Amp for guitar, bass, and piano

[henryrobinett]

It all depends. Kemper is a snapshot that's kind of frozen. You can apply some eq and sons effects but you kind of get what you get. Fractal is COMPLETELY versatile. Their amp tones are ALSO amazing. And with the fast and furious updates just keeps getting better and better. Right now the amps are dead on target, with just about every parameter of every amp modeled with painstaking accuracy.

There's no need to play the ones better than the other game. They're both great.

[jzucker]

no kemper is not a snapshot that is frozen. Kemper can profile *ANY* amp. You don't have to get a firmware update to do a new amp. Any amp can be profiled and folks have profiles polytone, acoustic image, henriksen and all the jazz amps. I'm going to profile my solid state with tube preamp rig. You can't do that with axefx. You're limited to what the manufacturer provides. It's *HUGE* to be able to profile anything you want very easily.

And the kemper doesn't just model the circuitry, it actually samples the amp so it's virtually indistinguishable between the amp and the real thing. It's like listening to a CD of a band. Not saying it's better , they are both great but in terms of amps and versatility the kemper is clearly the leader. In terms of flexibility and power and tweakability I agree that axefx is the better choice. The kemper effects are mediocre, pedal-quality. The axefx effects are like a boutique studio effect processor quality

[henryrobinett]

It is a snapshot. I like modeling the circuitry. There are WAY more amps in the Fractal than I'll ever use.

I'm not interested in debating which is better. That's a stupid, pointless, childish exercise. You like what you like and so do I. Isn't that great? You can profile any amp you want. I'm not interested in that. I personally don't want a profile. I want to create my own sounds. But that's why gear is good for individual needs.

[henryrobinett]

Think of it this way. I have a Deluxe Reverb. I know that amp well. It's a real honest to god '65. I can set it exactly like the fractal or the fractal like the DR. I can overdrive it or keep it clean. Plus I have the added advantage of playing THAT at higher volumes. Or I have a Boogie Quad - IIc. All of the tone controls, push pulls, master volumes, overdrive channels behave exactly the same. OR I can use tone stacks for other amps. I could do things another amp could never do.

With the Kemper you're stuck to the profile you took with a little limited tweak ability. But you profiled a crunch or overdriven amp, that's what you got.

And that's great. But that not what I want.

[Woody Sound]

My opinion: Get a decent quality keyboard amp. It will handle the lows for bass. It will be able to produce the highs for the piano AND vocals, something that most electric guitar and bass amps don't do. And for elec guitar, just use some kind of pre pedal(s) from warmth or overdrive.

Depends on how much $ you want to spend.

Here are some choices, but there are lots more that are larger/smaller/in-between:

Keyboard Amplifiers | Sweetwater.com

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keybo...fiers-monitors

AG300 200W 3-Way Acoustic Guitar Amp with Digital Effects ? Carvin Amplifiers

Behringer Ultratone K1800FX | Sweetwater.com

Behringer Ultratone KXD15 | Sweetwater.com

Roland KC-550 | Sweetwater.com


(I've been gassing for the Carvin AG300 for a while now.)

[Patrick2]

This has gotten way off topic. The OP is looking for an amp that can function as amplification for various instruments. He doesn't seem interested in being able to achieve the tonal nuances of a variety of amps.

IMO, one of the best options available to achieve what he's looking for (might be a bit expensive) is a Fender Vibrosonic. Can even do pedal steel guitar, if his son morphs in that direction. :-)

Here's an example with a painfully boring demo;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=7MIyyl-nm_I

[jzucker]

With the Kemper you're stuck to the profile you took with a little limited tweak ability. But you profiled a crunch or overdriven amp, that's what you got.

totally untrue. Case in point: I have a totally clean vibroverb amp profiled with it. I can dial in more distortion than a heavy metal player would use if I want. I can also model a totally dumble overdrive special and dial the distortion down to zero and use it as a clean amp.

i've owned both, have you? I was formerly an endorser and am listed as such on fractal's sight. I love the fractal and think it's fabulous but in no way is the kemper any less of a great modeler and in most respects it's more authentic.

Think of it this way. With the kemper , you're playing back an amp that you recorded digitally. With the axefx you are playing a synthesizer. Both can sound great and there are advantages to both.

[jzucker]

This has gotten way off topic.

bwahahaha, did you really say that? lol. You crack me up Patrick.

[Patrick2]

bwahahaha, did you really say that? lol. You crack me up Patrick.

Absolutely, I said that. I did so specifically to crack you up. I live but to please you. :-) Also, I strongly object to anyone taking a thread OT . . . (unless of course . . I do it)

[henryrobinett]

This has gotten way off topic. The OP is looking for an amp that can function as amplification for various instruments. He doesn't seem interested in being able to achieve the tonal nuances of a variety of amps.

IMO, one of the best options available to achieve what he's looking for (might be a bit expensive) is a Fender Vibrosonic. Can even do pedal steel guitar, if his son morphs in that direction. :-)

Here's an example with a painfully boring demo;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=7MIyyl-nm_I

Well but these things are great for bass, keyboards. You obviously also need a power amp.

