Hey dude thanks for your honest opinion, which is probably not very popular. I think the key here is that there is no best solution for everyone as you mentioned in that some people will prefer the Kemper and some people prefer the helix. You are 100% right, people should use what works best for them. Peace out....
Great review Chris, you framed it perfectly. One of the best gear reviews Ive ever seen. I feel like I know these 2 products now as I consider purchasing. Great, great job.
Chris - just curious now if you've looked at the Kemper Stage again with the editor - using a 20" iPad versus the on screen display. Would that change your opinion now? In the end, surely the sound, feel and amp like response and dynamics (which clearly the Kemper wins hands down according to all your videos) is most important? Cheers for the honest assessments :)
I am using both units, but I prefer the Kemper. Feels and sounds much better than the Helix and that is my personal focus when I‘m using Amps, Preamps...
I pulled the trigger on the Kemper. The first day I wanted to send it back. Frustrating to learn all the functions. But been doing this for awhile and understand learning curves. The second day have it down. Not to bad. I had an ax fx which I thought the editor was awesome and fun to use. It sounded good as well. My son has it. The Kemper sounds great to be able to play a 56 Twin on all channels and jumped is a blast. To be able to play Dumble, and two rock oops two stone is a blast. It’s a convincing tone and feel. I played through a helix at GC and thought I’m never getting this but sometimes you need to give these boxes a chance. Also it’s not important for me to sound exactly like George Lynch etc. just need a cool tone that works well in the mix, it’s fun to change it up.
I need to add something. If I had to play the Herlix, the Kemper, any of them or the Ax fx or my amp in a live situation I’d play through my amp 100 times out of 100. I’ll record with this Kemper but it’s never seeing any live situations.
It's soooooo limited. I gave up. I'm back on Helix. You have to make all kinds of sacrifices. I don't like that all the switches have 1 purposes. I'm used to being able to put anything, anywhere I want. No expression pedal is a HUGE fail. There were times that I found a couple things I like, but very few. I fought it for as long as I could.
Nice video. YMMV. I understand your decision, you prefer to sacrifice that 5% amp feel that Kemper has, in order to speed up your cover settings and the form factor you need, fair enough. Kemper has a learning curve, sure, but I know many Kemper users that can set a cover song in few minutes, you can not get their patches for free if they are based on paid profiles or IRs., though.If you need to quickly find free artist based patches in the forums, Helix is the way to go, since all that patches are based on modeled amps references built in the unit by Line6. In the Kemper camp, the philosophy is different, you can find, not modeled but tons of actual amps or actual artist amps profiled, (Mayer, Slayer, Jerry Cantrell, etc..), but you will have to pay like $5_$25 bucks for a professional set from third parties. Although there are free samples in the unit and some good stuff Rig manager, the best ones are paid and can’t be shared. But you get some of the best amp tones out there. About getting your own tone, I think you can get it with any gear, even with a single pedal+amp. If you can get your own tone with the Helix, I am sure you can get it with the Kemper, too. In the Kemper you don’t get a Marshall JCM800, you are getting tons of different profiles of that amp versions, and you can set them with different cabs profiled with different mics, and if that is not enough you can get profiled amps blended with pedals, etc, etc. So many combinations that it is impossible not getting your unique tone with the Kemper. The good thing for us, the players, is that we do have very good alternatives for our personal preferences, and our options expand even more when we do want to monitor our digital gear.
All this effort we put into following all the tech, given enough time we realize its better to run a minimal setup and spend the time on the fretboard not the floorboard. Thanks for giving us the real info .
Physical form the Helix is as perfect as it gets. It’s what I wanted Kemper and Fractal to make. The thing that always sucks about L6 is they are SLOW. They take over a year to add 2 1/3 amps and continue to act like they are really doing something for you. While they waste time making stupid products like the Powercab and push to the side their “flagship” product
I have a Helix and the Powercab 112+. For me, the Powercab is the perfect companion to the Helix and far from a "stupid product". You are perfectly entitled to your opinion of course, but I honestly don't think that dropping a ton of new amp models is going to suddenly make all our lives better when it takes time to explore and understand the nuances of each model. Things I'd like to see in future updates, over new amp.models, would be polyphonic pitch shifting and a reworking of the legacy reverbs and delays.
physically, the headrush is perfect. The screen on the helix looks like an Atari 2600 compared to the ipad screen on the headrush and HR is so easy to use.
Dave Fox Id like more time reworking the amps to have some sort of feel to them but that wouldn’t take about 14 years to get done on a L6 timeline. That Powercab is cool but for $1500 for a 2x12 is just completely silly. If you are using it FRFR you can buy a million FRFR speakers for $300-$500. Other than that I’ll just use a real cab and my Mooer baby bomb.
@@schlagdog I completely agree that if you are mostly using the Powercab as an FRFR solution, it is largely a waste of money. However, the product itself does much more than that and the real competition for it are products like the Mission Engineering Gemini 2, which does cost a fair bit more than the PC 212+ will (at least here in the UK). When used in speaker emulation mode, the Powercab does give the Helix much more of the "Amp In The Room" feeling than FRFRs.
Great discussion. What are you using for speakers etc? In my situation it makes a big difference. At a gig I have my monitor tone and Front of house tone. My PA guy adjusts the PA to the room, and I’ve been told it’s perfect. My monitor I adjust minimally before it hits my FRFR cab and I love it. Like you said it makes me a better player. You are making the best decision for you, and that what matters.
I wanted a Kemper but has no expression pedal, no snapshots, no good editing softwares and small screen , I will wait until they further develop it to get one,
I am in a band with a helix user. My experience is similar to yours. I'd like to profile the helix patches to use live. Can you tell me how to hook it up and profile the helix?
