Kemper Player vs. Tonex

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TIMESTAMPS
03:30 Playing Example 1
05:31 Playing Example 2
06:48 Playing Example 3
11:08 Playing Example 4
14:20 Playing Example 5

[@slashtrio]

The algorithm brought me here and I enjoyed it. I have a full size kemper and it’s super coo. I got mine used for about a grand and use with a variety of speakers (kemper 1x12 cab, into the power amp of katana, and through a Yamaha THR10 on flat mode which is basically like really good studio monitors. All this tech is pretty amazing as far as how close you get to tube amps. I play at home at low volume and I just can’t get a tube amp to sound good at Low volume like I can with the kemper. Great playing! Those Gilmore tones were working for me. 🎸👍🏼

[@TheGuitarFam]

Thanks for watching. Yeah, it's so nice to have all of these tones available in a little box nowadays.

[@notalkguitarampplug-insrev784]

Have both (kemper stage). I Much prefer the Tonex captures I made rather than kemper ones, they feel a lot better. But kemper library is unbeatable right now

[@TheGuitarFam]

I agree with you on that.

[@gitarrenmarkus1596]

the kemper sounds more directly? maybe better for live situation....

[@wilmathewisp8252]

As a Kemper player user, I have to say that the Kemper sounds best. If I had the Tonex, I would probably say Tonex😄

[@darthshaggy9970]

have both, idk why people are saying that tonex sounds better, thats not even close, the kemper blows up the tonex and the ik multimedia interface for editing itss a pain in the ass, kemper so much easier to use, so much better sounding, better interface, better communication with the company, etc

[@edwardskol1812]

Great review! I have Tonex and love it but was curious about the Kemper. I really enjoyed your style of reviewing (and playing!). Thanks!

[@TheGuitarFam]

Thanks for watching.

[@naturallyalper]

I've owned both and watched a lot of good reviews like this one. You hit the nail on the head; it's not really about the tone as both are great; it's more about workflow. I've sold the Tonex pedal and kept the Kemper Player mainly because I find Rig Manager so much easier to navigate, use, and audit tones with. I don't know if IK Multimedia has made updates recently, but auditing tones on the pedal vs. on your software was quite cumbersome and it slowed me down. I will never say Tonex is a bad product (It's obviously not) but I love my Kemper and I'm able to get to great tones a lot quicker and manage my presets a lot faster.

[@TheGuitarFam]

Yeah, all these things are getting to the level where workflow, preferences, and feel are the things I look out for. Not so much sound. Thanks for watching.

[@MusicChannel-rf5zz]

Great choice of song to start off the video & very well played.Gbu !

[@TheGuitarFam]

Glad you liked it! I've got a full version of it coming soon.

[@paulsavage7208]

I loved the lead licks to “Hey Joe”

[@randaji]

Great comparison and playing, topped off with a Kings X hoodie.

[@TheGuitarFam]

Yeah, gotta spread the word of the first church of rock 'n' roll.

[@HolgerStrunk]

In my optinion the Kemper has a little bit more assertiveness to cut through the mix. Both sound great and there a lot of possibilities to tweak the sound for your needs. Now you stepped from Line6 HX Stomp to ToneX to Kemper ... what about testing a Fractal FM3 next? 🙂 I am pretty sure that machine will win in terms of tone-shaping.

[@electrofuzz7396]

I own both, the Kemper is less accurate when you profile (I own a toaster as well) but it's warmer and more musical, I prefer the Kemper.

[@guitartoneSA]

Just the Kemper Spring Reverb is worth a few hundred $$$....besides the hundreds of other FX. Plus I assume Kemper will add FX slots and additional footswitch options...and most important, please add the Morph function to the Player.

[@nyambe]

Many reviewers are saying that people are hating on the Kemper player, yet I have not heard anyone say bad things. Is it not all about your needs and wants?

[@davidjoel111]

I went from a Kemper to an HX stomp just because I enjoyed the line 6 effects more but I always missed the Kemper profiles vs the tones I was getting with the Helix amps. Now I'm using the Tone X thru the FX loop of the HX stomp and I'm really happy with this combination. What are the power requirements of the Kemper Player? I bet IK will eventually release a pedal version of amplitube with the capacity of using Tone X captures to compete with QC, Helix, Kemper, etc, it's just a matter of time.

