Posts by Mr Bee

Kemper support has asked me to send:

-A recording of the processed guitar signal.... which I cannot do because, as I have said, I have no ability to record.

- A recording of the unprocessed guitar via direct out... which I also cannot do for the same reason.

- A backup of the profiler reflecting the RECORDING SCENARIO... which again, I cannot do because I cannot set up a recording.

Its not that I am "refusing to cooperate". I simply cannot provide them what they ask for unless I invest even MORE time and MORE money into recording equipment that I do not need or want, to continue testing a unit that was crashing and then continuing to malfunction from the minute I turned it on. I do have the ability to just make a backup of the Kemper on a USB stick, but would that even provide them anything useful? It does not sound like it would based on the reply from the support person.

I understand that others are thrilled with their Kempers, which is what makes me sure mine is not functioning properly. I know that no one in their right mind would be happy with what I am hearing and feeling out of mine.

I understand that I can make a backup. However, in 2 weeks worth of trying to get the Kemper to work properly, I have yet to hear it functioning in a way that I would want a backup of. If the Kemper, out of the box, sound great through any decent pair or Studio Monitors (I have new KRK Rokit 6" powered speakers) then that makes me 99 percent sure that my unit is not functioning properly. I invited another player over to make sure it was not just me, and he described the lag as feeling like his fingers were playing through syrup while playing leads. The lag throws off your timing and messes up finger synchronization. You can't really tell its there while playing big chords, but it does impart a clangy harshness to the tone of every rig. Resetting the rigs, the midi, and the global settings does not get rid of the lag. Adjusting every EQ parameter and input/output setting that is described in the manual does not make it go away. Other units like an my older Line 6 POD, and Vox Stomplab do not exhibit the same problem when played through the same Studio Monitors or Powered Amp. They sound like they always have. I already followed the procedure several people listed here for resetting the Kemper to factory state, and then reloaded the operating system via the Kemper updated download. Please advise if there is another procedure I can use to reset the unit. There is nothing saved in it that I care to lose. I have been playing through the amps that the Kemper Profiles for 35 years. I know that what I am hearing cannot be what Kemper intends players to hear.

There is nothing else in my signal chain. Guitar -> Kemper -> Powered Amp.

Also tried Guitar -> Kemper -> Headphones

and Guitar -> Kemper -> Studio Monitors

I have reset the global setting a dozen times to make sure there isn't anything in the signal that isn't supposed to be on.

Other units through these amplification setups sound fine, no lag. I have been talking back and forth with support for over a week. It has been one problem after another since it began crashing the first time I started it up day one.

Just checked it. Yes, I get the same lag/latency going from "direct out" to the monitor, regardless of the output type selected. When I was just whanging on chords trying to find a rig I wanted to invest some time tinkering with it was not so obvious, but when I speed up and start picking single notes it is very obvious and completely unusable.

I've been trying to figure out what feels/sounds wrong with all the rigs on my new Kemper. I noticed that my playing feels extremely sluggish/spongy, especially when trying to play shred type leads. At first I thought the amp rigs were just too dry, and I needed to add delay/reverb, but the more I listened the more it became clear that there is a latency, a lag on every note that I am playing, like the amp is a second behind what I am playing. The faster I try to play, the more and more obvious it becomes.

I have NO effects running, no delays, nothing in front of the amp, I have reset to wipe out any global settings that may have been causing it. I am plugged straight into the amp, and then either straight to headphones, or straight to FRFR speakers from the mains out, or straight to a powered cab from monitor out. Nothing seems to make a difference in what I am hearing. It is very noticeable. I can't even play my usual faster shred stuff because it throws me off.

It does NOT sound like standing a few feet away from a real amp. It is much more drastic than that. Other effects units run into the same speaker setups do not have the problem. Is there some obvious setting I am missing? The "Constant Latency" does not seem to effect it at all as far as I can hear. This new Kemper has already had a few problems, so maybe it is still not functioning properly? Anyone experienced this before?

I have never set the noise gate or any other parameter to anything. I was simply turning the unit on and off at that point. After every instruction I was given to restart the unit while holding down a certain button on the Kemper, a new global issue developed. First, the unit was crashing, and would not even load. After following the first instruction, the entire unit sounded like it was down a deep well. After following the second type of reset instruction, that went away and the constant wah-sound occurred. After I reset again, and that problem disappeared, the corrupt rig was still present and showed up every time the Kemper loaded the rigs. At that point, I took it upon myself to research and try to find a solution, since each question I had required a 24 hour waiting period for an answer before I could proceed. At that time, I had no clue how to make a backup, and I still have no ability to make a recording because I am not set up for that.

