New AX8 and My Thoughts...

Deadpan

Deadpan

Inspired
Vendor
I have had a Kemper for a few years and love. Always had the urge to check the grass on the other side as I am not one to be biased. I had heard a lot of Axe sounds that were not great but yet I had also heard some that dropped my jaw so I had to hear first hand.

Unboxed this thing Monday.

Out of the box I was underwhelmed. After a couple hours I was getting ok tones but it was so easy to wreck them! Did a recording thinking they were about as good as what I was getting out of the Kemper. The next day I listed and thought not there yet.

I am a Mesa guy but just thought the Rectifiers in the Axe were way too tubby. Had a recommendation from @Steinmetzify to try the speaker page for adjustments (thanks for that!) and on to tweak I went. Found the chugs and made them thrash!

Yes, the AX8 is great. Better than the Kemper? Personal opinion I suppose but it is every bit as good. The difference is that with the Axe the tones are at the controls and not in the profiles. This approach is better for me and cheaper than buying profiles to decide they are not for you.

As of now I will keep both as it will take me some time to find the tones I need in the Axe.

I dislike that the AX8 does not send midi CC. Hopefully in the future.

Thanks for reading guys, I am looking forward to being a more participating part in this forum!
 
Last edited:
Deadpan said:
I have had a Kemper for a few years and love. Always had the urge to check the grass on the other side as I am not one to be biased. I had heard a lot of Axe sounds that were not great but yet I had also heard some that dropped my jaw so I had to hear first hand.

Unboxed this thing Monday.

Out of the box I was underwhelmed. After a couple hours I was getting ok tones but it was so easy to wreck them! Did a recording thinking they were about as good as what I was getting out of the Kemper. The next day I listed and thought not there yet.

I am a Mesa guy but just thought the Rectifiers in the Axe were way too tubby. Had a recommendation from steinmetzify to try the speaker page for adjustments (thanks for that!) and on to tweak I went. Found the chugs and made them thrash!

Thanks for your honest assessment..

Yes, the AX8 is great. Better than the Kemper? Personal opinion I suppose but it is every bit as good. The difference is that with the Axe the tones are at the controls and not in the profiles. This approach is better for me and cheaper than buying profiles to decide they are not for you.

As of now I will keep both as it will take me some time to find the tones I need in the Axe.

I dislike that the AX8 does not send midi CC. Hopefully in the future.

Thanks for reading guys, I am looking forward to being a more participating part in this forum!
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Don't sweat the Mesa amps, Quatum 2.0 is being ported to AX8 as we type this and they are HUGELY improved. I've never used a Kemper but the fact is you are the mercy of some other person's idea of an optimized rig..total crap shoot. And that unit has been out for awhile now.

The AX8 is the offspring from some of (if not the) best modeling DNA ever developed and it literally in its infancy. With the unparalleled support history of FAS the AX8 (which is great now) will likely be dramatically improved over time, as the AxeFX has over its development cycle.

For the right applications the AX8 is the best system ever created, already. Glad you're digging it and joined the party, going to be a fun ride.
 
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