The NAMM plot thickens.............

  • It seems Kemper have a nice blend of innovative features like this morphing thing and the classics like the improved delays in this case. I love this approach. If Kemper release improved effects to the quality of Strymon/Eventide etc etc it will be incredible, i will honestly fall off my seat.


    Im not a pedal guy compared to most but if Kemper begin to produce effects that negate the need for my Strymon stuff (and even plugins like Echoboy for recording) thats worth alot of money to the user (to compete with dedicated companies releasing £300/400 units........) . The remote then becomes a must and the unit as a whole all encompassing bar a couple of expression pedals. I cannot express in words how phenomenal that prospect would be and what incredible value it would be to us users. For me at least.


    Anyway, I will eagerly await to compare. Take some time, get it right. Excellence is an attitude and i firmly believe you guys have it.


    Thanks

  • I went head to head with the Eventide Space vs. the Strymon BigSky, and the Eventide Timefactor vs. the Strymon Timeline. In both situations, the Strymon's were better. Not by much, but they had a little more tweakability/range, and their algorithms seemed a little more "smooth" whereas Eventide's seemed a bit "over the top."


    Otherwise, Strymon has some algorithms that Eventide doesn't have, and vice versa. Eventide certainly excels in the harmonizer department, better than anything else out there, even to this day. I'd certainly go for an H9 if I needed an all-in-one box for the guitarist that doesn't use a lot of delay or reverb, but, for the Reverb or Delay heavy guitarist, I'd choose Strymon over Eventide any day.


    Of course, it's all my personal opinion, and it makes me really, really excited to see what Kemper's doing with the delays. I'd love to see how they compare to the Timeline (and, for that matter, to the Timefactor).


    Doug I suspect the Strymon sounds are better because of the dry through? A lot of people say the Eventide bypass adds a bit of digital crispness where as the Strymon sounds more natural due to the analog dry routing.

  • I think the mods should have the right for censorship but you should not say "shut up".


    Sorry Sharry that you took offense to my phrasing. I hereby retract that... re-phrase that as "quit your complaining" - this company is treating us to wonderful features at no additional cost. Enjoy them or not, the choice is yours. But to complain constantly is getting old. I love this company and their wonderful support of our very diverse community, and they know that.

    Gary ô¿ô

  • From what I've read, (which is plenty of late!!!) - the Kemper Community is split between extremely thrilled and inspired by the company's brilliant additions and responsiveness to user requests; and by pithy whining sots who can't seem to appreciate what brilliance the Kemper team imparts to all of us, at whatever timeframe suits them best, to use however we should choose or not to choose the updates they so freely give us. Be friggin' grateful and stop your Whining!


    In conclusion, shut up and enjoy the most exciting period in guitar amplifier history, or just start your own company all you know it all's.


    (just my humble opinion)


    I think we have to be careful here and not paint everyone who isn't excited about morphing, or wants a bit more info about timeframes as some sort of cartoonish characters who are whining ungrateful babies.


    I am sure there are some unreasonable comments on this forum - I have seen a few. But providing updates to functionality for free is something everyone is doing in this market to keep the user base engaged and build reputation and attract new buyers- so people have come to expect it. No business is a charity. And even when it isn't free (Eleven Rack updates for example) people are usually happy to pay for them. I would pay for the new delays in a shot. But Kemper has chosen not to charge for them.


    So should we have some sort of ban on people who don't have any criticism? I love the unit and I will praise it where necessary. CK is clearly some sort of genius - the Kemper amp sounds amazing. But constructive feedback is an essential part of improving a product. I don't think 'BUT ITS FREE SHUT UP' is the best way of dealing with it -perhaps we just need a praise and a criticism thread so people aren't butting heads the whole time.

  • On a side note: John, the guitar player, is a very funny guy and definitely worth checking out. Great player! :thumbup:

    Gear: Strats & KPA. Plug Ins: Cubase, NI, iZotope, Slate, XLN, Spectrasonics.
    Music: Song from my former band: vimeo.com/10419626[/media][/media][/media] Something new on the way...

