Some interesting news from Kemper (Profiler Player)

[Ed DeGenaro]

“The stompbox is Kemper's most affordable profiler yet.”

Oh, so it DOES profile?

No, and it has a 1/3 of the fx if the big brother.

That said this has me considering a used stage.

 

[Achilles]

Isn't this the equivalent to a toaster what an FM0 would be to an Axe?
Kind of like a compact greatest hits that's easy to carry?

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Isn't this the equivalent to a toaster that an FM0 would be to an Axe?
Kind of like a compact greatest hits that's easy to carry?

I wouldn't want an FM0 to arbitrarily limit the types of reverb, delay, OD, etc., algorithms you can use.

 

[GTR37]

No, and it has a 1/3 of the fx if the big brother.

That said this has me considering a used stage.

yeah reading the manual and noticing that , there is like 2 BOSS chorus, 4 drive boxes, 3 delay types and 3 verbs some of the fx are legacy delay and verb to so you are getting like 12 year old algorithms, which is ok if they are great , but still , reading the specs its does seems like many of the features and power of the flagships have been removed

 

[Whizzinby]

Kemper ToneX pedal seems cool to me.

Price doesn’t seem too crazy either.

Though I’m not interested in wading through hell and back for an exclusively 3rd Party capture device.


Rest easy tonight ole blue…

 

[Los-D]

Can’t wait for The Modeler WarsTM episode

 

[Musicknurd]

If I thought ToneX sounded like poop but the Fractal and Iridium both sound phenomenal, is it safe to assume (besides that my ears are bleeding and broke ) that I wouldn’t like Kemper either?

Is it a capture vs modeling thing?

 

[timbuck3]

I assume everyone’s seen the Music Radar article?

Kemper Profiler Player confirmed: "The little green beast premium pedal"

The stompbox is Kemper's most affordable profiler yet

www.musicradar.com

$700...yikes....stereo effects loop?

 

[timbuck3]

disappointed. why did they once again do such a rigid effects placement topology. my nerves.

what would you have liked to see?

 

[Mongillo19]

If I thought ToneX sounded like poop but the Fractal and Iridium both sound phenomenal, is it safe to assume (besides that my ears are bleeding and broke ) that I wouldn’t like Kemper either?

Is it a capture vs modeling thing?

So hard to say. Kemper has a Kemper tone to all their profiles, but same could be said for any digital device. I think they all impart some sonic footprint.

I don't think the dislike of a core tone boils down to capture vs model. However, it's much easier to try a capture of someone who has no idea what they are doing vs you being the one dialing in a model to your liking

 

[laxu]

I wouldn't want an FM0 to arbitrarily limit the types of reverb, delay, OD, etc., algorithms you can use.

I wouldn't mind if the meat and potatoes is all there. I can understand dropping e.g some of the most demanding fx (which are not meat and potatoes stuff) if compact form factor means using a cheaper DSP as well.

The compact stuff is in a weird place because people want it to be cheaper because it's smaller and has less footswitches, when it doesn't really need to be that. I'd gladly take a FM9 in a FM3 format and pay for it.

Kemper Player also sits in that a bit weird area where it's physically not the smallest, is not that cheap and does less than the HX Stomp for example. But I find the user interface preferable just because there's more dedicated knobs and buttons.

Another size comparison:

If you chopped off the FM3 footswitches and their displays (and shrunk the main PCB a bit...), you'd end up with a FM0 that is somewhere between the QC and HX Stomp/GT-1000 Core in size.

 

[laxu]

If I thought ToneX sounded like poop but the Fractal and Iridium both sound phenomenal, is it safe to assume (besides that my ears are bleeding and broke ) that I wouldn’t like Kemper either?

Is it a capture vs modeling thing?

The difference might be just what captures/profiles you use. There's a lot of poop out there to wade through. It's basically the same thing as IRs - people find a vendor whose "sound" they prefer and stick with those.

You can actually try Kemper profiles on Tonex because there's a huge amount of Kemper -> Tonex captures out there, and many of them are unfortunately not labeled as such.

 

[Los-D]

I wouldn't mind if the meat and potatoes is all there. I can understand dropping e.g some of the most demanding fx (which are not meat and potatoes stuff) if compact form factor means using a cheaper DSP as well.

The compact stuff is in a weird place because people want it to be cheaper because it's smaller and has less footswitches, when it doesn't really need to be that. I'd gladly take a FM9 in a FM3 format and pay for it.

Kemper Player also sits in that a bit weird area where it's physically not the smallest, is not that cheap and does less than the HX Stomp for example. But I find the user interface preferable just because there's more dedicated knobs and buttons.

