Had Enough Of The Hd500...buying A Kemper

[joel_brown]

I kind'a think "Well duh, the $2500 gizmo is better that the $500 gizmo".  Of course it is.  The thing is, is it worth it ?  But the same thing can be said for a $900 guitar and a $5,000 dollar guitar.  And will anything be perfect ?  Nirvana was a band not a place.

 

But it's a fun thread...

[bjnette]

Congrats the Kemper is pretty well accepted as having the leading edge. A very Pro machine that gets you 95% there to the real thing where the HD probably only gets you 90% there.

 

If I could afford the best I'd get it too, that some great name studio engineers producers have profile their collections it is a vast library of greatness  and even many of the stock and shared profiles are good enough.

 

It is true there are drawbacks. I think the order of FX is one, with the Kemper the order is fixed or was not sure if firmware has addressed it. Also only 16bit s/pdif though like you said will get addressed.

 

I think you'll be happy with it. Definitley a Pro choice and you got a controller for it!

[cruisinon2]

I kind'a think "Well duh, the $2500 gizmo is better that the $500 gizmo". Of course it is. The thing is, is it worth it ? But the same thing can be said for a $900 guitar and a $5,000 dollar guitar.

Not necessarily. I'd rather have a $40 ukulele than some of the $5000 guitars I've seen. Was just thumbing thru a catalog the other day and saw that Gibson is peddling a LP built from specs derived from a 3D scan of one of Les Paul's own personal guitars...and they're getting TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS for it. No one will ever convince me that there is anything about that axe that is any different from the $2K versions they've been hawking for years...except that the guy who buys it gets to go around telling everybody "this was made from a 3D scan of Les Paul's personal axe, man!!! Can't you hear it?!?!?!?". Just because something is expensive, doesn't mean it's "better". Half the time, what you're really buying is a "look at me!!!!" moment.

[bjnette]

That is true and I love a bargain and I love making silk purses out of sows ears.

Generally though quality costs and is well worth it.Some like Audiophile and even Pro Audio have snake oil.

But in most fields you get brand names that are the mark of a Pro because of quality and because you win with them. 

 

The Kemper is such a device, it does have shortfalls but it is very well supported as apart from accessories and 

well thought of keyboard it is about all Kemper are producing and selling.

 

Many are not ashamed to use it onstage where if you carry some Behringer entry level products you are considered amature

regardless ho good you are.

 

Line 6 almost falls into this area with some products but have a few gems that are well thought of in the Industry.

 

If you feel ashamed having a PODHD series you might wanna change your friends.

But Line 6 would best get rid of or reintroduce quality in their products as cheap can always be beaten.

 

When you get a floorboard that sounds beyond its price tag you gotta gem.

[JTSC777]

Played 3 services at a 3,000 people per service church last week.

Took my HD500 and a couple of strats and a Korg pedal tuner.Had to play a lot of specific parts from skanky funk to high gain leads to color things up.

Playing through such a high volume high tech system requires good tone/ a well set up guitar and a good set of hands and ears.

Basically a studio type of demands on an electric guitarist.

The HD500 must have done well because none of the techs sqid anything to me the entire time but they were having a bit of trouble with the other electric player who used conventional amp head/pedals and an ISO cab setup.He had a cable short on his pedalboard with at least 12-15 pedals on it during Sunday mornings rehearsal.The techs were all over that lol!

Kemper/GT100/POD/AXE etc... are made for these situations.

I have my HD500 sounding so good I almost forget it is there.Yeah it was a pain and a process to get it happening but no more difficult to me than a lot of tube amps/ pedalboards and other stuff I have used.

 

When I play my club gigs this weekend I will use a Tech 21 Fly Rig and aTweaker tube head/cab.

 

Having used that little thing for the last 12 gigs or so I think Line 6 should at least look at making something that powerful and small with the POD modeling.The giant footprint of these PODs and foot-controllers dont work in tiny clubs especially if you have to add a Talk Box like I do.