  • Sorry Sharry that you took offense to my phrasing. I hereby retract that... re-phrase that as "quit your complaining" - this company is treating us to wonderful features at no additional cost.


    I like the Kemper too, but still with an emotional distance.
    It's part of a bussiness, which gives me a good device with good service for an fair price.
    I stated my opinionin this topcic early and didn't continue this discussion.
    You have replied in this not polite way to one who's really friendly to all people and entertains us with his humor. An excuse has to be dedicated to him.
    "quit your complaining" is a indeed a softer wording. But what you define as complaining can also be a personal opinions or other personal preferences which could be respected.

  • being able to put a delay in front of the amp is pretty cool for classic rock bands and even mandatory in some styles (Rockabilly etc.), having a serial delay is a must for Shadows type echoes, Led Zep tape echo madness? it's there (especially when coupled with Morph!)


    a large userbase requested more and more powerful delays, so how can their implementation be 'out of touch'? :D

    I'm a simple man, being able to put delay in front will be very nice thanks... And Morph, while not a great example of it's capabilities (the namm videos) i can see its uses in the sets i play, can't wait to try it out. Now stop whining in forums, and as Frank says 'Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar' ;)

  • I think we have to be careful here and not paint everyone who isn't excited about morphing, or wants a bit more info about timeframes as some sort of cartoonish characters who are whining ungrateful babies.


    You're right and I apologize to all offended by that remark, including Monkey_Man. I have edited my original post to reflect that as well.


    On a side note Sharry, I too am a very friendly, funny guy, though not witty with the witten word I guess (sounds like Elmer Fudd there kinda). I am a positive guy, so I look at what's coming as a fun gift to play with.

    Gary ô¿ô

  • You're right and I apologize to all offended by that remark, including Monkey_Man. I have edited my original post to reflect that as well.
    On a side note Sharry, I too am a very friendly, funny guy, though not witty with the witten word I guess (sounds like Elmer Fudd there kinda). I am a positive guy, so I look at what's coming as a fun gift to play with.


    It's OK :thumbup: .
    We still have one thing in common. I love Monkey too. :)

  • witty with the witten word


    haha that's not that bad actually..


    you have a pun, witty witten
    a double entendre from a typo, irony too
    onomatopoeia ... witt en (and) word
    alliteration...
    tongue twister--try an say it 3 times real fast...
    include the word not, and it could end up being a volta... it is already in iambic pentameter.


    and to top it all off, a quipp


    Elmer would be p-p-p-pwouwd... even shakers would approve :thumbup:

  • Doug I suspect the Strymon sounds are better because of the dry through? A lot of people say the Eventide bypass adds a bit of digital crispness where as the Strymon sounds more natural due to the analog dry routing.


    Yeah, that certainly helps, but it's a pretty minor part of the equation. There's a head-to-head video on Youtube somewhere that goes between the Timeline and the Timefactor, on every single setting. The range of the knobs is a little greater on the Strymon in most cases and there are a couple algorithms each have that don't match. All in all, I personally feel the Timeline is a little more natural sounding, regardless of the bypass issue. I think their delays are just better balanced. However, let's put it this way - I would not be upset if I had a Timefactor instead. It's such a minor preference over the other that I don't necessarily think that one is any better, but I think they are both in the same class.


    Going back to the point at hand, if Kemper can get anywhere in the ballpark of these two, I'd be amazed. Probably not enough to get rid of my Timeline (and, when the reverbs come out, the BigSky), as they're great tools, even outside of the traditional guitar rig.