I am a gigging musician also. I also have to sound like different guitarists. You are comparing apples to oranges. I also have both and use both. They both serve different purposes. The kemper takes a snapshot of an amplifier for a particular setting. In my opinion the kemper is closer tone to the actual amp tone. The helix are factory manufactured amps. Both units have have their strong points. The helix has a better harmonizer. To each his own
Kemper for the studio and Line 6 Helix or Fractal FX III for the gig would be my approach. I also hear that the Kemper has bugs to be worked out in the next firmware patch. I was trying one out last night and it crashed a few times and had to be hard rebooted. The Line 6 Helix never crashed once.
I can understand your frustration. I played an AX8 for the last 4 years. I got a helix a month ago and it just couldn't get me what i wanted. The interface/setup/ease of use is absolutely rock solid but didn't work for me. I got a Kemper stage, my first kemper, and it was a very frustrating few days of trying to figure out if its sounding "good". I ended up getting the rack version instead of the stage. The amp sound is there, its pretty incredible. But its all based on the profiles you can get. Where the helix, has it all in the box.
Great comparison. Iv owned the Helix and Kemper as well. While I'll agree with everything you say I'll tell you why I kept the Kemper and sold the Helix. Over the years I've had a ton of real tube amps. I also play in 3 gigging bands. Like you i cover every guitar player out there. I however wanted to profile my amps with my pedals. I also am an amp guy and if you want a Dumble, I just dial in M. BRITT profile. The feel of the Kemper is better for this. Kemper is working on a editor that will make profiles and effects easier to dial in.. in the end for me I need it to sound like a real vintage amp. I know what the guitar player used so I can find a Marshall 68 Super lead quickly. It's a smaller rig for fly dates and has my amps loaded. So Kemper I think is fir a different user. I keep it simple. Great amp and a few effects. I agree not for everyone. Each does their own thing.
I’ve got both, kemper is the one I use the most! As for feeling like a tank; I don’t wanna carry around a tank lol! As for the screen on the kemper, put a mag sticker on it! Fixed that issue! I do dig the screen better on the Helix! As for sounding like whoever, I guess you don’t know about profiles lol! You seem like a Helix guy, if not I’d ask for a endorsement deal lol! Apples and oranges lol! No one else sounds like me, lol!
Once again it's personal preference, But I own both Kemper & Helix, & for me the Kemper is totally superior. I don't know why it's so frustrating for you? I have a Kemper Rack, and a Kemper floor. and my sounds are amazing! First off the the helix amps don't sound real, they sound thin live going though a power amp. For recording the helix is fine, but for live the Kemper sounds like you're using a real amp. maybe you have the cab simulation on if going through a power amp? or maybe you haven't check out the tons of videos on the Kemper site? I want to have a great sound going to the P.A. and great sound going through a power amp with no Cab simulation. In Helix you have to do all this special routing to have Cab simulation go to the P.A. and then to the power amp with no cab simulation. Not so with the Kemper it's just easier. There is a reason why so many touring bands use Kemper live. The touring people that I see live using helix only use it for the effects not the amps They all use real amps instead.Yes there are exceptions but it's usually because of the Variax Guitar or a really great sound man. By the way I play a ton live and in studios, and every engineer wants to use a Kemper I never hear them ask for a Helix. Take your Helix, a power amp, & a Kemper and play it through a cab with just the amps no effects and tell me you don't hear a difference. I'm not trying to convert you I'm just telling you as a person who's played for years. But if the Helix works for you then great and all the best.
I've been debating on getting a Helix for a while. You make the decision seem obvious. I also play in a cover band so any more videos you can make about using it live or tips or whatever would be awesome. Also do you use 3rd party impulse responses on the Helix? Your videos are great!
Thanks for posting. In my humble opinion it's useless to compare a Helix with a Kemper. I own a Helix and a Kemper. The difference is clear. A Helix sounds chemical and a Kemper organic. There is nothing like the sound of a Kemper except the sound of the amplifier that was profiled. Helix just stared at an amplifier and then thinks that it made the sound of that amplifier. Christoph Kemper is a Genius.
If he was a genius, he’d make a damn editor. :) Kemper is fine. It’s different for sure. I do not believe that different makes it better. It’s almost impossible to make on the fly adjustments. The Helix is definitely a better option for a Top 40 Cover Band guy who has to make quick changes and adjustments.
@@christaggart2084 The editor is coming. He could either give people the functionality he promised with the Kemper or get the editor done. He prioritized the promised functionality at least you know where you stand.
I had some Line 6 amps, and had some bad experience with build quality(amp died with minimal usage). How dependable has the Helix been? Has Yamaha improved build quality? I have a Kemper, like the idea of LCD's showing pedal description.
Man, after all the commentary, and all the posts with varying opinions... You guys have all collectively convinced me to stay with my Two Rock amp, and old school pedalboard. As someone who's been keeping an open mind and researching all different brands of profilers and modelers to simplify my setup, and increase flexibility, and consistency, there seems to be no clear. What I'd love to be able to do, as would we all, is it take the best elements of each and combine it in one unit. The quality of the amps and feel of the Kemper, the build quality and effects of the Helix, and the 7-inch touch-screen and user interface of the Headrush. Perhaps if Kemper comes out with a new version of the stage with a better scream and integrated pedal, while improving the build quality, maybe that's when I'll drop the $2000 it costs to get one of these baby's.
I'm in the process of choosing a digital unit. I'm ditching the big, heavy, analog rig. So I'm researching that kind of units. I think, from what I've seen, that the main problem with the Kemper is that the amp settings will be the way it was set at the moment of the profiling. So when you tweak the Kemper it's more like tweaking the recorded sound as if you were mixing a song on a daw. The tone stack on the Kemper will not be close to a real amp tone stack. Is this correct? Thanks.
