The Kemper Foot Controller: A Proposal

  • It's probably coming for the Musikmesse show. That would be an ideal and logical release date for them to show it.


    Not that far away.


    I come from the Avid 11 Rack setup previously and at least we are getting regular support for the Kemper, so I am very pleased up to this point. :)

  • It's probably coming for the Musikmesse show. That would be an ideal and logical release date for them to show it.


    Not that far away.


    I come from the Avid 11 Rack setup previously and at least we are getting regular support for the Kemper, so I am very pleased up to this point. :)

    According to CK: it's not happening that soon. He says it's not a trivial amount of work to get it right.

  • The one thing apparently missing from the proposed foot controller is a boost button. It would be cool if you could have a global boost that you can set (say 4-6 db) for solos. Then, regardless of what preset you are in you could hit a switch to boost the volume.
    At the moment, we only have a few options. we could place some sort of dirt pedal before the stack section, but this would drive the gain more, rather than give a volume boost. You could place some sort of boost or EQ in the X slot, but that creates some issues. For one, a user that uses a post EQ to optimize their amp sound will put it in the X slot. However, if you wanted to be able to leave that EQ on all the time, you couldn't also use this slot for a boost, as if you turn it off, the EQ that you want on all the time goes off with it.


    If a dedicated boost button is not feasible, assuming that the controller is already in development, then there's a simple software change in the upcoming performance mode that could be done:
    Simply have the ability to have a global boost level, and be able to assign one of the 4 CC buttons on the back row on the controller to it. Granted, this would mean that you'd only have three foot-switchable CC's switches on the back row left for turning other things on or off, but it would be better than nothing. Having one less CC switch, wouldn't mean that you couldn't have as many effects, you just couldn't turn as many on or off on the controller. Users that don't want or need this feature could simply not use it and they'd never know the difference. Also, within this, you should be able to choose whether its defaulted to on or off, turned off when changing presets, or left on that preset. So if I kick in a boost on a rig and change rigs, the boosted rig could already be boosted when I return to that rig, or I could have the boost off when I return to that rig.

  • Hi All


    First of all I'm very surprised to see there is a company wich strongly involves the user to improve their product. Great job Kemper.


    For the Footswitch:
    I like the control one from my old Digitech 2120 and the method wich it works. They don´t need so many switches on the FC, because the upper row is free assignable to each paramater per preset. This means for example in preset 1 switch A change the mix of delay and in preset 2 it switches the booster on or off. Depends on what you need. Normaly i don't need to switch all effects in each presets. But the control one isn't a midi device and works with Digitech 2120 only.
    If the KFC doesn't have one or two pedals, please design two Kemper Pedals as an add-on. One with a switch to activate an a normal one. This would be great.

  • Behringer FCB1010 seems a good choice to lots of people here. A bit of a PITA to program it, though.

    "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" Serghei Rachmaninoff


  • Hope I am in the right section here.


    I do not see an expression pedal on the proposed floorboard. Let me explain. I am part of a huge worldwide community of steel guitar players that have an increased interest in the Kemper amp. Unlike "standard" guitar players, who occasionally rock the pedal, steel guitar players (particularly pedal steel) continuously rock their volume pedal.


    Normal pot pedals are useless, because good quality pots are not longer produced, and those of good quality have the wrong law. There are some very very pricey dedicated volume pedals that have a complicated analog or mixed signal solution to this.


    In contrary, a comparably cheap multi-fx processor has a volume pedal in the bargain. This is a very easy task for a digital system. They are all mechanically solid contactless (magnetic or whatever) pedals and the DSP does the rest. If this alone were the objective, the discussion would be over already.


    However, none of those pedals can be used directly with a pedal steel, not for sonic reasons, but the thing does physically not fit under a guitar. It would need to be detachable. Programmable laws would be nice, but ultimately not needed. Log is fine.


    To sum it up: The steel guitar world is craving for the Kemper. They would go for a switch board (which is problably not ultimately needed), but they need a fine resolution volume controller. Stock pot pedals are not fit for the task, it would need to be contactless. And it would need to be detachable.


    Since this discussion seems to be in a state where things can still change, that might be easy to incorporate. And I guarantee: people are waiting for that. They have no other option.


    Thanks,


    -helmut

    Edited once, last by aquataur ().

  • I concur. Unless there's some type of unique functionality to the official controller, I won't be moving from my FCB1010 as it works perfectly and is very easy to program with one of the available editors.

    Hi, i realy need a foot controller now so i must buy one and i have not a lot of money, can you tell me wich editors to use with the kemper and the fcb1010 ? (maybe give me some link ?)


    Is there,maybe, any tutorial for that ?


    Thx.

  • The FCB1010 is dirt cheap in the used market, picked one up locally for $90. At first it is a bit overwhelming but it is not that bad. I use the Ripwerx editor and it works great. I also have the Uno chip, but according to the tutorial that Kemper posted, it seems you don't even need the Uno to control the Stomp on/off. Link to Ripwerx is here

  • I LOVE the idea of a proprietary foot controller. Especially one that runs on RJ-45/CAT5 cable, or one that isn't MIDI. (I absolutely HATE midi foot controllers). I'm assuming that the foot controller will be using a RJ-45/CAT5 style connector as looking on the back of my Kemper, that's the one connection that would make the most sense. It could power the controller and send/receive data. Line 6 has been doing this for a while already with their FBV series foot controllers I believe.


    I would like to add this suggestion:


    Have an instrument/guitar input on the controller. That way there would be only one cable going to the Kemper Amp, instead of two (one for the foot controller, and one for the instrument cable).


    With an instrument input directly on the footcontroller, that would also give us the option of hooking up our pedal boards directly into the foot controller. This would be extremely convenient. And it would involve less setup time and hassle on the gig.


    Understandably, a lot of guys would prefer to have their pedals run through the effects loop.


    But there are also those of us who would choose convenience and practicality over the hassle of extra cables and clutter all over the stage/performance area.


    I'm a guitar player in the US Army Band. As a military musician, I'm CONSTANTLY gigging and schlepping my own equipment here and there. I'm my own roadie, and I have come to HATE cables and unnecessary equipment. Being free from cables and having a simple setup allows me to focus less on my equipment and more on PERFORMING for the audience.


    my Preferred Signal Path:


    Guitar---->personal pedal board (optional)---->Kemper foot controller------>Kemper Amp----->sound board


    Added Bonus:


    TWO instrument inputs on the Kemper foot controller for stereo effects for those of us who love our Delay effect pedals.


    SUPER Added Bonus:


    WIRELESS capability for the foot controller i.e. no RJ-45 cable going to the Kemper amp. That way the Kemper amp could be ANYWHERE. Backstage, offstage, rackmounted with the soundboard...... I don't see how this would be a problem, if the Kemper foot controller's connection indeed uses a RJ-45/CAT5 cable, then there is the possibility of running a wireless computer router (just like the ones people use at home) to send/receive the signal to/from the Kemper foot controller to the Kemper Amp.


    I'm often at the mercy of the Keyboards and Drums. They take up so much space on stage. It would be AWESOME if I could easily pickup my foot controller and park myself anywhere on stage.


    I know this comment will probably be buried somewhere deep in this thread, but I did want to throw my opinion into the pot.


    thanks!


    -Mike Kiese

    Edited once, last by mkiese ().

  • Mike, welcome to the Kemperforum, and I like your one cable/wireless idea. Going wireless sounds very intriguing.


    Indeed!
    What pops in my mind at the moment is also some kind of short range bluetooth connection (should be fairly cheap to implement, on the usb port), to use it with a smartphone app, to be used as a backup device and/or an editor/controller...