Are there plans to make a cheaper version.

  • still saving up for one .

    the reason I want one is to have great sounding amps, amps that I would never be able to afford or be in a position to profile.

    With the massive selection available to buy online the profiler function would be redundant,so why not have a version that can do everything but profile.

    I'm sure it could be produced cheaper making it more accessible to us mortals.

    AJK

  • Well, it is in fact called the Kemper Profiling Amplifier. It's pretty much the technology the device was engineered on, and brought to the market to do.


    All sarcasm and snark aside, I see your point. What you're asking for is basically a device that only loads profiles. I don't know that the profiling section is what makes the device cost what it does. It's the immense processing that allows it to maintain the audio integrity and sound and react the way it does, and that processor is the golden egg of the device (more accurately the process by which it accomplishes that, not necessarily the chipset itself).


    Think of it like this: The Nissan GTR is an incredible vehicle. All wheel drive, twin turbo...and so on. I have seen a couple of them in excess of 2,000 horsepower. I bring my case to Nissan and say "hey, I can't afford a GTR. How about you guys make a cheap version". Their response is the 370Z. Sporty, fun to drive, NOT all wheel drive twin turbo, NOT a GTR.


    The KPA was designed to occupy a specific place in the music gear market, and it does it remarkably. As good as the Kemper effects have gotten I could see them doing an effects only device but I just don't see them being remotely interested in a stripped down KPA.

    Just a guy who plays a little bit of guitar.

  • Actually going back to the 80's when Fairlight, N.E.D and Emu Samplers used to rule the world, along came Akai and they released one of their Sampler models in 'playback' form only ..... (S1000) It sold very well, too .......

  • From a business perspective - *not* releasing an UnProfiler model - especially if it's cheaper - is smart.


    See, every profiler can profile amps. This is why there are nearly 16,000 amps in rig manager - with probably thousands and thousands more for commercial sale.


    This means that every user can contribute to the marketplace. This is what makes the product 'sticky' - every user can become a profile guru if they want. In the early days of Kemper, they could very easily have marketed it as a 'modeller' - release it with 6-10 amp models (like the others did/do) and then add to the 'model' base over time themselves. The technology makes this very easy- and it would still have been pretty impressive. But... by allowing users to add their own profiles and providing a rig marketplace to share them- then the possibilities are literally endless.


    How many models does a fractal have? 200? Helix? Atomic? They're all limited to the amount of time the company can spend developing the models.

    Even if Fractal bought Studio Devil, and then Line 6 bought Fractal, they'd still be at 1/10th of the number of amps currently available to Kemper users *today* - and it just keeps growing.

    Kemper put the creation of amps in the hands of the users. This was *smart*. It allowed the Kemper Community to grow the functionality of the device stratospherically.


    A cheaper Kemper-lite would mess up the mix. IMHO.


    KPA Unpowered Rack, Kemper Remote, Headrush FRFR108s, BC Rich Mockingbird(s), and a nasty attitude.

  • Think of it like this: The Nissan GTR is an incredible vehicle. All wheel drive, twin turbo...and so on. I have seen a couple of them in excess of 2,000 horsepower. I bring my case to Nissan and say "hey, I can't afford a GTR. How about you guys make a cheap version". Their response is the 370Z. Sporty, fun to drive, NOT all wheel drive twin turbo, NOT a GTR.

    While I appreciate and identify with your love of high-octane fun, this is not a suitable analogy. In the event where one pleads their case to Christoph and says "Hey, I love Kemper but I can't afford one. Please make a cheaper one"..


    ..Where Nissan would direct you to another Nissan product, Christoph would either say "no" or suggest moving onto L6, Fractal or Atomic. There is no Kemper alternative within the Kemper family.

  • The profiling is essentially a bit of software and a couple extra inputs and outputs on the unit. To play/process profiles requires just about the same hardware as the profiling itself so I don't think a profile-player would be much cheaper than the full version. Would you expect a computer to get much cheaper by dropping its mic-input?

  • While I ap and identify with your love of high-octane fun, this is not a suitable analogy. In the event where one pleads their case to Christoph and says "Hey, I love Kemper but I can't afford one. Please make a cheaper one"..


