Posts by MementoMori

Quote from spikey

So you found a VST that sounds as good as a Kemper? Whats the name of this marvel? If its from Bias then yes it sounds good to me too but doesn't come anywhere near the tones in my KPA. As Always YMMV.

Lots of VST's out there aside from BIAS. I'd actually put BIAS on the lower end of the scale from what I've heard and my experience. It's not terrible, but I've heard "better".

One interesting note at the Neural DSP booth at last years NAMM, they had the Nameless Suite and the Fortin Meshuggah amp it was modeled after, and they would switch back and forth while you were wearing headphones. Honestly, I heard no difference. I hear more subtle differences when going back and forth between the Kemper and its source in videos and comparisons. Still impressive, but the Neural test was a dead ringer. VST's have come a looong way.

Quote from FarleyUK

It's still stupidly priced in the UK (from G66). Doesn't seem to be reduced...?

The price reduction only affects North America.

I've noticed something recently, and it's not an all-encompassing rule, but seems to be broadly true in my experience:

Kemper users often tend to be a bit older, lots of boomers converting for the first time from the tube world. Part of why Kemper appeals to them is its simplicity and taking its sounds directly from the source, which happens to be a source older players are far more familiar with (tube amps).

Other modeler users tend to be younger. It's something they grew up around and used, including being able to control at their desktop whenever making changes. I'm no spring chicken, but growing up in the 90's and 2000's, it's something I'm more familiar with than tube technology.

So, there seems to be a group of people who just don't find an editor needed or necessary and are used to complex hardware setups, having to lug around heavy electronics from door to door. The KPA is convenient enough already. Then you have a group of people who are more familiar with lightweight gear and computers. Of course, there are people right in the middle, but the polar extremes seem to often overtake this discussion because their prisms are so dramatically different in how they view things as a consumer and can't rectify the difference.

At the end of the day, we respond to wants more than needs. We all come from different places and nobody values conveniences exactly the same.

Quote from Vinny Burns

This thing is so easy to work with. Especially coming from using a Bradshaw system throughout the 90’s and 00’s.

I am sure an editor would have been quicker but this thing is pretty easy to use.

The Kemper does have the easiest UI in similar devices I've had experience with. I don't think anybody is saying it's arduous or the worst thing ever. Chances are fak0u would be even unhappier with a Bradshaw system. That doesn't mean he doesn't still prefer a solution that he can operate and edit on his desktop rather than have to look at a small screen and use tiny buttons & knobs.

Most consumers respond not to needs but to conveniences. The Kemper itself is a convenience product. Doesn't mean that some don't prefer other conveniences. The editor will absolutely help in that regard.

Quote from lespauled

While others are crying about what they DON'T have. I'll stay thankful on what I DO have. I have a fantastic piece of gear, that never ceases to amaze me.

That's perfectly fine, but you're commenting on a thread about a new development and passively digging at people who eagerly await something already announced. Not everybody values things the same, and that's ok.

There have been maybe 2 or 3 people that I can recall in this thread being whiny and unreasonable. Some others have responded at times with this odd, almost brand-loyal cultish attitude about critiques directed at Kemper, even if constructive. I just don't see why that's necessary. Nobody is asking you to enjoy your Kemper less.

Quote from hamiltonb6802

they “guaranteed” exactly nothing.

That's exactly not what showing products at NAMM conveys, at all. Yes, deadlines can change, but the editor was guaranteed per the show and consumer have every reason to expect it. I don't see how there's anything remotely controversial about saying so. Since then, people obviously invested in a KPA in part because of forthcoming developments promoted at the largest trade show in our industry, especially the editor.

Quote from hamiltonb6802

I’ve got stage myself and am looking forward to the editor but it didn’t affect my purchase decision at all.

That's fine, but that's in your situation. The person you were replying to stated how they were influenced in their purchase by the announcement.

Quote from hamiltonb6802

Kemper fulfilled yours when you made your purchase, there was zero guarantees of an editor.

