on producing more for newer Fractal devices.