Posts by Crispy Panther

In Germany, Easter is a big family get together and holiday time, much more so than many other countries. Its a cultural matter.

In the companies of which I have had "an interest", German colleagues would arrange everything they could, so that they had a good long period away from work over Easter, along with their families.

I wouldn't be surprised if around the Easter period a reduced staffing level was in place for a short while. Kemper excel at customer service, but even so deserve a proper holiday like the rest of their people. Just be patient and I'm sue they will get back to you as soon as they can.

Quote: “One thing is for sure: an era comes to an end.”

Indeed.

Whilst I’m deeply saddened, I’m not at all surprised.

It could be said Marshall’s era ended some years ago, with the sad demise of Jim Marshall.

At times he would visit and I had great respect for him. A good singer, an excellent drummer and one that could teach well, which is a whole different talent.

On top of all that, he was an entrepreneurial businessman, the owner of a thriving musical store, closely in touch with and helpfully accommodating to musicians. he understood them and delivered what they sought.

Jim was a great pal of guitarist Bert Weedon, who lived in the next town. They would always meet up for a slap-up dinner party and celebrate each other’s birthday. Bert was the first British guitarist to have a number 1 hit and loved and admired by the overwhelming majority of legendary British guitarists that followed.

But Jim was not a designer of electronic equipment, he relied on others in that specialised field to develop his products.

Highly respected by his loyal employees, as long as he was at the helm of the company, he was indeed its motive force. After his demise his children took over.

However, it seemed to me the designers and experienced specialists in critical parts of the business had themselves become an alternative driving force and realised they could make more money working for themselves.

They left started Blackstar and have built a similarly impressive business. Since then, it seemed to me that Marshall has lacked direction, devolving into new manufacturing mainly by means of superficial, brand marketing devices, rather than impressive products of real significance for demanding, working musicians.

Quote: “Although (arguably) one of those times for Gibson did lead to a big decline in both product quality and business viability.”

Quote: “Fender was on the way down for a long time after being sold to CBS."

Quite.

But although that is the widely accepted and conventional wisdom regarding these periods in those company’s histories.

I take a slightly different view, in that both brands could have disappeared altogether, yet were saved and given a sound lifeline and gained time to recover.

Therefore, rather than disparage the companies that took them over, we should be grateful that they were preserved until they could be placed on a sound financial footing, rediscover their roots, and renew themselves for future generations.

Furthermore, contrary to widespread popular viewpoint, despite the shortcomings some delight to point out; my experience of musical instruments is that they are inherently similar to people and musicians themselves.

In that, regardless of being production line models, each example has something about it that makes it singular, particular and to some degree, quite unique. Perhaps it is that each slab of wood is in itself unique.

Or that the lack of statistical process controls ensured variability in pickup windings and difference in output power. Or that different instruments passed through the hands of different operators on different shifts reflecting in the final product.

But my observation of the instruments that have passed through my hands has been, that great examples of these brands, existed in every era, utterly irrespective of whoever the owner of the company was at the time. If one can value the instruments for what they are.

To my mind, believing otherwise appears to be succumbing to the temptation of yielding to populist, stereotypical, opinion, born of “experts” some of which certainly have a financial interest in propagating a particular view.

With respect, it’s also something that can be the product of a form of mental laziness, to dismiss everything made through years of an era, rather than be selective in the manner that I believe musical instruments properly require.

Because if you think about it, people continued to purchase the products despite everything. Rather more to the point for me however, is that such a view runs contrary to my experience, after handling so many instruments, over such a very long period. I have found good and poor examples from every era.

Although we may prefer instruments from certain eras with good reason, bean counters are important to the proper administration of any successful company and companies big enough to employ them. They know how to make a good product and make a profit whilst doing it. They might not be thought of as good by many, but they weren’t anywhere near as bad as some people make out.

Quote: “Ducati has been acquierd by Audi and everything is better than ever. They still produce bikes in Borgo Panigale and they are at Top level as never before.”  

I know Herbert Diess, the former Chairman and CEO of AudiAG, Volkswagen AG, SEAT S.A. Skoda Auto, and Porsche Holding GmbH along with other others, very well indeed and have done for several decades.

The thing to understand about Herbert and his colleagues that have driven the business over the years, as well as at BMW and MINI, that Herbert went to VW from, is that the businesses are driven by genuine petrol heads.

