Any Kemper users here?

The way they profile amps still completely baffles me, but hey, technology progresses I guess. If you haven't seen how it's done, pull up a youtube video on it. You'll be completely taken aback by the process.

I'd like to try one--they aren't modellers in the same sense of most modelling amps--but they overlap with that--so they broadly fit into the category--but it sounds like they aren't as limited as many modelling amps.

I couldn't live without mine now. But that didn't happen overnight.

I'm a bit of a techno-geek. I love all things knobs. I even owned a Mesa Roadster, one of the most 'knobs per square inch' amps you can find. I mixed sound for years, so a huge swatch of knobs and sliders and switches doesn't unsettle me, in fact I thrive in it.

That said, that's somewhat what is required to get on with this kinda thing. If you want turn on, plug in and play, this is probably not for you. If you are totally happy with your current sound and don't look for change, this tech is pointless to you. If you aren't Mark Knopfler and have a full time guitar tech to do all the dirty work for you (which is how he went on the road with his), you probably won't enjoy the process.

If, on the other hand, you wonder what other amps, unattainable amps, sound and feel like, this might be for you. Or if you are 'effects curious' but can't drop $500 every time a new doodad piques your curiosity, this again may be a useful (and even cheap) alternative. The learning curve is steep and long though. It took me a couple of years to really get comfortable with menu structure and what 'definition' or 'pick' or 'tube shape' did in the amp's deep editing.


In a nutshell, the big diff between profilers (Kemper) and modelers (Axe-FX and L6 Helix) is in how you get the sounds.

With modelers, you build the sound up from scratch, usually starting with a base sound (like Marshall or Vox) and adding to it. Complicated but thorough. I think of it as comparable to additive synthesis.

With profilers, you 'take a snapshot' of any amp you like (the profile). You get that amp, quite accurately, but you don't get all the adjustments, you get that one sound. If you want more gain or different EQ, another 'snapshot' is required. Once you have that sound, there are many up front and even more deep edit parameters that allow you to tweek the sound, including changing speaker cab simulations if you are playing through a PA rather than a guitar speaker cab. I think of it as subtractive synthesis. It sometimes feels like the sky is the limit, which freaks some people out.

All these products have a large base of users that provide free and paid-for profiles/models. More than you can wade through - Kemper's on-line Rig Manager has 17,000+ profiles available for free. But the search and sort features are good, so it does make sense. Takes just a second to audition an amp profile. You save the ones you like on your hardware or computer.


There is nothing better for recording or home practice, IME. If I laid a track down six months ago and I want to punch in a guitar part, I can get exactly the same tone as long as I did good notes when I first tracked. No more getting the cab mic'ing the same, which I always found challenging. Reamping is also dead easy.

It is also now my gigging preference. I got the Kemper head (which looks like a 50s toaster, love it or hate it) with the built-in 600 watt class-D power amp. It is the most amp-like for live playing - knobs for many parameters immediately accessible without roaming through menus. I run it through a guitar cab on stage and feed a cab-simulated signal to FOH if required.

I have the optional foot controller that allows me to access various profiles grouped into 'performances' - 5 amps per performance immediately footswitchable, with their own effects per profile. I have 'performances' based on genre, for hard rock, clean, country rock and rockabilly. I also have 'performances' based on brand - Fender, Vox, Marshall, Dumble and Mesa. It can be overwhelming if you aren't oriented towards that kinds of block and level thinking. I can tap up and down different 'performances' and then footswitch different amps and effects inside each performance. The variety available is astounding, amazing ..... and off-putting for some people. Then there's 'morphing' which is unique to these types of equipment, unless you've got some kind of high-end midi setup.


Five years ago, I was a tube snob. I still have a half dozen tube amps and the luxury to be able to play them loudly. But I could now live without any of them. Even my much-loved mod'd Mesa LSS. But as you can probably tell, I'm pretty on-board with the new digital class of amp modelers. The Axe-FX tempts me now, but I have so much still to learn with the Kemper, and Reaper and a few other software based tools. I don't think I'll get 'any better' with the Axe, just different. And no one else makes a 'powered head' configuration which is absolutely my preference right now.

They ain't for everyone, but if they interest you, they are pretty incredible. Of note, people who bought their Kemper 10 years ago are still using the same hardware while they load new OS and software, with newer and better effects and options. Pretty good return on investment. Not many computer-based hardware companies can say that.

Cheers and good luck!

More reading, if you're interested:

guitartalk.freeforums.net/thread/979/modeling-amps

A lot of touring artist are using the Kemper. I pretty sure Metallica uses them and Mark Knopfler.. I was interested in them, but the price.. is crazy in my opinion. What's the warranty on the thing?