Why I Profiled 70 Amps (Live with Tone Junkie , Kemper, and HX Stomp) 

Now that we can see the Kemper in frame, Josh will secretly be playing the Milkman.

JHS should have millions of subscribers by now ... really excellent work Josh and Team JHS Merry Christmas

👏👏 for the JHS crew's sonic experiment. When I watched the reveal video I was pleasantly surprised & impressed. I look forward to owning more JHS pedals & getting more education from Josh. "Sounds Good Is Good" & "Just Try Stuff" are great mottos.

Emulation and modeling are getting better every year. As someone who does live shows all the time, I love that I can (if I want) run an 1176 on every channel. I have no idea whether the emulation is close to the real thing - I have never used the real thing. But I trust that the people who are modeling these pieces of equipment are doing it in good faith. I am pretty sure that if I were dropped in a top tier studio, I would be able to dial in an 1176, because i use an approximation of one every week. Emulation is a tool just like pitch correction and quantization. If overused I'm sure it will be awful. If I came into a huge amount of money I wouldn't buy a Kemper or a Quad Vortex or whatever - I would buy real vintage effects units and amps. There is no question about that. What these units enable is for someone to be able to train their ear. This is about accessibility, just like DAWs - there are great artists who would not be making music right now if it weren't for digital production technology. For me this is just as amazing as any DAW and does not threaten real amplifiers or pedals in the least.

Boyzzz, I am very happy Kemper owner and just downloaded Josh´s favorite rigs. They sound phenomenal. For me as a hobby guitarist who has always gravitated towards the valve amp tone, under these circumstances I live, it would be impossible to use them as I would prefer. With the Kemper I get as close as I need and on top of all, I can download the best amp profiles captured by the best pros in the industry like Josh, HW and Michael Britt. I am able to play my guitars with few of my favorite pedals in front of the best amps that exists. What could beat that, seriously?

When's the HX Stomp episode? These packs aside, would love to see Josh build a preset with the factory stuff from 3.51 update. Hoping to see JHS pedals added to the Helix family in a future update 😍

While I don't have a Helix nor Kemper, I really appreciate you making the models of your collection available. When I started playing electric guitar, I was in a situation where I needed an amp but couldn't play loud and I didn't know what I wanted / needed from effects so I decided to buy a Line 6 X3 Live to give myself a lot of variety to experiment with. When I did play with a band, it made setting up / playing / cleaning up a breeze! I've since picked up a few tube amps but I think for a lot of folks starting out, the all in one modelers make so much sense!

I have tube amps, a solid state amp, a bunch of pedals, and an AXE FX - and I love them all and they are all fun !

I feel like the two main tenants of JHS, especially the JHS show, have been "Just try stuff!" and "Play what you like!" I'm all too pleased to continue spending money with JHS, now to include your Helix content! Thanks so much!

Love Josh and the boys, love HW, basically a perfect episode

I dig the profile pack, I wouldn’t get to play most of these amps without it. I’m not prioritizing my money toward vintage amps and pedals and appreciate when a collector/connoisseur/curator like Josh can share the collection. Cheers!

25:02 the software side of these products have changed over the years as well. The Helix software has improved the sound and added additionally sounds to the array of amps and pedals every year. Also, users of these tools have found ways to use them better and shared that information. For example, adding pedals after the “cab”.

Man, as if I didnt want a Kemper already, now I need one. Thanks for all the work putting all of this together! Once I get one, I'll be buying amp packs from you guys.

A few episodes ago you showcased the new Universal Audio amp pedals. One thing that stood out to me was how excited everyone was that UA captured these classic amps with all their raw sonic ingredients. Specifically the bottom end being left on the tone like a real amp. Leaving the user to decide how much to roll off etc. In todays episode everyone is loving how easy it is to record the Kemper in your studio environment. Near the end Josh gushes over the tone not having any bottom end and sitting in a mix. I guess what I’m trying to get at is do you prefer having all the sonic detail like the UA provides or just having the sonic details captured to your liking? Thank you very much and wish everyone a happy holidays and happy new year 🎉

Great amp sounds! I have a Princeton, which I love, but between the UA amp pedals and this reveal (plus getting tired of lugging heavy gear to band practices and gigs) I’m getting slowly but surely converted. Got a feeling there’ll be changes a-coming in the new year… Great set of videos on this reveal. Happy holidays to the JHS crew!

