Look inside the KPA and discuss a better form factor, but ... it finally happened!!! ;o)

    first, thank you so much for taking part of this discussion! :thumbup:


    for me there are a few important questions that I have to ask myself as a manufacturer


    -how much space do I need for the electronics
    -how can I pack these electronics in a smallest possible and most convenient package


    The reason is simple. Pro devices never make problems,
    they don't need extra cases, space or your precious time to think how to carry them around! Set and forget! Make music!


    One example .... RME Fireface UFX
    a 60 Channel, sound interface, digital mixer with dynamics/effects and a 60 channel digital recorder.
    I think such devices has to be touched during everyday work much more often than a guitar effects unit, where you set your sound, make a few changes and play most of the time. The Fireface needs one Rackspace and can be fully controlled via a Software GUI or even the device itself!


    Thats pro thinking for me and thats why I'd love to see an one rackspace KPA unit one day :)

    my current Gear: Custom Strat´s (Konstinger Ultimate Guitars), VoVox Cables, KPA, Custom Floor Board, Line6 G50 Wireless, Sennheiser IN Ear, Motu Ultralite mk3, Genelec 1030A, Neumann TLM 103, Apple Audio/Video Stuff

    My vote:

    • A rack version for the rich guys when the price of an airline ticket with an additional rack case checked in does not bother the tour budget.


    • And a floorboard for the other ones who travel Cheapo Airline with only one 20Kg suitcase and guitar in hand.

    I guess the present enclosure is made more with design and fashion-factors in mind than practical issues on touring or studio setup. I still like it - looks like a cute amp head. But it is not really extremely practical. Not for the rich guys and not for the other guys.

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

    Quote from fretboardminer

    My vote:

    • A rack version for the rich guys when the price of an airline ticket with an additional rack case checked in does not bother the tour budget.


    • And a floorboard for the other ones who travel Cheapo Airline with only one 20Kg suitcase and guitar in hand.


    THIS!

    Quote from jayson


    Would that stable enough for an angled rack like this?
    http://www.long-mcquade.com/?page=products&ProductsID=1755
    Cheers,
    jayson


    ... I think so, here is my solution, it is bullet proof...
    this case is flying around a lot in the truck :thumbup:


    any idea what I was voting for ? :D:D:D


    [Blocked Image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67811909/racksolution.jpg]

    my current Gear: Custom Strat´s (Konstinger Ultimate Guitars), VoVox Cables, KPA, Custom Floor Board, Line6 G50 Wireless, Sennheiser IN Ear, Motu Ultralite mk3, Genelec 1030A, Neumann TLM 103, Apple Audio/Video Stuff

    Quote from konstinger

    I definetely would ! :thumbup:


    [Blocked Image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/67811909/floorkemper.jpg]


    Throw a reverb knob (or two) on there, make sure there are inputs for expression pedals on the back, and I'm sold.


    Invest in some wacky battery technology so I can charge overnight and skip the AC cable for a few hours, and I'll give you a blank check. ;)

    Quote from mbenigni

    Throw a reverb knob (or two) on there, make sure there are inputs for expression pedals on the back, and I'm sold.


    Invest in some wacky battery technology so I can charge overnight and skip the AC cable for a few hours, and I'll give you a blank check

    +1!! :thumbup:


    Battery power, like the Stageclixx and so - that would be delicious!
    (although it sounds a bit like science fiction ... )

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

    ^ Mhhh... not really! As in many other fields of technical innovation, new findings and inventions (when of large impact) just have to undergo the market balances and implied rules. IBM has already got a phone battery which lasts 30 days. But you see that you can't just kill all the (corporative) competitors on one stroke...
    Technological research is years ahead of our time, but money-circulation has got its rules :|

    Quote from fretboardminer

    +1!! :thumbup:


    Battery power, like the Stageclixx and so - that would be delicious!
    (although it sounds a bit like science fiction ... )


    wow, that's a whole new idea here! And that's what I'm always curious about ... energy! :D


    I measured the KPA, it needs about 17 Watts.


    this means, 10 Ultrafire Li-Ion Batteries (4000mAh x 10 x 3,7V = 148Wh) could take you through the night and would weight about 450g!


    I'd like that! :thumbup:

    my current Gear: Custom Strat´s (Konstinger Ultimate Guitars), VoVox Cables, KPA, Custom Floor Board, Line6 G50 Wireless, Sennheiser IN Ear, Motu Ultralite mk3, Genelec 1030A, Neumann TLM 103, Apple Audio/Video Stuff

    Quote from konstinger

    I measured the KPA, it needs about 17 Watts.


    this means, 10 Ultrafire Li-Ion Batteries (4000mAh x 10 x 3,7V = 148Wh) could take you through the night and would weight about 450g!


