A software Kemper?!

http://logic-pro-expert.com/logic-pro-blog/2014/10/21/positive-grid-releases-bias-desktop-amp-matching-modeler.html
 
Amp matching, that's what Kemper does, uh?

Though at this point, I'm wondering if there's anything more than EQ matching to it - which could be accomplished w/ Ozone and many other pieces of software. The funny thing is that, just last night, I was thinking of trying to match an amp with its software counterpart using Match EQ...

I know a lot of people over at www.thegearpage.net have been waiting for this. One thing that leaps out at me... there doesn't seem to be a way to load 3rd party IRs and there are only two mic choices. Still I've only read great things about the ipad version. The gap between "real" amps and software continues to narrow.

Oh I agree. :)
 
 
My POD HD gets a lot of love - and so does my Spider IV. And I'd buy an Axe FX II in a blink if I could. 

Is it just me, or does this thing sound better than any other amp sim plugin out there?  Never mind the amp-matching features -- just as an amp sim, it's not only the most tweakable plugin I've ever tried, but the sounds I'm getting are at least as good as anything else IME, both for guitars and bass.  Definitely worth an extensive demo, I'd say.
 
Cheers,
Eddie
 

I have the ipad version. I use it more than any other amp sim or real amp. It's pretty amazing what you can do with it. To be honest the level of detail is more than I know what to do with. So I try to stick to the presets and tweak when necessary. While I'm sure a Kemper or an AxeFX would produce better results (yes, yes, real amps too), I was amazed at what I got out of it. Actually, I hesitate to say "It's great ... for the price" because regardless of the price, it's pretty awesome.
 
In fact there is a youtube video where they review the AxeFX vs the Kemper vs the  BIAS desktop. It's arguable which one is better, but the fact that it was even compared with units that cost more than $2000 is amazing when you consider the ipad version is FIVE dollars!
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS9mgbSwAFg

Interesting discussion...   Earlier in the year I was considering saving up for the upgrade to TH2 because it sounded decent and reacted fairly well to my Strat.   More recently I was trying the Revalver 4 demo and thought "wow, this feels even better and has more sustain out of the gate".    And now this...   I guess I'm going to have to demo it!
 

clintmartin
...I hope everyone will continue to chime in with their thoughts on Bias as you form your opinions.

Me too!   
 
Totally forgot about S-Gear... keep meaning to try that too based on positive feedback around these parts.

This looks very cool and the video demos sound great. One question about the overdrive.. When you play and hold a note, will the sound go from distorted to clean as the note fades as it does on a real tube amp?

Sidroe
I have Amplitube, Guitar Rig, Re-Valver, and TH2. Bang for the buck, Th2 wins out most of the time. It is more like the Swiss Army knife of sims because of the FX included. I'm not having to jump around after the amp sim and add a bunch of FX which means jumping around between more windows to edit. At least in TH2 everything is in the same window and dead easy to edit. That's pretty handy when you are working at a pretty fast pace and need to move on.
I am very impressed with BIAS but most all the demo sounds have been shredding. I do a lot of jazz and ballads and I am wondering how BIAS translates in to the more subdued and clean sounds. I'll probably give it a try. Although, I have had my eye on S-Gear for a long time.

Out of Amplitube, Guitar Rig, and TH2, TH2 would be my pick and has been my go-to so far. I never understood the appeal of Amplitube. I thought it was ok for over the top effects laden sounds, but as a straight amp, it always sounded fizzy to me.
 
A shame that BIAS has geared their demos to the shredder market, because while I like to "shred" from time to time when no one is looking, my ideal sound is that clean/slight breakup type sound. BIAS is great for that.
 
I've only tried the S-Gear demo and for clean sounds it's great, I personally haven't found it useful for much more than that, but an S-Gear/BIAS combo would fill all my guitar tone needs.

Monkey23
A shame that BIAS has geared their demos to the shredder market, because while I like to "shred" from time to time when no one is looking, my ideal sound is that clean/slight breakup type sound. BIAS is great for that.

I love metal, but I often feel like it would be awesome if people who make software didn't let their musical preferences dictate their decisions and broadened their horizons. There's a lot of products that I like but can't use for anything unless I'm working on some kind of metal, and with a very specific type of sound.
 
