Axe II vs Kemper for this tone...which is better

PhilTraum

Member
Hello,

I am interested in purchasing an Axe II or Kemper profiler in the near future. I am strongly leaning towards the Axe II after extensive research. One of the tones I want the most is a Fuchs ODS lead tone. I do see that the Fuchs ODS50 model was just added to the Axe II. The kemper has an ODS30 profile already: Kemper Profiling Amp Performance Sessions - Peter Fischer - Carla Santanos - YouTube. Sounds pretty good but the tone
I want is similar to this artist Galo. Here is a page w/ many of his clips: Galo MP3s. Here are his amp settings: Amp settings as a clock. example 2= 2pm and M for master.
2 off off on 12 - 2- 2- 3- 5- M- 7- 11

The ones I like the most are: http://www.galorivera.com/Audio/I-love-you.mp3 and http://www.galorivera.com/Audio/Zen and Zendrive 2.mp3.

Anyway do you think the Axe II could nail this tone and beat out the kemper? I really hope it can, but that seems like a hard tone to nail because the nature of these Fuchs amps is so breathy and alive.

Thanks
 
Buy both and find out.

And posting on the Axe board for honest opinions on whether the Kemper could do better is...interesting.

Try TGP. You'll find strong opinions on both sides. In the end, pick one, buy it, and decide for yourself. Personally, I feel like if all you want is ONE tone, just buy that amp...
 
Two years of posting threads like this? Just get one or the other already. :)

Feels alike two years yes, but I have mine for 13 month now and I was in the first delivery of KPAs ever in Germany.


To the OP: When you want one certain sound only, the best way is to buy that amp. BTW, when you own that amp you can tonematch it and/or profile it :)

OK. You could tonematch it using a recording where you have a track with a short part where there's guitar only. The KPA cannot take profiles from recordings.
 
Thanks guys. I was just basically wondering if anyone knew of any clips for the new Fuchs amp model on the Axe that sounded similar to this. No big deal...I am pretty sure w/ tone matching and some tweaking that these tones could be done. I am just a novice player and don't always have a lot of time to play so that is why I am intrigued by these new digital units because instead of paying close $4000 for a killer amp, I can hopefully get those tones and more and effects for half the price. Sounds good anyway.
 
I hate to tell you this, but if you where in the studio on the days that those were recorded and Galo handed you the guitar right after he finished recording, it would not sound like that. You could put any great player with great tone and feel on almost any decent amp, and it will sound great. Some people spend way too much time chasing some tone in their head when they should just be playing and playing and playing. ..................Sorry, just my 2 cents.
 
I hate to tell you this, but if you where in the studio on the days that those were recorded and Galo handed you the guitar right after he finished recording, it would not sound like that. You could put any great player with great tone and feel on almost any decent amp, and it will sound great. Some people spend way too much time chasing some tone in their head when they should just be playing and playing and playing. ..................Sorry, just my 2 cents.

I know exactly what you mean, and you are right, but there is just something I have heard from the Fuchs ODS amps that just sounds wonderful to my ears. I have heard very average players sound awesome on those amps, I just like Galo's tone the best...obviously he's playing with the energy and passion to really bring out the best of the amp.
 
Galo is a friend of mine. Shoot me an email at webmaster@ and I'll introduce you. He's Axe-Fx all the way. We just hung out at NAMM last week.

Thanks for the offer. I will probably take you up on that in a few months when I will probably buy the Axe. Maybe I can get him to record an isolation track so I can tone match it ;). I have heard some clips of his tone on an Axe Fx Ultra that sounded good, but I think the Axe II can get a lot closer, especially with tone matching. The reason I am asking about his tone is because I was thinking about purchasing a Fuchs ODS head myself and then I saw the newest Axe update had a model of the amp. There was a couple other amp heads I was looking at buying also that just so happen to be on the Axe that I have found that the Axe nails, so I was just hoping to hit the jackpot with some killer Fuchs tones also. Have my cake and eat it too.
Thanks again
 
Think about what using the Axe or the Kemper means in practical terms. Both can sound near perfect but are handled differently.
I would go for the Axe any time because it's just more flexible. I don't like the idea of using combinations of different gear baked into one profile. If you're OK with that or if you prefer nailing a certain tone without adding your personal flavor then go for the Kemper.
 
