It's not like Kemper is reverse engineering the actual amps, making copies of them (either with some tweaks or pure clone), and then selling them as their own. Come to think of it...that's literally been the evolution of the guitar amp as we know it since the 1950's.
I bought a Kemper Stage a few months ago and I hated it at first after checking out loads of presets. Then I profiled my own amps. Now I love that piece of shit! It makes the best headphone amp I have ever owned. I don't currently gig but if I did, I would use it in a heart beat. Much easier than trying to decide which one of my tube amps to bring. My amps are staying!
Its kinda like napster of amps. As much as we all hated Lars Ulrich for what he was doing, time has proved him right. When we dont have as many amp manufacturers coming up with new amps it will be our own fault.
Hi Kevin, that's an interesting discussion and I have to agree with you on this. What are your thoughts on using these units (Helix, Axe FX, etc.) for effects only?
I would love for you guys to do a Synergy review! I love that concept (actual tubes/analog), and love that they are owner licensed etc. It would be awesome if you could go into finding a great power amp sim/cab ir solution too (two notes or something similar etc)! You guys have a great channel, cheers!
I totally understand, I think that I would divide usage of both sides. For me in studio only Amps should matter. They have unbeatable sound ofc, and You can tweak every parameter of soundchain easily. But for live use I think modelers and Kemper are win win situation. Or hybrid systems like - smaller 50w tube amp into something like Torpedo Live.
I find that theres an underlying irony to the notion that profiles/modelling cheapens the real thing because we are the consumers that create the market. I've played guitar for 20 years and the endless the flavour of the week pedal, amp, guitar that rolls out weekly blows my mind (I also think that this can diminish our satisfaction with what we have). I love chasing tone, to an extent I love reading/checking all this stuff out, but I also legitimately find myself experiencing anxiety from the amount of options and sometimes fear of making the wrong purchase. In some ways I think that modellers/profilers can be a way of introducing people to a variety of voices so that they can discover what magical composition works for them (it took me over a dozen amps to land on my current head), it also provides people with the opportunity to see what their gear sounds like through a profile of their favourite artist, or to try and amp they could never afford (ex. dumble). If musicians are travelling or playing lots of gigs profilers/modellers can also be a great tool to reduce touring costs, creating consistency, and be adaptable to venue size. Profiling can be a middle ground for the guy who doesn't want to take his $4000 head to a gig or church, can't afford to haul heavy gear, or knows they will be asked to turn down. For me, I've only ever owned tube amps, mainly because it commits me to one platform/sound, has less knobs, and it allows for me to know the ins/outs of what I have before making another gear purchase. I have had to adapt to the times with a Two notes captor to record direct in order to not have the cops called by my neighbour. On the plus side this tool has opened up a huge library of cabinets/mics that even if I purchased I couldn't use (while paying royalties to Marshall, Friedman, Revv). One point that hasn't been discussed a lot is the change in amp manufacturing (for some) to china. Marshall DSL's in the early 2000's were made in the UK for a similar price point to what is offered now. I understand that times change and that this is profitable, but I also assume that this could potentially push consumers to want profiles of "the real deal". Licensing holds a lot of promise since it gives manufactures some consistency to potentially keep their products true to their origins and could help ensure that individuals have purchased the gear they have profiled. Plus I have to believe that even the most die hard helix, axe fx, kemper guys eventually go out and buy a real head, its just interesting that with all of those choice of the profilers that most gravitate towards a 5150 with a tubescreamer!!!
I’m with you and I am joining the war!!!! So long as the creators of the tone get compensated via licensing then I am totally cool with the amp modeler technology. However, there is nothing like having a VH4 or a Fortin Meathead pushing an X pattern V30/G12M65 Creamback 4x12 cabinet WOOOOOOO! Also, the Rivera Knucklehead is a crazy underrated amp. Also, the 4 cable method with the AxeFx is amazing too. Nice Great River preamp. Lol we got Sheridan bombed! To the digital modeler defense...I wouldn’t have wanted to buy a new amp unless I was turned on by the tone I got from the digital modeler. Diamond Amplification is the shit. Do a video on them!
I think the modeling world is the primary reason that boutique amp makers stay alive. I hear a great model of an amp, I’m not like “oh sweet I can sound like that amp”, I’m like “I gotta buy that amp”, and so far, that’s happened 3 times. I’ve bought 3 amps I otherwise wouldn’t have because they were either in my old Helix or I hear some killer profiles of them. I know that’s not the case with a lot of people, but I’m not the only person I’ve met who’s like this. We don’t just want the digital amp, we want the real amp too.
