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Post by Johnkenn on May 20, 2015 19:17:12 GMT -6
crap. Unbelievable. joelhamilton and I were playing with them tonight...and they are just unbelievably good. To the point where I really don't ever see going back to a real amp. Shit - I can't mic an amp up and make it sound like this...Anyway, maybe I can convince Joel to record some snippets tomorrow while we finish up a song (you would much rather hear him play). There's a Fender Champ through a 2x12 3rd Power Cab that is just freaking glorious. And there are 2 Deluxes that are the best modeled Deluxes I've ever heard. www.mbrittprofiles.com/profiles/vintage-pack.html
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Post by mdmitch2 on May 20, 2015 23:43:22 GMT -6
Those are niiiice. Wish I could get a kemper for like $1,200 or so. I think I have mental block on buying digital stuff for more money than that. But the more I look at boutique amp prices, the more it seems like a great deal. Hmmm... I think can sell about 3 amps and 2 guitars and come close to the asking price.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on May 21, 2015 8:10:20 GMT -6
Don't think twice about a Kemper Mitch. John is right. We can't mic amps up in a project studio and get them to sound as good. You'll quickly forget it's digital I'm betting.
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Post by mdmitch2 on May 21, 2015 8:27:51 GMT -6
Don't think twice about a Kemper Mitch. John is right. We can't mic amps up in a project studio and get them to sound as good. You'll quickly forget it's digital I'm betting. you're probably right. I'm hesitant because I've been burned by other 'acclaimed' amp modelers in the past, and I just keep going back to my tube amp with a tubescreamer... yet I'm still never 100% satisfied with my recordings, so I'm hoping the kemper is the ticket. I worry about reliability for expensive digital stuff, especially since I'll be buying used (most likely). Apparently the 3 yr warranty is transferable though, so that's a plus. Anyone here with a Kemper have any issues with it? Not seeing much on google in terms of reliability. edit: Kemper forums mention LEDs going out on early 2012 models, and also guitar inputs not working. Apparently Kemper's customer service is generally excellent though.
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Post by wiz on May 21, 2015 16:44:44 GMT -6
They sound really good, might just be the best "fake" guitar sound I have heard. Serious question Johnkenn do you find you get a bit "paralysed" by the amount of choices and fiddling about. Thats one of the things I noticed when I went back to using guitar amps, rather than modellers. I had done the POD, Amplitude, guitar Rig, ITB guitar thing for a couple of years, then when I built the new studio and had more room (about 5 years back) I started going back to amps, and ended up with 6 or 7 seven different guitar amps. I found what happened interesting. When writing and recording a song, I would often pick up a guitar and plug into an amp, and twiddle knobs, change pickups, pick up a different guitar, twiddle knobs change pickups, maybe change amps, maybe change guitars, all whilst listening to the track I had to play against... and I found the creative side of me spurred on and inspired by this process, and it was quick, and didn't seem to have the negative on the creative side, that sitting at the computer going through menus did.. and I found that really quite stimulating. I also found, that by committing to the guitar sound, and not being able to tweak it post recording as much as you could with a modeller have an extremely positive effect on the outcome of the song, and the time it took to get it done. I feel it may have more to do with my personality and creative bent, than sound. I am finding the EXACT same thing happening with having outboard and a console vs ITB. It becomes more about sound, than numbers. In fact I would say that would be the biggest reason I don't use amp simulators of any kind anymore, the creative aspect. cheers Wiz
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Post by mdmitch2 on May 21, 2015 17:00:22 GMT -6
In fact I would say that would be the biggest reason I don't use amp simulators of any kind anymore, the creative aspect. cheers Wiz That's my biggest concern too... amp modelers have never inspired me like an amp in the room. I'm wondering if the the best solution is to have one or two 'inspring' amps for creative purposes, plus the kemper for the many benefits it offers. I wish I could try one out to see if inspiration strikes.
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Post by gouge on May 21, 2015 17:19:49 GMT -6
not to dis emulation but i don't see why we can't do this in a project studio.
this is a mic'd amp in a project studio i did recently. the room is tiny. smaller than a typical bedroom. this is the raw track with a free reverb plug on it in reaper. daking preamp and a modified nady ribbon mic. not exactly a high end chain.
https%3A//soundcloud.com/studiogestalt/gretsch
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Post by Johnkenn on May 21, 2015 19:04:06 GMT -6
not to dis emulation but i don't see why we can't do this in a project studio.
this is a mic'd amp in a project studio i did recently. the room is tiny. smaller than a typical bedroom. this is the raw track with a free reverb plug on it in reaper. daking preamp and a modified nady ribbon mic. not exactly a high end chain.
https%3A//soundcloud.com/studiogestalt/gretsch
OK - you now have one sound. Sounds great. But it's one sound.
