Kemper Profiler MK 2

[laxu]

If you are someone looking for an all-in-one solution, not putting a bunch of pedals together, as your gig rig, this is what I was referring to.

ToneX, buy itself, doesn't compete with Kemper in this regard, IMO.

Yeah obviously, but it's easy to add to just about anything if you want captures specifically rather than using amp modeling. Alternatively, you could argue for the Quad Cortex as a more modern all-in-one. Sans poweramp, but no poweramp on Kemper Stage/Player either.

When Kemper was introduced, Axe II was its main competitor IIRC. It wasn't the idea that Kemper had "capture" capabilities that I recall was such a big deal differentiating the two, it was that it was more amp like than Axe II (especially with moderate to mid gain breakup stuff).

IMO its main strength was that the toaster operates more like an amp. It's perhaps a bit easier to adapt to it when you just swap your amp head with a powered Kemper, mess a bit with the top of the panel fx section etc. By comparison Fractal is like an alien world.

I think the real challenge for Kemper is that product like the Stadium simply dwarf it in features and functions. The XL is released. The standard "Stadium" will be priced right at the Kemper price point. How long before a Stadium light is released that is priced below Kemper (and still offer considerably more functionality)?

I could be wrong, but I see this as the biggest problem Kemper has. For that matter, Fractal should take note as well. Yamaha is about 1000 times bigger than Kemper and Fractal put together. I peg Kemper and Fractal as about 3-5M/yr. Yamaha .... more like 3Bn a year.

I think the smallest Stadium Stomp or whatever will still be more expensive than Kemper Player. More expensive than Player + addon packs? Hard to say...but probably not a big enough difference that people won't be willing to pay for something more modern.

 

[OneEng]

IMO its main strength was that the toaster operates more like an amp. It's perhaps a bit easier to adapt to it when you just swap your amp head with a powered Kemper, mess a bit with the top of the panel fx section etc. By comparison Fractal is like an alien world.

LOL. That is possibly true. It was a non-scary change from an amp and pedal board where Fractal was ..... not something a long bearded grey hair playing nightly in New Orleans would be comfortable with .

I think the smallest Stadium Stomp or whatever will still be more expensive than Kemper Player. More expensive than Player + addon packs? Hard to say...but probably not a big enough difference that people won't be willing to pay for something more modern.

I'm thinking that the current HX Stomp is at $600. Kemper level 1 is at $700. I am guessing that the "Stadium Stomp" will replace HX at the $600 price point. I guess it is my belief that the "Helix" lineup will be supplanted by the "Stadium" lineup and will nearly equal the previous versions price point.

I could be wrong.

I also think that Kemper Player L3 is not a great value while HX Stomp is one of the best values out there (for what it does).

 

[OneEng]

... and Fractal AM4 is $700 .

 

[synthpenguin]

HX Stomp was released in October of 2018. We certainly have a few ideas on what a new one might entail, but those "If TVs can get cheaper, multieffects should too!" morons in the YouTube comment section need to buy a clue. New features, new functions, faster processing, better UI/UX/GUI, better I/O, a decade-ish of inflation, AND [THING WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DISCUSS] means there's no way in hell a Stadium Stomp would land where HX Stomp is now ($699.99). If we ever get around to it, HX Stomp would likely stick around, just like Helix Floor, Rack, and LT are.

 

[guitarsandcoffee]

Hey All, was just banned for a day on the Kemper forums after calling out a moderator for gaslighting.

I can agree 100% that the Kemper forum is toxic, the moderators are condescending and Kemper as a whole doesn't see a reason to change anything about their products.

Myself, and many others, have voiced our support for Kemper - but doing so by telling them Kemper needs to move forward specifically in the UI area. We've expressed that while we have been solid Kemper users, playing in several bands with mine, they are falling behind big time. They don't seem to care. In fact, Kemper often defends the way it is.

A moderator changed the discussion with a question in the MK2 forum post - and then when people responded to him, he said they are getting off topic. I called him out and now I am banned for a day.

I personally have had it with Kemper. I watch all the other platforms move forward with the simplest of updates to make the musician's life easier, while Kemper doesn't do a thing.