@@christaggart2084 thank you. I believe I'm sold on the Helix. But I want to have it with the powercab. For me the "amp in the room" thing makes a lot of the experience of playing guitar...
@@alienlovesecrets9379 yah. Next month I'll go to a friend's house to try the Helix with the powercab plus. The Kemper is difficult to try were I live. But I'm really trying to find a way. Having said that, from all I found on my research, the Helix is just more "normal" to work with and I think it would be easier to integrate on my work flow.
Just the fact that there is a almost unlimited collection of profiles free and paid, surely you will find more than a few you'll love, I definitely have..to each his own of course.
Hi! About the Kemper, an advice for You: I was using a Fractal FX2 and it is great to emulate amps and difficult to find the perfect sound but only when I used it with an Eventide H9 max, it sounded really great. Maybe You need to do something like that. In my personal opinion doesn´t exist the perfect multieffects unit, just mixing equipments can create a personal sound. Best regards!
You play really well - that's a heavy lift right there! I can totally see how that pre-fab junk would be frustrating as hell - sorry to hear that. There are a couple of devices I use that you might find less stressful, in fact helpful in tone design "Wetter Box" and an RF Elec. "Multiband Compressor-5" (analog). But then the type of stuff I'm doing is more like Blackmore, Opeth etc. Just an idea . . .
Kemper feels and sounds better. Which is all most players will care about. If you are a songwriter/ producer who has their own studio and amps kemper is the clear winner. If you are a dude that plays covers in a local bar and need to have the sounds of other guitarists get the helix. I have a Kemper stage, which I love. I also have an HX Stomp which I like. Although the HX stomp is a little more plasticky sounding (still good tho). High gain on kemper is much better. Feel is much better. If you want the sound of the tube Amos in your studio with you on tour, get the kemper.
I have Fractal Axe Fx2 XL. I don't gig and just paly at home. I am looking at Kemper but think I'm going to wait to see what new Axe9. It's been few years so I can see Fractal coming out with new one.
Don't get into Elektron gear if you get easily frustrated Chris! The Kemper hardware shares a lot in common with Elektron gear- bad screens, crappy user interface, quirky workflow. BUT the sound, my heavens the sounds and tones of Elektron is glorious! Better than Korg or cheaper synthesizers. I did not find Kemper that hard to learn. But I am a computer guy.
The kemper needs the bigger window like the helix. The helix should come with power. I prefer amps but I do have the kemper and the helix. For me I’d pick for sound the kemper. For ease of use the helix window. If home use, amps and a pedal. Dirt, fuzz or overdrive. Maybe a compressor that’s it. For gigging, one of the 2. I agree the kemper screen is very hard to see.
The Kemper is designed to sound like YOUR amp not somebody else's. In other words, you have real amps that you want to take with you to the gig/ recording session. If you are not profiling your own real amps then don't get a Kemper. Yes, you can DL other amps and you may or may not like some other guys settings. I'm a Marshall guy and have tried out many of the modellers out there. None of them sound and most importantly feel like a Marshall amp, not even close. The Kemper is the only one to pull it off. Exactly? No, but about 95% there which is much better than Line 6 which is just a joke in comparison. I have even profiled some of my Marshall amps and switched tubes. Yes, you can hear and feel the difference. Try that on a Line 6!
I would get neither and instead the Fractal Axe FX III- superior in every way except it cannot profile amps. Now if I had 20 vintage amps then I would get a Kemper. Plus why cannot the smart engineers at Kemper put a color LCD screen and better user experience into their hardware?
i own the Axefx 3 and i love it,also i tried the Kemper and i liked a lot,im going to buy the Kemper in a few months,but honestly i dont think the axe 3 is superior to the Kemper,both units are awesome.
@@Nig6tWalker the interface and color LCD screen of the Fractal are superior. Now if Kemper would update their screen with a color LCD then it would be great!
I feel the exact same way about my Helix as you do your Kemper.....works great at home,but as soon as you crank it up it a bit,it just loses everything.....shrill,no balls,1 dimensional......Just shows how everybody hears things differently......
I have both Kemper rack line 6 rack and floor, Kemper amps are far far superior …..so I put the Kemper rack and helix rack in the same case and ran 4CM Kemper amps into helix ….it’s the greatest ..all the Kemper tone with helix routing and effects …try it bro
I been watching your video and to me you sound better with Kemper, however it all come down in the mix with band. And if you feel more comfortable with the helix, good for you. Thamks for your onest opinion. Me personally I have to have the feel of a real amp, that were the majic happen and a product can't give that well back to carrying my rig again as far as all the demos I have hard so far the Kemper been sounding good to me you Dont need a 100 or a 1000 amp to get a good tone just one or two. But want important is a product that not going to fail on you on a gig I that has not yet been gapping with the helix which I never own but had play one, I got a stage comming in this week. It's been failing on people already but it new and is to be expected. But if the tone it there it's worth spending a little more time learning the in and out of the Kemper. But again it has to hold up. Thanks for the demos
Interesting opinion. I can't say I heard much of a difference with the Helix and Headrush units. I just sent back the HR this morning. Love the interface, leaps better than the Helix, but again, the sound isn't there. The feel isn't there. Kemper is next on my list to try. I agree that as a peddle board, it's just years behind in design from the others . The screen is crap, the interface is crap, they completely messed everything up and could have made the ultimate rig with their sound and a proper screen, led switches etc like the others. It's like the bean counters made the Kemper Stage and cut corners. But sound is #1 to me.
Depending on your workflow, when you really get into it the Helix interface is superior to the Headrush interface. That doesn't make your opinion any less valid, because what works for others may not work for you. Whilst the Kemper may be the benchmark in tone, products like the Helix and the Headrush are 95% of the way there and the workflow on both products is much better in my opinion - when Kemper does finally release their editor, that may well change! :)
@@foxmeisteruk You might be able to dig deeper into settings on the Helix, which is great for tweakers, but it's still archaic looking. Like an Atari 2600 vs an iPad.
