Is the Kemper Profiling Amplifier Antiquated? (Can it do what the Neural DSP QUAD CORTEX can do??)
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
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The Kemper Profiler has been around for over 10 years now, and newer/better profiling and modeling technology is on the market. I still think Kemper can hold its own going against things like the quad cortex, but what could be done to make it better and hold up to the feature sets of today?
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Gear used in this video:
Fender JMJ Bass
Kemper Profiler Powered Head
Neural DSP Quad Cortex
JHS Colourbox
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Thanks a ton for watching, leave a comment down below, let’s talk!
-Daniel
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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:04 When Did the Kemper Release?
1:23 Kemper Keeping Up with New Releases
2:20 What the QC does that the Kemper "Can't" Do?
3:58 Alternate Uses of the Kemper
4:53 Kemper Updates and Current Limitations
6:29 Drawbacks of the Quad Cortex/Where the Kemper is King
8:49 Final Thoughts
9:18 pls watch the whole video before you just skip to the end lol
#KempervsQuadCortex #NeuralDSP #KemperProfiler - Hudba
Leave a comment for a chance to win the Kemper Pack! Winner will be randomly selected April 21st at Noon PST
The Kemper is incredible to me. The fact that l’m still loving this same box is pretty awesome. NOone ever seems to mention the Kemper community. The Kemper has blessed me with the opportunity to meet some incredible celebrity players. Jeff Loomis and Keith Merrow to Michael Britt and HW AKA Tone Junky. I just do not see this experience in any other unit. A Kemper 2 is coming and it’s gonna be absolutely insane.
Hey Mark, definitely agree, there's something to be said about how well the core technology stands up!
I picked up the Kemper in 2022 and I have to say it blows me away. I can always seem to find a profile that sounds pristine regardless of the different impedance pickups I use from different guitars and for me the other thing that’s really impressive is being able to dial in the Kemper for use with headphones for quiet practice sessions. I’ve used amp sims before from multiple companies and they never really did it for me, spent time amping and re-amping guitars to record and it’s just such a hassle and the Kemper gives a great DI and a stereo signal with much less effort. I will say I played with a band once where one of the guys had a quad cortex and it did truly sound pretty good, I just don’t know if it accommodated my needs as well. Ultimately I am happy with the expansive options of the Kemper and it’s really made my life easier since I got it
Loved my Kemper. Sold it and now I am looking to buy a new one :)
That's awesome! Have fun with it!
Great Video, Always on point Daniel!
I have both and still live the Kemper. It’s just so much easier to navigate with the Quad cortex.
*love
Honestly yeah, the QC really doesn't have the broad selection of good sounding amps and effects that the Kemper uses. But the user interface is just so good!
I have both. The QC is unquestionably better, and, more importantly better SOUNDING. Will be unloading the Kemper soon.
That transition was smooth!
Thanks for this video Daniel!! New subscriber :)
Would love to get this pack
I would love the pack you have so graciously offered. I had a hard time loving the Kemper, I'm a 60's child, but now, I couldn't do without it.
This is a great video and made me check out the Quad, I don't think it's Kemper killer though, the price alone is yikes! And the fact that it's all on the floor!
I use my Kemper with the remote switch, if the switch fails the Kemper is still good to go.
Also the Kemper has been rock solid reliable for the few years of ownership.
Your other vids look good too, I like your calm and methodical diction.
Just for fun, I think if the Quad was able to go down on you.... They would sell a whole load more units!!!!! 🤔🤔😉😉😁😁
Just realised I missed the deadline, doesn't make a difference to my comments though
I think the two units are great tools and they don't limit each other, it will continue to be a profiler full of endless things, the QC is innovative and since everything is growing very fast, I think they both have their Achilles heel. in good time that your sister channel continues to grow, congratulations!
Thank you!
Here for the pack!
We can trade for your AxeFX presets!
Great video! Even though I love my Kemper I'm hopeful they do eventually release something new and keep their place in top!
I agree!
Nice Video, like your style.
Thanks!
He’s back!
I’m back!
Great point about reliability. One plus for the Helix environment, it's not too crazy to keep an HX Stomp around for a backup.
this is true!
I’ve played a number of gigs now with the QC and it’s been rock solid. Even in very hot and sweaty venues. It will take time though for it to prove itself. The Kemper has had ten years to do that.
New to Kemper!! I need professional profiles!! Thsnks
Had my toaster for 2yrs. After going down the frfr rabbithole, went to fryette powerstation and real cab/speakers. Have a set of kones also.
Interesting--how do you like the Fryette with the Kemper?
@@DanMmusic going from ss to tube was a game changer for me. The fryette brought the profiles to life. Playing through a 4x12 cab helps.
Thanks for the great and useful information. I would love a Kemper. Please put me in the draw!
I just got my QC last week and holy crap am I impressed. Before having the QC I ran with an HX stomp and it never failed but as soon as I played with the QC I knew I’d be selling my stomp. It’s just so solid
The QC is serious!
Excellent analysis and appropriate considerations. 👍🏻
I am of the opinion that the Kemper will still have a long life and will soon undergo an update (e.g. in the processor, in the WiFi module and / or with a WiFi Rig Manager even under Android) or even a restyling. In short, a Kemper Profiler 2.0!