Not true since arthrog purchased at the beginning of summer, and Kemper had set the ETA for the editor shown at NAMM for summer, or before.

For Stage users, it is especially important and I can understand the frustrations already with software and hardware issues, then still not having a desktop editor to set up patches by the ETA.

I personally don't mind waiting a little longer, but after WNAMM, anybody who purchased a KPA did so under the guarantee that a software editor was on the horizon.

Quote from bossanova

Would much prefer the upgrade be right the first time, as opposed to serving as "unpaid beta tester" like other companies do.

Kemper does this too. RM3 and the editor will surely be a beta with bugs to report by users before full release.

It depends where the guitars are supposed to sit in a given track. They seem to work fine in the original posts video, though not all mixes are the same.

There is no 1 type of mix. Sometimes Kemper users talk as though there is, or talk about Kemper "fitting better in the mix", when there's all different types. Perhaps they don't work for your type, at least not "out of the box", but most guitar tones we hear on records have had a considerable amount of sculpting done to them depending on where the mixer wants them to sit in relation to the other instruments.

There are plenty of demo videos done with them, including the one in the OP where they seem to fit just fine.

Quote from Ruefus

To be fair, when the Kemper Amps FB page reposts, it's easy to miss that it *wasn't* a Kemper post.

If Kemper were trolling, they just nailed high score with that.

Without Instagram tags it all looks like a big text bubble.

Certainly not a troll. It's more like a simple, lazy way to do social media, especially for FB, which I'm very familiar with.

Quote from nightlight

Again, the guitar market is unlike other markets. Prices aren't usually dropped by companies like Mesa Boogie, Friedman, Engl, Fender, etc, except during sales. So you can't compare it to computer hardware or anything like that which witnesses price drops all the time.

I don't think it's as different as you're making it out to be. Changes occur, but I don't keep a catalog of them. Business and tech is business and tech with nuanced differences.

Quote from nightlight

In the case of North America, I think Kemper did it because once they got a distribution network up, it was easier for them to sell there through online stores.

It's possible, but a price drop is a price drop. If the argument is that this doesn't happen in the guitar market, it obviously does, and did with Fractal's key competitor. It wasn't a major development but when it happened I saw more people welcome it. One Fractal fanboy I talked to online around that time tried to use that as evidence the Kemper was fading, and I made essentially the same argument as I am here, that it's reading too much into it. If you can preserve your margins while increasing volume, that's a winning principal.

Quote from nightlight

The Axe FX isn't older technology, pretty much industry standard/cutting edge.

It's cutting edge for its market currently, but every year processors and components improve, meaning almost 2 years after the Axe III came out, there is likely more advanced processors available and little doubt their costs are exactly the same.

Quote from Ruefus

After 8 years, I don’t think the editor matters that much to Kemper’s bottom line. The Stage appears to be a sales success and no editor sightings since NAMM.

To some measure. But it's important to be mindful of the difference in attitudes on the forum vs outside of it. People on any forum tend to be the most enthusiastic proponents of a brand, who also comprise the vast sum of early adopters.

On the other end, I have a friend who is trying to sell his KPA and keeps getting asked by people if it has an editor. Clearly people looking at Kemper are aware of it and it's at least dissuaded a few. May seem ridiculous to some here, but that's just the reality. If it's a concern for people looking at used products, it's certainly something people buying new also think about. Doesn't spell doom, but I don't think it's as flippant and harmless as some people have been making it out to be.

Quote from Alfahdj

I could just imagine that after the editor is released (if it is not a masterful prank from mr kemper and team), we all will miss this sooo much.

Honestly my favorite thing right now is when Kemper posts on Facebook and nearly all the comments are editor-related. Some are pretty clever. It's become a meme at this point, and I'm here for all of it. Almost makes me want this to be delayed further just to relish in its total absurdity.

Quote from Nikos

With the release of the new delays I expected the editor to be "on the way"..

Before OS5 an editor was not necessary at all.Loading in a profile and adjust it a bit..this was the game on until october 2016.

