Will a Kemper cure my amp GAS?

Onpar · November 2022

I've been pondering purchasing a Kemper as I seem to get bored of amps (and all gear) very quickly. It's getting expensive and a pain to keep buying and selling amps, so I'm thinking maybe a Kemper could be a good option to enable me to go from Marshall to Two Rock to Vox in the press of a button. For context, I'm thinking more for home use as I have my standard setup for gigs sorted that I'm pretty happy with - and when you put in the ear defenders then it's all muffled anyway. Ideally, thinking a powered Kemper so I can plug into a 1x 12. I don't have monitors and want the least amount of connecting to a laptop as possible. Ideally, just to scroll through different amp profiles quickly.

Has anyone been down this path before?

Jonathanthomas83 · November 2022

Yes, I have one in the classifieds...and it's got a tonne of profiles on there for you. I can do a good deal for you :-) edit: sorry, mine's unpowered, but great for home use with headphones, monitors or a powered speaker, such as the Kemper Kabinet.

Your use case is exactly why I bought one and it's nipped all that in the bud. To the point of knowing exactly what I want now.

If you have any specific questions about what you want to achieve, let me know

susbemol · November 2022

It really depends. Is the reason you keep buying and selling amps and other stuff genuinely the gear or something else?

If the latter, the Kemper is unlikely to help.

fretmeister · November 2022

It could. Any of the top line modellers could do that.

I have a Helix and don't have any guitar amps any more. It's been the single best purchase I've ever made. I've used it every single day I've owned it over the last 5 years.

I'm sure I would have been equally pleased with a Kemper or Fractal. Maybe not a Neural yet as it's not a mature platform - but I've no doubt it will get there.

So I would suggest you try them a bit to decide which you might like best. They all sound a little different - just like every Marshall plexi sounds a bit different.

After that - it's all about not always bringing up your favourite blocks when designing a patch.

Musicwolf · November 2022

Will a Kemper cure my amp GAS?

Of course it won't, nothing will.

I've had my Kemper since 2015 and I love it just as much today as I did when I bought it. One of my best purchases ever, however..........

Since then I've bought a Helix and a 50 year old Fender Pro Reverb.

Yes, I recommend a Kemper but no, it won't cure your GAS.

joeyowen · November 2022

I sold amps and kept Kemper.

Miss amps a bit, more for nostalgia.

I don't gig though, just a home/bedroom player.

Feel free to pm, and we can chat on phone about it all, but obvs just my opinions etc...

munckee · November 2022

Death cures GAS. Nothing else.

Wazmeister · November 2022

The Kemper is an amazing device.

BGG · November 2022

Love my powered rackmount Kemper.
All my amps are sold now aprt from my Fender Deluxe Reverb 68 Custom ... but only because I keep forgetting to list it LOL
I originally gigged my Kemper with a Matrix NL 1x12 for some on stage sound, then two of them ... cos it looks better right ? haha. Last five or six gigs I've not used any cabs, just ask for only my guitar in my monitor and it works fine. I wear ear defenders now on stage so most backline is muffled anyway. I find there's a bit more clarity using monitors.
At home I still use a 1 x12 and it sounds superb.

Can't ever see me going back to amps.

ICBM · November 2022

No.

What will cure amp GAS is the realisation that you don't need accurate representations of particular amps, you just need a clean sound and an overdriven sound you like. Or clean-ish and more overdriven, or overdriven and really overdriven, if you prefer. Or just possibly three sounds, if you like truly clean, moderately overdriven and heavily overdriven.

All the rest is just angels dancing on the head of a pin.

Jonathanthomas83 · November 2022

ICBM said:

No.

What will cure amp GAS is the realisation that you don't need accurate representations of particular amps, you just need a clean sound and an overdriven sound you like. Or clean-ish and more overdriven, or overdriven and really overdriven, if you prefer. Or just possibly three sounds, if you like truly clean, moderately overdriven and heavily overdriven.

All the rest is just angels dancing on the head of a pin.

Spot on.

pedalo · November 2022

ICBM said:

No.

What will cure amp GAS is the realisation that you don't need accurate representations of particular amps, you just need a clean sound and an overdriven sound you like. Or clean-ish and more overdriven, or overdriven and really overdriven, if you prefer. Or just possibly three sounds, if you like truly clean, moderately overdriven and heavily overdriven.

All the rest is just angels dancing on the head of a pin.

I’ve just come to this realisation after a lot of money and gear

The Kemper is a great bit of kit to be fair and I’ll never sell mine. I’ll probably never scratch the surface of its features either but it’s always nice knowing they are there if I ever need to sell all my pedals.

Nerine · November 2022

A Fractal FM9 has cured a lot of my GAS.

The Kemper didn’t.

