Ahhh What's that? A New Kemper Model? Profiler Player

    Quote from G String

    JCW308 Profiler Player has a limited set of effects, that doesn't make it a buggy unit. Limited in comparison to Profiler Head/Rack/Stage. Feel free to contact us regarding the noise issues you face. We want to learn more about that. "Store" works fine here, but again, feel free to contact us through the website, and we'll see if we can replicate what you see.

    I will give it one firmware update or it's going back. This thing is dreadful. Stripping it down so it's not even usable is just plain wrong.Especially with all of the reverbs and delays. I mean, come on, Kemper. This is really bad..

    • Official Post
    Quote from JCW308

    I will give it one firmware update or it's going back. This thing is dreadful. Stripping it down so it's not even usable is just plain wrong.Especially with all of the reverbs and delays. I mean, come on, Kemper. This is really bad..

    The upcoming firmware update doesn't contain anything in regards to new/additional effects.

    Quote from G String

    The upcoming firmware update doesn't contain anything in regards to new/additional effects

    Could you give an insight in what is on the long term roadmap in this regard?

    If a “full feature version” is on the roadmap..I’d buy one today.. no matter if it’s free/charged upgrade.


    Is a adding a global EQ on your roadmap?

    Quote from G String

    Sorry, can't do.

    Why is Kemper as a company behaving like this to its customers? Especially new customers? Kemper is supposed to be the best but you are behaving like NDSP. You guys think this is a big joke I guess. Customers need to know what's going on so they can plan ahead. Not every little detail but at least give us the outline of what is happening with this product that we just invested in. I can't work with half the effects and half the features.

    Quote from JCW308

    OK so I spent a couple of hours with my Player today. I just don't get this thing. Mine was buggy with the Android app to no end. I would save changes and then the changes would be half there and half gone. It's missing all my favorite reverbs. Particle. Gone. Ionosphere. Gone. No shimmer? There is no way to calibrate an expression pedal. The button is there but it does nothing. There's no morphing. There's no press and hold. It's noisy as an old BOSS from the 80's. In every outlet with every guitar. I mean this thing, the way it is now, even with the latest firmware, is a nightmare. An expensive one at that.

    Quote from JCW308

    Why is Kemper as a company behaving like this to its customers? Especially new customers? Kemper is supposed to be the best but you are behaving like NDSP. You guys think this is a big joke I guess. Customers need to know what's going on so they can plan ahead. Not every little detail but at least give us the outline of what is happening with this product that we just invested in. I can't work with half the effects and half the features.

    Mhh... there's some confusion among different things IMO.


    The set of fx (and other features) available in the Player is reduced in comparison with the other models. In order to learn about the difference, I think it's enough to read its manual (for example, I've found the list of its fx set). So if you expected to find some fx that are not listed in the manual you can't certainly blame Kemper.


    As for missing functions with respect to the manual, keep in mind that you are currently on KAOS 10 while the manual refers to KAOS 11. This already represents a kind of projection for the future, doesn't it?


    Bugs: this is of course a different story, every new product at launch may have some, and early users know they are somehow voluntarily taking some risks in this respect. But there's no need to believe they won't be fixed. Again, you could have waited but decided you wanted to be an early bird (as opposed to a late mouse)... which is fine, but deal with that :)


    As for other aspects (what has been called "upgrade"), I don't think there's any plan yet. Even if there was one, this commodities sector is crammed, and competitors respond very quickly. Since Kemper is not as big or quick as others, I understand their reluctance in revealing their plans.

    OTOH, this is something they have been accustoming us to: see for example how out of the blue the Player has arrived... already in the shelves, although in a small batch.


    Rule of thumb I've learned in my musical life is: don't buy anything for what it's supposed to offer in the future; always buy a device for what it does, if it fits your needs.


    As for your "You guys think this is a big joke I guess" it's clearly a nonsense that comes out of frustration, and doesn't really mean anything, if you look at Kemper's history since the Virus exploit (I mean their synth, not the covid), their European assembly, their Support that has often gone beyond their duty to help customers, their effort in making people save money by adding functionalities for years to the same hw not making it obsolete in a couple of years... you'll have to admit that if this is a joke, it costs them quite a lot, and that they could have easily made much more money just doing as other have been since forever.

