jellodog
Rock Star
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- 4,813
Kemper Player - 1st [ Paid for ? ] Update coming very soon ?
- Thread starter BenIfin
- Start date
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
- Messages
- 18,075
Why am I suddenly GAS'ing for a Kemper Stage?
SillyOctpuss
Shredder
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- 2,372
Mongillo19
Rock Star
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- 5,557
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
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- 18,075
texhex
Roadie
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- 879
Refurbished is a pretty good deal. I know a guy with some pretty nice Profiles.
About to include some IR-J ones.
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
- Messages
- 18,075
Thank you sir! I am sure the urge will pass. Unless I somehow come across one that someone is fire sale-ing for like 8bills
texhex
Roadie
- Messages
- 879
Thank you sir! I am sure the urge will pass. Unless I somehow come across one that someone is fire sale-ing for like 8bills
Used Head/Rack prices are at about that now. I actually prefer the Rack + Controller over the Stage.
I think I’m gonna run some Tonex caps of the IR-J too. Broke the Tonex software out last night after the 1.8.X update and my Badlander caps still sound fantastic. Haven’t used Tonex in literally months. Still HATE the software UI, but damn it sure sounds good.
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
- Messages
- 18,075
Yeah I am easing my way out of the conversation pretty swiftly as we speak. Boredom is it's own drug apparently
I, apparently, missed the boat.Hey man! Good to see you here! Took you long enough
I've been lurking around the edges for about a month (work has been a bear this fall) and finally got around to signing up this weekend.
Good to see so many of the old familiar faces. :)
And this explains why, exactly, in addition to the Player, there are now a TMP and FM3 in the Bat Cave.Yeah I am easing my way out of the conversation pretty swiftly as we speak. Boredom is it's own drug apparently
The sickness is real.
JiveTurkey
Goatlord
- Messages
- 18,075
And this explains why, exactly, in addition to the Player, there are now a TMP and FM3 in the Bat Cave.
The sickness is real.
Fair enough. Just my opinion, but I have always found the KPA had better low and mid gain tube tones than the Helix. The KPA verb and delay's are also better to my ear. But as you say .... Opinions.
Interesting line of discussion there bro.... but lets hope not. I left the Navy many decades ago.
... and I would tend to agree with that completely. I bought my KPA rack and FC specifically because I gig. I don't sit at home and record, or just putz in my basement .... I gig, and practice with a band.Lets be real. The reason Kemper has been successful is he had the best lawyers:
June 15, 2022. The day the Kemper Profiler patent expires.
As a point of interest, since there have been SOME people who have asked why only Kemper has profiling ability, it will interest at least those people to know that the patent that covers the Kemper Profiler expires on June 15, 2022, or so it appears based on the results of some patent...forum.fractalaudio.com
Isn't it interesting that once the patent expired there was a deluge of high quality profilers?
There is probably some revisionist history here. The reason pros used Kemper is because it was the only game in town for 15 years. There are many equally important music innovations that were not patented. He just happened to have his lawyers lined up and ready. What he does is a variation of technology that had been employed in pro audio for years (room correction).
And regarding the "tools for pros" ethos.. that is marketing BS or a retweet of marketing BS.
When I was younger and had high paying tech jobs, I bought Samplitude and spent thousands in upgrades because it "was used by pros in mastering studios" had "object oriented editing" and "had a mathematically correct mixing engine that made it sound better". (Kool aid, all of it.)
Where is Samplitude now? (Answer: Irrelevant) What happened? All the DAWs upgraded to 64 bit mixing engine around 2010 and the argument it sounded better could no longer be made. Then it came down to workflow and features, and the other DAWs had more innovation, more penetration in consumer markets, more development budget to build those innovative features.
Regarding Kemper.. they will be able to survive on past glory (at least for a while), but better sounding and more innovative solutions are available. And because most of them are software solutions -- and lets be honest these are studio tools and dont need a hardware implementation -- no one needs to buy a Kemper Toaster or Player, unless they are gigging.
The landscape has changed like that! (snaps fingers)
Kemper has staying power because it is the best gigging tool out there (My opinion). It is built like a tank, and is rock solid stable. It is designed in a way that new updates never impact the tone of your hard worked on gigging rigs (patches). Kemper definitely caters to the premium live gig crowd.
Your point is very good though. If all you do is fiddle around at home making cool patches, it is only a matter of time before an all-software solution will eclipse even the greatest hardware solution out there in today's market for this purpose. As much power as an Axe III Fx has, it won't compete with the ever more powerful desktop processors with 20+ cores (and WAY more than that if you can use the graphics, AI, or Compute specific processors in modern computers).
As for Kemper having good lawyers .... good for them. They came up with the idea first. They deserve to reap the benefits for it. I do agree that others have done "capture/profile" better than Kemper did it. This is demonstrably true through signal analysis. The Kemper still provides the best gig rig out there though. The captures are way more than close enough .... especially if you are like me and simply purchase or download what others have done anyway.
Did you try any other pedals? Just curious.I bought a Kemper Player for home use…no gigging…
FWIW, the player is a very good sounding little pedal. Obviously just as good as its big brother with the upgrade Level II or III.
wharf rat
Roadie
- Messages
- 161
I’ve tried all but Fractal now.
