# Am I a good candidate for a Kemper Profiling Amp or Axe FX



## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

I'm wondering if I'm a good candidate for an Axe FX or Kemper Profiling Amp. 

It's not like I've got thousands of dollars burning in my pocket but I could probably handle one or the other. If you have other suggestions - I'm wide open to that too.

I've been thinking about this off and on and if you'll bear with me, I can fill in some background for you about what I've got, how I use it, and why I'm thinking about getting something new.

*Background — Not looking for the sound of a specific rig*
I don't pay much attention to what famous guitarists play for guitars (well - okay a little), but I have paid much less attention to what they play through. My musical taste is all over the map but on any given day I'm much more likely to have listened to Miles Davis than anything guitar based. I might be able to tell you what guitar some guitar god/ess plays but I couldn't tell you anything about his/her rig. 

Sometimes I hear something that I really like but I hear it in the context of the song, the mix, and the environment. In that larger context the amp (and the myriad of variables at play [settings, speaker cabinets, microphone, microphone technique, positioning of the amp]) - the amp (make and model) seems such a tiny factor that I've tended not to give it much notice.

When I fire up my rig I just whirl the controls around until I find a sound that I like for what I'm doing at the time. I'm not looking for a particular sound, just a sound that works for me in the moment.

I've been through a bunch of devices - Line6, Boss, TC Helicon, and every variant of the Roland VG devices. Same basic deal... I just find something that sounds right in the moment and play that. These days I use:

 TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX (mainly because it's small and light and has, to my ears and fingers - decent amp models). I haven't been using vocal stuff in the box. 
 Roland VG-99: This is mainly for solo shows. I have the Roland GK pickups on several guitars and I like doing things like running bass on the low strings and guitar on the upper one. I have not gotten a GR55 as I'm not really into guitar synthesizer. 
 McIntyre Bluesmaker II This is a little heavy to haul around but the sound is amazing. I have two of these tweaked for me by Bob McIntyre. One travels and one stays put in the studio ready when I am. 
 Carvin Quad-X amp This too is a little heavy to haul around much. 
I'll take any of the above and run it through a Bose L1®. I just mention that for context. I get something on the list above to give me the tone, then share it with the room (along with my vocals) through the L1®. (I'm not here to talk Bose. If anyone wants to talk about Bose, please join me in the Bose L1® Forum )

Most of what I do to modify the sound (tone???) I do with my hands and the controls on the guitar. 


A little more information: I just got rid of 
 Line6 HD500 (mainly because they were both awkward to move around and I wasn't really head and shoulders moved to keep it in light of the other stuff around here). And the screen was difficult to read. 
 and before that a Boss GT100 - it turns out that much of what I could do with it, I already had in the Roland VG-99


*What I play*
I play out (small clubs/restaurants/private gigs) and prefer to travel light (no single piece can weigh more than 30 pounds). Solo, duos and some bands. 


I've got a few guitars, nice ones I'm told. Have had, but no longer have Fenders. I'm more into Gibson, PRS, Odyssey, and lately a Flaxwood Liekki. At any given time my favourite is the one that I'm playing. 

I'm often told that I play jazz (although I don't think that label fits). 50% originals with the other 50% R&B, Blues, some contemporary. I don't do authentic covers because I can't. 

*How I play*
Left hand: Chord melodies, partial chords, lots of open strings, and more straight ahead lead with double and triple stops; hammers and pulls. 
Right hand: Fingers, no pick.

*Why am I looking at a Kemper or Axe FX?*
It sounds like I could find a tone that I really like in the studio and then capture it in the Kemper Profiling Amp and take it out live.

For the Axe FX: Maybe I could find some new tones and be inspired. (and capture that and take it out live).

Thanks for reading this far. I'd really appreciate your thoughts. 

ST


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## doriangrey (Mar 29, 2011)

I've never tried the axe FX or the Kemper but before you shell out a couple thousand dollars I would take a look at the digitech gsp 1101. There is a reason it has shown up in the rig of many pro guitarists...and you can find them on craigslist or kijiji or evilbay for about $300. Easy to use, sounds fantastic and with all the routing options, it can be used in a variety of situations live or in studio. You might not like this suggestion because it sounds a bit like you already have your mind up that you want either the axe fx or the kemper but the GSP 1101 is worth consideration given how much money you could save and you can use it in the same applications...just a thought.
If you decide to go with the kemper or the axe fx then I would go with whichever one you can get a better deal on because from what I've heard you can produce great tones with either one...not sure if this helps but I thought I would offer my two cents because I see people shell out a lot of money for very expensive devices that don't sound that much better than less expensive units...most of it comes down to how much time and effort you are wiling to put into finding and tweaking the tones within the unit that you choose....imho


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi doriangrey



doriangrey said:


> I've never tried the axe FX or the Kemper but before you shell out a couple thousand dollars I would take a look at the digitech gsp 1101...


