Interesting Kemper/Matchless Comparison.

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Too Many Notes
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I stumbled on this today. The host set up his recently-acquired Matchless vs his Kemper, miking the real amp the way the Kemper model was miked.

He mentions that the difference he hears is in the midrange. Well, not really. The difference is in the note attack and dynamic range, not the frequency response. Take a listen. The amps have much the same frequency response, but the real one sounds more dynamic, has more snap, etc.

This is exactly my long time feeling about the Kemper. The models sound good, but sound 'flattened' and less dynamic/dimensional. Yes, the Kemper sounds good, but there's a palpable difference. I think when you listen carefully it's immediately quite apparent.

Just my opinion of course, YMMV.

 
I agree... nothing beats a great tube amp. The problem for many guitar players, myself included, is that tube amps are not always practical. I switched to a Helix for gigs a couple of years ago and haven't look back. Best live tone I've ever had. I play in small pubs in the UK and playing a tube amp at volume is just not a feasible option; the Helix is perfect. I'd love a great Matchless or Two Rock (or a DG Custom!) but I'd never get the most out of them. YMMV
 
I agree... nothing beats a great tube amp. The problem for many guitar players, myself included, is that tube amps are not always practical. I switched to a Helix for gigs a couple of years ago and haven't look back. Best live tone I've ever had. I play in small pubs in the UK and playing a tube amp at volume is just not a feasible option; the Helix is perfect. I'd love a great Matchless or Two Rock (or a DG Custom!) but I'd never get the most out of them. YMMV
I think for most gigs I'd be likely to play live, a modeler would be an excellent choice. I'd choose the Helix, Kemper or Fractal for that. No point in killing one's self dragging gear around if you can't really get the most out of it.

I mostly play on ad sessions. For that work I'm in my own studio for the most part and, I can play at the volume I prefer. This is also true if I book a different studio for a particular session, but even then, I only take a pedalboard and head, and use the studio's cab.

Two-Rocks are great, I've had quite a few, and I had a Bad Cat when Mark Sampson left Matchless and started the company, but I think my next amp (if there ever is one!) will be a Komet 60. I need a good project to come in to make that happen. ;)
 
They both sound awesome BUT...
The error in this demo/test is that he didn't profile the actual Matchless and cab that he bought. He's comparing the Matchless to somebody else's profile.
Apples and eggs...
Perhaps.

But the difference between real and modeler still comes through.

Not apples and eggs. Maybe Honeycrisp apples and Fuji apples.

On the other hand, if you'd care to model one of your real amps, and do the comparison, I'm all ears! :)
 
I don't want to get too hung up on this 'real vs modeler' thing.

Whatever works for a given player works. If it sounds good, it IS good!

What is tempting me right now are real amps I don't have. The Matchless C-30 is one of them, but there's also the very wonderful Komet 60. What a stellar amp!

Jonesing for great tube amps is what I do, I guess!! ;)
 
Perhaps.

But the difference between real and modeler still comes through.

Not apples and eggs. Maybe Honeycrisp apples and Fuji apples.

On the other hand, if you'd care to model one of your real amps, and do the comparison, I'm all ears! :)
Fair enough. I do suspect however that if he'd used his mics, that particular cab, and his environment he'd have come closer. Perfect match? Nah, it'll never be perfect.
And yeah, I tried my hand at profiling my Custom 50. The results were NOT outstanding. I used a SM58 and an e906 going to my mixer.
I am in no way good at that sort of thing.
That said, and based on your lengthy recording expertise/knowledge I bet you could create some KILLER profiles of your gear!
 
Fair enough. I do suspect however that if he'd used his mics, that particular cab, and his environment he'd have come closer. Perfect match? Nah, it'll never be perfect.
And yeah, I tried my hand at profiling my Custom 50. The results were NOT outstanding. I used a SM58 and an e906 going to my mixer.
I am in no way good at that sort of thing.
That said, and based on your lengthy recording expertise/knowledge I bet you could create some KILLER profiles of your gear!
Well, I've never tried it!

I don't know enough about how to get best results with a Kemper to know, but I'd be happy to learn.
 
Fair enough. I do suspect however that if he'd used his mics, that particular cab, and his environment he'd have come closer. Perfect match? Nah, it'll never be perfect.
And yeah, I tried my hand at profiling my Custom 50. The results were NOT outstanding. I used a SM58 and an e906 going to my mixer.
I am in no way good at that sort of thing.
That said, and based on your lengthy recording expertise/knowledge I bet you could create some KILLER profiles of your gear!
I’m pretty sure if I wasn’t lazy, I could model my preferred setting on my tube amps and get a very good match, but the model would be those exact setting and any change to any of the dials would not be the same as they would be on the tube amp. I would be ok with that for my purposes.

Still, I always play tubes at home and Kemper away. Back to lazy.
 
I think for most gigs I'd be likely to play live, a modeler would be an excellent choice. I'd choose the Helix, Kemper or Fractal for that.

I mostly play on ad sessions.

I think this is a big part of the discussion. I mainly care about live sound, so the Kemper and Headrush meet my needs well without weight issues and multiple pedals. The other factor is the genre of music. I play mostly classic and hard rock. If I were concerned with cleaner tones, I’d probably gravitate more towards tube amps.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several sound checks and gigs with Lonestar lately. The live tones Kemper guru, Michael Britt, gets are just killer!
 
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I think this is a big part of the discussion. I mainly care about live sound, so the Kemper and Headrush meet my needs well without weight issues and multiple pedals. The other factor is the genre of music. I play mostly classic and hard rock. If I were concerned with cleaner tones, I’d probably gravitate more towards tube amps.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several sound checks and gigs with Lonestar lately. The live tones Kemper guru, Michael Britt, gets are just killer!
My Kemper is all Britt for a reason.
 
I think this is a big part of the discussion. I mainly care about live sound, so the Kemper and Headrush meet my needs well without weight issues and multiple pedals. The other factor is the genre of music. I play mostly classic and hard rock. If I were concerned with cleaner tones, I’d probably gravitate more towards tube amps.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several sound checks and gigs with Lonestar lately. The live tones Kemper guru, Michael Britt, gets are just killer!

My Kemper is all Britt for a reason.

I have a fair number of packs from various creators, but the ones I use most/almost exclusively are MBritt.
He makes them with the certainty that they'll be used live and it shows!
 
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