Mikenov Posted June 11, 2018 Posted June 11, 2018 So, Last year playing a street fest I blew out my back moving my orange half stack. Didn't know it yet. 3 months later, disc pinches the nerve and my half stack days are over. I am selling my rocker 30 and cab now and looking at either Line 6 Helix or Kemper. Would love to hear any feedback on experience you have had with either. At this point my PA rig is all digitial, mixed on an Ipad. I use a DI for Acoustic. Both the Kemper and Helix have good reviews. I never want to carry a guitar amp again. Let me know your thoughts and experience. Several of my gigging friends have gone Helix and love it. The Kemper being slightly upstream.
tbonesullivan Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 How complex of an effects chain do you usually run? Both are good systems, it just really depends on what works best for you. The Kemper is nice, but the tweakability can be maddening if you are a real tone tweaker.
Mikenov Posted June 12, 2018 Author Posted June 12, 2018 Not complex at all. I actually play a small bit of Dirt and wah wah. I run Reverb and Delay on the mic through the PA. Honestly, I use so few effects I wouldn't know how to create my own chain if I tried. I would say something with quality presets is what I am really after.
tulk1 Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 I'm a light weight Quilter user, myself. Pedalboard to 27lb 1x12 amp. Easy on the back. Pretty much dumped all my over 50lb amps for nearly the same reason. And ... dumped my 15lb banjo when I injured myself just picking it up. But, thats another story. Mike, I think JohnBoy Kuziak either has, or has had a Kemper. Bet he'd be willing to tell you all about it.
DetroitBlues Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 1 hour ago, tulk1 said: I'm a light weight Quilter user, myself. Pedalboard to 27lb 1x12 amp. Easy on the back. Pretty much dumped all my over 50lb amps for nearly the same reason. And ... dumped my 15lb banjo when I injured myself just picking it up. But, thats another story. Mike, I think JohnBoy Kuziak either has, or has had a Kemper. Bet he'd be willing to tell you all about it. I second the Quilter amp. You can play both Acoustic and Electric through it, use a direct out to a PA or use as a stand alone amp. Very small and light, yet its a 100W per channel amp. And it can get loud, but sound great a low volume too. You'll save some coin over a Kempler or Helix as well.
JeffB Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 I really like the Kemper, I think it is the unit for modeling but from the little time I used the Helix and got to know as much as I could I think I would go the Helix if that was the choice. Not because I thought it sounded better, it did and it didnt, but because I liked the layout and accessibility of it. Seemed better set up to gig with. I would probably go for a lighter amp and a pedal board when all said and done. It doesnt matter what modeler I have bought over the years or what multichannel amps I have owned, I always go back to a simple one channel amp and a couple of good od pedals. Its just easier and sounds better, to me.
rockabilly69 Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 39 minutes ago, JeffB said: I would probably go for a lighter amp and a pedal board when all said and done. It doesnt matter what modeler I have bought over the years or what multichannel amps I have owned, I always go back to a simple one channel amp and a couple of good od pedals. Its just easier and sounds better, to me. I'm constantly looking for ways to scale down my rig. I'f I'm playing electric I use my small Dirty Girl Reverb (handwired Supro style amp), and my pedal board which now only consists of a Tapestry Bloomery volume pedal, Boss TU-3W tuner, Grace Alix preamp, and a Keeley Delay Workstation (combination Delay/Reverb). The little Supro grinds at a decent volume so no dirt pedals needed, and the pedal board is ridiculously small, and is doesn't need a power supply (other than the AC cord to power the Grace) because the Boss tuner is powered by the Grace preamps 9 volt out, and the Keeley is powered by the Boss tuner's 9 volt out). It's really a small rig with a great sound. I mic the amp if it needs to be louder.
tbonesullivan Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 10 hours ago, Mikenov said: Not complex at all. I actually play a small bit of Dirt and wah wah. I run Reverb and Delay on the mic through the PA. Honestly, I use so few effects I wouldn't know how to create my own chain if I tried. I would say something with quality presets is what I am really after. Hmm... sounds like the Kemper or Helix would almost be overkill for you. Maybe look at the Boss ME-80 running into a solid state amp. I like the boss because the layout really allows you to see what you are doing. I like presets but at the same time, I also like to visually see what I am doing. I really wish that Yamaha had decided to put effects on their "stage" line of THR amps. They hit the ball out of the park with their THR5 and THR10 amps, but when the THR100 was thought up, they really should have taken a mulligan, and tried again.
t0aj15 Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 https://www.fractalaudio.com/ax8-amp-modeler-multi-effects/
HANGAR18 Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 It seems that I have recently discovered a way to buy $12,000.00 worth of PRS tube amplifiers for only $50.00 by buying one of these modelers. Planet Waves - PRS But I have no idea what this technology is, even after I watched the video sales pitches and looked over the Planet Waves web site. It looks like software of some sort but how the hell do I make it work? I guess I have to figure out a way to plug my guitar into my computer or something and then maybe have some recording software on the computer, but then how do I hear the guitar while I ply it? WAY OVER MY HEAD... (Insert old geezer rambling here about these kids today and their new-fangled weird contraptions.) I understand... Step 1: Plug guitar into real amp. Step 2: Turn volume up. Step 3: Jam your ass off. Step 4: Pause between songs to see if the cops are banging on your front door. This other stuff is weird.
tulk1 Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 5 hours ago, HANGAR18 said: It seems that I have recently discovered a way to buy $12,000.00 worth of PRS tube amplifiers for only $50.00 by buying one of these modelers. Planet Waves - PRS But I have no idea what this technology is, even after I watched the video sales pitches and looked over the Planet Waves web site. It looks like software of some sort but how the hell do I make it work? I guess I have to figure out a way to plug my guitar into my computer or something and then maybe have some recording software on the computer, but then how do I hear the guitar while I ply it? WAY OVER MY HEAD... (Insert old geezer rambling here about these kids today and their new-fangled weird contraptions.) Interesting you would post that. I downloaded the demo of the PRS amps. Much better stuff than I have. Could get a decent sound from the plug-in. Then went looking thru the Waves stuff. And they had their GTR3 Bundle on sale. Demo'd those. And ... wow!! Don't need the PRS stuff with this plugin. The DAW (Samplitude Pro X3) saw them right away. And now, its off to the races. Well, as soon as I get some inspiration for a song, and someone with talent to play it. But, oh yeah, good stuff!! And thanks. Had not even considered Waves stuff. Generally too expensive for hobbyists.
Mikenov Posted June 29, 2018 Author Posted June 29, 2018 On 6/11/2018 at 10:33 PM, tbonesullivan said: How complex of an effects chain do you usually run? Both are good systems, it just really depends on what works best for you. The Kemper is nice, but the tweakability can be maddening if you are a real tone tweaker. Ha. WAH peddle and a little DIRT. But I am willing to LEARN!
gpuma Posted November 30, 2018 Posted November 30, 2018 On 6/13/2018 at 2:07 PM, t0aj15 said: https://www.fractalaudio.com/ax8-amp-modeler-multi-effects/ Fractal audio should be at least given some thought in this context. Another interesting idea is to use a laptop and a midi controller as a pedal board.
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