I usually don't "play along" because I like to watch. But this time I did because they did it this way and I had all 3 right. I was always wondering if I could hear the "tube" sound, and the way I distinguished them was that I chose the warmer more organic sounding. The kemper breaks up a bit .. different and sounded more dull. So I do like the sound of tubes better is seems.
I am so happy to see this video come out a couple of weeks before me ordering my Kemper, this is insane, the Kemper's ability to nail all the sounds of these amps AND make Lee and Rob like them more than the real amp is heartwarming.
Oisin McPhillips Agreed. I picked the “real” amp as my favourite for the Fender and Vox and the Kemper for the “Marshall” sound. I would have no idea which was real or Kemper... just as Rob didn’t... it was all a matter of preference and clearly that was about the settings on the individual amps/Kemper as I didn’t consistently like the real amps more.
Best Audio/Music Production Course I don’t think anyone was ignoring it. Plus, we weren’t saying that the “real” amps sounded worse than the Kemper so not sure where your comment about OX sucking came from. I think most open minded people acknowledge that the Kemper (depending on the particular profile) sounds really good and very close to the real amp, whether DI’d as here or in a more conventional setting into a guitar speaker can. I don’t think we need to try to find an explanation as to why the “real” amps (in our opinions) don’t uniformly sound “better” than the Kemper as if there is something inherently bad about the way a Kemper sounds.
The clean Fender sounds more alive. The Kemper couldn't do that. The other real amps however, are very dark in real life. The Kemper added extra spectrum to the dark amps. That makes you think that's better.
this is so enjoyable to watch, not only because the excitement of the blindfold but rather to see the interactions between the very different 3 guitar players and their characters going on.
I love my kemper and is so versatile, especially live. I’ve played valves for years and yes maybe they do not sound exactly the same..with tweaking though on eq and other parameters (sag) they get to 99% and you can’t tell in the mix in a band. No two valve amps sound the same either. For the price and M Britt (tone junkie and others) profiles where can you get a dumble, marshal, fender, Morgan and many more for the price compares to having to have lots of valve amps. Just my opinion so no need to burn me. I keep my valves at home now and play/record using them (but getting less these days) . The kemper allows the tone live without having to risk getting some knob pouring beer on it especially if its a vintage model. People have their own opinions and preferences so there’s room for both. But I won’t be selling my kemper anytime soon.
I love how everyone is hating on the kemper but ur listening through a recording of the sound in an untreated room probably with headphones through ur computer or phones output. Basically u can only take their word for it although I do love these videos.
Here I am in the “Comments Sectionnnnnayyyy.” This is mad. I agree with Rob that all the tones were BETTER than the actual amp. All the gear I own.... all I’ve spent... feel like I should just get a Kemper. 🤘🏻😂😂😂
I bought a kemper after having the Axe FX2. Plus I have owned a bunch of really nice amps. I own the Marshall JVM 410H now and never use it anymore since I got the kemper. I got rid of the Axe FX because it didnt sound real. Got the kemper and Im never looking back. Dont need any amps any more.
It really depends on what you are using it for. In the studio is the best place to use it really. Ive used it once for live, it works pretty well, but I was direct lined in to the PA. I have an amp that can power it too through a cab and I can get some good sounds out of it. It really depends also on what profiles you are using. There are some bad profiles out there. Buy the best ones and you wouldnt be disappointed.
These types of videos always draw out the gear snobs. It doesn't matter what you prefer, tube amps or digital modeling but when people make statements that start like " real pros only use ....." that's when they lose all credibility. A real pro would be able to get a good sound regardless of what they're playing through and gear choice doesn't equate to a musician's skill at all.
I think if you gave Jimi Hendrix an Axe Fx he would fiddle with it for a few hours and come up with a sound he'd be satisfied with honestly. "Real pros" and session guys would make whatever work, it's like these gear snob vids floating around RUclips have these guys with all sort of gear but their playing honestly isn't that amazing and they don't really make original music, they just own gear.
Best Audio: Yeah, we HAD to put something between us, but I usually leaned back a little when I was done and corrected my neighbour's tests… ^^' I mean, why would you sit next to someone you despised so much that you didn't wanna help him out?!
Theory: Much like amp manufacturers started to voice their amps the way they sound on the record vs the way they actually sounded in real-life, we'll start to get more used to the profiled sound, rather than the actual amp, and the profile will start to sound "right."
@@PFB-yo6wi So, if I'm right, if the Kemper profile has been undertaken 'mic' ed' in a studio, then used in a live band scenario, the sound output on stage should be (if profiled accurately or the same as a particular song) will sound the same, or very close to the recorded song. Give or take the odd variables like room size, acoustics, etc.
The Kemper is incredibly accurate to the source. The ‘profiled’ sound is more just like the sound of the amp through mics in a studio, the Kemper doesn’t really add it’s own colour or ‘sound’ to the profiles. To my ear the OX is trying to emulate a cab in a room, whereas the Kemper is a profile of a close miced cab in a studio. Just due to familiarity I can understand why bedroom guitarists would prefer the OX tone, but also why recording engineers like myself or performing guitarists who spend a lot of their time listening to their guitar tone miced up through studio monitors or foldbacks/in-ears would prefer the Kemper. That perfectly explains why Rob preferred the Kemper and Lee preferred the OX, too.
