Kemper to Axe-Fx 3

R

Roddie

Inspired
Hello. I am on the wait list for an FM3 and I currently have a Kemper. I have an opportunity to purchase an axe Fx3. I am curious if there is anyone who has used both and could weigh in on the feel and response. If I do the fx3 I would have to sell my Kemper to find the fx3 but the fm3 would allow me to keep both to a/b the units. Any subjective input would be appreciated as I am leaning towards the fx3 based on its capabilities.

Thanks, Rod
 
Roddie said:
Hello. I am on the wait list for an FM3 and I currently have a Kemper. I have an opportunity to purchase an axe Fx3. I am curious if there is anyone who has used both and could weigh in on the feel and response. If I do the fx3 I would have to sell my Kemper to find the fx3 but the fm3 would allow me to keep both to a/b the units. Any subjective input would be appreciated as I am leaning towards the fx3 based on its capabilities.

Thanks, Rod
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Hi Rod
I will weigh in here, as I currently own all three units in question . If you are leaning towards the AxeFX III, I would give you a gentle push there, as you say, the capabilities,Depth, tones, ,and feel, are IMO clearly the most satisfying available . However, the feel and tone of the FM3 are virtually identical to the III, if less full-featured, and the FM3 would certainly work well with the KPA and can be easily routed to each other for big fun. I would be loathe to give up any of them, but in the end the best is always the III. You can’t really lose however you go.
 
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Welcome Roddie. I too have a Kemper and Axe III. Too me, as fine a piece of equipment that the Kemper is, I find the Axe III has that "intangible" thing we call feel and response beyond what the Kemper delivers. You will always have a level of subjectivity with amps, whether real or virtual, but to me the Kemper patches have a character that all of their profiles seem to share. It's almost a sameness, or shared quality that I can't quite put my finer on, but I digress. That's just my two cents, but I too would nudge you in the direction of the Axe 3.
 
well i own the Kemper Stage and the Axe 3 and for me both units are fantastic,i dont have any plans to sell the kemper or the axe 3,what lookling to find out is how to use the axefx with the kemper.
 
Both units are very capable tonal solutions. The speaker impedance modeling and gain enhancer mode on the Axe-Fx III/FM3 make the feel absolutely killer IMO. The modeling on amps with a pre gain tonestack (eg Mesa Mark series), effects and especially the modifiers/controllers on FAS products make them a joy to create new and recreate classic sounds.
 
@Roddie I found the Kemper approach to amp simulation was not to my liking at all. With the Axe-Fx III, you choose an amp model, then you turn knobs and they do what you expect. With the Kemper I had to find a profile that was already that magic combination of amp settings because the gain and tone controls don't work like the real amp at all. I did not like the workflow with the Kemper either, things just weren't organized in a way that flowed well for me. The Kemper has very limited routing capabilities. The Kemper has limited dynamic control options. The Kemper effects are just not on par with the Fractal units. With the Axe-Fx III, you basically have a virtual pedalboard - you put blocks where you want them and run "cables" between them - very flexible routing. The Axe-Fx III has the standard dynamic control options via pedals, switches, and MIDI - in addition, you get dynamic control from a pitch or envelop followers, a couple LFOs, a sequencer, manual (on-screen), and a couple ADSRs. The effects on the Axe-Fx III are world class quality and Fractal continues to improve, evolve, and expand the effects selection.

In terms of sound and feel, with professional profiles I think you can get very good results but I think it falls a little short when it comes to replicating the real guitar/amp interaction when you crank up. And to me, the Kemper always seems compressed in a way that amps don't do on their own - I think people like it because it makes it easier to play than a real amp. With the Axe-Fx III, the amps respond more naturally to me - particularly when playing harmonically complex things with lots of overtones like a maj7, #9, etc. The Axe-Fx III will get as nasty as the real amp whereas the Kemper is a bit more polite. Other things that come to mind are the fatness of notes on your plain strings doing single note runs with a Fender type clean amp. In fact, this is one of the first things I noticed about the Axe-Fx III when I upgraded from the Axe-Fx II. The Kemper gets closer than most of the other competitor's units because of that compression.

- Tim
 
I dont think in todays market you would really lose money going kpa-iii-??? If thats how it played out. A little bit can be considered a rental fee ;).

I would also recommend watching tutorials and reading the manual before ordering, so that things make sense when you unbox.
 
I was a long time Kemper owner...and always thought of the Axe as being more for high gain players. I came to the point where I just wasn’t happy with the Kemper - ultimately I felt like all the profiles sounded the same with different EQ.
After hearing some Fender and Vox tones from the Axe I decided to take the plunge. Holy Shiite. Just do it. It‘s really unbelievable. Everyone is being very gentlemanly - but to me, the Axe is absolutely objectively better.
So all that said, buy the Axe III and you won’t need the Kemper anymore.
 
I had the Kemper for 2.5 years, got the Axe III in January and sold the Kemper two weeks later. Kemper sounds good, but it's only as good as the profile you're using. Even then, it has an unnatural top end.

Axe III sounds so much more realistic to me. Listening back to a mix, Axe III is the first time I've thought "that's an amp". I could post a live clip, but it's from my church and I know that's not everyone's bag.
 
Roddie said:
Hello. I am on the wait list for an FM3 and I currently have a Kemper. I have an opportunity to purchase an axe Fx3. I am curious if there is anyone who has used both and could weigh in on the feel and response. If I do the fx3 I would have to sell my Kemper to find the fx3 but the fm3 would allow me to keep both to a/b the units. Any subjective input would be appreciated as I am leaning towards the fx3 based on its capabilities.

Thanks, Rod
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I have Axe FX III, Kemper Stage, and Helix... Trust me, get the Axe FX III. You won't ever regret it!

I'm not a fanboy, I know firsthand!
Good luck!
 
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Here's me and the band live. I'm using a heavy classic rock scene on my main preset that involves a Soldano model. I forget what crazy 4x12 cab model I'm using, but I switched to it from a cab Leon Todd ( @2112 ) had from one of his awesome presets.

Pardon my sloppy playing. LoL! This was recorded at our last gig 3/14/2020.

https://www.reverbnation.com/bigphatmojo/song/31569369-lovin-touchin-squeezin-bpm-03-14

I will admit, I use Helix for church band gigs mostly because it's a one piece and all my multi-scene worship presets are on it. It's so convenient and does well enough in that environment to not warrant carrying a rack and pedalboard case for services. Hehe
 
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William Mims said:
Here's me and the band live. I'm using a heavy classic rock scene on my main preset that involves a Soldano model. I forget what crazy 4x12 cab model I'm using, but I switched to it from a cab Leon Todd ( @2112 ) had from one of his awesome presets.

Pardon my sloppy playing. LoL! This was recorded at our last gig 3/14/2020.

https://www.reverbnation.com/bigphatmojo/song/31569369-lovin-touchin-squeezin-bpm-03-14

I will admit, I use Helix for church band gigs mostly because it's a one piece and all my multi-scene worship presets are on it. It's so convenient and does well enough in that environment to not warrant carrying a rack and pedalboard case for services. Hehe
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Thank you for posting those clips. I really liked the tones you got in don’t stop believing as well.
Rod
 
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