New FactalAudio floorboard

    Quote from Armin

    ... are you a beta tester?


    No, since day one I've never been a Beta Tester for Kemper, I don't have a clue what products they're working on.
    A Kemper owner and a Kemper distributor will know on the same day when a product is released...a distributor won't even know one day before release.


    My comment was just a joke...a dream. :thumbup:


    How brilliant would it be if Kemper released two products, a foot controller only, and a foot controller with the ability to load up Profiles and FX?
    That day will definitely come, no doubt about it, when we see an all in one KPA floorboard unit...possibly within the next 3 to 5 years. :thumbup:

    Axe FX III, Axe FX III Ultra, Axe FX III Ultra XL, MFC III, MFC III XL. Axe FX IV.
    All more realer. Axe FX IV is rumoured to achieve 200% of realism ;)

    I think this is a really neat product. The FX on the Axe units are stellar. This would be an ideal piece to use with a tube amp. Very seriously going to consider one of these.

    I for one will definitely be picking one of these up. Ive been waiting 5 weeks now for my KPA to get fixed and so far no end in sight. Been using my Mesa mini rec in this time and I cant say Ive really missed the Kemper, and quite frankly Im also sick of waiting for a foot controller, or even an update at the very least.

    Quote from Lokasenna

    Then it would be a waste of money for the people who've been wanting one for 2+ years, and they'll probably all end up buying the Fractal board?


    Quote from PBGas

    I think this is a really neat product. The FX on the Axe units are stellar. This would be an ideal piece to use with a tube amp. Very seriously going to consider one of these.


    Have you heard the FX on the Axe-FX...do you own one?
    Have you compared the Axe-FX FX to Strymon side by side, or a real Fuzz pedal in front of an amp or a real Univibe in front of an amp compared to the Fractal versions?

    Question:
    "Does the Fractal board have Midi to control the Kemper?"


    Quote from Fractal:
    "This product is aimed at the person who doesn't want to use modeling. It is specifically designed for use with an amp. The I/O architecture was designed to integrate with tube amps."


    -------


    Fractal confirmed it has MIDI IN. They had not explicitly confirmed/denied that it has MIDI OUT as of the last time I looked.


    The above Fractal statement implies "no MIDI OUT" very strongly. Without MIDI OUT, it would be squarely aimed at the person who doesn't want to use modeling - their tube amps would be channel switched by the four Relays in the Fractal. If it DID have MIDI out, along with effects, it would be more of an overlap with their existing products, and would likely be more expensive than their MIDI controller.


    BUT - a MIDI controller could control the Kemper AND this Fractal at the same time :)

    My TC G-System does not have MIDI THRU, and it doesn't send MIDI OUT from the expression pedals.


    It is intended by TC to be THE processor in a set up with a tube amp, not integrated with other processors. I have my Kemper set up like a tube amp with it, so that works fine for me.


    As far as the Fractal floorboard goes, the full specs will tell the story on MIDI connectivity. Until they come along, or unless Fractal explicitly confirms/denies MIDI OUT, no one will know for sure.

    2 things I get out of this are:


    Depends on the price, as the ULTRA goes for $1200 and has excellent effects, even though it's not a floorboard. But "designed for tube amps" should apply to the Kemper, no?


    In terms of "effects" is there really a difference in how they respond to input signals, whether in front of a guitar or in an amp loop?

    Quote from db9091

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    Quote from db9091

    2 things I get out of this are:


    Depends on the price, as the ULTRA goes for $1200 and has excellent effects, even though it's not a floorboard. But "designed for tube amps" should apply to the Kemper, no?


    In terms of "effects" is there really a difference in how they respond to input signals, whether in front of a guitar or in an amp loop?

    It´s just clever marketing so they can strip the device of the amp and cab section and propably bring a full AXE-FX floor version later. A Multi FX unit always belongs into the FX loop. If you would put it before the input section all the modulation, reverb and delay FX would get distorted by the amp.

    Quote from tylerhb

    It´s just clever marketing so they can strip the device of the amp and cab section and propably bring a full AXE-FX floor version later. A Multi FX unit always belongs into the FX loop. If you would put it before the input section all the modulation, reverb and delay FX would get distorted by the amp.



    That makes sense for some effects. Don't a lot of folks like an OD to the Preamp though? Many tube amps don't even have a loop! So that's a problem right there.


    It seems to me that the power of this product is as a decent replacement for your pedal board, due to it's variety of effects. It has all but 2 FXII effects, and you can do double delays and all, and have variously different sets of 8 effects stored in different snapshots. So you could toss your $1500-2000 pedal board and replace with this. So I see a definite niche for it.


    I'd personally rather have things modular because very few companies are great at all things, or develop them at the same rate of quality. As evidenced by the fact that many prefer the Kempers amps and are waiting on more effects, and the FXII's effects were always top notch but the amps are being continually developed. That said, I realize everyone has a different opinion on this. I like most of the KPA effects, but something about the Reverbs don't sit well with me, probably cause I'm used to Spring Reverbs for amps, not that the KPA reverbs have any problem; they don't (except Matchbox, yuck! lol)


    I doubt I'd personally get this product, as it's kind of overkill for the KPA unless you have a pressing need for two delays, shimmer or arpeggio effects, which I don't.


    But if you have a real tube amp, and a pedal board, this would replace that board quite nicely.


    What would make this better than the Kemper pedal board if it can work with a KPA is the fact it comes with 2 pedals (again assuming they can be calibrated) as I understand the KPA board will not.

    db9091:


    Every conventional stompbox is before the amp.


    Modulation effects can sound great in front of the amp, in a different kind of "great" than post effects.


    And, a delay in front of the amp is a sound people also like. Putting reverb before the amp works for rockabilly style distortion and cleaner sounds. Distorted reverb is a special effect, not a musical one.


    Thanks! So are most loops in real amps before the power tubes? Or are there post power tube loops in some amps? This is something I never paid attention too as I always had my board before the amp like you said.

    Quote from db9091

    Thanks! So are most loops in real amps before the power tubes? Or are there post power tube loops in some amps? This is something I never paid attention too as I always had my board before the amp like you said.

    The idea of an FX loop is to insert the effects between the preamp and the power amp section of an amp to prevent the effects from distorting. The more gain you use the more audible the benefit becomes. What differs from amp to amp though it the return point of the loop. Some amps have the return after the master volume control of the amp. If you insert additional noise from an effects device or use a cheap cable, the additional noise is amplified with the full power amp output. Very nasty.