Why I returned to real guitar amplifiers after using Kemper and Axe FX

Two years of using digital amps lead me back to the real thing.

The last year (2019) has been a massive overhaul for me, in terms of gear. I started the year with a Kemper Profiler and many of you will know that I have raved about that piece of kit for the best part of 18 months now. It’s a game changer. However, I missed the flexibility of real amps and pedals at my fingertips.

I’ve come full circle and spent too much along the way in order to come back there. But all is not lost, I’ve now got killer tone and learned a lot along the way!

January 2019

In and Out: Victory The Super Kraken

In order to scratch an itch early in January, I loved what I’d heard of the demo’s for The Super Kraken, I’m a big fan of Rabea Massad’s sound and really wanted to love this amp. It was nice and was furnished with plenty of useful accoutrements, but ultimately was too dark for my tastes. I sent it back and wrote off my dabbles with amps…for a couple of months at least!

April 2019

Out: Kemper Profiler & Remote

I feel like the Kemper and Axe FX taught me so much about how amps work and how to dial them in. Also, going through the digital motions taught me the value of the cabinet and the microphone and how different combinations dramatically change your tone in ways that will make you love or hate it.

As I’ve alluded to in previous blog posts, towards the end, the Kemper was stiffling me creatively. I’d long for some of the tones I used to have at the touch of a fooswitch. And pedals into the Kemper just weren’t cutting it for my needs.

Thankfully, the Kemper is an expensive piece of kit and it maintained its value, so I managed to recoup the majority of my initial outlay by selling it and the Remote. It’s the same for many of us guitar gear hounds, the money recouped from selling gear opens the doors to explore what gear we’d like to try next.

As it stood though, I was in no mood to try out new gear, I like what I like and fully planned to go full circle, back to the amps I’d grown up loving.

In: Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster

First port of call was a Mesa Dual Rec. This came up at a good price and I liked the idea of having a British sounding channel, it would save me getting a Marshall…yeah right!

It turns out that it never worked out that way. The Roadster was a beautiful amp, sounded great, but I could never get the newer Multi-Watt with the classic metal grille out of my mind whenever I switched it on and wondered if I was missing something.

It turns out that I was missing something actually, the Roadster was slightly darker, but smoother and less raw sounding than the Multi-Watt.

The “British” channel never got used and was useless to me, to my ears it didn’t sound good.

In: Laney Lionheart L20H 20w head

Shortly after the Roadster, I saught another Laney Lionheart head. I say “another” as it’s an amp that has haunted me since I discovered it back in 2011. I love these amps.

I needed a clean platform that I could put my pedals through and for me, the Laney Lionheart clean channel is MY sound. It sounds incredible for my needs and is perfect for any drive pedals I put through it. Really brings out the best of my gear, guitars, pedals and most importantly, my playing.

May 2019

In: Marshall SV20H 20w Plexi-style head

In January I found out about the Marshall 20 watt resissues. A Plexi and a JCM 800 in mini format, matching their successful mini-Jubilee head. I wanted both for a very long time and finally got my hands on a well priced, great condition second-hand SV20H in May. It was beautiful in looks and in tone. Simply gorgeous.

My first experience of a Plexi was one of the best feelings I’ve had whilst playing guitar.

I had a feeling the new amp wouldn’t stay long though as I always wondered if there was a more authentic Plexi tone in a larger, more high wattage head. Since I had the Suhr Reactive Load, I’m no longer restrained to small wattage heads and if I could put the money towards savings for a 50w or 100w Plexi, that would be the holy grail.

The Mesa and Laney are the bread and butter amps that I play everything I write on, but the Plexi is a bit of a toy that I use to emulate my heroes with…Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Muse etc — it’s not MY sound. So it’s not a priority for me just yet. I sold this in September with the intention of revisiting a larger Plexi head later!

June 2019

Out: Mesa Boogie Rectifer Roadster

In: Mesa Boogie Multi-Watt Dual Rectifer

Having thoughts in the back of your mind wondering if the “grass is greener” isn’t productive and doesn’t always ring true. In this case however, it was a very rare occasion where it delivered the exact tone I had in my head and the concerns I had about the differences between the Roadster and perhaps a more authentic Recto experience with a Multi-Watt were fully justified, as great as the Roadster was, it was definitely a different sounding beast.

I managed to recoup what I paid for the Roadster and immediately bought a Multi-Watt on the same day I sold it.

Setting the drive

Putting a Maxon OD808 in front of both the Rectifiers I’ve owned this year has been a spiritual experience. Something I’d never tried properly before.

I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t realise how it worked or how to set it to boost and tighten the somewhat surprisingly flubby Rectifier gain channel, which is something that I struggled with when I first tried a Dual Rec through the Suhr Reactive Load.

But since I tried the Maxon, at full tilt on the volume (100% volume) and gain fairly low (0% gain) and tone to taste, I’ve not looked back.

It’s a match made in heaven and it really works. I’m kicking myself for not trying this sooner…it’s known as a classic pairing for a reason — I just didn’t realise what people were talking about.

For the record, I tried this countless times before but for some reason was always afraid of whacking the volume beyond noon and always put drive up instead…this isn’t how you boost an amps drive channel, it’s traditionally how I’ve set a drive pedal in front of a clean amp, when I fancy a bit of blues, for example.

October 2019

Out: Marshall SV20H 20w Plexi-style head

I will be back for a Plexi!

February 2020

In: Marshall JCM 800 2203 Vintage Reissue

My reasons for selling the SV20H ‘Plexi’ was so that I could concentrate on “my sound”. Not content with the Mesa, I’ve always wanted a JCM 800 as it’s pretty much the opitome of sound that shaped my teens. It’s an amp used on countless records and when I think of distortion or overdrive, the sound that comes to mind is usually the sound of a cranked JCM 800.

What I like about the Marshall is that it is a relatively clean amp, with a beautifully voiced crunch without a Tube Screamer. I could play for days at low gain, it can create some incredible ambience. But with a boost in front, it can do heavy and tight rock tones that are perfect for the style of music I play.

Conclusion

It took a long time to realise how my gear works and how to get the best of it. I’m now on my fourth Mesa Rectifier (ridiculous) and fifth Laney Lionheart (mostly different wattages, to be fair, but no less ridiculous).

It still irks me that I’ve come back to them and could have saved so much money. I think it’s a lesson to learn for us all…if you know what you like, stick with it and learn it inside out before contemplating flipping it and buying something else. I wish I had.