Yeah, it even feels like the Kemper is an « exaggerated » version of the original amp. Especially with the Vox, we expect it to be bright and jangly, and the Kemper is almost a caricature of that, which makes the original sound reaaaally middy.
it *has* to sound 'pretty good' to sell a single unit today. the problem with these comparisons is that there is no standard or measurable definition of 'good'. where they set the controls of the amp is not necessarily where you or i will likely set the amp, due to many variables. also, there is *nothing* to prevent a salesman from dialing in a drabber sound on 'the real thing' in order to 'convince' you that the pseudo is 'pretty good, too' - (see what i did there?)
By far the most entertaining video on amps thus far from Rob and The Captain, not forgetting Danish Pete. Nail biting to see whether Rob would get it right or wrong.
I have had a Kemper for 6 years. The cleans are super difficult to distinguish but as soon as it starts breaking up or even distorting a lot, I can recognize it.
In other videos it has been more difficult , but in this video the difference between the real thing and the Kemper was more noticeable for me. Especially when Lee played it. Great idea from Pete for a future video
You're not really comparing the REAL amp to the Kemper. You're comparing the Real amp into the OX vs. the Kemper. The OX is a great product, but not always great sounding. In MANY cases, a better IR will sound better than the OX. And a real amp + real mic'd cab will beat all of them most of the time. Fun vid though. Loved watching!
I got the fender right . then i noticed the kemper was lighting up everytime it was being used. so i had to look away but as soon as i looked back my eyes went straight to that little light flickering...lol these are fun to watch. great video guys
As a tube cork sniffer, here’s my thought. The Kemper sounded better, overall. I think because the Michael Brit patches are miced up and eq’d and produced. So it’s like raw tone vs album tone.
This is fun stuff. The profiling process can produce such dramatically different results by itself so I don't think any real comparison is possible. And that's magnified here by the different speaker setups. Still....lots of fun. As someone else said, the extra compression in the first two samples was the giveaway.
It almost seems as if the Kemper is a “perfect” replication of the more organic “real” tube amps. Perfect eq, perfect tube response, etc vs the variability of the others
To my ear ALL the kemper profiles sounded more compressed and lacking headroom. That said, the emulations are really, really, close even with high gain! Man I love this channel even though it cuts into my sleeping time. Good stuff!!
Funny thing... When Rob was playing I preferred the Kemper every time, once Lee was playing I preferred the amps every time. Both would work really well in a mix, but this vid has really sold me on a Kemper (again, I've had three :O )
The difference to me was obvious and although tone is subjective I can honestly say through experience, that where these two platforms will separate drastically is in a live / band situation. Profiling and modeling although convincing at times, on its own has a long way to go to catch the articulation, cut and feel of a real tube amp in a mix and especially on stage.
have you been on tour before? nuances in sound are so much mess noticeable live then in the studio wich is why so many pro touring guitarists have switched to profiling, not to mention the drastically easier to transport hardware. the only place i still see amps is in the studio, bands who tour by bus (or purist rock bands) or just in the backline where there is usually no choice of amp
Not only those profiles are awesome, but Michael Britt is a great guy. I had some problems with paypal when I was trying to buy his profiles. He answered my email in a matter of minutes, helped me purchase his packs, but on a discount "for my troubles", and even gave me one of his packs for free... Like, how awesome is he? And his profiles are used every day in my studio.
They should have disabled the cabinet emulation of the Kemper and put it through the OX Box as well. The way it was done was not equal. That's why they always sounded different because they were all going through different speaker emulations. For me I didn't prefer the real amp sound over the Kemper, I preferred the speaker emulation of the OX over the Kemper's. And I feel like that was what Lee was really prefering in the end.
Also, they used profiles they didn't make from the same amp. Every amp sounds a tiny bit different - they just used MBritt profiles. While that gets close, it's not the same as actually profiling the same amp with the exact same settings.
@@iFireender yup, should have took time to profile the same exact amps they had in stock, maybe even a direct profile with a load box and play the Kemper with the same cab for the vid.
They explained why at the very beginning of the video. They said this comparison is to try and see if it is worthwhile to invest in real amps and a cabinet emulation or a modeller, for I’m assuming a silent recording setup. Not to directly compare the real amps to profiles of the amps or the Kemper’s amp modelling without it’s own cabinet emulation.
I can barely tell a difference between them but even then I can't tell which is which. And that's just the guitar by itself. There is no way anyone (especially people who know nothing about guitars or amps) would know if you used a real amp or a profiling amp in a mix. Using real amps to me is more of a romantic/nostalgic thing. Also collecting amps is a lot of fun.
The Kemper is fake crap that doesn't sound like the amps it supposedly models; that doesn't make it useless, and I can see somebody using it at a gig, if you're stuck with one, but one decent tube amp will sound better than this top and bottom-end tweaked imitation.
Whoo Mel, why are you so riled up on this subject? You have commented a dozen times on this video and about how "crap" and "unrealistic" the Kemper is, why so pissed off about gear? I just don't understand the weird emotional bond people have with how they think amps etc. should be built.
Tomi Reunanen I can understand the emotional bond with how an amp “should” be built... what I can’t understand is calling the Kemper “fake crap”: it clearly sounds great and certainly not “crap”. I can, however, understand someone still preferring to use a real amp... emotion and how gear makes you feel is an integral part of being a musician and especially being inspired as a musician. For some people that inspiration could come from the latest tech which gives them lots of great options and for others from that one vintage piece of gear that does one thing great, or for other people a bit of both.
I've watched all of the blindfold challenges and am constantly amazed at Rob's ability to detect differences in similar equipment. But today is not about Rob ... today is the Captain's day for he finally stands alone atop the mountain ... huzza good sir, huzza!
