Interesting Kemper/Matchless Comparison.

It’s an amp designed by Ken Fischer of Trainwreck fame. When he became ill he licensed the design to Komet; he also designed at least one other amp for them.

The amps sound wonderful. Tried one in my studio that was owned by a friend, just great.

 
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I prefer 98% of the actual amp tones in video. Should he have profiled his actual setup? Yeah that would’ve been a more fair assessment. I guess his idea was to a/b the profiles he’d been using vs. the real amp so I get that too.

I understand all the pro’s of the Kemper. I’ve played one. It sounds good. I still prefer an amp in the room. That’s what inspires me. When I have to be quiet, I do use a Captor X and get good results. I just prefer playing through an amp. It’s more fun to me.
 
I prefer 98% of the actual amp tones in video. Should he have profiled his actual setup? Yeah that would’ve been a more fair assessment. I guess his idea was to a/b the profiles he’d been using vs. the real amp so I get that too.

I understand all the pro’s of the Kemper. I’ve played one. It sounds good. I still prefer an amp in the room. That’s what inspires me. When I have to be quiet, I do use a Captor X and get good results. I just prefer playing through an amp. It’s more fun to me.
Couldn't agree more.
 
It’s an amp designed by Ken Fischer of Trainwreck fame. When he became ill he licensed the design to Komet; he also designed at least one other amp for them.

The amps sound wonderful. Tried one in my studio that was owned by a friend, just great.

Love the Komets. My intro to them was a video by Pete Thorn ages ago. Pretty sure it was before hi def videos.
 
Love the Komets. My intro to them was a video by Pete Thorn ages ago. Pretty sure it was before hi def videos.
I remember, probably in the '00s?

They're fantastic amps. I was into Two Rocks at the time, and was looking for the type of sound they had, but now I kinda would gravitate toward a Komet. For what I do now it's more me.

However...I've got a lot on my plate so it'll have to wait.
 
Interesting...

This was killer, thanks for posting it!

Recorded sound is all about the sonic details, it's not macro, it's micro.

On a macro level, modelers sound fine. Parsing out the micro, however, is what separates good tone from great tone when mixing.

From the player's perspective, certainly there are differences that are palpable, just as the band members said. That's a given, as far as I'm concerned.

Players who can't hear the difference probably don't know quite what to listen for, and that's understandable, they're concentrating on the playing, and the macro sound.

I was particularly interested in what the FOH engineer's perspective was.

His comments are exactly how I feel when I mix tracks recorded with real amps in my work. But wait, isn't this pretty much what I've been preaching for the last decade on this forum? :rolleyes:

"You told them so, Laz."

"I sure did, dammit."

"Attaboy. No one cares. Make a video next time."

A few additional thoughts:

With real amps, whether in a mix, or as he discusses, FOH, the sound stage opens up, the stereo image feels wider, I need less reverb, and speaking only for myself, everything feels 'juicier'. There are also differences in dynamics and depth of field - the sound feels 'bigger', it feels deeper, it mixes with more impact, and even mastering sounds better to me.

Less reverb wash also improves clarity and punch in a mix! And real amp recordings seem to respond better to compressors. I don't know why.

I've said ad infinitum that one big problem with modelers is that they sound dry and less juicy, less liquid. Evidently this FOH engineer agrees. That's why he needs less reverb mixing the real amps!

I've often posted here that in comparison, modelers feel more cardboardy to mix, something he didn't directly address, but in general terms that has to do with the juicy/3D thing.

Anyway, it pretty much sums up why I use tube amps instead of modelers in the studio.
 
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For every day playing, as a hobbyist, the modelers win hands down. Don’t need to warm up the tubes, crank them too loud, etc. I can just keep a practice rig set up with headphones and play any time and it really sounds great. I think the Tonex running captures from Amalgam Audio is by far my favorite practice rig ever. So much so, I never turn on my tube amp any more. Even for band practice, plugging the pedal board into the practice PA is more than adequate for great tone to keep me inspired.

If I were recording an album, I’d take the time and warm up the tubes.
 
I'm all in with the modelling, though my old Hughes & Kettner (which I never really bonded with) is still in the shed.

How do people feel about the hybrid solution of using a tube amp with IR's? e.g. the Revv D20 or Suhr PT15? Does anyone have any experience of this? I'm certainly intrigued with this idea.

I've seen Pete Thorn playing with The Classic Rock Show here in the UK a few times and and for a while he used his PT15 with a cab on stage but he told me that all the FOH was done using IR's. Sounded great (the playing helps!). Interestingly when I saw him this year he was using mic'd up cabs...
 
I'm all in with the modelling, though my old Hughes & Kettner (which I never really bonded with) is still in the shed.