Herbert would often be seen riding about on a motor cycle and thoroughly enjoy it. he was behind the acquisition of certain motorcycle brands and after making a brilliant success of MINI, subsequently headed up the motor cycle division at BMW.

These folk are totally passionate about the products they design and manufacture, a passion that flows into the exciting models they produce.

The area of industry may differ.

But my observation and limited experience of them has been that a similar, passionate spirit exists at Kemper!

Reading your posts through thoroughly, trying to comprehend what is going on.

It would appear that the fault you’ve experienced is either an intermittently occurring issue or a fault peculiar to the circumstances of your situation.

When I started in the music business, we had a staff of electronic engineers, so gained insight into the type of issues that can plague customers equipment.

From a repairman’s point of view its better that a unit doesn’t work at all or that whatever the fault is, that is remains consistently apparent and thus clearly detectable.

The worst situation for them, is when they are faced with a unit that is reported to be faulty, but which whilst in their repair shop, operates perfectly as normal, exhibiting no fault whatever.

Usually, the approach taken to such devices is to leave them on a soak test for 24 hours or even perhaps two or three days consistently in the hope that whatever the issue is, over time it becomes apparent.

Of course, I have no way of knowing if that was the procedure used here, but I would be amazed if that wasn’t the case. To me, it would be standard operating procedure. But I know from experience that there are times when a fault, just doesn’t expose itself, when it’s on the bench.

The possibilities here are 1. that it wasn’t soak tested which I would like to think is improbable. Or 2. that the soak test had gone on for what was deemed to be a reasonable period with no apparent fault being detectable. As these units are professional tools and their return usually eagerly awaited, the repairman is in something of a Catch 22 situation.

If they simply hang on to the unit, soak testing it ad infinitum, the customer will be unhappy and complain about the slow turn around, whilst Kemper appear to pride themselves in a fast customer repair turnaround.

If they return the unit to the customer without actually finding a fault, they take the risk that the fault might subsequently reappear afterwards when used in the customers particular situation and then the customer will once again be unhappy.

A doctor needs to be able to clearly detect and understand the symptoms a patient exhibits, in order to be able to accurately diagnose the illness that they are suffering from.

What does a doctor do when a patient says they are ill, but no actual symptoms are clearly apparent or detectable?

It’s a difficult situation on both sides of this, if one really thinks this through!

In my experience, usually such issues are commonly only resolved after a number of visits, or returns and where more and more information regarding the issue is disclosed.

I wonder whether Kemper had the benefit of the sound file of the issue that has been posted here and of course a typed description and full explanation of the problem in detail?

Without that and with no issue apparent to them they are completely in the dark.

However, there is another fact that I would like to enlarge upon and in doing so its probably helpful to explain that I have decades of experience with major manufacturing companies, brands you will know and probably greatly admire.

All manufacturers from time to time have unwanted issues with their products.

The real issue then comes down to not whether a fault occurs, but how the unwanted issue is handled by the company concerned, and whether it is resolved in a timely manner and entirely to the customers satisfaction.

Unbelievable amounts, millions, are spent by companies I have been involved with on various aspects of marketing, and most especially, consumer research.

Thus, by expensive, intensive research it has been clearly determined that whatever problems an unhappy customer has with a product.

Whatever it costs to make that consumer happy and fully satisfied with their purchase at the end of the day.

Costs much less than it ever does to attract an entirely new customer to the brand.

In others words, retaining and building a strong bond of customer loyalty by fully satisfying a consumer, no matter how disgruntled they might be.

Is far cheaper by a country mile, than it will ever cost the company to engage consumers through marketing and enticingly captivate a completely new customer to the brand, to the point they, will finally make a purchase.

So satisfying the customer, is definitely a cost to the brand, to provide thoroughly outstanding customer service; but from the company’s point of view, especially where premium products are concerned, it’s the best and actually the cheapest option available.

Unhappy consumers have multiple global platforms available these days to advertise their complaints.

But customers who have experienced difficulties BUT had them addressed to entirely to their satisfaction, or beyond what they ever had a right to expect.

Similarly have multiple global platforms available to them to express the full emotion of their joyous delight in having their problem completely resolved, entirely to their satisfaction, and relieved are happy to use them.

They become the very best possible word of mouth advertisement for the brand.

Furthermore, the good will that is incurred more than often results in additional, repeat sales.

Having been fully satisfied by a company approach to service, they are most likely to return to the brand for ongoing, further purchases.