Thanks for the thought and the suggestion. I'm off to do some research. 

In the meantime - one of the intriguing things about the Kemper Profiling Amp is Profiling 



> From the Kemper Site
> 
> 
> “Profiling” is what we have named our proprietary technology that captures the sound and feel of a specific tube amplifier. In other words, the Kemper Profiler doesn’t simply give you a list of static digital amplifier reproductions. Instead, profiling creates a vivid, living, dynamic and multi-dimensional image of your existing tube amp.
> ...


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2013)

Loooong time Fractal User and beta team member here so I am 100% biased, but: you have 12 days to try and Axe-Fx II out. If you don't like it, send it back. The only way to really understand if it's for you is to get your hands on it and try it out.

It's an evolving product, always getting updates that improve what it does. I'm sort of continually amazed that it can do things better because I'm always convinced it's doing them pretty darn good to begin with. The point is, you're constantly getting new amp models, new cabinet IRs, updated F/X models and what not, for free, from Fractal. It's an investment that pays out well if you like the way it sounds.

If you already have an L1 system, you don't need any amplification for the Axe-Fx II. That'll save you a bunch. Maybe consider a controller if you want to be able to bring effects in and out of your chain as you play. But you can use "traditional style" no problem at all, with a patch that's just static that you control with your fingers, pick attack and guitar knobs.

I've got a bunch of clips on my SoundCloud site: https://soundcloud.com/iaresee -- but really, clips are useless. You need to play it to understand it.


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## lchender (Dec 6, 2011)

I believe Long & McQuade also carries the Kemper, so you might be able to go check one out at your local L&M. I got to play with one briefly at my local L&M and it was quite impressive. The salesperson even profiled a Mesa Boogie amp in the store while we watched and the resulting profile was quite convincing!

I've never played an Axe-Fx, so maybe some other forum members who have can jump in?

Also, I agree with iaresee - I think that the only way you'll really figure out whether a modelling system is a good fit for you is to get your hands on them and take them for a spin.


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi iaresee,



iaresee said:


> Loooong time Fractal User and beta team member here so I am 100% biased, but: *you have 12 days to try and Axe-Fx II out*. If you don't like it, send it back. The only way to really understand if it's for you is to get your hands on it and try it out.
> 
> It's an evolving product, always getting updates that improve what it does. I'm sort of continually amazed that it can do things better because I'm always convinced it's doing them pretty darn good to begin with. The point is, you're constantly getting new amp models, new cabinet IRs, updated F/X models and what not, for free, from Fractal. It's an investment that pays out well if you like the way it sounds.
> 
> ...


"you have 12 days to try and Axe-Fx II out"

Do you think this applies in Canada?


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi lchender, 

Thanks for this.



lchender said:


> *I believe Long & McQuade also carries the Kemper*, so you might be able to go check one out at your local L&M. I got to play with one briefly at my local L&M and it was quite impressive. The salesperson even profiled a Mesa Boogie amp in the store while we watched and the resulting profile was quite convincing!
> 
> I've never played an Axe-Fx, so maybe some other forum members who have can jump in?
> 
> Also, I agree with iaresee - I think that the only way you'll really figure out whether a modelling system is a good fit for you is to get your hands on them and take them for a spin.


"I believe Long & McQuade also carries the Kemper"

Yes - I've been hovering around L&M here. I've just not been there when they have one around. I thought that I'd ask around here to see if anyone had some deeper insights than I could get from reading on the Kemper website.


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2013)

-ST- said:


> Hi iaresee,
> 
> "you have 12 days to try and Axe-Fx II out"
> 
> Do you think this applies in Canada?


I know it does. Fractal isn't out to screw anyone over they want you to love it.


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## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

I purchased a KPA through Steve's Music a couple of weeks ago. It is without a doubt the most versatile piece of gear I have ever owned. As I have gotten older, I have continued to move away from heavy, over-powered tube amps. My current rig, pre-KPA, was a SF Princeton Reverb and/or a '67 Vibrolux Reverb. Great little amps but pretty much one-trick ponies. After a lot of research, I decided I would give the Kemper a try. The chance of hearing and playing profiles of so many great amps that I would never probably even see let alone get to try was just too tempting.

