Kemper needs to update

  • First of all what mattered to me the most to buy a KPA: sound! Sound that satisfise my needs. It really still does 100%

    Every new unit will have its lovers, thats cool for me!


    I really think there is room for improvement, because there are some functions I would like to have/hear. Like to have the possibility to combine two amps within the KPA. But honestly even if this feature will come up in a KPA v2 it would not make me unhappier with my current version.


    People complain about the display and the userinterface..... that's also fine for me, cause i still works for me. Some new products have a big touchscreen.... but that does not improve the sound....


    And to close up my statement: In 7 years I needed no support at all and since the last 8 weeks I had 2 issues with my Toaster and the Kemper support was easy to reach, super friendly, fast and fully successfull!

  • I look at it like this. Does anybody complain that a 68 marshall plexi tone is "outdated" and needs to be upgraded? (Well there may be some) Or a 57 twin isn't any good anymore because there are newer amps that do this or that?

    I have played both of those aforementioned amps and can tell you good tone is good tone. I can make my Kemper sound just as good if not better than those amps so how can that be "improved"? It already has, it's called a Kemper profiler. If you have something that sounds indistinguishable from the original what is the need for a shiny new thing? I have a Kemper with a 68 plexi and 57 twin built in. If I want something else I can have it too. Sound wise, a Kemper can never become outdated any more than a vintage amp collection would.

  • I am very happy with the Kemper and ain't looking to buy other amps anymore.

    Owning a Kemper cured my GAS. Especially knowing it can replicate any amp to the point the owner can't tell the difference. I think I want to play a '74 4 holer today, done. I wonder what a Friedman BE100 sounds & feels like? Done. Matchless? Sure. I am selling all my gear and rigs I would use live (except 1 for a backup)(Keeping all my vintage stuff of course) I have made mistakes and have regrets selling off gear in the past but with a Kemper I really cannot see that happening. It's really changed my entire outlook on wanting new amps.

  • They're all rat catcher and blenders, the same YT influencers who have been telling people for years that they couldn't hear any difference to the original amp, now they want to telling us something else. This YT influencers will lie in your face if they get enough money for it.

    Be the force with you ;)

  • Any time a new piece of gear hits the market people start saying it's the next best thing, and all the older models will be obsolete. Here is the funny thing though, all modellers and profiling amps are trying to recreate the sounds of an otherwise obsolete technology. No one is using tubes in their TVs, their radios, and the vast majority of consumer audio devices, save for audiophiles and guitarists.

    That being said, with so many people thinking Kemper needs a V.2, I think we should be happy that there is one product on the market that is being constantly updated and still works, and still sounds amazing. Kemper doesn't need a V.2 to compete with the Quad Cortex, or any other modeller. Kemper doesn't even need to profile pedals, if your purpose of getting a Kemper was to replace your pedal board and amp. Profile pedals in your amp's signal chain.

    What Kemper could do is work on the profiling algorithm. Not because of the EQ that some people hear, or don't hear, but because the Kemper cannot accurate profile ALL amps. For the life of me, I cannot get my VHT Pittbull 50/ST profiled and refined to sound accurate. I also have struggled to make accurate bass amp profiles, albeit the Kemper wasn't initially designed to profile bass equipment. So, if the Quad Cortex can more accurately capture and profile these 'hard to profile' amps, it has a slight edge over the Kemper, and Kemper should find some way to work on this issue.

    I've successfully profiled a number of other amps in my own collection, as well as from friends and band mates, but I have always encounters a couple of amps that just do not quite get captured correctly, or in some cases even remotely closely. Figure out a way to solve this, and the Kemper will remain as relevant as ever.


    Oh, also, more flexible parallel signal routing options for bassists would be great. That is one area where the Cortex and the Helix seem to be better, is in routing flexibility. When I play bass, it would be nice to choose where to split and merge my parallel signals, but I have found a useable workaround for playing live, and in the studio, I don't use the Kemper that often for bass, and just route through my pedals, amps, and DI as needed, then mix them all together in my DAW. If the Kemper figured out a bit more flexible parallel signal routing, I'd probably just record bass it with instead of using my other gear.

