My opinion on the Kemper. Why I'm thinking about selling my Kemper

    My opinion on the Kemper after two years of use.

    PROS:

    1. If you learn how to use it, you can get a very good professional sound out of it.

    2. The footswitching options are very good and suitable for live gigs.

    3. The quality of the dig. effects is at a very good professional level

    4. The KEMPER + KEMPER CAB combination works very well. (Kemper with and without the Cab is like a night and day)

    4. High quality sturdy metal construction


    CONS:

    1. Bugs, bugs and more bugs.

    In two years, I have not gone a week without a problem with my computer software or firmware. (I have a Kemper Stage and an iMac)

    There is a persistent bug that I have had for over half a year. I even wrote about it in another post and found that other users have it as well. When switching from one show to another, I always have to switch to the first footswitch, otherwise I get a different sound (rig) than programmed. This happens very often - about 30% of the time I get a different rig sound if I use footswitches 2 to 5 directly when switching to another performance. That's why I always switch to the first footswitch first and then to the one I need. BUT FOR 3 WEEKS NOW THE FIRST FOOTSWITCH IS COMPLETELY NON-FUNCTIONAL!

    2. DISPLAY.

    The display is small. The readability of the diplay in light conditions during live gigs is just poor. Poor contrast and also poor viewing angle. This may have been fine 10-12 years ago, but not today.

    3. FOOTSWITCHES.

    Maybe it's just my Kemper, but after a year my switches started to skip. Sometimes they just wouldn't switch and I had to press them again. Now after two years of use, my first footswitch doesn't work at all, and sometimes I have to press the third and fourth one multiple times before the rig will switch. This is unacceptable for a professional device in this price range!


    Therefore, I rate MY KEMPER as both the best and the WORST purchase.

    The reliability of the KEMPER kit (at least mine) is simply inadequate for a professional device.

    And the KEMPER team doesn't even respond to some of the bugs that users report. They react as if someone on the forum is making up bugs just for fun. As if they don't even exist (those bugs).

    I am a professional musician,have been on stage for 30 years, now play 5-6 gigs a week and can't afford to use such unreliable equipment....


    Does anyone else have a similar experience as me? Or have just I been unlucky and stumbled across just such a malfunctioning piece...?


    P.S. Yesterday when I switched to another rig, the sound dropped out. I had to restart the kemper. The band stood on stage for about 2 minutes of silence... This bug has been here once before and has supposedly been fixed. Apparently but probably not completely...

    Having had my Kemper power rack for over 8 years now and exclusively used as my live rig, I think you have been unlucky.


    1) Bugs - the only bug I've experienced ( outside of sync issues with rig manager which for me is a bit of a pain but no issue for gigging) is a recent problem for sound drop out which I'm not sure is a KPA issue at the moment. I've had 8 years of glitch free use. Support has been extremely response to me for any issues I have raised so I d9on;t think they are dismissive but look at it from their perspective - many users raise issues without a clear explanation of the fault. Hence they ask questions. If only you experience it then is likely to be an issue with your set up not a generic problem. That's not dismissive, it's problem diagnosis. even then, I have never seen them not take even individual issues seriously.


    2) Display - No idea what you mean here. Any of the layouts are legible, particularly the latest layout. The contrast is a bright as any other device. Also, I rarely look at it anyway, I have my performances laid out and I know what I use slot 3 for and slot 4. So its only a reminder for me..


    3) The switches are standard switches as seen on any device, including amp channel switches and those can fail. Sounds like yours are faulty/failed and need addressing but I don't think other amp switches are immune, I think you are unlucky, like anyone is when a physical switch fails - mine is 8 years old and rock solid.


    This is your experience so I'm not saying you are wrong, just wanted to give my experience, as requested.

    Quote from laco65

    The display is small. The readability of the diplay in light conditions during live gigs is just poor. Poor contrast and also poor viewing angle. This may have been fine 10-12 years ago, but not today.

    Are people's eyes worse now than they were 10 years ago? Hendrix, Page Clapton, EVH, Malmsteen and Eric Johnson never had a LED footswitch and seemed to survive somehow. I had something way more advanced than all of them, a "Midi Buddy" that I used for years doing scores of live shows with. No readout, just a lablemaker.

    Quote from laco65

    The display is small. The readability of the diplay in light conditions during live gigs is just poor. Poor contrast and also poor viewing angle. This may have been fine 10-12 years ago, but not today.

    I found the brightness, contrast and LCD color parameters more than adequate to deal with stage condotions.
    Once I set them to my liking I had no issues in all the gigs I played

    Quote from DonPetersen

    I found the brightness, contrast and LCD color parameters more than adequate to deal with stage condotions.
    Once I set them to my liking I had no issues in all the gigs I played

    I don't look at the readout really, it's like looking in the rearveiw mirror in a race during a live performance. Once I hit the button, I already know what will be coming up. It would be nice to have a programmable readout on all the buttons (like a headrush) but I'm sure that would bring up the cost. I set performances very similar with gain stages left to right and FX in similar locations for boost/distortion, modulations etc so once I'm on a song that requires it's own performance, I know where the "special" buttons are. I'd love to have individual readouts for sure but one reason I like the Kemper board is the small size. As a singer/lead guitarist, with everybody looking it looks goofy making silly walk straddles hitting buttons on a big controller while singing. When I know a change is coming up, I'll position my foot near the switch so I just make a small movement. My original GCX first version was great for that with it's super low profile buttons you could just sweep your foot over not just only vertical like button switches.. I LOVED those buttons.

    My only problem with readability has to do with using a Head. When its close to (or on) the floor, reading the screen is.....difficult. :)


    A friend has a Stage and reading that is no big deal. I mean....the screen is pointed straight up at you.


    I'm not sure what the problem with the OP seeing the Stage's screen is. At least for me, it's perfectly positioned and quite legible. If we're talking about direct sunlight...any backlit screen is going to have problems.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

    Like 1

    I’ve had mine 8 years and have experienced none of those problems. Probs upwards of 40 gigs a year, apart from the lockdown.

    A brace of Suhrs, a Charvel, a toaster, an Apollo twin, a Mac, and a DXR10

    I bought the Kemper new. Reading your replies, I'm beginning to think that the switching problem may just be in my piece. Maybe I have some hidden fault in the switching circuits in the Kemper from the beginning. I actually found out a strange thing tonight. I have a broken first footswitch, it doesn't work at all. But after turning on the Kemper, it switches once and then stays dead. This proves that it is not the switch itself that is faulty, but the electronics associated with it. The Kemper does not use direct mechanical switches ( see attached link). Maybe all these switching problems when changing performance are caused by faulty electronics in the switching circuits...


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    Starting my 11th year with the Rack and no problems. Also have the Remote with no issues.

    The key to everything is patience.
    You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.
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