 

As far as Kemper and AXE pricing go anyone who takes something like that into a club situation because they cant get close enough with a POD/GT/Zoom for covers needs to look at some other elements of the equation.I can cover a huge amount of styles with a good guitar and that Fly Rig. I know my theory/extensions /voicings/voice leading and all the other things that are just as important when playing covers as having an exact sound some guy and a producer made 30 years ago in a studio that IMHO you cant get with an AXE/Kemper either. Maybe closer but I know most club musicians are still playing for 1970s wages like most guys where I live. I make a little more because I have a nice PA and sing well.Generally though I just use what will do the job and dont bring anything else these days.

I work way harder on my technique and theory now instead of buying and tweaking more stuff.Yes a lot of it is in the hands.

 

Hendrix did a lot with what he had and what he heard which is nothing compared to what we have today.

[Spiderplayer7]

In my case, I ditched my HD500 (last week) and bought a Tech 21 FlyRig 5. I used my HD500 for about 3 years, playing out with it about every week on local gigs, using a Yamaha FRFR powered wedge for monitoring with XLR out to PA, usually with my trusty Variax 700 electric (great guitar).

 

But, in the end, the HD500 had to go. I spent literally weeks looking up threads on this forum (really, thanks everyone for taking the time to post) and tweaking and tweaking to try to get a good sound. But I never really made it and got very frustrated. And I'm not a novice to guitar playing or general guitar gear (playing for over 30 years now, some of them semi-pro). I love that the HD500 is a one-unit solution with amp models, effects, tuner, XLR outs etc. But I hate the fact that it's just too complicated, there are too many variables and there are too many ways to get a bad sound.

 

So in desperation I got a FlyRig 5, turned it on, got my old Strat out, set all controls to 12 o'clock, plugged it in to my Yamaha monitor and instantly got a fantastic Tweed-style sound from the SansAmp section. The Plexi section and DLA needed a bit of tweaking (I'm talking under 5 mins) but I got some great sounds there as well, fat better than the HD500 with minimum effort. Off to rehearsal with it, where's the Pod? my bandmates said and WTF is that thing (it's tiny)?, but that changed to wow, great sound!

 

I realise now that I don't need dozens of amps and effects, cabinet sims, mic sims, difficult EQs etc. Things I need to add (here's where the HD500 scores), for me anyway, are a tuner, maybe a chorus pedal. For many of you on this forum I understand that you need more sounds, but I don't really.

 

I put multiple hours in to the HD500, maybe not all wasted as I used it for years (and it never broke down, never failed) but I really don't miss it at all. I certainly don't miss that digital fizz or background 'zizz' sound (hard to describe but also impossible to get rid of) - for me anyway it's analog now all the way. Not sure what to do now with my Variax as VDI cable into the Pod worked so well. And it's a great guitar. Oh well...

[meambobbo]

all these words are unnecessary.  to sum up, the Kemper sounds about $4,000 better than the Pod HD.  also, when you factor into the opportunity cost of the 3,000 hours of reading forums and tweaking you end up doing, the Kemper is far cheaper, as you can dial in dozens of killer tones in about an hour.  My Pod HD guide is what... 14 really long web pages?  My Kemper guide is 1 page.

 

still, if you need top-class delay and reverb effects, you may find the Kemper a bit lacking.  it also has no computer editor (although the unit's interface is very quick and intuitive).

 

so the fanboys say, you can't compare them because they're not the same price.  well, first of all you can ignore price and compare them anyway.  The Kemper is not the same as buying a high-end sports car, which basically none of us can afford, regardless of how thrifty we become or how much overtime we work.  Relatively, there's a huge price difference between Pod and Kemper, but in absolute terms, the difference is not that big.  If you want to afford the Kemper, you likely CAN do it.  If you don't WANT to, that's your choice, and I certainly respect it.  But if your rationale is that the Kemper isn't worth the price premium, I would argue otherwise.  I definitely think it is, and I really wish I had gone straight to it instead of spending so much time with the HD, regardless of the vacations and other luxuries I would had to have sacrificed at the time.