One example is their Kemper Player doesn't operate as advertised all the time. It is a known issue that you cannot run Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at the same. Kemper says they know of the issue, but not why it's happening. Seriously?

Another example - the fixed FX block chain that can only be operated through Rig Manager. Why? Because they didn't update anything on the new MK2 products. There's no physical button to use this block. And they didn't even give the MK2 Rack and Head units Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. A $100 tablet has these features.

It sucks because I've supported Kemper with recommending to peers, my money, and my time. But I'm done with Kemper and moving on to QC or the Stadium - just not sure which yet.

 

[guitarsandcoffee]

I also think that Kemper Player L3 is not a great value while HX Stomp is one of the best values out there (for what it does).

I've gigged the Player with a couple different bands. It really struggles without a tablet to control it unless you are using one rig slot all night. You can get lost very quickly with the lack of display.

I also stopped gigging it because I use a Shure GLXD16+ wireless system. Well - when you run that next to a Kemper Player that is broadcasting Wi-Fi so you can use a tablet for a display, you get interference issues. I quickly went back to the Stage I own. While the display is primitive, you at least know where you are.

I totally agree the HX Stomp is the best value out there. I think the Player has better guitar tone/feel, but overall - I'd go HX Stomp.

 

[OneEng]

Hey All, was just banned for a day on the Kemper forums after calling out a moderator for gaslighting.

I can agree 100% that the Kemper forum is toxic, the moderators are condescending and Kemper as a whole doesn't see a reason to change anything about their products.

Myself, and many others, have voiced our support for Kemper - but doing so by telling them Kemper needs to move forward specifically in the UI area. We've expressed that while we have been solid Kemper users, playing in several bands with mine, they are falling behind big time. They don't seem to care. In fact, Kemper often defends the way it is.

A moderator changed the discussion with a question in the MK2 forum post - and then when people responded to him, he said they are getting off topic. I called him out and now I am banned for a day.

I personally have had it with Kemper. I watch all the other platforms move forward with the simplest of updates to make the musician's life easier, while Kemper doesn't do a thing.

One example is their Kemper Player doesn't operate as advertised all the time. It is a known issue that you cannot run Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at the same. Kemper says they know of the issue, but not why it's happening. Seriously?

Another example - the fixed FX block chain that can only be operated through Rig Manager. Why? Because they didn't update anything on the new MK2 products. There's no physical button to use this block. And they didn't even give the MK2 Rack and Head units Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. A $100 tablet has these features.

It sucks because I've supported Kemper with recommending to peers, my money, and my time. But I'm done with Kemper and moving on to QC or the Stadium - just not sure which yet.

I was permanently banned .... supposedly for 2 infractions of "off-topic" posts.

I think that this is really just a way for Kemper to weed out anyone who raises questions they don't want to deal with. It's BS IMO and flat out STUPID squared to discourage your product supporters.

My next device will NOT be a Kemper. This is not because they banned me (irritating, but I could care less), its because I don't want to be on a dying platform.

The reason that there are no new buttons, no new features (like WiFi/bt) in the head and rack units is because they didn't change the main board AT ALL. It's literally the same board in use on the MK1 versions (including the DSP that does the sound processing). All they did was update the application processor that runs the GUI and peripherals. That is why it boots faster.

IMO, this is a VERY minor change to the MK1 design. I doubt they spent more than 6 months in engineering effort including the hardware. They likely spent more time adding the "fixed effects" than anything else.

This is just a PITTIFUL amount of effort for a 12 year old product update cycle.

Having said that, I wish the best for them. The produced a rock solid product for those of us that gig and gave us tons of free upgrades for over 10 years. That being said, I'll be taking my business elsewhere.

 

[dws2384]

Another example - the fixed FX block chain that can only be operated through Rig Manager. Why? Because they didn't update anything on the new MK2 products.

This boggles my mind too. Like it would have cost $3 to add a row of buttons below the existing ones for the new fixed FX slots. There’s lots of room and it’s keeps continuity with the UI.