Another size comparison:

View attachment 16104

If you chopped off the FM3 footswitches and their displays (and shrunk the main PCB a bit...), you'd end up with a FM0 that is somewhere between the QC and HX Stomp/GT-1000 Core in size.

I would take smaller footprint FM0 even if limited to FAS amps only or something + a decent effects lists (and no hi-res reverbs). No limitations ideally but wouldn’t mind a few. I am really interested in the form factor

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

I wouldn't mind if the meat and potatoes is all there. I can understand dropping e.g some of the most demanding fx (which are not meat and potatoes stuff) if compact form factor means using a cheaper DSP as well.

The compact stuff is in a weird place because people want it to be cheaper because it's smaller and has less footswitches, when it doesn't really need to be that. I'd gladly take a FM9 in a FM3 format and pay for it.

Kemper Player also sits in that a bit weird area where it's physically not the smallest, is not that cheap and does less than the HX Stomp for example. But I find the user interface preferable just because there's more dedicated knobs and buttons.

Another size comparison:

View attachment 16104

If you chopped off the FM3 footswitches and their displays (and shrunk the main PCB a bit...), you'd end up with a FM0 that is somewhere between the QC and HX Stomp/GT-1000 Core in size.

My un-expressed point was more that it feels like Kemper nerfed the available effects in this thing just to nerf them -- the OG Kemper is not a powerful processor so I kinda find it hard to believe this thing is unable to run the algorithms they decided to leave out of this device.

Re: size, my experience with Kemper rack and head was that they are lighter than one would expect, but this thing is like 2.5 pounds which seems surprisingly heavy to me -- maybe the wifi/bluetooth add a decent chunk of weight. For reference, Stomp which has always felt like a bit of a chunky monkey is only 1.75 pounds. FM3 is a beast at 7 pounds.

 

[laxu]

My un-expressed point was more that it feels like Kemper nerfed the available effects in this thing just to nerf them -- the OG Kemper is not a powerful processor so I kinda find it hard to believe this thing is unable to run the algorithms they decided to leave out of this device.

That's market segmentation for you. Maybe it allowed them to use a processor that is just that little bit cheaper, won't know how much it shares with the bigger units until someone cracks it open. It's still pretty cool that there's a significant chunk of the big units' features, including wireless editing support.

The biggest drawback is how Kemper profile making is tied to the hardware, so you can't buy something similar to the Tonex Capture box for example but need to buy the big toaster or Stage if you want to also profile your amps. I could see still wanting that capability as an option even if most of the time you used 3rd party profiles.

Re: size, my experience with Kemper rack and head was that they are lighter than one would expect, but this thing is like 2.5 pounds which seems surprisingly heavy to me -- maybe the wifi/bluetooth add a decent chunk of weight. For reference, Stomp which has always felt like a bit of a chunky monkey is only 1.75 pounds. FM3 is a beast at 7 pounds.

That is surprisingly heavy. My BluGuitar Amp 1 ME is about 1.2 kg / 2.65 lbs and it's a much bigger unit with a full blown poweramp and everything. Fractal FM3/9 and FC6/12 are basically designed as "where you put it, it stays" devices so there's at least some point to the weight.

 

[adam]

So hard to say. Kemper has a Kemper tone to all their profiles, but same could be said for any digital device. I think they all impart some sonic footprint.

I've noticed the liquid profile tonestacks do help remedy that kemper sound a bit. Experimenting with applying different tonestacks on old profiles actually makes quite a difference, even if you aren't able to set the dials to what was used during the profiling stage.

For example, applying a recto red tonestacks to recto red profiles makes them sound and feel better to me.

Applying a recto orange or SLO TS to a recto red profile really helps tame the boomy low end and gives the whole profile a much more balanced and aggressive feel. Its really worth a try if you have a kemper and are sick of the signature tonestack kemper sound.

 

[Stone]

It is nice for sure good way to go if your into profiling

 

[Foxmeister]

ahhhh yes, that'd make sense.

I ordered from Andertons at £649 yesterday, but I got a call from them this morning to say that this was placeholder pricing and the actual price is £619, so they've refunded me £30.

I suspect that by the time you factor in VAT, duty, and handling fees, buying direct from Kemper won't be cheaper than this, and if you have a warranty issue, it's going to be more advantageous to deal with a UK company.

 

[mbenigni]

But which one would you rather put on your pedalboard?

Paging @JiveTurkey?

 

[JiveTurkey]

Paging @JiveTurkey?

I promised myself I wouldn't do it.