Axe-Fx III clean amp sounds compared to Kemper cleans

Well, whether you decide to borrow a III for a trial, or take it out on the trail, I hope you'll drop in occasionally and leave us a little recording. I enjoyed what you've posted so far.

Yeah, I've DEFINITELY been down the gear trail.... still have a few amps I don't want to part with, and a sweet pedalboard, but no racks or half-stacks, anymore. Kept a Mark Sampson Star Sirius, a Deluxe I built, and a Goodsell Super 17, but mostly just playing the Fractal, now. Sold all but a handful of guitars and pedals.

I think you're on the right track researching first; there's nothing like playing and setting up presets to really understand the depth of the III, but you can get a good idea, especially, from the YouTube videos. I'd say learn all you can, and borrow, or trial-buy one, if you think that might suit you better than the Kemper. However, if the Kemper is working for you...don't fix it. I haven't tried the Kemper, so I can't give a valid comparison. The videos sound pretty darned good! From the tones I'm hearing in the videos, I do think you'd like the III, too. What the heck, if you're rich, why not both?!?! ;)
To my ears. The Fractal Overdrive , cranked amp sounds seem to be a little less compressed sounding than the Kemper. This is only slightly . I am no ways near rich or even financially stable at times. However, I do not smoke cigs or have any really nasty habits . I am just a working class full time musician , so this gear are my tools of trade, not toys. It does take me a while to save up for such things. No matter what ones main gear is, it would be wise to have a back up of some kind in case of a major malfunction, so two two two units are better than one ! As it seems to be the case, if the clean sounds of the AXE III are at least as good as what I am getting with the Kemper, I am sure I will be pleased with it. With out a doubt , I know the actual FX on the AXE III are above and beyond the Kemper.
I was actually looking for a Star Sirius when I came upon the Todd Sharp. The Star does sound better than the Matchless C 30 , Less Brittle and a little richer , more stable, low end . The Todd Sharp is similar, best way I can describe the Todd Sharp . . imagine a Matchless or Star with more ASS ! Thicker but still with all the chime. None conventional controls. Also , it is way more strat and single coil friendly . Never really liked a Strat through my Matchless all that much . Love it through the Todd Sharp.
I am in the same line of thinking , I have my two really good tube amps to use with a pedal board. Will not be looking for any more "Tube guitar amps" I believe I have as good as it will get as far as regular amps go ( And I can always use those with my Fryette PS 2 to add an extra 50 watts if I need LOUD ! ). So units like the Kemper & AXE III are the way to go > Now that both have much better "REAL" amp sounds now days than any just a few years ago. Finally got past that" barely useable" tones and now have "Very" useable tone!.
 
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Disclaimer: I don't know anything about Kemper

But, isnt Kemper tones based on the actual amp you have and making profile of? So Kemper basically doesn't have any Amp tones at all by it self?
Or... shall I read the manual? :D :D
The Kemper comes with many Profiles already loaded in, most of which were just unusable to me. The Kemper now comes loaded with a Few MBritt profiles . With out the MBritt profiles, my My Kemper would be useless. I do not seek to have dozens of amps. I just want 2 or 3 really good clean and 2 or 3 . . . well may by 5 or 6 really good overdrive amps sounds, and that is plenty for me, just want them to sound very real and have those good picking dynamics which the Kemper does . until you get into the really High gain stuff.
 
I am totally sold at this point and when I make the purchase. I doubt seriously I will even be slightly disappointed. I am, not even thinking about the 14 day trail period anymore. I have heard enough and read enough to know I will get much use and gobs of sounds that will please me out of the AXE III . Just make sure I buy that "Austin pack when i get it .
 
I am totally sold at this point and when I make the purchase. I doubt seriously I will even be slightly disappointed. I am, not even thinking about the 14 day trail period anymore. I have heard enough and read enough to know I will get much use and gobs of sounds that will please me out of the AXE III . Just make sure I buy that "Austin pack when i get it .
When you are ready:

https://austinbuddy.com/products/1000-naked-amps-tonepack-for-the-axe-fx-iii/

My TonePacks have been compared to what Michael Britt does for the Kemper by some - - making it easier to just “plug and play.” Enjoy!
 
