Can we please get some kind of Kemper Editor Software for your computer

  • I use my Kemper exclusively for live work and having a user interface of some sort that would make it easier to manage all of my presets across all of my performances (and all of the future performances I am waiting to set up once something comes along that makes it easier to manage them and the presets) would be extremely valuable to me. IMHO, it has nothing to do with live vs. studio or pro vs. amateur, and everything to do with being able to fully exploit the full potential of the unit in a user-friendly way. Contrary to some, the current interfaces that are available (screen on front; rig manager; methods of preset management) are not user-friendly and capable of allowing the sort of control and interaction I need. YMMV

    I am thinking that the big difference in the use cases between live users is on how you setup for gigs.


    I remember a thread some time ago where this exact question was asked. I was surprised to hear that many people setup performance levels for specific songs, then use rigs within the performance for different sounds within a song. When setting up the KPA for the gig, these people actually setup ALL of the performances for every song in the set list.


    I can really see a need for a software management system for this use case.


    Others (like myself) don't have a performance per song, but rather a set of performances with different gains and types of amps going from left to right clean to heavy. Only a few performances are used on every song played. This use case needs much less editing and management.


    I think that recording may be the most dependent of all use cases on its need for a PC editor.

  • IMHO no matter how you use the KPA.


    Using all features in a sensefull matter requires a substantial improvement of the tools to be available.
    Otherwise, the great development work would not make sense any more if you can no longer use it properly.


    How do I manage hundreds/thousends of cabs - what do I do with hundred /thousends of presets - what do I do with hundreds of amplifiers?


    It's feels like driving a race car with a applied hand brake.


  • I think you are focusing on just the amp stack and forgetting all the other parameters that can be stored/saved as presets. I can only imagine that you make no use of presets of any kind (individual stomps/effects, groups of stomps/effects) or standardizing them across multiple rigs and performances, otherwise you would understand where I am (we are) coming from. If all you are doing is dragging and dropping rigs into a performance (or manually creating them on the fly in the Kemper interface) and saving it 'as is' and not trying to utilize standard presets then I can see how you wouldn't need anything else. It would be just like plugging into an amp without a pedal board. That really would make life easier.


  • I am thinking that the big difference in the use cases between live users is on how you setup for gigs.
    I remember a thread some time ago where this exact question was asked. I was surprised to hear that many people setup performance levels for specific songs, then use rigs within the performance for different sounds within a song. When setting up the KPA for the gig, these people actually setup ALL of the performances for every song in the set list.


    I can really see a need for a software management system for this use case.


    My KPA spends most of its life in Performance mode and I would LOVE an editor. @OneEng1 What you describe is exactly how i use it live. We play a lot of pop type stuff that requires specific timed delays, oddball effects and many dramatically intentionally different amp sounds/styles from song to song. Trying to do all that from memory would be a nightmare, so 1 song per performance bank is what I use. The KPAs poor performance management and setlist saving capabilities has been my only real frustration with the KPA in the few happy years I've been using it - so I cant really complain, however changing the setlists night to night has always been clunky. Wish I could store all our different setlists on the Kemper and just load the specific complete list i need, all from the front panel, but I'd take that functionality in a PC editor form if that was all that existed.


    IMO, in a studio situation, anything short of a 100% full featured editor would be a bit of a let down. In a modern connected studio where a PC ( yes, yes, or a Mac :P ) and DAW is its obvious heart, not having the technology to live manipulate tucked away outboard gear such as the Kemper via this PC seems like real missed opportunity. I'm genuinely surprised a PC editor/live PC GUI wasn't in the works from day one and released long ago.

  • I think you are focusing on just the amp stack and forgetting all the other parameters that can be stored/saved as presets. I can only imagine that you make no use of presets of any kind (individual stomps/effects, groups of stomps/effects) or standardizing them across multiple rigs and performances, otherwise you would understand where I am (we are) coming from. If all you are doing is dragging and dropping rigs into a performance (or manually creating them on the fly in the Kemper interface) and saving it 'as is' and not trying to utilize standard presets then I can see how you wouldn't need anything else. It would be just like plugging into an amp without a pedal board. That really would make life easier.

    No, I modify all portions of the signal chain within any given performance slot to achieve the tone I am looking for. I generally use some stomps to modify that position for things like "more gain", "volume boost", "delay" which I activate with the remote. I create a "type of sound" that is used across many songs. By doing this, I avoid having to memorize that much.


    Green day / Three Doors Down - Medium gain mesa sound
    Wonderful Tonight backup - warm delayed reverbed fender
    Enter Sandman - High Gain (thick) sound
    Chilli Peppers - Chimey clean(ish) sound
    Eagles backup guitar - acoustic (ish) sound
    Intro to Kryptonite - same chimey clean as peppers song


    To be honest, I would love to have a performance per song, but the way things are right now, there is simply no way I could manage that. Perhaps if this changes in the future, I will start managing gigs like this too. It really does seem to be the best approach since you can tailor the guitar volume changes and sounds specifically for that song.

