Kemper vs tube amps

gtrjunior said:
I thought you could buy a few different versions. Some had power amps built in, others didn't. Not 100% on that though.
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There are...there are versions of both the stand-alone and the rack that don't have the poweramp. The power amp adds ~$500 to the price (~$2,500).

I don't balk at the price, it's on par for many single amp heads. But I don't need that much versatility. Never have, never will. So it's not the right tool for me. The idea of having dozens of amps at the fingertips is always more exciting than the reality. I can get by on the same two or three amps for life.
 
Wyatt said:
There are...there are versions of both the stand-alone and the rack that don't have the poweramp. The power amp adds ~$500 to the price (~$2,500).

I don't balk at the price, it's on par for many single amp heads. But I don't need that much versatility. Never have, never will. So it's not the right tool for me. The idea of having dozens of amps at the fingertips is always more exciting than the reality. I can get by on the same two or three amps for life.
Click to expand...
Yeah, for the most part I only need a clean, semi dirty, filthy and a solo boost....other flavors can be had with a od pedal...
 
Wyatt said:
There are...there are versions of both the stand-alone and the rack that don't have the poweramp. The power amp adds ~$500 to the price (~$2,500).

I don't balk at the price, it's on par for many single amp heads. But I don't need that much versatility. Never have, never will. So it's not the right tool for me. The idea of having dozens of amps at the fingertips is always more exciting than the reality. I can get by on the same two or three amps for life.
Click to expand...
Yeah, for the most part I only need a clean, semi dirty, filthy and a solo boost....other flavors can be had with a od pedal...
 
Wyatt said:
There are...there are versions of both the stand-alone and the rack that don't have the poweramp. The power amp adds ~$500 to the price (~$2,500).

I don't balk at the price, it's on par for many single amp heads. But I don't need that much versatility. Never have, never will. So it's not the right tool for me. The idea of having dozens of amps at the fingertips is always more exciting than the reality. I can get by on the same two or three amps for life.
Click to expand...
Yeah, for the most part I only need a clean, semi dirty, filthy and a solo boost....other flavors can be had with a od pedal...
 
I know someone who owns one and swears by it. But he is not actively playing out so....

For me, I'd rather have several tube amps and my Quilters. They have been reliable all of these years and if one breaks, I can use another during the interim. I can't afford 4k for one and a backup.
 
I watched the first vid. Excellent! I've been using modellers for years. My entire live tone comes from a Boss GT-8 (I bypass the preamp on my Classic 30). I've even gone direct (with the aid of a Palmer DI/speaker sim) with fantastic results. I routinely get compliments on my sound from other guitarists, as well as sound guys.
I played through a Kemper last year during a recording session and thought it was phenomenal. I wouldn't spend the money at this point, as I have no need to perfectly replicate a specific amp, but I'm a big proponent of the technology.
 
I saw Blind Guardian last night and both guitarists were using the Fractal foot pedal boards. They sounded great, fwiw.

When I saw them last year they were both using Engl stacks. I bet their roadies love them using the Fractals :embarrassed:
 
Kemper needs no external reverb/delay pedals unless you happen to prefer another brand(s).
Has some distortion stomps, compressors, reverbs, delays, wahs, boosts, EQ's, Choruses, Flangers, pitch shift/whammy, etc.........
It's an all-in-one. Firmware 5.0 estimated to come out end of year or early 2017 (maybe earlier) is supposed to have
even more delays/verbs, particularly some shimmer/ambient type stuff. I also own a Line 6 Helix. I unloaded my Fractal stuff
awhile back (first and Axe II XL+ and then an AX8). I prefer these two. I love both.
 
I have been listening to the podcast "No Guitar is Safe" a lot lately. The folks that seem to be using the shit out of Kempers are pros that don't want to drag their expensive amps around on the road. Those guys don't seem to have anything bad to say about the live sound. Most of those guys are still recording with their valve amps. I love the idea of being able to profile favorite amps. I am no where near spending 2k on an amp. I am however considering Amp1, at $799 way better and more suited for a guy like me who needs clean, dirt, and reverb and is looking for a lighter rig and favors british distortion most of the time.
 
Wyatt said:
There are...there are versions of both the stand-alone and the rack that don't have the poweramp. The power amp adds ~$500 to the price (~$2,500).

I don't balk at the price, it's on par for many single amp heads. But I don't need that much versatility. Never have, never will. So it's not the right tool for me. The idea of having dozens of amps at the fingertips is always more exciting than the reality. I can get by on the same two or three amps for life.
Click to expand...


That's why the Bias head is appealing to me. 999 to 1200 is much better than 2500.
 
Anyone from the forum own one of these yet? I quick look on reverb suggests the used market is small and not deeply discounted. it's certainly an interesting technology, especially if you can obtain profiles from others.
 
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