Helix vs...

[dacop13]

This has probably discussed many times...but how many of you out there own both the Helix and a Kemper, which do you prefer and why?

 

Myself...I had a Helix LT and sold it for a Powered Kemper head. Then I recently picked up a Pod Go (great price) because I missed building presets/tones from the ground up. Now I am sort of digging the Helix type Preamps with my Orange Pedal Baby power amp more then the Kemper. The Kemper is a great unit when you find the right profiles, and the effects are not bad either, but there is sort of a mid range thing going on with them that's hard to describe. The Helix amps (preamps in my case) are not perfect either but they seem to deliver a more raw (not so polished) tone when EQed correctly.

 

Those that own both or have owned both...what do you think?

   

[SaschaFranck]

I never owned a Kemper but had one borrowed for a while before making my decision (well, it was more or less made before already, but I simply had an option to borrow one).

The main reasons have never been sound related, I could easily get away with any of the "top tiers" (Axe, Kemper, Helix, Atomic, Headrush and GT-1000 IMO), but making my living from live playing, being able to have my entire sound portfolio in one single floorpedal case (or even in a backpack in case it's necessary) was the key factor.

But my decision would've likely been the same if the Kemper Stage had been around back then as the Helix is just the better all around flexible unit, offering all the routing options, an onboard audio interface and Helix Native along with that. For many things it's also quicker when it comes to on-unit editing and I can pack more things into one single patch, which is very important as I pretty much never switch patches live (for very good reasons, at least in my case).

 

Having said that, if it was only about recording or home use, my decision might be different - but then, in that case I might just save some bucks and get an Axe FX.

And even as a live player, once things get back to more or less normal, I will re-evaluate the GT-1000 as it has some things on offer that I really like a lot.

In general, I'm pretty happy with my choice, but the Helix is in no way the be-all-end-all unit for me.

[DunedinDragon]

I think people put way too much emphasis on which modeler or profiler is better when in reality hardly anyone in the audience or anyone that listens to your recording would notice or care given you're adequately proficient at setting up and dialing in said modeler or profiler (which is a big given).

What is a big, quantifiable difference is what you may be able to do with a unit.  Like SaschaFranck I depend on my Helix for live shows every week and some recording.  By that measure it's hard to say that anything provides the range full range of capabilities the Helix provides not just for performance, but also integration with other stage equipment, and it's flexibility to adapt to changing situations.  If you're a working musician, this is what makes your life better.  You can be totally self sufficient in achieving the tones you need, adapting to varying stage setups and performance needs all in a single unit.  That's real freedom in my opinion, and worth far more than any marginal difference one might subjectively cite between what is "better".

[brue58ski]

Helix vs Godzilla. No contest. Helix sounds much better..........IMHO. Helix vs Dracula? Hmmmmm. Tough call there. I mean I love Bela Lugosi's accent but the Litigator is killer.

[phil_m]

I owned a Kemper Rack for a little while. I was never going to replace my Helix with it, but I was interested in what it was like. Overall, it sounded fine, but for the types of sounds I like, it really didn’t give me anything I couldn’t do with the Helix. I thought it might be fun to profile some of my own amps, but in the end, I didn’t feel my profiles sounded any better than my Helis presets. I found the Kemper UI not really hard to use, but just sort of clunky. It’s very much more like an old-style modeler UI.

 

The one thing I really did dislike about it was the process of searching through a ton of profiles to find the ones you liked. I’m dating myself with this comparison, but it reminded me of when I would go to used CD stores and look through the bins of albums. It would always seem like there would 50 crap titles for every one you might be interested in. In the end, after realizing I had gone a few months without turning it on, I sold it.

[dacop13]

2 hours ago, phil_m said:

I owned a Kemper Rack for a little while. I was never going to replace my Helix with it, but I was interested in what it was like. Overall, it sounded fine, but for the types of sounds I like, it really didn’t give me anything I couldn’t do with the Helix. I thought it might be fun to profile some of my own amps, but in the end, I didn’t feel my profiles sounded any better than my Helis presets. I found the Kemper UI not really hard to use, but just sort of clunky. It’s very much more like an old-style modeler UI.

 

The one thing I really did dislike about it was the process of searching through a ton of profiles to find the ones you liked. I’m dating myself with this comparison, but it reminded me of when I would go to used CD stores and look through the bins of albums. It would always seem like there would 50 crap titles for every one you might be interested in. In the end, after realizing I had gone a few months without turning it on, I sold it.

 

I agree, the Kemper can only be as good as the profile you are using. Lets say you are looking for a Marshall 800 tone, well there are literally 1000's of them, some great and some bad. t takes time finding the right amp profile you are looking for. With the Helix, you start from scratch and build it your way. The Helix UI is also much easier to use and navigate through, without question.