Kemper vs AM4?

[Steinmetzify]

Have a Kemper and it does pretty much everything I need it to do, but it’s bulky and I’m an OTR truck driver and if the AM4 does the same stuff for less space, I’m kind of onboard.

Pretext: I’ve owned both Fractal and Kemper products in the past and I’ve liked the Kemper better.

I need headphone compatibility, it’s a must.

Could I grab a smaller Kemper version (mini stage) or whatever it is and be just as satisfied with the big boy or is the AM4 the next step?

 

[Shask]

Have a Kemper and it does pretty much everything I need it to do, but it’s bulky and I’m an OTR truck driver and if the AM4 does the same stuff for less space, I’m kind of onboard.

Pretext: I’ve owned both Fractal and Kemper products in the past and I’ve liked the Kemper better.

I need headphone compatibility, it’s a must.

Could I grab a smaller Kemper version (mini stage) or whatever it is and be just as satisfied with the big boy or is the AM4 the next step?

I have gotten big into ToneX the last year or so. Best digital tones I have ever had. I have captured a lot of my tube amps and can play them on my PC, a small ToneX One pedal, or a ToneX Plug headphone thingy.

I would say grab a ToneX Plug for your headphone amp. It works great as long as you only need basic effects and no live switching.

 

[Orvillain]

In that sort of situation, there's genuinely a ton of products that would suit you. Kemper Player if you like the Kemper thing. AM4, for sure. Quad Cortex Mini. It really depends on budget and how much you want in terms of features.

 

[OneEng]

It really depends IMO.

A Kemper Stage has a great deal more features and capabilities than the AM4. There are plenty of people that would say that the AM4 has better heavy distortion than Kemper, and some that would say that anything Fractal is better than Kemper.

I am using a Kemper Rack with foot controller for live gigs. It's been my go-to rig since 2013. It's ROCK solid and (as you know) sounds pretty amazing.

Does AM4 sound "better"? Honestly, I would order an AM4 and try it out. You have a 15 day money back guarantee if you don't feel like it is worth it. That should be more than enough for you to determine if it's better for you or not.

For me, it won't quite fit no matter how good it sounds. It's simply missing some features and capabilities that I can't do without.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Have a Kemper and it does pretty much everything I need it to do, but it’s bulky and I’m an OTR truck driver and if the AM4 does the same stuff for less space, I’m kind of onboard.

Pretext: I’ve owned both Fractal and Kemper products in the past and I’ve liked the Kemper better.

I need headphone compatibility, it’s a must.

Could I grab a smaller Kemper version (mini stage) or whatever it is and be just as satisfied with the big boy or is the AM4 the next step?

There's nothing new about the AM4 engine wise, so if you prefer Kemper sounds vs. Fractal (and while its been ages since I owned a Kemper I do recall at the time it being the only device I ever enjoyed playing through headphones...and I still don't really like playing my AM4 through headphones despite liking it a lot otherwise). Looks like the Kemper Player is on sale for $500, which seems like good value, honestly, for someone that already is dialed in on the Kemper platform but needs a smaller thing.

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

I’ll answer this way. I got Kemper Player, Tonex, AM4, all UAFX amp pedals, both Tone King pedals and a bunch of amps and pre-amps.

Literally since I got the AM4 when it came out the only things I used for realwere, AM4, Soldano X88, and Synergy Syn2.

I tried a bunch of k2 profiles, profiled some of my stuff and I like it.
But if I had to grab a digi box for anything now it’d be the AM4.
I actually haven’t even plugged any of my delays in the last few month.