 

[Dimiguitar]

This boggles my mind too. Like it would have cost $3 to add a row of buttons below the existing ones for the new fixed FX slots. There’s lots of room and it’s keeps continuity with the UI.

I suspect it wasn't a feature they themselves took too seriously. But if they didn't put emphasis on the slots, start up time, slanted front, what would there be to talk about? They had to try and squeeze as much as possible from the MKII when presenting it.

And it's profiling 2.0 they seemed to bank on. For whatever reason, they couldn't have it ready for MKII release. It's pretty weird to me considering how small of an update MKII is, and how they seemingly had all this time to plan ahead.

But what do I know.

 

[texhex]

Hey All, was just banned for a day on the Kemper forums after calling out a moderator for gaslighting.

I can agree 100% that the Kemper forum is toxic, the moderators are condescending and Kemper as a whole doesn't see a reason to change anything about their products.

Myself, and many others, have voiced our support for Kemper - but doing so by telling them Kemper needs to move forward specifically in the UI area. We've expressed that while we have been solid Kemper users, playing in several bands with mine, they are falling behind big time. They don't seem to care. In fact, Kemper often defends the way it is.

A moderator changed the discussion with a question in the MK2 forum post - and then when people responded to him, he said they are getting off topic. I called him out and now I am banned for a day.

I personally have had it with Kemper. I watch all the other platforms move forward with the simplest of updates to make the musician's life easier, while Kemper doesn't do a thing.

One example is their Kemper Player doesn't operate as advertised all the time. It is a known issue that you cannot run Wi-Fi and Bluetooth at the same. Kemper says they know of the issue, but not why it's happening. Seriously?

Another example - the fixed FX block chain that can only be operated through Rig Manager. Why? Because they didn't update anything on the new MK2 products. There's no physical button to use this block. And they didn't even give the MK2 Rack and Head units Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. A $100 tablet has these features.

It sucks because I've supported Kemper with recommending to peers, my money, and my time. But I'm done with Kemper and moving on to QC or the Stadium - just not sure which yet.

Sorry to hear that. Stupid move on their part.

I watched the interview below with CK and Dill and it's hard for me to watch. There is nothing exciting or new. The Rig Manager application even has to completely close and then reopen to "load the driver" for the new profiling. The whole interview feels weird to me. Maybe it's the German to English or because it's spur of the moment but something just feels off.



Anyway... Welcome to the forum!

 

[Orvillain]

Just another opportunity for me to remind everyone I was kicked off the Kemper beta team for being too complimentary to the Quad Cortex.

Fuck Kemper.

 

[Orvillain]

I'm done with Kemper and moving on to QC or the Stadium - just not sure which yet.

They're both great, and they sound so much better than the Kemper does. Stadium is young, and has a very bright future ahead of it. QC is struggling a little bit, although the last two or three updates have been very good.

 

[texhex]

Bro, this is how I feel making Profiles now. Expectations vs. Reality

 

[LP59]

Sorry to hear that. Stupid move on their part.

I watched the interview below with CK and Dill and it's hard for me to watch. There is nothing exciting or new. The Rig Manager application even has to completely close and then reopen to "load the driver" for the new profiling. The whole interview feels weird to me. Maybe it's the German to English or because it's spur of the moment but something just feels off.



Anyway... Welcome to the forum!

That video was just bizarre when it came out. It's the only communication from Kemper about the new profiling in six months, but it's a slapdash video that says basically nothing, and it says that in a very sloppy manner. If they had any pride in what they were doing, you would expect they would put at least a little effort into the sole public communication they've had since April.

 

[nicolasrivera]

Why is Kemper still alive?

 

[Enchilada Jones]

Why is Kemper still alive?

Here’s an exercise to help you realize you know the answer:

Pretend they never announced a mkII update, and today rolls around like it did.

Would you feel the need to post that question?
And even if someone posted some comment like ‘I just got a Kemper head and it sounds great!’
Would you then have asked why are they still alive? Probably not. You probably would have ignored it.

So maybe they are still alive for obvious reasons…thousands of happy customers…and you only asked ‘why’ because you have misinterpreted the significance of the mkII release. It isn’t Kemper Profiler 2.
It’s just a fricking minor upgrade to a system that is quite good and now is going to be a little better.
It is the same price even!