But if that's the case, many "boutique" amps will have to handle this too regarding to Ferderish, Vox-ish or Marshall-ish amps since that so many of them are a ripp off from those with some changes (if any). Also, at this point, is safe to say that this ship is sale a long time ago.
@@SteveRayMorse The thing is, "boutique" amps don't sell nearly as much units as the "classic" amps they're ripping off, whereas the Kemper is a massive success.
@@djabthrashi'm not a expert but I believe that this never should be a reason to do it. Boutique amps don't sell that much due their price. A licensing thing would affect a whole market and they would not make people buy more amps.
I respect your opinion on this, but personally I feel that technology evolves and the world moves with it. The amps we all love were an evolution of things which came before it. I’m sure that Mesa isn’t paying Soldano for taking influence from their designs. For example, everyone use to have land line telephones and now very few people do, I didn’t feel any guilt for having a cellphone, and I didn’t feel any guilt when I got a smartphone. Again, I 100% respect your take on it, and if people value real amps over modelers, or want to support amp manufacturers, then that’s the way that the market will go. I’m just saying I don’t think the people who make the modelers or use them should feel any sort of shame for using a tool they feel is right for them. Also, just for some context, I have my own amp wall, I just dropped a good chunk of change adding a Dual rec to my studio, so no I’m not a kemper fan boy. I love my real amps.
Here is where you err, Kemper sells the technology to create profiles. Like selling cassette tapes in the old days to record your favorite songs off the radio, etc... People use that to make copies of their own amps. I have tubes amps, Diezel, Engl, etc., I bought them, and I make profiles from them. Are they an exact copy? No. The difference between a real amp and a ‘profile’ is like the difference between a video and a picture. Like your video here, freeze it and look at it, what do you have? A picture. One picture out of the whole video. Does that one picture give you the whole story of the video? No. Same with a profile. A profile is just a ‘snapshot’ of a moment of your amp, and tube amps are like people. Moody, changes with the temperature, good days, bad days, etc. a Kemper will never have that emotion. You get the idea. The Kemper is great. Small, light, lots of sounds, lots of connections, a real tool for any musician. And a real musician can make anything sound great. If you can’t and can only work with specific things, you suck. Period. You use what suits your needs at the time. Trying to glorify any ‘tool’ is ridiculous. Like a mechanic who will not use a crescent wrench because it’s not an exact size and he wants to be pure! Haha... What amuses me are studio guys using tube amp tech... in their DIGITAL STUDIO! Too funny.... If you are going old school, break out the reels man, or stop being retarded. I like my Tube amps. For nostalgia. It makes no sense live, no one can hear the difference. In a studio, it’s just cork sniffing for the hell of it. Use what works.
The Kemper gives people the ability for people to capture snapshots of an amp at certain settings and a whole signal chain of a guitar rig in most instances. It's a tool for producers LIKE YOU to catalogue and save the tones you create with your amps. Not everyone is selling profiles, and Kemper isn't the only reason the amp market has been suffering. It's been an industry that's been suffering for YEARS already and blaming technological advances instead of THE WAY people use these things, is just short sighted. The "profiling is theft" thing might be funny to you but, it isn't funny to the thousands of Kemper users who have paid THOUSANDS for their amp collections and have a right to profile them for their personal use as the unit was intended. Having your opinion is one thing. But, making "Profiling is theft" shirts and slandering a company is really uncool, regardless how much of a "joke" it is to you. For a content creator and a career producer/engineer, that's not very professional conduct. I'm not just defending the Kemper. If you were making slanderous shirts against any other gear company i'd still be speaking out saying that it isn't the answer and isn't the right thing to do.I really hope you were just joking and didn't end up making and selling these shirts lol smh Just like in my other comment, my main point is that the REAL problem is HOW people use these things, and HOW they conduct themselves in the business. With all due respect, this kind of conduct isn't going to be the solution.
Totally get it. I have modelers and 4 tube amps I love. When I was recording the band, the guys wanted their amps recorded, so I did. It’s an experience, and also guys want to know their amp is that sound on their track! The other stuff about licensing is true, most are not paying those manufacturers. It’s bullshit. Call me old school but I still love going to the music store and picking a cool record on Vinyl. Basically the digital world took away a huge money stream, the experience and replaced it with what? Convenience and stealing music?
