Well I haven't tinkered with a Kemper for many years and I got the opportunity to pick up a basically unused one for cheap and the stuff I hear out of them recently seems to be a lot better than it was. Actually really good so hopefully this will be my experience . The final thing that made me want to try it again was Mark Knopfler did his last tour with one entirely and he sounded amazing. I know he and his tech spent a long time in the studio making the profiles . I should ask him if he will let me have one or two. I am a Axe 3 for digital user atm. I also a a DV multi amp which is actually as good or better for some sounds. QC I hate the form factor and Helix just sounds brash and fake imo. A good digital rig is actually the most practical these days for me because I rarely get chance to get out the full WDW Deizel VH4 rig and get it up to volume.
So Kemper users out there what is your experience ? does all the new firmware make up for the old hardware ? I have used and owned many old digital pieces that still are valid. TC2290, PCM 42, SDE3000, H3000, PCM91 to name a few, all still world class tone even if the interfaces suck and the change lag is insanely bad.
I have many friends that gig (as do I). Most still use a tube amp and pedal board. For them, I have had a few purchase a Kemper after I gigged with them and they got to hear first hand how good it sounded live, and also how easy it was for me to setup and take down :). I have a KPA Rack and foot controller. For me, the FC is ideal since only a single cable comes out on stage to my mic position which keeps my foot area uncluttered .... and makes setup soooo easy :).
I have spent an entire day with a friend of mine that gigs with an Axe III Fx. Our conclusion at the end of a long 10 hour marathon of switching guitars, amps, cabs, and trying to tweak to get sounds for songs was that both units can get really great live tone, but the KPA can get there faster and easier (at least for the cover songs we were working on sounds for). The Axe III Fx editor is light years more advanced than the Kemper Rig manager as is the routing capabilities of the Axe III Fx; however, the Kemper has the ability to do the vast majority of routing needed to achieve the vast majority of sounds .... but it is clunky to do it unless it is a standard 4 efx plus gate before, amp, 4 efx after and cab. While alternate routing paths can be achieved, it isn't pretty on the KPA and it is limited.
Having said that, setting up the KPA foot controller and performances for sets and gigs is a breeze and the gigging results are outstanding.
I don't personally do anything that complex with my efx. The most complex rig I think I have is for U2 Streets Have No Name where I have a treble boost pre, 3 delays post with feedback between the delays and some reverb with a boost at the end.
I no longer profile real amps though. I did this for my VHT UL before I sold it, but found that I can find free and commercial rigs that I like better than what I profiled, and I have found some profiles of amps that I had never even heard of before that I really like (Morgan AC20).
My use case is that I play covers. I find it is pretty easy for me to look up the original equipment used for the song, get an amp on the Kemper that is close, tweak the eq, definition, clarity, and add some pure cab, then put efx on. I can generally have something that is darned near identical to the original within 15 to 30 minutes of work.
For those that spend lots of time (and enjoy this part of the work) tweaking, I don't think anything on the planet matches the Axe III Fx, but for getting a specific tone from a song and matching it quickly, and then setting up for a performance, the KPA workflow is much faster IMO.