Frankly it’s a toss up and I could probably operate with plugins only.
creative360
Roadie
- Messages
- 161
Hahahah omg I know I write long and dull and awkwardly sincere and so serious sounding posts about my decade+ (and ongoing) of making a bunch of bucks on the back of my Kemper and profile vendor purchases ..but I’m not so serious! I’m just happy that Kemper hasn’t betrayed my faith, like pretty much every other tech company whose products I exploit for work has at some point or another.Lets be real. The reason Kemper has been successful is he had the best lawyers:
June 15, 2022. The day the Kemper Profiler patent expires.
As a point of interest, since there have been SOME people who have asked why only Kemper has profiling ability, it will interest at least those people to know that the patent that covers the Kemper Profiler expires on June 15, 2022, or so it appears based on the results of some patent...
Isn't it interesting that once the patent expired there was a deluge of high quality profilers?
There is probably some revisionist history here. The reason pros used Kemper is because it was the only game in town for 15 years. There are many equally important music innovations that were not patented. He just happened to have his lawyers lined up and ready. What he does is a variation of technology that had been employed in pro audio for years (room correction).
And regarding the "tools for pros" ethos.. that is marketing BS or a retweet of marketing BS.
When I was younger and had high paying tech jobs, I bought Samplitude and spent thousands in upgrades because it "was used by pros in mastering studios" had "object oriented editing" and "had a mathematically correct mixing engine that made it sound better". (Kool aid, all of it.)
Where is Samplitude now? (Answer: Irrelevant) What happened? All the DAWs upgraded to 64 bit mixing engine around 2010 and the argument it sounded better could no longer be made. Then it came down to workflow and features, and the other DAWs had more innovation, more penetration in consumer markets, more development budget to build those innovative features.
Regarding Kemper.. they will be able to survive on past glory (at least for a while), but better sounding and more innovative solutions are available. And because most of them are software solutions -- and lets be honest these are studio tools and dont need a hardware implementation -- no one needs to buy a Kemper Toaster or Player, unless they are gigging.
The landscape has changed like that! (snaps fingers)
Regarding your very serious sounding rebuttal … I couldn’t agree less with most of it, but that doesn’t mean you won’t one day blow my mind with your incredible alternative-gear tones. I hope you do. And I hope you have fun doing it.
I guess. I know they’re out there but then where are all those better-sounding guitarists? And, shrug, has there been some tsunami like migration from pro Kemper stages to Tonex and QC? I haven’t seen it. Kemper folks still using Kemper. Fractal folks still using Fractal and Helix folks still doing their thing. As if any of this matters. People getting tones don’t usually blow whichever way the wind blows. (Except for a handful of very entertaining forumites whose never ending gear journeys are, for whatever reason, compelling to read about. )
Meanwhile Kemper continues to be a great company to work with. And their at first whiff expensive seeming price for a tiny box, and bumpy rollout, doesn’t take away from the fact that in 2024 they released the best thing ever for pro tones in a gig bag. (Even if I think for most any other purpose the powered head or Stage may be the more fun choice.
fun fun fun
ymmv
creative360
Roadie
- Messages
- 161
That’s cool. For twelve years people said they weren’t interested in profiling, but the second QC announced it’s pre-sale the world exploded, and obviously when Tonex came out at its irresistible price point, a lot of people who are able to tolerate the less desirable aspects got in to it. The leather handle on a Kemper toaster is probably more expensive than a Tonex One, so yeah Kemper has never been in the hundred dollar pedal game and they probably never will be.
Anyone who’s happy doing anything other than Kemper— and there are lots of people with firsthand experience with this brand who do prefer other stuff—should by all means go for it go for it go for it. No one cares.
Anyway like a lot of us have been saying since 2012, Kemper’s innovation is a great way to get at very satisfying amplifier tones. It’s great that there are options out there.
For my money, which this device earned back like three days after I received it a very long time ago, Kemper is still the best deal around. Am I curious about an FM9, sure, or a Stomp for all those great legacy Line6 effects sure why not. But so far I don’t need all that. I don’t need a companion device that fits in the pocket of a gigbag either, but a Player paired with ideally a laptop or even an iPad, for all kinds of writing and production scenarios away from my spot, that would make a tempting little tote bag of possibilities.
Anyone who’s happy doing anything other than Kemper— and there are lots of people with firsthand experience with this brand who do prefer other stuff—should by all means go for it go for it go for it. No one cares.
Anyway like a lot of us have been saying since 2012, Kemper’s innovation is a great way to get at very satisfying amplifier tones. It’s great that there are options out there.
For my money, which this device earned back like three days after I received it a very long time ago, Kemper is still the best deal around. Am I curious about an FM9, sure, or a Stomp for all those great legacy Line6 effects sure why not. But so far I don’t need all that. I don’t need a companion device that fits in the pocket of a gigbag either, but a Player paired with ideally a laptop or even an iPad, for all kinds of writing and production scenarios away from my spot, that would make a tempting little tote bag of possibilities.
creative360
Roadie
- Messages
- 161
That’s you guessing. Internet gripes aside, Player is yet another Kemper hit.
Yes a Kemper plug would be cool. That said, reamping, or not committing to tones in general, is a tiny percentage of anything I’ve witnessed over many years. I always record a side-car unprocessed version of what I’m laying down, and those safety tracks rarely get used. I own a million guitar plugs, but when I do re-amp, the round trip to the Kemper is easier, because when something sounds good that’s what makes it easy, not how convenient the operation is. A Kemper plug, which I’d love, will inevitably lead to way more time wasted not committing, and yes also lead to some great creative explorations. So yes, I’d love it, but no, that doesn’t mean it’ll make the music, or life, better.
