Kemper Player - Kemper gives away Morphing for FREE

laxu said:
You can completely choose if, and when you want to engage with Fractal firmware updates.

I think "everything changes" is stretching it too far, most of the modeling updates are pretty subtle. You could keep your existing settings and it would sound fine. At most there are a couple of major updates per generation of hardware that might require readjusting stuff.
Click to expand...
Yeah, “everything changes” is hyperbole at this point, and screams “I’ve never used a Fractal, or not for at least a decade”.
 
I still like the Kemper a LOT for vintage M style and Vox tones. High gain metal tones are pretty samey and not usually representative of the real amp. And things like adjusting the tone stack of Boogie that I would invariably do IRL or on a Fractal are not going to react anywhere near the same. The idea that everything is a set and forget and you are never going to touch it once it's captured/profiled is patently absurd. See how the broad brush works? :rofl
 
JiveTurkey said:
I still like the Kemper a LOT for vintage M style and Vox tones. High gain metal tones are pretty samey and not usually representative of the real amp.
Click to expand...

I think back to the days of people doing blind tests between the real amps and a Kemper, and how something always jumped out at me as a "difference" even if I couldn't explicitly say one was the amp and one was the Kemper... and then I remember how butt-hurt everyone who owned a Kemper would get about it whenever you said this online... and then I remember how everyone said it was super accurate... then Kemper did an update to fix the low end... then all of a sudden the previous version wasn't super accurate but now the new version was... and then I remember how gradually over time as other products came out that were more accurate and nicer to play, the goalpost moved to being 'accuracy isn't that important - as long as it sounds good' .....

.... it is truly hilarious when you look at the timeline of capturing/profiling. The amount of copium being smoked is really wild.
 
Orvillain said:
I think back to the days of people doing blind tests between the real amps and a Kemper, and how something always jumped out at me as a "difference" even if I couldn't explicitly say one was the amp and one was the Kemper... and then I remember how butt-hurt everyone who owned a Kemper would get about it whenever you said this online... and then I remember how everyone said it was super accurate... then Kemper did an update to fix the low end... then all of a sudden the previous version wasn't super accurate but now the new version was... and then I remember how gradually over time as other products came out that were more accurate and nicer to play, the goalpost moved to being 'accuracy isn't that important - as long as it sounds good' .....

.... it is truly hilarious when you look at the timeline of capturing/profiling. The amount of copium being smoked is really wild.
Click to expand...
Isn't that applicable to all Digi boxes..."now realer".

It used to drove me just as nuts with the Axe-Fx crowd, when it was exactly Iike the amp, and then after a FW update even more so.

It's the laundry detergent commercial...it now washes even whiter.
 
Ed DeGenaro said:
Isn't that applicable to all Digi boxes..."now realer".

It used to drove me just as nuts with the Axe-Fx crowd, when it was exactly Iike the amp, and then after a FW update even more so.

It's the laundry detergent commercial...it now washes even whiter.
Click to expand...
Yeah.

I mean, in my opinion, none of this shit replaces a valve amp and a 4x12 anyway. That is still the gold standard for me.

Axe II didn't sound good enough to me. When I got my Axe III, I was genuinely blown away at how instant gratification a lot of the amps were.

And yes, there have been very few firmware releases in the last two years that necessitated me having to rebuild any presets.
 
laxu said:
You can completely choose if, and when you want to engage with Fractal firmware updates.

I think "everything changes" is stretching it too far, most of the modeling updates are pretty subtle. You could keep your existing settings and it would sound fine. At most there are a couple of major updates per generation of hardware that might require readjusting stuff.
Click to expand...
True, but in that framework, I either choose to get new features and update, or have to check to make sure my patches all stayed the same. I argue that this isn't a great choice for a gigging or touring musician.

I agree, "everything changes" is not true. The fact that ANYTHING could change is enough of a deterrent for many.

For all the Kemper haters, it's all good. If you are loving life with a nice tube amp and 4x12 cab, more power to you. I do like the way old pictures of my band look with my big ole VHT rig on stage. My knees and back sure don't miss them so much though.

For those that don't think Kemper sounds good? That's just silly. I have played side by side with tons of tube amps, and every major modeler out there on many occasions. My friends that play different rigs than mine all agree. Kemper sounds pretty darned good. I also agree that their rigs all sound pretty darned good. The level of people I run with play on very good gear and gig regularly. Not a single one of them have a rig that didn't cost around 2-3K (or more). Shoot, my Kemper rack and foot controller is the poor man in the group (except for one guy that has the Helix floor pedal).

