Why would anyone buy a Kemper over the Axe-FX II?

Why would anyone buy a PC over a Mac? Everyone has his reasons, sometimes pure pratical and rational, sometimes irrational. Sometimes it's just the situation. Which one is better? :)

I didn't try any Kemper though, neither did I try the Axe FX before buying it. I'm a spontaneous buyer and I read somewhere that Axe FX II had better FX. Besides, I stumbled upon it when checking the Animals As Leaders gear. I liked the idea, the box looked fancy, I had a round birthsday coming and voilà! Actually a pretty quick and irrational decision. If I maybe knew someone who would show me the Kemper before, I would probably find it a cool thing and wouldn't even think about the Axe FX and you wouldn't see me on this forum.
 
I've been wanting to write this for a long time... and what better time than now in a resurrected zombie thread.

Top 10 reasons to buy a Kemper:

10. Wanted a Vox, Marshal, Fender, amp but why buy 3 when you can have 1 for 1/3rd the cost?

9. Guitar Center can sell it to you.

8. Needed to replace the POD

7. Hmmm.... green

6. Twisty knobs

4. Wanted something that looked cool sitting on a Cab

3. Convenience of cloning your amp for live and studio use (even though you don't own more than one amp to clone... and that one sucks... hence the reason for getting a Kemper... wait a second...)

2. Hated Scott Peterson's hate of the Kemper and love of Axe (which turned out to be just hate of Scott Petersen since his hate of Kemper actually didn't exist.)

1. Price (oops, not as applicable anymore)

Seriously though, the Kemper is easy to use and you get positive reinforcement when the clone that you just made sounds almost exactly the same. You can do the same in the Axe but the workflow isn't as obvious or straightforward to people. Anyway, if I were just cloning amps only, then maybe I'd be into it.
 
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I can think of several reasons:

1. Buyer doesn't know Fractal exists
2. Buyer heard Axe Fx is too complicated
3. Buyer read about the Axe Edit issues that use to exist
4. Kemper is cheaper
5. Control panel on Kemper more amp like
6. Ease of use, can buy patches instead of having to make them
7. Buyer knows someone or read their guitar hero uses a Kemper

To my ear the Kemper profiles sound fake, and the lack of effects would dictate I have an Axe Fx anyway, so for me the Fractal is the obvious choice. For those not requiring a lot of efx and wanting ease of use, maybe a Kemper suits them better.
 
Why would anyone care why others buy what they buy?
Unless you are very unsecure about your own choise?
 
a pal of mine had the Axe-II and was trying alternative solutions to his valve amp..
he recorded with the Axe and got some great results..
but when rehearsing with the Axe he always felt that something was missing.. it was never quite the same as his valve amp..
he tried several poweramps with his cab.. but for live tone he just couldn't get it to hit the spot..

he tried the KPA, profiled his Diezel and found that everything that he wanted from his tone was there..
in his opinion, the KPA really hit the spot live in ways that he thought the Axe-II couldn't.

this guy is not a noob in any way.. he's a great and experienced guitarist, drummer, writer, producer.. he's not a techno-phobe [in fact quite the opposite]..
and I know he really wanted the Axe-II to work for him and that he really took his time and tried to get it to work for him..
he's a guy who's opinion I respect in all areas of music.. and he's honest too [even if it's painful]..
for him, the Axe-II just couldn't do it where he felt it mattered and the KPA could..

EDIT: I have never been face to face with a KPA so I've not had the chance to experience one..
I'm hoping that when I book a studio to do my next high volume preset session, that he'll join me with his KPA..
I'd like to find out for myself how the KPA sounds / feels and see if I can spot what it is he thinks the Axe is missing / the KPA has.
and should I be able to perceive that difference, consider if it is something that even matters to me..
in all honesty, it's not like I'm not in a nice place tone wise.. but I'm curious none the less...
 
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I have never played/seen a kemper in real life but I know a local guy that has one and he loves it. I also know a local guy that has a HD-500 and he loves it as well. I love the axe fx 2 and been a loyal fractal user since 2009 and never been happier with my tone. And to be honest, I really have no desire to try anything else at this time.