    ..Where Nissan would direct you to another Nissan product, Christoph would either say "no" or suggest moving onto L6, Fractal or Atomic. There is no Kemper alternative within the Kemper family.

  • A version that can do everything but profile would:

    • use the same Software as the Profiler, or produce additional development and maintenance cost for a separate version
    • use the same Hardware because every component also is used for functionality besides profiling
    • would basically differ by the main switch that would lack the position ‚PROFILE‘

    So while a ‚playback only‘ version is feasible, I don’t see why it would be cheaper ?‍♂️

    francisco jent - 2 powered toasters & 1 remote

  • A cheaper version would make sense, but not by eliminating the ability to profile. The real savings is making a smaller product, cutting out hardware and building a smaller product. The easiest way to do this is to design a 2-3 footswitch pedal KPA that has no effects and solely handles profiling, and serves as a convenient DI on a pedal board. This alone would eliminate half the knobs and switches and a few jacks. It would also serve another market, users that are dedicated to traditional pedal boards and want the profiler to just be a small piece on their pedal board, vs. running four cables back and forth to an unpowered head.

  • Why would you want a "cheaper" version? You can already find the original used in various places. I bought mine back in October with the remote for $1700, used. I've recently seen it cheaper.

    Rik


    Kemper toaster >Kemper remote> 2 x Alto TS310 powered speakers Furman M-8XAR

  • I can now see why most of you guy's defended the Kemper, I have now bought one and OMG it is unbelievable, the quality of the sound has blown me away, never have I played through anything that sounded soooo good. I'm in love with this machine.

    Can't wait for the next gig. Just bought some Mike Britt profiles and they are fantastic.

    Playing guitar just became a whole lot more fun.

    Ajkool

  • A cheaper version would make sense, but not by eliminating the ability to profile. The real savings is making a smaller product, cutting out hardware and building a smaller product. The easiest way to do this is to design a 2-3 footswitch pedal KPA that has no effects and solely handles profiling, and serves as a convenient DI on a pedal board. This alone would eliminate half the knobs and switches and a few jacks. It would also serve another market, users that are dedicated to traditional pedal boards and want the profiler to just be a small piece on their pedal board, vs. running four cables back and forth to an unpowered head.

    The problem is that what should and should not be included. No effects you say? Then others would complain about that. Everyone has their own vision of what a cheaper version should be like. And is there a market for it? For sure? Would it be a gain or pain for Kemper? Is it more profitable with the kemper as it is now? Maybe they have discussed a cheaper version but came to the conclusion no. We don't know and they will not tell us anyway.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • The problem is that what should and should not be included. No effects you say? Then others would complain about that. Everyone has their own vision of what a cheaper version should be like. And is there a market for it? For sure? Would it be a gain or pain for Kemper? Is it more profitable with the kemper as it is now? Maybe they have discussed a cheaper version but came to the conclusion no. We don't know and they will not tell us anyway.

    True true. Perhaps a product along the lines of a Line 6 stomp, or whatever the smallest version of the Helix is? But yes, whatever they rolled out some people would complain, and some are complaining now because nothing has been released. I for one hoped they'd role out a full pedalboard version along the lines of the Helix type unit. 4+ years ago they released the Remote and could have done nothing more than designed a metal case that housed the contents of the head and remote and from a software/firmware standpoint would have been identical to a head connected to a remote. Thus not really a new product they'd have to support. The hard work of coming up with a system for a remote that worked with the head and the continued support and integration of the two units was the hard part. Craming them both into one pedal-board shaped metal box would have been the easy part.

  • I don’t see CK doing this. I don’t know him, so it’s all speculation. But the heart of the KPA is the profiling tech he created. To build something without it?


    Like a Ferrari without a Ferrari engine. Looks like one. Might even sound like one.


    But it isn’t.


    If the company were more a corporation, where the owner and name are effectively faceless? It’d make ‘business’ sense to add a product.


    Line6 is an example. That’s not a dig, just reality.


    I get the sense money ain’t the (primary) motivator.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Like Ruefus I don’t know CK or any of the team personally so this is pure speculation ? but I think it is much more likely that they are working on mind boggling new ideas to break new ground and come out with some other form of revolutionary technology rather than make a cheaper version of something they have already done in order to sell more units.