I miss my Kemper

[Stratzrus]

Reading this thread has made me realize that everything that led me away from the Kemper is
intrinsic to that platform and no place I am keen to return to. Adding another tube amp, though.
Different story.

I'm seriously considering getting a Mesa Boogie Mark VII combo and using the FM9 with it 4CM and substituting my Blackstar St. James combo on the days when I don't want to haul the Mk.VII around.

I'm happy with the FM9 and not comparing it side by side with a Kemper or Helix keeps me off the merry-go-round.

 

[la szum]

All of that sounds awesome except I would insert MKV for MKVII.

 

[Stratzrus]

All of that sounds awesome except I would insert MKV for MKVII.

I've heard great things about the Mk. V.

But for me, the Mark VII having MIDI is one of the reasons, beside the glowing reviews, that I'm considering it because when paired with the FM9 I can eliminate the Mesa foot pedal and just have the FM9 control everything.

A 1X12 combo with one footpedal is a pretty simple rig to hook up when time is short and stage space is at a premium. Of course neither the Mark VII nor the FM9 are simple in and of themselves but once you get them dialed in...

 

[Mongillo19]

If anyone is interested in a Kemper. @Warmart has an incredible deal posted up on the fractal for sale forum.

FSOT - Kemper Profiler, Camplifier Studio, Kabinet, Studio Monitors and all req'd cables - $1895

It's listed on FB Marketplace as well, hoping to sell locally (USA/Georgia - North) although I'll be making a trip to MD on June 17th, so that should greatly expand the possibilities. $1895 takes all. Kemper Profiler with Ritter Camplifier Studio and Kabinet. Power cables for Profiler and Amp...

forum.fractalaudio.com

Or atleast I'm assuming it's you @Warmart lol

 

[Bob Zaod]

will never understand why people sell the Kemper and then buy it again

Maybe similar reasons why I'm on my 4th Helix LT and my 5th Boss GP 10

 

[Warmart]

If anyone is interested in a Kemper. @Warmart has an incredible deal posted up on the fractal for sale forum.

FSOT - Kemper Profiler, Camplifier Studio, Kabinet, Studio Monitors and all req'd cables - $1895

It's listed on FB Marketplace as well, hoping to sell locally (USA/Georgia - North) although I'll be making a trip to MD on June 17th, so that should greatly expand the possibilities. $1895 takes all. Kemper Profiler with Ritter Camplifier Studio and Kabinet. Power cables for Profiler and Amp...

forum.fractalaudio.com

Or atleast I'm assuming it's you @Warmart lol

That is mine! Not lowering much more, either. Bastards had to have a sale right after I decided to sell lol

 

[Jarick]

Finally got around to setting up WiFi on the toaster with a cheap wifi adapter from Amazon. It actually works really well with the iPad app now! Very minimal lag, clean layout, easy to use. There's even a performance mode to build those out! It just plugs into the ethernet port on the back, and is actually powered via the USB connector on the back too.

Time will tell on the connection, but I'm guessing it's going to be a lot more stable than the USB connection which drops out constantly and requires unplugging the cable to reset the connection.

There's a couple limitations though. You can't add any new profiles, just work with the ones on the Kemper. You also can't easily browse rigs, only go up and down. And the performance mode looks like you can't browse rigs either, so that's got to be done on the unit.

But if you load up your favorite profiles you can work with everything right on the iPad.

Also kind of wish there was a virtual Remote in the app, that would be sweet.

 

[Stratzrus]

Wizard - HOOK AMPS

hookamps.com

Very nice!

I've had my eye on Hook amps for some time now and I've been thinking about getting a Captain 34. I have the Hook model as one of the six amp choices on the FC-12 that I use with my Axe III. Nice to see that the Wizard has MIDI.

Thanks for pointing this out, I'd never heard of it.

 

[la szum]

I was just abusing/overusing my ongoing joke that the MKV is superior in every way to the MKVII---except for the MIDI.

And I am not even joking!

 

[Stratzrus]

Wizard - HOOK AMPS

hookamps.com

Friend owns one. Didn’t try it myself…but he’s over the moon with it, clips sound great.
If I ever go for a new head…I’d consider this one…but atm I have more gear then is sensible…so I restrain myself

The Wizard would be perfect but I've found that 45 watt amps run out of clean headroom when playing a moderate sized venue with no sound reinforcement so I prefer the 90 to 120 watt heads if I'm going through the trouble of hauling a tube amp around.

I'd love to add a Capitain 34 to my "wall of doom" and the Wizard has more than enough headroom to play most of the places where I gig but the Mark VII with 90 watts (but also 45 and 25) in a small 1x12 combo has a lot of appeal for me. The ability to connect to the FM9 using MIDI is ice on the cake.

As much as I love the gain tones the cleans are my bread and butter so to have a 1x12 that delivers them at concert volume has a lot of appeal for me. Of course I'd only know if it's really for me if I get a chance to play through one. Given the big box store's return policies I'm thinking I could pick one out, see if I can really make the Jazz tones work for me, and then decide whether or not I should keep it.

So I'm leaning toward the Mark VII but it's a major financial commitment and I'd probably have to sell the TC-50 to help subsidize it so it's not an easy decision.

 

[Jarick]

With the latest update, the USB recording is extremely useful! It works well for recording, but it's wonderful for reamping. You can very easily switch from monitoring to reamping on the same page in the output section.

Probably the only thing that would be awesome would be separate channels for DAW playback vs reamp, but maybe that could be a Kemper 2.0 function.

Anyways, really well done for a 12 year old device that wasn't intended to have that feature!

 

[Jarick]

With the latest update, the USB recording is extremely useful! It works well for recording, but it's wonderful for reamping. You can very easily switch from monitoring to reamping on the same page in the output section.

Probably the only thing that would be awesome would be separate channels for DAW playback vs reamp, but maybe that could be a Kemper 2.0 function.

Anyways, really well done for a 12 year old device that wasn't intended to have that feature!

Spoke too soon, Kemper hard locked while reamping, requiring a reboot. Luckily I had the volume low as it was a loud square wave.

 

[la szum]

The Wizard would be perfect but I've found that 45 watt amps run out of clean headroom when playing a moderate sized venue with no sound reinforcement so I prefer the 90 to 120 watt heads if I'm going through the trouble of hauling a tube amp around.

I'd love to add a Capitain 34 to my "wall of doom" and the Wizard has more than enough headroom to play most of the places where I gig but the Mark VII with 90 watts (but also 45 and 25) in a small 1x12 combo has a lot of appeal for me. The ability to connect to the FM9 using MIDI is ice on the cake.

As much as I love the gain tones the cleans are my bread and butter so to have a 1x12 that delivers them at concert volume has a lot of appeal for me. Of course I'd only know if it's really for me if I get a chance to play through one. Given the big box store's return policies I'm thinking I could pick one out, see if I can really make the Jazz tones work for me, and then decide whether or not I should keep it.

So I'm leaning toward the Mark VII but it's a major financial commitment and I'd probably have to sell the TC-50 to help subsidize it so it's not an easy decision.

If you live on Cleans most of the time I am going to yell MKV again. And again.