  • Sometimes it is easier to use your computer and the rig manager to change rigs Instead of turning knobs on the Kemper. Other times like during a live performance a computer is not desirable.


    Similarly it would be convenient to be able to fill your stomp slots or even change the levels of the various parameter knobs by using your computer. To live performers this will seem silly. To those who like the computer interface this seems like a very easy software addition to the rig manager which many people would find appealing. Perhaps even a few people who like that aspect of the Axe Fx.

  • Sometimes it is easier to use your computer and the rig manager to change rigs Instead of turning knobs on the Kemper. Other times like during a live performance a computer is not desirable.


    Similarly it would be convenient to be able to fill your stomp slots or even change the levels of the various parameter knobs by using your computer. To live performers this will seem silly. To those who like the computer interface this seems like a very easy software addition to the rig manager which many people would find appealing. Perhaps even a few people who like that aspect of the Axe Fx.

    What I don't understand from live players who chime in and say an editor isn't necessary because you don't have a computer open with you on stage to make a quick adjustment. This may be true, but doesn't really combat the point that you use the editor before a show to set up everything in a much more streamlined way. The UI then allows you to adjust things on the fly, but a computer editor itself is far more useful in every respect except being on stage.

    Mainly I'm just wanting to express my disappointment at the current Rig Manager. The way it communicates with my Kemper is clunky and inconsistent.

    Let's hope an editor doesn't suffer the same fate. I don't even bother using RM anymore.

  • I'd certainly like an editor for putting together performances easier. The current method is sub optimal in that I load up rigs and then have to go through loading stomp presets and effects presets. Making those presets is painful in terms of saving the names or editing them. It all works, but it's painful. Thankfully I cut down to 3 total performances with 5 rigs each. Before I had one performance per guitar. Either way, performance editing is a weak spot to edit manually. Granted, this is a live use case and probably not as a big an issue for those who are recording.

  • I've seen a lot of professionals playing live gigs (some of these are big gigs too) who have a laptop computer open and accessible to their rig - not all Kemper rigs, mind you, but the computer is there. This is the digital age - while it may not work for you, don't negate that others may garner an advantage to using the tools that are available to them.

  • I guess the thing I have latched onto from this thread is that using an off-line-editor for performance management would be a real advantage for those of us that use the KPA in a predominantly live gigging situation.


    Such an editor would be relatively easy I would think ..... since we are not talking about controlling every parameter for every slot, we are only talking about gig management.


    Just name each performance for the song, and then name the rigs for their sound and song and you could easily manage every gig with a custom set of performances.


    Hmmm. You know, that might not even be that difficult to program assuming that the MIDI commands exist to do such a thing.


  • I can't speak for anyone else, but you have vastly over-simplified and possibly miscategorized my needs as a live-gigging musician. (I'm sure its not intentional)


    Its not just management of performances, its management of presets. There are many different kinds of presets - if you can save it as a preset, I/we need a better way to manage it. The current Kemper interface, and its internal handling of the presets, does not allow for this, plain and simple. If you require examples to understand this, please let me know as I can provide several.


    If you can grasp that simple concept, and the implications it has, then you'll really understand the true complexity and challenge it presents and why Kemper has not committed to providing one yet. The core model for which they built the system probably would need to be overhauled.


  • If you can grasp that simple concept, and the implications it has, then you'll really understand the true complexity and challenge it presents and why Kemper has not committed to providing one yet. The core model for which they built the system probably would need to be overhauled.


    I may be misunderstanding but not sure I agree with this. I believe @OneEng1 is referring to different "setlists" using the same performances and settings - just re arranging them and letting that new order (and multiple other setlists) be stored and recalled. If that is the case the core functionality is all already there (from the front panel of the KPA you can arrange performances, arrange slots via copy/paste, etc) so I doubt simply mapping these functions to a pc editor would be that crazy involved. Also, the current single performance order is already stored somewhere (retained during power cycle) so making a copy of that to be recalled later shouldn't be a big road block. The re-callable "setlist" sequences themselves would be a tiny and effectively insignificant amount of data.


    IMO a full featured PC editor is badly needed for multiple reasons. It would greatly improve general workflow, modern studio integration, and nightly live performance configuration. Frankly, it would also help the hardware stay relevant in the coming years as software amp sims and competing hardware solutions continue to improve and innovate at ever increasing speeds.

  • I may be misunderstanding but not sure I agree with this.


    I think you actually inadvertantly reinforced my point, just misunderstood what I was trying to address with OneEng. Its not just about creating set list performances. If it was, Rig Manager already is adequate for that. It is about all of the other things you mentioned, and also about what I mentioned. And probably more.