The only sound I preferred from the Kemper was the JCM profile. However considering that the OX Box has different cabinet settings, it could be better with a different cab emulation.
The Kemper profiles all have a lot more harmonic distortion/content in the low mids making for a denser sound and what I would call a more modern sound. If anything could be said to be "wrong" with the profiles used on the Kemper is that they all have this trait that they don't take enough care of the top end of the sound. Now, the profiles have been made based on completely different amps than what was in this video (not model vise , but unit vise) and that could also be a reason for the difference we hear. Personally I liked the amps better, except for the Marshall on the first round, so for me it would be 5/6 for the amps. Especially when you put the tube screamer in front of them the amps all sounded much better to my ears.
I had a kemper for a year Amazing machine in a studio but then you go live and absolutly nothing is better than a REAL tube amp for dynamic for power and feeling
It was so easy that is mindboggling what rob had in mind the only excuse i could come up with is that he had some preconcept in his mind that the kemper would have been louder just because its a 120w amp but nearly at the same volume the kemper is just mud and he might have confused that muddiness in low power in the amp and made him think it was the real amp.. and a lot less detailed in evey aspect of it.. and im kind of happy about this kemper fail..
In all fairness: he had heard the profiles before. Rob did not. Even if you are not doing it consciously, it is much easier to say "that is what I heard before" than to say "that is the valve and this is the kemper."
I guessed totally at random and got the Vox and the Fender right, but the Marshall wrong. Purely as a personal thing, I'd prefer having a "real" amp to a Kemper, but the reason is pretty shallow: I like how they look!
Same, I only got Fender with TS on wrong. But to some extent I understand him. For example Vox emulation with TS sounded very modern, very bassy, like something you expect from modern amps and humbuckers. But The real reacted very aggressively to the pickups, that twangy sound and super high frequencies were a lot lot lot louder, weird that Chappers didn't put any attention to that, because I went with my with my guess only because of what I've learned from his Sherlock-like investigations of tone lol.
guess that the "real amps" sounding thinner is caused by the OX Box attenuating them to 0 and then emulating the speakers whereas kemper profiles are done micing actual cabinets
Great blind test as usual. Please do : Kemper vs HeadRush vs Helix vs Mooer GE200 vs Boss GT-1000 vs 1 tube amp blind test. With Seymour Duncan PowerStage 170 as the amp for the amp sims
Britt should try harder; put some tubes in the Kemper or it will NEVER sound like a tube amp. This Kemper shit is a distraction; get a decent tube amp and play away.
"As close as they could get", should have included profiling the actual amps they had in the test and refining the profiles used in the test. Two of the same model amps from the same era could sound different from each other. To add to the point, the guitar, pickups, cab and mic used in the profile all make a difference to how close the profile will sound to the setup profiled. Michael Britt profiles are VERY good, but he makes it very clear that most (if not all) of his profiles are made using the same 3rd Power 212 cab , guitar with P90s and usually the same two mics. I might be missing something in the video, but I don't think it was mentioned what cab and mic combination was being simulated by the OX Box.
I own 2203 from '83 with Drake in it and I must say under good headphones, I preferred way more real Fender, real Vox, and Kemper 2203 profile on that video. Kemper profiles with Fender and Vox sounded dull and dark to my ears but somehow JCM800 kemper profile sounded just like mine real amp. Bright and brisky. Maybe there is in fact a difference between old and new 2203. Great video! Cheers!
The Vox was obvious which one was the amp in my opinion. Didn’t necessarily sound better I just felt it was more dynamic and gritty. For the other two I was pretty confused
Great idea running both into the auxbox as well. But truly, I think the best test would be to profile an amp, leave the mic in the exact same place, then switch between the amp and Kemper into the same cab (with volumes matched), through the same mic. Then you minimize the differing factors of the cab emulation (or different cabs), differences in mic response or placement, and the recording interface gain structure. All that would change would be the head unit. This would give the best comparison the head unit emulation.
Jaskinia Męstwa It's an interesting point that people aren't prepared for. Sometimes an emulation can be like a caricature of a particular sound, but sound better.
No, it doesn't sound more like an amp; it doesn't sound like any of these amps. The Kemper just has a bit more top end, which is what lots of people like; but it's about being the same, not better or worse.The Kemper doesn't sound the same at all, so it fails the test.
mel obrien also tends to lack some low mids, mid bass and has a more raspy character, often the mids going more in a "wah zone". But they'd have to profile the amps themselves for a good comparison. And cab modelling also comes into play. You cannot really tell much about how accurate kemper is without profiling the amps at hand and then compare.
mel obrien also kemper is not really meant to profile dual distorting stages. Preamp + power amp gain usually causes issues, if that is something one is after.
It’s kinda funny how in every blindtest video so far where the Kemper is used (a bunch of them!), Rob have choosen the Kemper as the one he thinks sounds the best almost 100% of the times. In every blindtest video Rob has this craaaazy ears where as he can hear what guitar it is, what effects brand, COLOR (😂), strings and so on so fort. You guys know what I mean. So it has to mean a LOT that he always likes the Kemper doesn’t it? And you can see on his face everytime that he kinda does not want to 😂
you kinda missed the point of the Kemper which is to profile a specific sound. if you just take a random preset instead of a profile based on the setup you are comparing it to, it makes the whole thing moot. that being said, the amps did sound better in this one, but that's just personal preference.