[henryrobinett]

totally untrue. Case in point: I have a totally clean vibroverb amp profiled with it. I can dial in more distortion than a heavy metal player would use if I want. I can also model a totally dumble overdrive special and dial the distortion down to zero and use it as a clean amp.

i've owned both, have you? I was formerly an endorser and am listed as such on fractal's sight. I love the fractal and think it's fabulous but in no way is the kemper any less of a great modeler and in most respects it's more authentic.

Think of it this way. With the kemper , you're playing back an amp that you recorded digitally. With the axefx you are playing a synthesizer. Both can sound great and there are advantages to both.

That's cool. I didn't know that. So you can duplicate the tone stacks and actual master gain structure of each amp?

I've never owned a Kemper. Not been too interested. But as I said I've never been interested in having an amp that sounds like Robben Ford or whomever. So from the get go Kemper has never interested me.

[rhoadsscholar]

The Henricksen Jazzamp 112 would fit the bill for guitar, bass or keyboards. A lower cost option would be the powered alto speaker 12 inch. You would probably want to put something like the Joyo American pedal in front of it for Guitar and Bass, a very inexpensive amp emulator of sorts (copy of the tech 21 stuff). The Jazzamp is the all in one that would do all three but it costs a little more ($899) whereas you can get the alto speaker and the joyo for about $350 (they also make a 15 inch speaker which you might want depending on how much bass playing. I have the equipment mentioned above. If you can swing it, the Jazzamp 112 won't let you down.

[Patrick2]

Well but these things are great for bass, keyboards. You obviously also need a power amp.

What are you talking about??? The Vibrosonic has 100 watts of ass kickin' tube power pushing a 15" speaker.

By the way . . I thought I was on your ignore list.?.? Please go back to not responding to my posts. I prefer not talking with you after the way you trashed me on the "Banned" thread.

[NSJ]

I just profiled 2 settings of my friend's Carr Rambler boutique tube amp (used by mostly rockers, but also by Bill Frisell) ---he was amazed that it was hard to hear the difference between the profile and the actual amp! And he is a gear head who is "plagued" by an excellent ear!

Here is a very famous rock band in which the Kemper and Axel FX co-exist peacefully among band members.

I was wondering when the absolute KING of guitar gear--and my favorite rock guitarist and leader of my favorite rock band--would get around to updating his setup (which, when taken as a whole, has gone by the futuristic-sci-fi names such as "Solar Voyager"). Axel-FX it is for him.

Robert Fripp's Diary for Thursday, 6th March 2014

He is a highly articulate and well-spoken man: "The Axe FXII even has pre-sets that convince."

And his long time band-mate, the studio musician extraordinaire par excellance- Mr. Tony Levin, has a Kemper. As does the new guitarist and singer in the same, aforementioned band:

Jakko Jakszyk: A Knight in King Crimson's Court | GuitarPlayer

Ironically, one of the pre-sets in the Kemper is called "Early Fripp".

Here are some relevant excerpts from the above referenced link by J.J.:
My signal runs from my custom PRS into a Kemper Profiler head and a PRS Stealth 2x12 cabinet. As you can see, right now it’s on the JCM 800 Drive preset. I’m using a Line 6 Pod HD500X as a MIDI controller for the Kemper. I have a bank setup for each song. Take “Nightmare.” I’ve got my basic heavy sound, one that’s slightly louder, and one with a wah on it, which I manipulate via the HD500X’s footpedal.
What can you tell me about the Kemper’s technology?
To be honest, I haven’t had it long enough to really get into it, but here’s the basic premise: Set up your favorite amp and get the desired sound. Mic up the amp run the cord into the back of the Kemper. Hit “Profile,” and it saves a pretty realistic emulation of that amp’s tone.
Did you profile all your favorite rigs at home?
I started doing it, but I didn’t have enough time. I’ve got a Vox Night Train that sounds fantastic, so I did that and some of the PRS heads. I’ve since been tweaking its presets. [Plays.] That’s the Early Fripp J-1 preset, and it sounds exactly like big, sustain-y, early Fripp. I use that on “Starless,” “Sailor’s Tale,” “Pictures of a City,” and “Larks’ 1.”
It’s awesome that you use the Early Fripp preset to play early Fripp parts onstage with the actual Fripp!
He said to me me during rehearsal, “That’s a good sound. It works really well with this. What is it?” “It’s a preset I found called Early Fripp,” I replied. He was highly amused.


PS--I tried the "Early Fripp" setting--it's absolutely HORRIBLE for anything jazz related. It seems most of the stuff on the Kemper (and, presumably, the Axel-FX) are overkill for jazz. But for what they can offer, it's way better than anything else out there.

[henryrobinett]

No. Patrick I removed you from my ignore. But you posted a bunch of racist bullshit a few years ago. That's why I trashed you.