 

the thing that really nailed it for me is that the Kemper's design means no jockeying on the forums to add this or that amp model (And despite all that, still no Mesa Marks in the Pod) - anyone can make them and most people share them for free.  Some charge for them, but the prices are much cheaper than real amps and the quality is generally quite high (prices way cheaper than the announced model packs for the Pod).  also, the Kemper staff engages its customers on the forum and its frequent firmware updates clearly target what the users ask for.  Digital Igloo seems like the only L6 staff engaging the customers here, and it seems that this is actually a very recent thing.  Still, he can't fix the Pod HD.  4 years and EQ's still in phantom parameters.

 

The Pod amps are good, and the cabs aren't quite as bad as they may initially seem.  The problem is that its all a juggling act - there's some seriously fake stuff going on in the Pod.  You dial in tighter palm mutes, and now your power chords are thin.  You get the B and G strings to thicken up, and now the thick strings sound dull or muddy.  Occasionally you get a glimpse of this incredible tone, but it's all a tease.  With the XT/X3, the tone wasn't anything mind-blowing, but what you heard is what you got.  You could dial it in quickly and then you were done.  Overall, it wasn't a revelation but still a positive experience.  The HD is a lot of frustration.

 

Anyway, I don't want to poo poo the HD too much.  I just really love the Kemper.

[joel_brown]

It saved me time and therefor thousands of dollars.  I can believe this if your livelihood is music and that pays your mortgage.  Otherwise sorry, it just sounds too biased for me.  And I do believe the $2500 gizmo is better than the $500 gizmo.  But not cheaper cause it's easier.

 

btw - I've spent hours and hours on every device I ever bought all the way back to the Roland GP-8.  This is the same old story I've been hearing for 25 years.

[radatats]

If you want to afford the Kemper, you likely CAN do it.  If you don't WANT to, that's your choice, and I certainly respect it.  But if your rationale is that the Kemper isn't worth the price premium, I would argue otherwise.

 

You are right.  I COULD buy a Kemper but I don't WANT to.  I am not making a living with my music, just having fun, living the dream.  I have a hard enough time justifying my total purchase layouts considering the instrument, the pedals and gear, the amps and PA, the recording stuff, software, computers, time and space etc.  I suppose I could sell everything and start fresh but I would lose all my JTV support and probably take a beating here and there.  I am seriously considering selling my amps and old cabs and upgrading to a new PA to go full time FRFR.  That will be a similar layout to getting a Kemper.  Still a hard choice to pull the trigger on.  So yes, I choose not to buy a Kemper.  And I strongly argue that for me at least it isn't worth the price premium.  I like what I have put together and enjoy what I get out of it.  I know which areas could most use improvement.  I am under no illusion at this point in time that my skills level is going to improve so much that the small gains in tone from the POD to the Kemper would be noticeable.  In fact, for me at least, I would lose a lot of functionality that I have no inclination to give up.

 

But yes it is a choice I make freely and understanding all the options.   Guess I am a fanboy, not that I like that particular term...

[hepdog]

Does anyone else find it odd and slightly narcissistic that there are so many people who come to a line6 forum to express negative line6 opinions?

 

I differentiate this from , say, hardware issues or software glitches. It's OK if you don't like it, I just don't want to read your 3 page rant on WHY you don't like it.

 

I think its great that you found product X that fits your needs better than line6 product Y. I don't care. 

 

Why are you here, again? To convince me that I'm wrong? Or, maybe, to convince yourself you made the right choice? 

 

Let me help you with that: You win the tone lottery! Please go to the Kemper forum ( http://lmgtfy.com/?q=kemper+forums ) and bask in the glow of your discerning taste and superior choice! Let all there regale you with huzzahs.

 

Perhaps you are compensated in some way for pushing other vendor's gear here? This would certainly explain your passion and verbose posts.

 

Line6 mods - can you keep this sort of useless forum clutter to a minimum? I come here to learn about my gear - not read about other's inferiority complexes. 

 

Thanks,

 

Paying customer.

[cruisinon2]

Clearly the only way out of this is with a steel-cage match...

 

 

Or...everybody drop your pants, and I'll get the tape measure. We'll settle this once and for all... :lol:

[amsdenj]

I've never heard a Kemper, but an HD500X into S-Gear on a computer I already have to own for lots of other reasons has tone and flexibility I think would be very hard to beat at any cost. Its nice to have options.