[@TheGuitarFam]

I was doing the tonex with the HX Stomp as well and it was great. I just wanted to simplify things a bit. I'm still using Helix Native for recordings sometimes. Right now I'm just using the power supply that came with the Kemper. I heard powering the Kemper through your boards pedal power supply can be a pain.

[@MrAntpre]

If I may ask. How do the helix effects compare to the Kemper effects. Specialty interested in modulation, delay, reverbs. Tks

[@davidjoel111]

@@MrAntpre The kemper effects are just fine, on a gig situation they will do the job more than adequate. I simply prefer the line 6 effects, for example, the kemper has no harmonic tremolo, an effect that I love, the kemper tremolo sounds great, but the line 6 harmonic tremolo just tickled my heart 🤣. I feel also the helix has more variety on delays and reverbs, you can manipulate the kemper’s reverbs and delay more I think, but I prefer the interface on the helix. One effect that I preferred on the kemper was the rotary, word on the internet is that the helix rotary models are more realistic, I’ve never played a rotary speaker so I don’t know, but the kemper rotary effect sounded better and is more usable than the helix IMO.

[@MrAntpre]

@@davidjoel111 tks a lot

[@Mourninghorse]

Rig Manager Mobile for ipad and Iphone works great!

[@Micouniverse]

Thank you very much for this brilliant comparison. As you said, both ones are good ones and it depends on personal longings which one might be the better one. 🙏🏽

[@TheGuitarFam]

Sure. Thanks for watching.

[@JksGuitarCave]

I have to Kemper Rack ever since it was released and now have the Player on order. I figure that if one have a midi controller then one could get by with the limited slots for effects by switching presets… only question I have is if the loading of new presets is fast enough?

[@guitartoneSA]

Changing presets on the Player is instantaneous just like the Stage or Remote. For exra switches check out the M-Vave Chocolate four switch midi controller...about $35.00.

[@JksGuitarCave]

@@guitartoneSA Thank you… that should remove most limitations of the two pre and two post slots then 🙂 I already have a midi controller, the Morningstar MC6 Pro… 👍🏻

[@emmancastillo8679]

You said you tried to match both captures/profiles to be as close as they could be, but, gotta say this was a bad representation of how the Tonex actually sounds. It clearly sounded muffled on the first captures, then on the final one it kinda sounds like it has to. It could be the captures/tweaking, but it (purposely/unnecessarily?) put the Tonex in a bad light. Might have not been your intention, just calling it how it is. Thanks for the video man.

[@isidrolouis]

Dude the kemper is sonically superior. At list in your demo

[@wmjc01]

Kinda funny depending on which song played I like Tonex more and others I like the Kemper more.

[@TheGuitarFam]

Same boat here. I think that's just a good way of saying that they both sound great.

[@redkurn]

god i was about to really debate buying one, but after hearing how muffled that tonex is... think i'll stick with my headrush prime it sounds way more like the kemper after all the updates. now i'm definitely hard pass on the tonex... thanks for pushing me out the way of that regret train.

[@mrburns366]

Check other demos of the tonex. Pete Thorn did a great demo and A/B comparison with real amps that he owns.

[@GonzaloMelo1990]

kemper has more definition in the high end. Sounds like a "Best recorded amp" for me. IMO

[@colinparks619]

The kemper gnr tone at the start , tone X was noticeably better and closer

[@TheGuitarFam]

Yeah, I believe the tonex capture for the gnr tone was way more spot on for Slash's tone.

[@stratslinger3921]

New to this so forgive the lame question. I’m keen to get the player but can I plug it straight into my combo tube amp or does that defeat the whole purpose? I don’t really want to have to buy an FRFR or PA Speaker, Cab etc. just the player and my amp?

[@billpugh58]

Okay.... the Hiwatt did not sound like my DR 504. neither had THAT Hiwatt sound you get when you are close to it. maybe YT upload compression destroys your sound?

[@guitartoneSA]

How do you know what your Hiwatt sounds like after its been mic'd and recorded and then the recording uploaded to KZbin?