Now the reasons to use an editor are plenty:New delays,morphing(more so when using two kempers together),new reverbs,cab managing and some more good reasons for each user to find for his personal needs.

It is a must now and for this reason we will have it soon.I don't understand all this negative energy about the few days delay..

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This is weird to read from the guy who spent years passionately arguing against an editor, even after we had new delays, morphing, and reverbs on the way. The Kemper was "an amp" and the rest were "digital toys" meant for tweakers, not professionals. I guess there's hope for everyone.

Quote from BulldogXTRM

Dude the Kemper guys are awesome that they're fixing bugs for "unsupported" midi devices...

7.1.2

Code

fixed: reverb handling of Uno4Kemper revisions before  v1.4

I recall on the website for the company that makes the Uno4Kemper chips that the Kemper team worked with them on making the chips, which only work with the Behringer FCB1010. For anyone that has an FCB1010, I do suggest the chip. Makes things much easier and it's not expensive at all.

Quote from nightlight

I also suggested you provide me of valid examples of modellers that have gone down in price after introduction. I've been following all the latest and greatest for a long time now and can't think of any.

What I said was, "In other markets, behaviors are much the same. Early adopters more-often-than-not pay more out of pocket than those down the road." Technology comes out and a year or so after its released, you very often see price drops.

Quote from nightlight

This thing about the manufacturer cutting Fractal a better deal. I don't really buy that, a more logical explanation as others suggested was that sales have not been as good as expected. I see no reason for a company like Fractal to pass on a cost saving like that to their users.

You could be right, but you could just as easily be wrong. There are a lot of assumptions made to make it that far. Of course, price decreases are universally made to boost sales, but that doesn't mean sales are bad or have tanked. Items that my company sells will sometimes go on promotion for dealers even though it's one of our best sellers.

Quote from nightlight

So if your manufacturer is cutting the cost by $250, why on earth would that not apply to units sold elsewhere? And why the huge markup in Europe if at all you're actually manufacturing them there?

Only Fractal can answer that. Kemper did the same thing only in North America before. There are also different logistical and regulatory considerations that make the North American & European markets quite different. Fractal doesn't sell much in Europe and is far more expensive due to it. Chances are, prices could be dropped slightly in the US to incentivize new customers, but perhaps the margins just weren't there in Europe.

To me, it makes more sense for older technologies (Axe III being out for 1 year now) to drop in price, if at all. Older technologies don't often make sense to raise prices considering older technologies become cheaper as the rate of growth speeds up. Sometimes it does happen, like in the case of tariffs on existing goods sourced from a particular country.

A diverse array of coping mechanisms on display the last few days.

Quote from kriswylde

Its all supply and demand, if the price went down its cuz theres overstock building up at Fractal , Axe 3 not selling as much!

Quite possibly, but it's not nearly the only thing that influences price.

Quote from nightlight

You're pointing at early adopters taking a hit with Fractal, that hasn't been my experience with my Zoom 505II, my Boss GT-8 or the Kemper.

The other 2 devices are purposefully budget solutions meant to be built down to a price rather than up to a standard. They're also aided by large distribution chains not available to Kemper or Fractal which are smaller and niche, thus more prone to changes affecting their immediate bottom line.

Quote from nightlight

If you know of any processors that fell in value after a year or so, I'd be extremely interested to know which ones.

In their FB post on the price drop, Fractal claim to have negotiated a better deal with their manufacturing partner, but that only extends to US & Canada. In Europe and elsewhere, they still face greater competition where a price reduction would probably suit them better but I don't know all the logistics they have to deal with.

Quote from nightlight

But if I paid the old price and it fell so quickly, I'd be pissed because if I did sell later, I would have to lower my expectations.

For a $2k product, we are talking about a price reduction of $250. That's not nothing, but it's not going to really piss many people off. I've seen more people happy about it, including people who paid full price and don't seem to mind. Of course, YMMV. I just don't think this is worth a big fuss or has far-reaching implications.