2017 NAMM will bring?

    Quote from MementoMori

    Oh, and went to the InMusic booth to check out the Headrush pedalboard but they have it roped off and you have to set a private meeting. Never encountered that before. I decided it wasn't worth it and I'll just wait for someone legitimate to demo it as it's released.

    I think the touch screen is really a nice idea. Unfortunately the demoed sounds are not telling me much.


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    The coolest feature: hands-free tweaking :D Just press stomps and use the expression pedal to dial in values...

    Ne travaillez jamais.

    I agree about the touchscreen. The rep at the Kemper booth when I asked about their own floor model plans laughed and mocked the idea of bending over to use a touch screen on the floor. I honestly think it's a neat touch and no more cumbersome than any other floor unit needing to twist knobs. Chances are you're either going to put it on a desk or use a computer editor when setting up.


    Still not much to go on, but at $999 full retail that isn't bad. Being in the industry I can often get accommodation pricing on things like this, so it might be worth it to try out (if early feedback is positive).


    Edit: Anderton's did a video on it, as well. First part is kind of "bleh", but Lee and Pete taking the reins actually sounded pretty decent.

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    Edited once, last by MementoMori ().

    Like 1
    Quote from Nikos

    I think floormodels in the future will have as few edit-buttons as possible while most editong will be done with an smartphone-app.

    Exactly. I btw laughed at the same image that the rep in Kemper booth, three knobs in basic Boss stomp pedals are almost too much :D I don't actually understand this whole floormodel trend. I have H9 and even if tablet/smartphone editor is handy I really prefer physical knobs. When Kemper releases PC editor I think it's the best combination.


    Maybe I'm old fashioned that way, but I don't like touch screens that much, you have to worry about battery and Bluetooth connections and it's pain to make small adjustment in the middle of the song when your hands are sweating etc etc...

    Quote from Lati

    Maybe I'm old fashioned that way, but I don't like touch screens that much, you have to worry about battery and Bluetooth connections and it's pain to make small adjustment in the middle of the song when your hands are sweating etc etc...


    I had a GoPro Session with me on tour to try and film some of our own performances. It has only one button and no display so if you want to do anything beyond starting/stopping a recording (changing settings, checking the field of view) you have to open the app on your smartphone and connect to it.


    GoPro is a huge, worldwide success. The company must have the funds to put the finest Android and iOS developers on their apps. And compared to other, similar apps I've used (Nikon's camera connection software, for instance) it's certainly not the worst.


    But standing there on stage -- between setting up all my gear and cables, sound checking and starting the show -- waiting even just half a minute for the app to start up and connect, and then waiting seconds between each screen and each button tap because it all had to go back and forth over the air, was such a pain that I quickly gave up on it and just blindly set up the GoPro, pushed the physical record button and hoped for the best.


    So... a pedal or amp with a smartphone or tablet interface would make me really nervous. :)

    I can't think of a worse UI than a smart phone. Tiny screen, and guaranteed short-term obsolescence. How would a little touch screen be a step up from the existing KPA interface? A PC editor I understand for deep editing and patch management at home or in the studio. For live, I want simplicity, which is what the KPA already has (knobs and buttons).

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

    Quote from Klappy

    I can't think of a worse UI than a smart phone. Tiny screen, and guaranteed short-term obsolescence. How would a little touch screen be a step up from the existing KPA interface? A PC editor I understand for deep editing and patch management at home or in the studio. For live, I want simplicity, which is what the KPA already has (knobs and buttons).

    If I may, for merely the sake of argument... Not too long ago I played a show in a small venue here in Los Angeles. Can't tell you how many times I've played here and the soundboard/sound guy were abysmal and took what felt like eons to sound check. I'd need more of my guitar in the monitors, but then you'd be taking away from the vocals, so you increase the vocals but now the bass can't hear... on and on. Anyway, so this show I played the guy had the entire stage set up using an app on his iPad. Sound check was perfect and done within minutes. He saved it as a preset since we were the second act going on stage. Easy, done.


    I don't think anybody is taking away your buttons and knobs (especially not on the older models), and where sometimes running an app can be a pain in the ass, it can also be incredibly helpful. Likewise, lots of people sing the praises of the BIAS app for the BIAS head. Wherever you have your ups, you have your downs.

