Kemper with poweramp VS Mesa Rectifier ?

[Evolution666]

Anyone here actually own a Mesa and Kemper and have compared how close you can "reach" the actual Mesa feeling/tone when using it live or in rehearsal ? I have seen videos, read some but still it is an enormous difference to hear it in real life, raw and with high volume....

I'm not sure if I should get a Mesa head or a Kemper... Kemper would cost me 50% less as I have a good tube power amp....

Thanks in advance! :Smokedev:

 

[Tercero]

Anyone here actually own a Mesa and Kemper and have compared how close you can "reach" the actual Mesa feeling/tone when using it live or in rehearsal ? I have seen videos, read some but still it is an enormous difference to hear it in real life, raw and with high volume....

I'm not sure if I should get a Mesa head or a Kemper... Kemper would cost me 50% less as I have a good tube power amp....

Thanks in advance! :Smokedev:

I've got a Triple Rectifier and my Kemper will be here Thursday. I'll let you know!

 

[Evolution666]

Awesome man! Just what I need to hear. Keep me posted when you have played around with the Kemper for a while, would be highly appreciated. Cheers! :hotjump:

 

[Clark Kent]

I profiled a Mesa Boogie Roadster with the Kemper a month ago. If we're talking about FEEL and TONE then I'd say the feel wasn't there. The Roadster feels super smooth motorcycle in your hands and the Kemper felt stiff like a Mark series amp without the GEQ mid scoop. The tone was pretty much the same though although I must say that the Kemper failed to capture the low end accurately.

 

[Evolution666]

Howdy Clark. Thanks for your answer it helps a lot. May I ask if you tried to use the profile from Kemper from the mesa running through a tube power amp out in a cabinet when you compared the tone ? Or did you just play the complete "setup" through the Kemper ? I was thinking if that could make any difference ?

 

[RichS]

You really don't care for the Kemper do you Clark?

I have been thinking of picking one up. Would work perfect for my situation and I think the tones are authentic enough to where nobody could tell if it was a real amp or not.

Maybe playability versus a real amp is different, but everyone here is just recording and making stuff fit in a mix is most important.

Even using one in a live venue probably wouldn't matter much. I've played tons of live shows with solid state crate amps before. Once miked up and pumped through a 2000 watt sound system, it works just fine.

 

[Evolution666]

Hi Rich, I don't think you should blame him about the Kemper comment if you read my first post for what I wanted to know. =)

Have you tried the Kemper yourself ? Running it without cab simulation in as a preamp with power amp + real cab ?

I'm still thankful for all inputs as we all have different tastes ... But this far I heard two different people saying the same thing about the bottom "flesh" thing comparing a Kemper vs a real Mesa.... So if anyone else tried it for real just spit out your opinions =) Thanks!

 

[Clark Kent]

You really don't care for the Kemper do you Clark?

I have been thinking of picking one up. Would work perfect for my situation and I think the tones are authentic enough to where nobody could tell if it was a real amp or not.

Maybe playability versus a real amp is different, but everyone here is just recording and making stuff fit in a mix is most important.

Even using one in a live venue probably wouldn't matter much. I've played tons of live shows with solid state crate amps before. Once miked up and pumped through a 2000 watt sound system, it works just fine.

I honestly don't like it. The fact that it's the uglies piece of guitar gear ever didn't even bother me. I guess my standards for the profiling were quite high since I've been "profiling" amps before the Kemper. I feel like the Kemper will get better in time but since it's a new product I wouldn't count on a firmware update any day soon. The performance mode can't even be used at the time being so no live gigs for now etc.

 

[RichS]

I honestly don't like it. The fact that it's the uglies piece of guitar gear ever didn't even bother me. I guess my standards for the profiling were quite high since I've been "profiling" amps before the Kemper. I feel like the Kemper will get better in time but since it's a new product I wouldn't count on a firmware update any day soon. The performance mode can't even be used at the time being so no live gigs for now etc.

What do you mean it cannot be used for live gigs? Not sure what you mean by performance mode?

 

[JeffTD]

Clark, you're insane. Guys like Matt Bellamy, August Burns Red, and Whitechapel all tour with it.

 

[RichS]

Clark, you're insane. Guys like Matt Bellamy, August Burns Red, and Whitechapel all tour with it.

I thought I read that Accept (Wolf) was using them live too.

 

[drawnacrol]

When(if?) the rack processor version comes out a lot more people will use it live. There are also plans to integrate a power amp into the empty space of the back of the current toaster Kempers apparently.

 

[Clark Kent]

Clark, you're insane. Guys like Matt Bellamy, August Burns Red, and Whitechapel all tour with it.

Yeah I've heard about that and I'm confused since the newest firmware doesn't have performance mode available. Can you gig with the browse mode also?

 

[JeffTD]

Yes.

 

[Manicompression]

http://http://www.guitarplayer.com/Default.aspx?tabid=84&ArticleId=149283

Thats a link to a guitar player magazine review on the Kemper.
It basically says a bunch of stuff we all know, but I think it might be interesting to note what the reviewer was saying about how it accurately portrayed the mic positioning and how he got the most consistent results with the radial amp sim box thing. This would certainly reconcile the positive opinions of the pros endorsing the product and the negative opinions of some of the bedroom / project studio crowd. It could be that some of us may be less than amazing at getting accurate profiles by sheer inability, experience level, or plain quality of other gear involved to control the variables and outcomes.
Forgive me if im stating the obvious.

 

[JeffTD]

Honestly, everyone who's had negative things to say about the Kemper have never produced tones I've liked in the first place, and everyone who's raved about them and used them on albums successfully have consistently put out tones that I'm into. I don't take gear criticism seriously from people who's opinion on tone I don't trust.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I did not see any information in the manual about using a DI box like he was talking about. That sounds like a great option.

BTW day two with KPA was even better. I can play my Krankenstein at full blast in the middle of the night now. Fucken love this thing. So do my neighbors.

 

[JeffTD]

GGI I need that Krank profile. I'm dying for some AILD tones and I don't have a Krank anywhere near me to rip.

 

[jauernis]

I did not see any information in the manual about using a DI box like he was talking about. That sounds like a great option.

BTW day two with KPA was even better. I can play my Krankenstein at full blast in the middle of the night now. Fucken love this thing. So do my neighbors.

Second that I need that profile I grabbed the krank of the exchange but would love to test out your profile

 

[Capitancambarro]

I honestly don't like it. The fact that it's the uglies piece of guitar gear ever didn't even bother me. I guess my standards for the profiling were quite high since I've been "profiling" amps before the Kemper. I feel like the Kemper will get better in time but since it's a new product I wouldn't count on a firmware update any day soon. The performance mode can't even be used at the time being so no live gigs for now etc.

Of course you can use the Kemper live. Did so on numerous gigs and it performed flawlessly - I was happy because of my scaled down rig and my FOH Guy was happy because he got a great sound with consistency every night.
You can switch Rigs with a standard Midi Floorboard like on any other digital amp now. Performance mode will just be the icing on the cake.
Saying you can not use it live is like saying you can't drive a car because it doesn't have a can holder.
Selling half wisdom as if it was the truth is a big nono, if you ask me.