Kemper better than real amps?

Having been an Axe Fx player since 2011, I’ve heard every possible angle on this controversy. The simple truth of the modeler vs the modeled is yes, no, and it’s six of one / a half dozen of the other. It’s more about the player than it is the equipment.

I love my modeler, currently the Axe Fx III. It is my gig rig, because it meets my gigging needs. I also have a wall of tube amps, several of which are modeled in the III. When I’m home, I usually play on those. I could swap that around and be just peachy. The modeler is awesome, and there also something inspiring about playing on a tube amp with the glass glowing. For me, it’s never been either/or, any more than I have to choose one type of guitar.

This question is as unanswerable as “is a Les Paul better than ???” or “is a Strat better than a Tele?” or any of a variety of other intentionally controversial equipment comparisons that are intended to get the Hatfields and McCoys feuding again. I know it’s the internet, I get it. It’s just tired. Sooner or later these content producers are going to have to plow some fresh ground.

What’s best for you is what you think is best.
 
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RickP said:
Having been an Axe Fx player since 2011, I’ve heard every possible angle on this controversy. The simple truth of the modeler vs the modeled is yes, no, and it’s six of one / a half dozen of the other. It’s more about the player than it is the equipment.

I love my modeler, currently the Axe Fx III. It is my gig rig, because it meets my gigging needs. I also have a wall of tube amps, several of which are modeled in the III. When I’m home, I usually play on those. I could swap that around and be just peachy. The modeler is awesome, and there also something inspiring about playing on a tube amp with the glass glowing. For me, it’s never been either/or, any more than I have to choose one type of guitar.

This question is as unanswerable as “is a Les Paul better than ???” or “is a Strat better than a Tele?” or any of a variety of other intentionally controversial equipment comparisons that are intended to get the Hatfields and McCoys feuding again. I know it’s the internet, I get it. It’s just tired. Sooner or later these content producers are going to have to plow some fresh ground.

What’s best for you is what you think is best.
Click to expand...
I've turned on my tube amp once since I got my Kemper stage. The Kemper is better for me because I play it every day if I have time. I never get bored with it. Amps are really just not practical, too loud for the situation and lose their tone when attenuated or master volumed.
 
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DreamTheaterRules said:
It's a scam! That's the same exact video I saw 20 years ago, but with the original Line 6 POD in it. All they did was substitute the Kemper in where the POD was in the old video. Yeah, that's it alright. I'm not falling for a banana in the tail pipe!
Click to expand...
No it's new. This guy talks about Kempers on his channel.
 
I own three tube amps and two solid-state amps. What type of amp do I play the most? The answer to that question is solid-state; namely, a Tech 21 Trademark 60. Like the Kemper, the Trademark 60 may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is my cup of tea because it gives me useable tones at many different volume levels. Even the 18W tube amp that I designed and built in 1997 (the last surviving amp of the tube amps I built) is too loud for my uses when it starts to give up the goods. Yes, I could use an attenuator, but part of the tube amp magic is the mechanical feedback between one’s guitar and one’s amp. The moral of the story is to use what works for you and stop caring about what other people think.
 
Yeah I've heard about those Kones. I guess I could get a Kemper speaker with that. The speaker has a whizzer cone. I remember those from old speakers in the day.
 
When using the Axe Fx, I use a CLR MK II Neo mostly, but for years used an RCF NX12SMA. Either are great sounding powered FRFR monitors for use with a modeler.
 
Clashcityrocker said:
I've turned on my tube amp once since I got my Kemper stage. The Kemper is better for me because I play it every day if I have time. I never get bored with it. Amps are really just not practical, too loud for the situation and lose their tone when attenuated or master volumes.
Click to expand...

I could counter the “lose their tone when attenuated” with “the digital models NEVER sound as good when turned up.” ;)
 
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