    I see the value of having mobile apps when used with tablets, but no so much with phones.


    However, I disagree with your speculation that knobs aren't disappearing. I just received my TC Spectracomp in the mail today. With the PC editor, I can access at least 30 parameters, but there is only one physical knob. ONE KNOB! If there were three knobs instead, I could probably just use the editor once to do the basic setup and fine tune global thresholds, ratios, and attacks as needed. Instead, I'll be bringing my tablet to at least a few rehearsals before I feel confident that I dialed it in well enough for using it live. And as far as changing presets with my phone through the pickups, that seems unbelievably backwards when they could have been stored on the device itself.


    Still, I decided to put up with this backwards approach to an interface (one knob, no local presets) because it's a fully parameterized 3-band compressor for $80. But I see the gimmicky control/interface decisions as a fail.


    Long live knobs!

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

    Like 1

    Its out of tune because its a Gibson ^^
    Bloody Paul Gilbert is just a BIG KID at heart.


    "whats the biggest errand you have to do"
    "i moved closer to the grossery store so i dont have a big errand to do"


    LOL Gilbert i love ya man, your still a rock and roller to the core and a still just a big kid. :D


    Ash

    Have a beer and don't sneer. -CJ. Two non powered Kempers -Two mission stereo FRFR Cabs - Ditto X4 -TC electronic Mimiq.

    Like 2


    I have a wireless mixer and it's pretty good. It's a Behringer, but the app is very responsive, no lag between making changes on the app and the mixer responding. They even have an app for Android phones, but not one for the iphone, so I have to lug around my iPad.

    Quote from MementoMori

    I don't think anybody is taking away your buttons and knobs (especially not on the older models), and where sometimes running an app can be a pain in the ass, it can also be incredibly helpful.

    I am creating and using software since 1980. And from the very beginning I was very much interested in what software can do for music. Many aspects of that were just fantastic and this is true until today. BUT:


    Leave my (mechanical) knobs and switches where they are! :D


    Mostly for one reason: Each and every bit of gear which needed a piece of software to be operated properly just went out of operation because of that. Hardware changed (Commodore, Atari, Mac, PC, SmartPhone), operating systems changed, compatibility issues after so many updates on the OS, and so forth. Chances are (not far from 100%) that you will not have a proper device to run the software in 10 or 15 years from now. But the knobs and switches will still be there to operate the Kemper.

    Ne travaillez jamais.

    Like 2
    Quote from SpinnerDeluxe

    I am creating and using software since 1980. And from the very beginning I was very much interested in what software can do for music. Many aspects of that were just fantastic and this is true until today. BUT:
    Leave my (mechanical) knobs and switches where they are! :D


    Mostly for one reason: Each and every bit of gear which needed a piece of software to be operated properly just went out of operation because of that. Hardware changed (Commodore, Atari, Mac, PC, SmartPhone), operating systems changed, compatibility issues after so many updates on the OS, and so forth. Chances are (not far from 100%) that you will not have a proper device to run the software in 10 or 15 years from now. But the knobs and switches will still be there to operate the Kemper.

    Yep, try getting "Lost Vikings" running on a 64bit OS ?(

    Quote from Klappy

    I can't think of a worse UI than a smart phone. Tiny screen, and guaranteed short-term obsolescence. How would a little touch screen be a step up from the existing KPA interface? A PC editor I understand for deep editing and patch management at home or in the studio. For live, I want simplicity, which is what the KPA already has (knobs and buttons).

    I am also not a big fan of doing it all with editors or apps..to much software to much risk for failing..


    Actually the KPA is the first digital tool I really trust.


    But..in the case with floorboards it is all about the fact that we kick these stuff all the time with our boots and when we dont abuse it ourself than sure some drunken idiot in the audience will do..this has been mentioned enough here..


    The only solution is to build the floorboard like a tank with as few buttons as possible.For live-gigs the app will then be the only possible solution.If we like this or not.


    Btw..some days ago I just remembered a blues-guy(his band was playing every weekend) next to our rehearsal room back in the mid 80s who "tested" his pedals while dousing them with beer...hmm...only his vintage tube-screamer survived this if I remember correctly. :/