Astral Traveler
Ambassador of Both Time and Space
... a Mesa Boogie California Tweed? And the follow up questio: Why do they have to be so expensive?
Funny. I saw that one too, also yesterday. The one about moving on from a Fender HRD. That's the one that turned me on to the Mesa.I saw them play that in a different video yesterday along with the tone king imperial, and a victory v140. Sounds nice. I dig tweed amps a lot so this is right up my alley as well.
I like technology, I use it all the time and have no problems understanding it. Heck I even work with it. When it comes to amps though, I want a few knobs and nothing else. It's why I choose the Quilters, and the BluGuitar Amp 1 before that, and the Yamaha THR100 befpre that.Get a Kemper then you get a Cali Tweed....and every other amp ever made![]()
Get a Kemper then you get a Cali Tweed....and every other amp ever made![]()
I’d like to respond, but I can’t really seem to come up with the words to express the right and wrong, and the wrong and right, of it all. I’m keeping my amps, and still enjoying the Kemper. I’ve learned that I don’t necessarily care “what amp” it’s emulating, but I do care about how it sounds and “plays”. Because, like my other “real” amps, it can be ”played” a bit…but it has its own feel…which is why I’m keeping my other amps. Weird.With a Kemper you get a “reasonable facsimile” of an amp. That may be enough for someone but not me. Rather one great, real tone than endless almost-but-not-100-percent-there copies. But that’s just me.
I’d like to respond, but I can’t really seem to come up with the words to express the right and wrong, and the wrong and right, of it all. I’m keeping my amps, and still enjoying the Kemper. I’ve learned that I don’t necessarily care “what amp” it’s emulating, but I do care about how it sounds and “plays”. Because, like my other “real” amps, it can be ”played” a bit…but it has its own feel…which is why I’m keeping my other amps. Weird.
I received my Kemper with thousands of profiles. I haven’t found thousands of profiles that I like. Maybe a few dozen, so far, that suit my tastes. Since I mix my time up with real amps, I haven’t dug too deeply into the performance aspect of the Kemper. The foot controller and expression pedals open things up for some cool live control options…but I’m still not sure enough to say I’d commit to it as a live rig option….I’m only speaking from my lack of practical application experience. As a writing/demo tool, the Kemper is IMO a great asset. As to recording with it…I’m diggin it for a ton of stuff….rock, punk, stoner, classic metal(Maiden etc)….but it lacks a bit of the organic feel of me screwing things up with my real amps and microphones. Sometimes that’s a good thing, to me….sometimes it’s not.To be fair, I don't own a Kemper and have not in the past. I have only played through my buddies amp. But my experience with it was very much "close but no cigar" as far as the feel of it. The tones are fine, if maybe a bit flatter-sounding than what they are attempting to emulate/copy, but for me it really doesn't have the same feel as a real amp and that's the killer. Same thing with my friend who owns it: He's a full-time touring musician, and he loves the Kemper for writing music because of the versatility but won't consider it for recording or live use because its not up to the task for him. Gotta be high-powered tube amps for those purposes (this is heavy music we're talking about).

I think I would have fainted had you said otherwise ---With a Kemper you get a “reasonable facsimile” of an amp. That may be enough for someone but not me. Rather one great, real tone than endless almost-but-not-100-percent-there copies. But that’s just me.
Nah, that is too much dough. Even the Mesa is crazy expensive. I'd have to flip a bunch of guitars, I'm just fantasizingSave up for a Two-Rock
I'm tech agnostic. I don't give a damn about what technology is inside an amp, I'm only interested in how I like it when I play it.I think I would have fainted had you said otherwise ---
I guess.... if your satisfied with 1 amp ..... and 1 tone, then your ahead of the rest of the us and must be at complete and utter peace...... (but I assume you arent as you own pedals and other items to color and personalize that tone) -- presumably so it doesnt sound like a bog stock Mesa....or Fender.....or whatever.... You want it to sound like "you" -- and perhaps the sound of "me" is from a Kemper-- or AMpero-- or Line 6 ----or Laney battery amp....
But that 1 tube amp vs modelers debate has been argued and beat to death on this and EVERY forum as much as "which oil should I use in my car/motorcycle/cat" etc ad nauseum debate.
I like variety -- and mucking about with tones.
Im also cheap--
so I can buy 1 amp (boring) and a BAJILLION $ worth of pedals-- been there got pissed off with all that---
-- or buy 1 processor that gives me thousands of amps (and cabs and pedals and drum machines looper-- wahs-- ...and ...and) -- for the same price as 1 amplifier.
and since (arguably) its been proven many MANY times no 2 real tube amps sound EXACTLY the same .... and no 2 ROOMS sound exactly the same then -- by definition arent ALL AMPS AND TONES just "close enough" in any given situation????? FURTHERMORE isnt "close enough" as good as is EVER POSSIBLE --EVER regardless of rig-- room-- $ spent -- tubes used-- etc etc etc etc ...........
GO YE FORTH AND MAKE A JOYOUS NOISE ..... and sod the rest .![]()
Ive almost snagged a couple of them over the years......... sorta want to try the bass versionThe truth is that my Quilter gets me about 80% of the sound, for 30% of the price. Still...![]()
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... a Mesa Boogie California Tweed? And the follow up questio: Why do they have to be so expensive?