I’m paraphrasing a little bit but this is the perfect quote “We’re always trying to find new tones the fun is trying to emulate tones and finding something new that you can put your own stamp on” I have been chasing the Randy Rhoads tribute album tone for about 25 years and it wasn’t until I learned that the most important part of a guitars tone is the speaker after making the switch to the L6 Helix and getting into IRs that I really learned how true that statement is and the main high gain tone I use for 99% of my playing was a failed attempt at the RR tribute album tone which became my own signature sound that’s nothing like anyone else but myself and that’s when I finally started to “get it” that it’s the inspiration of that time that lead me to developing my own musical voice and tone….. that said I’m still chasing that one tone and with the OH Altech 417 IRs I’ve never been closer but that’s not because I’m hellbent to sound like RR anymore but rather because I have spent 25 years and I’m so close and I’ve had as much fun as frustration in that journey but it’s still all the part of the fun

This is such an inlightening episode. I dig it!! Pick the right tool for the right sounds, yeah?? Rock on!! Also the bass and drums tone is killer here, need more info on what they are doing toooooo.

Hats off that Josh is so positive about the fx section of the kemper

Great follow-up. Thank you for the explanation of what this device is all about.

There was a live show not long after the first Kemper show where Addison said something like “Josh, that is a great clean tone, the best you’ve had in ages!” And I was pretty sure you’d started using modelling of some sort 😉 I thought it was going to have been testing the UA pedals out for them but clearly I was wrong 😂 HX stomp user myself but also have valve amps. It’s all about using whatever gives you inspiration- not limiting yourself!

I've never seen a really good dive into using a Kemper live with a speaker in a band context, how the various options to do so compare, and unbiased feedback on how that feels in a room. I realize that's kind of antithetical to what this video showed us, but the way you guys jam, to me, seems like a perfect test subject. I've really wanted to dive into the Kemper world, but my fear is that I won't be able to make good use of it in a basement practice or smaller bar gig scenario. Ignoring all the "I need to feel air move" stuff... I'd really like some thoughts on this stuff from the JHS crew. Cheers, and happy holidays!

I always wondered exactly how you guys were running real tube amps in that room and also getting such clean drum sounds. I remember Josh mentioning an iso box, but that just sounds annoying lol. I eventually noticed the the silly knob positions on the Loud is More Good Amp (LIGMA) and figured there was just a bassman or a mig50 in the iso box somewhere.

My wife and I started dating in 1998. We stayed up almost all night talking in the common room of her dorm just before that with the radio on. That amazing awkward phase where 2 people realize they’re really into each other, but are to afraid to say anything. “Save Tonight” by Eagle Eye Cherry played every 30 mins-1 hour over and over and over and over. We both thought it was awful and I knew she was the one. 22 years later, we consistently refer to it as “our song.”

I love that everyone can have access to these amazing sounds. Cheers!!! ✌️❤️🎶

I'm late to commenting on this great conversation, but the either/or thing is especially true with this kind of thing. I really like using traditional drive pedals into a modeler with a preset involving a clean amp sound and whatever EQ, modulation, delay and reverb I want for my sound. The Stomp XL is great for this because the extra footswitches let me control which of these effects are turned on individually at any given time and something about having the analog drive pedals just does something nice for the sound.

For me, I have my dream amp, and while I would love to have more amps there's no way I could afford it. The Kemper solves that problem. But I still love pedals and I would continue to buy them.

Truth is talent and practice makes all the difference, as long as your gear is of a reasonable quality, gear just becomes about choice, collecting, obsession whatever? Thumbs up to the JHS guys for busting the myth and making the point play your instrument have fun find your own tone, and don’t always believe RU-vid!?

My latest thing is combining pedals and running them into a Mooer IR pedal. Klon clone into a Timmy pedal into a Booster with Treble and Bass into a variety of IR cabs is rockin'... No Amp necessary. The compression is there, just like a decent tube circuit. For even more crunchy power amp distortion, try a Red Llama and tweak the tone with a boost pedal with eq or full 10 band eq. Fun! As a long time Line 6 guy, I've gone through each generation of tools. I have a Helix, HX Effects, POD Go that I could easily replace with a few pedals as long as I have good IR's to work with. My tube amps are still there. My UAFX amp pedals are amazing. Love it all old and new!!!

This video made me finally decide to buy a Boss Katana MK2. Love it!

IF ONLY I played guitar as much as I watch JHS vids😅

I wish I could afford a Kemper. It sounds great & I'd buy the profiles.