How do people feel about the hybrid solution of using a tube amp with IR's? e.g. the Revv D20 or Suhr PT15? Does anyone have any experience of this? I'm certainly intrigued with this idea.

I've seen Pete Thorn playing with The Classic Rock Show here in the UK a few times and and for a while he used his PT15 with a cab on stage but he told me that all the FOH was done using IR's. Sounded great (the playing helps!). Interestingly when I saw him this year he was using mic'd up cabs...
Same idea as Les posted: Amp with reactive load and IR works great. Better than any digital solution imo, but less convenient
 
I'm all in with the modelling, though my old Hughes & Kettner (which I never really bonded with) is still in the shed.

How do people feel about the hybrid solution of using a tube amp with IR's? e.g. the Revv D20 or Suhr PT15? Does anyone have any experience of this? I'm certainly intrigued with this idea.

I've seen Pete Thorn playing with The Classic Rock Show here in the UK a few times and and for a while he used his PT15 with a cab on stage but he told me that all the FOH was done using IR's. Sounded great (the playing helps!). Interestingly when I saw him this year he was using mic'd up cabs...
I do that when I need to do a track late at night, and the result is definitely broadcast quality.

In fact, I'm only using the original Mesa cab clone, which isn't the best load box out there at all because it isn't a reactive load like later versions, or the Suhr, and the result still sounds better than a modeler (to me).
 
Same idea as Les posted: Amp with reactive load and IR works great. Better than any digital solution imo, but less convenient
Once I'm running cables into the inputs on a console or interface, whether from a digital box or an amp plus load box, the inconvenience is minimal, though.

I'd agree it's marginally less convenient. You have to plug the load box into the amp output jack (if you're not using an amp/cab switching system, but I use the KHE system, so I don't even have to bother with that tiny chore).

Some load boxes come with built in ability to load IRs. There are lots of good options out there.

Pete Thorn's 15 watt amp, and the new Mark VII and other Mesas that have the cab clone's newer version built in even eliminate the need for a load box.

Key is using IRs that you like.
 
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Once I'm running cables into the inputs on a console or interface, whether from a digital box or an amp plus load box, the inconvenience is minimal, though.

I'd agree it's marginally less convenient. You have to plug the load box into the amp output jack (if you're not using an amp/cab switching system, but I use the KHE system, so I don't even have to bother with that tiny chore).

Some load boxes come with built in ability to load IRs. There are lots of good options out there.

Pete Thorn's 15 watt amp, and the new Mark VII and other Mesas that have the cab clone's newer version built in even eliminate the need for a load box.

Key is using IRs that you like.
True. My point of view is always live. @home it is no hassle at all
 
As a small time weekend warrior, ease and reliability trump nuance. The Tonex sounds great. I’d use it for everything except the most important recording jobs. Even in my project studio I’d choose the Tonex because it sounds better than I’m capable of getting with my mic collection.

But if I’m working with better engineers and better mic lockers, I’d bring the real tubes. My favorite clean amp is older than me and I’m in my 50s. I keep it in good shape. Sounds great. Nice tremolo channel too.
 
As a small time weekend warrior, ease and reliability trump nuance. The Tonex sounds great. I’d use it for everything except the most important recording jobs. Even in my project studio I’d choose the Tonex because it sounds better than I’m capable of getting with my mic collection.

But if I’m working with better engineers and better mic lockers, I’d bring the real tubes. My favorite clean amp is older than me and I’m in my 50s. I keep it in good shape. Sounds great. Nice tremolo channel too.
Last weekend we did a gig that included a ferry ride and an overnight stay.
When we got there to setup we were told that we were all getting mic'd up and going FOH.
What a dream it was to roll up, setup the Kemper and Kabinet and plug into the board directly. There was some adjustment for us to depend on backline for only personal monitor volume, but what a joy it was sonically.
Easy, elegant, light, and sonic nirvana.
 
As a small time weekend warrior, ease and reliability trump nuance. The Tonex sounds great. I’d use it for everything except the most important recording jobs. Even in my project studio I’d choose the Tonex because it sounds better than I’m capable of getting with my mic collection.

But if I’m working with better engineers and better mic lockers, I’d bring the real tubes. My favorite clean amp is older than me and I’m in my 50s. I keep it in good shape. Sounds great. Nice tremolo channel too.
I'm loving the Tonex though it hasn't yet replaced my Helix for live gigs
 
I'm loving the Tonex though it hasn't yet replaced my Helix for live gigs
Have you tried the captures from amalgam audio? They’re really spectacular.

My favorite so far is his tone King imperial MK II



So fun with my Starlas and Studio. I’m just loving it.

(No affiliation, just an enthusiastic fan of the tech and the quality of the captures)
 
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