Assuming the profiling is top notch - would you buy a Kemper MK2 now?

[Boudoir Guitar]

So assuming that the new Kemper profiling is top notch, fixes all of the accuracy complaints, and absolutely smashes people like me in the face with how awesome the core amp profiling sounds.

Would you buy a Kemper??

I would snag a player, but not the full unit. I love the Ui, but the tremolo and rotary were garbage and I don’t think they’ve been improved? The full profiler just doesn’t do enough to justify its physical or financial size even if the profiling is ace.

 

[Desertdweller]

It looks like V2 is aimed at players who have been using Kemper from the beginning and just want the updated sound quality etc without changing the look and workflow they are already accustomed to. It's an interesting strategy.

I would never invest in a company with this strategy. That's a sinking ship if that's the case.

 

[Frodebro]

Honestly, no. For two main reasons:


2. Their (Kemper the company) behavior has been abhorrent over the last few months, in regards to how they've treated people on their own forum. Not interested in supporting such an arrogant and pompous company.

This is a bigger deal than many people would stop to think about, as far as modelers/profilers are concerned. These products evolve over their lifespans (except BOSS, of course), and between the firmware updates/bug reports, new feature requests, and general assistance figuring stuff out there is a LOT of interactions with the manufacturers and customers (except BOSS, of course). So the culture surrounding these products often plays as large a role as the features and specs do when people are deciding which company to invest in.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

It's short road to death.

Probably, but it's similar to what Boss/Roland does. They keep basically the same UI for years or even decades. Like the GT series, which used pretty much the same UI until the 1000 series. Or the Katana series, which is on MkIII and with minimal changes to the UI. Or the ME series etc... And these are successful product lines.

It does seem like a weird strategy to me for a modeling/profiling company though.

 

[Cactusprick]

lucky i don't have golden ears to hear anomalies in MK1 for my uses.
still serves me extremely well, in fact, sounds fantastic.

but no i wouldn't buy MK2 (sold player after ditching buying higher tiers upgrades).

 

[Frodebro]

Probably, but it's similar to what Boss/Roland does. They keep basically the same UI for years or even decades. Like the GT series, which used pretty much the same UI until the 1000 series. Or the Katana series, which is on MkIII and with minimal changes to the UI. Or the ME series etc... And these are successful product lines.

It does seem like a weird strategy to me for a modeling/profiling company though.

Roland is a HUGE company, with so many products that modelers are likely an afterthought for them. They probably make more off of SD-1 sales than they do GT-1000s, so their priorities are very different from the smaller companies that specialize in modelers/profilers.

 

[jonathanthomas83]

I would, yes. And I probably will.

I liked the UI and I enjoyed some v1 profiles that I'd happily use again, accurate or not. I really like the effects, although they are on par with many pedals and other platforms these days.

I don't like the Kemper forum or the dogmatic views shared on there and they're slow as fuck as a company, it seems. But I could complain about things I've shared on the Fractal forum about UI/UX and other stuff and just been told to get back in my box - "it's a non-issue".

I think people may be forgetting that a profile no longer needs to be a snapshot and that one profile should technically be able to get a range of tones and gain levels with the advancement of the profiling process coupled with the liquid profiling technology (old snapshot profiles could too, albeit more artificially). That sets it apart from (currently) NAM and Tonex. Whether that equates to 'usable' or even 'realistic', time will tell, but I am definitely going to get a Kemper Mk II.

Personally, I'm quite excited about getting a QC and a Kemper Mk II and will be running both for different purposes. Got a lot of saving to do first though! :-)