The price is a bit steep. Essentially you are buying buttons to tell the Kemper, yes, no, on and off. Functionality is already in the Kemper. This is just a glorified switch box with a small display screen, which are a dime a dozen. Granted it works just for the Kemper (proprietary). Thats where the "We can charge what we want" comes in.
Don't get me wrong, I love the Kemper. It is about the best piece of guitar equipment I have ever bought and would not get rid of it for the world unless I lost the wrong fingers where I couldn't play any more.
I have to agree with some about the looper. I cant help but to think it is a bit underhanded. Since it is already in the Kemper, it just needs a couple simple commands from a $2 switch and an led to show state.
I am no engineer but as far as enabling the looper with no pedal at all directly on the Kemper seems a simple deal with software. Hell, there are a hundred LEDs on the Kemper to show state.
They could make a simple switch pedal or use an existing button on the Kemper just for the looper instead of forcing people to buy the KPR for the functionality it already possesses.
The poster that pointed out the secretive stance Kemper had on reporting how the looper would be implemented had a valid point.
It seams that "they" did not want to let on that your Kemper has had this functionality from the day you bought it. They wait until the release statement for the KPR to let us know.
I believe it would have been a bit messy on here for some during the buildup of the Pedalboard threads if we knew the facts.
The reason I am going on about this is because they dont seam to have given owners an option to at least use it directly on the Kemper. You cant tell me it would not be easy to implement.
I believe they needed an extra functionality to push this price range. That being the "existing" looper. What else does it offer really? Change banks and remote viewing. Where is the money?
I insist on quality in just about everything I buy. Yes Germany is known for its great engineering. So you can hope to expect the Kemper products follow that and if they do then you can expect to pay a bit more but....I get that. But how much?
Where are all of the electronics sourced from? Electronic components today are cheap. A heavy duty encasement is easy to do. It is the internals that really matter. I have no idea of the internals quality in my Kemper. I am guessing they are good. I get no unwanted noise. It has a beautiful sound quality, etc.
The only way I will realize the true quality of something in this price range is longevity. We will see.
As far as the build quality of the Kemper from the outside view, I would give it a 7.5 out of 10. I like it and it is good but the knobs feel very cheap to me. They have a very easy lateral movement. (The stem flexes very easy). I never liked that and it has turned me away from buying other electronic devices in the past.
If I looked at the Kemper in person and felt those knobs I would not have bought it. Now if I heard it AND felt the knobs.........well yes I would have bought it anyway.
But if there were competition that does just what the Kemper does, I would have looked deeper into the quality of the build and used that as my deciding factor.
Another thing I notice every time I sit down and play my Kemper is the gap between the face plate and the aluminum "hood". It is eye level and I can look right through it. Simple thing I know but a little odd for something in this price range.
I think when someone opens up the first pedalboard they may be a bit underwhelmed and wonder where the money went.
With all of this said, once again, I love my KPA and I really appreciate what this company has done. It is a beautiful thing indeed. But I will still call it as I see it.
----QUESTIONS-----
How many of you would buy this if it didnt have the looper?
How much would you be willing to pay then?
Now the big question. Will I buy it?
Probably. Why? Because I am a dumbass and I can afford it.
Besides, I am on the list. But if I go to order it when it is time and I cant get it before too long I may just forget it and let it go though.
I only play at home so I don't "need" it.
But I want the looper dammit. I have a much more detailed one but it is a bit of a pain getting it to not mess up my sound in the chain with the Kemper.
Please dont flame me and my opinion. That is all it is.....an opinion.
And if I am wrong or incorrect with anything technical I said, I apologize ahead of time.