Pardon me for forgetting… this is the Power Head version, not just the profiler right? I’m interested in knowing if that’s what made you choose the Kemper over a Helix or even a Fractal. I do agree though, in a mix, it’s very difficult to tell the difference on what most people are listening through. I also agree you can’t really tell even when it’s just the guitar. I think the biggest difference probably could only be felt in the room

Please offer Josh's Everything Pack right now... and take my $$!

I absolutely loved this episode of JHS. so many positive notes to take in. I seriously think that Josh and the team and the legend HW should be credited for being able to keep this quiet for this long. Josh has really challenged some of the JHS fans. I’ve been smiling all day at time’s laughing out loud. I’m a bit surprised by the most incredible question that was NEVER ASKED 🫤 did josh help dial in the effects? Did Josh approve the settings? Josh being the LORD of pedal history, pedal promotion, l want to know what the process of effects settings that went into this project. The Kemper is no slouch on effects. How deep did you guys go?

I hope ya'll do a can you hear it episode with the Kemper.

I think you guys missed the single most important thing about a Kemper - it can capture the in-studio set-up and let you punch in a fix months later, or even use the exact sound (mics, mic placement, channel strip and all) on your next album... Or even on tour. It's a little unnerving at first when you finally sound just like the album.

You should model them on Tonex as well. It's the best option for us not interested in the expensive Kemper or Quad Core.

To your “it’s not either/or” point, there are a lot of fun options in between the (perceived) extremes of “real tube amp” and “profile.” My top purchase of 2022 was a Milkman The Amp 50. I use it (with its built-in cab sim) via headphones and record it DI. I love the sound, and I don’t think about how the sound compares to my physical amp+speaker combos. That’s apples to oranges, because I can’t play a Fender Deluxe in my home office at 11PM on a Tuesday night.

Hey! I drew that font on your Soundtank board!

How about some quad cortex profiles?

Profiling amps and pedals is becoming affordable for everyone with a PC/Mac with Tonex from IK Multimedia. I could not justify buying the Kemper, but the Tonex is a no brainer and I use my own reamp box. Interesting subject and video, I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

24:05 - I bought mine in April this year. I'd worked in guitar stores on and off for years and had always been around cutting edge gear. I really wanted to like the original POD stuff back in the late 90s but in truth it wasn't quite there yet. But it got better and better. I'd recorded with NI's Guitar Rig and got good results. I've been using a Recto Recording Pre for years at home since. So it was never about trying to remain a dinosaur for me. But the toaster version of the Kemper didn't really change anything for me. It was an expensive upgrade to my studio rig that I couldn't really justify. Live, I'd still need a power amp or a cab, and a foot controller. It probably would have lightened my rig but not shrunk it or made it less complicated, effectively just replacing my amp head. Then they released the Stage and suddenly it became much more worthwhile to me, once it became a studio AND live solution. It, plus a couple of expression pedals, can replace my entire amp, cab and pedal board. I do have a PowerKab but I'm working towards weaning myself off stage sound and just relying on foldbacks. There's some pedals that the Kemper doesn't emulate as well as the real thing, but they're close enough for live use. My lower back loves it.

I knew the Loud Is More Good in the shot of demos wasn't the amp you were using, the knobs were down, it was in standby, I think once it wasn't even in at all, or an input jack wasn't plugged in. I just assumed you had it in an isolated room. Lol. Now you tell us it was a Kemper, good work.

that last jam was fantastic!! I might be converted....

Taco Bell in the Price Chopper parking lot is the truest Grandview dinning experience after Waffle House at 2am.

Does the guitar and/or effects pedals matter for capturing the profile? Say you profile a strat into a Bassman, would a les paul sound different through the kemper? Or do you get the same exact tone that was profiled?

Just downloaded the "Loud is More Good" Kemper free pack and it sounds great. Guess I own almost everything HW created for Kemper and can't wait to see what will come out for the Kemper from JHS and HW year 2023.

People just wanna complain Josh... You guys are great at what you do!

“You’ve never had the reference you think you’ve had.” Hold my beer while I give you my clean tone 😂😂😂😊

I also decided 2020 to go full Digital with a Headrush Pedalboard. I find the whole act cool! But even if i don't needed them i always was interested wich new pedals are on the market. I don't have any of yours but they Sound really good. I tried some in my local music store. Now after i see this I'm very interested get me a kemper... no weight to carry, no Service, no new tubes etc. And they Sound really awsome!and with this pack... i also could have not only all those amps... there are also the 500.000$ Klon and a real Blues Breaker and all that! Love it

I think people go either/or is because they can't afford everything so they have to choose. However, I absolutely agree. The amp/tubes/modeler/profiler beef is pointless once you have money for everything.

