Kemper Profiler MK 2

[Dimiguitar]

Here we go again. “I made a comparison by profiling the amps, removing the cab, running it through a power amp and cab, then I took a DI of that and tried it though a bunch of IR’s while listening to it on headphones.”

Why can’t you all just use these damn things through studio monitors or FOH like you’re meant to?

It's about narrowing down variables and testing out particular claims, for me.

 

[Chocol8]

Here we go again. “I made a comparison by profiling the amps, removing the cab, running it through a power amp and cab, then I took a DI of that and tried it though a bunch of IR’s while listening to it on headphones.”

Why can’t you all just use these damn things through studio monitors or FOH like you’re meant to?

“This digital amp replacement is not sufficiently similar to the real amps it was supposed to replace, so I am going to pretend it wasn’t meant to be an amp replacement in the first place and tell anyone pointing out the inconvenient shortcomings that they are doing it wrong.”

 

[molul]

I guess I'm happy not to care about the "amp in the room" feel. I played with a Boss GT8 (only for effects) + Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for ~10 years, then I moved to Helix LT + Headrush FR108 in 2021, and I've enjoyed every rehearsal as much since then, sound-wise.

The only bad thing I've had is in a few gigs without FOH, where the Headrush got lost in the mix very easily. But on FOH gigs, people would even come to ask me about my gear because they loved how it sounded, something that didn't happen before. Although I think that was because the presets were cooler (the Boss GT8 was very limited in that regard). But hey, nobody ever noticed there was no "amp in the room".

Looking forward to receiving a Fender FR12 early August and confirming it sounds much better than the Headrush.

 

[Dimiguitar]

Also the feel can be more like an actual amp in responsiveness even if the profile doesn’t sound as accurate as an Axe3.

I think that's a very real possibility and questions the assumption I seemed to make.

But it's about accuracy, again, if the actual amp defines what amp responsiveness is. So there would be something more accurate in the Kemper, which may perhaps be harder to hear but easier to feel for you?

Meaning maybe you perceive something specifically accurate in the Kemper that other units lack.

My view is pretty much as I outlined. Kemper comes last for such responsiveness. But our perception can be quite fallible and I may simply not see something you do.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Hey it’s the same loop as last week!
“This does not sound as accurate”
“But I LIKE the way the inaccuracy FEELS”
“OK, cool, that’s not what I was talking about”
“BUT I LIKE THE WAY IT FEELS AND IF IT DOESN’T FEEL GOOD IT IS BAD AND ALSO YOU DID YOUR COMPARISON WRONG AND I WOULD PLUG INTO A REAL AMP FOR THOSE TONES ANYWAYS”

 

[molul]

Hey it’s the same loop as last week!
“This does not sound as accurate”
“But I LIKE the way the inaccuracy FEELS”
“OK, cool, that’s not what I was talking about”
“BUT I LIKE THE WAY IT FEELS AND IF IT DOESN’T FEEL GOOD IT IS BAD AND ALSO YOU DID YOUR COMPARISON WRONG AND I WOULD PLUG INTO A REAL AMP FOR THOSE TONES ANYWAYS”

That, and "Kemper is dead if they don't make a brand new flagship in the next 5 years".

 

[Eagle]

Hey it’s the same loop as last week!
“This does not sound as accurate”
“But I LIKE the way the inaccuracy FEELS”
“OK, cool, that’s not what I was talking about”
“BUT I LIKE THE WAY IT FEELS AND IF IT DOESN’T FEEL GOOD IT IS BAD AND ALSO YOU DID YOUR COMPARISON WRONG AND I WOULD PLUG INTO A REAL AMP FOR THOSE TONES ANYWAYS”

 

[paisleywookiee]

Aaaaandd........we're now on to amp in the room.

 

[OneEng]

I guess I'm happy not to care about the "amp in the room" feel. I played with a Boss GT8 (only for effects) + Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for ~10 years, then I moved to Helix LT + Headrush FR108 in 2021, and I've enjoyed every rehearsal as much since then, sound-wise.

The only bad thing I've had is in a few gigs without FOH, where the Headrush got lost in the mix very easily. But on FOH gigs, people would even come to ask me about my gear because they loved how it sounded, something that didn't happen before. Although I think that was because the presets were cooler (the Boss GT8 was very limited in that regard). But hey, nobody ever noticed there was no "amp in the room".

Looking forward to receiving a Fender FR12 early August and confirming it sounds much better than the Headrush.

This is what I have experienced as well. In my own band, I use a direct to FOH connection and it sounds great out front. For jam sessions where I use a "FRFR" (DSR112) it still sounds good, but doesn't sound the same as an amp in the room. It is my understanding that the Kemper Kab does a decent job of recreating the amp in the room sound though.

 

[Rock Chalk]

 

[ian_dissonance]

Correct, the whole thing seems rather silly.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Otherwise, where does this "real amp" Kemper mojo come from?

Maybe it feels like a real amp and even better than the real deal?

 

[ian_dissonance]

Maybe it feels like a real amp and even better than the real deal?

MORE REALER (and also even LESS accurate)

 

[Sascha Franck]

MORE REALER (and also even LESS accurate)

Maybe that should be their next marketing stunt.

 

[Eagle]

Correct, the whole thing seems rather silly.

just play whatever works best for you.

 

[ian_dissonance]

just play whatever works best for you.

Totally, the whataboutisms whenever someone mentions accuracy is the real clownshoes here, though.

 

[Eagle]

MORE REALER (and also even LESS accurate)

Nicer to play through isn’t hard if you own a Matchless. I’m guessing from your posts that you don’t have much experience with a wide range of classic amps.

 

[Chocol8]

Maybe that should be their next marketing stunt.

"It's 140% more accurate than the amp that was profiled."

"Feels more like a tube amp than any tube amp"

"If you are comparing the profile to the amp you profiled, you are doing it wrong."

"The Kemper is only meant to be used with whatever it is you are not using"

 

[Dimiguitar]

Maybe it feels like a real amp and even better than the real deal?

I remember from my Kemper forum days people saying Kemper sounds and feels identical to the real amp, but better.

I often loose brain cells because of epilepsy but never like the cognitive trauma from my stay on that forum.

Found this one by accident and thanks god things are a little bit more balanced either way (as one would imagine).

 

[ian_dissonance]

Nicer to play through isn’t hard if you own a Matchless. I’m guessing from your posts that you don’t have much experience with a wide range of classic amps.

Sick, appeal to tradition. Would you like to list some people using it live now as an appeal to authority?