Here is a very famous rock band in which the Kemper Profiler and Axel FX co-exist peacefully among band members.

I was wondering when the absolute KING of guitar gear--and my favorite rock guitarist and leader of my favorite rock band--would get around to updating his setup (which, when taken as a whole, has gone by the futuristic-sci-fi names such as "Solar Voyager"). Axel-FX it is for him.

http://www.dgmlive.com/diaries.htm?a...=3&entry=26200

He is a highly articulate and well-spoken man: "The Axe FXII even has pre-sets that convince."

And his long time band-mate, the studio musician extraordinaire par excellance- Mr. Tony Levin, has a Kemper. As does the new guitarist and singer in the same, aforementioned band:

http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/...ns-court/50282

Ironically, one of the pre-sets in the Kemper is called "Early Fripp".

Here are some relevant excerpts from the above referenced link by J.J.:


"My signal runs from my custom PRS into a Kemper Profiler head and a PRS Stealth 2x12 cabinet. As you can see, right now it’s on the JCM 800 Drive preset. I’m using a Line 6 Pod HD500X as a MIDI controller for the Kemper. I have a bank setup for each song. Take “Nightmare.” I’ve got my basic heavy sound, one that’s slightly louder, and one with a wah on it, which I manipulate via the HD500X’s footpedal.
What can you tell me about the Kemper’s technology?
To be honest, I haven’t had it long enough to really get into it, but here’s the basic premise: Set up your favorite amp and get the desired sound. Mic up the amp run the cord into the back of the Kemper. Hit “Profile,” and it saves a pretty realistic emulation of that amp’s tone.
Did you profile all your favorite rigs at home?
I started doing it, but I didn’t have enough time. I’ve got a Vox Night Train that sounds fantastic, so I did that and some of the PRS heads. I’ve since been tweaking its presets. [Plays.] That’s the Early Fripp J-1 preset, and it sounds exactly like big, sustain-y, early Fripp. I use that on “Starless,” “Sailor’s Tale,” “Pictures of a City,” and “Larks’ 1.”
It’s awesome that you use the Early Fripp preset to play early Fripp parts onstage with the actual Fripp!
He said to me me during rehearsal, “That’s a good sound. It works really well with this. What is it?” “It’s a preset I found called Early Fripp,” I replied. He was highly amused."


PS--I tried the "Early Fripp" setting--it's absolutely beyond HORRIBLE for anything jazz related. It seems most of the stuff on the Kemper (and, presumably, the Axel-F are overkill for jazz. But for what they can offer, it's way better than anything else out there.

P.P.S. Fascinating snippet from J.J. on 1980s Crimson and not doing Belew stuff:

"Right, you’re not doing songs he wrote, and there’s still a lot material to choose from.

King Crimson had released something like eight albums before Adrian was ever involved. Indeed, when they first got together they weren’t even called King Crimson—they were called Discipline. I loved that version. It was exciting and original, but to me it was not really King Crimson. It felt like a different group. And this is no criticism—I remember seeing Adrian for the first time and thinking he was absolutely extraordinary because of his originality."