The last Jam chord progression reminds me of Mew - Am I wry? No Love it!

This is a stellar week of videos.

Great episode!!

I once went gear shopping with my brother in law (before he was my brother in law) and because he'd just started playing guitar and I found a killer deal on a Gibson Skylark I told him "you have to buy that amp or else I will" and he didn't believe me, so I plugged it in and played a handful of recognizable riffs and as soon as I finished someone else from the guitar shop asked "hey can I try that as soon as you're done?" and my brother in law said "you've got as long as it takes for me to finish buying it". Those amps are amazing. Sadly his was in a storage unit during a move that got broken into, so some crook now has the raddest little amp I've ever played.

Those storage unit pics stole my heart

I cannot tell JHS + HW how much I appreciate this episode.

you all just sold me on the kemper....that silvertone sounds phenomenal esp with headphones on.....the sublime jam....awesome. Josh's slide work is so much better than Rhett's.

Please release a few of these for the original POD kidney bean. They're vintage now and they started this whole thing...

I own many valve amps, couple of digital amps, some analog solid state amps (currently my favorites, but that could change any day). I'll use whatever sounds good for recording (mostly soundtracks for movies/adverts etc.) Can I ask whether Kemper would consider a "lite" version without the capability of "Profiling"? I mean using profiles but without being able to record them? Would that be helpful in lowering the price of the Kemper? To make it clear "Lite" could keep profiles and if necessary download Profiles - I do not have the time or inclination to GENERATE Profiles.... Best, Pete.

I’ve just got back from Japan, with an Ibanez in my hand (it’s much cheaper than my hometown due to exchange rate, like 40% cheaper). The store I went to has a Kemper as a test amp. I think this kind of use is one of the best use case of the Kemper. Back home I use my Helix, so I’m already accustomed to digital amp stuffs anyway (been using only digital since Zoom G2).

Last track sounds like “am I wry? No.” By Mew. Very cool

I was asking myself if I shared my Alamo Capri on the Kemper exchange when you pulled that up. Sounds just like mine!

How long before Josh announces a double bluff, and that it was the real amp sounds all the time!?

Favoritest JHS show so far

Love dad rock and all the stuff that was made with tube amps and honestly I don't want a tube amp (I've never had one). I don't gig, music is just a hobby and I WANT something practical with great response like a kemper. Bravo.

I can hear the difference through my phone speakers. ;) Thankful we are in the golden age of gear! Options are endless.

This is a really rad idea. I just scored a helix recently. Time for jamzzzz!!

So do I understand this correctly - the Kemper has a snapshot of the amp in the settings it was put in. Meaning that if I change the EQ on the Kemper the profile will react differently to when I change the EQ on the amp. Ergo the snapshot sounds like the set amp but the behaviour of the controls will feel and sound different?

Every January 1st I ask myself “is this the year we finally get the Sovtek episode?”

24:30 Brilliant analysis.

Ha! Rhett Schull, "Novice slide guitarist". 😂

Josh doesn’t get enough credit anywhere But seriously love your playing

Tnx for the video, everything sounds great I am a long time Kemper user and i own some of the latest HW profiles pack and i enjoy them alot, but what i was most impressed of in this video is the sound of the drums The drums sounds awesome and i womder if you can specify what was the mics and preamps you used to record them

Here’s to your future newfound liquidity, I hope it brings you and is a lot of new things in 2023🎉

I met. Christian Kemper at NAMM in 2918. He and josh are geniuses.

God damn ... I am so jealous of that drum kit sound.

I have the HX stomp for headphone playing. now i want a kemper for my tube amp collection

best reference would be the louder is more Captured/profiled for testing product. free download we would have the same. if it was untouched in the mix

What’s your thoughts on Tone X? I’m having fun with it.

I really wish they'd not give a platform for the Amazon Pedals. It's a company that systemically destroys smaller companies in order to control the market. (Facts, not conjecture. Look it up if you are so inclined) Otherwise, great job. Thank you guys for the great entertainment

I’d love to hear a discussion on what makes the difference between what IR’s and kemper profiles do and music piracy/downloading.

Great crew, great stream 👍

I have no opinion on modelers. I figure a sound is what you do with it. If you are selling off your amps, I may be interested in one that is broken and inexpensive. If not, keep making videos and I will keep watching them. Thank you for the entertainment.

