Kemper Profiler MK 2

[Sascha Franck]

"Hey guys, let's make this device appealing to people that don't need it because they already have one"

Don't know about you, but if I was to upgrade whatever it is, I appreciate it being compatible with what I'm already familiar with and what might even fit into my pedalboard seemlessly.

Anyhow, from all info that is available so far, it doesn't seem that you can run multiple captures with this new version, let alone dual amps. Given that other modelers/profilers can do that, this isn't too great.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Kemper is now the profiling equivalent of Boss.

 

[eggpl@nt]

Kemper’s website is live again

 

[Antipodes]

After owning the damn thing 6 times, I am decidedly not a fan!

Never say never though. I'd get a MK2 if it was provably more accurate at capturing high-gain tones, and if the clean tones didn't sound like an anaemic aardvark on a glass coffee table.

Damn right. Contemorary tastes demand a red-blooded aardvark on hand-rubbed bubinga.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

2). This makes the Player WAY more attractive.

Me happy its future proof!
Only concern..If they indeed updated the profiling, my mk1 toaster possibly will not have that ability, which makes getting my own captures into the kpp challenging :)

3). I don't really care about a screen, and yet that screen is like a big middle finger from CK

Its not for everyone, but I get it. As Many physical knobs as possible for immediate acces at a gig, screen big enough to handle emergencies, when you need to do more elaborate stuff, you use the editor on mobile device or pc. Probabably cost saving also.

Between Kemper and QC, very different, both work perfectly fine for me. QC is always a click before editing, kemper often none, sometimes 1, sometimes more. Needs an external screen when you want to go through lists efficiently.

 

[Mikael Dez]

I think the whole “gotta get as accurate as guitarist X did on his record” is absolutely the type of shit that drives this industry but I really don’t care if my tone can pass a null test. My ears have been raped by helicopter engines, so pardon their lack of gold hue.

Do I care if I sound exactly like Mikael Akerfeldt? No. Does new Mikael Akerfeldt really care if he sounds like old Mikael Akerfeldt when he’s playing 20 year old songs with his modern setup? Nah. Idk what I’m rambling about anymore but you nerds have a good day talking about 1’s and 0’s

 

[JiveTurkey]

I sincerely wish Christoph would get over his "Let's prove Cliff wrong and use the same chip for 39 years!" thing and actually advance the Kemper.

 

[Mikael Dez]

"Floorboard featuring a complete PROFILER™ incl. PROFILING™ with integrated Remote-grade switching system." It has PROFILING™ in the PROFILER™!

 

[GTR37]

It’s interesting that they are saying the player already had the upgrades and better sounds
If that is the case that should be easy to verify for those who have a player and OG toaster or stage
I can’t recall anyone saying this player sounds different or noticeably better than my OG and I am sure we would have seen those threads

 

[eggpl@nt]

I sincerely wish Christoph would get over his "Let's prove Cliff wrong and use the same chip for 39 years!" thing and actually advance the Kemper.

Is there legit some beef there between FAS and Kemper wrt to the devices they use (and perhaps how long each party deems them to be useful)?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

It’s interesting that they are saying the player already had the upgrades and better sounds
If that is the case that should be easy to verify for those who have a player and OG toaster or stage
I can’t recall anyone saying this player sounds different or noticeably better than my OG and I am sure we would have seen those threads

I thought the better sound was coming through software that's still in testing, but the Player already has the hardware that can run this new software that we promise is definitely coming this summer with no possibility for unexpected delays...

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

It’s interesting that they are saying the player already had the upgrades and better sounds

I read into it that the hardware is mk2 compatibel, and that whatever is better in mk2 will roll out in updates.
So, on current firmware they still are the same. Which matches my experience, although i never A/B

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

I sincerely wish Christoph would get over his "Let's prove Cliff wrong and use the same chip for 39 years!" thing and actually advance the Kemper.

What makes you think they use the same chip?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

i never A/B

This is the way

 

[NKP]

I don’t buy it cause I am happy with my fractal axe fx 3. But I think this is cool they do that. If I was in kemper (I owned both powerhead and stage in the past) I probably upgrade to this one .
I suppose there is a better tone on this one, and the new add on are cool (fx, boot, look…)

But if I understand well, their new profiling technology will be available in some months (in an update ?) and not day one

It is the kemper tone that make me sell the kemper, everything sounds « kemper », every amp I mean. The profiles lack personality . I have done 300 profiles with 10 heads before saying that .

 

[laxu]

Introducing the all-new PROFILER MK 2

More Power. More Flexibility. More of Everything You Love from the PROFILER.

www.kemper-amps.com

 

[GTR37]

I read into it that the hardware is mk2 compatibel, and that whatever is better in mk2 will roll out in updates.
So, on current firmware they still are the same. Which matches my experience, although i never A/B

Ah true , you know what I like Kemper if they can release a free update to the player that make it sound better than the ToneX and Cortex that would be great for them as the effects are already pretty decent

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

1. Dire Straits fucking sucks. Idolize Robbie Blunt's strat tone if you're going 80s strat tone rabbit hole FFS.

If any tone needs the Boss of Captures to capture it, it is definitely this:

 

[mbenigni]

Mk II. Now even more blurrierer.

 

[Jarick]

I'll be curious to see how this plays out.

My biggest complaint with the Kemper is how clunky overall the unit is. Boot times over a minute, hanging and freezing while hooked up to a computer, really slow when browsing profiles and effects on the device, etc. Sonically it was pretty good. Sounds like this will be significantly improved...faster processing with quicker boot time (although 20 seconds is still high) and improved performance overall.

I'll be curious about the new profiling. If QC, Tonex, and NAM caught up with what Kemper did 10+ years earlier, I'd bet Kemper hits it out of the park with new measurements. I'd guess that's not retroactive though so things like the MBritt library would need to be reshot. Although I'm sure it's backwards compatible.

Flip side, there aren't major UX/UI changes, which is a bummer. It's not bad but it could be a lot better and easier for navigation to have a bigger screen with touch capabilities. Using knobs to navigate menus can be really annoying. And there may be a missed opportunity with not having multiple profiles to do things like stereo amps.

Lastly, it's interesting that the Kemper Player is Mk2 compatible. That's really nice, but do you still need to pay to unlock features? It sounds like they are going to be bringing functionality down...what do they do with people who spent hundreds of dollars to unlock new effects that are now free? I mean better to correct the mistake than not but it's a bad look.

Anyways, I may need to find one of those Players to check out the changes...