    Still chasing a worthy one :/

    Like 3
    Quote from jlooknyc

    They can be loaded but maybe don't work as expected. There are many effects missing at the Player. For example I don't think any of the Kemper Legends Tribute Profiles from the 4 collections would work the same way since they are using the studio Equalizer plus other effects.
    Also be sure that the Player does not have performances.
    In the posting #115 you will find a list of the effects that are included.


    You can't do anything with shimmer either. It's completely missing. All the interesting verbs and delays are completely gone.

    Quote from JCW308

    You can't do anything with shimmer either. It's completely missing. All the interesting verbs and delays are completely gone.

    As stated in the manual. The player is a stripped down/limited version of the Kemper. It's not advertised as a complete Kemper in a smaller enclosure. You get what you pay for

    If something is too complicated, then you need to learn it better

    Like 3 Thanks 2

    I agree that Kemper has been nothing but outstanding in their product support. They have gone totally and completely over-and-beyond to give KPA users new features and support their premium product better than any company I have delt with .... except VHT when Steve Freytte still owned it (called me personally on a Saturday to help me bias new tubes for a gig!).


    JCW308 may be going overboard in his verbal lashing of Kemper as a company, but I do believe that the customer base in general may have a significant number of people who expect that a Kemper Player will essentially be a KPA with some limitations.


    I think that the biggest fundamental gripe is going to be the lack of efx.


    Competitors like Fractal and Line 6 reduce the physical capabilities (as has the Kemper Player). People expect this. Removing the ability to create profiles ... well, it IS called the PLAYER. Fewer EFX slots? Same with Fractal and Line 6 (although in a slightly different way).


    The difference between these companies and Kemper is that neither Fractal or Line 6 limit the quality or type of efx you can put within the limited number of slots (or processing) that the smaller unit supplies.


    I guess what I am saying is that JCW308 is likely not an anomaly in his expectations.


    Those of us here are Kemper heads and we have read every scrap of information available about the highly awaited Kemper Player. All of us knew before the first user review came out exactly what it did and didn't have in it.


    I suspect most people will see it is a small 3 button KPA and expect that it will sound like it.


    I will say that I am warming up to the idea of the Player not having a screen. Shoot, I use a tablet for my 40 channel digital mixer and it is way more complex than the KPA to operate. I suspect that phone and tablet screens on a mic stand are going to become much more normal to see as people use them for adjusting their IEM mix on stage. No reason a guitar player can't use this for a screen for his Kemper Player when used live.


    Time will tell if the lack of premium verbs and delays are an issue in the general market.


    What I can say is that I was really looking for the Player to be a Throw-And-Go backup for my KPA Rack. Less efx slots I could survive on, but missing effects completely? I think others that rely on morphing will similarly be put off (I don't use morphing live ..... yet). Being able to import/export performances would also have been a requirement for this (with the noted exception of fewer efx slots).


    It is possible that even with its limitations, that the Kemper Player is still the best KPA backup. It can, after all, utilize the same profiles and rigs (with less efx slots). If the self-imposed firmware limitations were removed (all efx restored and morph capability restored), I think every gigging KPA owner would wind up buying one.


    All of this feature discussion is debatable. The idea that Kemper is not good at supporting its customers? Just plain silly.

    pippopluto and OneEng1 thank you from this new Kemper owner (I just got a Player) for your rational review of the situation. I knew what I was getting in the Player, and I’m very pleased with it. Kemper has delivered exactly what I expected.


    That said, two points, mostly in support of your statement:


    1. It’s understandable that existing Kemper owners are frustrated over the lack of direct rig compatibility. I hope Kemper will fix this by adding the missing FX, Morph and the like.


    2. While Kemper support for Profiler products has been exemplary, they do have another line where there are widely expressed complaints - the Access Virus synth. I also own an Access, and while I am not troubled by it, many Access owners legitimately gripe about the incompatibility of the “Total Integration” functionality with all new MacOS releases for since 2017.


    As a small, largely “boutique” musical gear provider, Kemper lives or dies on the belief that it will support its user community. ckemper is an incredibly talented designer and producer of high-end musical gear. His products stand head and shoulders above the competition in the pro world. I hope he can make and carry out the decisions that will maintain the high regard his customers have for his company. This passionate user community is Mr. Kemper’s most valuable business asset.

