WTF is up with all the Software Errors?

  • Sorry but I have to flame a little now.


    I and lots of people in Facebook Kemper Groups are experiencing more and more software problems. Especially with Rig Manager.


    For example:

    I was playing at home. nothing touched. all of a sudden the remote lost connection and shut down. I dis- and reconnected a few times but in the end had to restart the Profiler to get a connection again.

    Besides: why is the tap STILL (years and years after many requests on here) not flashing in time and why are some of the leds flashing randomly even though I am connected with the original ethernet cable?


    next example:
    rig manager crashing and/or losing connection to profiler regularly. WHY???

    Now a new error: when trying to copy rigs from the local library to perfomance slots "paste" is not selectable in rig manager. I literally can't add rigs to perfomance slots in RM.


    next example:
    randomly I can paste rigs to perfomance slots somehow. Set up a complete performance - saved it, turn profiler off. next day, nothing I saved is there but sometimes the older rigs or even random rigs.


    next example:
    transpose set up in 2 different performances.one -2, one -3. trying at home - everything is fine.
    at the show: play one song - change perferformance and rig. transpose did not change to -3 even though i tested it a day before.


    I could go on...


    but seriously Kemper: when is a new Software Core coming? it's been due for so long now. you should get into the Facebook Groups to actually see what we (the users) have to deal with.

  • I'm using a Kemper stage and windows 10 and I have no problems at all. The only problems I did have was updating windows 8 to windows 10, it took three times to get it to work properly with my sound card and the internal clock on the Kemper didn't work well with my interface but it works flawlessly when I use the interface internal clock. I had to eventually do a full windows 10 install and never had a problem since. Sorry for your problems I hope you get it sorted out.

  • Couple of comments:


    For example:

    I was playing at home. nothing touched. all of a sudden the remote lost connection and shut down. I dis- and reconnected a few times but in the end had to restart the Profiler to get a connection again. TBH sounds like a hardware issue. My port failed after a number of years. I've never had an issue in relation to software


    Besides: why is the tap STILL (years and years after many requests on here) not flashing in time and why are some of the leds flashing randomly even though I am connected with the original ethernet cable? - Tap tempo - agree. I suspect the other issue is also hardware related.


    next example:

    rig manager crashing and/or losing connection to profiler regularly. WHY??? Agree that connection isn;t that robust.

    Now a new error: when trying to copy rigs from the local library to perfomance slots "paste" is not selectable in rig manager. I literally can't add rigs to perfomance slots in RM. I found out that I was doing it incorrectly in relation to selecting the rigs. Sort that and it works. I agree that its not totally intuative though...


    next example:

    randomly I can paste rigs to perfomance slots somehow. Set up a complete performance - saved it, turn profiler off. next day, nothing I saved is there but sometimes the older rigs or even random rigs. I've never seen this IF its saved to the KPA. sometimes the save from Rig manager doesn't take effect.


    next example:

    transpose set up in 2 different performances.one -2, one -3. trying at home - everything is fine.

    at the show: play one song - change perferformance and rig. transpose did not change to -3 even though i tested it a day before - to me this sounds like the same problem of saving. I've never had an issue where the KPA is "losing" stuff by itself.


    I can see why you find this frustrating although I'm not sure its that bad. I would rule out first the saving issues between rig manager and the KPA.


    Hope that partially helps..

  • Generally, the current OS and Rig Manager versions are very stable. We are receiving very few error reports for the current OS 8.7.17 release and corresponding Rig Manager.


    You are throwing all kinds of issues into one bag:


    I'm not aware of any circumstances where the Remote looses connection by itself other than defective hardware. If the PROFILER has an issue and the user interface hangs, this could also cause the Remote to go down as a consequence since the PROFILER is feeding the Remote. But you might notice an unresponsive PROFILER and this might also be more hardware than software related.


    Connection issues between PROFILER and PC could have external reasons like a defective cable, adapter or faulty USB hub.


    In current software the Performance needs to be loaded to be filled with Rigs. This requires a PROFILER being connected, in Performance Mode, and the destination Performance being loaded - that means its displayed at the front panel and marked by a headphones icon in the Rig Manager list.

    This design avoids confusion about how to store and which Performance it really is, that gets stored. And you can immediately hear, what you fill.


    We have a contact page. Please open a support ticket here per issue and include info regarding software versions.

  • In current software the Performance needs to be loaded to be filled with Rigs. This requires a PROFILER being connected, in Performance Mode, and the destination Performance being loaded - that means its displayed at the front panel and marked by a headphones icon in the Rig Manager list.

    This design avoids confusion about how to store and which Performance it really is, that gets stored. And you can immediately hear, what you fill.

    I am doing it just like that and i can't select paste. sometimes it works, most of the times not. Using a Macbook Pro.


    As I said, visit the biggest Facebook Kemper groups. People there share my experiences. And most people try to avoid using the Rig Manager because it causes so many problems. I asked them to post their issues on here, but they don't want to, however.


    well, i just started my Profiler in Performance mode, loading a peformance I edited yesterday.
    surprise, surprise: Slot 3 is a totally different profile now, which I never selected or anything....

  • Not posting issues here, but posting them on FB is pretty dumb IMO. Just another example why FB is a useless POS that isn't meant for living things.


    There used to be quite a lot of valid issues regarding RM, but the vast majority of them have been resolved. IME, copy/paste is sometimes greyed out if I try to access it too quickly. Many times a second right click will reveal an active copy/paste.


    I have also experienced what I believe to be a memory corruption when editing performances where the text does not accurately reflect the data. I have seen this when doing 'heavy' edits of performances using RM. I am aware of it so I reboot everything when it occurs and all works normally until next time. It is not frequent but it does occur.