I look at this way. If I could afford a wall of amps and cabs and a truck to take them places, I absolutely would, my back be damned. But I can’t, so a helix and a guitar helps get the job done and save space, and at the end of the day, that’s what I need. That being said, I’d sell a kidney for a Friedman BE lol.
That's exactly the point I'm trying to illustrate! It's more convenient for you to just buy kinda stolen goods because you dont want to save up for one great one. You're not helping the actual company who created the amp the modeler is ripping off. Do the right thing!
@@BackroomStudios I get it, that's true to an extent but buying a kemper pack from dr z is actually paying money to them just like buying IRs from celestion. In that scenario a modeler is doing more for that company than a used purchase. Other companies like Victory went that route as well. You can't patent a tone, so its not really stealing anything. In that case friedman would be stealing from marshall and matchless would be stealing from vox and so on. I think there is room for both amps and modelers everything has its place. Many people myself included have had soo many amps silver jubilees, jvms, vox etc and one thing i got sick of was maintenance and tube issues. So i got a kemper but i found myself missing having an amp still, but i really wanted something more reliable and usable than a 2 or 3 channel amp. Tube amps sound great but sound different almost day to day its part of the charm just not for me. They can have many other issues too, I personally just got tired of them so i got a katana artist and never looked back. Its not really a modeler but its a real amp and even at only 599 the kemper still didn't replace it. 60 year old tech isn't for everybody its 2021 people want a convenient light weight great sounding option other than back busting tube amps which sound fantastic and are what inspired these modelers in the first place. Keep on rocking man you got a very entertaining informative channel .
@@jamiebatchelor2857 totally, and thanks for watching. To be honest, i have a shit load of amps at my facility, and ive had 0 issues with any of them. And we run them hard, daily. the old, "tube amp maintenance thing" is such a minor thing that you have to deal with once every 5 years maybe? most of our amps have the same tubes in them since they were purchased.
@@BackroomStudios yeah its more the case of having to keep up with the bias and the actual weight of them and in some amps like the jvm it was a pain @$$ in both weight and to bias the thing lol
Kemper doesnt sound like they claim. I had it for one year..thousands of profiles..any analog amp even transistor one has something real kemper hasnt. Attack and harmonics. ..the most important thing is where it fails. OVERrated
Backroom Studios I LOVE AMPS. I have a Kemper I bought last year, but this year I bought a EVH 5150 50w head and cab which rule. But I’m having a problem that I can’t crank it and sound good it’s too loud. And buying a torpedo or attenuators is another grand. What would you do?
Kevin Antreassian uhhh because my kids are asleep by 8 pm and my wife would murder me? Being in a small basement playing I would also go deaf. With a Kemper or axe you get great tones at bedroom volume. No way ur getting that tube saturation at that volume. Unless you have a real good loadbox for another thousand
Go jam at a rehearsal studio, that's why they exist. Start a band and use the amp as it was designed at a gig. 50w tube amps are not designed for basements "past 8pm". Or, pull 2 tubes out and make it 25 watts...I can go on
It's not like Kemper is reverse engineering the actual amps, making copies of them (either with some tweaks or pure clone), and then selling them as their own.
Come to think of it...that's literally been the evolution of the guitar amp as we know it since the 1950's.
Since I own amps - should I be stocking up on tubes ?
I bought a Kemper Stage a few months ago and I hated it at first after checking out loads of presets. Then I profiled my own amps. Now I love that piece of shit! It makes the best headphone amp I have ever owned. I don't currently gig but if I did, I would use it in a heart beat. Much easier than trying to decide which one of my tube amps to bring. My amps are staying!
Its kinda like napster of amps. As much as we all hated Lars Ulrich for what he was doing, time has proved him right. When we dont have as many amp manufacturers coming up with new amps it will be our own fault.
Well said
This is an interesting side of things nobody really talks about. Your licensing point is huge.
Holy fuck, that was some Mr. Big meets jail bait's first night in a cell moment at 4:55 Haha!
Fortin, Omega Ampworks and Dr Z have official profiles. I’m surprised more manufacturers aren’t doing the same.
Hi Kevin, that's an interesting discussion and I have to agree with you on this. What are your thoughts on using these units (Helix, Axe FX, etc.) for effects only?