Having said that, I still love my real amps and I love my axe fx 2. And both have a purpose that suit all my needs. When we are at a large outdoor venue, nothing beats having a vintage 71 100 watter marshall cranked up behind you. And when space is limited and noise is an issue, the fractal/clr combo saves the day.
 
gear is just gear right… I don't get the loyalty thing.. unless of course you're sponsored or to a lesser degree an endorsee..
I'm very happy with my Axe-II and it is my principle unit, but I also have two 2120's and a VG-99 which I still enjoy using and use regularly..
they all bring different things to the party
 
clarky said:
gear is just gear right… I don't get the loyalty thing.. unless of course you're sponsored or to a lesser degree an endorsee..
I'm very happy with my Axe-II and it is my principle unit, but I also have two 2120's and a VG-99 which I still enjoy using and use regularly..
they all bring different things to the party
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a loyalty thing so much as it's praise for good gear that does what it purports to do and does it well.
...I think a lot of the FAS vs. KPA nonsense comes from those wanting to justify their purchases against each other over at places like RT & TGP.
If you get your sound from a shoebox & a bungee cord, more power to ya.
 
Improvements are made, hence the Firmware updates.

I'm curious if after a few firmware changes in the AX, Clarky's friend will realize a different tone flavor and find the one he was looking for in the AX.

FW's 10 and 11 were a nightmare for me.
 
last I heard, he still had the Axe, but I don't know if he's going to sell.. the last fw he had to my knowledge was 15.x
 
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

If you buy something and are inspired by it and the company that makes that gear; you just might actually be a happy, satisfied and inspired musician. Not a shill, fanboy, plant, employee or agent for that company. Just because you have your rig nailed down doesn't mean everything else sucks. If you try something and don't like it as much as your own rig in most any way, that doesn't make you a hater, angry or defensive.

Sometimes things really are simple and once you find what works for you and inspires you... it is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. Try everything, decide what fits your situation and inspires you to play. Then play inspired and enjoy performing and playing music. What anyone else thinks of your choices in gear (or you) is really stupid to get upset over or worry about.
 
Scott Peterson said:
... Sometimes things really are simple and once you find what works for you and inspires you... it is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less.
Click to expand...

Exactly. For years and years my few main tones were built around an old as heck Marshall JMP-1. And guess what... My few main tones in the AxeFX are built on the JMP-1 model tonematched to my old gear. Still my sounds, and I'm still inspired when I play them. I just now have WAY better effects, other voices I use use now and then for flavor (hello, Mesa!) and modern pro level gear that is tremendously light, consistent and dependable.

Karma
 
I recently tried a Kemper after owning an Axe Fx II for a year and a half. I knew pretty much immediately that the Kemper is the one that better suits my needs. Its simplicity, feel, sound (all subjective). The Axe is better in build quality, connectivity, has a footswitch, can be operated via computer (screen), etc. I realized something by using the Axe for over a year and that is that I am not someone who likes to tweak - in fact I truly dislike it. I just want to load a great tone and play. I am 100% a bedroom player, have no inclination that this will I ever want to change. Backing tracks are my band. On the Axe, I found it extremely rare to find a preset that I could just run with. In the future I may get another Axe Fx 3 or 4 to see how things have progressed if I can still afford it. The Axe Fx is truly awesome, the Kemper is probably not as awesome, and that's probably why I prefer it at this point.
 
FWIW:

The claim that "Kemper sounds/feels more real in the amp modeling; Axe has better FX" was a common "truce" achieved in early flame wars on gear forums.

I think A lot of people have heard this enough times that they repeat/believe it sometimes whether they have any direct experience or not (a lot of Kemper owners have either played or demoed some version of the AF2 but they are almost never up to date on the current version, although there are a few people here and there who own both). Even among folks who own both, I've virtually never seen anyone making claims to have even made an effort to do a legit double blind test (which would be largely pointless given all the variables involved). So I think a lot of folks have a confirmation bias toward the Kemper already.

As a result, this is just IMHO, I think there is a general perception among a lot of folks (at least on forums) who do not have direct experience with either unit is that:

Kemper is cheaper and sounds better but has fewer bells and whistles.

This is not my take. But just MHO after researching the two units before purchase and wasting way too much time on gear forums. I considered one but dismissed it for various reasons. Outlined in a different post here.
 
If the effects and cab block improvements keep eating so much CPU (not a complaint, I'll take the quality!) I might buy a KPA just to throw in the Axe's loop!

...or another Axe. Time will tell.
 
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