The KPA arrived two days before a gig and, after a few hours of trying out the included proflles (it comes with almost 350), I found half a dozen I really liked, saved them as Favourites and brought it to the gig. I wasn't ready to jump in whole hog and used my ABY switch to use it mostly during solos. I normally mic my SFPR into the Presonus board and out to QSC K12's plus a small powered sub, so adding the Kemper on another channel was easy. I got great feedback from friends in the crowd so, at our next gig, I ran both together pretty much the whole night and used my pedal board for boost/OD and other effects. It takes pedals really well. After more great comments on my tone, I have pretty much decided that it will be the Kemper alone before too long. I ordered an FCB1010 midi pedal and the Uno4kemper EPROM to go in it, which will make the 1010 a dedicated controller for the KPA. 

I feel like I have barely scratched the surface with this piece of gear and already I am totally sold on it, tone-wise as well as for its fantastic versatility. I A/B'ed my BFVR against a Vintage Vibrolux profile off the Kemper Rig Exchange and can barely tell them apart.

A word of advice, if you are trying out a KPA at L&M, be sure to have them plug it into an FRFR powered cab to get a true representation of the included profiles.

BD


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2013)

Big_Daddy, sounds awesome. I love the look on people's faces when they finally get to hear and feel modern emulation technologies. It's come a long way baby!



Big_Daddy said:


> A word of advice, if you are trying out a KPA at L&M, be sure to have them plug it into an FRFR powered cab to get a true representation of the included profiles.


That stands true for the Axe-Fx as well. You really need good FRFR to get the most out of it.


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi laresee,



iaresee said:


> I know it does. Fractal isn't out to screw anyone over they want you to love it.


Do you know if Fractal has any Canadian outlets or representatives. I'm concerned that it might be very complicated or expensive to bring a unit over the border, and doubly (or more) so if it has to go back.

Thanks!


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2013)

-ST- said:


> Hi laresee,
> 
> Do you know if Fractal has any Canadian outlets or representatives. I'm concerned that it might be very complicated or expensive to bring a unit over the border, and doubly (or more) so if it has to go back.
> 
> Thanks!


They only sell direct in Canada. In the USA it's direct or LA Sound and that's it. You can try and find someone local to you, maybe convince them to let you try it. But otherwise it's no hassle to get it across the boarder.


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Time for an update. 

I picked up a Kemper back in May and I've been really happy with it. I've had it out live lots and it's been great. As I mentioned in the opening post, I'm not one for tweaking much. I wanted and got a tonne of usable profiles with real-time twist-n-turn controls on the front. I was able to profile an amp that I really like and now I can take that with me anywhere. The Kemper sounds and *_*feels*_* like my McIntyre. (If you've got a Kemper, go to Rig Exchange and search for McIntyre - you'll find four profiles there).

If you haven't actually played through one, I think that's the only way to know if it's something that would work for you. I got mine at L&M where I was able to play it live, and be confident that I could live with it for 30 days to make sure that it wasn't just a one-night's-infatuation.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Glad you like it!


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## Gizmo (Aug 7, 2008)

Welcome to the Kemper club.

I've had mine for about 18 months and been gigging with it for about a year. Took a bit of "courage" to do the first gig, but now the weird thing is I get slightly nervous when I gig with a regular tube amp….not sure I can get the variety of sounds I need.

Still love my tubes though, but the KPA is a great tool once I came to terms with the miked amp sound vs the amp in a room sound.



-ST- said:


> Time for an update.
> 
> I picked up a Kemper back in May and I've been really happy with it. I've had it out live lots and it's been great. As I mentioned in the opening post, I'm not one for tweaking much. I wanted and got a tonne of usable profiles with real-time twist-n-turn controls on the front. I was able to profile an amp that I really like and now I can take that with me anywhere. The Kemper sounds and *_*feels*_* like my McIntyre. (If you've got a Kemper, go to Rig Exchange and search for McIntyre - you'll find four profiles there).
> 
> If you haven't actually played through one, I think that's the only way to know if it's something that would work for you. I got mine at L&M where I was able to play it live, and be confident that I could live with it for 30 days to make sure that it wasn't just a one-night's-infatuation.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

iaresee said:


> Big_Daddy, sounds awesome. I love the look on people's faces when they finally get to hear and feel modern emulation technologies. It's come a long way baby!
> 
> 
> 
> That stands true for the Axe-Fx as well. You really need good FRFR to get the most out of it.