Any plans to do packs for the Quad Cortex?

Or…a Boss TAE to use your amps and can also choose to use modelers ie I use UA Dream and hx stomp in the effects loop…all options available.

When the Kemper came out there was a lot of doubt about how good it could be. As well as the cost as well. Between a tube shortage scare and just the realities of volume and recording I can see that the Kemper makes a lot of sense. But for me I'd still rather have a $400 tube amp into a speaker with some kind of di out for recording. I can't really justify gear purchases right now.

I think for recording, I'd still have an, because I like playing with mics and finding out an acoustically interacts with a room. I love putting my emo in my en suite bathroom for example, because the reflections give some dirty top end that's really fun. For live, I could maybe see myself using one of the UA amp pedals (particular the Ruby) that were shown on here last month, for practicality sake and see if I can utilise the Venue PA a lot more & get a wide stereo spread (I'm in a 2 piece band with me as the only guitar player, you see). A venue with a good PA system almost completely renders most amps useless in the here & now anyway.

I agree that it is hard to claim an amp has a sound. But, anytime I play through an Ampeg SVT for bass, I've never been able to find that sound in other amps I've used in the past. I hear a difference, for sure. With that said, I've seen a comparison being made with Kemper and Quad Core Cortex, and I actually would say that the Quad Core Cortex sounded a bit better, for me. Now, I really do like this technology, as it is truly far more convenient. I do enjoy it. But, I will say that the one thing that annoys me about most with regards to digital is the fact that technology tends to move forward, and things like Kemper, Quad Core Cortex, or HXStomp will tend to not age as well as a piece of Analogue gear, which tends to last longer. For instance, JHS pedals will probably have a far longer lifespan than an HXStomp, and would probably be more repairable in 30 years from now… in the right hands, of course. But, try finding a person to repair an HXStomp in 30 years… unless an AI Robot can do it. I'm just saying, as much as I love the digital realm, there is always is a constant planned obsolescence that is less apparent in analogue. More powerful, but less lifespan. That is, from my own experience after owning gear since I was a teenager.

Were Quad Cortex captures made of Josh’s amps as well as Kemper profiles? Just wondering if they were also done, ready and waiting for the marketplace to open.

..”if I go and pick a Tele up we have to refilm the whole episode so just have fun and use the tool”… there’s years of wisdom in that comment

Would love to hear your thoughts on using Kemper with pedals. Considering you have _all_ the pedals and most of the boxes... What's the magic sauce?

I have a Kemper (it's my only amp-like object at the moment) and the only issue I have with it is the interface. I've been through basically every modelling thing out there over the years, and ultimately they were never there in terms of sound, but the Kemper nails it. But yeah, let's be honest, it is kind of annoying to actually use. It's definitely better than the AxeFX was, and plugins have numerous problems of their own, but I still feel like there's major room for improvement. I'm hoping for a Kemper 2.0 that can somehow make the user experience as close to the mindlessly simple one of using a real amp as possible.

"I have all the princetons" *checks closet*

I have one question, would JHS ever consider building their own Multieffects Modeler, given all this gear and profiling you've been able to do, and the pedal collection you guys have?

I saw Jimmy Eat World a couple years ago with Incubus, and I believe at that time they were using a Kemper. They sounded amazing, but I am not sure if it was mostly the sound engineer.

Please comment with opinions, but I'm beginning to think that I can (almost) dial in a sound I want/like with any amp, be it tube, solid state, or digital. I lean on the cleaner side of things, so an amp that doesn't get clean won't work, but tweaking gain, treble, bass, and mids to get a good sound and then tweaking further with my guitar's controls, I'm beginning to think I can nail the sound in my head with a sub $500 amp from virtually any manufacturer. Then when I consider volume restrictions that are a reality for me, the cheaper and less tube amps become almost a necessity. Just need the JHS "white" reverb pedal to complete the sound! Am I wrong?

G’day Josh dude I’ve been all over site like a crotch rash after a marathon, I cannot find this Kemper pedal that replaced your holy crap it’s too white amp. Looking to pre-order and have it delivered to Tasmania by Christmas PS I ditched Brett Shill’s breakout your slide course & went with RJ’s course. When are you putting out your Truedire Ulimate slide tone course I’ll be all over that like a devil on a kangaroo corpse. Happy holidays to the funniest show in guitar gearland

Ok but if used kemper prices go up, Josh can stop being so modest.

If this were a year from now, I wonder if this would be the Quad Cortex episode. 🤔