Nikc · November 2022

Jonathanthomas83 said:

ICBM said:

No.

What will cure amp GAS is the realisation that you don't need accurate representations of particular amps, you just need a clean sound and an overdriven sound you like. Or clean-ish and more overdriven, or overdriven and really overdriven, if you prefer. Or just possibly three sounds, if you like truly clean, moderately overdriven and heavily overdriven.

All the rest is just angels dancing on the head of a pin.

Spot on.

Yep just come out of my music room - good clean sound good driven sound got it covered, can go heavier if needed and that's what drive pedals are for

.

Jazzy_Jake · November 2022

ICBM said:

No.

What will cure amp GAS is the realisation that you don't need accurate representations of particular amps, you just need a clean sound and an overdriven sound you like. Or clean-ish and more overdriven, or overdriven and really overdriven, if you prefer. Or just possibly three sounds, if you like truly clean, moderately overdriven and heavily overdriven.

All the rest is just angels dancing on the head of a pin.

This should be pinned on the front page haha!

I find the other real cure for GAS is to find a good Youtube music teacher/instruction book and every time you are gassing, just learn something new on the guitar and integrate it into your playing. You will save money and sound better.

There is always something fairly within reach that will take your playing to the next level - practicing diatonic triads of the major scale or spread triads and their inversions always throws up new ideas no matter how familiar you are with them.

pickerg · November 2022

Nerine said:

A Fractal FM9 has cured a lot of my GAS.
The Kemper didn’t.

Could you explain why if you don’t mind?

I’ve had and sold an HX Stomp and FM9 and I’m currently looking at getting one again, or a Kemper…

hywelg · November 2022

It all depends on whether you can play loud. If you can you will prefer the feel of a cranked valve amp (well a good one) If you can't you will probably prefer a Kemper, I know I do, but I also like trouser flappy volume valve amps better.

Jonathanthomas83 · November 2022

Nerine said:

A Fractal FM9 has cured a lot of my GAS.
The Kemper didn’t.

My experience was the opposite.

Stevepage · November 2022

Short answer : No

long answer : No, who you kidding?!

ToneControl · November 2022

Fractal Axe Fx2 cured my Amp GAS, I had 16 amps, now just 3
My Kemper would not have achieved that, the feel is much better on AF2 and AF3

I believe @octatonic has an opinion on this too

Jonathanthomas83 · November 2022

ToneControl said:

Fractal Axe Fx2 cured my Amp GAS, I had 16 amps, now just 3
My Kemper would not have achieved that, the feel is much better on AF2 and AF3

I believe @octatonic has an opinion on this too

That's so subjective though. I mean, it's inherent in your comment that this is your opinion only, but it's the statement as if it's a fact that I take issue with. I get that you feel that way, but it's not fact, is it?

Dominic · November 2022

Kemper brilliant
A lot depends on your own self discipline and the needs ........home player needing to be quiet ,always gigging/on the road
Kemper is very tidy ,light and convenient
I found that Kemper was a total distraction and I 'played' the Kemper more than the guitar !.....or should I say 'played with'

ToneControl · November 2022

Jonathanthomas83 said:

ToneControl said:

Fractal Axe Fx2 cured my Amp GAS, I had 16 amps, now just 3
My Kemper would not have achieved that, the feel is much better on AF2 and AF3

I believe @octatonic has an opinion on this too

That's so subjective though. I mean, it's inherent in your comment that this is your opinion only, but it's the statement as if it's a fact that I take issue with. I get that you feel that way, but it's not fact, is it?

I really don't understand your point
Were you expecting scientific proof?

KrisGee · November 2022

I loved kemper when gigging, lightning fast setup and same, consistent live tone wherever we gigged with the band's PA.

Home use is where having a chance to actually hear the kemper in detail I always preferred powering up an actual amp even if it involved not getting the best out of it due to low volume.

Jonathanthomas83 · November 2022

ToneControl said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

ToneControl said:

Fractal Axe Fx2 cured my Amp GAS, I had 16 amps, now just 3
My Kemper would not have achieved that, the feel is much better on AF2 and AF3

I believe @octatonic has an opinion on this too

That's so subjective though. I mean, it's inherent in your comment that this is your opinion only, but it's the statement as if it's a fact that I take issue with. I get that you feel that way, but it's not fact, is it?

I really don't understand your point
Were you expecting scientific proof?

No, I just dislike statements that are worded as fact.

No hard feelings and apologies.

Onpar · November 2022

Thanks for all great responses. I purposefully haven’t responded so far as I wanted to consider peoples views and digest the information instead of acting on impulse. But here are some thoughts based on what I have read on the thread.

I do have an issue with buying guitars and amps. I am always looking for a new price of gear that is better or different. But this is only true of guitar related items in my life. I have very little interest in material possessions in general and don’t buy many things – except guitars and amps.