    On a final note, I was discussing this with my band mates last night. Both one guitarist and I use Kempers, and our other guitarist is interested in getting into either the Quad Cortex or the Kemper. Any differences in profile fidelity between the Kemper or the Cortex will only be relevant in isolation. Since every youtuber comparing the Kemper and the Cortex have done soloed A/B comparisons, my bet is that in a mix, we'll be hard pressed to hear any difference between the Kemper and the Cortex. It's a bit silly to think that isolated tones are the benchmark of a good profile, because anyone who has spent time in the studio or behind the mix desk knows that what sounds good in isolation often sounds terrible in a mix.}

    Either way, I can't see any reason to buy a Cortex or even a V.2 Kemper when my stage does nearly everything I need it to. As for the hard to profile amps, I can just record them in my home studio when tracking, and use a different profile when I play live. There are so many bands who use different gear in the studio and in live situations, and the vast majority of listeners can't tell the difference. Let's be happy that Kemper has kept our products up-to-date and will continue to do so.

  • They're all rat catcher and blenders, the same YT influencers who have been telling people for years that they couldn't hear any difference to the original amp, now they want to telling us something else. This YT influencers will lie in your face if they get enough money for it.

    Are you talking about them? ;)

  • People have mentioned wanting improvements to the profiling algorithms for awhile now, as well as the ability to profile pedals and run more than one profile at a time. Those are common wish list items that could potentially form the basis for a revised version of the hardware. People who are happy with the Kemper as it is wouldn't have to upgrade of course.

  • They're all rat catcher and blenders, the same YT influencers who have been telling people for years that they couldn't hear any difference to the original amp, now they want to telling us something else. This YT influencers will lie in your face if they get enough money for it.

    Let me agree with your unpopular opinion. Many of those channels have basically turned into a nuisance, they pretend to review and educate but do the exact opposite by confusing, pushing products and distracting musicians by focusing on trivial stuff like hour long videos discussing what kind of Klon Centaur variation you absolutely need. They can't sell you the discipline, personal style, experience and technique you need to be a better musician so they carry a narrative where gear is all you need. Many of them would fall flat in the context of a studio session, yet are reviewing the most cutting edge stuff every week as if they were some sort of authority.


    As for the Kemper, it's just fine as it is!

  • different opinions are valid and welcome here.

    derogatory comments like yours however are borderline manner-wise for this forum.

    The comment I was responding to was a response to my “different opinion” about the Kemper needing a UI update, and I found it to be “borderline manner-wise” as well.


    And this post is in itself an opinion, and possibly different one.

  • Request for a Kemper V2 driven by dual amps and nice UI ...now we add flaws to the profiling process which has been terrible all this time but we didn't know?


    In reality any good quality device will question the incumbents. When axe released the the FXiii everyone started to criticise the KPA UI...pah, so what. The KPA is simple and intuative and closer to an amp in operation. That's good enough for me.


    Dual amps - I never needed those and complex paths with valve amps and I see little practical use. They have no real benefit in studio ( just reamp a duplicate track) and only live and few major artist run 2 amps at once ( they often switch between amps).


    I have so much tonal variation I don't need more options for the sake of it.


    I will take any improvement in sound but I think we are talking about the law of diminishing returns.


    Just my view...

  • now we add flaws to the profiling process which has been terrible all this time but we didn't know?

    No one said the profiling process is terrible. Some users have simply noted there are, at times, notable discrepancies between a profile and reference amp.

    Dual amps - I never needed those and complex paths with valve amps and I see little practical use. They have no real benefit in studio ( just reamp a duplicate track) and only live and few major artist run 2 amps at once ( they often switch between amps).


    I have so much tonal variation I don't need more options for the sake of it.

    I understand you have no use for certain features; however, preferences often differ, thus the feature set of amp modelers is generally designed to accommodate the widest possible range of preferences.