How "beta" is the KPA?

    Hi!


    First of all, I do not mean this thread as a bash at the Kemper. I love my Kemper unit and it serves me well everyday! ITs my best buy in ages...


    but...


    I do wonder sometimes how "finished" the unit really is. I mean, the Performance mode is still "coming soon", the undo and redo buttons still do squat, there are some basic functions missing such as SPDIF output level control, spring reverb, PC/MAC based editing software, there is a USB CAT-5 connector on the Kemper that does nothing, etc etc... There are also firmware updates about once a month to "add" features.


    Not that I am complaining, its just I wonder if we are a "beta" crew so to speak and that the Kemper folks are using us as guinea pigs to add features to their device and build it up over time.


    Will there ever be a day where I can buy a KPA with everything working in the unit, and not have to rely on future firmware updates? And at this point, would the KPA be more expensive? As in, is the Kemper currently discounted because not all the features are available?



    To reiterate: I love my Kemper....but sometimes I wonder how "finished" a product it really is..... :)

    Agree on the missing functions from the GUI, for the rest is a computer-based device and upgrades are normal...I will start having sorrows the day that nothing more comes....

    "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" Serghei Rachmaninoff


    It's much "beta" than other products. :D


    Seriously, jokes aside....is any guitar product ever 'finished' for us guitarists?


    We buy a brand new guitar then spend the next few months modding/upgrading it, new pickups, new pots, new caps, new bridge, new tuners, change the nut, etc....then we sell it.
    We buy new amps, then we change the tubes, change the speakers, do some mods, etc...then sell it.
    Are our pedalboards every finished...how many overdrive/distortion pedals have we all bought and sold, how many amps, how many guitars?

    I'm not a keyboard player, but apparently - regarding the Access Virus - Kemper has "never finished it" either. All of the Access Virus users seem to be thrilled with that, BTW.


    I believe that Chris felt that it was ready "enough" to provide a substantial and suitable upgrade to every other competing unit out on the market.


    I happen to agree with that assessment, BTW. I'm glad he didn't wait until he couldn't think of any more features to add. :thumbup:

    What's so wrong about witnessing and being part of a real innovation in guitar amp technology? You can play lots of great music on an amp with an UNDO button that is still not active.


    I was always searching for a way how to play my tube amp at it's sweet spot at any volume level controlled by a footpedal. That was never really easily possible with all the different attenuators and DI-boxes in the past. With the KPA now it is. And when another update comes in and brings some further tools and possibilities - ok, that's fine, I apreciate that. But the basic functions are all just already there - with or without updates.

    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 am quite pleased to get in on the action during development. but this isn't quite beta anyway, i gather they have a real beta program going that gets to test these before the public release, the lucky sominum batches

    Everything works stable.


    Missing features has nothing to do with beta/alpha/pre-alpha/whatever as long as it is stable and "gigable". I really don't care about a performance mode or back buttons - I switch on the KPA and enjoy the sound - that's it :)

    MJT Strats / PRS Guitars / Many DIY Guitars -- Kemper Profiler Rack / Kemper Remote / InEar

    Yes, we should not give a wrong impression for new customers.


    1) The KPA works rock stable as of today


    2) A few features are missing:
    undo/redo
    performance mode
    selective browse


    3) This is clearly explained on the Kemper main page - "Those funktions will soon be available by firmware update"
    selective browse is available in the current public beta version (and works)
    I am sure the other features will be available soon


    4) There are features which we would LOVE to have - and some are promised to be available in a future firmware version
    spring reverb
    pitch effects
    EQ block moveable before/after the amp block
    bulk delete (all but favorites, current author, last import, ...)
    external librarian tool
    ...

    (All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with soundside.de)


    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

    The current release reads 1.5.1 public beta. So its not master beta or premature alpha or whatever. IMHO it is just an internal book keeping number for a release that works stable within a 4 hour band rehearsal context without reboots or other signs of premature behavior. And gentlemen, I've spend quite some substantial time within software development and I worked on, demoed and sold software releases that were definitely not ready. KPA works much better than some real OS releases originating from the North Western coast of US.
    I consider myself not a guinea pig I'm just a user. Coming from noise ridden analog rig I really appreciate the pure sound(s) of the KPA... 8o


    Labrat