As long as the effects are not "clones" of real effects in the real world its fair game.
Helpful! Will you do other audio gear review as well? Hope to see that!
Yup, I'll keep them coming
@@kevinbackroom Would you like to review Wireless Handheld Microphone? May I have email address pls?
@@fifinecleonechan9119 only if were allowed to potentially break it to test its strength!
I would love for you guys to do a Synergy review! I love that concept (actual tubes/analog), and love that they are owner licensed etc. It would be awesome if you could go into finding a great power amp sim/cab ir solution too (two notes or something similar etc)! You guys have a great channel, cheers!
We're working on it! Covid messed up everything, but its in the works hopefully!
Backroom Studios looking forward to it! Would love the guys at Fortin to make a module!
I totally understand, I think that I would divide usage of both sides. For me in studio only Amps should matter. They have unbeatable sound ofc, and You can tweak every parameter of soundchain easily. But for live use I think modelers and Kemper are win win situation. Or hybrid systems like - smaller 50w tube amp into something like Torpedo Live.
I find that theres an underlying irony to the notion that profiles/modelling cheapens the real thing because we are the consumers that create the market. I've played guitar for 20 years and the endless the flavour of the week pedal, amp, guitar that rolls out weekly blows my mind (I also think that this can diminish our satisfaction with what we have). I love chasing tone, to an extent I love reading/checking all this stuff out, but I also legitimately find myself experiencing anxiety from the amount of options and sometimes fear of making the wrong purchase. In some ways I think that modellers/profilers can be a way of introducing people to a variety of voices so that they can discover what magical composition works for them (it took me over a dozen amps to land on my current head), it also provides people with the opportunity to see what their gear sounds like through a profile of their favourite artist, or to try and amp they could never afford (ex. dumble).
If musicians are travelling or playing lots of gigs profilers/modellers can also be a great tool to reduce touring costs, creating consistency, and be adaptable to venue size. Profiling can be a middle ground for the guy who doesn't want to take his $4000 head to a gig or church, can't afford to haul heavy gear, or knows they will be asked to turn down. For me, I've only ever owned tube amps, mainly because it commits me to one platform/sound, has less knobs, and it allows for me to know the ins/outs of what I have before making another gear purchase. I have had to adapt to the times with a Two notes captor to record direct in order to not have the cops called by my neighbour. On the plus side this tool has opened up a huge library of cabinets/mics that even if I purchased I couldn't use (while paying royalties to Marshall, Friedman, Revv).
One point that hasn't been discussed a lot is the change in amp manufacturing (for some) to china. Marshall DSL's in the early 2000's were made in the UK for a similar price point to what is offered now. I understand that times change and that this is profitable, but I also assume that this could potentially push consumers to want profiles of "the real deal". Licensing holds a lot of promise since it gives manufactures some consistency to potentially keep their products true to their origins and could help ensure that individuals have purchased the gear they have profiled. Plus I have to believe that even the most die hard helix, axe fx, kemper guys eventually go out and buy a real head, its just interesting that with all of those choice of the profilers that most gravitate towards a 5150 with a tubescreamer!!!
I’m with you and I am joining the war!!!! So long as the creators of the tone get compensated via licensing then I am totally cool with the amp modeler technology. However, there is nothing like having a VH4 or a Fortin Meathead pushing an X pattern V30/G12M65 Creamback 4x12 cabinet WOOOOOOO! Also, the Rivera Knucklehead is a crazy underrated amp. Also, the 4 cable method with the AxeFx is amazing too. Nice Great River preamp. Lol we got Sheridan bombed!
To the digital modeler defense...I wouldn’t have wanted to buy a new amp unless I was turned on by the tone I got from the digital modeler.
Diamond Amplification is the shit. Do a video on them!
indeed!
I think the modeling world is the primary reason that boutique amp makers stay alive. I hear a great model of an amp, I’m not like “oh sweet I can sound like that amp”, I’m like “I gotta buy that amp”, and so far, that’s happened 3 times. I’ve bought 3 amps I otherwise wouldn’t have because they were either in my old Helix or I hear some killer profiles of them. I know that’s not the case with a lot of people, but I’m not the only person I’ve met who’s like this. We don’t just want the digital amp, we want the real amp too.
Not a bad point! i was the same. Unfortunately as you said, we are the small minority here.
god i love kevin.