@@GoofieNewfie We'll have to agree to disagree. I prefer the Helix interface to the HR because it doesn't try to be skeuomorphic (which I dislike). Skeuomorphic interfaces are also arguably more "archaic" than more modern flat designs, such as the one used by the Helix too! ;) However, it's horses for courses!
No I'm right, you are wrong, simple as that sorry! Just kidding bud. I get what you are saying. I think for beginners, or people who don't have hands on experience with real gear, having the gui look like pedals and whatnot might be a easier tool to use at first until you learn what gain, filters, noise gates etc are. . I guess all our brains are different, good to have options. But I think we can both agree that Kempers choice of screen and OS is ….. overcomplicated?
@@GoofieNewfie Yes, what I've seen of the Kemper interface and screen isn't good, but to be fair it has been around since 2011 and is still going strong! Kemper desperately needs to release their desktop editor!
From what I am hearing it sounds like you are an FX guy, you like to twiddle for hours around until you get a good sound, and I hate to say this, that being the case what the hell are you doing playing around with a Helix? You would be much better off with an Axe FX III, because the FX on that unit are going to kill anything the Helix can do!!! And I hate Fractal, the guy who runs it and judging of the price of the components taking consumers for a ride. I am an amp guy I can set, and forget, just add a little delay, Reverb (can't live without it) and basically that's it, change between 3/4 four amps and the occasional really High gain amp. I don't need all those FX, that you find so dear, so, what works best for me would be a Kemper. One thing I have to say is that "Van Halen" and Zakk Wlyde tone you got out of the Kemper where killer, the sounds you were getting out of the Helix were a bit bland.
@aleh bhaba Yeah, I was looking at all the modellers trying to find the right one for me. And there are a lot of them: Mooer GE 300 Boss GT1000 Fractal FM3 Helix/Helix Lite Headrush Hottone Ampero Kemper Stage and that's just the ones I know about! I am liking what I am hearing from the Kemper and think it will be best for me but you need to be informed!
I had a Helix pedalboard and I loved it but I sold it just bc I really didn't have a great use for it. Now I'm thinking of getting a Kemper mainly bc I feel like it has more amp models that I'd like to use (great high gain amp models). Now that I'll be gigging again I just really don't want to lug my big ass tube amp around (but I absolutely love it haha). Thanks for this video though bc I'm seriously torn between the Helix again or Kemper Stage.. ugh
Honestly I thought this was a great video very well done and thank you but I take slight issue with the my tone comments !!! In my world as a pro player of over 40 years I learned one thing .. tone is a combined of fingers heart and gear!! How do the gary Moores of this world Vai Joe B start to develop there tone !!! It sure was not from a box of digital kit .....the plugged into great amps and used there fingers pedals etc end of. You already said in your vid it's very authentic amp wise ...so what if it takes 40 mins or two weeks to get a sound that's you. ....its not meant to be easy !!! Plug in gadget tech !!!! I have used the Helix since it was released !! I like it a lot ... but I've just received my Kemper and my first impressions are that tone wise and real wise it's a different planet better also the comps reverbs delays in the Helix are not great poor in fact but the kemper ones are stunning Yes it's a pain in some ways to set up as no expression pedal but man were I this for the end result not how quick it takes to get the sound!!! It is without doubt a better sounding product by some margin in my view even the blind fold tests from andertons ukon you tube went I favour of the kemper compared to all the top real amps in blind fold test I rest my case Love your video though I just disagree on.these points
I agree totally. I have had Helix for 2 years and bought the Kemper stage two weeks ago and it's going back. Build quality is horrible for $1800. I had the Kemper poerhear for 3 weeks when it first came out and that went back too. Kemper has a some great sounds but the Helix is just as good and its built like a tank. Kemper stage is unusable on stage you cant see the tiny screen. Buy the Helix or the AxeFx FM3 unless you want to overpay for a design that's old and rehashed into a POD HD500 design. It's really cheap. My 2 cents and I have tried all the modelers.
Mac versus Windows. Apple versus Android. Gibson versus Fender. Ford versus Chevy. Kemper versus Helix. Pointless comparisons that are only put forth by weak people who need to justify their choices.
I don’t know what weak people has to do with it. There are serious differences between all the comparisons you listed - they are hardly ‘pointless’. Depends on what your needs are and what the the application is. C’mon, this was a really honest breakdown and very fair...
Hey dude thanks for your honest opinion, which is probably not very popular. I think the key here is that there is no best solution for everyone as you mentioned in that some people will prefer the Kemper and some people prefer the helix. You are 100% right, people should use what works best for them. Peace out....
Great review Chris, you framed it perfectly. One of the best gear reviews Ive ever seen. I feel like I know these 2 products now as I consider purchasing. Great, great job.
Chris - just curious now if you've looked at the Kemper Stage again with the editor - using a 20" iPad versus the on screen display. Would that change your opinion now? In the end, surely the sound, feel and amp like response and dynamics (which clearly the Kemper wins hands down according to all your videos) is most important? Cheers for the honest assessments :)
I am using both units, but I prefer the Kemper. Feels and sounds much better than the Helix and that is my personal focus when I‘m using Amps, Preamps...
I pulled the trigger on the Kemper. The first day I wanted to send it back. Frustrating to learn all the functions. But been doing this for awhile and understand learning curves. The second day have it down. Not to bad. I had an ax fx which I thought the editor was awesome and fun to use. It sounded good as well. My son has it.
The Kemper sounds great to be able to play a 56 Twin on all channels and jumped is a blast. To be able to play Dumble, and two rock oops two stone is a blast. It’s a convincing tone and feel.
