Review from a Kemper convert

Johnkenn

Johnkenn

Inspired
Unfortunately, My Kemper sold a day before my AFX 3 came, so I didn’t get to directly compare...but I’ve had an on-again-off-again affair with the Kemper. I had sold and bought a Kemper 5 times lol. Something about it just seemed “un-dynamic” and two dimensional to me. But it was far and away better than the software that was out there...and just so much quicker and easier than miking up different amps.

All that to say - holeee shiiit. I mean seriously. Why did I wait so long. NOW I hear what I didn’t like the Kemper. This thing adapts dynamically to your playing. The amp sags and is not just a snapshot of the tone. There is a sameness in Kemper profiles to me. A sameness in the voicings/timbre. Not sure how to explain it. But in the AXFX, a Champ has that guttural mid range that is totally differentfrom say - a Marshall. i downloaded Leon Todd’s Blackface Fenders and the difference in tone in the Princeton, Vibrolux, Tremolux, Silverface and Deluxe are just striking. It sounds like the real damn thing. Finally. Same with the Excellent Brett Kingman Vox Block presets.

Anyway - for all the people like me that were teetering for a while. Just do it. It’s absolutely worth it. There’s no comparison.
 
Johnkenn said:
Unfortunately, My Kemper sold a day before my AFX 3 came, so I didn’t get to directly compare...but I’ve had an on-again-off-again affair with the Kemper. I had sold and bought a Kemper 5 times lol. Something about it just seemed “un-dynamic” and two dimensional to me. But it was far and away better than the software that was out there...and just so much quicker and easier than miking up different amps.

All that to say - holeee shiiit. I mean seriously. Why did I wait so long. NOW I hear what I didn’t like the Kemper. This thing adapts dynamically to your playing. The amp sags and is not just a snapshot of the tone. There is a sameness in Kemper profiles to me. A sameness in the voicings/timbre. Not sure how to explain it. But in the AXFX, a Champ has that guttural mid range that is totally differentfrom say - a Marshall. i downloaded Leon Todd’s Blackface Fenders and the difference in tone in the Princeton, Vibrolux, Tremolux, Silverface and Deluxe are just striking. It sounds like the real damn thing. Finally. Same with the Excellent Brett Kingman Vox Block presets.

Anyway - for all the people like me that were teetering for a while. Just do it. It’s absolutely worth it. There’s no comparison.
Click to expand...
Though I have retained my lunchbox over the years and occasionally use it, your opinion echoes the prevailing feeling here, no shocker there, the latest ECliffanies™ of III firmware have been revelatory to the ear, and further distances the difference of the units....but gee, nice to have an editor now after 7 years.................
 
It's great isn't it? Had mine a week and the bar was set really high with my AX8, but man this unit really is something special

It's so dynamic and flexible, and the routing capabilities are astounding
 
Aside from simplicity, the Kemper has one advantage. Because the underlying software has remained relatively static, and without the file separation between preset and IR seen on many devices, you get wonderful patch portability over nearly the entire history of the device. There's an AC-20 patch created (I think) in 2012 that is still held up as an example of the best the Kemper can do.

I'm a fan of both!
 
I bet my memory is separating them a little more../that is, I bet I could have probably tweaked some Kemper profiles to be similar...but the Axe just rings all the bells for me right off the bat.
 
Kemper sends their units out with a setting all the way up called "Pure Cabinet" I turned that off and finally I was able to hear the real amps tones. But, yes, I too just bought a AXE III and it really is a boutique real sounding amp that you can get "Your" tone through. Congrats!!
 
Since the Kemper editor has just come out I’ve been using both the Kemper and Axe Fx 3 and I have to say that the Kemper “sound” sounds the same on all profiles through my Yamaha DXR 10. The Axe sounds more like a tube amp and the Kemper sounds like it going through some kind of a filter on every profile.
 
Johnkenn said:
Unfortunately, My Kemper sold a day before my AFX 3 came, so I didn’t get to directly compare...but I’ve had an on-again-off-again affair with the Kemper. I had sold and bought a Kemper 5 times lol. Something about it just seemed “un-dynamic” and two dimensional to me. But it was far and away better than the software that was out there...and just so much quicker and easier than miking up different amps.

All that to say - holeee shiiit. I mean seriously. Why did I wait so long. NOW I hear what I didn’t like the Kemper. This thing adapts dynamically to your playing. The amp sags and is not just a snapshot of the tone. There is a sameness in Kemper profiles to me. A sameness in the voicings/timbre. Not sure how to explain it. But in the AXFX, a Champ has that guttural mid range that is totally differentfrom say - a Marshall. i downloaded Leon Todd’s Blackface Fenders and the difference in tone in the Princeton, Vibrolux, Tremolux, Silverface and Deluxe are just striking. It sounds like the real damn thing. Finally. Same with the Excellent Brett Kingman Vox Block presets.

Anyway - for all the people like me that were teetering for a while. Just do it. It’s absolutely worth it. There’s no comparison.
Click to expand...
It’s alright: you wouldn’t have cared: when I got my axe 3, I looked at my kemper and back at my axe 3.....

I turned it on, opened Axe edit and all of a sudden the whole kemper vs FAS debate was dead in my head with a passing, “ohhhhhhhh” - in recognition of what all the FAS we’re saying, once you try it , there is no question or exception, the axe 3 dominates
 
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