@@nickmathews6226 "As close as they could get", should have included profiling the actual amps they had in the test and refining the profiles used in the test. Two of the same model amps from the same era could sound different from each other. To add to the point, the guitar, pickups, cab and mic used in the profile all make a difference to how close the profile will sound to the setup profiled. Michael Britt profiles are VERY good, but he makes it very clear that most (if not all) of his profiles are made using the same 3rd Power 212 cab , guitar with P90s and usually the same two mics. I might be missing something in the video, but I don't think it was mentioned what cab and mic combination was being simulated by the OX Box.
same story with me... been a tube purist for 20 years and as conservative as a guitar player can be. 5 years ago i started digging into the digital realm, finally ending up purchasing an axe fx II last year in july. the JVM410H and AFD100 i was using before that have been collecting dust ever since. the fractal sounds better then the miked up behemoths, while it's a breeze carrying it around from stage to stage
Awesome show. You do know that the Kemper lights up every time you play into it, so no reason to follow cables to figure it out 😜 So we are able to instantly know, while watching, which amp is being played into 😜
Only watched up until the 5:20 mark, but I correctly guessed that B was the Kemper, based on the following: in all the Kemper videos I've watched, Kemper profilers seem to be a bit brighter and seem to allow more top-end harmonics through than the real amps, at least to my ears. Maybe somebody can explain why I'm hearing that, or if it's just me.
What I love is that a professional musician who has played music his whole life, who is also a tube amp snob prefers the digital modeling amp. That makes me smile.
"Did you switch?"
It was at this moment... Rob knew he was doomed.
I usually don't "play along" because I like to watch. But this time I did because they did it this way and I had all 3 right. I was always wondering if I could hear the "tube" sound, and the way I distinguished them was that I chose the warmer more organic sounding. The kemper breaks up a bit .. different and sounded more dull. So I do like the sound of tubes better is seems.
@@IrLosin ok
@@IrLosinnah you just biased. Kemper sounded objectively better in each scenario. The “real” amps sounded either super thin or way too dark
Lee: "Do an A chord"
Rob: *starts shredding*
Yngwie awakened xD
Aren't arpeggio's chords?
classic Chapman
Glorious
tasteful isn't a big part of his vocabulary
Give Rabea a go at the blindfold Kemper challenge. Would love to hear his thoughts
Yup. And Pete too!
Yes!
i think he said that because bea uses a kemper in recording quite a lot.
He'll just say the Katana is the best out of all
@@JJJHendrixxx with the classic vibe strat! 🤣
This is one of my favorite Andertons videos! Not only was it fun to see Rob’s reactions, but it really sold me on getting a Kemper!
I love that Chappers is still trying to win against the robot overlords.
I am so happy to see this video come out a couple of weeks before me ordering my Kemper, this is insane, the Kemper's ability to nail all the sounds of these amps AND make Lee and Rob like them more than the real amp is heartwarming.
when the mug appears when lee turns off the amp at 8:25 haha
that sequence was very Lynch
Chappers got mugged!
There's definitely a Kemper on the cards for me and this video makes me feel better about it.
Goodness me... Rory is on fire with the editing this week!
At 16-26 I imagined the beach ball. And inserted it into my mind.
It's the one. The video when Rob is defeated. NO more Mr. Right all the time.
SZCZERZO KŁY right?! I’ve been waiting a long time, he’s been acting like a real snob the past few months
There already are two videos with the Kemper from 2 years where they both got it wrong
There was a noticeable difference between them all, but I couldn't tell which was real or not
Well put
Oisin McPhillips Agreed. I picked the “real” amp as my favourite for the Fender and Vox and the Kemper for the “Marshall” sound. I would have no idea which was real or Kemper... just as Rob didn’t... it was all a matter of preference and clearly that was about the settings on the individual amps/Kemper as I didn’t consistently like the real amps more.
Best Audio/Music Production Course I don’t think anyone was ignoring it. Plus, we weren’t saying that the “real” amps sounded worse than the Kemper so not sure where your comment about OX sucking came from. I think most open minded people acknowledge that the Kemper (depending on the particular profile) sounds really good and very close to the real amp, whether DI’d as here or in a more conventional setting into a guitar speaker can. I don’t think we need to try to find an explanation as to why the “real” amps (in our opinions) don’t uniformly sound “better” than the Kemper as if there is something inherently bad about the way a Kemper sounds.
Is anything real? Or do we live in a simulation
The clean Fender sounds more alive. The Kemper couldn't do that.
The other real amps however, are very dark in real life. The Kemper added extra spectrum to the dark amps. That makes you think that's better.
this is so enjoyable to watch, not only because the excitement of the blindfold but rather to see the interactions between the very different 3 guitar players and their characters going on.
You can tell when he is playing through the Kemper by the LEDs on the the Kemper lighting up lol
That Kemper Vs. Real Amp through OX-video srsly HAS to come! Awesome idea, Pete!
I can see the captain is very happy that Rob got them wrong. I saw a look of satisfaction, correct me if I am wrong.
The kemper was noticeably more precise. I preferred it every time.
same
I love my kemper and is so versatile, especially live. I’ve played valves for years and yes maybe they do not sound exactly the same..with tweaking though on eq and other parameters (sag) they get to 99% and you can’t tell in the mix in a band. No two valve amps sound the same either. For the price and M Britt (tone junkie and others) profiles where can you get a dumble, marshal, fender, Morgan and many more for the price compares to having to have lots of valve amps. Just my opinion so no need to burn me.
I keep my valves at home now and play/record using them (but getting less these days) . The kemper allows the tone live without having to risk getting some knob pouring beer on it especially if its a vintage model.
