Anyone switched from Kemper to Axe-Fx III?

S

SloeGin

Member
Hey guys,

I live in an apartment and i am volume restricted.
I mainly play rock and metal and my amp is a Yamaha THR10.
I hardly use any effects and I'm mainly concerned about good amp tones.
I'm thinking about upgrading to something bigger and better sounding.

But I have a hard time deciding between the Kemper and Axe Fx III.
Anyone else who is volume restricted went from the Kemper to Axe Fx III and why please?



Thanks for the help!
 
SloeGin said:
Hey guys,

I live in an apartment and i am volume restricted.
I mainly play rock and metal and my amp is a Yamaha THR10.
I hardly use any effects and I'm mainly concerned about good amp tones.
I'm thinking about upgrading to something bigger and better sounding.

But I have a hard time deciding between the Kemper and Axe Fx III.
Anyone else who is volume restricted went from the Kemper to Axe Fx III and why please?



Thanks for the help!
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Look at the artist who uses axe fx. should be a no brainer.
https://www.fractalaudio.com/artists/
 
I bought a Kemper for kicks and giggles because a good deal came up locally. Here is a copy-pasted "takeaway" I posted on a Kemper Facebook group after spending some time with the unit.
Alright here are my honest thoughts on it from a Fractal guy based on the merit of only it's sound- not workflow, not number of effects, any of that stuff. The unit I bought was loaded (maxed out of rig space actually) with the commercial heavy hitters that you all know and love.

I think the Kemper sounds really good, but here are the things that I don't prefer in comparison to the Fractal. The Fractal models each amp "point to point" digitally, which includes all of the weird nuances of an amp, it's warts, the fizzy quality to Marshalls for example, the ghost notes (the dissonant overtones) from a cranked tube amp, etc.

I don't feel that the Kemper replicates these characteristics well at all. Every profile I've heard (including ones that I made of my Fractal) seem to polish up every profile and get's rid of what makes an amp unique. I'm not hearing any ghost notes on the Kemper, there is a sameness to each profile in the midrange that I can't seem to get rid of.

There is also a strange compression characteristic of the Kemper where it sounds unnatural and exaggerated. We all know that a tube amp will sag when driven hard, but the Kemper seems to take this to the extreme and apply it to every single profile which makes it sound fake.

With all this being said, it's a great sounding unit and despite my complaints, I don't think it sounds "bad" (rather, these quirks make it sound great, just exaggerated and not accurate).
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To add onto this, there is a really exaggerated midrange that I can't dial out of any profile, and there seems to be a lot of high-end presence and sizzle missing. Keep in mind this is across all my guitars and over many profiles from different profile creators.
 
I have both and they each have their learning curve. Since you won't be profiling your own amps, you'll have to dig through an absurd glut of third party vendors until you find what you're happy with. The big names Michael Britt, Choptones and my favorite Big Hairy Profiles are popular for a reason.
I've spent a fortune on profiles and I only ever use one or two per pack. They're awesome when they're awesome though.
The Axe III comes with everything you need in the box but you have to overcome a decently steep learning curve and a metaphysical challenge in avoiding tweeking every parameter nonstop.
There are also third party presets which tend to be excellent but you don't really need them. A lot of the user library presets are great too, unlike the kemper user library which is mostly terrible.
Oh the Axe III also acts as a computer audio interface which is a bonus over the Kemper saving you $150 for a scarlett usb or something.
 
Matthew Shoquist said:
I bought a Kemper for kicks and giggles because a good deal came up locally. Here is a copy-pasted "takeaway" I posted on a Kemper Facebook group after spending some time with the unit.

To add onto this, there is a really exaggerated midrange that I can't dial out of any profile, and there seems to be a lot of high-end presence and sizzle missing. Keep in mind this is across all my guitars and over many profiles from different profile creators.
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Glad I'm not the only one who notices this. It's like all amps have a Kemper flavor.
 
Matthew Shoquist said:
I bought a Kemper for kicks and giggles because a good deal came up locally. Here is a copy-pasted "takeaway" I posted on a Kemper Facebook group after spending some time with the unit.

To add onto this, there is a really exaggerated midrange that I can't dial out of any profile, and there seems to be a lot of high-end presence and sizzle missing. Keep in mind this is across all my guitars and over many profiles from different profile creators.
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You described why I didn’t get along with a Kemper better than I could have.
 