    Guitars: Parker Fly Mojo Flame, Ibanez RG7620 7-string, Legator Ninja 8-string, Fender Strat & Tele, Breedlove Pro C25
    Pedalboard: Templeboards Trio 43, Mission VM-1, Morley Bad Horsie, RJM Mini Effect Gizmo, 6 Degrees FX Sally Drive, Foxpedals The City, Addrock Ol' Yeller, RJM MMGT/22, Mission RJM EP-1, Strymon Timeline + BigSky
    Stack: Furman PL-Plus C, Kemper Rack


  • Like I said - based on the video the delays I heard seemed totally unusable to me in my world of studio recording *but* I am thrilled to know that they're exactly what other guitarists are wanting. There are several points that I missed on the vid, and that you pointed out, that do in fact look fantastic. Thanks for laying it out.
    Also, in my world of recording I'm not sure the morphing will be useful but hopefully I'm totally wrong and it will blow my mind. I might be in the minority that can't get the reverbs in the Kemper to work for me and I'm hopeful there'll be some cool surprises there at some point. I am always impressed that the Kemper team is moving forward and continue to be innovative.

  • @Maxy Not to belittle your opinion, but I imagine many people said exactly the same thing with the introduction of the first solid-bodied electric guitars ;)


    Man, I usually agree with you but your comment was totally intended to be belittling. :rolleyes:


    You might want to save those kind of over the top analogies for people who slam the Kemper rather than the dude who's not sure this particular update will be very useful to him personally. Lord! :saint:

    Edited once, last by Maxy ().

  • Man, I usually agree with you but your comment was totally intended to be belittling. :rolleyes:


    You might want to save those kind of over the top analogies for people who slam the Kemper rather than the dude who's not sure this particular update will be very useful to him personally. Lord! :saint:

    Hey man, I totally respect that you can't personally envisage a use for the new features. My comment was aimed at the "unusable for recording" statement; who could've foreseen the effect on recorded music that the solid-bodied electric guitar would have? Of course, the analogy is exaggerated somewhat, but who's to say what weird and wonderful uses these new tools might be put to? They can certainly be used from a sound design viewpoint, or we might end up with a whole new sub genre of guitar-based music akin to 'glitch' in the EDM world. It's not such a big stretch of the imagination, I don't think.
    :)

  • I wouldn't expect such a joke from a fully grown man


    I wouldn't either, 'cause it was unexpected, untelegraphed, timely and funny.


    Well done, Don!


    From what I've read, (which is plenty of late!!!) - the Kemper Community is split between extremely thrilled and inspired by the company's brilliant additions and responsiveness to user requests; and by those disappointed some things are slower coming to us than they (and I) would like. It's not all perfect, but I appreciate what brilliance the Kemper team imparts to all of us.


    Monkey_Man, I agree the delay on delays is a bummer, I'm with you there, but I'm still grateful for what's coming. My apologies that this came out as a knock on you personally, it certainly was not intended as such. I shouldn't write late at night!


    You know I love you, Nicky :)


    Folks, poor Gary has misquoted me through an error of "nesting" whilst constructing this post. He did so late at night, but even if he hadn't, it'd still be perfectly understandable IMHO. The lengthy strings that describe the member who's post's about to be quoted are confusing and fiddly to deal with IMHO, at least, compared to the phpBB boards I've become accustomed to using. That can't be helped; it's just the way this software works.


    The ongoing discussion where Gary's been criticised and has had to defend himself regarding his "criticism" of my "impatience" has been distressing to read; I'd have responded earlier but haven't been on the board. Of course, it's all a farce and for nought, so "everyone" can chillax now as the Monkster's back in town to give the low-down. LOL


    In fact, the quote attributed to me was, if I remember correctly, by Don; my response would've encompassed / encapsulated his sentence when Gary hit the "Quote" button to respond. Somehow Don's ID string was inadvertently deleted and thus the quote was attributed to me.


    If this isn't enough, it gets even better (gee, I love delivering good news!). Don wasn't complaining either! I mean, why would he, being a fully-fledged Kemper Team™ member and all?


