Excessive clipping out of nowhere, what is going on?

  • Hi guys,
    I'm on the latest 1.1.0, and I'm getting a strange clipping artifact with my KPA.
    I've tried multiple guitars and profiles, and it's there, but I chose to share a profile with you that surely has the problem:
    http://axes.uw.hu/Lead 1A - 2012-06-11 17-17-42.kipr
    And I've also created a recording of the problem itself:
    https://soundcloud.com/richaxes/kemper-clipping-problem
    It happens most of the times when I bend a note in the higher frets - in the example I was bending around the 17th fret of the G string. It also happens more when I pick hard. The clipping effect is extremely loud compared to the normal volume level.
    The KPA is surely clipping when this happens, because the Output led goes red for a second while this effect lasts.
    I'm not sure what could be causing this, but as I said, I've tried it with multiple guitars and even different rigs, and the problem is still apparent sometimes. I've already tried System resetting but it didn't solve my issue. I've also tried lowering the rig's Volume, thinking that the problem might be that the rig is overloading the Output, but the problem is still there at lower volumes, too.
    Could any of you please try my rig and see if you can replicate my issue?
    I'll report it to support if you can reproduce this, too.
    Thanks,
    Richard

    Use your ears, not your mathematical sense.


  • Perhaps it was something different, but I remember I was getting something like this the other day on one of the rigs I downloaded from the exchange. When I picked a note it was as if there was a quick volume swell in the loop that would push the output to clipping and then go right back down. It felt like the rig was corrupted so I deleted it and then things were ok again.

  • Perhaps it was something different, but I remember I was getting something like this the other day on one of the rigs I downloaded from the exchange. When I picked a note it was as if there was a quick volume swell in the loop that would push the output to clipping and then go right back down. It felt like the rig was corrupted so I deleted it and then things were ok again.

    Thank you for the heads up!
    Unfortunately, this issue is happening with multiple rigs for me, and yes, it's similar to what you are describing.

    Use your ears, not your mathematical sense.

  • Thank you for the heads up!
    Unfortunately, this issue is happening with multiple rigs for me, and yes, it's similar to what you are describing.


    I wonder if a reset with deleting all rigs and then loading them back would work then.

  • Have you tried simply reducing the volume 'till it doesn't clip anymore?....Check also the volumes of Cab and FXs.

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


  • I actually had this happen for me using the latest firmware. I was using a Booster/Line Driver pedal into the front of the Kemper (which worked before latest firmware) and I was getting that odd LOUD/CLIP thing happening when hitting strings super hard. I think I turned my Kemper off for about 20 mins while unplugged from the mains and when I switched it back on it was fine. Odd for sure.

  • Hi guys, just to let you know, I still have this problem.And seeing that Support didn't give a half damn to help me out or even contact me after reporting this problem directly by phone and sending my rig attached personally to one of the support members by e-mail (have to mention that this is the second issue I reported this way and got no answer on), I have to sadly say that I've lost my faith in Kemper Support.
    Now I can't trust my KPA to work as it should in a live situation, and it also seems to me that I can't even rely on Kemper Support with my issues. I'm sad and I feel betrayed. I alway told everyone I talked to (over the web or even personally) great things about the KPA because I really liked this unit, but from now on I'll have to add that reliability is an issue, and help is not to be expected.
    And I'm also considering selling my unit.

    Use your ears, not your mathematical sense.

  • Hi Richard,
    I'm sad to read this and sorry to say that this is not completely true, we talked on the phone on the 3 of July and on that day you send in the Lead 1 Rig, that shows up the problem. On the same day you received the following message by mail directly just to let you know that we're working on your issue.


    "Hi Richard,
    I've listened to your Sound cloud mp3 and checked your Rig, got the same clipping as you got on your recording.
    It happens after a while hitting and bending the G string in the 17. fret.
    Thanks for reporting this and sorry for the trouble, I will talk to an engineer and Christoph tomorrow.
    By the way, some nice playing on your other Sound cloud tracks."


    So, fact is that we didn't left you without any information !
    Another point is that we have to support lot's of customers, and sometimes it's impossible to get a solution from one week to the next, if you like to get things really right.
    So you can be sure we are looking for every customers problems and try to not " leave someone standing in the rain ".


    You haven't got news from us 'cause we already working on the issue, by the way, we can't recreate the same issue on other Rigs.


    regards
    MF

  • Hey Manfred!