People have their own opinions and preferences so there’s room for both. But I won’t be selling my kemper anytime soon.
what is you live signal chain with kemper? do you find u have to twaek the presets room to room? thanks
After all these years, I finally bought a Kemper. It is AMAZING. 🤘🏻🤘🏻
I love how everyone is hating on the kemper but ur listening through a recording of the sound in an untreated room probably with headphones through ur computer or phones output. Basically u can only take their word for it although I do love these videos.
Here I am in the “Comments Sectionnnnnayyyy.”
This is mad. I agree with Rob that all the tones were BETTER than the actual amp.
All the gear I own.... all I’ve spent... feel like I should just get a Kemper. 🤘🏻😂😂😂
nha..there is a lot of cheaper ways to get that muddy sound xD..
I bought a kemper after having the Axe FX2. Plus I have owned a bunch of really nice amps. I own the Marshall JVM 410H now and never use it anymore since I got the kemper. I got rid of the Axe FX because it didnt sound real. Got the kemper and Im never looking back. Dont need any amps any more.
I get what your saying but I really didn't like the kemper sound! Especially the vox (but then I am vox owner)
It really depends on what you are using it for. In the studio is the best place to use it really. Ive used it once for live, it works pretty well, but I was direct lined in to the PA. I have an amp that can power it too through a cab and I can get some good sounds out of it. It really depends also on what profiles you are using. There are some bad profiles out there. Buy the best ones and you wouldnt be disappointed.
@@encryptor6710
There are extremely good free ones as well. Go on the forums and people trade them after profiling their incredibly expensive gear!
These types of videos always draw out the gear snobs. It doesn't matter what you prefer, tube amps or digital modeling but when people make statements that start like " real pros only use ....." that's when they lose all credibility. A real pro would be able to get a good sound regardless of what they're playing through and gear choice doesn't equate to a musician's skill at all.
I 100% agree with you. A great guitarist can make any gear sound awesome.
I think if you gave Jimi Hendrix an Axe Fx he would fiddle with it for a few hours and come up with a sound he'd be satisfied with honestly. "Real pros" and session guys would make whatever work, it's like these gear snob vids floating around RUclips have these guys with all sort of gear but their playing honestly isn't that amazing and they don't really make original music, they just own gear.
That’s why I use a Headrush. Ease of use and tone make it a no brainer.
This is actually pretty much my video suggestion! Great job fellas
As kids we used to put pencilcases like that to prevent our classmates from cheating during exams... A bit cheaper though
We were a bit worse. We used textbooks stood up on their sides, it was a small village school...
Best Audio/Music Production Course well teachers would tell us to do so
Best Audio: Yeah, we HAD to put something between us, but I usually leaned back a little when I was done and corrected my neighbour's tests… ^^'
I mean, why would you sit next to someone you despised so much that you didn't wanna help him out?!
Mine arrived whilst I was watching this!
10 hours later; it's fantastic.
Theory: Much like amp manufacturers started to voice their amps the way they sound on the record vs the way they actually sounded in real-life, we'll start to get more used to the profiled sound, rather than the actual amp, and the profile will start to sound "right."
You are right. I hate it that you're right. This is how the whole world goes down the U-bend.
@@PFB-yo6wi So, if I'm right, if the Kemper profile has been undertaken 'mic' ed' in a studio, then used in a live band scenario, the sound output on stage should be (if profiled accurately or the same as a particular song) will sound the same, or very close to the recorded song. Give or take the odd variables like room size, acoustics, etc.
The Kemper is incredibly accurate to the source.
The ‘profiled’ sound is more just like the sound of the amp through mics in a studio, the Kemper doesn’t really add it’s own colour or ‘sound’ to the profiles.
To my ear the OX is trying to emulate a cab in a room, whereas the Kemper is a profile of a close miced cab in a studio.
Just due to familiarity I can understand why bedroom guitarists would prefer the OX tone, but also why recording engineers like myself or performing guitarists who spend a lot of their time listening to their guitar tone miced up through studio monitors or foldbacks/in-ears would prefer the Kemper.
That perfectly explains why Rob preferred the Kemper and Lee preferred the OX, too.
absolutely brilliant, thank you so much for this shoot-out!
To be honest I am a tube amp snob but I thought those profiles sounded pretty good.
Chris Hepburn finally! Thanks for the honesty!
Yeah, it even feels like the Kemper is an « exaggerated » version of the original amp. Especially with the Vox, we expect it to be bright and jangly, and the Kemper is almost a caricature of that, which makes the original sound reaaaally middy.
it *has* to sound 'pretty good' to sell a single unit today.
the problem with these comparisons is that there is no standard or measurable definition of 'good'. where they set the controls of the amp is not necessarily where you or i will likely set the amp, due to many variables.
also, there is *nothing* to prevent a salesman from dialing in a drabber sound on 'the real thing' in order to 'convince' you that the pseudo is 'pretty good, too' - (see what i did there?)
Yeah because they're going straight into a desk. Cuts out the actual amp part of it
By far the most entertaining video on amps thus far from Rob and The Captain, not forgetting Danish Pete. Nail biting to see whether Rob would get it right or wrong.
I have had a Kemper for 6 years. The cleans are super difficult to distinguish but as soon as it starts breaking up or even distorting a lot, I can recognize it.
Yea it seems to add unnecessary bass or something
In other videos it has been more difficult , but in this video the difference between the real thing and the Kemper was more noticeable for me. Especially when Lee played it.
