Kemper Profiler MK 2

[dean701]

As long as Line 6 take their time with Proxy and do it right, then all will turn out fine. There are a few modelers out there with sub par profiling/capturing already and I'd hate to see them fall into that category.
I'd rather see NAM integration if that were the case. I think they would capture the market with the best UI and NAM.

 

[2dor]

I think Line 6 played too much of an NDSP card with so many features missing. The only difference is, that I think Line 6 will fulfill their promises.

Stadium isn't released yet though so nobody knows if there really are "so many features missing". True, they did mention Proxy's coming next year and Showcase sooner but after launch but that can pretty much change between now & release.

I wouldn't even draw a parallel to the QC (in terms of promises & delivery) until Stadium's out.

 

[dean701]

Stadium isn't released yet though so nobody knows if there really are "so many features missing". True, they did mention Proxy's coming next year and Showcase sooner but after launch but that can pretty much change between now & release.

I wouldn't even draw a parallel to the QC (in terms of promises & delivery) until Stadium's out.

Don't forget there is only a skeleton crew of Agoura amp models at this point and the effects are still those from the Helix.

 

[dws2384]

Stadium isn't released yet though so nobody knows if there really are "so many features missing". True, they did mention Proxy's coming next year and Showcase sooner but after launch but that can pretty much change between now & release.

I wouldn't even draw a parallel to the QC (in terms of promises & delivery) until Stadium's out.

I think DI said they are getting close to a release candidate of 1.1 already, which would have showcase IIRC. if there’s any company in this space I would count on following through with features they said they would it’s Line 6

 

[Lysander]

I think DI said they are getting close to a release candidate of 1.1 already, which would have showcase IIRC.

He mentioned in passing that they might wrap up development on 1.1 "this week", but there're still a shitton of rounds of testing before signing it off for release.

And yeah, Line 6 and Fractal are the only two players in the game i blindly trust to deliver on their promises these days.

 

[Dimiguitar]

There’s certainly a message / perception over at the Kemper forum that profiling is superior to modelling and that if you go for modelling you’ll be tweaking forever. I believed this. So having something that did the (in my mindset at the time) ‘superior’ thing of capturing was something I did not want to give up.

I think that perception used to be very common. I've often seen it presented as a fact of the universe. Capture devices are "easy and fast" and modellers are "difficult and slow".

But even though I've found some great profiles along the way (especially with tonex recently), in general it's faster and easier for me to get where I want to with good modelling. It's not gonna be like that for everyone, but I suspect some don't realize how working with modelling doesn't have to be as convoluted as they imagine.

If you settle on some good IRs, it's not rocket science to adjust a good JCM 800 sim for the desired result. You may have to experiment a bit, learning about the amp, yes... But a lot of time can also go into searching for the right capture.

In terms of results, I think both modelling and capturing can be great. I don't think one is somehow inherently superior to the other.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Prediction:

I reckon that at some point they'll introduce dual playback of Profiles.

Many requested it over the years and Christoph's take was that the hardware simply wasn't powerful-enough to manage it; he didn't poo-poo the idea.

I reckon it's safe to assume that the new DSP / CPU power will take care of that "deficiency".

Thought it was more or less confirmed that the DSP is the same in MkI and mkII?

 

[Dimiguitar]

Nobody posted full guitar summit video yet? Why doesn't Kemper do so?..

 

[Chocol8]

Thought it was more or less confirmed that the DSP is the same in MkI and mkII?

Let the man dream. False hope is all there is left.

 

[Lysander]

Thought it was more or less confirmed that the DSP is the same in MkI and mkII?

The DSP IS the exact same. It has a newer accompanying CPU - marginally more powerful, but with more supported features, specially regarding I/O.

 

[Enchilada Jones]

Question for Kemper peoples - does the upcoming Helix Stadium 'proxy' functionality give you pause for thought on Kemper 2.0, even with the new improved profiling?

No pause. Going to end up with both eventually inspite of my knowing I shouldn’t do it.
But even if I was a working musician I don’t think it would be a pause because of the timing.
MkII is coming free to my Player before Proxy will be here, probably a year before. Plenty of time to get to know it via the Player, buyStadium and then decide to keep Stadium or buy MkII Stage. Probably keep Stadium even if MkII compels me to get new Stage. I had Helix floor for about ten years as a hub of all music making even when I was favoring Fractal for modeling.

lol I just realized I’m not the right person to answer this, I have a disease!

 

[Orvillain]

I have a disease!

Don't we all!

 

[Enchilada Jones]

The DSP IS the exact same. It has a newer accompanying CPU - marginally more powerful, but with more supported features, specially regarding I/O.

Will the new speaker cab portion of the MkII firmware provide enough of an improvement to justify buying the new hardware? Will that feature be available on old CPU MkI equipment?
Kemper has said the old units can play the new profiles but not provide the full quality/benefit from them so what’s the reason for that?

 

[Lysander]

Will the new speaker cab portion of the MkII firmware provide enough of an improvement to justify buying the new hardware? Will that feature be available on old CPU MkI equipment?
Kemper has said the old units can play the new profiles but not provide the full quality/benefit from them so what’s the reason for that?

Beats me, to be honest If i had to guess thou, i don't think there're any real hardware limitations preventing MKI Kempers from doing so.

 

[LP59]

Kemper has said the old units can play the new profiles but not provide the full quality/benefit from them so what’s the reason for that?

To boost sales of the Mk2? They already have a history of disabling features the hardware is capable of running.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Coming fall of 2026, unlock mkII profiles on your mkI profiler for just $189.99

 

[Chocol8]

Coming fall of 2026, unlock mkII profiles on your mkI profiler for just $189.99

I'd bet more than that, unless they are going to sell you a Tonex One!

 

[Orvillain]

Even if the HW is exactly the same, I think it is fair enough that improved profiles don't play on MKI units. Buy a MKI. You've had x number of years out of the thing.

 

[Enchilada Jones]

To boost sales of the Mk2? They already have a history of disabling features the hardware is capable of running.

They could have enabled everything and raised the price and said ‘Take it or leave it.’at the higher price.
It seems like it was a fair price at the lower tier and a bit of a premium if you jumped in for everything. No harm no foul from my perspective. I jumped in and have no regrets. The Player is still the best all in one for its size to feature set ratio to me. And when MkII drops all I need to do is load the new firmware.
I could see the outcome being MkII makes the Player a bit more impressive and yet not enough to want to sell my powered Toaster to get a MkII version. I’m ok with that.

 

[dws2384]

Even if the HW is exactly the same, I think it is fair enough that improved profiles don't play on MKI units. Buy a MKI. You've had x number of years out of the thing.

Fair enough but they didn’t really improve anything else hardware wise to make it a compelling upgrade either. Well, unless you’re really into the face of the head they changed a few degreees. So if the main selling feature is 2.0 profiles they better be damn good or why would anyone bother.