Kemper Profiler MK 2

[JiveTurkey]

Make profiles with Kemper player.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I know it’s a big feature for you, but it’s more of a nicety than a big deal for me. When I’m recording the guitar chain is almost always a combination of tons of plugins and recreating it live would need some kind of compromise/figuring out regardless.

If you were playing live, it'd possibly be a much bigger feature for you as well. Plugin to hardware parity has very little to do with recording, home noodling or whatsoever. In those situations I'm using whatever I have access to.

 

[Chocol8]

I assume you have tried MK1 Kemper, MK2 Kemper, QC, and Helix Stadium in person? Or are you judging most/all of these platforms on what social influencers have to say and audio clips from YouTube which are compressed?

As I said previously; I was in these forums very recently bashing the hell out of Kemper and saying I was done. I do not consider myself a fan boy but a musician who has used multiple pieces of gear for several large performing centers.

In the end, these are all pieces of gear to accomplish a job; make music for an audience. Take my words as you will.

I used to own a Kemper, I regularly use Tonex and NAM, and I have done side by side testing with all three and a borrowed QC. No I don't have a MKII Kemper and probably never will bother and I have no special access to Proxy so I haven't tested it yet.

If I can hear a difference over compressed YouTube, I know very well from experience that it will be very easy to hear in person. Based on the content released so far, I would be absolutely shocked if Kemper profiling is now more accurate than QC, Tonex and NAM. Basically that would mean the people who have posted so far don't know how to capture a profile, and that's both unlikely given their experience and also would be somewhat damning of the capture process if true.

Let's face it, this is not a surprise. We already knew that the hardware is the same old shit, so the idea that they could do better than the new tech approaches was always a pretty long shot.

 

[Sascha Franck]

audio clips from YouTube which are compressed?

Fwiw, YT audio compression is way less of an issue than what some people seem to believe. 128kbps AAC (YT format) is typically considered as good as 192kbps MP3, with raw guitar signals the issues should really be minimal.

 

[Enchilada Jones]

The profiles made by Thomas Dill are really good. He has some Marshall Plexi, Peavey 5153 and a Value ( sounds like it is a variant of JCM800 to me).
They stand out as bit better at the very least than previous similar amps profiles I’ve saved and enjoyed using. So much that I will be looking exclusively for the new stuff when ever opening up Rig Manager. Bye bye MkI Toaster…Player is ‘my Kemper’ now.

A few other people have uploaded a couple profiles but they aren’t inspiring enough for me to download. Typical nature of hunting for gems in the rubble will always be what it is.

I’m disappointed by the hype that Kemper created about the work they did on the ‘new speaker cab’ tech. They made me think they would have solid options and although the ability to tweak the cab resonance and frequency is a welcome improvement it does nothing to address the murky waters the whole cab? no cab? DI? merged?, studio?…how to choose a change/ solution. If resonance wasn’t the issue you still are stuck floundering in that pond.

I don’t think mkII Kemper sounds definitively ‘better’ than NAM or ToneX. It isn’t as new and innovative as whatever could deserve the title of ‘next generation’ Kemper. It is however a solid mkII upgrade. For me it is now clearly at the same high level of inspiring guitar amp tones as the competition and the response in ‘dynamics and feel’ as well as the useful range in gain and tone stack adjustments make it maybe even superior. I certainly enjoy the effects option in Kemper universe over ToneX and the other ‘capture’ players.

That said I have a feeling Proxy will be an even better choice if you insist on choosing only one device because the eco system, future development and support are better. I don’t see Line 6 introducing a weak entry to this race.

 

[OneEng]

What kind of mix? You and I have probably very different ideas of what would fit good in a mix. So that would be a completely subjective thing. Someone that put up a capture that I love you may absolutely hate. And vice versa of course. So I really can’t put my stock in what someone else says sounds good in a mix.

Agreed completely. Guitar tone in general is a VERY subjective thing. Guitar tone in a mix ..... even more so.

I’ll go a step further. IME what works in a mix isn’t the sound I’d like to hear unaccompanied.

Absolutely this! There are some things that sound good in the mix that are positively AWFUL by themselves.

That said I have a feeling Proxy will be an even better choice if you insist on choosing only one device because the eco system, future development and support are better. I don’t see Line 6 introducing a weak entry to this race.

I wonder about this as well. What if you can really have it all? .

 

[OneEng]

From the Kemper forum:

I’m using a MK1 and think the 2.0 profiles are a huge upgrade in clarity and feel. Actually glad there are only a few options right now. I spent a lot of time tweaking Thomas’s SLP profile and can’t believe how versatile it is. Their Tone and Talks videos on YouTube are a great resource. Definitely upgrading to MK2 when I can.