And there's nothing wrong with a guy that has a hand full of pedals in a pedal board and a Peavey Classic 30 either. That rig can be had new for under 1K and still sounds pretty darned good to my ears.
 
Karl Houseknecht said:
So that leaves us at solid state amps with pedals then. Because that’s the only rig I can think of that changes the least.
Click to expand...
No. Kemper works great for live gigs because it doesn't change with firmware updates (among other things).

Axe III Fx is absolutely used for gigging, but for touring musicians, they don't dare make an update without having down time to verify they haven't caused an issue with their performance. Doesn't mean it can't be used or isn't used for gigging/touring, only that this behavior is greatly undesirable for this purpose.

My tube amp rig was testy (VHT Ultralead and a Fender Blackface). It was easy to get a pedal board knob bumped, or the amp behaving slightly differently under different conditions, but I managed to gig that setup for better than a decade. Didn't make it a "bad" gig setup, only a difficult one.

There are better options today.
 
The hardest gigs I ever did were when I didn't have my own equipment, or couldn't bring my own equipment, and was at the mercy or what I could borrow.

The worst one I ever did was a small Fender 1xsomething combo, and a Fulltone OCD in the front. Godamn it sucked.

I pretty much only gig 100watt valve heads and 4x12's these days. I'm not interested in using digital modelling for gigs; well... maybe like a 5% interest, but not enough to risk it.
 
OneEng said:
Kemper works great for live gigs because it doesn't change with firmware updates
Click to expand...
That’s kinda my biggest beef with it. It has obvious room for improvement but they refuse to do anything about it. Also, it still isn’t up to what I’d consider more than entry level modeler functionality and effects after all this time. I’d love if major changes were made to it.
 
Orvillain said:
I pretty much only gig 100watt valve heads and 4x12's these days. I'm not interested in using digital modelling for gigs; well... maybe like a 5% interest, but not enough to risk it.
Click to expand...
Not surprising. Certainly you are not alone. I gigged that way from 1983 to 2013.
Karl Houseknecht said:
That’s kinda my biggest beef with it. It has obvious room for improvement but they refuse to do anything about it. Also, it still isn’t up to what I’d consider more than entry level modeler functionality and effects after all this time. I’d love if major changes were made to it.
Click to expand...
It's definitely not an entry level modeler. Plenty of touring acts and nightly gigging acts using Kemper. I suspect it is the most used digital amp in the pro level touring market.

The reverbs and delays are top notch, even compared with way more expensive solutions like Eventide (I have compared them). What about Kemper is "entry level"?
 
OneEng said:
The reverbs and delays are top notch, even compared with way more expensive solutions like Eventide (I have compared them). What about Kemper is "entry level"?
Click to expand...

Never been a big fan of Kemper (or profiling, for that matter) but they have pretty great effects in my experience.
 
Karl Houseknecht said:
That’s kinda my biggest beef with it. It has obvious room for improvement but they refuse to do anything about it. Also, it still isn’t up to what I’d consider more than entry level modeler functionality and effects after all this time. I’d love if major changes were made to it.
Click to expand...
The KPP is FAR from being entry-level ANYTHING. Even Level 1. The work-flow, flexibility and sound quality are absolutely incredible. I'm coming from the BOSS GT-1000, Fractal, Quad Cortex and ToneMaster Pro. The Player is just as gig-worthy as anything on that list. I've been using it daily for acoustic, electric and bass rehearsals, gigs and recording (with nothing else except an expression pedal). Don't forget, the operating system running the KPP has been developed over more than what, ten years in its big brothers? It's not like they started from scratch. They just made a smaller device. It's not entry-level. For sure.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
TH-U Fluid IRs
2 3
Replies
40
Views
4K
0XI0
0XI0
texhex
4th Kemper, Why, but Also Yes
2
Replies
34
Views
3K
Mongillo19
M
JasonE
Stick with Mac or move to Windows?
6 7 8
Replies
142
Views
2K
laxu
laxu
Bob Zaod
Getting paid as a musician
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
fretworn
fretworn
Riffraff
Want to add a recording tool, PS2A for my many tube amps...FM3...HX Stomp...decisions decisions - Opinions Please
2 3
Replies
48
Views
4K
Will Chen
Will Chen
Back
Top