Even amp models and drums samples which are supposedly designed for other genres - they're just so obviously designed to satisfy the hear of a certain genre of metal fan. They're like a metalhead's vision of blues rock or jazz or whatever.
 

Jim Roseberry
I like BIAS.
Especially the ability to get in and tweak the number/type of tubes used in a model...
This allows you to change the distortion/character and touch response of the model (like a real amp).
The resultant "crunch" and "heavy crunch" sounds are (IMO) among of the best sounding/responding of current generation amp-sims.
 
That said, the tone matching feature is nowhere close to a Kemper.  
Don't expect to create accurate sounding/responding clones of your favorite tube amps.
 
 

This AGAIN confirms my contention that HARDWARE will ALWAYS supersede Software...

you simply CANNOT get software to replicate what happens with HEAT in a circuit.....
I don't care WHAT you do...it's NOT going to happen.  You can create an "algorithmic approximation" but 
you CANNOT do what a console or REAL hardware does...

A "Sim" will NEVER sound EXACTLY like HARDWARE....it won't happen...CHAOS THEORY prohibits it....
Software is "confined" to an algorithm...REALITY is not...a console "emulation" will NEVER sound like 
THE console...it may get close...but it WILL NOT EXACTLY replicate it...

BUT, that's just MY OPINION (based on sound reasoning and logic and physics =P) YMMV

I'm with you on this one, Clint.   I'm not really looking for an exact match to any particular amp model, I'm just looking for something that both sounds good and feels good to play, since I also don't have the option to use real amps for recording.
 

 
 
Fascinating thread chaps.
 
I have to say I'm a bit biased (no pun intended) here, but I absolutely adore my Kemper.
 
I would say that where the Kemper really seems to score in the tone-mapping department is that it doesn't try to model a 'complete' amp. Rather it simply sets out to capture and emulate a 'snapshot' of the settings on the amp when it's profiled.
 
You are advised, when profiling, to set the Kemper's Gain and EQ at approximately the same position as they are on the amp that's being profiled. This is so that when you are playing the saved profile, any change you make in those settings will theoretically mimic the changes in the tone that would happen if you changed the respective dials on the amp.
 
However, in practice, once you start to drift away from the 'stored' settings, especially the drive, the results, although usable, progressively become less faithful to the tone from the 'real' amp if it were being tweaked correspondingly.
 
To these ends, most rigs available to download, especially commercial profiles, do not just come with one single 'amp profile'. A specific amp would typically be profiled with a range of settings from each of its channels. Some of the better profilers even supply their bundles with profiles taken using different cabinets and microphone combinations (and even with different positioning of the mic with respect to the loudspeaker).
 
Obviously the more variables to the combination of amp settings/cab/mic you add, the more profiles you will need to take. On the other hand, if there are just a couple of 'sweet spot' tones from your rig that you tend to use most of the time, then these will be the only profiles you need to make.
 
In conclusion I'd say, that in my opinion, the 'accuracy' of the snapshot profiles is never compromised by the Kemper trying to be a jack-of-all-trades. It does what it does extremely well, and doesn't pretend to be able to be able to create a faithful emulation of a 'complete' amp.
 
Some might view this lack of versatility as a weakness in the way the Kemper works, but when you take into account how good the snapshot profiles are, the extra effort to capture a variety of tones is easily justified.
 
 
 
 
 
 

I've have had a Holland 2x10 here for a few weeks. It has a Fender Bassman circa 1959 circuit driving one speaker and the second speaker is driven by a small dedicated, Champ like, power amp that handles the onboard spring reverb return. You blend the reverb out in the air by balancing the two speaker output levels.
 
It was custom made for the owner back in the late 1990's. It seems to be a 2x10 version of the Holland Gibb Droll 4x10 model. It's wicked cool and it's been a lot of fun to explore how the knobs tweaks make it speak.
 
I fixed it the first day it got here, by diagnosing that the electrolytic capacitors just needed some exercise and a potentiometer needed to be cleaned by using it. The owner hasn't called to see if it's ready to pick up so I'm just playing the daylights out of it. 
 
Good times.