NAMM 2019

  • something went wrong which is cool, shit happens, but now we are getting this half baked update.

    Playing catch up on this thread and noticed this. Not picking on you, many others have reflected this sentiment, yours is just the one I happened to see over morning coffee. :)


    We haven't received an update of any kind thus far - only a beta, which is just another test build for this version. It's supposed to have problems. If it didn't, why the heck would they need us to test it?


    If the actual production release sucks (unlikely), then I'll call it half baked as well. That said, until it shows up on Rig Manager without the "include beta" box checked, it simply doesn't count as a release. People seem to think that a public beta means they get a sneak peek at the final product before everyone else. Wrong.


    It means you've volunteered to be an unpaid member of Kemper's software development QA team. Your job is to catch and report (with steps to reproduce) the bugs that they didn't catch in their own environment / use cases. I said "unpaid" because you don't get money for your work, but you are compensated. You get to play with the new toys before they're released. You also get the badge of honor that you contributed to the ultimate quality of the final release version.


    So (and this is said with tongue firmly in cheek), stop whining about the problems with the bloody beta, and just do your job as testers! For those not in the biz, perhaps you don't know that BETA is an acronym. It stands for Bugs Expected To Appear. :)

    Yep, and that brings me to a point, seems like they have rushed the latest beta for NAMM.

    The fact that Burkhard (and everyone else I'm sure) was working last weekend to put up a new version of the beta highlights a bit of truth to your observation.


    Things like NAMM have fixed dates. If a company sets a goal to show something off at a trade show or any other hard, physical date, it's a gamble. Here's the typical internal dialogue.


    Marketing: "Hey guys, let's show off this new feature on the xyz date!"

    Programmers: "Dude, we have no idea how long it will take to get this designed, coded and tested. We just got started!"

    Marketing: "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you because I was talking on my cell phone to all my news outlets about how we're going to show off this feature on the xyz date. Gotta go, k, thx, bye!"


    Some months later The Date nears. Maybe the software is done, completely tested and bulletproof. Maybe not. If it's the latter, the programmers are screwed. The company is going to show it come hell or high water. All that's left to do is work nonstop nights and weekends between now and The Date to try and make it as stable as possible. Because, you know, we do our best possible work writing code at 3 AM when we've been sleep deprived for the past month. :rolleyes:


    Yeah, releases get rushed when marketing commits to firm dates before the software is 100% complete and tested. In other words, always, no matter what company or industry. It's incredibly stupid. And everyone, and I do mean everyone in the software biz, does it. Then they bitch and moan about buggy software.


    Welcome to my world. :S

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

    Edited once, last by Chris Duncan ().

  • The fact that Burkhard (and everyone else I'm sure) was working last weekend to put up a new version of the beta highlights a bit of truth to your observation.

    The fact that Burkhard and others were working the weekend and got the first bug fixes out on Sunday morning shows how hard they are working and how much they want to make their software as good as humanly possible. Although this update doesn't really do anything for me personally I absolutely salute the Kemper team for their hard work and dedication. You guys are amazing!

  • I bet they were relieved they released the initial beta and then were informed of the REV button bug and had time to fix it before NAMM. Could you imagine the embarrassment if an artist tried to disable the REV block on that stage and it not working? This is why we were really given these betas. You can be the most meticulous person in the world but without the testing of a wider audience, you will never catch as many bugs in time...

  • I think it's wrong to complain about bugs in a beta version.

    We benefit from the free updates for years now. I don't know any other company that does this to such an extent.


    I think it's a good deal to outsource the end of the debugging process to a large number of users, and to have the above mentioned benefits of one.

    On the one hand, beta versions of Kemper already appear with a high debugging level, on the other hand, it does not make sense to test endlessly after a certain level. The use of swarm intelligence of countless users seems to me to be useful for all of us.


    Nobody is forced to download a beta.

    I've been downloading the last betas for years now.

    I've never had a problem with a GIG or a rehearsal which forced me to stop and use a backup.

  • Those that complain about bugs in betas do not understand the entire concept of a beta test. There's a reason why you have to enable beta downloads in preferences. It's your consent to test that you give when you tick that box. It also relieves the company of any consequences if things go horribly wrong at a mission critical gig.

    Bottom line: If you CHOOSE to use a beta then you assume all responsibility for adopting unfinished unpolished possibly buggy software.

  • And.....the default in RM is not to download beta versions so not only are you not forced, you have to positively ask for it..so people should know what beta testing is for.


    I also have to commend Kemper for such a fast turnaround for fixes...


    Now back to Namm....who said there isn't a foot pedal version? Why else release a powered cab.....OK maybe stretching the speculation too much ;)

  • I guess it's not sold as a true FR/FR "monitor", but more a compromise between pure FR/FR and traditional cab, juste for listening/enjoying pleasure.

    Yeah this has been around for quite some time ( 6 months?). Initially sounds exciting but looks like its not the "golden bullet"..

  • Kemper people - if you're going to NAMM let's get together. I'll be there tomorrow thru Sunday. There are several acceptable beer sites in and around the convention center.


    Text me: 985-956-0601

    I'm John!

    John Maracich
    SpaceMetalNOLA.com
    facebook.com/spacemetalnola
    spacemetal1.bandcamp.com
    spacemetal.net

  • Kemper people - if you're going to NAMM let's get together. I'll be there tomorrow thru Sunday. There are several acceptable beer sites in and around the convention center.


    Text me: 985-956-0601

    I'm John!