Sold my kemper, bought an axe iii....kemper was amazing, and the axe iii is worth double for what it can do because it’s everything a kemper offers but in mulTiples more...I had all the packs , lass lamert, Keith Merow etc, and all the great profiles Made by my rectifier owning buddy so they were custom, and nothing is as good as what I dialed in first time with this axe iii

No comparison duDe, honestly
 
Sold my kemper, bought an axe iii....kemper was amazing, and the axe iii is worth double for what it can do because it’s everything a kemper offers but in mulTiples more...I had all the packs , lass lamert, Keith Merow etc, and all the great profiles Made by my rectifier owning buddy so they were custom, and nothing is as good as what I dialed in first time with this axe iii

No comparison duDe, honestly
My main concern again .. . regaurdless of the endless FX and high gain rock tones, , The cleans !! If the cleans I need are there, I may do the same . . sell the Kemper once I get my amps and FX taken care of, I need a couple more guitars,
 
My main concern again .. . regaurdless of the endless FX and high gain rock tones, , The cleans !! If the cleans I need are there, I may do the same . . sell the Kemper once I get my amps and FX taken care of, I need a couple more guitars,
Ok let me be clear: I don’t care much about effects and I didn’t get the axe fx before because I thought it was only about FX so I bought a kemper

Now I own an axe iii, and the cleans are better than the kemper, I was trying to be diplomatic but now I’ll be blunt: kemper lost/others might say kemper is now pwned by FAS

Your looking for someone to disagree or give you an excuse

I’m a former kemper owner who only used amps and cabs (no FX, well kemper didn’t have effects anyway) but now with this axe iii you get all kemper tones and more plus the best effects on earth

Only reason not to own this as a guitarist is cost but if you can afford it you’ll hear instantly that it’s superior to kemper in every way

/end of the answer to your question
 
The Axe-Fx III models are extremely accurate. The Kemper has it's own vibe which a lot of people like. It's characterized by lots of midrange compression. You can replicate this on the Axe-Fx by setting the Output Compression type in the Amp block to Feedback and dialing in ~6 dB of compression. Adjust to taste.

The distortion of the Kemper is smoother than a real amp as well. You can replicate this by decreasing the Power Amp Hardness.
 
So far , I am extremely excited now. Why.. ?? I have heard no one say the term "OK cleans " " About as good " "Almost as good. " All comments from all styles of players are saying excellent cleans or better than Kemper. I believe it will be less than three weeks and I will be able to buy this bad boy as well as the controller and get me an Austin Buddy pack all at the same time ! :) Though I was reluctant to do so, I am selling my 1966 Fender deluxe reverb to get this sooner. Local guy coming to look at it today.
 
I used to do this on ALL of my presets on older Firmware, but a few updates ago I stopped touching it completely as the amps had such a nice natural compression thing going for them.
Of all the comments so far, this one is an explanation that understand. My favorite clean sound on a real amp or Kemper , set the amp to where it is just on the verge of break up or pushed , then hit it with a decent compressor , one that has a blend control as to get the compression and the transients happening at the same time . That is a punchy singing clean and the kind of clean I use about half the time.
 
Of all the comments so far, this one is an explanation that understand. My favorite clean sound on a real amp or Kemper , set the amp to where it is just on the verge of break up or pushed , then hit it with a decent compressor , one that has a blend control as to get the compression and the transients happening at the same time . That is a punchy singing clean and the kind of clean I use about half the time.

I play mostly with clean amps that are just on the edge of breakup, they feel stunning. The Axe-FX has captured the feel of the amp, not just the sound/tone. Different clean amps in it feel/play differently, so one day I'm a Fender amp guy, then a VOX. Nowadays I'm using the Matchless and Suhr models a lot more. We really are spoilt for choice!
 
I play mostly with clean amps that are just on the edge of breakup, they feel stunning. The Axe-FX has captured the feel of the amp, not just the sound/tone. Different clean amps in it feel/play differently, so one day I'm a Fender amp guy, then a VOX. Nowadays I'm using the Matchless and Suhr models a lot more. We really are spoilt for choice!

Next day ... slo cln, cae cln, USA cln, Hook1a, etc. Soooo many good cleans.

Me, I love love love the Axe3 fenders. Even vol knob rolls on many others ... have fun :)
 
That is a punchy singing clean and the kind of clean I use about half the time.