Customer satisfaction builds brand loyalty, and it’s not because there are never any problems, as no company on earth can provide that. But its that the issues are resolved fully to the customers satisfaction.

There’s just one further point I feel I should point out.

It appears that in this instance, the consumer has not communicated or dealt directly with the manufacturer.

This is entirely understandable, as he has returned the unit to the dealer he purchased it from. However, in my experience it is most often in such circumstances that misunderstandings and miscommunications occur.

That over hasty judgements can be made and over hasty conclusions drawn, simply by the fact that a middle man who is not directly involved in the repair processes, is communicating to the customer, and the customer entirely dependant upon what they are told. I like Andertons I think they are a good company as dealers go, but I have enough experience with dealers to know that at times the overall picture can be misrepresented.

I hope some of the thoughts here are helpful to some degree, to both sides, and that ultimately you can be persuaded to reconsider your present views and now it has been highlighted, give Kemper a chance to address and rectify all of your concerns.

Of course it's possible they already have. As Kemper may well have agreed to give Andertons credit for the unit with the issue. In which case that satisfaction expressed toward the dealer actually should lay with the manufacturer.

A thought-provoking video!

The fundamental hypothesis of which, I believe to be challengeable.

The author appears to be promoting the notion that every laudable recording featuring great guitar involved placing a microphone in front of an amplifier’s speaker.

Whilst the majority of recordings may have been accomplished utilising this methodology, it is a fact that many tremendously good recordings have been made utilising alternative methodologies.

For instance, although the guitarists, including the bassist didn’t particularly like it. The session players at Motown’s Detroit recording studio were all required to use D.I. boxes rather than mic their amps.

The “snake pit” live room was relatively small considering the amount of musician’s it was required to accommodate. They regularly recorded the entire ensemble simultaneously, so controlling sonics that would usually be amplified was simply straightforward common sense.

When Gordon Berry wanted to get his artists like Diana Ross in the movies opening a Motown recording studio in Los Angeles with all the new opportunities that afforded, they still used D.I. boxes as they had done in Detroit in the habitual manner they were well accustomed to.

Although elsewhere, amongst the so-called wrecking crew guitarists, amps were regularly miced, and session players like Barney Kessel, Glen Cambell, Larry Carlton and Louie Shelton used small Fender amps to start with. Although she had a Fender amp too, bass players like Carol Kaye were most often recorded with a D.I. box

When one considers the tremendous number of hit recordings just the funk brothers and the wrecking crew had credited to them, it seems uninformed at best and disingenuous at worst, to utterly disregard their notable accomplishments and contribution to the music loving fraternity.

Furthermore, some ground breaking recordings have been tracked utilising not only the micing of an amp’s speaker/s, but buy including the room sound the engineers have created a whole new dimension in sound.

Many years ago a friend of mine became a producer for Eddie Barclays company Barclay Records. Forsaking traditional close micing techniques and moving the mic a long way out from the cabinet was a feature of some of Jimi Hendrix’s (a guitarist) recordings. For sure a mic was involved, but both the mic choice and sometimes its placement, was somewhat revolutionary at the time.

Close micing drums delivers a certain sound and depending on where they are placed can deliver another sound entirely.

An old pal from way back bought a camera and took it to work. Whilst some producers favour a mic for every part of the kit, like this:

In The Room With Reitzas #1 - YouTube

Others find that with three or four mics and including the effect of the room a more realistic representation of how the instruments sound when one is stood in front of them can be obtained.

Have a look at the movie below and ask yourself what the mic on the high boom in the middle of the room is there for?

Waiting for the Artist Jam #2 - YouTube

One of the companies I was involved with before I retired owned many anechoic chambers, and to be honest unless you had actually heard what a drum sounds like without any of a rooms sonic accompaniment you would probably never believe what you just heard.

At one end of the scale, I have produced many recordings with lots of mics on the drums and at the other end of the scale, recordings utilising a lot less mics. If you just have one mic for the drums that’s also ok as long as one knows exactly where to put it and there are two main options as far as I am concerned.

And old colleague, sadly no longer with us was the first recording engineer ever to make a recording using a mic on the bass drum. And another old friend was the first drummer ever to ask for headphones to use in a recording studio situation.

There was a time when recordings were made, but no equalisation controls actually existed. Placement of the musicians in the room was how a balance was created.

And the very few mics available that could be chosen from, actually were used as a form of equalisation.