Yeah! Pat!! 🤘🏼💀
I had never thought about that before. It's true, not only does Kemper make money from them, but so do people who make the profiles.
Was that a garandthumb shoutout?
Yup! I do it every video
@@kevinbackroom Haha....love it!
Omega or Verellen would be dope to see have more income to create sick amps.
Alamgam yes omega amps are sick af
Plot twist. Omega sells Kemper profiles of their amps on their websites and they’re SICK lol
Great point about the licensing and bringing money back where it's due !
Also : that amps wall makes me drool !
But if that's the case, many "boutique" amps will have to handle this too regarding to Ferderish, Vox-ish or Marshall-ish amps since that so many of them are a ripp off from those with some changes (if any). Also, at this point, is safe to say that this ship is sale a long time ago.
@@SteveRayMorse The thing is, "boutique" amps don't sell nearly as much units as the "classic" amps they're ripping off, whereas the Kemper is a massive success.
@@djabthrashi'm not a expert but I believe that this never should be a reason to do it. Boutique amps don't sell that much due their price. A licensing thing would affect a whole market and they would not make people buy more amps.
I respect your opinion on this, but personally I feel that technology evolves and the world moves with it. The amps we all love were an evolution of things which came before it. I’m sure that Mesa isn’t paying Soldano for taking influence from their designs. For example, everyone use to have land line telephones and now very few people do, I didn’t feel any guilt for having a cellphone, and I didn’t feel any guilt when I got a smartphone. Again, I 100% respect your take on it, and if people value real amps over modelers, or want to support amp manufacturers, then that’s the way that the market will go. I’m just saying I don’t think the people who make the modelers or use them should feel any sort of shame for using a tool they feel is right for them. Also, just for some context, I have my own amp wall, I just dropped a good chunk of change adding a Dual rec to my studio, so no I’m not a kemper fan boy. I love my real amps.
Thank you.
Here is where you err, Kemper sells the technology to create profiles. Like selling cassette tapes in the old days to record your favorite songs off the radio, etc... People use that to make copies of their own amps. I have tubes amps, Diezel, Engl, etc., I bought them, and I make profiles from them. Are they an exact copy? No. The difference between a real amp and a ‘profile’ is like the difference between a video and a picture. Like your video here, freeze it and look at it, what do you have? A picture. One picture out of the whole video. Does that one picture give you the whole story of the video? No. Same with a profile. A profile is just a ‘snapshot’ of a moment of your amp, and tube amps are like people. Moody, changes with the temperature, good days, bad days, etc. a Kemper will never have that emotion. You get the idea.
The Kemper is great. Small, light, lots of sounds, lots of connections, a real tool for any musician. And a real musician can make anything sound great. If you can’t and can only work with specific things, you suck. Period.
You use what suits your needs at the time. Trying to glorify any ‘tool’ is ridiculous. Like a mechanic who will not use a crescent wrench because it’s not an exact size and he wants to be pure! Haha...
What amuses me are studio guys using tube amp tech... in their DIGITAL STUDIO! Too funny.... If you are going old school, break out the reels man, or stop being retarded.
I like my Tube amps. For nostalgia. It makes no sense live, no one can hear the difference. In a studio, it’s just cork sniffing for the hell of it. Use what works.
I think I agree with almost none of this...
The Kemper gives people the ability for people to capture snapshots of an amp at certain settings and a whole signal chain of a guitar rig in most instances. It's a tool for producers LIKE YOU to catalogue and save the tones you create with your amps. Not everyone is selling profiles, and Kemper isn't the only reason the amp market has been suffering. It's been an industry that's been suffering for YEARS already and blaming technological advances instead of THE WAY people use these things, is just short sighted.
The "profiling is theft" thing might be funny to you but, it isn't funny to the thousands of Kemper users who have paid THOUSANDS for their amp collections and have a right to profile them for their personal use as the unit was intended.
Having your opinion is one thing. But, making "Profiling is theft" shirts and slandering a company is really uncool, regardless how much of a "joke" it is to you. For a content creator and a career producer/engineer, that's not very professional conduct.
I'm not just defending the Kemper. If you were making slanderous shirts against any other gear company i'd still be speaking out saying that it isn't the answer and isn't the right thing to do.I really hope you were just joking and didn't end up making and selling these shirts lol smh
Just like in my other comment, my main point is that the REAL problem is HOW people use these things, and HOW they conduct themselves in the business. With all due respect, this kind of conduct isn't going to be the solution.