In any case it is a "machine" that all the great professionals guitarists use everywhere and if you have been able to profile YOUR amplifiers well, you will take YOUR sounds around on the stages, completely identical to the original ones.
Thanks for your thoughts and I hope I can be the lucky winner of your profiles! 🤞🏼
Completely agree--and who knows, maybe it will be some sort of upgrade we can add to the current Kemper units!
@@DanMmusic in the meantime, I have already updated my Profiler! 😉
I added the Wi-Fi module to use the Rig Manager with iPad (or even iPhone). 👍🏻
Your Tone Thing Imperial sounds killer!
Thank you! Definitely one of the favorites!
If it could do two profiles at once it would be perfect but I still love mine and the effects they’ve added over the years have been great. The only real negative is that when I make profiles, they seem to be fairly random with ones that turn out great and ones that don’t. It would be nice if you could combine many profiles vs having to take snap shots of different settings so in one amp I can go from clean to crunchy and high gain without using 3 or more different profiles.
That's something I've noticed a bunch too--inconsistency with profiling. When I make my packs, I tend to try and take 20-30 profiles and then distill down to which ones sound the best to me.
This is a good review of a Kemper. I'm still swayed by all analogue setups but to be honest I think that's an age thing because my ears can't tell the difference, the sounds are indistinguishable.
Thank you! I've noticed at this point it comes down to the sound source--i.e. studio monitors or in-the-room loud amplifier. The sounds are 95% of the way similar save for a bit of dynamics.
Hey Daniel - Thanks for your time on these videos. Question. In this video, were you running the Kemper through the matchless Cab it was sitting on? I've seen you use the Kabinet in other videos. I agree Kemper needs to do something with their stomps. I don't like their CHorus or their Distortion pedals. Even when I mix and match Choruses, they still sound weak, and if I increase the mix it just gets muddy and does not get that clear chorus sound shimmer. i.e, Roland rack stuff or TC electronics. I'd pay more if they could get that sorted out.
I think kemper will stay relevant for a long time if used without the cabinet simulation. I've found that kemper sounds so much better if i just record the amp section and add IR on DAW. I never use the cab section anymore, i've paired it with a pa amp and Orange cab.
This is interesting as I've been experimenting with the cabinet section and I've gotten similar results. Have you tried using direct profiles with a loaded IR?
Not sure if this answers to your question, but I always use direct amp profiles from good quality companies.
ML audio lab seems to be making one of, if not the best IRs for daw/standalone. I think ML has actually even worked together with Neural and at least in some of Neural demos they used cab sims by ML. So if i record kemper, i use direct amp profile, and add ML cab sim on Logic.
I haven't experienced a lot with Kemper. I've found a way that works for me, so i always play and record kemper with direct amp profiles and a real guitar cab or ML audio lab IRs added afterwards in DAW. It works, it's easy, simple, and reliable way to make kemper sound good. At least for me.
Btw i also use always physical tube screamer (maxon boosted version or joyo normal) in front of kemper because i find Kemper's tube screamer to be lacking something, or maybe it's just that the setting tube screamer in kemper doesn't work the same way as the real deal does. Switching to real od booster made a big difference!
Interesting takes! I’ll have to check out some of these ideas
I have absolutely noticed that using physical pedals in front of the Kemper adds a sense of realism than just the modeled effects, although those are quite good as well.
kalamazoo pack sounds great! I would love to test and demo it!
I love them both but gravitate more to the QC. That being said, do you have QC presets available?
Stay tuned!
I wonder if the first musicians that were using amplification had the same concerns about reliability.
Hi buddy how you connect the FM3 to listen true the aviom inears system with the kemper I take a Y cable from the aviom headphones jack to the return on the kemper and I can listen exactly how I did my presets at home at church. Any idea? Thanks
I'm not familiar with the axiom in ears!
Awesome video! I think the QC looks WAY cooler than the kemper. A new hardware kemper should be in order im my opinion. Although the QC screen makes me very nervous. You could drop an iPhone or mic on it and it's destroyed. How long would that fix be with all the supply chain issues? Personally, I'd still like to get a QC. Can you give one of those away? ;)
Haha maybe when I'm making the push for 1 million subs as opposed to 1 thousand
Most guitar players play on vintage amps or new amps with tubes
So playing on old technology
So the Kemper will never be old
Oh man! That power cable on the QC would be a deal killer for me. SO short sighted for a piece of pro level kit. With that said, really curious to hear more comparisons, and to see if there’s a honeymoon period that wears off…
Got my Quad Cortex mounted on a proper pedalboard with a dedicated power supply. reliability issues are not a concern anymore. Got it since last October and been gigging regularly with it since then. No problems whatsoever. Also have an HX Stomp that I keep as a back-up.
@@francisboudreau2618 a clever solution! We’re you a Kemper user prior to the QC?
used mine on a gig this morning--one of the players said he was out in Mexico with a QC and it bricked on him! I do worry about it sometimes, hopefully it gets fixed sooner than later.