FRFR? Umm, a little more info?


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

bzrkrage said:


> FRFR? Umm, a little more info?


Had the same question, so aGoogling I did go: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-719144.html

Neil


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## doriangrey (Mar 29, 2011)

-ST- said:


> Time for an update.
> 
> I picked up a Kemper back in May and I've been really happy with it. I've had it out live lots and it's been great. As I mentioned in the opening post, I'm not one for tweaking much. I wanted and got a tonne of usable profiles with real-time twist-n-turn controls on the front. I was able to profile an amp that I really like and now I can take that with me anywhere. The Kemper sounds and *_*feels*_* like my McIntyre. (If you've got a Kemper, go to Rig Exchange and search for McIntyre - you'll find four profiles there).
> 
> If you haven't actually played through one, I think that's the only way to know if it's something that would work for you. I got mine at L&M where I was able to play it live, and be confident that I could live with it for 30 days to make sure that it wasn't just a one-night's-infatuation.


Did you buy the powered one with the power amp in it? Or are you just running direct? How are you using it? 

I've been seriously considering selling some of my amps (I have 5 different amps) and buying the Kemper. A friend of mine runs a small music store here so he tries every piece of gear out there and he told me recently that he sold his axefx and bought a Kemper and is way happier with the Kemper.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2014)

bzrkrage said:


> FRFR? Umm, a little more info?


*F*ull *R*ange, *F*lat *R*esponse -- you want a speaker and amplifier that's designed to be as neutral as possible so that all the "colour" is coming from the modeller and not the power amp or speaker. PA speakers, for example, tend to be more FRFR. Guitar cabinets and guitar power amps are the opposite of FRFR.


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi doriangrey,


doriangrey said:


> Did you buy the powered one with the power amp in it? Or are you just running direct? How are you using it?
> 
> I've been seriously considering selling some of my amps (*I have 5 different amps*) and buying the Kemper. A friend of mine runs a small music store here so he tries every piece of gear out there and he told me recently that he sold his axefx and bought a Kemper and is way happier with the Kemper.


If possible, you want to profile your 5 amps with the Kemper before you let them go. 

I got the lunchbox (unpowered).

I already was using a Bose L1 Model II or Bose Compact depending on the circumstances (size of venue) for guitar and vocals. Christoph Kemper used the Model II to demo the Kemper Profiling Amp at Namm last year, so I figured that I didn't need to go looking for anything else in terms of amplification. 

Here's a very short clip that I did to capture the sound in the air. Normally most would run a line straight out of the Kemper to the recording system, but I did this so you could get a sense of the sound in the room. 

Gear:
Big box jazz guitar to
Kemper Profiling Amp (ZAP LITE Dumble profile) to 
Bose T1 (setting Utility / Flat, no Presets, EQ, or Effects) to
Bose Model II with two B1 bass modules to
Cliff Mics RM1 ribbon microphone

L5 Kemper Profiling Amp to L1 to RM1 (short)


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi Gizmo,

Thanks for the welcome.

Have you posted your profiles of your tube amps?

Mine are up on Kemper Rig Exchange. Do a search for *McIntyre*



Gizmo said:


> Welcome to the Kemper club.
> 
> I've had mine for about 18 months and been gigging with it for about a year. Took a bit of "courage" to do the first gig, but now the weird thing is I get slightly nervous when I gig with a regular tube amp….not sure I can get the variety of sounds I need.
> 
> Still love my tubes though, but the KPA is a great tool once I came to terms with the miked amp sound vs the amp in a room sound.


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## Gizmo (Aug 7, 2008)

Hey -ST-
I'm more of a consumer rather than a creator when it comes to profiling…;-) I tried a couple of mine and wasn't happy so I gave up…..way too many great profiles out there for me to worry about it.
Maybe one day…if I still have my amps, I might try again.
I'll definitely check yours out.
If you like Fuchs amps, take a look for some great profiles by a guy called Paco. I gig with them all the time now.


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## Steve Morse (Apr 14, 2013)

I have only a little experience with a Kemper. They do sound good but I had trouble getting any bottom end out of it. Anyone else notice this? I want to get one, I'm just struggling with that right now.


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## -ST- (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi Steve, 

I've had no trouble getting bottom end out of the Kemper. What have been using for an amp?


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## Gizmo (Aug 7, 2008)

Same here, no problem at all.



-ST- said:


> Hi Steve,
> 
> I've had no trouble getting bottom end out of the Kemper. What have been using for an amp?