“What will cure amp GAS is the realisation that you don't need accurate representations of particular amps, you just need a clean sound and an overdriven sound you like. Or clean-ish and more overdriven, or overdriven and really overdriven, if you prefer. Or just possibly three sounds, if you like truly clean, moderately overdriven and heavily overdriven.”

You are completely right! For 4 years I gigged a Fender Standard Strat into a HRD and 4 pedals and never once even thought about other gear as what I had was perfect for function work. But then something happened. I think YouTube was the biggest culprit.

But back to amps specifically……. Although I am quite happy with my current clean/crunch/lead tones I would still like to explore the digital modelling/Kemper route, but I am going to restrain myself and try one before I invest any further money, probably because I don’t have any and because have bills to pay. So now to find a Kemper before my GAS for one subsides

Adamski · November 2022

@Onpar , Might be a good place to say that I’m about to list my Kemper toaster for £750. If you’re interested before I do then send me a PM. I’m only in Hemel too so not miles away from you - you’re more than welcome to come and have a cuppa and play it first. I’ve got loads of amp packs from TopJimi, Michael Britt and Tone Junkie and a good set of cans/monitors so it’ll give you a good representation of what it can do.

Also, in the spirit of the discussion and not being an ad, it’s the best piece of recording/home practice gear I’ve ever bought. It’s the only amp of any kind that sounds even close to real through headphones thanks the the brilliant “space” feature. Through monitors it’s also brilliant - never tried any other way but I know someone that gigs with it and is chuffed with the sound. I’m selling it (and a few other bits) as I’ve found my dream guitar and it’s one of those where anything that can be rebought down the line is on the chopping block.

Loobs · November 2022

A Kemper is not really an amp, so it's unlikely. Personally, I don't find plugging into a computer-looking thing particularly inspiring. I'd prefer to go into an amp, but I'm old school. And besides, how many options does the average guitarist need? I guess it's good for session guitarists who always need access to every single tone but otherwise, why can't you make do with a nice amp and a slew of pedals? Actually, from reading your post, it seems you were quite happy with that.

Nerine · November 2022

pickerg said:

Nerine said:

A Fractal FM9 has cured a lot of my GAS.
The Kemper didn’t.

Could you explain why if you don’t mind?

I’ve had and sold an HX Stomp and FM9 and I’m currently looking at getting one again, or a Kemper…

Because you can actually build rigs in the FM9/Fractal world in a way in which you can’t with the Kemper.

I think half of GAS is just exploring something new. There’s more exploration in a Fractal modeller. More to keep you entertained, more to tweak, more to experiment with. (In my view, anyway.)

I don’t like having a snapshot of an amp in time and then some kind of arbitrary EQ and gain control like you have in the Kemper. Feels like you need 50+ profiles of the same amp/cab to just capture the EQ combinations.

I’ve owned both and MUCH prefer the FM9 over the Kemper. I had my Kemper for over 10 years but it was only ever a studio tool. The FM9 I use live and for recording/producing.

I think the FM9 sounds and feels better, too.

Suppose it depends what you want from a device. I think the Kemper just feels generally more clunky. The editor isn’t as good, either. I prefer that I can properly build a rig rather than need the correct profiles to begin with with the Kemper.

mo6020 · November 2022

Not a Kemper, but I have had a Quad Cortex for about 6 months now, and while it's a great device it hasn't cured my GAS in the slightest (I'm considering buying another Lazy J currently). It makes recording a dream and I imagine it'd make gigging super easy, too, but it still can't quite make me feel the same way my tube amps make me feel. Several of my friends have ditched their amps for QCs and Kempers, tho, so YMMV..

Onpar · November 2022

Adamski said:

@Onpar , Might be a good place to say that I’m about to list my Kemper toaster for £750. If you’re interested before I do then send me a PM. I’m only in Hemel too so not miles away from you - you’re more than welcome to come and have a cuppa and play it first. I’ve got loads of amp packs from TopJimi, Michael Britt and Tone Junkie and a good set of cans/monitors so it’ll give you a good representation of what it can do.

Also, in the spirit of the discussion and not being an ad, it’s the best piece of recording/home practice gear I’ve ever bought. It’s the only amp of any kind that sounds even close to real through headphones thanks the the brilliant “space” feature. Through monitors it’s also brilliant - never tried any other way but I know someone that gigs with it and is chuffed with the sound. I’m selling it (and a few other bits) as I’ve found my dream guitar and it’s one of those where anything that can be rebought down the line is on the chopping block.

Thanks for the very kind offer but I am really looking for a powered Kemper if possible.

I am going to try the 'not thinking about it' technique to see if it cures my gas.

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Will a Kemper cure my amp GAS?