Think about what using the Axe or the Kemper means in practical terms. Both can sound near perfect but are handled differently.
I would go for the Axe any time because it's just more flexible. I don't like the idea of using combinations of different gear baked into one profile. If you're OK with that or if you prefer nailing a certain tone without adding your personal flavor then go for the Kemper.

I agree, the more I think about it. There is just so much more one can do with the axe. The Kemper seems way too limiting compared to the Axe. I also read that high gain tones on the Kemper weren't as good because of lower sample rate and aliasing or something like dis. I also read from people who have both units that tone matching can yield superior results to profiling because the way the Axe models the amp controls perfectly, it just takes a bit more skill to tone match an amp than it does to profile.
 
A friend of mine has a Kemper and we argue every time we meet over which is better, the Kemper or the Axe.
We still argue about it.

This is my personal opinion of the Kemper.

I sat in a professional recording studio the other day and tried the Kemper, shuffling back and forward through presets. I used a custom made guitar with incredible specs. Gear wise, I was well set up.
My first thoughts were that it sounded nice. The Kemper amp sounds great, no doubt about it!
After trying a few presets and custom made Amp Profiles of my favorite amp, the 5150, I could start to see were the Kemper amp is weak.
The low end was just not the same, it's not as tight as the real thing. The Distortion was similar but the overall feel of the amp wasn't the same.
I have heard people profiling their amps and said "doesnt it sound the same?". I feel it's similar, but not the same no.
Spec wise, the difference between an Axe FX and a Kemper is the hardware. Axe FX uses SHARC DSP processors (also used by Universal Audio) while Kemper uses a Motorola DSP processor (Also used by Line 6)
I don't know what the price difference is on the SHARC vs the Motorola DSP. But looking at products price list that uses the SHARC, it's easy to see that it costs more.
Personally I think that the SHARC sounds better.

This is just speculation:


Another difference is how Kemper and Axe FX simulate amps/tubes.
Axe FX models the amp from the hardware, where Kemper uses a wave shaper?
Axe FX takes each gain stage in consideration where Kemper takes a overall profile of the whole amp and cab.
So the Axe FX should be more "precise" in how the amp really sounds.

Some consideration

The real thing always sounds the best, even the Axe FX cannot simulate an amp 100%
But it does a damn good job!
The Kemper is cheaper and you can get the same amount of sweet tones as on a Axe FX.
I just think that the Axe FX gives you more and better options and more value for money.
I only think that the Kemper is weak when it comes to high gain stuff.

That was my 2 cents :)
 
Galo posted his Axe-Fx I settings a long time ago.

There was no Fuchs model in the Axe back then.
IIRC it was the ODS model, with the Skyline tonestack, using 4x12 Green and EVM cabs.

And as noted by Moke, you gotta play like Galo to sound like Galo.
 
Re. the above post. The Axe-Fx II uses two floating-point TigerSHARC processors. Their list price is around $300 ea. The KPA uses one fixed-point Motorola processor. It's list price is around $12.

Thanks for clarifying this.
There is a reason why the Axe FX II and the DSP stuff from Universal audio costs more, cause it sounds damn good. End of story.
Just proves my point ;)
 
So, processors have a "sound"? Seriously? :geek

I could have explained it a bit better. I should have said : "Personally I think that gear with the SHARC sounds better"
But rather that going completely complex, I just went with "It sounds better"
So "No" processors do not have a "sound"
 
Last edited:
Floating-point processors will sound different than fixed-point. With fixed-point you run into problems with finite word-length effects more easily than floating-point processors, especially if you are oversampling. The more you oversample, the more word-length you need. The Axe-Fx II uses 40-bit math in the amp modeling for this reason. Regular SHARCs can only do 32-bit math and Motorola DSPs are only 24 bits.
 
Back
Top Bottom