[meambobbo]

Hepdog, i had a great opinion of line 6 from 2003 until about 2 years ago. I think im qualified to express my opinion, considering i have provided tons of advice to other forum members for years, and even created a website for this purpose. I would have expected Line 6 to at least address some of the warts on this unit and possibly fix some. Nothing of the sort has happened. If you feel this thread is a waste of time or offensive to you, dont read it!

 

And if you think the Kemper is a slight tone improvement, I would question if youve ever played one.

 

-slight narcisist

[arislaf]

Old meambobbo did a great favor to all of us with his guide! It is a honor that he still pay a visit at our site after he did get a kemper. Hepdog, have in mind that most of the users complaining for pod HD, they do it because the love the unit and line 6, and want to improve... After all, the good results happen when you rise your voice against, rather when praising.

[cruisinon2]

Well that settles it. I'm getting a Kemper as soon as I win the lottery...and an AxeFx, and a really nice PRS, just cause I'm a Rush fan and I've always wanted one, and a Mustang (and not the crappy 6 cylinder version either), and a pony, and one of those absurdly priced, concave 4K TVs, and a wine cellar (rich folks have those, right?). And if there's anything left, I'll pay some bills...

[duncann]

Don't forget about the car elevators.

[joel_brown]

I do want to point out that we are supposed to finally get a real EQ at the end of this month that doesn't have phantom parameters.  And for a while I used an external 31band Stereo EQ that I picked up used for $100 until I tweaked a few DEP parms and got it the way I liked it.

 

As far as jockeying around on forums for amp models, I don't understand that at all.  I connect with Line6 Monkey and run update.  Not sure how the amp packs will be purchased yet but I think I can handle that versus paying an extra couple grand for a gizmo.

 

I'm not doubting the Kemper sounds better.  Is it worth 5 times more ?  No way.  Not when I get really good tones from the PODHD.  I don't mind working for them but will admit it was very frustrating at first.

 

But the double standard I use is Marshall amps and cabs.  The PODHD is basically a digital pre-amp and effects into my Marshalls.  I can also A/B tones with the real thing very easily.  I use the PODHD because I hate cabling up a bunch of noisy pedals.  The times I used the PODHD into a solid state amp and cab, I wasn't as impressed.  I'm sure I needed to tweak my tones for that but I may have ended up buying the Kemper in that situation.  Don't know...

[pianoguyy]

Don't make fun of rich people. I owned a house with two elevators. One for people to go up and down the 4 floors, and a small freight elevator to take you from the garage to the 1st floor. 

 

 

 

*It was an investment to me. I bought it at a bankruptcy auction and I sold it at for market value. 

[josander]

I'm a very lucky owner of an HD500X and I'm especially impressed by the amps. For me, everything is better than my old combination of X3 PRO with the Behringer FCB 1010 (Uno) MIDI foot controller. I think its very easy to get the sound I want and just plug in and play on gigs. As with most stuff nothing is perfect and some of my thoughts are:

• I'm a Linux user and as a programmer, I have really big difficulties to understand why they -  as of 2010's - have not made an editor that also runs on Linux. I do not believe for a second that they do not how to make the editor run on Linux as well, so I guess that it's a strategic question. More and more companies are taking Linux users seriously and a relative small company as Harrison Consoles says that around 14% of their Mixbus DAW customers are Linux users. That is not an awful high %, but Line 6 is not a tiny company, so even a Linux base at 5% should make a considerable high number of users.
• The use of % as parameters for so many FX parameters is strange, but I use my ears until I'm happy. However: I can understand that this is big issue for many people.
• The lack of mono output on the XLR side and no internal power supply. This is in fact bad. I have to use a DI box on one line out to the mixer/PA. Imagine how much better it looks on stage without that spaghetti.
• I think it's strange that they did not add a really clean (JC) amp as standard in stead of one or two amps that is in marginally use, but I will be one of the first to buy amp packs when the 2.6 FW comes out.

Despite the issues above, the price and what you get back ratio is hard to beat and as a working tool on stage and as an inspiring joy provider when I'm playing, it's unbeatable! I have so much fun when playing with the HD500X.

