here's the original one....
it had a 18 watt tube amp driving it..
 
http://www.musicradar.com/us/reviews/guitars/atomic-reactor-112-24334

Sigh. The Kemper does allow complete tweakability just like any amp...in fact more so. So searching for your own sound is easier and offers even more options. But no one, certainly not me, is saying that it should REPLACE purchasing, playing or enjoying solid state, tube or even amps made of kryptonite. Although this is the type of inane non-starter argument I've come to expect. It is just another new and very powerful tool for all guitarists...especially working ones. Most of my friends who are working guitarists still use proprietary rigs too. Now. But just wait. As I said its all about tone...and ANY way you can get it is jess dandy.

PS...I'd bet the huge wattage is for the metal fellers playing the big shows.

Not meant as an argument Ol Pal or to discredit what you said or Kemper or emulation altogether. You know I appreciate you. I've also worked w/ amp sims long enough to know that they're a valid option in some cases.
 
That being said, this thread was initially started to state how happy I was to be mic'ing a real amp after almost 15 years of working w/ emulation. 
 
No matter how much better and more flexible and more this and more that, no matter if it mimics the amp I want to use to perfection - the entire thing was about working w/ something that's not an emulation of something else. In this case, a Marshall which reacts like a Marshall, sounds like a Marshall, look and smell like a Marshall - and perhaps even more importantly, has all the limitations of a Marshall.
 
That sort of simplicity. 

 

yorolpal
As I said its all about tone...and ANY way you can get it is jess dandy.

Yes, I went and I had a listen to the latest work by a featured producer on the Kemper website after watching his interview where he spoke about saving thousands of dollars, loads of time, and making records over skype.
 
The kindest thing I can say is that all those *tones* made me feel like when I look at a photograph of a famous painting while hoping to experience the magic of standing before a Rembrandt. 
 
I don't think the working guitarist will mind though... because they all seem to be listening to their tone through custom molded ear buds... they don't even hear what the audience hears anymore.
 
We've come a long way baby.
 
 
 
 
You may call a discussion about this subject "inane" my olpal, but know this, some of us call it "passionate". 
 
 
 
Rock on, olpal, Rock on!
 
 
all the best,
mike

Thanks for making your self clear.
 
best regards,
mike

Thanks ol pal, I appreciate it:-)
 

I'm glad my inspiration to play or record is not governed by what type of
amp or effects may be in the chain.
 
As long as they are decent enough to use I can get "my" sounds.
 
The energy created by "pushing air" is without doubt very pleasing but
it is also an energy that is not complete to me if all the instruments aren't "pushing air".
 
Should I be playing with other musicians then amplification is in order. For recording
using an amp rather than a sim while playing to tracks is just not needed. 
 
Another great thing is that my monitors will definitely push enough air to cause hearing damage. Sure
don't need an amp if you have the monitors, can control the software and don't have issues that limits
ones versatility and/or enjoyment.
 
Now if I had a working studio I'd have to have a Kemper. Space saving and obviously a great
unit that is much cheaper than having a storeroom full of amps and...it could make me money renting it
out. :)
 
 
 
 
 
 

gswitz
My favorite part of playing through my amp is having my computer off.

I also find that it's one of those things that helps. For years, the computer was always involved either running software or because I was using a POD or speaker emulated output and monitoring through my audio interface. Now it's just me, the guitar and the amp. 
 
I also must admit that as minimalist as I wanted to keep things in my "home studio", having a couple of amps and a bunch of guitars as well as some hardware makes the place feel a bit more lived in and more suited to creation. The Marshall logo is one of those very comforting things to me, for whichever reason.
 
That being said, I spent last night testing different combinations, including using the pod as a pedal in front of a Marshall at some point, mic'ing the Spider - which I can see myself do for certain things... It's all good. It's still working with actual speakers and mics. That being said, my favorite thing to play is actually the smallest/most simple one. 

