Kemper Profiler MK 2

[Enchilada Jones]

From the Kemper forum:


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

I just tried it. Using a Player and a Toaster I installed a Rig from Thomas Dill, the Jimmy Page version of his Plexi mkII uploads.
I made sure the rigs were identical and the headphones volume was same. Same guitar cable. Global setting matched as far as any gate, input or output settings I could find. Effects off except same subtle reverb setting as he uploaded it.

It sounds like the same profile. There is nothing wrong with the MkI presentation of the profile, it isn’t glitchy or aliasing or muddy at all. It sounds fine and probably will be an improvement over all to a non ‘2.0’ profile.
The first thing I noticed was the rig through the Toaster was a bit brighter and had the effect of being slightly less in gain.

Fundamentally the characteristics are the same, I am confident I could tell you which of the rigs were which..the Jimi, the Jimmy, the Clapton and the Angus as they were but there are noticeable differences in the overall sound when playing through the two machines.
Sorry have to let the guitar tone adjectives loose…
The mkII has a more full richer gain. Not necessarily higher gain level but more pleasing. Also, If you think of yourself listening in the room with speaker cab, not a mic’d sound then, for this particular profile anyway, one difference is the mkII sounds like a 4x12 and the mkI is an open back 2x12.
The volume knob roll off is better, more natural and realistic on the MkII machine

How much of all that is the resonance/ frequency I don’t know but I’m guessing it could be a lot if not all of it. I felt like I could have used eq and compression to narrow the gap between them but probably not a match.

 

[dws2384]

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.

Based on actual comparisons or good vibes?

Even on the kemper forum yesterday someone was going off how V1 profiles sounded much better on the V2 hardware and their own admin had to tell the guy he was dreaming as the entire signal path and code is the same...the guy still said "it sounds better to him anyways" placebo is a real thing.

 

[texhex]

Who could ever trust a dude with a desktop like this? I have to rethink everything at this point.

 

[ian_dissonance]

Who could ever trust a dude with a desktop like this? I have to rethink everything at this point.

Yikes. That’s “bodies in the basement” style desktop management.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I'm never sharing a screenshot of my desktop ever

 

[paisleywookiee]

I'm never sharing a screenshot of my desktop ever

Is it shaped like a penis?

 

[quadgear]

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.

It's good to see progress. The glass is half (three quarters) full?

Been wondering what Line6 will do here both in software and hardware. @Digital Igloo has been talking about the importance of the sound reinforcement/cabinet/speaker for a while. The new power cabs are not anything next level from I know. YMG has much deeper pockets for these sorts of things. Amazing that Kemper did the Kone/Kabinet. There's a catch-22 for me on a speaker that only works when tied to a single vendor's ecosystem that I may or may not leave ... and a speaker that benefits from advances in software running in the profiler/modeler to defy physics.

 

[texhex]

Is it shaped like a penis?

 

[paisleywookiee]

Someone got the reference!!! @JiveTurkey knows exactly where his setlists are at; right at the tip!

 

[BenIfin]

This guy is new to me but he's demo'ing the new V2 in really simple real-world ways.

This video loads the V2 Profile on a MK1 and a MK2 - the V2 on a MK2 sounds noticalbly better than a V2 on a Mk1 ... no surprise there.

The unknown question of course is, is this "technically unavoidable" or is it a "deliberate" thing Kemper have done to "downgrade" V2's on the MK1's - the difference is quite stark

 

[LP59]

This guy is new to me but he's demo'ing the new V2 in really simple real-world ways.

This video loads the V2 Profile on a MK1 and a MK2 - the V2 on a MK2 sounds noticalbly better than a V2 on a Mk1 ... no surprise there.

The unknown question of course is, is this "technically unavoidable" or is it a "deliberate" thing Kemper have done to "downgrade" V2's on the MK1's - the difference is quite stark

It's really hard to understand why a Mk1 can't run the V2 profile at full resolution, but we'll never know the full story. All we know is: there's a lot of incentive for Kemper to cripple the Mk1 in order to sell Mk2's, and they do have a history of throttling firmware capabilities to increase sales.

 

[Cactusprick]

It's really hard to understand why a Mk1 can't run the V2 profile at full resolution, but we'll never know the full story. All we know is: there's a lot of incentive for Kemper to cripple the Mk1 in order to sell Mk2's, and they do have a history of throttling firmware capabilities to increase sales.

well Kemper leaving USB audio capability hidden/locked until I had sold a toaster left me quite pissed off for a while. So your theory is quite a possibility.