Great idea from Pete for a future video
You're not really comparing the REAL amp to the Kemper. You're comparing the Real amp into the OX vs. the Kemper. The OX is a great product, but not always great sounding. In MANY cases, a better IR will sound better than the OX. And a real amp + real mic'd cab will beat all of them most of the time. Fun vid though. Loved watching!
Yes I wondered why they never mentionned that. Rob just don't like the OX or prefer cab emulation (IR) of the kemper that's all it says...
Yeah, a different (maybe not necessarily better) IR will make a huge difference to the perception of your sound.
I got the fender right . then i noticed the kemper was lighting up everytime it was being used. so i had to look away but as soon as i looked back my eyes went straight to that little light flickering...lol these are fun to watch. great video guys
As a tube cork sniffer, here’s my thought.
The Kemper sounded better, overall. I think because the Michael Brit patches are miced up and eq’d and produced. So it’s like raw tone vs album tone.
This is fun stuff. The profiling process can produce such dramatically different results by itself so I don't think any real comparison is possible. And that's magnified here by the different speaker setups. Still....lots of fun. As someone else said, the extra compression in the first two samples was the giveaway.
well... as a person that constantly making fun of Kemper i feel pretty ashamed of myself. 3/3 I've chosen Kemper.
Another great video. Will definitely take a look at the Michael Britt profiles. I would have liked to hear a 3rd comparison to a mic'd up cab.
It almost seems as if the Kemper is a “perfect” replication of the more organic “real” tube amps. Perfect eq, perfect tube response, etc vs the variability of the others
It's all about how you profile it. It's only as good as how you set it up.
To my ear ALL the kemper profiles sounded more compressed and lacking headroom. That said, the emulations are really, really, close even with high gain! Man I love this channel even though it cuts into my sleeping time. Good stuff!!
Funny thing... When Rob was playing I preferred the Kemper every time, once Lee was playing I preferred the amps every time. Both would work really well in a mix, but this vid has really sold me on a Kemper (again, I've had three :O )
why do i love these blindfold challenges so goddamn much. WHY!?!?!?? please do these all day long. thank you :)
The difference to me was obvious and although tone is subjective I can honestly say through experience, that where these two platforms will separate drastically is in a live / band situation. Profiling and modeling although convincing at times, on its own has a long way to go to catch the articulation, cut and feel of a real tube amp in a mix and especially on stage.
have you been on tour before? nuances in sound are so much mess noticeable live then in the studio wich is why so many pro touring guitarists have switched to profiling, not to mention the drastically easier to transport hardware. the only place i still see amps is in the studio, bands who tour by bus (or purist rock bands) or just in the backline where there is usually no choice of amp
8:23 It's little touches like that cup that I really love
Kemper is just ridiculously good. At this point, its less about which amp is "real", and more to do with what sounds better
Not only those profiles are awesome, but Michael Britt is a great guy. I had some problems with paypal when I was trying to buy his profiles. He answered my email in a matter of minutes, helped me purchase his packs, but on a discount "for my troubles", and even gave me one of his packs for free...
Like, how awesome is he?
And his profiles are used every day in my studio.
'Did ya switch?' I thought it as he said it.
Alan Angel, Best line in the entire video. I literally laughed out loud
Followed by evil laughter from Danish Pete! I had a feeling then that Chappers was going down.
I was just watching the tuner light on the Kemper for activity. The Kemper holds it's own !
They should have disabled the cabinet emulation of the Kemper and put it through the OX Box as well. The way it was done was not equal. That's why they always sounded different because they were all going through different speaker emulations. For me I didn't prefer the real amp sound over the Kemper, I preferred the speaker emulation of the OX over the Kemper's. And I feel like that was what Lee was really prefering in the end.
Also, they used profiles they didn't make from the same amp. Every amp sounds a tiny bit different - they just used MBritt profiles. While that gets close, it's not the same as actually profiling the same amp with the exact same settings.
@@iFireender yup, should have took time to profile the same exact amps they had in stock, maybe even a direct profile with a load box and play the Kemper with the same cab for the vid.
They explained why at the very beginning of the video.
They said this comparison is to try and see if it is worthwhile to invest in real amps and a cabinet emulation or a modeller, for I’m assuming a silent recording setup. Not to directly compare the real amps to profiles of the amps or the Kemper’s amp modelling without it’s own cabinet emulation.
I freaking love the coffee mug jiggery pokery you guys do all the time lol
Little do they reliase there is a light on the Kemper that tells me when it's being used.
"Lets put Kemper through the OX " would be a perfect test to compare universal audio vs. kemper speaker emulations..Great video guys Thanks!
I think they had cab sim turned on for the Kemper. This would color the tone differently than the ox box that the heads were going through.
What a joy to see you guys doing what you love doing. Thank you :-D
I can barely tell a difference between them but even then I can't tell which is which. And that's just the guitar by itself. There is no way anyone (especially people who know nothing about guitars or amps) would know if you used a real amp or a profiling amp in a mix. Using real amps to me is more of a romantic/nostalgic thing. Also collecting amps is a lot of fun.
Joseph Smith Yes it is.
That way you can also profile all your amps yourself if you also have a Kemper.
You nailed it.
The Kemper is fake crap that doesn't sound like the amps it supposedly models; that doesn't make it useless, and I can see somebody using it at a gig, if you're stuck with one, but one decent tube amp will sound better than this top and bottom-end tweaked imitation.