[joel_brown]

Buy a Mac or buy Windows.  It's not that expensive and everyone writes software for it.

[cruisinon2]

Buy a Mac or buy Windows.  It's not that expensive and everyone writes software for it.

 

I think the next generation of PODs should be powered by hamster wheels, and the manual should be chiseled on stone tablets. Vintage , man... :P

[Brazzy]

I think the next generation of PODs should be powered by hamster wheels, and the manual should be chiseled on stone tablets. Vintage , man... :P

 

Yeah but I can just hear that "hamster wheel hum" Hahahaaaa

[Tboneous]

Does anyone else find it odd and slightly narcissistic that there are so many people who come to a line6 forum to express negative line6 opinions?

 

I differentiate this from , say, hardware issues or software glitches. It's OK if you don't like it, I just don't want to read your 3 page rant on WHY you don't like it.

 

I think its great that you found product X that fits your needs better than line6 product Y. I don't care. 

 

Why are you here, again? To convince me that I'm wrong? Or, maybe, to convince yourself you made the right choice? 

 

Let me help you with that: You win the tone lottery! Please go to the Kemper forum ( http://lmgtfy.com/?q=kemper+forums ) and bask in the glow of your discerning taste and superior choice! Let all there regale you with huzzahs.

 

Perhaps you are compensated in some way for pushing other vendor's gear here? This would certainly explain your passion and verbose posts.

 

Line6 mods - can you keep this sort of useless forum clutter to a minimum? I come here to learn about my gear - not read about other's inferiority complexes. 

 

Thanks,

 

Paying customer.

 

Why did this post get -2? I mean aside from the biting sarcasm, what did he say that wasn't true? I agree 100%!  Why come to this forum to make such a proclamation? I mean, you are still using your POD as a controller and for recording right? So why not use your experience in helping those who may also use their POD as a controller and for recording. Share how, when you get your new amp, you are going to integrate the POD into your set up. Share the cool stuff you figured out when recoding with your POD.

 

Maybe that's what Toneman meant by "here we go again" You are not the first to make a Gettysburg address about how your $400 POD let you down and how you needed to get a $2K (Kemper, Axe FX, insert the way better and way more expensive gizmo here) 

 

"When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve a relationship with their HD500....." 

I got it bro, you don't like the POD.

....that is my first impression from last night. I'll post again in a week after some time with the unit.

 

Please don't. I mean, if you are just looking for a platform to express your thoughts about your Kemper, there are more appropriate places to do it right? I just got a new Panini Press. This thing is bad @ss! I don't think many people are interested in my press. Those that are will probably find an appropriate forum about Panini Presses (or Kemper amps) where they can gather around the feet of the best and the brightest and be in awe of all that is truly wonderful about Panini Presses (Kemper amps) 

 

No disrespect intended. Just a thought.

[radatats]

I agree too... I like my POD and my other Line 6 gear.  I am all in.  I occasionally post about other things you can do to augment it with other gear to increase the functionality but it is still the centerpiece of my setup.  I don't mind hearing about other gear but not interested in hearing the public "suicide" as someone else once called it, of those that decided to move on.  If you have another piece of gear you like, by all means tell us about it but try to do it in a way that doesn't make it sound like we are all idiots for not following your lead...  in the end just use what you like and sound the best you can... we are all in the same boat...

[cruisinon2]

Why did this post get -2? I mean aside from the biting sarcasm, what did he say that wasn't true? I agree 100%!  Why come to this forum to make such a proclamation? I mean, you are still using your POD as a controller and for recording right? So why not use your experience in helping those who may also use their POD as a controller and for recording. Share how, when you get your new amp, you are going to integrate the POD into your set up. Share the cool stuff you figured out when recoding with your POD.

 

Maybe that's what Toneman meant by "here we go again" You are not the first to make a Gettysburg address about how your $400 POD let you down and how you needed to get a $2K (Kemper, Axe FX, insert the way better and way more expensive gizmo here) 

 

"When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve a relationship with their HD500....." 

I got it bro, you don't like the POD.