Great idea for a backup!
@@jamiebarnesmusic Nope. Tried one on several occasion but never pulled the trigger on one... Playing at home during the pandemic and planing a travel board are what made me buy a Quad Cortex. I guess Kemper is pretty nice too!
Good to see you back making videos. I find your thoughts on the Kemper to be very helpful. Looking forward to next week.
Great video, I’m a Kemper user and no problems so far, very happy with it. Kemper community helped me always 👍🏻👍🏻 Hope to win your free pack
You have a new subscriber here, an the best of luck to you 🤞🏻
Thanks for the sub!
Ignacio you won the pack! When you can, shoot me a DM at @danielmclaughlinmusic on instagram and I'll get you sorted!
Witch of the 2 has feels more close to the real amp plugdet in to the UA OX?
Pretty sure I’m moving back to a KPA from my FM3.
Interesting! For what reasons? I know a lot of people using the FM3
@@DanMmusic It's not a bad device. I like it a lot. I owned the original Axe Ultra for years, then the Axe II XL for several years, decided the III was too expensive, then when the FM3 was announced I pre-ordered and sold my Axe 2. They delayed the FM3 by around a year, so I grabbed a KPA. I sold that for my FM3 when my number came up and have had it since. What I noticed with the KPA and what I miss - I just played it. With the Fractal I am always chasing that elusive IR that makes things just right, or tweaking other settings - it's a tweakers paradise. With the KPA I really liked Top Jimi profiles, and I just picked one and could play for hours with little more than a delay or boost tweak. I loved his Marshall, SLO, and Friedman profiles, his Slash Pack, etc. With the Fractal I get pretty happy with the Plexi 50 High 2, but I frequently tweak it or swap IRs, and I've never been able to get a sound I like from the SLO or Friedman. I just want to go back to the simplicity I guess - the instant tonal gratification. I prefer the Fractal for clean and breakup tones, but I'm an 80s rocker, like Top Jimi, and I miss those profiles.
@@zerolight9420 I completely agree with you, if I have to go into tweak zone I usually don't play lol
At that level of gear, it becomes more about your playing than the units themselves. Imagine being an artist and obsessing over whether a box of 32 colored pencils are better than 64? Both are more than you need to sound amazing so the rest is up to you!
Completely agree, but at the same time at this level of gear the features like I/O, speedy navigation, even size and weight consideration become more of a topic. Everyone can probably agree they both sound great!
@@DanMmusic Agreed
Two main things that kemper bothers me it`s the ultra compressed profiles and the form factor. I love the toaster look in my studio and all wonderful sounds i get from it , just WOW, i have the habit to compare my paid profiles with the actual real amp demos, and just sounds 10% different not worse, just different ( any true matchless sound worth the price tag you know?) , BUT! My Hx stomp kills it every time when i go to every day gigs, versatility in sound and form factor... i have all the FX in the world in a little enclosure. Having said that, the main highligh on the stomp and the main downside on my kemper it's: Hx take my fuzz pedals just right, kemper just cant't deal with it. This week i'm taking photos for list my toaster in local classifieds :/ I`ll be prepared when kemper 2 comes out
That's interesting to hear! As I've been surprised at how close some of the Fuzz-oriented PROFILES are that I've made, but maybe its some kind of impedance thing with the fuzz pedals into the profiler. I gotta say--the QC's size has been a big thumbs up for me being able to fit it in the mono tick. Nice and small.
Me want pack! Please!
So my thoughts are the kemper is a straightforward signal flow mirroring real gear. It’s rugged. And everyone hates the look but it looks like old German military gear some of the best engineered and toughest equipement ever made. It’s made in Germany not China. If I was rich I would get a QC to play with but pretty sure I would still want my kemper. Especially with all the after market sounds I have and I want many more. QC doesn’t have a way for sound creators to monetize sounds and without that the incentive to make great profiles is lost.
Agreed, however I’ve heard some good rumors of a marketplace coming for both profiles and presets. But I have a sneaking suspicion it’s going to be more similar to an apple App Store as opposed to the file sharing system kemper employs
@@DanMmusic maybe but for the most part I love them kemper. Do I wish I could route a second guitarist and bassist through it or dual amps? Sure. Also you can profile pedals you just have to do it with the amp like tone junkies + aka klon profiles.
I bought Kemper, and sent it back after a week. I couldn't justify an 2000 USD investment, when my Audient id4 mkii paired with Overloud Rig Player gave me much more versatility, and I got just as good, if not better tone out of the combo. I don't think Kemper is worth spending your money on.
My thoughts exactly
Great video. Add me to your Kemper profile draw please 😁
Thank you! And of course!
Kemper is digital it supposedly samples a real waveform but , it's way from perfect based on my own experience...just an overpriced sampling box to me still not perfected . I have been around since the 70s saw many technologies it will be just like a Johnson Millennium or RP1 or something like it . Just another technology with fan base touting the latest and greatest ! Just like the 70s 360 system or the 80s synthaxe on and on .... It starts with your head, heart ,fingers , all the other stuff is secondary. Wait till 20 years later with it obsolescence...
Its a fad