Posts by Gary_W

....who keeps clicking on the downloads page in the hope that the librarian and new software are there? It's getting to be quite an obsession!

Thanks Lance - I appreciate the reply and the fact that you've pointed me in the direction of a local buy. Very honourable of you Are you the same guy that used to be on the Line 6 forums many, many years ago? About the time of the Pod XT?

I digress - I just looked it up on the UK government site and unfortunately I'd have to add 20% VAT plus import duty which can add anything between zero and 49% again! When I bought a pickup from the States, that bit was 'only' 4%. But basically you can see why us lot don't buy much in this way! It's a shame as I love G&L guitars and they are another brand like Tokai in that '99% of them a keepers' IME. And they go for peanuts in the USA compared to buying them here

I've been on the Tokai UK website and it doesn't really scream 'buy from us'. When you look through the (huge range) of models, you have no indication as to which ones are made in China vs which are made in Japan. Then we have the prices which are more expensive than actual shops and eBay shops..... Then we have it saying 'Visit the dealer section to locate your nearest Tokai dealer' and there *is* no dealer section on the website.

Like I said earlier in the thread, I'm not in a position to buy at the moment so the fact that the UK website needs a bit of work is neither here nor there for me personally..... As well as the Kemper this year, I've bought monitor speakers and 3 guitars so I've been a naughty boy already! But I could certainly see a nice Les Paul in my future and I only ever hear good things about Tokai in terms of 'pay less than Gibson but get a better guitar'.

Anyway, good luck with these - they look lovely. Particularly like the LS160 on the first page! Must say I generally prefer a 'normal' burst as opposed to flames or quilts so that was the one that made me dribble more than the rest. Hope it finds a good home soon

I'm not in a position to do anything right now, Lance, due to other recent activity on the guitar front but I've a question for future reference.....

Import duty to the UK - would I be right in thinking I've got to add 20% VAT and also import duty at this end?

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question! If I buy from Europe, this doesn't happen. If I buy from the USA, it does. I've never bought from SA before

Agree with Pick - I had to hide my eyes a few times!!

I like that a lot - I vote you finish it

That sounds great

My opinion, for what it's worth.

Asking for features on a platform that has the ability to grow and improve has to be encouraged. This is obviously true as we have feature request threads here and this feedback is useful market research for the manufacturer. If the company uses this information the product changes in ways that users want and you either have happier users that tell their friends (so you sell more) or you have a more feature rich product (so you sell more). In either case, the consumer and the manufacturer benefit. A manufacturer-moderated community encourages this process and here we all are.

I understand complaints if users are ignored. If loads of people request something on a forum that a manufacturer frequents, the manufacturer is wise to either say 'it's coming' or to say 'that's never coming because of XYZ' and everyone can move on.

In this way, everyone feels they have a voice. It's not a democracy but it starts to feel like it :). The time that trouble starts is when you get a wall of silence. Try Native Instruments user forums where the company often gets torn to threads. The kit is good, their ability to communicate in the manner required for a community they encourage is absolutely terrible and they suffer for it.

So the thing that has surprised me here is everyone had said 'we want a librarian'. CK said 'it's coming'. We now have a timescale. I personally feel listened to and am really excited but I have a PC so excitement is easier for me here. So I started to think about the folks who are waving pitchforks and 'why?'

Thinking about it, it IS fine to ask for a timescale on the mac - the fact that it's not yet cross platform has blindsided the mac folks who felt listened to and now don't. But it's a case of spinning the 'we want a mac version' the right way :). I'm a PC user so 'I'm ok' but I do think it would be wise for CK to give a narrower timescale than 'later in the year'.... Just giving a quarter for release will help the folks who are upset with this. I think it's ok to do a split release but IMO it needed spinning better up-front

However, I'm with Raol that it is not good to criticise any aspect of the future program from a screenshot. That's no help to anyone and means well thought out feature requests get lost in the noise of the crowd with pitchforks. I'm sure it'll be great. If it's lacking anything for me personally, I shall say so when I've used it and not before.

Moving forward, I think it'd be great to see a 'product roadmap'. There are lots of little things that people have asked for (eg spring reverb, delays on stomp buttons etc) and it would be really helpful for CK to just say 'these are the things you'll get within 3 months, these are the things you'll get within 6 months, these are the things you get within a year. Please note timescales slide but these are coming'. Yes, you still get the pitchfork crowd because 'their feature' isn't on the radar but at least you can manage them on your terms rather than having a load of pissed off mac users complaining on your Facebook feed during NAMM ;).

You don't have to put 'complete innovations' on the roadmap - the beat scanner thing was not asked for because no one thought of it and I now cannot wait. That sounds really cool. But just put the 'vanilla' stuff that gets many requests on a roadmap.