One thing I really enjoy. If I'm not jamming with the fellas, is to use SONAR too build a simple set of chord changes with a bass line, some keys and drums and then play that through my monitors at full volume. I've got some monitors that can get loud like a P.A. but stay clean like a H-Fi. As was mentioned, they'll hurt you before you hurt them.
 
Then I loop record improv passes on guitar with zero forethought. The zero forethought part is easy for me because even though I did lay out the chords I don't have the schooling to know where they are gonna take me.
 
I have the amp in the same room with the monitors and it's all going on at electric jam sound levels.
 
I like to use what ever amp and speaker combo I haven't used in a while and I go about finding something to play. I react to the quirks I can get out of the speaker and I see what I can come up with. Just sort of looking for riffs and such.
 
By the sixth or seventh pass I have intuited some sort of narrative and if it's a good day I'll nail something that I still enjoy listening too the next day.
 
I've never had a concern about bleed, because the amp is just as loud as the monitors but it's a few feet away from the closet monitor and when it's cranking into the microphone you pretty much get a nice clean guitar tone. You can go searching and find some bleed yet in practice in is rarely apparent in a mix.
 
It's almost as much fun as jamming with the guys... it's visceral, spontaneous, and it fullfills my curiosity.
 
I really enjoy hearing the guitar presented through one of my favorite flavors of guitar speakers... it's a completely different experience than when you listen through speakers that are just made for reproduction.
 
I think that's where the fun really happens for me.
 
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

Rain
Funny how one thing leads to another based on your state of mind. After following Ol Pal's link, in spite of me being a Marshall guy, I ended up checking out Orange stuff - and here's one that's got me interested.   I like little amps. This one is 20 Watt (more than loud enough for me) and one tube (12ax7) at preamp stage.  (BTW, I'll also say that IK Multimedia did a great job w/ AT Orange. Some of the best emulation they've done, imho.) As I shopped I kept putting stuff on my wishlist. A little Blackstar stack would be nice.

My wife bought me the Marshall Class 5 head and cab for Christmas. It's surprising how loud 5 watts can get. I put a Mullard EL84 and two old RCA gray ribbed 12AX7's in it. It sounds like a miniature Plexi!

Yeah it would definitely sound better with some greenbacks in a 412 cab.

yorolpal
Just stumbled on this one.  Try just listening without watching and see if you can tell what's playing when.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwqYAOVQeZE
 
Wish my Amplitube 3 was this good.  Dern.

Perfect example that when listening one has to be told to know what equipment is being used. Technology has without doubt reached a level
for users to have more than one way to achieve desired results.
I believe that ability has happened with software as well as hardware.
 
Having fun while getting the desired results can be done in many ways now. It's fantastic that so many limitations in performing and recording
have been eliminated. 
The selection of amps and/or software is amazing and at price points that most anybody can find something that will fit their needs. It's great fun
searching for it too.
 
For years I've been attracted to "novelty" amps. "Micro" and "mini" are crazy fun to me.
It's not all about recording or searching for a sound all of the time. It's about playing and enjoying the moment...the trip- knowing that it can
be had in many ways and feeding off the sounds created by "accident" or design or playing through some "crazy fun" equipment .
I can remember when we didn't have that many choices and it wasn't hard not to be able to enjoy the trip because the cost
just put it out of reach.
 
I think it's great that a little low wattage amp or a piece of software can not only be used to record great music but also give a person endless hours
of having a blast making music or noise. :)
 

Rain
Mic'd a cab. For the first time in almost 15 years.
 
My first impression?
 
:) :) :)
 
A lot funnier and intuitive to move a mic around than to browse through impulses or to move virtual mics onscreen w/ a mouse.
 
 

Isn't it great to have fun and not be derailed by all the other means. To enjoy it for what it is and what you can have fun doing with it. To have a choice for that time in space.
It has happened with every piece of equipment I've owned at one time or another. Sometimes you feel like a nut....glad I don't have to know about all the BS to enjoy using stuff.
 