    Yes, what you're saying is absolutely true, I got the message, but I didn't get anything since then. Your message said that you will talk to an engineer and Christoph, but you didn't get back to me to give me at least a little information on the progress or anything.
    I'm no support expert or anything, but I know that when I turn to any kinds of support with a problem, the biggest concern for me is communication - informing and staying informed. I'm not there with you guys to know what's going on. The only thing I know is that my KPA gets really hard clipping sometimes that is not my fault in any way, and I still get the booting problem sometimes that we have talked about earlier, which I still didn't get an answer from you about. :(
    Also, sadly, as I stated in my original enquiry, I was able to create the same issue with a different rig as well (I forgot to mark which one was it, so I'm lost, but I'm pretty sure that I was trying a stock rig and I could get the same effect), so it must not just be a problem with that single rig.


    Regards,
    Richard

    Use your ears, not your mathematical sense.

  • I'd like to put an end to this conversation now.
    I always loved and will always love my KPA. I still think it was my best buy ever, and I still think it surpasses everything, and has no competitors at all.
    I accept that software development and fixing problems is an issue for every company, and needs extreme amount of resources and time. I understand that some problems are harder to fix than others and that there are priorities.
    The only thing that I found a little problematic is the communication being stuck between the customer and support. I think it would be best if the person reporting a bug or an issue would get a simple yet straightforward message telling that the problem has been identified, it's known, and steps have been made for correcting it. I'm ready to wait forever for solutions, but there should be some kind of reassurence involved in the process, to let users know that they are not forgotten. That's all I am sensitive about.

    Use your ears, not your mathematical sense.

  • The only thing that I found a little problematic is the communication being stuck between the customer and support. I think it would be best if the person reporting a bug or an issue would get a simple yet straightforward message telling that the problem has been identified, it's known, and steps have been made for correcting it. I'm ready to wait forever for solutions, but there should be some kind of reassurence involved in the process, to let users know that they are not forgotten. That's all I am sensitive about.


    there is nothing wrong with a fully grown male individual™ being sensitive towards this at all. I agree that communication is a huge factor and can rectalfy most situations among many willing and giving men.

  • there is nothing wrong with a fully grown male individual™ being sensitive towards this at all. I agree that communication is a huge factor and can rectalfy most situations among many willing and giving men.

    I was hoping that some FGMIs would agree! 8o

    Use your ears, not your mathematical sense.

  • I think it would be best if the person reporting a bug or an issue would get a simple yet straightforward message telling that the problem has been identified, it's known, and steps have been made for correcting it. I'm ready to wait forever for solutions, but there should be some kind of reassurence involved in the process, to let users know that they are not forgotten. That's all I am sensitive about.


    Ehm....
    Isnt's that pretty much what Manfred wrote? What else do you need?

  • Ehm....
    Isnt's that pretty much what Manfred wrote? What else do you need?

    Hello, Mr. Kemper!
    I was really hoping you would join this conversation at some point.
    The first time I reported a bug with the Kemper was in May. It was about the problem that still happens to me sometimes: the KPA doesn't boot up, it gets stuck for minutes and nothing happens. I think it's understandable that, for me, this problem is not something that is easy to get over, because it really creates a feeling of unreliability, while knowing that this doesn't happen every day now, but still regularly.
    I talked about this issue with Manfred on the phone back then, who asked me for backups, which I've sent to him. Then I've recieved a mail from him 6 days later, saying that sorry, but there is a lot going on there, thus I had to wait for an answer longer than usual, but he wants to let me know that the next day he will look into my backups and contact me again.
    Now, this is what never happened since then. More than 2 months have passed without a single word or any form of contact. I think my frustration would be easily understandable after this happened, but as you know, I've reported another problem (the clipping issue) 2 weeks ago, and I'm just afraid that the same would happen than it did with the boot issue before.
    Look, I didn't want to be offensive by any means, nor I wanted to sound impatient. I can accept that software development is a real resource hog. It's just what I wrote in my post that you quoted: I'm ready to wait forever for solutions, but there should be some kind of reassurence involved in the process, to let users know that they are not forgotten. That's all I am sensitive about.

    Use your ears, not your mathematical sense.

  • You see, we are working on all these topics.
    Please understand that we cannot track every single user that has reported a problem and continuously feed them with individual informations.
    The best and most effective thing we can do is solve issues, bundle solutions into a new firmware and release it ASAP. That is our answer. Of course releasing a new Firmware takes some time, especially for testing, that is done in several stages. That takes many days or weeks.