Tricky business, digital marketing, and everyone is still learning the best way to maximise the positives whilst avoiding the minefield that is a user in their bedroom where angry fingers are quick to type.... I really think openness is better (especially if you have a forum). People will always complain like we've just seen but at least it would then be manageable more easily from the company's perspective

Quote from G String

londonjeepster -

RigManager is a librarian and hub, not an editor. it starts getting interesting where the display size and the missing computer keyboard of the Profiler get in the way. RigManager is about huge lists, quick sorting, overview and combining loads of locations where you might have stored rigs. It especially is about your own rigs. the better you can meta tag them, the fast you can find them in the Profiler without extra tools.

Everybody who saw it so far and worked with it made great comment about how it changes the way you organize and control 4000+ rigs.
gs

I'm really looking forward to it - it will make a wonderful device even better

So now for the cheeky question..... When you say Q1 - early Q1 or late Q1? I keep checking the downloads page on your website in a manner that is bordering on obsession so if you can help me with that my sanity will thank you

I'm enjoying the discussion on what was originally used. I have no idea and nothing to add.

What I do know is I love the sound that MK got on the original record and I think your playing and tone here do it justice - it's great and I look forward to having a play around with the profile

Can't wait for the rig manager either. How cool will it be to read a thread like this and be able to preview the tone with absolute ease?

I'm very pleased that this is finally happening - I feel sorry for the Mac users having to wait longer but I'm personally very happy to get this much needed software.

Mac folks - forgive me if this is a silly question because I know virtually nothing about macs...... Is there a possibility this will work in the PC emulation mode or will doing that stop you using your daw? Not ideal but a possible workaround until 'later in the year?'

As I said, probably a silly question that is showing my knowledge on macs to be tiny so go easy on me!!

Indeed - it recons a vintage strat pickup gives out more power than a hot humbucker or an active humbucker.

Just wondering how you get this to dB's anyway...... Pickup height changes this for a start.....

The problem with comparing the two boxes is that they are both good units. I landed on this side of the fence because I believe that profiling an amp tone gives me the actual core sound that I want straight away. Kemper have always given the idea that 'we've got this right and it won't change because it's already perfect'. On the Axe we have modelling that claimed to be perfect and then claims to be more perfect with every release which changes everyone's patches

When you read requests here it is always for extras or occasionally to report a specific bug which needs fixing. You don't see posts asking for better core sound because our ears tell us the claim of Kemper is correct.

With bugs, this board seems to get responses from Don pretty quickly and help is given / patches promised and delivered.

With features, it's obvious that they have limited resources and have to decide very carefully where to put their time. This will inevitably mean some users feel better looked after than others as some requests will seen to go ignored. It's a shame they take time - I'd love an editor / librarian and the ability to put reverb and delay (of more variety including spring) in any fx slot rather than having the delay / reverb chain at the end set..... Reverb before trem? Yes please for certain things etc. When I miss these things, I have to remind myself that nothing is perfect but the core tones in this thing pretty much are..... These features all have hope of being added and the company obviously want to make the box as attractive as possible to any potential user.

So I agree it's good to feed back features to the company - making a fantastic box even better is good for us users and good for the company in terms of happy user base / more attractive product = more sales. But asking for it by comparing with Axe is not 100% apples with apples comparison because of the above.

Another reason I mentioned the profiling vs modelling for the core tone of the unit is because 'at least Kemper can spend it's time adding stuff not trying to improve the main tone'. So all their time they have on this system will be spent on features and bug fixes which means cool stuff can come quicker than it would if they were still improving the core.

I hope they eventually add the delay you want or you're able to get it 99% with the box as it is :). But I think there are more useful things to add that would help lots of users as opposed to this which seems to have specific use for one song really? Again, fair enough to ask but in light of it being a bit 'niche' it may not be top of their list! In any case, if delay is your absolute passion then really you need to grab a Timeline and put it in the loop :). I think the delays in the Kemper are great 'vanilla' delays but a dedicated thing like the timeline allows reverse, shimmer, tremolo on the delay etc. and you can of course put it before the amp stack in an fx slot if you wish or post stack very easily.

I've had the Neumann KH-120's for a couple of months. They are stunning IMO. If the price doesn't put you off they are well worth putting on your audition list!

I also agree with others that a near field monitor for practice might not fit the bill..... I guess you could put one behind the drummer's head and one between yours but until you've tried it in your basement with your drummer and your personal benchmark of what you expect it's not possible to say anything other than 'it might work but that's the wrong tool for the job'

I've played around with Timeline and Mobius in the loop but don't have it wired in permanently..... It will be soon though.

You can, per patch on the Kemper, put this loop pre or post stack so that's very nice for the Mobius. Means you can use it in stereo rather than having to use its pre/post feature. It works well.

Quote from Cybertwin68

I posted it back to them on the 14th December, they only sent it back the 11th January saying they couldn't get hold of Kemper over the Xmas period to sort a return......... Who knows what the truth is, am just hoping Kemper are good to their word and do a weeks turnaround.

