So...Can the Kemper Profile Mesa Amps? Let's test it.

[Orvillain]

So I won your kemper!!

Ew. Give it back. You don't need that kind of negativity in yer life.

 

[DLC86]

The real amp, last in both clips should be the same clip. I did however change the level a few times trying to match MP's clips.

Let's throw Tonex into the discussion:



No edits just the capture as it came out.

This definitely sounds much closer... maybe a tiny difference on the low end but it's negligible

PS: I compared FM9,Tonex and NAM a while ago here: https://thegearforum.com/threads/fm9-vs-nam-vs-tonex-comparison.1688/

Look how close the waveforms are, especially NAM which is pretty much identical to the fm9

 

[Sedaxel]

Just curious here: didn't anyone pick the kemper clips by hearing "Kemper's characteristic, and unavoidable, mid hump"?

 

[Deadpan]

pretty noticeably different again, honestly I wouldn't be thrilled if I was trying to capture a tone and that was the closest the unit was giving me. Tbh I usually think the Kemper is closer than that, otherwise I never would have bought one in the first place.

I prefer the first one. Low end sits in a totally different place between the two, low end in the first one is big and loose, 2nd one is leaner and a bit fizzier as a result.

Note the first was the Kemper and edited by me. Adjusted definition and EQ.

 

[Orvillain]

Just curious here: didn't anyone pick the kemper clips by hearing "Kemper's characteristic, and unavoidable, mid hump"?

No. Because that isn't an accurate description of the Kemper. It isn't how I've ever described it.

 

[Deadpan]

Just curious here: didn't anyone pick the kemper clips by hearing "Kemper's characteristic, and unavoidable, mid hump"?

No, and that was one of the points of the post.

 

[Sedaxel]

No, and that was one of the points of the post.

Can we then conclude that said "mid hump" is a myth? Or...

 

[Orvillain]

Can we then conclude that said "mid hump" is a myth? Or...

As long as we also conclude now and forever that the Kemper isn't accurate when profiling amps, and that any time you purchase a profile pack, you are buying something that isn't really representative of the real amplifier.

 

[DLC86]

Can we then conclude that said "mid hump" is a myth? Or...

Maybe I just got lucky, I don't know...

I'd say the third one is the real amp, first is the profile and second the refined profile

I hear it a bit in the first sample, that's the reason why I said it was the unrefined profile, in addition to the fizz which seems to be more "coherent" in the third sample (which imo is the real amp) compared to the other two. But that cocked-wah might be the real amp as well depending on how you set the geq, if that's the case the captures failed to replicate that.
Anyway, as others said, all 3 sound pretty different (especially on the low end) so there goes the accuracy of the kemper.

 

[yeky83]

Can we then conclude that said "mid hump" is a myth? Or...

I can usually home in on it if I really try. For me it takes reference listening to a known "egregiously bad-mids" Kemper example, then I can usually identify it in other high gain Kemper tones that have less of it but it's still usually there.

 

[Sedaxel]

I can usually home in on it if I really try. For me it takes reference listening to a known "egregiously bad-mids" Kemper example, then I can usually identify it in other high gain Kemper tones that have less of it but it's still usually there.

I don't doubt you can identify it. It's just that, in this case, nobody picked the Kemper clips based on perceived "bad mids". So maybe it's not that noticeable. Just thinking out loud here.

 

[Orvillain]

I love how you guys want to fight ghosts instead of dealing with things people actually said.

 

[Sedaxel]

Maybe I just got lucky, I don't know...

But were you based on the mid hump or...?

That's why I asked if someone detected the mid hump. Is it the cocked wah that you mention?

 

[Sedaxel]

As long as we also conclude now and forever that the Kemper isn't accurate when profiling amps, and that any time you purchase a profile pack, you are buying something that isn't really representative of the real amplifier.

Yeah, I think that's pretty proved.

 

[JiveTurkey]

You know what I use when something doesn't sound right?





Something else

 

[riffy]

I won't say that the Kemper isn't an accurate profiler. I will say, however, that NAM, Tonex and QC are closer to the
real thing profilers.
That is why I shied away from buying a Kemper Player and bought another Tonex Pedal instead.

 

[gdhi11]

I owned a Kemper for 2 years. It has it's own signature sound it imparts on every profile. I had the Kemper Amp too, so it was further exaggerated by using the same poweramp to drive cabinets.

That said, I didn't think the feel was bad, but dialing out the Kemperness would've been a priority had I kept it. Didn't hate it or anything, but if you're looking for accuracy there are better options (Fractal stuff). Accuracy doesn't matter that much to me, even now, but it does make things a little easier to get along with.

I've been patiently waiting in this thread to discover which was which, and I was actually a little surprised.

 

[gdhi11]

I might be a heretic in saying this, but I think Kemper/Helix/Fractal/QC and even Tonex to a degree are usable enough though we can still argue about details, but all can get the job done in most scenarios.

I don't think I'd want to go back a generation though. And I certainly remember what my Podxt sounded like (2 generations ago)

 

[Mongillo19]

I might be a heretic in saying this, but I think Kemper/Helix/Fractal/QC and even Tonex to a degree are usable enough though we can still argue about details, but all can get the job done in most scenarios.

I don't think I'd want to go back a generation though. And I certainly remember what my Podxt sounded like (2 generations ago)

Nobody here is saying the Kemper can't get the job done.

What is trying to be said is the Kemper does not accurately capture amps compared to the competition it now faces.

Does that mean you need to stop playing your Kemper. No. To be honest, probably 99 percent of the people on this forum (me included) have no idea what a cranked Plexi into a Marshall cab sounds like in real life. So if I buy a profile pack for a cranked Plexi into a Marshall cab, who am I to say "this doesn't sound like my amp"? The kemper is fine if you want to buy 3rd party profiles. But if you want to buy a Kemper to profile your own gear, there are currently better options out there.

 

[DLC86]

But were you based on the mid hump or...?

That's why I asked if someone detected the mid hump. Is it the cocked wah that you mention?

Yeah, mid hump = cocked wah for me. Are they supposed to be two different things?

PS: btw, in this case I heard it only on the first part of the first sample, not on the others, so it seems someone's able to to dial it out with the refinement process (not me when I tried though)