I played through a helix at GC and thought I’m never getting this but sometimes you need to give these boxes a chance. Also it’s not important for me to sound exactly like George Lynch etc. just need a cool tone that works well in the mix, it’s fun to change it up.
I would get the Kemper profiler stage and Line 6 HX Stomp- best of both worlds, or perhaps get Fractal FM 3 and Line 6 HX Stomp.
I need to add something. If I had to play the Herlix, the Kemper, any of them or the Ax fx or my amp in a live situation I’d play through my amp 100 times out of 100.
I’ll record with this Kemper but it’s never seeing any live situations.
Great video but I'm curious how you made out returning it since you put a dent it it????
What is frustrating about the Kemper interface? Be specific. I don’t think it could be more straight forward and easy.
It's soooooo limited. I gave up. I'm back on Helix.
You have to make all kinds of sacrifices. I don't like that all the switches have 1 purposes. I'm used to being able to put anything, anywhere I want. No expression pedal is a HUGE fail.
There were times that I found a couple things I like, but very few. I fought it for as long as I could.
Nice video. YMMV. I understand your decision, you prefer to sacrifice that 5% amp feel that Kemper has, in order to speed up your cover settings and the form factor you need, fair enough. Kemper has a learning curve, sure, but I know many Kemper users that can set a cover song in few minutes, you can not get their patches for free if they are based on paid profiles or IRs., though.If you need to quickly find free artist based patches in the forums, Helix is the way to go, since all that patches are based on modeled amps references built in the unit by Line6. In the Kemper camp, the philosophy is different, you can find, not modeled but tons of actual amps or actual artist amps profiled, (Mayer, Slayer, Jerry Cantrell, etc..), but you will have to pay like $5_$25 bucks for a professional set from third parties. Although there are free samples in the unit and some good stuff Rig manager, the best ones are paid and can’t be shared. But you get some of the best amp tones out there.
About getting your own tone, I think you can get it with any gear, even with a single pedal+amp. If you can get your own tone with the Helix, I am sure you can get it with the Kemper, too. In the Kemper you don’t get a Marshall JCM800, you are getting tons of different profiles of that amp versions, and you can set them with different cabs profiled with different mics, and if that is not enough you can get profiled amps blended with pedals, etc, etc. So many combinations that it is impossible not getting your unique tone with the Kemper. The good thing for us, the players, is that we do have very good alternatives for our personal preferences, and our options expand even more when we do want to monitor our digital gear.
you definitely convinced me to buy a Kemper !
Good, honest breakdown dude!
Nice work! I’m on the edge of making the jump to digital side. Your straight up analysis of these units is super helpful.
All this effort we put into following all the tech, given enough time we realize its better to run a minimal setup and spend the time on the fretboard not the floorboard. Thanks for giving us the real info .
7:55 is this because of the community or because of the way the Kemper software is? Are the profiles only the amps without effects?
Physical form the Helix is as perfect as it gets. It’s what I wanted Kemper and Fractal to make. The thing that always sucks about L6 is they are SLOW. They take over a year to add 2 1/3 amps and continue to act like they are really doing something for you. While they waste time making stupid products like the Powercab and push to the side their “flagship” product
I have a Helix and the Powercab 112+. For me, the Powercab is the perfect companion to the Helix and far from a "stupid product".
You are perfectly entitled to your opinion of course, but I honestly don't think that dropping a ton of new amp models is going to suddenly make all our lives better when it takes time to explore and understand the nuances of each model.
Things I'd like to see in future updates, over new amp.models, would be polyphonic pitch shifting and a reworking of the legacy reverbs and delays.
physically, the headrush is perfect. The screen on the helix looks like an Atari 2600 compared to the ipad screen on the headrush and HR is so easy to use.
Dave Fox Id like more time reworking the amps to have some sort of feel to them but that wouldn’t take about 14 years to get done on a L6 timeline. That Powercab is cool but for $1500 for a 2x12 is just completely silly. If you are using it FRFR you can buy a million FRFR speakers for $300-$500. Other than that I’ll just use a real cab and my Mooer baby bomb.
@@schlagdog I completely agree that if you are mostly using the Powercab as an FRFR solution, it is largely a waste of money. However, the product itself does much more than that and the real competition for it are products like the Mission Engineering Gemini 2, which does cost a fair bit more than the PC 212+ will (at least here in the UK).
When used in speaker emulation mode, the Powercab does give the Helix much more of the "Amp In The Room" feeling than FRFRs.
schlagdog L6 is slow but over eight years and still waiting for a Kemper editor?? Hmmmm
Great discussion. What are you using for speakers etc? In my situation it makes a big difference. At a gig I have my monitor tone and Front of house tone. My PA guy adjusts the PA to the room, and I’ve been told it’s perfect. My monitor I adjust minimally before it hits my FRFR cab and I love it. Like you said it makes me a better player. You are making the best decision for you, and that what matters.
Czy będzie kiedyś Access Virus TI 3?
I wanted a Kemper but has no expression pedal, no snapshots, no good editing softwares and small screen , I will wait until they further develop it to get one,
I am in a band with a helix user. My experience is similar to yours. I'd like to profile the helix patches to use live. Can you tell me how to hook it up and profile the helix?
I am a gigging musician also. I also have to sound like different guitarists. You are comparing apples to oranges. I also have both and use both. They both serve different purposes. The kemper takes a snapshot of an amplifier for a particular setting. In my opinion the kemper is closer tone to the actual amp tone. The helix are factory manufactured amps. Both units have have their strong points. The helix has a better harmonizer. To each his own
Kemper for the studio and Line 6 Helix or Fractal FX III for the gig would be my approach. I also hear that the Kemper has bugs to be worked out in the next firmware patch. I was trying one out last night and it crashed a few times and had to be hard rebooted. The Line 6 Helix never crashed once.
