Kemper 2 expectations

  • Perhaps this is a problem on the Mac OS, but it's not like that on Windows.

    It's an even bigger problem on Windows because Windows doesn't provide an option at all to aggregate multiple audio interfaces into one.


    I don't know what kind of studio you're referring to but every DAW and computer system that I'm aware of only supports ONE audio interface at a time. If the Kemper was your audio interface in the studio then you might have to teach me how you would record anything else (like vocals or drums or bass or a second guitar or keys) at the same time.


    I'm quite sure that many people aren't remotely aware of the limitations of audio over USB usage.

  • On a Mac ( mine are minis), it's possible to connect the Kemper S/PDIF via a converter (SP/dif to Toslink) and use the Mac's 3.5mm audio input which is also a digital input.
    I've used an M-audio Digipatch (discontinued) with success and there is also a gadget from Lindy which should work.
    Its a stereo input going begging. Just a thought ...

  • It's an even bigger problem on Windows because Windows doesn't provide an option at all to aggregate multiple audio interfaces into one.
    I don't know what kind of studio you're referring to but every DAW and computer system that I'm aware of only supports ONE audio interface at a time. If the Kemper was your audio interface in the studio then you might have to teach me how you would record anything else (like vocals or drums or bass or a second guitar or keys) at the same time.

    I think ASIO4ALL is how you set up aggregate devices on Windows

  • That’s an interesting idea. Although of course you meant AAX <g>.
    But it WOULD make it a lot less convenient.
    If I have to have my Kemper connected then I might as well just use the hardware.
    Perhaps a unique USB identifier (rather than iLok) could be required.
    But again, is piracy really a problem for PositiveGrid? (Just for example, as they make probably the closest thing in software)

  • I think ASIO4ALL is how you set up aggregate devices on Windows

    Yes but apart from this tool sometimes acting up, there's another massive downside to this approach (and to the Mac aggregate as well).
    In pretty much all multi-IO audio interfaces you have options to do "zero latency" monitoring (think of monitor mixes). With aggregated interfaces you must do all monitoring through your DAW with the added roundtrip latency. I can't imagine a (serious) studio owner ever going down this road.


    Audio over USB (with multiple devices) is a can of worms everyone should avoid at all cost, imho.


    I'll stop discussing this topic here ... if someone wants to discuss further, please start a new thread. :)


    Cheers
    Martin

  • Wwittman


    It may be inconvenient but a single usb cable across the room isn't such a bad thing. I would love a VST that's independent but if its about protecting the code then so be it.


    Propellerheads dongle has not been cracked from what I remember so this would make a USB dongle possible. I don't mind using a dongle, it's a pain to always remember not to forget it, but I accept it as part of protecting my purchases and future investment.


    If I'm honest an editor would be my more preferred way unless you could export your VST settings and import them into the kemper.


    Mike

  • Audio over USB is a pretty useless feature for a device like the Profiler (or the AxeFX or any similar product), imho.People should rather buy an interface with more IO than a bunch of Audio over USB devices and getting serious headaches from trying to combine them (aggregate on Mac) to act like a single interface in their DAW.

    I've got a perfectly awesome interface and would still make great use of USB audio from the Kemper. My Kemper lives in the spare room, set up with cab, pedals and guitars hung on the wall. My interface lives in the lounge, set up for editing and tracking guitars in comfort on the sofa. USB audio would be a bonus, if only a small one.

  • It is embarrassing almost boarding on humiliating that Kemper haven't released an desktop based control software. The price of a kemper is not chump change.


    This is the year 2018 and the competition has left them way way behind in terms of features for value for money Variable spdif rates have just become an option...you can buy behringer audio interface from 2012 with 96khz sampling that is not a big deal.
    The hardware is beyond a joke average and Kemper don't even release relevant performance specs to prove otherwise.


    I appreciate that some people are blindly Kemper fanatic and for some reason are emotionally defensive when you do bring up the facts and so will dissagree till they're dying breath frothing at the mouth screaming the kemper is 'perfect'...


    I thing the main issue I see again and again on the forum is that the inventor has priced his creation at a pro level with the level of performance and features of a consumer product.

  • I've got a perfectly awesome interface and would still make great use of USB audio from the Kemper. My Kemper lives in the spare room, set up with cab, pedals and guitars hung on the wall. My interface lives in the lounge, set up for editing and tracking guitars in comfort on the sofa. USB audio would be a bonus, if only a small one.

    Sorry, this is just too good of an example for what I was trying to tell ... it just won't work the way you imagine it. :)


    So you plan to sit on the sofa in the lounge, guitar cable goes to your interface, audio goes into your computer (DAW) so you can route it to the USB output, then from the USB output you go by USB cable which will require you to add a powered USB hub every 5 - 6 meters until you reach the imaginary "Audio over USB Kemper". Your guitar signal will already carry the whole roundtrip latency before it even hits the Profiler. Then add the Profiler latency before we travel the USB highway all the way back to your DAW which you need to use to monitor your Profiler signal through the monitors connected to your interface (again full roundtrip latency added).