I may have missed it, but what specific clean tone are you searching for? What preloads or user DL's did you get for your Kemper?

Our church is a Kemper shop, I'm slowly migrating them back to FAS and they typically run the Divided By 13 Cleans / Crunch profiles. They sound...... okay. The Div /13 amps on the FAS gear is beyond the Kemper to my ears, however, they are my ears.

Try not to paint yourself into a corner with the digital tonal search though. I'd recommend hanging onto the Kemper, get the Axe III and do your own side by side compare with a FRFR given Cliff's parameters he just shared you you above. For the cleans specifically though, what're you trying to go for? Fender, Boutique, Bogner, etc.
 
I may have missed it, but what specific clean tone are you searching for? What preloads or user DL's did you get for your Kemper?

Our church is a Kemper shop, I'm slowly migrating them back to FAS and they typically run the Divided By 13 Cleans / Crunch profiles. They sound...... okay. The Div /13 amps on the FAS gear is beyond the Kemper to my ears, however, they are my ears.

Try not to paint yourself into a corner with the digital tonal search though. I'd recommend hanging onto the Kemper, get the Axe III and do your own side by side compare with a FRFR given Cliff's parameters he just shared you you above. For the cleans specifically though, what're you trying to go for? Fender, Boutique, Bogner, etc.
Cleans I tend to go for = An original Black face Fender Princeton or Deluxe, Twin, D13 FTR 37, Morgan AC20, Mostly Fender & Vox, then the Cleaner side of a JTM 45 . . . then a Hiwatt Custom 50 /100. If guitar tone was flavor & food texture, I just want it to be as much like Real Strawberries as possible rather than just "Strawberry Flavoring ". Cleans I do not care for = Modern Marshall High Gain amp clean channel, Most High Gain Muscle amp's clean channels are just not for me . I do not like the Fender Re-issue Twins . They sound hard and mid rangy compared to a real 1965-66 Twin. MY main amps for years have been Matchless C 30 , Fender Deluxe & Pro Reverb, and I had A Reeves Space Cowboy 50 for a while that was really nice. Sold my Matchless amps and got a Todd Sharp JOAT 20 RT last year. It is a cross between a Fender & a Vox but with a thicker sound than both. I am not trying to nail any certain sound. I just want some very useable clean sounds to play Sultans of swing , and country lead guitar . Blues, Funk etc. I mean one can play some really good chick'n pick'n country on a Hiwatt set clean . I just want the cleans to go " Tiiiinnnnnnngggg" Whhhhaaaannngggg " & Thump instead of "Tink ", "splat" & fizz. Or . . . Sultans of Swing, SRV Little wing, Eric Johnson "Trade Mark" Any David Gilmore clean ! Buck Owens, Any summers etc. Just want the cleans to have some body, punch and natural sustain or added sustain with the use of a decent compressor.

And as mentioned in my other replies . . at this time I am convinced the AXE III will get the Job done and has very useable cleans sounds and I am going to get one, even if I get it just to use mostly for FX and run a Synergy unit with it !!
 
Cleans I tend to go for = An original Black face Fender Princeton or Deluxe, Twin, D13 FTR 37, Morgan AC20, Mostly Fender & Vox, then the Cleaner side of a JTM 45 . . . then a Hiwatt Custom 50 /100. If guitar tone was flavor & food texture, I just want it to be as much like Real Strawberries as possible rather than just "Strawberry Flavoring ".

Your list looks about like mine. I really think you will not be disappointed.
 
IMHO If you can't get what you want from the AXE III than that is your fault. You seem to be more of a performer than a studio guy. From a performance standpoint, there isn't one person here who could tell the difference between the normal and HQ reverb live much less some of the main intangibles. Now studio might be a bit different. My experience is the hairs you and some others are trying to split are simply not noticeable with a full band live. Bottom line: Subscribe to Leon Todd's youtube and follow directions and profit. It is the most up to date source we have on everything Fractal. Most major touring bands are using it now and in a year, it will be the defect touring standard. If you are a tone chaser like the rest of us, good luck! You are screwed for the next decade as this thing will keep you more than busy! You are a great player, you will only sound better. My friend Chris Heart chicken picks with the best of them. He uses a Squire Tele and a Peavey Bandit 65 and destroys everything in sight with huge names nightly. #famouslyunknownguitarist
 
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