I can understand your frustration. I played an AX8 for the last 4 years. I got a helix a month ago and it just couldn't get me what i wanted. The interface/setup/ease of use is absolutely rock solid but didn't work for me. I got a Kemper stage, my first kemper, and it was a very frustrating few days of trying to figure out if its sounding "good". I ended up getting the rack version instead of the stage. The amp sound is there, its pretty incredible. But its all based on the profiles you can get. Where the helix, has it all in the box.
Great comparison. Iv owned the Helix and Kemper as well. While I'll agree with everything you say I'll tell you why I kept the Kemper and sold the Helix. Over the years I've had a ton of real tube amps. I also play in 3 gigging bands. Like you i cover every guitar player out there. I however wanted to profile my amps with my pedals. I also am an amp guy and if you want a Dumble, I just dial in M. BRITT profile. The feel of the Kemper is better for this. Kemper is working on a editor that will make profiles and effects easier to dial in.. in the end for me I need it to sound like a real vintage amp. I know what the guitar player used so I can find a Marshall 68 Super lead quickly. It's a smaller rig for fly dates and has my amps loaded. So Kemper I think is fir a different user. I keep it simple. Great amp and a few effects. I agree not for everyone. Each does their own thing.
My bank account thanks you. Very helpful insight. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
I’d like to try your Helix tones!
Hey Cliff
Find me on Facebook and send me a message. I’ll happily send them to you.
Great Vids man, did you chuck the Kemper?
I’ve got both, kemper is the one I use the most! As for feeling like a tank; I don’t wanna carry around a tank lol! As for the screen on the kemper, put a mag sticker on it! Fixed that issue! I do dig the screen better on the Helix! As for sounding like whoever, I guess you don’t know about profiles lol! You seem like a Helix guy, if not I’d ask for a endorsement deal lol! Apples and oranges lol! No one else sounds like me, lol!
Once again it's personal preference, But I own both Kemper & Helix, & for me the Kemper is totally superior. I don't know why it's so frustrating for you? I have a Kemper Rack, and a Kemper floor. and my sounds are amazing! First off the the helix amps don't sound real, they sound thin live going though a power amp. For recording the helix is fine, but for live the Kemper sounds like you're using a real amp. maybe you have the cab simulation on if going through a power amp? or maybe you haven't check out the tons of videos on the Kemper site? I want to have a great sound going to the P.A. and great sound going through a power amp with no Cab simulation. In Helix you have to do all this special routing to have Cab simulation go to the P.A. and then to the power amp with no cab simulation. Not so with the Kemper it's just easier. There is a reason why so many touring bands use Kemper live. The touring people that I see live using helix only use it for the effects not the amps They all use real amps instead.Yes there are exceptions but it's usually because of the Variax Guitar or a really great sound man. By the way I play a ton live and in studios, and every engineer wants to use a Kemper I never hear them ask for a Helix. Take your Helix, a power amp, & a Kemper and play it through a cab with just the amps no effects and tell me you don't hear a difference. I'm not trying to convert you I'm just telling you as a person who's played for years. But if the Helix works for you then great and all the best.
Ron Abrams I like the helix for its effects and board but the amp sims didn't do it for me. Especially lacked in the high gain department.
may I have your patch please.. I can email you..
Kemper for me scores. I don't have any issues. Better sound hands down.
I've been debating on getting a Helix for a while. You make the decision seem obvious. I also play in a cover band so any more videos you can make about using it live or tips or whatever would be awesome. Also do you use 3rd party impulse responses on the Helix? Your videos are great!
Does the kemper feel like a real tube amp?
Thanks for posting. In my humble opinion it's useless to compare a Helix with a Kemper. I own a Helix and a Kemper. The difference is clear. A Helix sounds chemical and a Kemper organic. There is nothing like the sound of a Kemper except the sound of the amplifier that was profiled. Helix just stared at an amplifier and then thinks that it made the sound of that amplifier.
Christoph Kemper is a Genius.
If he was a genius, he’d make a damn editor. :)
Kemper is fine. It’s different for sure. I do not believe that different makes it better. It’s almost impossible to make on the fly adjustments. The Helix is definitely a better option for a Top 40 Cover Band guy who has to make quick changes and adjustments.
@@christaggart2084
The editor is coming. He could either give people the functionality he promised with the Kemper or get the editor done. He prioritized the promised functionality at least you know where you stand.
I had some Line 6 amps, and had some bad experience with build quality(amp died with minimal usage). How dependable has the Helix been? Has Yamaha improved build quality? I have a Kemper, like the idea of LCD's showing pedal description.
Man, after all the commentary, and all the posts with varying opinions... You guys have all collectively convinced me to stay with my Two Rock amp, and old school pedalboard. As someone who's been keeping an open mind and researching all different brands of profilers and modelers to simplify my setup, and increase flexibility, and consistency, there seems to be no clear. What I'd love to be able to do, as would we all, is it take the best elements of each and combine it in one unit. The quality of the amps and feel of the Kemper, the build quality and effects of the Helix, and the 7-inch touch-screen and user interface of the Headrush. Perhaps if Kemper comes out with a new version of the stage with a better scream and integrated pedal, while improving the build quality, maybe that's when I'll drop the $2000 it costs to get one of these baby's.
I'm in the process of choosing a digital unit. I'm ditching the big, heavy, analog rig.
So I'm researching that kind of units.
I think, from what I've seen, that the main problem with the Kemper is that the amp settings will be the way it was set at the moment of the profiling. So when you tweak the Kemper it's more like tweaking the recorded sound as if you were mixing a song on a daw. The tone stack on the Kemper will not be close to a real amp tone stack.
Is this correct? Thanks.
Absolutely correct
@@christaggart2084 thank you. I believe I'm sold on the Helix. But I want to have it with the powercab. For me the "amp in the room" thing makes a lot of the experience of playing guitar...