 

Please don't. I mean, if you are just looking for a platform to express your thoughts about your Kemper, there are more appropriate places to do it right? I just got a new Panini Press. This thing is bad @ss! I don't think many people are interested in my press. Those that are will probably find an appropriate forum about Panini Presses (or Kemper amps) where they can gather around the feet of the best and the brightest and be in awe of all that is truly wonderful about Panini Presses (Kemper amps) 

 

No disrespect intended. Just a thought.

 

Now lets really get to the bottom of this Panini Press thing...why do feel the need to compress and singe the outer shell of a sandwich? Repressed anger? Scarred from being beaten up at recess as a kid, and now you take it out on lunch meat? :P

[joel_brown]

Man, I've had enough of my 2000 Daewoo Nubira station wagon, I'm getting a Viper...  It's cheaper in the long run because I can get there faster.  And the Daewoo uses percentage for tuning the radio and makes a fizzy sound when driving down the highway.

 

Now how many people have even heard of a Daewoo car ?  And yes I really do own one.  Probably the only one left in existence that still runs.

 

How's that for getting off-topic ?

[Tboneous]

I agree too... I like my POD and my other Line 6 gear.  I am all in.  I occasionally post about other things you can do to augment it with other gear to increase the functionality but it is still the centerpiece of my setup.  I don't mind hearing about other gear but not interested in hearing the public "suicide" as someone else once called it, of those that decided to move on.  If you have another piece of gear you like, by all means tell us about it but try to do it in a way that doesn't make it sound like we are all idiots for not following your lead...  in the end just use what you like and sound the best you can... we are all in the same boat...

AMEN! The funny part to me is that the Kemper is just an expensive modeling amp with it's own unique angle to modeling. It STILL ain't a real Fender, Marshall, Super O etc... Not that I am not intrigued with it. Looking forward to fiddling with one myself. And really, what do you expect someone, who spent a good amount of time poo-pooing the POD and who just dropped $2K on an amp, to say after week of "spending some time with the unit?" Like he really is going to come back to this forum and objectively say...."Meh, the Kemper?  It's only ok?" or "It kind of sucks?" or "It's good, but it ain't worth no $2,000!" 

 

No my friends, I am willing to bet that the Kemper is worth EVERY F'ING PENNY! It is going to change guitar world! With this amp one is transformed into a guitar GOD. The arthritis in your fingers dissipates when you walk into the same room with it! Where has this ting been all of our lives!

 

I have met a lot of gear head fanboys. Some who are happy with their Line 6 gear are derisively labeled a "Fanboy" for daring to hold their Line 6 gear in high regard. Try listening to someone who just spent $2k on an amp. Ooooo-weeeeee! Bring a lunch cause you gonna be there for a while!

[cruisinon2]

 

How's that for getting off-topic ?

 

I like guacamole...but oddly, not a fan of whole chunks of avocado.

[Tboneous]

I like guacamole...but oddly, not a fan of whole chunks of avocado.

Guacamole + Panini Press = Mess! 

 

Don't do it!

[Brazzy]

I like guacamole...but oddly, not a fan of whole chunks of avocado.

 

That stuff just reminds me of a dirty diaper for some reason, lol.

 

Guacamole + Panini Press = Mess! 

 

Don't do it!

 

This just reminds me of a dirty diaper I sat on by mistake, lol.

[smrybacki]

That stuff just reminds me of a dirty diaper for some reason, lol.

 

 

This just reminds me of a dirty diaper I sat on by mistake, lol.

I'm gonna need some scotch to rinse that image out of my brain.

[Brazzy]

I'm gonna need some scotch to rinse that image out of my brain.

 

LOL, There's no D & A that can erase that one,

[DeanDinosaur]

You don't need a Kemper or an AXE FX to get a good recorded guitar sound. Pod HD can be just as good in getting a satisfying usable guitar sounds .  I'm very far from being a fan boy if you've read some of my posts in this forum. If you don't believe that just go to youtube and listen to hundreds if not thousands of guitar players who are getting amazing sounds out of the HD.