    Interesting! Mandatory runs to AC are inconvenient, and often result in complications with line noise etc. No real call for it for any device that isn't producing speaker-level signal. Rechargable battery power = portability = goodness!

    160 votes and growing :thumbup:


    now the original kemper has only about 53% of the votes (it was 60% at 100 votes)


    not really representative after 160 votes but maybe a trend? ;)


    keep going guys and spread the word, so we can maybe see a better enclosure soon


    (is it obvious that I don't like the current housing? :D )

    my current Gear: Custom Strat´s (Konstinger Ultimate Guitars), VoVox Cables, KPA, Custom Floor Board, Line6 G50 Wireless, Sennheiser IN Ear, Motu Ultralite mk3, Genelec 1030A, Neumann TLM 103, Apple Audio/Video Stuff

    This has been discussed several times already... It wouldn't be a smart move by Kemper. What you just stated implies that most people would buy the pedal. And it should be costing no more than half the price if compared to the KPA... and it would probably still not be low enough for the market. Point being, the investment has been made in software, not in hardware. In terms of return on investment, Kemper would find themselves in the condition of underselling their own technology.
    Not everything convenient for the user has the ability to sail the market by itself... Business has got its rules, if you want to stay in it.

    Quote from viabcroce

    And it should be costing no more than half the price if compared to the KPA... and it would probably still not be low enough for the market.

    The cost for a small floorboard version don't have to be much lower at all - the benefit for the user comes later, when he pays the tickets for his tours.There are airlines that charge 50 Euro per trip for every 5 Kg of overweight plus, more important, toughest size restrictions.


    It's true, Kemper's investment has been made in software - so why not offer the same software in two different enclosures for two different purposes both at nearly the same price?


    I am definitely shure that in a few years time the enclosure of the KPA 2.0 will certainly be much a smaller anyway!

    www.audiosemantics.de
    I have been away for quite a while. A few years ago I sold my KPA and since then played my own small tube amp with a Bad Cat Unleash. Now I am back because the DI-profile that I made from my amp sounds very much convincing to me.

    I believe the current Kemper form factor is just fine for studio or home use. I just love it and lug it around to band room and back. It features all the convenient knobs, dials and indicators, more or less, as far as I've understood the interface. No thats not fair guys, the Kemper guys did a fantastic job here! My honneurs to the industrial designer or engineer! Honestly! But - there is always room for improvement... ;)
    The gigging musician needs primary a quick selection of presets and then eventually the knobs and dials for trimming the sound during live act.


    I used to work long years in well known Industrial design firms, and got into software design and development. I served as developer, consultant, product manager and CTO in the US and Europe. If I would be walking in the KPA product managers shoes, I'd stick with the current form factor of the KPA regardless what some dudes at the Kemper forum demand (sorry guys - I've got the product manager shoes on my feet now) and develop a floor board similar to the wellknown midi boards with all the HW and SW needed to play the profiled sounds plus the EQ dials. BUT, it would look much more cool and rugged and features some decent blinkin' lights. The rock and blues guys would fall in love with the floorKPA and the metal department would kill for it!


    I'd advise the traveling guitar player to take the floorKPA and the KPA to the stage sound check. Use the KPA to adjust the favorite profiles for the given location. When done, have the profiles and settings taken via USB or Ethernet wire to the floorKPA and leave the KPA with a midi board on site as backup (only for those with low budget touring, alll others will have 2 KPA and 2 floorKPA travel with them anyway 8) )
    Both KPA and floorKPA contain the same boards and software releases but with different form factor and HW user interface.
    The known KPA can be operated via the known interface and in addition with a PC/Mac program/browser based web interface (Ethernet). Release: soon. 8o


    The floorKPA features besides the amp equalizer dials (bass, treble, mid, distortion, volume, master vol) a TBD number of heavy duty stomp box buttons and pedals in a tour grade kriptonite metal housing, will be available in white and black (yeah!) and can be controlled to its last detail with a networked mac or PC. Note: of course the same application or browser based user interface as the known KPA.
    Release: dunno yet, because need to locate kriptonite first :D


    The price? At least the same, but likely more than the KPA for the tour-ready-pogo-dancing-though-housing-beer-safe floorKPA.


    But who am I, a caged after-work-guitar-strummin'-beer-drinking-do-no-good labrat :thumbup:


    BTW, if CK does not have a "fully grown male individual™ *" product manager in his team > I can be found and I'm willing to leave the cage 8)


    * ™2012 owned by donbarzini corp.


    Labrat
    edit: %&§% errrors