All of those issues seem to have resolved themselves when I reset the unit to factory state entirely following some instructions I found from someone here on the Forum. The only thing I am wrestling with now is trying to find a way to dial out the rather harsh and clangy treble frequencies I am hearing on every rig. I assume it is not inherent to the Kemper, and can be cured with some combination of Input settings, Output settings, Cabinet settings, Speaker settings, Presence, EQ, etc, but it is a lot of variables to digest. I will keep working on it.

The fix for the corrupt rig Kemper support sent temporarily fixed the problem, but then it reloaded every time the unit rebooted. I do see that Kemper support sent one more message about the wah-effect problem suggesting that I might have had a wah pedal plugged into the unit and not realized that I had plugged a wah pedal plugged into the unit...

It was taking a day for each reply to individual questions I was asking Kemper support. I eventually just began reading everything I could find on here, and that is how I figured out how to reset to factory state and reload the operating system. That cured the wah-effect problem, crashing problem, distant down-a-well sound problem, and corrupt rig problem, etc, I had been experiencing since I unboxed it.

Its not like it was a single glitch that was cured as soon as it rebooted once. Every issue I have run into took hours of time trying to research and understand how all the various resets, reboots, backups, transfers from computer to USB sticks from Kemper website downloads, formatting problems with the USB, and so on, work. I am sure that not recalling the defective programming saved Kemper a lot of wasted time, but it sure hasn't saved me any. This Kemper may turn out to be my favorite piece of gear in the long run, but in 35 years of playing guitar, I have never had a rougher start with a piece of equipment.

The help-line ticket number changed a couple of times, but the last one in my text is KA00170427.

Kemper help line never texted back after the 2nd suggestion. I have been reading online for days. Found out how to reset the Kemper to factory blank state and reload the entire operating system. The glitches don't seem to be happening any more, but I'll tell you, it has RUINED my confidence in the Kemper.

Any product that requires over a week of resetting every parameter possible and a complete wipe of the entire system to get rid of a corrupt rig that the factory installed does not earn my confidence at all. If it was a "known issue" as the Kemper tech said, then why didn't they recall the units? I'm never going to be 100% sure that my Kemper is not still defective in some way.

I am THINKING it is working correctly now, but I have still not found one rig in it that does not seem to have a harsh and fake sounding high end (like a cheap Line-6 POD through earbuds) I have tweaked every input and output parameter anyone has suggested and it still sounds very sterile and harsh, and its present on almost all the rigs. I can dial it out by changing a half-dozen settings, but then the entire rig sounds like mud under water. Same through my Rokit Monitors or a powered amp cabinet.

A lot of the Marshall amp rigs I like do have a great sounding "Karang" when I am just playing chords, but finding a lead tone that isn't icepick harsh when playing the treble strings has been elusive so far. Any further suggestions greatly appreciated.

No, none of the effects are on.

I have already installed the latest OS. I did not buy the Kemper to record with, and have no ability to record a sample. The instructions Kemper support gave me temporarily cured the glitches, but now the background Wah sound is behind every rig in the Browser function again, and repeating the instructions given by the Kemper tech did NOT remove it this time. It is there again on startup even after the reset.

Received a new Kemper yesterday, and I have spent over 16 hours and have yet to get a useable tone out of it. It began crashing about 5 minutes after I began using it. Contacted Kemper support. Trying to fix that caused the rigs in the browser to sound like they were a mile away down a deep well with reverb. The fix for that caused every model in the browser (but not perform) to have what sounds like an auto-wah pedal on in the background, which would not go away even with effects turned off. One rig file is corrupt and keeps showing up as being removed when loading the rigs. That all seems to be resolved (except that the glitched rig still gets kicked out and is not in the bank) after the tech had me do another type of reset.

However, my main issue is that every rig in the Kemper seems to have a hard/stiff, harsh/brash, clanginess to it. I have adjusted the input sensitivity for clean and gain, adjusted the mains ouput by -12db to keep from overloading the speakers, and that seemed to lower the amount of the harsh tone, but it is still there, just turned down somewhat. The highs do not sound musically pleasant at all, even on the clean rigs. It is very sharp and ice-picky, even with very warm PAF pickups in a couple of my guitars. It reminds me of having the wrong Line/Amp switch engaged while running to a powered cabinet with an old Vox Tonelab I had. Like the "cabinet sim" is not turned on or something and it is just raw signal.

I own many other modeling amps, and while scrolling through their models, there are some I do not like, but they all have a distinct feel and personality, and I get what the programmer was going for. With the Kemper, all the models sound like the same model, just with different amounts of gain or a different EQ setting. I cannot imagine this is correct. My 50 dollar Pocket POD has more authentic sounding models through these speakers than what I am hearing from the Kemper Rigs. Is my unit defective, or is there something major I have missed after 16 hours of scouring the forum and reading the manual multiple times? I am running it through KRK Rokit 6" powered Monitors, but have also tried it through 2 powered speaker cabinets, using mains out and monitor out. Nothing removed the harsh tones. Please help.