Why not to make the kemper Also a USB Audio Interface ?

  • Hello,


    When I tested once the Axe FX 3, one very convenient stuff (for those who don't use a DAW and don't have an audio interface,) was that the USB port was usable both to play sound from the PC and to record sound from the Axe . It seems it's not the case with the kemper.

    IMHO, it shouldn't be so hard to do, USB2.0 is fast enough and on top of that the sound is already digitally converted without latency by the unit...). Is that for some reason impossible to implement in the kemper ?

  • Well, most Kemper users have a good audio interface already.

    Now, I say this with no direct knowledge of how the Kemper is designed- but I would guess that the USB port on the Kemper isn't actually directly connected to the DSP. It's part of the controller. So it is likely not possible without a hardware change.


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

  • Thanks for your answer,

    Concerning the technical point, I thought there must be something like this too, otherwise it would have been done already, I guess.

    For the other point, I’m probably not representative of the majority of kemper owners, right. But I still think it would be handy (if possible to have). My kemper will certainly be attached to a computer very often with the new editor (home and rehearsal at least), so the USB connection will be there already, ready to record anything I’d like on the fly, even if I’m not at all a home studio guy and I don’t have a good audio interface. It would also replace the extra Y cable necessary between the Computer headphones slot (bad DAC quality …) and the AuxIN if you want to use it like this.

    I guess a USB audio interface is not super hard to setup, but it’s another piece of gear to buy, at least 2 more cables etc… if it’s not mandatory, it could be a simpler additional option, that was the idea behind my request.

  • When I run the stereo FX loop in the Kemper, the RETURN and ALTERNATIVE inputs are used. So, there is no way to connect an external audio source (Aux IN).


    A bidirectional USB Audio interface would help.

    I really hope that the USB ports are connected to the DSP, and a software update could enable this feature.

    The USB-A port is barely used now, thanks to the new RM features.

  • It isn’t possible with the current hardware and has been discussed before. The official line is that it was omitted to keep the costs down and that Kemper considered it to be a superfluous feature anyway, as the KPA was originally targeted at recording pros, who would have their own interfaces and converters.

  • It isn’t possible with the current hardware and has been discussed before. The official line is that it was omitted to keep the costs down and that Kemper considered it to be a superfluous feature anyway, as the KPA was originally targeted at recording pros, who would have their own interfaces and converters.

    thanks, that's clear ! I did look for threads on this before, but I couldn't find...


    It makes sense, in the context of a "recording pros targeted instrument", that USB is superfluous. But on the other hand, so much people love the fact that this unit makes you play more and tweak less (and they're totally wright, I've tested the axe FX, it's night and day), that there's new owners like me coming among the customers. I mean not a pro, no home studio, just practicing at home, go to rehearsals and play at some lives. Probably they should have enlarged their target.


    Just a naive question : would it really be expensive ? I mean ADC and DAC hardware are already in the box, there's no need for an extra one. In principle they would just have to write the bits (sound is transfered in its digital form trough USB, right?) at a sufficient speed on the USB port, no? Isn't it more something like "the USB hardware they put has some speed limitation, so it's impossible to write at the right speed" ?

  • Just a naive question : would it really be expensive ? I mean ADC and DAC hardware are already in the box, there's no need for an extra one. In principle they would just have to write the bits (sound is transfered in its digital form trough USB, right?) at a sufficient speed on the USB port, no? Isn't it more something like "the USB hardware they put has some speed limitation, so it's impossible to write at the right speed" ?


    ADC and DAC hardware is already in the box- but it may not be in *any* way connected to the usb. It controls the DSP, but none of the data (audio) gets anywhere near the control circuitry.

    I suspect this is why program changes happen faster than the display updates - they have a different priority - and run on a different processor.


    Anyway, I don't have any inside knowledge here, I'm just making guesses.

    If it was easy, it would have been done already.


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

  • I don't think that we have official statistics about the % of Kemper users recording with the KPA. That could be a nice subject for a poll in the forum, though, since the KPA provides many applications.


    However, I've found it. This was Mr. Kemper's answer back in 2012: "The KPA Hardware is not really prepared for USB audio streaming". USB Audio & Reamping.


    Although the USB audio feature is a convenient nice to have, and it is included in most digital amp related gear pro/amateur (Fractal, Helix, Mission cabs...), it is not a deal breaker for me, I don't record. I just need it to use the FX stereo loop while backtracking an external audio source in the KPA.