Kemper Profiling Amplifier

[MannequinRaces]

I came across this piece of kit in Premier Guitar. It's a bit pricey but it's an innovative take on digitally 'modeling' amplifiers, saving the presets, and recalling those presets for live/studio use, etc.. Plus it looks pretty sweet!

http://kemper-amps.com/page/render/lang ... fined.html

[rfurtkamp]

I love bleeding edge wierd but there was a guy running around shilling for them on various boards for ages, really turned me off on the thing.

I'd just get a Fractal Axe I or II if I was gunning for that, but between my Fender Mustang V head and Roland GR-55 I have the insane modelling and virtual wierd down.

It's easy for me ampwise though, I like Fender BF cleans and Roland Jazz Choruses, with an occasional side of Vox in a layer.

[GardenoftheDead]

Same with me, if I was going to drop serious cash on a fancy modeler I'd just get an Axe-Fx.

[theavondon]

So...like...what? You can...what? with profiling your own amp?

[ryan summit]

does that have true bypass?

[jrmy]

So...like...what? You can...what? with profiling your own amp?

If you've got something super-rare & fancy, or just an amp that has "yer sound," then yes. But it comes pre-loaded with a ton of amp profiles (supposedly over 200) as well. So it's for peeps who have stuff that they don't want to risk gigging with, or maybe if you're recording someplace away from home and don't want to lug multiple heads.

No bass amp models yet, though. But obviously you could make your own.

[MannequinRaces]

Yeah this piece of kit is way over my budget for gear but I thought it was sort of a novelty product and looked kinda cool. It is neat that users can upload presets for other users to use. The 'quality' of the presets also depends on how well the original setup was mic'd so there's lots of room for error IMHO.

[rfurtkamp]

Truthfully with existing (and much cheaper) tech I've been able to replicate all the old amps I used to have, or at least what they sounded like at a particular point in time on tape to a point it's spooky.

Fender Mustang stuff (I have the head) is very limited on its internal effects for anything radical, and the fuzz is sort of blah like every modeller on earth...but it nails the Fender amps stupid well. The Roland stuff does a good job of faking just about everything, and even the old Pod 2 or Behringer clones and up do a passable job at making decent sounds if you're the type to tweak.

The thing with any of these modellers is that you're going to have to do the tweak thing galore, not that it's a bad thing if it isn't morally repugnant to you and all.

But frankly the idea of spending laughable amounts of money on a Kemper just makes me laugh, and with the shills and stupid associated with the brand, I'd be taping over the front of the amp or hiding it in a fake Marshall head box if I used it.

If the Kemper etc did what it claimed with anything more than shelved EQ presets, we could model anything with it - rooms, effect pedals, the whole nine yards.

[univalve]

Yeah this piece of kit is way over my budget for gear but I thought it was sort of a novelty product and looked kinda cool. It is neat that users can upload presets for other users to use. The 'quality' of the presets also depends on how well the original setup was mic'd so there's lots of room for error IMHO.

probably inform yourself how the profiling works before you talk about the quality...

[MannequinRaces]

Yeah this piece of kit is way over my budget for gear but I thought it was sort of a novelty product and looked kinda cool. It is neat that users can upload presets for other users to use. The 'quality' of the presets also depends on how well the original setup was mic'd so there's lots of room for error IMHO.

probably inform yourself how the profiling works before you talk about the quality...

I did inform myself by reading this article... http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... eview.aspx under The Verdict section sums things up nicely 'And there is a bit too much room for human variables in the tone-capturing process to guarantee the results.'

[univalve]

Yeah this piece of kit is way over my budget for gear but I thought it was sort of a novelty product and looked kinda cool. It is neat that users can upload presets for other users to use. The 'quality' of the presets also depends on how well the original setup was mic'd so there's lots of room for error IMHO.

probably inform yourself how the profiling works before you talk about the quality...

I did inform myself by reading this article... http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... eview.aspx under The Verdict section sums things up nicely 'And there is a bit too much room for human variables in the tone-capturing process to guarantee the results.'

sorry man, i came off as a dick. i was wrong. i thought i have seen the profiling at Musikmesse 2011 live and there where nothing with microphones but after looking into the manual you are right and i think now the same about the quality.
Somehow i thought, they are doing the profiling just with cables...

[MannequinRaces]

Yeah this piece of kit is way over my budget for gear but I thought it was sort of a novelty product and looked kinda cool. It is neat that users can upload presets for other users to use. The 'quality' of the presets also depends on how well the original setup was mic'd so there's lots of room for error IMHO.

probably inform yourself how the profiling works before you talk about the quality...

I did inform myself by reading this article... http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... eview.aspx under The Verdict section sums things up nicely 'And there is a bit too much room for human variables in the tone-capturing process to guarantee the results.'

sorry man, i came off as a dick. i was wrong. i thought i have seen the profiling at Musikmesse 2011 live and there where nothing with microphones but after looking into the manual you are right and i think now the same about the quality.
Somehow i thought, they are doing the profiling just with cables...

It's all good! I'm sure in the right hands with a decent mic and rig setup amazing results could be achieved. However I'm skeptical how the results would sound with a subpar recording environment (even with a close mic) and microphone selection.

For the price they're asking, they're definitely going after players that would already have money invested in capable equipment. There's no way in hell I'd buy one (not practical for my needs, etc.). Just thought some people on this forum would weigh-in with their opinions, which they have, and have a conversation about it.

[phantasmagorovich]

I've seen some people profile their heads and sell them afterwards. Never would cross my mind, but yeah, there have been occasions. Then again germans are weird with gear.

[rfurtkamp]

This is also one that probably won't get as much traction in the US where the old gear (and boutique stuff too) is a lot cheaper in the amp department, especially in this economy.

For the price of the high-end modellers you can get 2-3 amps (or more) which are enough for most normal types, and the wierd people, well, getting them to shell out the bucks can be hard since they already have half of what they're looking for or more.

Also the fact that it has a name that really doesn't flow well in English (and is actually not what it is) doesn't help - it's not an amp in its current form, as shipped. It's a guitar effect processor - wierd as it may be, "Kemper Amp Profiler" would have more people looking at it.

[modernage]

Somehow i thought, they are doing the profiling just with cables...

I think the new version of the AxFX works this way. If true, it would be much easier to capture what you are after.