Try both units. It is silly to rely on a post on RUclips. I own all of these units. Just try it out.
@@alienlovesecrets9379 yah. Next month I'll go to a friend's house to try the Helix with the powercab plus.
The Kemper is difficult to try were I live. But I'm really trying to find a way.
Having said that, from all I found on my research, the Helix is just more "normal" to work with and I think it would be easier to integrate on my work flow.
Just the fact that there is a almost unlimited collection of profiles free and paid, surely you will find more than a few you'll love, I definitely have..to each his own of course.
Damn! I missed the first few thousand takes! Haha.
Please give me your tone too?
Darren West find me on Facebook and shoot me a message with your email.
Hi! About the Kemper, an advice for You: I was using a Fractal FX2 and it is great to emulate amps and difficult to find the perfect sound but only when I used it with an Eventide H9 max, it sounded really great. Maybe You need to do something like that.
In my personal opinion doesn´t exist the perfect multieffects unit, just mixing equipments can create a personal sound.
Best regards!
Where did you score the evh skin??!!
I made it. Message me.
Message you where?
@@paulrevere4749 Hey Paul sorry. On facebook if you can. Just look me up.
@@christaggart2084 would you believe I don't have Facebook? I'm one of the few. It was more trouble than useful in the end; long story.
@@paulrevere4749 Send me a message at chris @ useleg1 . com (no spaces)
You play really well - that's a heavy lift right there! I can totally see how that pre-fab junk would be frustrating as hell - sorry to hear that. There are a couple of devices I use that you might find less stressful, in fact helpful in tone design "Wetter Box" and an RF Elec. "Multiband Compressor-5" (analog). But then the type of stuff I'm doing is more like Blackmore, Opeth etc. Just an idea . . .
always prefer sound vs how the unit or interface looks,for me Kemper sound like a real amp vs Helix sound that i didnt like it.
Excellent!!
Kemper feels and sounds better. Which is all most players will care about. If you are a songwriter/ producer who has their own studio and amps kemper is the clear winner. If you are a dude that plays covers in a local bar and need to have the sounds of other guitarists get the helix. I have a Kemper stage, which I love. I also have an HX Stomp which I like. Although the HX stomp is a little more plasticky sounding (still good tho). High gain on kemper is much better. Feel is much better. If you want the sound of the tube Amos in your studio with you on tour, get the kemper.
I have Fractal Axe Fx2 XL. I don't gig and just paly at home. I am looking at Kemper but think I'm going to wait to see what new Axe9. It's been few years so I can see Fractal coming out with new one.
I doubt there will be an AX9 any time soon - that's what the FM3 is for! :)
Don't get into Elektron gear if you get easily frustrated Chris! The Kemper hardware shares a lot in common with Elektron gear- bad screens, crappy user interface, quirky workflow. BUT the sound, my heavens the sounds and tones of Elektron is glorious! Better than Korg or cheaper synthesizers. I did not find Kemper that hard to learn. But I am a computer guy.
The kemper needs the bigger window like the helix. The helix should come with power. I prefer amps but I do have the kemper and the helix. For me I’d pick for sound the kemper. For ease of use the helix window. If home use, amps and a pedal. Dirt, fuzz or overdrive. Maybe a compressor that’s it. For gigging, one of the 2. I agree the kemper screen is very hard to see.
To me real amps with mic/preamp > Kemper >>> AxeFxIII >>> Helix ;)
The Kemper is designed to sound like YOUR amp not somebody else's. In other words, you have real amps that you want to take with you to the gig/ recording session. If you are not profiling your own real amps then don't get a Kemper. Yes, you can DL other amps and you may or may not like some other guys settings. I'm a Marshall guy and have tried out many of the modellers out there. None of them sound and most importantly feel like a Marshall amp, not even close. The Kemper is the only one to pull it off. Exactly? No, but about 95% there which is much better than Line 6 which is just a joke in comparison. I have even profiled some of my Marshall amps and switched tubes. Yes, you can hear and feel the difference. Try that on a Line 6!
I would get neither and instead the Fractal Axe FX III- superior in every way except it cannot profile amps. Now if I had 20 vintage amps then I would get a Kemper. Plus why cannot the smart engineers at Kemper put a color LCD screen and better user experience into their hardware?
i own the Axefx 3 and i love it,also i tried the Kemper and i liked a lot,im going to buy the Kemper in a few months,but honestly i dont think the axe 3 is superior to the Kemper,both units are awesome.
@@Nig6tWalker the interface and color LCD screen of the Fractal are superior. Now if Kemper would update their screen with a color LCD then it would be great!
I feel the exact same way about my Helix as you do your Kemper.....works great at home,but as soon as you crank it up it a bit,it just loses everything.....shrill,no balls,1 dimensional......Just shows how everybody hears things differently......
I have both Kemper rack line 6 rack and floor, Kemper amps are far far superior …..so I put the Kemper rack and helix rack in the same case and ran 4CM Kemper amps into helix ….it’s the greatest ..all the Kemper tone with helix routing and effects …try it bro
I been watching your video and to me you sound better with Kemper, however it all come down in the mix with band. And if you feel more comfortable with the helix, good for you. Thamks for your onest opinion. Me personally I have to have the feel of a real amp, that were the majic happen and a product can't give that well back to carrying my rig again as far as all the demos I have hard so far the Kemper been sounding good to me you Dont need a 100 or a 1000 amp to get a good tone just one or two. But want important is a product that not going to fail on you on a gig I that has not yet been gapping with the helix which I never own but had play one, I got a stage comming in this week. It's been failing on people already but it new and is to be expected. But if the tone it there it's worth spending a little more time learning the in and out of the Kemper. But again it has to hold up. Thanks for the demos
If I was a heavy gain guy, I’d be on it for sure.