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Post by Johnkenn on May 21, 2015 19:04:43 GMT -6
I'm not trying to convert anyone. If it doesn't work for you, then great. Don't be intimidated by my Kemper.
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Post by mdmitch2 on May 21, 2015 19:18:38 GMT -6
I'm not trying to convert anyone. If it doesn't work for you, then great. Don't be intimidated by my Kemper. Keep the kemper threads coming! This forum is great for some of the more divisive issues (like amp modeling) because the discussion tends to stay civil despite the strong opinions. Anyone on here using kemper for higher gain stuff?
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Post by gouge on May 21, 2015 19:30:46 GMT -6
not to dis emulation but i don't see why we can't do this in a project studio.
this is a mic'd amp in a project studio i did recently. the room is tiny. smaller than a typical bedroom. this is the raw track with a free reverb plug on it in reaper. daking preamp and a modified nady ribbon mic. not exactly a high end chain.
https%3A//soundcloud.com/studiogestalt/gretsch
OK - you now have one sound. Sounds great. But it's one sound. um, I posted "one sound" there are lots of sounds to be made and recorded.
but none the less back to all things kemper.
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Post by mikec on May 21, 2015 20:16:16 GMT -6
I am an admitted tube amp snob, but I love my kemper. I run it through a pair of Atomic CLRs and it sounds great. If I want the amp cab sound I run it into a 2x12 cab with alnico golds and it is awesome that way also. I've got a good collection of high end tube amps including a Two Rock Crystal and Longhorn El Vaquero but I just sold my Tone King Sky King that I used mostly for recording because the Kemper was easier to use and the Britt profiles are great. Thanks to John I guess I now have to get the new vintage ones. The Kemper is also great live. I played at a corporate deal a few weeks ago in a convention center ball room and just carried in my kemper in a bag with a guitar cable and xlr cable in one hand and a guitar in the other. Plugged into one channel on the board and that's all it took. Friends in the audience said it sounded like a sound track. Not giving up my favorite amps, but the Kemper is a keeper.
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Post by mdmitch2 on May 21, 2015 20:39:33 GMT -6
The Kemper is also great live. I played at a corporate deal a few weeks ago in a convention center ball room and just carried in my kemper in a bag with a guitar cable and xlr cable in one hand and a guitar in the other. Plugged into one channel on the board and that's all it took. Friends in the audience said it sounded like a sound track. Not giving up my favorite amps, but the Kemper is a keeper. Assuming this is the desktop version, not the rack version? Anyone use the rack version?
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Post by Johnkenn on May 21, 2015 20:49:56 GMT -6
I've had both...exactly the same. Sorry, gouge. I was a little testy today.
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Post by Johnkenn on May 21, 2015 20:52:25 GMT -6
I would say I would rather have a room full of vintage amps and pedals...but I know me...I would probably still use this thing for the sheer convenience of it.
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Post by gouge on May 21, 2015 20:54:14 GMT -6
don't worry about it @johnkenn all good at my end.
I wasn't trying to dis kempler. i was interested in cowboys thoughts and was heading down that path.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on May 22, 2015 5:36:49 GMT -6
don't worry about it @johnkenn all good at my end. I wasn't trying to dis kempler. i was interested in cowboys thoughts and was heading down that path. I've still got tube amps gouge. And I still use them from time to time too, but since getting this Kemper, I seldom mic an amp. In fact I've got my AC 3o on loan to my nephew. But I won't loan him my Kemper
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Post by cowboycoalminer on May 22, 2015 6:23:49 GMT -6
Here's why I love the Kemper. Took me less than 5 minutes last night to start this tune. No muss or fuss. db.tt/8IERfs0H
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Post by lonestargtr on May 22, 2015 7:08:51 GMT -6
First of all, thanks for the kind, positive feedback for the vintage pack. I'm very happy with the way that pack turned out. I just wanted to chime in on the whole Kemper thing, because obviously I'm a fan of it. My point of view is that it's a great tool and it doesn't take away my love of real amps, but on the contrary it makes me appreciate amps that I otherwise would've have purchased. If I'm home and I just want to play guitar for that amp in the room sound, I'll usually just plug into a real amp. But in situations where I need a mic'd sound or if I just want to noodle and create tones, the Kemper is just so quick and easy to make cool sounds. For my purposes onstage, it is a huge problem solver in that it removes so many variables and makes my tone, ear mix, and foh send consistent night after night. And I'm able to try different amps out on different songs easily and go back to the original if I didn't like it better. The knob layout is pretty intuitive and if you want to dig deeper you can with more parameters, but it doesn't feel like getting lost in menu after menu most of the time, especially after you discover your favorite avenues for editing. As far as roadworthiness, knock on wood, but I haven't missed one note in a show. I now have a backup on the road just in case, but I've never needed it.