    I'll be out there friday through sunday. I'll give you a shout after I've made the rounds :)

    Just a guy who plays a little bit of guitar.

  • And.....the default in RM is not to download beta versions so not only are you not forced, you have to positively ask for it..so people should know what beta testing is for.


    I also have to commend Kemper for such a fast turnaround for fixes...


    Now back to Namm....who said there isn't a foot pedal version? Why else release a powered cab.....OK maybe stretching the speculation too much ;)

    Yeah, supposedly there's 5 new products, someone above said? I see one, the new green cab; is it powered though? Would be great for those of us that have unpowered heads or racks. Plus a pair of them would enable stereo usage.


    They hinted last year "that it would be a surprise if at some point they didn't release a floor board KPA." or something to that effect. And I've been saying for 3 years since the release of the Remote, that a floorboard KPA was the next logical step. By creating the remote, they essentially did all the hard leg work in a floor switching system that coordinates with the KPA. Designing an all in one KPA. A floor KPA would simply be taking the knobs, jacks, buttons, switches, innards and the screen of the unpowered head and a remote and cramming them into one floor board-shaped metal container. Nothing new to develop but a metal box with holes and a paint job. Some dude that's good at welding could build his own by frankensteining his KPA and remote.


    Whatever Kemper does though, all us of on this forum have to remember that they are a company and have to continuously pay employees to function as a company, give customer service, let alone role out free updates. And they only make the money to do so by selling new KPAs and other products. It's easy for us to forget the economics of the situation.

  • A floor KPA would simply be taking the knobs, jacks, buttons, switches, innards and the screen of the unpowered head and a remote and cramming them into one floor board-shaped metal container.

    Not to go too far OT, but in all the time with the AX8, I can count on one hand the number of times I used the knobs on the unit itself. I would think a floorboard version of the KPA would be better with an extremely minimal UI, similar to the AmpliFIRE. I would go even further and make it a single encoder and do away with all the other knobs. Basically a profile PLAYER with editing ability... if you need to.


    Basically...



  • Great.I just convinced myself that there will be no floorboard and ordered a second Kemper..not to say that I would not want it for that reason.


    Anyway..


    A Remote-style profile player would be great.I dont remember how often I said it:A Profile Player for the guys who already own a KPA.That would be marvelous.

  • Ok, maybe all this time they just didn't see the floor version without editor.


    And maybe they present for NAMM the floor version, the editor... and the revamped stomp boxes. To fulfill the wet dreams of 90% of Kemperland residents. If that happened, for sure next thing would have to be to create a new religion to praise our new lord the great CK.


    Ok, maybe I was a bit too much.

  • Yeah, supposedly there's 5 new products, someone above said? I see one, the new green cab; is it powered though? Would be great for those of us that have unpowered heads or racks. Plus a pair of them would enable stereo usage.


    They hinted last year "that it would be a surprise if at some point they didn't release a floor board KPA." or something to that effect. And I've been saying for 3 years since the release of the Remote, that a floorboard KPA was the next logical step. By creating the remote, they essentially did all the hard leg work in a floor switching system that coordinates with the KPA. Designing an all in one KPA. A floor KPA would simply be taking the knobs, jacks, buttons, switches, innards and the screen of the unpowered head and a remote and cramming them into one floor board-shaped metal container. Nothing new to develop but a metal box with holes and a paint job. Some dude that's good at welding could build his own by frankensteining his KPA and remote.


    Whatever Kemper does though, all us of on this forum have to remember that they are a company and have to continuously pay employees to function as a company, give customer service, let alone role out free updates. And they only make the money to do so by selling new KPAs and other products. It's easy for us to forget the economics of the situation.

    Just to correct you before this rumor gets out of hand that was Slate Digital thats going to present 5 new products not Kemper. Kemper only mentioned on their FB feed that outside of the beta and new cabs they still have something else to show as yet unannounced.

  • Not to go too far OT, but in all the time with the AX8, I can count on one hand the number of times I used the knobs on the unit itself. I would think a floorboard version of the KPA would be better with an extremely minimal UI, similar to the AmpliFIRE. I would go even further and make it a single encoder and do away with all the other knobs. Basically a profile PLAYER with editing ability... if you need to.

    That could work. From a creating a new product and it's future support standpoint, having a floor kemper that essentially is the same as the head and remote, they wouldn't have to create a new UI or consider how any updates they'd like to do would function on different products. (because from a software standpoint it could function identically to a head+remote) Nor would a new owner have to "compromise" between the fuller-featured head/rack or a trimmed down all-in-one. And of course a trimmed down all in one floor wouldn't be any more convenient if it necessitated an editor and now having a computer connected to it to efficiently edit, let along any inability or cumbersomeness using the internal effects.


    However, they could simplify such a floor KPA by making it like a head/remote but eliminating some of the unneeded knobs, such as the 6 mod, delay, and reverb knobs, which are just shortcuts anyway. They could get rid of undo and redo as well.

    I used to own a Pod HD 6-7 years ago and liked how I could just plop it on a table or desk and do my long editing sessions while sitting in a chair with minimal setup and for live purposes didn't mine the occasional bending over to adjust on the floor, which is easier than trying to adjust the KPA head while it is sitting on the floor with its screen and knobs pointed at my shoes instead of up at my face like the Pod.

  • New talent management advice to Laura Cox -


    “Laura want to break the internet? let’s shoot another video of you covering the Nightrain solo in the blue singlet, but this time we’ll crank up the air conditioning”.