Hi folks.
I once asked some questions here about the relative accessibility of the Kemper. As a tone-obsessed but totally blind guitarist, it has bothered me for years now that I cannot learn to use most of the better multieffects boxes or modellers, either because the physical hardware contains a touch screen or very few controls, menus and other lists wrap around, or the companion computer software to manage content on the hardware won't work with the screen-reading software I use. None of that appears to be true with the Kemper. Bravo Kemper GMBH! Whether this was intentional or a happy accident on my part, yours is the only world-class guitar processor I have a hope of mastering. Thank you, and please don't change this inclusive design philosophy! I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I'm an excited new user looking for some asistance.
Key points that are game changers for blind people like me are:
* 55 well organized, logically laid out actual knobs and buttons on the Kemper head! (having things organized into little tactile groups is cool!)
* Lists of rigs, effect types, presets etc. don't wrap around! This is crucial when you can't see the visual display. I can crank a knob all the way left, confident that I am now on the first item, and then count clicks as I turn to the right. Kemper, please don't change this, even though I bet light-dependent folks are requesting wrap-around scrolling.
* While the Rig Manager application for windows isn't fully accessible with my screen reading software — "I currently hear 'name ro 1 selected, null; name row 2 selected, null;" etc. as I arrow down the rig name column in the table — I found an accessibility consultant willing to craft a solution for me. Luckily, he's interested enough in the challenge to not want money, as his company usually gets $150 US an hour for this sort of consulting. It would be great if, in 2018, companies considered accessible UI design from the start, when developing their applications. If someone who has actual influence at Kemper is willing, I would love to have a conversation about making Rig manager more accessible to screen-reading software out of the box.
Now, some questions.
NOTE: Someone has gone through the entire front pannel of the head with me, and I took notes, so I do know where all the controls are, and I have the PDF manual for reference.
1. The head I bought was demoed in the store for a couple of weeks, and somebody changed the main XLR outs to Mono. I need to change this to stereo.
Specifically, what do I need to do, after pressing the Output button, to accomplish this? "press this, turn this two clicks to the right, etc." is the sort of help I need.
2. Apparently, there's a function in the Kemper that will let me audition HEAR presets as I slowly turn the Select knob. How do I enable this? And, Kemper, if you're reading along, this behavior, where one can hear things change as they select or scroll through choices is prefered by those of us who can't see the visual display. Thanks for making the Rig Navigation Cross behave this way.
3. I know about the glorious tones available from M Britt, Choptones and TopJimi, and the authorized Dr. Z and Benson profile packs. Have any other amp builders produced their own profile packs? Let the rig hoarding begin!
4. I don't yet have the Kemper Remote, but am I right in thinking this will give me more physical control, and more immediate access to editing things on the hardware?
5. If I have this right, Up and Down buttons in the Rig Navigation Cross move in groups of eight rigs. So, I'm thinking that to simplify my life, I should come up with five categories of sounds, eight rigs per category, something like: clean/jazz, slight breakup/blues, classic rock, hard rock, and metal/high gain. That leads me to:
6. What's the difference between a "snapshot" and a performance", and which should I use to organize my 8 x 5 rig collection mentioned above?
7. I see there is a new firmware release. Apparently Rig Manager will update the firmware on the attached Kemper automatically. I haven't noticed this happening yet. How often does the Rig manager phone home to check for updates? (Yes I have both checkboxes checked in Preferences)
Again, sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help with any of that.
P.S. Does Kemper monitor these forums? Anyone have any connections in the company beyond the front-line tech support people? i.e. actual firmware or PC software devs? Heck, I'd love to express my gratitude to Christoph himself if possible, since he probably never envisioned blind folks using his product.