 

[NightWalker]

It's really hard to understand why a Mk1 can't run the V2 profile at full resolution,

is the same with fractal why AM4 cant play FM3,FM9,Axefx 3 presets,dude you live in a cave,this is marketing

 

[Mongillo19]

is the same with fractal why AM4 cant play FM3,FM9,Axefx 3 presets,dude you live in a cave,this is marketing

That is a terrible comparison.

The AM4 plays the same exact quality blocks as the FM3 FM9 and Axe Fx III. The equivalent would be if the AM4 had lesser quality effects and amp models compared to the higher units.

Honestly, a more apt comparison would be that the FM9 non Turbo has to play lesser quality models than the FM9 Turbo.....which would be laughable.....which is what this is

 

[NightWalker]

That is a terrible comparison.

no its not,i need to buy the AM4 to play AM4 presets

 

[texhex]

Suns out, Guns out.

 

[Mongillo19]

no its not,i need to buy the AM4 to play AM4 presets

Profile V1 vs Profile V2 is not a preset. Again, it would be like saying I need to buy a Axe Fx III to play the highest quality amp model.

 

[Monkey Man]

Suns out, Guns out.

Promising!

 

[OneEng]

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.

The trend seems to be that the YouTube reviews say "Stark", and real users say "Subtle".

I just tried it. Using a Player and a Toaster I installed a Rig from Thomas Dill, the Jimmy Page version of his Plexi mkII uploads.
I made sure the rigs were identical and the headphones volume was same. Same guitar cable. Global setting matched as far as any gate, input or output settings I could find. Effects off except same subtle reverb setting as he uploaded it.

It sounds like the same profile. There is nothing wrong with the MkI presentation of the profile, it isn’t glitchy or aliasing or muddy at all. It sounds fine and probably will be an improvement over all to a non ‘2.0’ profile.
The first thing I noticed was the rig through the Toaster was a bit brighter and had the effect of being slightly less in gain.

Fundamentally the characteristics are the same, I am confident I could tell you which of the rigs were which..the Jimi, the Jimmy, the Clapton and the Angus as they were but there are noticeable differences in the overall sound when playing through the two machines.
Sorry have to let the guitar tone adjectives loose…
The mkII has a more full richer gain. Not necessarily higher gain level but more pleasing. Also, If you think of yourself listening in the room with speaker cab, not a mic’d sound then, for this particular profile anyway, one difference is the mkII sounds like a 4x12 and the mkI is an open back 2x12.
The volume knob roll off is better, more natural and realistic on the MkII machine

How much of all that is the resonance/ frequency I don’t know but I’m guessing it could be a lot if not all of it. I felt like I could have used eq and compression to narrow the gap between them but probably not a match.

This seems to be the general consensus. Thank you very much for posting this!

At this point, I am putting WAY more credit in post like yours and am pretty much not paying much attention to the videos which for some reason are coming to a very different conclusion.

All users I have heard from say V2.0 profiles are universally better than V1 profiles. There is consensus that you CAN hear a difference between V2.0 on MKII and V2.0 on MK1. As you stated, most believe you could tweak them and get close, but maybe not exactly the same.

I think that's a fair assessment based on real users (not reviewers).

This guy is new to me but he's demo'ing the new V2 in really simple real-world ways.

This video loads the V2 Profile on a MK1 and a MK2 - the V2 on a MK2 sounds noticalbly better than a V2 on a Mk1 ... no surprise there.

The unknown question of course is, is this "technically unavoidable" or is it a "deliberate" thing Kemper have done to "downgrade" V2's on the MK1's - the difference is quite stark

Seemed like there was a noticeable difference in eq (more bottom on the MK2 than the MK1).

As most people here know, I believe that it is technically impossible that any differences between MK2 and MK1 playback of a profile can be anything other than deliberate since the entire motherboard is the same including the DSP chip.

Still, I don't think that it isn't "fair", just "greedy".

I still won't be going out and buying an MKII based on what I have heard so far.

 

[nightlight]

One classic example of Kemper Amps blocking/locking features is when users on the Kemper forum figured out how to use all the looper functions on the Kemper using basic midi commands.

A few iterations of the firmware later, this was blocked, with the explanation that there was a "conflict" between the midi implementation on the Kemper and those simple CC commands.

Of course, this was shortly after the Remote was released, which was billed as the only way to get full control of the looper.

It's basically bad faith, I'd think.

The company must have come to the conclusion that unit sales were coming down amid tougher competition for "profiling devices". And hence the "new paint job" with additional FX and V2 profiling.

Still, I wouldn't sell Kemper short when it comes to profiling. They were industry standard for a long time, it's just that when the patent was coming to an end, everyone jumped on board.

The tech remains game-changing, and full credit to Christoph and his team for the roaring success of the Profiler.

I'd love to see some comparisons of profiling on the Kemper versus products A, B and C. Then we'll know what's what.

Look forward to those coming out.