  • I think most "errors" like "i can not paste" or "the performance didn´t store" are already very well explained by Burkhard

    in this thread (#7,#11 and #13):


    Rig Manager


    This explanation should be found in the RM manual, as this would have helped me a lot in learning to operating RM in a less confusing and sometimes frustrating way.


    Still prefer editing on the Profiler Head, no surprises there.

  • This was the thread I so poorly referenced! Most of my errors were user based...


    alexburnsred defo have a look at this, it really helped me.

  • Are there any Fractal employees in that FB group? 😀


    I've seriously not had any crashes since the early days of RM. Maybe it's a Mac problem?

    I'm using a 12-year old Mac, on the oldest OS revision compatible with the current RM. An OS released in 2017, two years before RM was even announced.


    Do I have the odd crash and odd behaviors from time to time? Sure. But I don't attribute that to RM. I attribute that to Macs lasting *for ever* and me being cheap.

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

    Edited once, last by Ruefus ().

  • I characterize this as:

    1) the interaction between RM and the KPA is not always the most reliable. I sometimes have to unplug and plug back in

    2) Some of it is user error - but I also think that is because its not always intuitive. I understand its liked to what you select etc but


    So its not terrible but its also not perfect.

  • When I had a kemper stage, I had some problems like that too. I had also had some problems when rig manager would erase a random rig and duplicate another one, but I was told it was my fault lol.


    I just learned how to make my performances and everything else on the unit itself.


    Rig manager was just for auditioning profiles and backups.


    The kemper units are really well thought and easy to use.


    Just stay away from rig manager.

  • I am having issues with RM 3.3.50 loading up. It seems to take a long time to connect to the Rig Exchange before starting the progress bar on the start screen. Then, when I minimize RM and maximize it, I get a pop-up screen that RM lost connection. This has been going on for at least a week or so.


    I'm using Windows 10 Pro, and I have 400mbps connection. I never had this particular problem before. I am assuming the Kemper servers are having issues.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • I am having issues with RM 3.3.50 loading up. It seems to take a long time to connect to the Rig Exchange before starting the progress bar on the start screen. Then, when I minimize RM and maximize it, I get a pop-up screen that RM lost connection. This has been going on for at least a week or so.


    I'm using Windows 10 Pro, and I have 400mbps connection. I never had this particular problem before. I am assuming the Kemper servers are having issues.

    I know this is 101 stuff so I apologize in advance, but my biggest pet peeve with Windows 10 is the constant stream of updates whether you want them or not. The single most potentially destabilizing thing you can do to a computer is update the OS, and now that's happening on an almost daily basis.


    I have had more than a few audio problems where things were working fine, I go to bed, and the next day they're magically broken. In those cases rebooting the computer (hence the 101 apology) has cleared the problem.


    I know there are other pain points for RM, but on Windows 10 the very first culprit I always look for is an update, even when it seems unrelated to audio.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • I am doing it just like that and i can't select paste. sometimes it works, most of the times not. Using a Macbook Pro.


    As I said, visit the biggest Facebook Kemper groups. People there share my experiences. And most people try to avoid using the Rig Manager because it causes so many problems. I asked them to post their issues on here, but they don't want to, however.


    well, i just started my Profiler in Performance mode, loading a peformance I edited yesterday.
    surprise, surprise: Slot 3 is a totally different profile now, which I never selected or anything....

    Like a lot of other guys here I develop software for a living. The single most important thing in fixing a bug is "steps to reproduce," preferably from a clean point of entry when possible, e.g. 1. turn on the Kemper, 2. start RM, etc. so that you're working from a known and reproducible state.


    When someone tells me that xyz doesn't work but I don't have that specific level of detail, it's very difficult to solve the problem. If I can't reproduce the issue in my debugger, it's hard to know what part of the code the bug is in. And, importantly, without steps to reproduce, when I think I've fixed it I can't repeat those steps to confirm that the bug is really dead.


    I totally get being frustrated with stuff that isn't working (I have less patience than I should). That said, did you open a support ticket as Burkhard asked, and if so did you include specific steps to reproduce for your problems?


    These guys really do want to help us, and these are the tools that they need to do that.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10

  • When someone tells me that xyz doesn't work but I don't have that specific level of detail, it's very difficult to solve the problem.

    Like the auto mechanic reading the notes:

    Customer states: There's a squeak when driving over a bumps.


    If you can't even positively identify the problem....what would you like the tech to do about it?

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

  • Certain issues lend themselves to a simple recipe in order to reproduce. Unfortunately, it is not always that simple.


    But this is not true of all issues. I often experience a RM failure mode that seems to manifest after a lot of editing in performance mode. I am not going to document the full sequence of events that occur before the error appears. There could be hundreds of events. IMO, a motivated team could spend a few hours making edits, copying and pasting, etc...in order to uncover the issues that I experience. To be clear, I am also not opening a ticket and requesting a solution. I know when it is likely to happen and I reboot when does. I am taking the tool for what it is and following the path of least resistance to accomplish my tasks.


    At the same, time if someone brings me an amp and says it doesn't work, I don't take the approach of making an excuse not to fix it because the user didn't give me an acceptable description. I can find problems on my own.


    The point is, there is a lot of gray area. RM is Kemper's creation and they are ultimately responsible for how it works or fails. They could for instance make it open source and abdicate all responsibility for resolving issues.

  • Certain issues lend themselves to a simple recipe in order to reproduce. Unfortunately, it is not always that simple.

    Yeah, that pretty much sums it up for anything in the world involving software. And these days that's pretty much everything.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10