Whoo Mel, why are you so riled up on this subject? You have commented a dozen times on this video and about how "crap" and "unrealistic" the Kemper is, why so pissed off about gear?
I just don't understand the weird emotional bond people have with how they think amps etc. should be built.
Tomi Reunanen I can understand the emotional bond with how an amp “should” be built... what I can’t understand is calling the Kemper “fake crap”: it clearly sounds great and certainly not “crap”. I can, however, understand someone still preferring to use a real amp... emotion and how gear makes you feel is an integral part of being a musician and especially being inspired as a musician. For some people that inspiration could come from the latest tech which gives them lots of great options and for others from that one vintage piece of gear that does one thing great, or for other people a bit of both.
I've watched all of the blindfold challenges and am constantly amazed at Rob's ability to detect differences in similar equipment. But today is not about Rob ... today is the Captain's day for he finally stands alone atop the mountain ... huzza good sir, huzza!
The only sound I preferred from the Kemper was the JCM profile. However considering that the OX Box has different cabinet settings, it could be better with a different cab emulation.
I agree totally, JCM Kemper profile did sound better although I wasn't keen on either tone.
It's supposed to sound THE SAME, not better.
I understand what it's supposed to do, it didn't do it but I preferred it over the actual amp.
Thumbs up for editing on this one
The revenge of the Captain!
he chose the worst sounding one
who?
Why is nobody talking about the coffee mug showing up out of thin air at 8:26
The Kemper profiles all have a lot more harmonic distortion/content in the low mids making for a denser sound and what I would call a more modern sound. If anything could be said to be "wrong" with the profiles used on the Kemper is that they all have this trait that they don't take enough care of the top end of the sound. Now, the profiles have been made based on completely different amps than what was in this video (not model vise , but unit vise) and that could also be a reason for the difference we hear.
Personally I liked the amps better, except for the Marshall on the first round, so for me it would be 5/6 for the amps. Especially when you put the tube screamer in front of them the amps all sounded much better to my ears.
I had a kemper for a year
Amazing machine in a studio but then you go live and absolutly nothing is better than a REAL tube amp for dynamic for power and feeling
Captain’s ear. Madness. 🤘🏻😎
It was so easy that is mindboggling what rob had in mind the only excuse i could come up with is that he had some preconcept in his mind that the kemper would have been louder just because its a 120w amp but nearly at the same volume the kemper is just mud and he might have confused that muddiness in low power in the amp and made him think it was the real amp.. and a lot less detailed in evey aspect of it.. and im kind of happy about this kemper fail..
In all fairness: he had heard the profiles before. Rob did not. Even if you are not doing it consciously, it is much easier to say "that is what I heard before" than to say "that is the valve and this is the kemper."
To show some love for the people in the backround: Great editing! Hilarious stuff
Lee should get a hold of the Hoff, and bring him on the show.
They did that on 8 out of ten cats, even Yuri Geller was better liked.
I had no idea which was which but much preferred the amp tones in every case
8:25 LMAO the editing on these videos are insane
So much fun watching u guys. Thanks for this great comparison
I guessed totally at random and got the Vox and the Fender right, but the Marshall wrong. Purely as a personal thing, I'd prefer having a "real" amp to a Kemper, but the reason is pretty shallow: I like how they look!
Smell does play the role too!
Really interesting! Great idea doing this comparision.
I preferred every one that Chappers didn’t.
He is one of those many people who do that constantly. Different for the sake of being different, and logic out the window.
Same, I only got Fender with TS on wrong. But to some extent I understand him. For example Vox emulation with TS sounded very modern, very bassy, like something you expect from modern amps and humbuckers. But The real reacted very aggressively to the pickups, that twangy sound and super high frequencies were a lot lot lot louder, weird that Chappers didn't put any attention to that, because I went with my with my guess only because of what I've learned from his Sherlock-like investigations of tone lol.
That’s because tubes, dynamics, and frequencies rule over shitty emulators.
True, nothing like a good old Soviet tube
I think he just prefers darker tones because of his metal background. All the Kemper tones were kind of dark and muffled compared to the tube amps.
The flashing lights on the Kemper kinda gave away which one was being played 😂😂😂
guess that the "real amps" sounding thinner is caused by the OX Box attenuating them to 0 and then emulating the speakers whereas kemper profiles are done micing actual cabinets
Nope. Ox box sounds great.
no name LOL. Nope to your Nope.
Great blind test as usual. Please do :
Kemper vs HeadRush vs Helix vs Mooer GE200 vs Boss GT-1000 vs 1 tube amp blind test.
With Seymour Duncan PowerStage 170 as the amp for the amp sims
XD
To me, especially on the Fender and Vox the first time through, the Kemper sounded more compressed.
That was my take too.
Love Anderton vids, great guys you lot are, wish I was in your gang.
That vox sounds killer..
Good advert for Michael Britt's profiles. To be fair he does set the standard. His Helix patches are also excellent.
Britt should try harder; put some tubes in the Kemper or it will NEVER sound like a tube amp. This Kemper shit is a distraction; get a decent tube amp and play away.
"As close as they could get", should have included profiling the actual amps they had in the test and refining the profiles used in the test. Two of the same model amps from the same era could sound different from each other. To add to the point, the guitar, pickups, cab and mic used in the profile all make a difference to how close the profile will sound to the setup profiled. Michael Britt profiles are VERY good, but he makes it very clear that most (if not all) of his profiles are made using the same 3rd Power 212 cab , guitar with P90s and usually the same two mics. I might be missing something in the video, but I don't think it was mentioned what cab and mic combination was being simulated by the OX Box.