 

 

If you can't do it it's not because it's not there, the sounds are all there inside the POD , you just need to simplify your approach.  With all due respect to meambobbo ,  after he bought the Kemper,  he’s still writing long posts in the Kemper forum about struggling to get certain sounds and how and what not do with EQ etc.

 

Again, with all due respect to everyone, if you give a POD 2.0, POD XT, J-station, ZOOM G3, Digitech RP anything to a any “session player†and watch them play, they will knock your socks off.

 

You give’m a POD HD, they will blow your mind! If you close your eyes it will sound just as good as the best recorded real amp with a microphone! Sure there will be some marginal improvements if you get the AXE or Kemper, but it's only marginal. You can get a Kemper or AXE or whatever 10k amp and you will still sound like yourself.

 

There's no quantum leap by moving from POD HD to Kemper or AXE and if you use guitar cabinets, the difference becomes negligible and the better speakers will sound better regardless of what's doing the pushing. 

 

 

[medbad5150]

Does anyone else find it odd and slightly narcissistic that there are so many people who come to a line6 forum to express negative line6 opinions?

 

I differentiate this from , say, hardware issues or software glitches. It's OK if you don't like it, I just don't want to read your 3 page rant on WHY you don't like it.

 

I think its great that you found product X that fits your needs better than line6 product Y. I don't care. 

 

Why are you here, again? To convince me that I'm wrong? Or, maybe, to convince yourself you made the right choice? 

 

Let me help you with that: You win the tone lottery! Please go to the Kemper forum ( http://lmgtfy.com/?q=kemper+forums ) and bask in the glow of your discerning taste and superior choice! Let all there regale you with huzzahs.

 

Perhaps you are compensated in some way for pushing other vendor's gear here? This would certainly explain your passion and verbose posts.

 

Line6 mods - can you keep this sort of useless forum clutter to a minimum? I come here to learn about my gear - not read about other's inferiority complexes. 

 

Thanks,

 

Paying customer.

No mate, I've got and use Variax and HD500, but scour the threads, plenty of people here slagging other products, if you own said product you tend to get defensive..I own an Axe 2 and seen plenty comparing the two, not worth the money, etc. It's all debate mate. Enjoy what you've got, if a thread upsets you, feel free to look at another.

 

Paying customer of Line 6, Fractal, Gibson, Boss, Fender, Marshall,,,,

[DeanDinosaur]

No mate,......., if you own said product you tend to get defensive..I own an Axe 2 and seen plenty comparing the two, not worth the money, etc. It's all debate mate. Enjoy what you've got, if a thread upsets you, feel free to look at another.

 

Paying customer of Line 6, Fractal, Gibson, Boss, Fender, Marshall,,,,

This thread is not upsetting me at all, I'm just trying to be helpful to those who do and don't have the money to buy a Kemper or AXE II by confirming to them that the POD is more than capable. The upgrade is marginal at best!  I have about 15 guitars and 4 or five tube amps and as I said above instead of the Kemper this last Christmas, I decided to get a small tube amp  and build an ISO Cab. Also Have Eleven Rack, with Few software plugins. I most definitely can do everything and more with the POD HD500 alone with one guitar or two at the most as I'm comparing my Pod to the tube AMPs "in the room". I can afford to buy the Kemper or AXE or both if I wanted to, but they both try to simulate "the Recorded amp" but  I already have a POD HD and an Eleven Rack with a bunch of tube amps and I'm getting every sound imaginable! I don't need 90 percent of the gear I have to get 

 

It's not just a debate but the facts are very clear.

 

Kemper has thousands of Profiles and AXE FX users have thousands of IRs with probably more expensive converters etc, but when you see what many owners of the HD are doing with their PODs and if you consider  the POD HD is probably on more records than Kemper and AXE II put together (heck POD 2.0 is on more record than anything) and you still conclude that your sound can't be done with a POD HD and you must upgrade, it's not because the POD is incapable, it's a personal thing where you (not you personally) were unable to make it work or you simply didn't want to work with it.

 

I just like to give credit where credit is due without the fan boy mentality.