Perspective, get some from somewhere besides the gear forums. Thank me later

 

[nicolasrivera]

Here’s an exercise to help you realize you know the answer:

Pretend they never announced a mkII update, and today rolls around like it did.

Would you feel the need to post that question?
And even if someone posted some comment like ‘I just got a Kemper head and it sounds great!’
Would you then have asked why are they still alive? Probably not. You probably would have ignored it.

So maybe they are still alive for obvious reasons…thousands of happy customers…and you only asked ‘why’ because you have misinterpreted the significance of the mkII release. It isn’t Kemper Profiler 2.
It’s just a fricking minor upgrade to a system that is quite good and now is going to be a little better.
It is the same price even!

Perspective, get some from somewhere besides the gear forums. Thank me later

Good perspective actually. My question came from curiosity, not criticism. The mkII announcement just made me reflect on how the Kemper platform has stayed alive and well for so long. Definitely not trying to diminish it or its users.

Let me asked it this way….

What is Kemper offering that makes it relevant in 2025?

 

[TubeStack]

Lol, I thought you meant that this OneEng guy worked at Kemper and told users to go fuck themselves.

I need more coffee.

That’s how it reads, 100.

 

[Dimiguitar]

Here’s an exercise to help you realize you know the answer:

Pretend they never announced a mkII update, and today rolls around like it did.

Would you feel the need to post that question?
And even if someone posted some comment like ‘I just got a Kemper head and it sounds great!’
Would you then have asked why are they still alive? Probably not. You probably would have ignored it.

So maybe they are still alive for obvious reasons…thousands of happy customers…and you only asked ‘why’ because you have misinterpreted the significance of the mkII release. It isn’t Kemper Profiler 2.
It’s just a fricking minor upgrade to a system that is quite good and now is going to be a little better.
It is the same price even!

Perspective, get some from somewhere besides the gear forums. Thank me later

I may be wrong, but several products come to mind where "MKII" does mean a major revision, and others where "2" does not.

Additionally, Kemper does make very substantial claims about the new profiling (exclusive to MKII). I believe this strengthens the view, in some people's minds, that MKII Kemper is meant to be a substantial update, which in turns makes some wonder "well, where's the rest?".

(ok. Maybe not many?).

Fractal, for example, doesn't seem to do this. You won't miss out on such big updates (I think?) because you stay on previous MK versions. So there seems to be difference.

Kemper MKII, to me, feels like a confusing upgrade that doesn't know what it wants to be, in a sense.

But most importantly, I believe a good number of people expected and wanted a major revision for years now. For good reason too. So much could be improved, like potat aspects of the UI. It's hard to stomach how the company didn't do more in terms of essential stuff, no matter what they call the new unit.

Then as far as Kemper still selling well, it's not surprising to me. They created a good reputation. They shook up the market like nobody has in recent years. Several big name producers were/are signing praises for Kemper, and many gigging bands still rely on these units for their live sound. It's a solid, highly reliable unit, with a massive library of sounds.

But for the future? That's when I think Kemper will likely become become more and more irrelevant.

MKII profiling seems like a real tough thing for them to accomplish (maybe minus the editor?), while tonex and QC updated their capturing before even profiling 2.0 comes out. Almost feels symbolic.

Then helix Stadium absolutely demolishes everything for usability etc etc, will have captures; fractal next gen will run NAM; tonex is cheap, and will likely have an all-in-one unit too.

In terms of gear forum people vs outsiders, I think sales, as you've pointed out, is a good barometer to gauge what's truly going on. But I also see people outside of forums who ask stuff like "why still the same?!?? Lmao".

I am not going to be surprised if sales fall year after year, maybe after an initial boost provided by profiling 2.0. But again, all this is highly speculative.

 

[Dimiguitar]

Just another opportunity for me to remind everyone I was kicked off the Kemper beta team for being too complimentary to the Quad Cortex.

Fuck Kemper.

They could have learned something from your remarks on Cortex, but no.