If you're playing at home and have to use headphones or play at low volume, I would just use an interface+plugin on your computer.

I prefer the Ax3/FM3 over the Kemper for all the reasons the other posters mentioned. I really prefer the modeling paradigm over the profiling paradigm, because the knobs on the amps respond the way they do on the real amps. Kemper is an endless profile hunt, because if you want a little more gain from the amp, you have to find another profile, you can't just turn the drive knob because it instantly sounds fake because the Kemper has no way to know how the amp sounds on settings other than how they were set when the profile was made. There's also always this hope that the next Marshall profile pack will be 2% better than the thousands you've already purchased and sorted through the 90% that are just garbage. Whereas on Ax3, you just pull up the amp you want, and a couple of IRs from a matching cab (I usually go with the studio standard 57+121), and you can be confident that the amp sounds like if you had the real thing in a nice studio, perfectly mic'd it up, and listened to that signal through whatever speakers you're using. It's honestly mind blowing every time I pull up a different amp.

Kemper is also really dated in other ways: DSP power (you can't run very many blocks at the same time), signal routing (no parallel processing or different ins/outs, a single fx loop, etc), the UI is pretty rough by 2020 standards (tiny black+white screen), effects are very weak compared to Axe's, no USB audio interface, not much I/O, etc.

I'd still go back to Kemper before going back to buying and lugging real amps, but having owned most of the other popular modelers, once you have the Ax3, it's tough to go back to any other unit.
 
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Matthew Shoquist said:
I bought a Kemper for kicks and giggles because a good deal came up locally. Here is a copy-pasted "takeaway" I posted on a Kemper Facebook group after spending some time with the unit.

To add onto this, there is a really exaggerated midrange that I can't dial out of any profile, and there seems to be a lot of high-end presence and sizzle missing. Keep in mind this is across all my guitars and over many profiles from different profile creators.
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What was the response of the Kemper users about this?
 
I have real Plexi tube amps from the 60's for comparison and they are my go to amps but, I needed a modeler for an upcoming project.

I bought a Helix, Kemper, and an Axe-Fx III to A B C test all three for myself as modelers were new territory for me. I also hooked up with another guitar (Helix owner) player to compare the "touch feel" and "tone" as we played and listened to each others playing. AND this was a real blindfold test to let the real modeler shine through.

Unanimously the Axe-Fx III won hands down with the best "touch feel" like a real tube amp and the presets sounded the best.
The Helix came in 2nd; it sounded good but, if was lifeless playing and you had to work it.
The Kemper was an easy 3rd for the worst touch feel, tone, and sound.

Luckily I could return the Kemper for a full refund and I sold the Helix on Reverb. My buddy also sold his Helix and bought an Axe-Fx III!

You should do your own A B C testing for yourself. Many players choose something by looks or by recommendations of others BUT, let your "ears" or the "touch feel" make your own decision.
 
Got both at inception, still have both, play the III ( or FM3) 98% of the time..but the lunchbox is, for me, worth keeping for the few MBritt selections that can sound superb(the Dumbley stuff , Guytron And Princeton’s especially)..if you consider the cost of original..
 
I tried the Kemper, and most of the other modelers. Some are really good. But I came back to the FXIII. I prefer the sound, the control options, effects, editor, updates, forum, customer service, etc.
 
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I have both and it is no contest. Get the AxeFX III. Better product (base unit, foot controller and editor are all superior) and a better more customer centric company.
 
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SloeGin said:
What was the response of the Kemper users about this?
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Most of the users agreed with the exaggerated midrange and compression characteristics. A lot of them also felt that it was more "tubelike" than the Fractal (likely due to the compression), and also stated that the Fractal had more fizz than the Kemper. Well...it does have more fizz because that's how a typical Marshall or Mesa is going to sound. It's what helps cut through a busy mix.
 
I don't know if I would say I have switched. I have the Stage and the FM3. The FM3 for about a month now. I am favoring the FM3 over the Stage. The cleans are more sparkly to me and getting a good tone is much easier with the FM3.

With the Stage, when I have a profile I like I can enjoy it, but if I am not happy auditioning profiles from my mac is a pain. I try to only have profiles I like installed on the Stage.

The FM3 is like dealing with an amp, I just turn a knob or two and get on with playing.
 
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