"It's a joke, so RELAX"
Hahahha yep
Merica!!! And tube amps!!!
🤘🏼🤘🏼
i lolled so hard at 7:44
Totally get it. I have modelers and 4 tube amps I love. When I was recording the band, the guys wanted their amps recorded, so I did. It’s an experience, and also guys want to know their amp is that sound on their track! The other stuff about licensing is true, most are not paying those manufacturers. It’s bullshit. Call me old school but I still love going to the music store and picking a cool record on Vinyl. Basically the digital world took away a huge money stream, the experience and replaced it with what? Convenience and stealing music?
Amen! Team amps here.
I look at this way.
If I could afford a wall of amps and cabs and a truck to take them places, I absolutely would, my back be damned. But I can’t, so a helix and a guitar helps get the job done and save space, and at the end of the day, that’s what I need.
That being said, I’d sell a kidney for a Friedman BE lol.
That's exactly the point I'm trying to illustrate! It's more convenient for you to just buy kinda stolen goods because you dont want to save up for one great one. You're not helping the actual company who created the amp the modeler is ripping off. Do the right thing!
Der tuk R jobs!
Amps Rule. Kempers are lame.
Can I be on team Friedman?
Yup, just tell Dave I sent you!
This argument is like the maker of the gas engine, or the oil companies getting pissed at Tesla for making the electric car.
How are the arguments even close?
Do I need to explain really?
Tesla isn't trying to copy any gas car.
Buying used doesn't help the amp companies either
Not directly, but keeping the physical amps around to be used its like free advertising and helps push the product...more so than if they didnt exist!
@@BackroomStudios I get it, that's true to an extent but buying a kemper pack from dr z is actually paying money to them just like buying IRs from celestion. In that scenario a modeler is doing more for that company than a used purchase. Other companies like Victory went that route as well.
You can't patent a tone, so its not really stealing anything. In that case friedman would be stealing from marshall and matchless would be stealing from vox and so on. I think there is room for both amps and modelers everything has its place. Many people myself included have had soo many amps silver jubilees, jvms, vox etc and one thing i got sick of was maintenance and tube issues. So i got a kemper but i found myself missing having an amp still, but i really wanted something more reliable and usable than a 2 or 3 channel amp. Tube amps sound great but sound different almost day to day its part of the charm just not for me. They can have many other issues too, I personally just got tired of them so i got a katana artist and never looked back. Its not really a modeler but its a real amp and even at only 599 the kemper still didn't replace it. 60 year old tech isn't for everybody its 2021 people want a convenient light weight great sounding option other than back busting tube amps which sound fantastic and are what inspired these modelers in the first place. Keep on rocking man you got a very entertaining informative channel .
@@jamiebatchelor2857 totally, and thanks for watching. To be honest, i have a shit load of amps at my facility, and ive had 0 issues with any of them. And we run them hard, daily. the old, "tube amp maintenance thing" is such a minor thing that you have to deal with once every 5 years maybe? most of our amps have the same tubes in them since they were purchased.
@@BackroomStudios yeah its more the case of having to keep up with the bias and the actual weight of them and in some amps like the jvm it was a pain @$$ in both weight and to bias the thing lol
Kemper doesnt sound like they claim. I had it for one year..thousands of profiles..any analog amp even transistor one has something real kemper hasnt. Attack and harmonics. ..the most important thing is where it fails. OVERrated
8 minutes of narrow minded missinformation
Yeah, i really have no idea what i'm talking about...ROCKMANNMUSIC LOL!
Backroom Studios I LOVE AMPS. I have a Kemper I bought last year, but this year I bought a EVH 5150 50w head and cab which rule. But I’m having a problem that I can’t crank it and sound good it’s too loud. And buying a torpedo or attenuators is another grand. What would you do?
@@Bsaunders17 why cant you crank it? That's the point of an amp!
Kevin Antreassian uhhh because my kids are asleep by 8 pm and my wife would murder me? Being in a small basement playing I would also go deaf. With a Kemper or axe you get great tones at bedroom volume. No way ur getting that tube saturation at that volume. Unless you have a real good loadbox for another thousand
Go jam at a rehearsal studio, that's why they exist. Start a band and use the amp as it was designed at a gig. 50w tube amps are not designed for basements "past 8pm". Or, pull 2 tubes out and make it 25 watts...I can go on