From Kemper to Quad Cortex to Kemper

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18
Long time Kemper user and recent QC user here, just thought I’d share my thoughts after using the QC for a year. I’ve been gigging regularly with the QC but recently traded it for a Kemper Rack and Remote.

First off, wow, I remember the Kemper sounding great but it really is a fantastic sounding thing. I use the M Britt profiles mainly and for me they sound better than anything in the QC. I’d sort of convinced myself the QC sounded bigger and better but that’s not actually the case, it’s possibly the opposite.

Secondly I’m a big effects user and Kemper also does this better. Reverbs and Delays are up there with the best in Kemper and this was my biggest issue with the QC. Delays especially were really bad, they were always too smeared in amongst the amp tone, as if they were ducking automatically.

Form factor and live use. This is very subjective but I didn’t like having the QC on the floor. We predominately play weddings and corporate functions and there’s no end of drunk idiots trying to grab microphones, spilling drinks and falling over our gear. It just makes more sense to have something racked out of harms way. I dread to think what a nightmare I was when attended these sort of things as a punter!

There’s also a few quality of life bonuses with the Kemper such as instant switching, instant tuner, the ability to load up the next song while still playing the older one, the ability to properly re-order songs and let’s not forget the editor (which to be fair is still a bit buggy on the Kemper).

I also think it’s still true the QC isn’t ready, the whole recent debacle over the promised plug-in support certainly pushed me over the edge, that was pretty unacceptable.

But ultimately to those thinking Kemper is past it and old tech, in many ways it’s a far more capable unit than the shiniest new thing and there’s something to be said for how well though out it is.
 
I think for most uses the Kemper is more than capable - if it wasn’t, it never would have taken off in the first place. Further more, it has so many features, I/O and years of development that it’s still perfectly valid.

Some people may have instances where the accuracy is a problem, but I really don’t believe this is going to be an issue for most people (even if they feel like it might be).

It’s quite demonstrably not the most accurate device, but really, how often does it matter?
 
I find myself thinking about picking up a Kemper simply because the Tonex is such a hassle to do captures on...
 
Wouldn't that be an ironic, roundabout turn of events:

ToneX excitement - followed by multiple capture/general software hassles - eventually leads everyone back to Kemper...
Merry Christmas Movie GIF by Lifetime
 
I find myself thinking about picking up a Kemper simply because the Tonex is such a hassle to do captures on...
I used to own a QC, and my initial thoughts were that it is much easier to capture from a dedicated unit than it is using the ToneX software.

However, having now created tone models for 3 amps, I actually think it is just as easy using ToneX - I just needed to optimize my environment and setup for it.
 
Had a Kemper and loved it but sold it to help pay for a FM9. Missed it immediately and just recently got another one. Still sounds great. Still have the FM9. Had a QC for 14 days before it literally blew up on me (long story here). Got a replacement and sold it. Never was very impressed with it anyway. No interest in ToneX. Just seems redundant.
 
I have had zero GAS for any other modeler after getting my Kemper Stage. I got exactly what I wanted from Kemper, and see no reason to switch. I got the Two Notes Revolt simply as a backup on a different board, but haven't HAD to use it yet. Even though I work in technology, I don't always (operative word there) get drawn in when something new comes around. Nothing wrong with that; it's just not me.
 
Kemper has been uncontested in my setup for..idnk..7 years now?
Sounds good to me, global output functions (cabsims off, global eq) are very handy, knobs, powered, Kone can do acoustic rig duty. in my mind still unique in the market…even after 12 years since it release. I wouldn’t be surprised if I still play the same unit 10 years from now.

Cause I also wanted a very small unit I also own a GT core…if kemper ever releases a unit of the same size&function.. I will be very tempted to replace it.
 
I've tried Kemper about six times, each time with a little bit different mindset or goal. It never was able to replace my Fractal but I thought Kemper sounded good and worked well.

With ToneX on the scene now, I'm not too sure that my opinion has changed. ToneX appears less expensive on the surface but you need a computer with a capable nVidia GPU to do captures in a tolerable amount of time... You can't capture anything with ToneX Pedal- you must use a computer... and an interface... and a DI... and a reamper... Everybody has a computer but unless you're a gamer or involved in graphic arts, I'm not sure everybody has a GPU to do captures in reasonable amount of time. The software is sort of flaky and there are a lot of annoyances with it. And ToneX pedal pretty much just covers the amp tones and some really basic effects. Most people will probably want to mate it up with something else. I'm getting good results out of it but I regularly think "this would have been so much less hassle with a Kemper"

I'll be interested to see where Kemper goes from here.
 
Had a Kemper and loved it but sold it to help pay for a FM9. Missed it immediately and just recently got another one. Still sounds great. Still have the FM9. Had a QC for 14 days before it literally blew up on me (long story here). Got a replacement and sold it. Never was very impressed with it anyway. No interest in ToneX. Just seems redundant.
Recently saw several reports of the QC sending massive spikes and dips in gain... so it's still going on from time to time I guess.
 
Recently saw several reports of the QC sending massive spikes and dips in gain... so it's still going on from time to time I guess.
The fan boys gave so much sh1t back then for me daring to discover a flaw. I wonder how many of those guys went back to Kemper?
 
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