AXE 2 vs Kemper good balanced review

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i just wish there was some audio with these argument. it's one thing to to discuss UI and stuff like that. but most people are buying these units for tone. tone being subjective you really need to provide the audio for people to make up their own mind.

and why are there so many overdriven examples? clean tube tone is the key if you ask me (no one has : ) ). get a good clean tone and getting a good dirty one is easy.
 
I say you have to play whatever unit/amp you're looking at. Tone on recording is one thing. The same tone while you play (under your fingers) is another matter.
I think the best recordings of Axe Std, Ultra and II have been great all along. But the feeling of playing it direct has gotten better and better.

I have heard good recordings with Line6 POD too, but never liked to play POD's. Heard great recordings with Kemper, but never played one, so i can`t say anything about playing it.

I`m sure the Kemper is fine. I would not change from Fractal, because i like and know what i have, but that's me.
 
why are there so many overdriven examples? clean tube tone is the key if you ask me.

I disagree. Clean tones, while amazing, are more linear. Pushing the tubes/transformers/PI/etc. always brings out more non-linear transients or frequencies, which is why it is so difficult to formulate digitally. Clean tone is much easier to emulate than a cranked Tweed Champ on 11, that feels like it's going to explode- so much going on at the same time: distortion of spkrs, XF, PI, pre/pwr tubes, etc.

The best clean tone I've ever played myself was a Roland JC120, with or without that fantastic chorus, and there's no tubes there.

To be fair, the Lone Star Special was a close second.
 
I say you have to play whatever unit/amp you're looking at. Tone on recording is one thing. The same tone while you play (under your fingers) is another matter.
I think the best recordings of Axe Std, Ultra and II have been great all along. But the feeling of playing it direct has gotten better and better.

I have heard good recordings with Line6 POD too, but never liked to play POD's. Heard great recordings with Kemper, but never played one, so i can`t say anything about playing it.

Totally agree. Anybody who wants to hear recordings of the Axe or the Kemper has plenty of options to choose from (this forum, Youtube, Soundcloud, Kemper forum, Andy Sneap forum, etc.)

The tone + the feel is something you simply have to experience first hand with your own gear before you can arrive at an accurate judgment. On top of that, when you listen to a recording posted on the internet you generally don't know if there's been post-processing done. Also, recordings in which the guitar is in a mix can be deceptive. I've found that the other instruments in the mix (especially the bass and drums) can greatly alter our perception of the guitar tone.

I've heard great recordings and really crappy recordings of both the Axe and the Kemper so it's nearly impossible to make a judgment based on recordings alone.
 
The only thing I would add to the above is that it seems Drew didn't really give our "true" customer service team a try -- I think he used alternate channels like text messages to me personally (I remember working with him on some Lindsay Buckingham issues at the end of the summer...) rather than contacting us via support.fractalaudio.com or emailing support@

I've contacted him to follow up and redeem our customer service, which I think is the best in the biz!

Well I own both units, kemper customer service is brilliant, however the guys at kemper who were handling our artist relations were the worst I have ever dealt with!

Fractal may not offer a lot to its artists in pricing terms but at least they respond to guys signed and touring!

Ps... The kemper is a great unit but the axe fx 2 for me is what I use now!
In fact some of the HBE presets I have spent hours tweaking on the ultra blow any of my kemper profiles out the water in a live environment!

In some ways the ultra still sounds incredible in the right hands with the right ears on the tweak!
 
I appreciate the review, but however harsh this may seem
It can take days and even weeks to get a response from the kind folks over at Fractal.
to me this is just total bullshit, which makes me wonder about the rest of the write up now... I'd love to own both units regardless but strongly disagree on the support statements made.
 
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I only have one experience with Fractal customer service. I bought my Ultra in Feb of 2010. I plugged it in and played for a couple hours and was in love with it. It was so far beyond what else was available at the time it may as well have been from the future (I don't consider this hyperbole). I then went to upgrade the firmware via midi through my FME Fireface 800, and something went wrong. When I started the unit back up it would lock up with a blank screen and every LED lit up. After $2k, and a lot of anticipation I was devastated. I wrote customer service that night. First thing in the morning, I had an email from customer service. Within a couple hours we had already swapped a handful more emails and Fractal (after determining I was capable of swapping the EPROM myself) had sent me a new EPROM chip, no charge for the chip, no charge for shipping. I had the chip two days later, and the Ultra fired back up and gave me perfect performance until the II came out and I upgraded.

Fractal later determined that there was something glitchy about RME Fireface 800 midi protocol that was causing unstable transmission of FWs. In other words, the fried EPROM wasn't their fault. But they still sent me a new one for free with expedited shipping, all within 3 hours of becoming aware of the problem. If there's a way they could have provided better customer service, I don't know what it is.
 
I definitely do NOT agree with the out of the box experience. FAS presets are great. Maybe not for Hi gain...............but is this review about Hi gain Only? Yes I read it.
 
I appreciate the review, but however harsh this may seem to me this is just total bullshit, which makes me wonder about the rest of the write up now... I'd love to own both units regardless but strongly disagree on the support statements made.

I agree spikey.....Definitely crap-- so how is this unbiased? and my previous posts about axe Presets- more crap. Unbiased? I don't think so. MO
 
I agree they're both means to an end. I haven't used a KPA, so couldn't comment on it, but the AFXII was, in almost every way, exactly what I was looking for.

If you ask me, the Kemper vs. Fractal debate is really no different than the ages old Fender vs. Gibson, Chevy vs. Ford, Pepsi vs. Coke, etc. arguments. People just need something to debate someone else over.
 
I agree they're both means to an end. I haven't used a KPA, so couldn't comment on it, but the AFXII was, in almost every way, exactly what I was looking for.

If you ask me, the Kemper vs. Fractal debate is really no different than the ages old Fender vs. Gibson, Chevy vs. Ford, Pepsi vs. Coke, etc. arguments. People just need something to debate someone else over.

True....

And the correct answers are:

- Fractal
- Fender
- Chevy
- Coke

Let the flaming begin ;)

Cheers
 
Is the kemper more Hi Fi sounding? Hmmm. I saw that line there and not sure what it meant exactly. Of course the reviewer is not the OP, but...
 
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