[@mrburns366]

Seems like the Tonex needs more gain to match the Kemper.. like it needs a little boost

[@mrburns366]

King's X? Hell yeah! Great band! Ty Tabor has amazing tone.

[@michaelfastoso]

Ok, so I thought the tonex had FX, thnx for straightening that out for me.

[@magusargvp245]

I want to sell my line6 helix lt to buy a smaller unit. I am thinking of the player, hx stomp or tonex.

[@TheGuitarFam]

I ended up with the hx stomp and tonex one.

[@sirtogii5216]

Both sound good and of course that is subjective as to which you prefer.

[@MrTupeloFlash]

Loved the GUNS & Roses 👌

[@bettsdn]

Huh. Most people online say the Tonex is far far better. But in your demos, I really preferred the Kemper.

[@Berk-tm5zx]

Do you think the playing feel of both products is the same?

[@TheGuitarFam]

I don’t think they are the exact same, but they are close enough to where I don’t really think about it. Both feel nice.👍

[@Berk-tm5zx]

@@TheGuitarFam Which one do you think has more sustain? (same settings) im thinking of buying a Kemper player accordingly.

[@therichardnogginproject9012]

I can't figure out the app for the tonex. I like the tone

[@Jim_Cox]

Go watch Tim Pierce's video about the Tone X and just go to the time stamped portion where he talks about using the software. It's a really great 'quick start' type of instruction.

[@Jim_Cox]

I haven't really gone digital yet and don't use a DAW. I use a Tone X into a reverb pedal into a SD Power Stage 170 into a 1x12 cab for a bedroom rig. I could add a drive/distortion pedal to my Pedaltrain Nano and would probably have everything I need but so far I like my system. I just need to spend some time finding good profiles with the driven or clean tones I use and organizing them. My only complaint about the Tone X software is that you can't seem to just wipe everything and start with a clean slate. There is a lot of moving around required. I do bet I'd love the Kemper but not sure that is an investment I'd like to make. I bet it would fall into place nicely in my scenario though and have all the effects I'd need.

[@guitartoneSA]

Great honest review. 👋 If Kemper made an FX only unit and a separate unit that just played Profiles I'd buy both units. So $698.00 is a great price for what it offers all in the one unit.

[@CayTexDavid]

I hear there are some really expensive coffees at Starbucks that the $5 may not cover. Don’t forget the sales tax.

[@bobdillon1138]

Tonex wins on price alone.

[@mikedfurman]

Chelsea and a guitar player playing fly gigs - your wife is Chelsea… Constable??

[@TheGuitarFam]

Her name is Chelsea Amber.

[@juliocesardasilva5829]

Kemper

[@agusg.t.8950]

Kemper wins Tonex has a lot of latency even the pedal alone

[@mieszanesztuki]

I have no idea what are you talking about

[@agusg.t.8950]

@@mieszanesztuki kemper no latency - Tonex with my apollo duo latency

[@mieszanesztuki]

@@agusg.t.8950 I literally experience no latency at all, TONEX pedal striaght into FRFR cab.

[@YouTubularize]

Kemper has fatter tone and closer to original source. Tonex is tone junior. Needs fattened.

[@milankotevski1663]

Tonex is objectievly more true to the source. It beat Kemper in all the null tests easily. It is an objective truth. What you personally prefer is a whole different story.

[@YouTubularize]

@@milankotevski1663 lol. Congrats for identifying my post as my opinion. You have passed the null test. The audio samples to my ears put Kemper as the winner since the Tonex samples sound lower in volume and thinner. Hence Kemper is louder and thicker. One can hear that Tonex has some sauce albeit quieter and thinner in those examples. But enough about me and my ears. How do YOU hear the differences without using a null test?

[@SimpleAndyRock]

@@YouTubularize a tonex is a scientific test. He is right the tonex sounds truer to the source, since that is what a null test tests. If the tones sounds thinner, its because the real amp sounds thinner. The kemper could sound better which is opinion but the tonex sounded closer to the real amp is fact. That said I love my kemper stage for its effects, but the new tiny tonex one pedal looks tempting since it does sound closer to the real amps.

[@agusg.t.8950]

@@milankotevski1663tonex latency is HORRIBLE