I love videos like this because they do all the work for me. I had actually planned on doing a long post on the difference between the two big names in high-end digital amplifiers, Fractal Axe-FX II and Kemper Profiling Amplifier, but that’s a hell of a lot of typing. So watch master shredder Keith Merrow and recording engineer/world’s worst PowerPoint presenter Andrew Wade speak in depth on the subject, with hella examples.
The short version is that the Axe-FX is a pure synthesizer. It’s modeling the components of an amp, not the sound of it. Of course, the components make the sound, but Fractal models each of the individual components of an amplifier. The Kemper Profiler doesn’t bother with any of that mess. It studies the sound waves that come out of an amp and recreates them. Ultimately, at least with current technology, this results in a more accurate facsimile. It’s also less versatile in some ways, because the whole thing gets thrown off by using a different guitar or cab (if you’re not using the cabinet model), or you want to change the low end (which means using post-eq instead of changing it in the preamp… well, the “preamp,” like you can with an Axe-FX).
Guitar modelers haven’t been on the market as long as digital drums and keyboards, but in those categories there still hasn’t been a winner in the sampling vs synthesizing debate, and with good cause. As Keith explains in the video, each unit has specific advantages in certain situations. For playing gigs, uh, I wouldn’t use either, but if I had to I’d pick the Axe-FX. Yet if I were a recording engineer that completed tracking and had to break the mics down, but wanted a 90%-close-copy of the core distortion tone in case something needed to be changed or fixed later, then it’s Kemper all the way.
One final thing: I really, really hate it when people refer to these boxes as “collections of amps.”
funeraldoombuggy / October 29, 2013 3:07 pm
Thanks for summing up the video for me! Now I don’t gotta spend 20 minutes. Cheers!
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Verin / October 30, 2013 1:50 pm
Wowie, that video was dry. I wish Fractal would release an ‘axe light’ with only the amp and speaker cabinet modeling, and maybe a few standard effects. I don’t get the draw to all the froo froo crazy stuff. Too many options, I just want to play guitar, thanks.
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Chris Alfano / Author / October 30, 2013 5:15 pm
My semi-educated guess is that cutting out the effects would only make the slightest dent in the price. Most of the dsp is taken up by the complex amp and speaker modelling. You’d need roughly the same processor even without delay/pitch/etc effects in there. Otherwise most of the cost is in the overall build quality, the converters, etc.
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Lee Van Cleef / November 5, 2013 12:29 pm
That video was as dry as they come, but pretty informative. I’ve heard of people buying and returning amps just to profile them with the Kemper, which is pretty shady but makes sense. These guys with studios should get some kind of exchange going so they can all have access to each other’s fun stuff.
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