Consider what the engineers at Line 6 are doing with minimum hardware to keep prices down for the average working musicians and you will realize that neither Fractal nor Kemper will be able to do anything that resembles the POD HD if they were to use the same hardware line 6 is using.On the other hand Line 6 has the ability to run more detailed algorithms that rivals Fractal or Kemper but that target market is very small and isn't representative of the majority of guitar players by any stretch. If I remember correctly the POD 2.0 was 16 bit at 32khz sampling rate and up to this day, it's still has usable sounds! Pod HD is 24bit 48Khz and those engineers at line 6 are squeezing every bit and hz for maximum efficiency balancing sound quality with unbelievable precision that in a blind test, hardly anyone will be able to tell the difference between the POD and the recorded tube amp tone!

 

For everyone who was unable to use the POD HD successfully, there are hundreds of happy Kampers who are gigging their Pods with Stunning results. All I'm saying in a nutshell is before you decide to spend 2000-4000 on Kemper or AXe system, ask yourself, how come there are too many success stories with the PODs, but you were/are unable to make it work. Spending more money might not always be the best solution.

[Tboneous]

Spending more money might not always be the best solution.

 

That DeanDinosaur is a baaad motherfu.....SHUT YO MOUTH! ......But I'm talking bout Dean! I can dig it! (that's not mine, that's Isaac Hayes for all those who have no idea of what I'm talking about!) The best part is that once you've spent the bank on the new expensively fly gear, you REALLY feel like a dope if it too somehow falls short in some way for you. (Which it will! In some small or large way it will!) it's much easier to poo poo the less expensive gear.

 

I play my gear every day and it sounds amazing to me. This whole "the eq is in % and not in Hz" and other yada yada is a bunch of yada yada to me. Percentage, Hz, smiley or frowning faces, it don't matter to me. My ears tell me everything I need to know! In the medical field you are taught to treat the patient and not the monitor that is hooked up to the patient. Stop looking at the screen and units of measurement and start listening.

 

I am curious to know what type of music those who are jumping ship are playing. I wonder if there is a pattern.

[clay-man]

That's not a really fair comparison. It's like comparing a literal clone to a copy.

 

Modeling is more studying and gathering info of what you're replicating and then applying that information through digital audio functions,

while Profiling is taking that exact information and using techniques that will recreate the sound almost exactly minus any flaws the technique itself might have.

 

The Kemper will obviously beat the POD in that sense, but for 500, a POD is great.

[DeanDinosaur]

Here's a quick Scientific challenge to prove that the POD HD is just as capable as Kemper or AXE II

 

and No it's not a challenge of playing Skills either.

 

Anyone who's reading this thread who has an AXE FX or Kemper can post  a downloadable link to two small files of MP3 quality of 160kbps or above of a short performance using their favorite patch in that device (Kemper or AXE II). The two tracks should be of the same performance, one of them is a DI track,  so I, or any POD HD owners, will re-amp that track using the POD HD  to "Tone Match" or "Profile" the wet track using only the POD HD and human ears

 

  :D 

 

I personally guarantee that I will get you a sound that will be very close and if not identical it might be better and I will post the HD 500 Patch. If you keep posting different sounds, I will keep posting corresponding  patches using HD500 until you have enough to consider whether you want to keep your Kemper or AXE. If you're interested  that  we get closer patches, it would be nice to give little information about the amp or pedals used.

Fair enough?  I think it's more that fair and it's the only way that will give an accurate representation of what each unit can do.

 

Any other approach involving two different performances by two different players will be skewed for very obvious reasons (more skilled player will sound better regardless) . Anyone who has a Kemper or AXE II should be able to provide a direct track fairly easy, but I have a feeling that no one will provide direct tracks because sadly people in general don't like to face reality head on. I don't think someone who spent 2500 or more on AXEII is interested in having his direct track Re-amped using the POD HD coming out sounding the same and better. Make no mistake about it, it will sound just as good or better using the POD HD.

[jandrio]

+1

brilliant idea dean :)

i wld also add same invitation 2  other guitar processor  owners (roland gr-55, boss  gp-10, etc)...

[joel_brown]

+100

Great idea Dean.  I bet nobody will take you up on it though.  They don't have the time.  If they did they would have got the tone they needed out of the PODHD.