    So here we stand (erm ... sit), enjoying double the roundtrip latency of your interface/computer/DAW plus the Kemper latency. You have successfully taken the total latency to a very audible and perceptible latency level. My personal rough guess ... you'll end up with at least 18-20ms latency, congratulations. :)


    I am aware that Audio over USB sounds easy and tempting but reality is different. Think twice and plan properly before you waste your money on a subpar setup that could easily be avoided. ;)

  • Lets not get silly here. If all you ever did with it was replace your Fender twin, JCM800 and your barrage of foot pedals, it would be a value.


    Remember, for many of us, it is the tone that matters. This is not being "blindly fanatic". This is just common math.


    I could pay more for an Axe II Fx or Axe III and get way more features, but I still wouldn't sound any better. Additionally, the Kemper is easier to use from the front panel for the vast majority of tweaks a real live musician would make at a gig.


    Yes, we would all appreciate a full featured PC editor, but just because Kemper doesn't have it, doesn't make Kemper hardware "beyond a joke average". It gets the job done.


    Perhaps you would be better off with an Axe III. Different strokes for different folks.


    Hopefully you wont mind if I continue to enjoy my KPA?

  • I know nothing about how USB would work on Windows, but when I suggested it back on page 12 I was imagining something like what L6 offered for the POD X3 series.


    It was super-simple to use, rock-solid, provided stereo, dry, effected and DI channels, and worked perfectly in tandem with my MOTU interfaces (on Mac). I'd use it in preference to the analogue connections for reamping at the very least if Kemper were to provide the option seeing as I can't do S/PDIF.


    How about using the Kemper as a sort of dongle for the VST?

    Line 6 did this with POD Farm and the plugins were still cracked years ago, allowing them to be run sans-dongle.

  • It's an even bigger problem on Windows because Windows doesn't provide an option at all to aggregate multiple audio interfaces into one.
    I don't know what kind of studio you're referring to but every DAW and computer system that I'm aware of only supports ONE audio interface at a time. If the Kemper was your audio interface in the studio then you might have to teach me how you would record anything else (like vocals or drums or bass or a second guitar or keys) at the same time.


    I'm quite sure that many people aren't remotely aware of the limitations of audio over USB usage.


    Just switch your audio devices in your DAW as needed (Kemper for guitars, multi-I/O Audio Interface for the rest). No big deal. I mean, I do see how this can be a PITA for people using multiple USB audio devices. But this is not the case for everyone.


    For my needs, having the ability to record the Kemper via USB (now that sample rates higher than 44.1KHz has been unlocked) would save me hundreds of dollars as I wouldn't have to buy a digital I/O module for my converters. I only really use the Kemper for reamping guitar parts recorded with Helix Native. Currently, I reamp through my Neve preamps, which sounds just fine. But the purist in me really likes the idea of reamping the Kemper without having to go through extra conversion passes :-).

  • The only change I'd really like to see is a proper Ethernet port on the Kemper itself, so the cable can be locked and the little plastic tip that holds Ethernet cables doesn’t break and make the cable entirely useless.


    Yes I know it can be done with a CAT6 socket mounted in a rack panel but my case doesn’t have the space for one and I’d rather not glue it to the Kemper.

  • I don't think anyone is a blind fanatic with their Kemper. An editor would have been very useful in the first 6 months I owned it, but now I probably wouldn't bother. The front panel was designed to make everything accessible and I am more than happy having bought mine for £1,179 before prices soared in the UK.

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7

  • I don't think anyone is a blind fanatic with their Kemper. An editor would have been very useful in the first 6 months I owned it, but now I probably wouldn't bother. The front panel was designed to make everything accessible and I am more than happy having bought mine for £1,179 before prices soared in the UK.

    Thats a bit delusional, defending the shortfalls is kinda my point there....£1179...such a bargain. You forgot to factor in the expense of buying an audio interface to actually record it and buying a real amp to profile it. Learning how to build an editor from scratch....Wasted time is wasted money. This puts the final cost to tape way way higher than £1179.


    Mr Kemper just makes the consumer do all the leg work so he doesn't have to. The hardware is consumer and feature limited but the price is a premium and has the community expecting more.

  • For those who don't, remote access is practically a necessity.

    You mean the same necessity for remote access they had for decades (and still have) when recording tube amps?
    I'm not against an editor by any means but at the same time I need to state that it was / is YOUR decision not to have the Profiler within arms reach, not Christoph Kemper's, not ours. If it harms your workflow then just change the position of the Profiler to make it convenient for you, it's as simple as that. ;)