    Bottom line:
    Gary meant no harm, and I suspect he misinterpreted Don's comment which appeared, whilst he was constructing the post, to have come from me. Nested quoting can be a nightmare with this software if one isn't careful, after all. Don was responding to a comment where someone implied that the new features would only appeal to a small minority (as opposed to the technically-possible 49% minority), a contribution which I quickly jumped on with a typical Monkey joke for no other reason than I saw the oprah-tune-titty. No harm meant or done by Don either.


    Hopefully a forensic re-examination of the events and timeline, if instigated by any of the esteemed Kemperites who frequent this abode, will confirm my rose-coloured-glasses viewpoint where "the matter" (hey, why not some legalese, eh?) is concerned.


    Phew! Oh, and Gary, bless his heart, has suffered most through this, even forwarding an apology to me via a PM. Poor guy! He's been feeling terrible about something that ultimately can be put down to a simple foible in the manner in which the board software functions.


    Lastly... I love you guys too! <3



    (and mankey mon, if you are reading this.. not sure if you use them, but there is a part about clothing being an extension of the skin--and yes McLuhan included a set of tatas--just for you ;)


    Mankey Mon. LOL!


    Oh man, this whole clothing deal sounds awesome, Gandalf. If I manage to score some rags down here in Jungleville I'll no longer need to shave all over every year. I'll still have to lather up to do the tongue, but what can one do? Is tongue clothing available too?


    On a side note: John, the guitar player, is a very funny guy and definitely worth checking out. Great player! :thumbup:


    John cracks me up. I only have to see his face and I'm smiling.


    I've said before that he's my ultimate dead-pan guitarist. So talented too.

  • Hey man, I totally respect that you can't personally envisage a use for the new features. My comment was aimed at the "unusable for recording" statement; who could've foreseen the effect on recorded music that the solid-bodied electric guitar would have? Of course, the analogy is exaggerated somewhat, but who's to say what weird and wonderful uses these new tools might be put to? They can certainly be used from a sound design viewpoint, or we might end up with a whole new sub genre of guitar-based music akin to 'glitch' in the EDM world. It's not such a big stretch of the imagination, I don't think.


    Okay. As I pointed out earlier I only watched the NAMM video so I'm not sure of all the new features. Did you watch the video and think "this is some ground breaking new stuff"?? Crazy delays have been around for a long time. So you must be talking about morphing? I think its cool and innovative - a solid body guitar it is not... by a long shot. What am I missing? I want to feel that sense of wonder and excitement you are clearly experiencing. What specifically is getting you inspired?

  • I think its the fact that these new updates strengthen the weaknesses of the Kemper that people have been complaining about. Mainly the flexibility in live situations, which the morphing fixes, and more exotic effects for more "modern" sounds. While many people were expecting the spring reverb now I can understand why CK decided to focus on these first, as the reverb on the Kemper was never a "weakness" it works just fine for live, and in the studio most people will use their own dedicated reverbs that they probably already have.


    Overall its a pretty good time to own a Kemper imho. Very little this machine can't do right now, and what it does it so far it does pretty damn good.
    The fact that theyve been updating this device with new features for years and years instead of churning out new hardware blows my mind.
    We can probably expect atleast a year or two of new features atleast. Which company does that for free ?

  • Mankey Mon. LOL!


    Oh man, this whole clothing deal sounds awesome, Gandalf. If I manage to score some rags down here in Jungleville I'll no longer need to shave all over every year. I'll still have to lather up to do the tongue, but what can one do? Is tongue clothing available too?


    Lol!


    Possibly this ;)http://www.zazzle.ca/carpenter…shirts-235032214199731728


    Must have taken some talented clover tongued cunning linguist to come up with that idea...


    This girl definitely has the chops for it http://kristenhughey.tumblr.co…s-eyed-clover-tongue-face :P
    Is it a tongue, or a groove, or both, a groovy tongue? /mind blown...