To me the worst thing would be for me to miss out on having fun with virtual mics and such because I was limited to what I could have fun with.
To imagine that I couldn't have fun turning knobs and blasting sound out of an amp because nothing came close to dialing in virtual amps/mics....either view is just beyond my reasoning of enjoying  my creative time with sound.
 
There are amps that I don't care for. For whatever reasons they just didn't turn me on when I turned them on. Same problem with software...sometimes it just doesn't do it for me and really don't care why...I just move on and enjoy it when a tool fits and gives me a great feeling to making sounds.
 
 

 I also hope I didn't sidetrack the thread. I guess I diverged into why I don't usually do what you did Rain but I'm sure glad that you enjoyed doing what you did. Lots of amps are still selling so the market for amps is solid. Lots of folks like em' and will continue to like em'.
 
 Not being particularly nostalgic  I wandered over into sim/POD  territory and haven't really left for often or for long. I think the idea that amps always will be and always have been the best or most fun way to do something might be an idea held by many but I think the perception is subjective depending on the individual. There really is no right or wrong in this regard. More power to you if you are having fun doing that. FWIW I can play my POD with my computer turned off :)
 
 From a recording perspective I think a person would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two as in the example of the Kemper. I would go even further and say that there is only a 50/50 chance for anyone to guess it correctly. The main strength of the Kemper is its Chameleon way of mimicking any amp/cab to perfection.IMO there is similar quality in  some other less expensive units but you are left with a given set of adjustment parameters and they have to be set right, and you are playing their rendition of an amp and not one you captured yourself. If you like what it sounds and plays like then no need to go further.
 
 Ol Pal....I thought Bapu had all the best toys. That there Kemper is nice, really nice. The only thing I don't like about it is the name. We have cool pedals with names like Big Muff and Big Pickle  and amps called Orange, Hughes Kefner and Marshall. Kemper sounds almost too no nonsense to market. I need a name with balls like the Kemper Attitude V or the Kemper Vader 6...ok if I had the dough I would still buy it;)
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Here's the paper presented at the AES 106th Convention, 1999, in Munich Germany:
 
http://www.sintefex.com/docs/appnotes/dynaconv.PDF
 
It describes a method of dynamic convolution and it proposes a way to implement it.
 
As a rough guide they propose that you can use 128 IRs to simulate an audio device's response.
 
If you want to simulate the device with some of the knobs on the device turned to different places than the you'll want another 128 IRs for that too.
 
In other words, if you like the sound of your amp and you "model" it and then you twist the bass knob a bit and think "oh, I like that too" you are supposed to model it again... cause the first collection of IRs only mimic the way the amp works with the previous settings. You can just turn up the bass elsewhere... but it is not the same.
 
Yes. The implementation of this technology will get better and better.
 
Folks that are in to it will probably be buying a new rig every 2 years for the next decade or more.
 
Other folks will be able to buy yesterday's news, used or on closeout, for a fraction of what the early adopters pay for it.
 
The smart guys at Sintefex may have overestimated what it takes to reproduce some aural experiences, but they are probably not too far off the mark for the more challenging comparisons.
 
In fact they quickly discovered that the dynamic range of an throughput signal defines the number of IRs that are needed to convince people that the effect is working.
 
In other words, if you are playing a squashed, compressed, noisy signal then you can throw out most of the 128 IRs and just use the ones that cover the limited dynamic range that you hope to reproduce.
 
That's why guys can listen to some kind of *tones* and feel like they are listening to the real thing and probably why the countless demonstrations of this technology never seem to attempt to present all those other kinds of tones.
 
 
The paper was written when the CPU requirements for real time processing was beyond the budget of small businesses. Real time dynamic convolution has only been implemented in the music industry for the past 5 years or so, and I imagine there's few more years before it becomes full featured.
 
You can bet that the *native* software developers are chomping at the bit to use more and more IRs in their existing dynamic convolution processes. So if you like the idea... you're going to like what is coming.
 
Maybe enough people will like it that I'll be able to buy a used Trainwreck real cheap some day. :-)
 
best regards,
mike
 
 
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