Gotta love these challenges... keep em coming!
pls do comparison with dsl 40, origin, fender HRDIV, ac30 and other amp on this range pls. planning to upgrade my SS amp to tube territory 🤟🏼😁
I own 2203 from '83 with Drake in it and I must say under good headphones, I preferred way more real Fender, real Vox, and Kemper 2203 profile on that video. Kemper profiles with Fender and Vox sounded dull and dark to my ears but somehow JCM800 kemper profile sounded just like mine real amp. Bright and brisky. Maybe there is in fact a difference between old and new 2203. Great video! Cheers!
The Vox was obvious which one was the amp in my opinion. Didn’t necessarily sound better I just felt it was more dynamic and gritty.
For the other two I was pretty confused
This is the funniest video a watch from this guys, looking forward for a Kemper! :D
wow. i was with rob the whole time. the kemper just sounded better
Great idea running both into the auxbox as well. But truly, I think the best test would be to profile an amp, leave the mic in the exact same place, then switch between the amp and Kemper into the same cab (with volumes matched), through the same mic. Then you minimize the differing factors of the cab emulation (or different cabs), differences in mic response or placement, and the recording interface gain structure. All that would change would be the head unit. This would give the best comparison the head unit emulation.
Haven't you guys learned already? : Kemper always sounds more like an amp...than an amp.
Jaskinia Męstwa It's an interesting point that people aren't prepared for. Sometimes an emulation can be like a caricature of a particular sound, but sound better.
No, it doesn't sound more like an amp; it doesn't sound like any of these amps. The Kemper just has a bit more top end, which is what lots of people like; but it's about being the same, not better or worse.The Kemper doesn't sound the same at all, so it fails the test.
mel obrien also tends to lack some low mids, mid bass and has a more raspy character, often the mids going more in a "wah zone".
But they'd have to profile the amps themselves for a good comparison. And cab modelling also comes into play. You cannot really tell much about how accurate kemper is without profiling the amps at hand and then compare.
mel obrien also kemper is not really meant to profile dual distorting stages. Preamp + power amp gain usually causes issues, if that is something one is after.
Bottom line the kemper just sounds better....suck it tube snobs!
It’s kinda funny how in every blindtest video so far where the Kemper is used (a bunch of them!), Rob have choosen the Kemper as the one he thinks sounds the best almost 100% of the times.
In every blindtest video Rob has this craaaazy ears where as he can hear what guitar it is, what effects brand, COLOR (😂), strings and so on so fort. You guys know what I mean.
So it has to mean a LOT that he always likes the Kemper doesn’t it? And you can see on his face everytime that he kinda does not want to 😂
so,why did they not use the sag switch on the Kemper?
What does it do?
@@ImpostorModanica it adds sag...
Ha. What does sag do?
..... it sags.
That was cool @ 8:25, shout out to the editor!
Were the cabs matched with the amps in the Ox software?
Chris that would’ve been the best way but they never say they did that :/
You guys are hilarious! I just found your show a few days ago. I am now a fan. :)
you kinda missed the point of the Kemper which is to profile a specific sound. if you just take a random preset instead of a profile based on the setup you are comparing it to, it makes the whole thing moot.
that being said, the amps did sound better in this one, but that's just personal preference.
@@nickmathews6226 "As close as they could get", should have included profiling the actual amps they had in the test and refining the profiles used in the test. Two of the same model amps from the same era could sound different from each other. To add to the point, the guitar, pickups, cab and mic used in the profile all make a difference to how close the profile will sound to the setup profiled. Michael Britt profiles are VERY good, but he makes it very clear that most (if not all) of his profiles are made using the same 3rd Power 212 cab , guitar with P90s and usually the same two mics. I might be missing something in the video, but I don't think it was mentioned what cab and mic combination was being simulated by the OX Box.
same story with me... been a tube purist for 20 years and as conservative as a guitar player can be.
5 years ago i started digging into the digital realm, finally ending up purchasing an axe fx II last year in july.
the JVM410H and AFD100 i was using before that have been collecting dust ever since.
the fractal sounds better then the miked up behemoths, while it's a breeze carrying it around from stage to stage
Why don’t you just look at the lights flickering on the Kemper when it’s activated instead of following cord? Lol
The tele through the Vox amp sounds SO good man damn
Honestly if you can fool Chappers...... Take my money Kemper!!
Awesome show. You do know that the Kemper lights up every time you play into it, so no reason to follow cables to figure it out 😜 So we are able to instantly know, while watching, which amp is being played into 😜
Only watched up until the 5:20 mark, but I correctly guessed that B was the Kemper, based on the following: in all the Kemper videos I've watched, Kemper profilers seem to be a bit brighter and seem to allow more top-end harmonics through than the real amps, at least to my ears. Maybe somebody can explain why I'm hearing that, or if it's just me.
jmcsquared: you're right; the Kemper shit is jizzed-up copies of the real thing; close, but no cigar.
What I love is that a professional musician who has played music his whole life, who is also a tube amp snob prefers the digital modeling amp. That makes me smile.
But it WASN'T a preference test, and it's kind of a cheat on the part of Kemper to fool people with an EQ tweak.
That Marshall patch is dead-on.
Stop trying to sell me a Kemper, Rob!! :p
Sounds like crap, just like a fizzy Marshall. That's not hard to do. It can't do the Vox, not even close.
Thanks to Danish Pete I've just went and bought that very t-shirt he modeled so excellently.