    Quote from tsachou

    I just realized the NOT Even the AMP profile of the KPP have the same parameters from the the STAGE ! I am shocked I didn't read that anywhere !! 🥵 wooooow

    The profiles still make full use of all the deeper level functions but you can’t edit them on the Player. I suppose that is consistent with the concept of a “Player” rather than a “Profiler”. I can’t say this limitation really bothers me as I’m not much of a Tweaker even on my Powered Head but I can see how some users might find this limiting.

    Quote from JCW308

    You can't do anything with shimmer either. It's completely missing. All the interesting verbs and delays are completely gone.

    I don't understand all about your comments ?!

    You seem to know exactly what are in the big brothers and/or own one, all you listed was already known before.

    I'm disapointed and tell it but i haven't bought the player cause i knew all this before...


    Quote from CelticGibson

    There is a solution if you want shimmer and all the other effects...

    Shell out double the price for the bigger brother of the player...

    Quote from OneEng1

    Competitors like Fractal and Line 6 reduce the physical capabilities (as has the Kemper Player). People expect this. Removing the ability to create profiles ... well, it IS called the PLAYER. Fewer EFX slots? Same with Fractal and Line 6 (although in a slightly different way).


    The difference between these companies and Kemper is that neither Fractal or Line 6 limit the quality or type of efx you can put within the limited number of slots (or processing) that the smaller unit supplies.


    I guess what I am saying is that JCW308 is likely not an anomaly in his expectations.

    I don't have money to buy another Stage as a simple backup, i've already done an effort to offer me the first one and consider myself as a lucky man.

    I'm not a professional, and, as i've read it elsewhere, this passion is a waste of money and i won't earn money with my music (reason why i don't use investment term).

    I've bought a Stage, a mission pedal and Kone (+ cab/amp). I think that buy a used Stage/Head/Rack would be a luxury solution in my situation.

    Buying another 700€ unit would not be trivial either... + buying a midi pedal + the upgrade for unlocked features. So I wait and see to know the total amount. I saw someone purposed to unlock current big unit users, players' possibilities for free, it could be a good compromise....


    I always think that some choices are weird. I really don't understand why amp's/cab's parameters are not exactly the same in all units (even for new owners).

    I really feel that this unit is placed in a middle of decisions to justify things on both sides.

    It's a pedal board device that brings effects but not a lot in fact... If they only purpose Amp profile, how could they justify the gap with Tonex ? Why didn't they purpose this at 600€ for those users, so ?

    They sacrificed a lot of FXs/slots/parameters to justify Head/Stage/Rack price gap too. IMO, the principal point is here ; they just didn't want to have a lot of Big units' users complaints... I'm French, i'm a complaint expert ;) :D , we're always unhappy.

    The competitors passed from a double paths to a simple one, they purpose 9 blocks instead of 32, it's enough to make a preset and have a all in one solution.

    The current profilers' limits becomes a drawback....

    In my opinion, it's a bad calculation. I know i'm going to read that you can't have every thing similar as big units.

    There's a pareto rules in quality that says if you act on 20%, you can solve 80% of problems.

    For me, the player will never be the same as my Stage, by far. It could be a very good Stage's companion but never a substitute.


    The number of footswitch means i have to buy another midi device, program all this stuff and remember/learn how i've organised all this.

    Absence of screen means, i've to learn how i've organised my rigs and interpret led colors.

    The number of rigs will limit the "Performances" choice.

    I prefer using by far Stage's quick access buttons to do modifications on the fly. I will not use my Phone/tab for gigs or rehearsal.... It'll be just in case... If there's a matter, i will have to connect my device and make the modifications.... I see that i don't already use it this way with my Stage currently.


    Just my point of view...

    I like my Kemper and this company ! :love: :thumbup:

    Quote from Trigun

    I’ve seen some people in the Quad Cortex community run their QC from powerbanks.

    Anyone already tried this with the player?

    yep. I use a powerbank that delivers 100W in total (which is plenty, the Player needs only 24W) in conjunction with a special cable (that 'tells' the powerbank to deliver 9V). Note that you have to modify the cable (or use and adapter that reversese polarity) because the Kemper requires center negative polarity.
    Curiously, when I checked the delivered current with a multimeter I noted that the delivered current is actually 7,8V or around that. But it works flawlessly anyway.

    _____________________________________________________________________________
    Kemper Player, Seymour Duncan Powerstage, Orange PPC212, Suhr S.Henderson Strat, Fender Ultra Tele, PRS S2 Custom24, Variax JTV-69