Sounds like a stuff-up with posting it out from the UK..... I cannot imagine Kemper would be shut down from the 14th.....

Quote from Joptunes

Does it say anywhere what kind of Rosewood will be used on the Fenders? I only saw rosewood mentioned but no details on which kind. Brazilian can't be harvested anymore anywhere making that a difficult task for all manufacturers.

I love the feel of the full Brazilian necks......my personal favorite.
sean

Hey, who doesn't love the feel of a full Brazilian

Hi Cybertwin - what have Andertons said? I seem to recall you got yours from them about the same time as me.....

On PC here so not 100% relevant but.....

I had a Focusrite saffire (one of the original ones) for years and it worked well. On the odd occasions I had issues, the Focusrite support was great.

I then took advantage of a special offer on a Native Instruments USB interface. I was hit with pops, clicks and other horrors and then spent 6 weeks trying to fault find. Whilst I like NI products, I discovered that their support is way below the standard you need and expect..... No answers to support tickets, emails, phone calls. When you finally do get them, the answer is along the lines of 'have you read the FAQ'. And you've already explained in the support ticket that the FAQ had been followed... That was two years ago and I note from their forums that people are still having the same issue!

I now have a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24. No problems.

There are happy NI interface users out there so I can only assume my PC had an issue with the NI Interface. Whether this means I'd have an issue with ANY USB or whether it was poor drivers I can't say as I've gone back to firewire. My PC works well with anything else though.....

My reason for mentioning is because I keep getting told firewire is old hat and will not be supported soon. Indeed, getting hold of a firewire interface is something consigned to eBay and the bargain bin. But if it works, it works :). Look up 'DPC Latency issues' to read tales of woe that only affect USB. I know lots of people have no problems with USB and also some folks have problems with firewire..... It's really a case of finding a format that works on YOUR setup and going with that so but from a vendor who has a good exchange policy.... I was fortunate with my NI interface that the shop swapped it for me to a product that worked!

Good luck

Mdeerocks - my intent is not disrespect.

I think you've summed it up by saying that you use 4-5 amps, 50-60 profiles. From a memory perspective that's 5% of what it stores.

The Kemper has 1000 spaces. Perhaps you'd use more if it had a decent librarian

For years, I was fine with a single amp plus Redwirez impulses so I'm trying not to judge on the numbers It's just that the Kemper gives us sooooooo much more. It is incredibly accomplished at every sound it makes (far better than anything the competition makes IMO). For those of us who have been around the block, it feels like a massive leap forward in almost every respect. The only step back is 'finding cool stuff and keeping tabs on cool stuff' and for that a librarian makes things much easier. There is, we can all agree, an abundance of cool stuff!!

An analogy for you.

The Kemper is like the best library in the world. It has thousands of books. 50% of the books are 'the best book you've ever read'. The other 50% rank will be 'good for someone, not for me'.

Trouble is that 50% of books are scattered all over the floor. You know that there are other great ones there but it's more trouble to go looking for them than to keep with the books you know...... So you stick with one or two books. You'll be happy because they are wonderful books but you could have hundreds of wonderful books as opposed to the few you stick with.

This isn't me threatening to go elsewhere...... It's me saying 'it's ALMOST perfect. The only thing missing is something that companies with inferior products made happen a long time ago.' In truth, a handful of 'perfect profiles' is enough for 98% of anything we all do..... It just seems crazy that it can do that extra 2% because of a feature we're all used to elsewhere. Asking for such a thing should not mean I am made fun of :). It's a reasonable, considered request to help me get even more out of a market leading product. That is all.

They'll do it eventually. I hope sooner rather than later. For anyone that owns a Kemper, the lack of a librarian is a 'weirdly incomprehensible annoyance' as opposed to a dealbreaker - it's so good at what it DOES do you'd be foolish to go elsewhere.

Making a librarian would make loyal customers happy and would stop POTENTIAL customers from writing it off due to a checkbox Excercise where it lacks what appears to be a 'basic' feature.

Just IMO of course

Quote from lightbox

Because other companies build modelers where you need to build your tone from a few basic models.
The Profiler isn't a modeler, so an editor isn't so important. Even less with the great frontpanel to quickly tweak the rigs.
What we really do need is a librarian tool, not an editor, not an editor, not an editor, not an editor.

I don't agree with you. A librarian is essential and that is indeed the major requirement BUT an editor is still required IMO.

I've just fired up my Kemper. It's on TAF profile I bought 'Goldfinger Clean'.

It's telling me from the front panel that it has a gate, an EQ, a boost, a phaser, the bogner profile, an EQ, a chorus, a delay and a reverb.

Only the two EQ's and the reverb are on.

Without a lot of button pushing I cannot see what any of the other things are..... Is that a clean boost or a treble boost? What kind of EQ's are they?

It would be a whole lot easier if this was all laid out on your PC screen when you were working on your DAW wouldn't it?