I don't disagree with anything you stated.
With regards to Kemper, I don't think there will be a Kemper 2 either. I see Christoph as a visionary that had an idea and in his mind he fulfilled his goal. He opted to add a few additional platforms that utilized the original tech.
As products all reach as close as they can get to replacing amps I wonder where things will go. I think usability and and the enjoyment factor will become increasing important.
After trying the TMP I think they have the easiest device hands down.
They did what Neural attempted to do with the touch screen without the ridiculous preset sharing/liking/cloud setup.
I also wouldn't count out all of the smaller NAM related players. I think they will ultimately bring prices down as more people will realize they can do things cheaper.
As far as each company's vision, I have no idea but I can't see NDSP continuing to create the same rehashed plugins forever. They are all basically the same thing and now with X series and the porting into the QC, the overlap will really show.
Fractal will continue as long as Cliff wants it to but ultimately I think he's achieved what he set out to do.
They can't make a simple GUi. Sure they could add bluetooth, wifi, a touchscreen but ultimately you will still be leafing through 7 screens of amp parameters and that's the strength of Fractal. Cliff could stop now and go out on top for creating the most robust platform. It's all up to him.
I drew the comparison to Christoph not based on the Kemper device but based on a guy who set out to do something and did it then relaxed. I think the Kemper unit is still great.
Could it be better, sure. They could be on their 5th version already but CK was content.
Line 6 can do whatever they want but as everything already sounds so close I'm not sure what they will add to the equation. Their effects are not top shelf. Their device has never sounded the best. They used to have the best UI. Yamaha has never been the best at anything. Very good products though. Line 6 seems to fit that mold. Sure, they could adopt capturing or NAM integration but that won't make them unique in any way.
Fender has an opportunity to take a very user friendly device and perfect its simplicity by adding a few already globally adopted features like scenes/snapshots and then leave it alone. (Not as much as Kemper but more like BOSS) They could attempt to add plugin functionality through Presonus and have their amps DAW based.
I'm just thinking out loud
I could get by with any of these units in their current state, but usability/ease of use will play a factor in sales. I still like Tonex and if they ever marketed a full modeler and made a better UI, I would buy it. If they did it right, i think it would end NDSP. Will they, probably not.
As it stands, my Axe3/fc12 is currently up for sale in an attempt to acquire an Fm9 and potentially the TMP again if they play their cards right.
This is my 2 cents on the the modelling landscape at the moment
NDSP: truly I think if NDSP had succeeded out of the gate with all they promised, Captures, Editor, Plug Compatibility , we would be having a different conversation , they had the opportunity to be a "game changer" at least 3 .5 years ago . their Achilles heel the Pcom just totally hung them and has brought any development to a halt or a best a slow crawl . How different would it be if we had 3 years of updates , I suspect we would have a much more robust and mature product .
I don't think they ever expected to have to redo and rebuild all the plugin from the ground up , I think Doug and the other hire ups honestly thought converting software to hardware was a much easier task .
Doug I think is mostly involved with the designs and office stuff , he also bought a gym so I think he is more interested in outside interests and possibly other financial ventures , you don't see much of him . I suspect Neural next step will be realeasing the mini Cortex "nano" and trying to build an Ecosystem much like Line6 , trying to expand the product line and hit lower price points , I honestly don't think they predicted ToneX so soon and certainly not at that price point .
LINE6 - It obvious they are working on a big project . DI says in the works for probably the past 10 years , and they are putting a lot of faith in the next big thing , being able to dominate the market , the fact that the updates are down to one a year and smaller . and the fact that they have been going after the low price point for the past 2 years , with pod go , catalyst, express etc , re confirms that likely its all hands on deck elsewhere , when we talk Ecosystems and being able to provide products for every level of player from beginner to Pro , I don't think there is anyone that does that better
Kemper: I agree with what has been said about CK. he had a vision and a mission and accomplished that a long time ago , I think he caved with the player , and decided how can we get into that lower price bracket , as HX. stomp is the best selling product, he did not want to leave money on the table , although I also Agee with Laxu he is about 3 or 4 years too late .
TMP" don't really know much about this one , its obvious Fender has deep pockets, out of the gate it was pretty bad , but they have reacted and improved the sound quality in a relatively quick turnaround , hey Jon likes them now so they can't be so bad , I have to deduct 5 points because DougB is their spokesperson , but other than that they seem to be on the right track
I also feel they will need to expand the product line and have a TMP stomp at some point if they want to get into that Helix stomp ,Kemper player bracket , they are obviously the new kids on the block and I wish them well but they have some catching up to do , no doubt