Interesting opinion. I can't say I heard much of a difference with the Helix and Headrush units. I just sent back the HR this morning. Love the interface, leaps better than the Helix, but again, the sound isn't there. The feel isn't there. Kemper is next on my list to try. I agree that as a peddle board, it's just years behind in design from the others . The screen is crap, the interface is crap, they completely messed everything up and could have made the ultimate rig with their sound and a proper screen, led switches etc like the others. It's like the bean counters made the Kemper Stage and cut corners. But sound is #1 to me.
Depending on your workflow, when you really get into it the Helix interface is superior to the Headrush interface. That doesn't make your opinion any less valid, because what works for others may not work for you.
Whilst the Kemper may be the benchmark in tone, products like the Helix and the Headrush are 95% of the way there and the workflow on both products is much better in my opinion - when Kemper does finally release their editor, that may well change! :)
@@foxmeisteruk You might be able to dig deeper into settings on the Helix, which is great for tweakers, but it's still archaic looking. Like an Atari 2600 vs an iPad.
@@GoofieNewfie We'll have to agree to disagree. I prefer the Helix interface to the HR because it doesn't try to be skeuomorphic (which I dislike). Skeuomorphic interfaces are also arguably more "archaic" than more modern flat designs, such as the one used by the Helix too! ;) However, it's horses for courses!
No I'm right, you are wrong, simple as that sorry! Just kidding bud. I get what you are saying. I think for beginners, or people who don't have hands on experience with real gear, having the gui look like pedals and whatnot might be a easier tool to use at first until you learn what gain, filters, noise gates etc are. . I guess all our brains are different, good to have options. But I think we can both agree that Kempers choice of screen and OS is ….. overcomplicated?
@@GoofieNewfie Yes, what I've seen of the Kemper interface and screen isn't good, but to be fair it has been around since 2011 and is still going strong!
Kemper desperately needs to release their desktop editor!
From what I am hearing it sounds like you are an FX guy, you like to twiddle for hours around until you get a good sound, and I hate to say this, that being the case what the hell are you doing playing around with a Helix? You would be much better off with an Axe FX III, because the FX on that unit are going to kill anything the Helix can do!!! And I hate Fractal, the guy who runs it and judging of the price of the components taking consumers for a ride. I am an amp guy I can set, and forget, just add a little delay, Reverb (can't live without it) and basically that's it, change between 3/4 four amps and the occasional really High gain amp. I don't need all those FX, that you find so dear, so, what works best for me would be a Kemper. One thing I have to say is that "Van Halen" and Zakk Wlyde tone you got out of the Kemper where killer, the sounds you were getting out of the Helix were a bit bland.
@aleh bhaba
Yeah, I was looking at all the modellers trying to find the right one for me. And there are a lot of them:
Mooer GE 300
Boss GT1000
Fractal FM3
Helix/Helix Lite
Headrush
Hottone Ampero
Kemper Stage
and that's just the ones I know about! I am liking what I am hearing from the Kemper and think it will be best for me but you need to be informed!
I had a Helix pedalboard and I loved it but I sold it just bc I really didn't have a great use for it. Now I'm thinking of getting a Kemper mainly bc I feel like it has more amp models that I'd like to use (great high gain amp models). Now that I'll be gigging again I just really don't want to lug my big ass tube amp around (but I absolutely love it haha). Thanks for this video though bc I'm seriously torn between the Helix again or Kemper Stage.. ugh
I have both. Sound/tone has to be the number one factor...and Kemper blows away Helix...sorry.
Honestly I thought this was a great video very well done and thank you but I take slight issue with the my tone comments !!!
In my world as a pro player of over 40 years I learned one thing .. tone is a combined of fingers heart and gear!! How do the gary Moores of this world Vai Joe B start to develop there tone !!! It sure was not from a box of digital kit .....the plugged into great amps and used there fingers pedals etc end of.
You already said in your vid it's very authentic amp wise ...so what if it takes 40 mins or two weeks to get a sound that's you. ....its not meant to be easy !!! Plug in gadget tech !!!!
I have used the Helix since it was released !! I like it a lot ... but I've just received my Kemper and my first impressions are that tone wise and real wise it's a different planet better also the comps reverbs delays in the Helix are not great poor in fact but the kemper ones are stunning
Yes it's a pain in some ways to set up as no expression pedal but man were I this for the end result not how quick it takes to get the sound!!! It is without doubt a better sounding product by some margin in my view even the blind fold tests from andertons ukon you tube went I favour of the kemper compared to all the top real amps in blind fold test
I rest my case
Love your video though I just disagree on.these points
Sorry about typos bloody predictive text
Too much talk and no sound :(
Ax8
Yes. Apples are not bananas. Now you found out. But apples are not better than bananas. They are not the winners.
Hahaha exactly.
I agree totally. I have had Helix for 2 years and bought the Kemper stage two weeks ago and it's going back. Build quality is horrible for $1800. I had the Kemper poerhear for 3 weeks when it first came out and that went back too. Kemper has a some great sounds but the Helix is just as good and its built like a tank. Kemper stage is unusable on stage you cant see the tiny screen. Buy the Helix or the AxeFx FM3 unless you want to overpay for a design that's old and rehashed into a POD HD500 design. It's really cheap. My 2 cents and I have tried all the modelers.
Mac versus Windows. Apple versus Android. Gibson versus Fender. Ford versus Chevy. Kemper versus Helix. Pointless comparisons that are only put forth by weak people who need to justify their choices.
In the end I guess I agree. Except for the “weak people” part.
I don’t know what weak people has to do with it. There are serious differences between all the comparisons you listed - they are hardly ‘pointless’. Depends on what your needs are and what the the application is. C’mon, this was a really honest breakdown and very fair...