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

The Kemper, by nature, would be very flat - much flatter than your run-of-the-mill guitar rig. I could see how some models may be limiting bass output - to sound like what it's modeling. But the unit itself should be flat to 30 or 40 Hz. If you had problem with bass, I would check the reproduction system. I doubt it would be the source.


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## Steve Morse (Apr 14, 2013)

I don't own one yet. I have just had a chance a few times to play around with one.

BTW, is the Kemper reliable?


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## Gizmo (Aug 7, 2008)

Early ones had some problems with failing LEDs which the company responded very quickly to……
I've had mine for two years with no other issues.
Some good discussion here….http://www.kemper-amps.com/forum/
BTW, the Kemper is NOT flat…
A Full Range Flat Response (FRFR) monitor is recommended to fully re-create what the Kemper is delivering.



Steve Morse said:


> I don't own one yet. I have just had a chance a few times to play around with one.
> 
> BTW, is the Kemper reliable?


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

If the Kemper wasn't flat, what would be the point of the FRFR? May as well use a guitar cab. For a flat response, everything in the chain needs to be flat. If something isn't flat, its less-than-flat response will be passed through flat devices unaltered.

The models created by/passing through the Kemper may not be flat, but for the Kemper to accurately reproduce the model, it needs to be (within reason - far flatter than a guitar amp, for instance, but probably no where near a decent hi-fi).


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## Guest (Oct 21, 2014)

High/Deaf said:


> If the Kemper wasn't flat, what would be the point of the FRFR?


Huh? The Kemper's bypassed signal is flat of course, but when it's emulating a guitar amplifier and cabinet signal chain of course the output isn't flat. That's the whole point: it outputs what a guitar+cab setup outputs. You want FRFR so that the amplification and speaker part of the signal chain imparts as little of it's _own_ colour as possible and what you hear is the colour from the Kemper.



> within reason - far flatter than a guitar amp, for instance, but probably no where near a decent hi-fi


"no where a decent hi-fi" -- what is that supposed to mean? They're not even apples to compare. It's apples and zebras.


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## Church-Audio (Sep 27, 2014)

As a sound engineer who also happens to be heavily into electronics and plays guitar. For any emulator you want a flat frequency response, amplification if not you are fighting the effects of what the emulator is trying to do. In any case the best use of emulation would be direct into a console and a pair of studio monitors. And not a guitar amp. For that reason if you are using it will an amp something like a mesa boogie stereo tube amp and some quality cabinets will get you closer than any combo amp will to the tone you seek.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Thanks Amprepair. I'm glad someone gets it.

Think of the Kemper like a window you are viewing art through (the 'art' being the amp models). If the glass was distorted or coloured, would you really be seeing the artwork. Not so well. The glass has to be completely transparent or you won't see 'just the art behind it'.

Same with the Kemper. If it has a sonic signature (i.e. this is the definition of not being flat) you will not accurately hear the models, the Kemper would always taint the model with its own sonic signature.

And while I'm sure the Kemper has great specs, I doubt at 2K it will be 'as flat' as a 40k pre-amp or power amp. Nor would it need to be.


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## doriangrey (Mar 29, 2011)

with the new Kemper powerhead you can run it using a regular guitar cabinet:


Undoubtedly the most versatile amplification system ever! The *Kemper Profiler PowerHead Modeling Guitar Amp Head* adds a built in 600 Watt power amp to the Kemper Profiler concept, making it not only perfect for studio work, but also an incredibly powerful live rig. Utilizing the Kemper CabDriver mode, guitarists now have the choice of playing through regular guitar cabinets or full range monitor systems. The Kemper PowerHead is a truly revolutionary amp that could be the piece of gear you’ve been looking for all along!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I've never tried a Kemper, but it seems counterintuitive to put a 600 watt power amp in a device that could otherwise be a great solution to excessive stage volumes.

I love modelers, but IMO they are used to their best advantage when pumped direct and without a vestigial amp apendage.


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## bluesmostly (Feb 10, 2006)

Milkman said:


> I've never tried a Kemper, but it seems counterintuitive to put a 600 watt power amp in a device that could otherwise be a great solution to excessive stage volumes.
> 
> I love modelers, but IMO they are used to their best advantage when pumped direct and without a vestigial amp apendage.


Yup, that was one of the main reasons for me switching to an electronic rig. I have been using the AXE FX for over 7 years now. Amazing tones and versatility at any volume and everyone on stage is happy, and no more hauling around heavy amp heads and cabs - my entire rig weighs less than my old pedal board! And the tones... :smile-new:


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