ToneJunkie has an amazing mini pack of a 65 Deluxe located in the description of his past couple YouTube videos. 2.0 and 1.0 profiles. You can really hear and feel the difference.

This is the 2nd report I have seen where a V2.0 profile running on an MK1 Kemper provides a significant upgrade on the same captured amp over a MK1 capture.

I am still waiting to hear from someone that has both an MK1 and an MK2 to see if there is any audible difference between:

1. V2 Profile on MK2
2. V2 Profile on MK1

My gut feel is that it isn't likely very much difference at all since the hardware DSP is identical.

If this is real, then MK1 owners got a free upgrade if they don't make profiles themselves (which I am guessing is STILL the lions share of people. Certainly true of the people I know who own a Kemper).

For those that want to profile their own amps, I think the real comparison is still to the market leader (NAM) for people that want it for recording. For live use, I still think the Kemper (either version) is a much better LIVE solution than anything that can be achieved with NAM. YMMV.

 

[DrewJD82]

I saw that thumbnail yesterday and thought, “Ooooh, Kip from Napoleon is a badass now”

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

I am still waiting to hear from someone that has both an MK1 and an MK2 to see if there is any audible difference between:

1. V2 Profile on MK2
2. V2 Profile on MK1

My gut feel is that it isn't likely very much difference at all since the hardware DSP is identical.

If this is real, then MK1 owners got a free upgrade if they don't make profiles themselves (which I am guessing is STILL the lions share of people. Certainly true of the people I know who own a Kemper).

Get this man a LUFS based NULL TEST.

STAT!

 

[JiveTurkey]

I saw that thumbnail yesterday and thought, “Ooooh, Kip from Napoleon is a badass now”

I actually never heard of the guy tbh. The only Kemper content I watch is from HJ and Tonewars. I'm actually curious to see what his take on the Mk2 stuff is as he is known for using the most gain ever

 

[OneEng]

Another post:

I’m not aware of any conflicting information. kemper have been very clear that Mk1 hardware will be able to play 2.0 profiles but at a lower resolution. My experience, having tried the same profiles on both platforms is that any lower resolution on Mk1 hardware is minimal (at least to my ears) so 2.0 profiles on Mk1 hardware is still a great step forward even if Mk2 hardware is even better.

So, early reports of real users of both MK1 and MK2 are that MK1 gets nearly all the advantages of a V2.0 profile.

So if you don't profile your own amps, this is great news.

If you DO profile/capture your own amps, the jury is still out on if MK2 is a better device than the rest of the competition with respect to accuracy (haven't seen any comparisons ..... yet). I suspect that by this weekend, people will have time to do a detailed analysis. We will soon know.

 

[Orvillain]

Already lost interest to be honest. I've got NAM right here, and it sounds the best.

 

[RiffDuck]

On the topic of Kemper effects, I like their reverbs, but putting their built-in OD on top of an un-boosted high gain profile creates one of the most deeply offensive tones I've ever heard.

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

On the topic of Kemper effects, I like their reverbs, but putting their built-in OD on top of an un-boosted high gain profile creates one of the most deeply offensive tones I've ever heard.

you need more boosts.

have you tried adding a second boost?

 

[JiveTurkey]

Doesn't the Kemper just have some dumb small handfull of boost/drive options?

 

[RiffDuck]

Doesn't the Kemper just have some dumb small handfull of boost/drive options?

Well that depends on whether you spend $300 on the effects upgrade

 

[DG80]

I think I must be missing something here (or Kemper have, anyway...) - when profiling an amp via a loadbox (Fryette PS-2A), there's no way to use an IR in the reference audio in the Kemper to hear what the amp sounds like - it's just the DI signal..... which is pretty useless.

What have I missed here?

Setup is Guitar - Kemper input - SEND1 to amp input - speaker out to PS-2A amp input - PS-2A balance line out to Return 1 on Kemper

I can't mic up a cab for multiple reasons.

 

[OneEng]

LOL. So this is what KEMPER is saying about MK1 playing MK2.

Profiling 2.0 approaches things a bit differently. There isn’t a simple yes-or-no answer to your question—you’ll likely need to decide on a case-by-case basis which option you prefer. In general, though, it doesn’t provide a quality improvement on an MK1. In other words: the things that really make a difference, the MK1 cannot do.

So, USERS say MK1 using V2 profiles sounds better. KEMPER eludes to a message of "You need to buy MK2!". Wow. Sure didn't see that coming :).

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

That reads like chatgpt to be honest.

 

[crispsandwich]

I have bought a Player, because to me the difference between 2.0 on a mk1 and mk2 was pretty stark - even on YouTube. Mk1 still sounds great, but mk2 has noticeably more fidelity.