The thought that it can completely replace a tube amp for what a tube amp does is a bit far-fetched because it's not the same thing. It does, however, replace it in situations where you want to mic an amp and cabinet and make that environment portable, tweak able, volume independent, and more versatile. You can get great mic'd amp sounds and I think lots of people may still prefer that, but the Kemper is a great alternative with very little downside as far as sacrificing tone. I used my Kemper on our new CD that we are in the process of recording. We tracked at Oceanway and the engineer had nothing but great things to say about it and the other guitarist thought it sounded great too. Mine isn't going anywhere, but I still love my tube amps for that visceral tone thing.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on May 22, 2015 8:02:39 GMT -6
First of all, thanks for the kind, positive feedback for the vintage pack. I'm very happy with the way that pack turned out. I just wanted to chime in on the whole Kemper thing, because obviously I'm a fan of it. My point of view is that it's a great tool and it doesn't take away my love of real amps, but on the contrary it makes me appreciate amps that I otherwise would've have purchased. If I'm home and I just want to play guitar for that amp in the room sound, I'll usually just plug into a real amp. But in situations where I need a mic'd sound or if I just want to noodle and create tones, the Kemper is just so quick and easy to make cool sounds. For my purposes onstage, it is a huge problem solver in that it removes so many variables and makes my tone, ear mix, and foh send consistent night after night. And I'm able to try different amps out on different songs easily and go back to the original if I didn't like it better. The knob layout is pretty intuitive and if you want to dig deeper you can with more parameters, but it doesn't feel like getting lost in menu after menu most of the time, especially after you discover your favorite avenues for editing. As far as roadworthiness, knock on wood, but I haven't missed one note in a show. I now have a backup on the road just in case, but I've never needed it. The thought that it can completely replace a tube amp for what a tube amp does is a bit far-fetched because it's not the same thing. It does, however, replace it in situations where you want to mic an amp and cabinet and make that environment portable, tweak able, volume independent, and more versatile. You can get great mic'd amp sounds and I think lots of people may still prefer that, but the Kemper is a great alternative with very little downside as far as sacrificing tone. I used my Kemper on our new CD that we are in the process of recording. We tracked at Oceanway and the engineer had nothing but great things to say about it and the other guitarist thought it sounded great too. Mine isn't going anywhere, but I still love my tube amps for that visceral tone thing. Michael, what's your take on bass amps? Ever tried doing those? That's one thing I still do a lot is mic a bass amp but it would be nice to have few good bass amp models. Might try one myself and see how it goes.
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Post by Johnkenn on May 22, 2015 8:40:35 GMT -6
Thanks, lonestargtr! I'm stuck on that Champ and Pro Verb...not sure I want anything else lol. Fantastic job - your profiles are the only plug and play profiles out there. Cowboy - there are some free ones at The Amp Factory that are good. I used it on that last tune I posted. I kinda think my frustration with bass tone might be that I've got some old flatwounds on that probably need to be changed. Just got some roundwounds - I'll let you know.
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Post by Johnkenn on May 22, 2015 8:44:38 GMT -6
wiz - I think I had mentioned the whole "overwhelmed" thing when I sold a Kemper a while back. And I was...But the more I used it, the more I figured out which Profile guys I liked and that way, I could whittle down to the best options. So now days, I really have several go-to amps and enjoy the others as different flavors. TAF Supro 1694T, AC30, 53 Deluxe and tons of Michaels stuff - the new ones are just fantastic.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on May 22, 2015 8:53:51 GMT -6
Yeah and it should be noted that one can take a good amp model (Little Walter 25 for example) and get many different tones out of it just like a real amp. It's pretty amazing really.
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Post by ragan on May 22, 2015 11:33:21 GMT -6
Man I am so torn on whether to try one of these. I love amps and yadda yadda yadda like every other player. I also love mic'ing amps and figuring out interesting ways to get tones and textures. BUT as of a year ago I have a little boy above my studio at night when I have time to work on music. The thought of being able to dial up awesome tune amp tones at reasonable volumes is ALLURING, man!
I have hated (with a passion) all the modeling stuff I've ever heard, except this Kemper business. Sounds very good, the samples I've heard.
It's a lot of dough for me though.
I've been planning on picking up a Mini Z for some time, but this Kemper business is interesting....
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2015 11:49:15 GMT -6
I know a guy in Toronto who just bought one, no trouble getting clients to buy in to the concept of modelling, I however never use mine on client work because simply put, they don't want to heed my advice. So mine sits unused. Very frustrating to be forced to use decent mid level amps when very good models of boutique stuff that sound better are just sitting there unused. I've been really debating selling mine. I personally believe it is the greatest recording device since the daw but I can't sell my clients on it
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