In the final analysis, my observation has been that quite regardless of what equipment a musician uses.

The actual tone is created by the player themselves. It comes from inside the player, through their imagination and hands. Their touch and feel for the instrument.

What I’m saying is that if you were to give a truly excellent musician used to playing the very best, top sounding equipment available, and give them a cheap instrument to play, they would still sound clearly identifiably, just like themselves.

Because at the end of the day, the player is the instrument.

Without the player, there would be nothing.

True story.

During the time of Paganini, Stradivarius violin family instruments had established a glowing reputation.

The truth was although was now well known across Italy, in many parts of Europe, Paganini was actually much less well known than his violin.

As he began to tour more widely, his agent and promotor had a problem. How to attract a paying audience to experience this wonderful violinist brilliant performance?

But he had a brainwave! The Stradivarius Paganini performed with was more famous than the person playing it. That’s the way to promote the concerts. “Come and hear the wonderful sound of the Stradivarius Violin” The posters proclaimed. “Played by Paganini” it said in smaller letters at the bottom.

As one might imagine, this rather got up Paganini’s nose.

Here was one of the world’s greatest violinists trying to carve out an international career for himself, only to be upstaged by his own fiddle. If you like, playing second fiddle, to his fiddle.

At first, he went along with this, because without an audience there is no concert at all. What especially irked Paganini though was the large sign on stage to his side that stated “Hear the glorious sound of the Stradivarius Violin.”

Eventually he dreamed up a devious plan to counter this belittling situation. As soon as he arrived on stage, he would launch into blisteringly scintillating passages of music that literally stunned his audience, with their breath-taking audacity.

Once they were on their feet in rapturous applause, he would explain that the violin on which he had just performed apparent miracles is sound was not his Stradivarius, but a normal common instrument of no great note at all.

Then he would pull out his Stradivarius, and continue to woo his oooing and ahhing audience who were taken aback, floored by the ebulliently dazzling brilliance of his performance.

You see, in the final analysis, its really all about the player.

“He used a lot of Rivera Amps, which are some kind of Fender Deluxe modded amps if i remember right.”

Thanks for the great links you supplied in this thread.

Paul Rivera was an amp repair man and amp modder during an era when players starting desiring higher gain amplifiers and amp modding was the latest craze in town.

Some session players (Louie Shelton amongst them) had session amps like Fender Princeton’s especially modded. So that if needed, in addition to the typical Fender tones, they could accommodate high gain lead tones for a recording session using the same amplifier.

Here’s Louie with his modded Princeton. Typical clean sounds were often obtained through DI boxes. Larry Carlton also had a Princeton.

The Making of I Want You Back | The Jackson 5 - YouTube

Sorry the wrong link. here you go..

The Wrecking Crew's Louie Shelton and the 1969 Fender Princeton Reverb - YouTube

At home, I have a thick book bought many years ago, full of all these amp mods applicable to typical popular session amplifiers of the day.

It was quite a thing at the time and its amazing how many different mods there actually are.

Paul Rivera was then, a natural choice to be brought in by Fender at that particular time to design a new range of amplifiers. Based on their established popular designs Pauls amps often featured multiple push pull potentiometers to the typical amplifier controls to access the high gain stage.

Its usually pretty easy to identify a Paul Rivera Fender design because it featured Red Knobs in contrast to the long established chicken head, black and silver or other knobs found on Fender amps. There were a whole range of different sized amps in that style, the best of which was a highly modified Fender Twin Reverb simply titled"The Twin".

Whilst I have no interest in criticising an excellent amp designer, there were essential differences between Leo Fenders amplifier designs and those of Paul Rivera, worth being aware of.

The most notable of these to my mind were not cosmetic but fundamental to the products substantial essence. Whereas Leo’s designs were extremely easy to take apart and repair, its true to write that the Fender based designs Paul Rivera produced were much more complex, and often featured additional circuit boards placed over and completely in the way of the typical circuitry found on Fenders.

The smaller amps in particular, featured tightly compacted components crammed together and where there was limited space for the dispelling of heat, the sensitive traces on the additional large circuit boards could be damaged more readily than one might expect on a typical Fender amp.

The very nature of the circuitry layout, the addition of additional circuit boards than needed to be folded out once the amp has been dropped from the cabinet, made them much more difficult than a typical Fender amp to repair. After a while it appeared to be the case that the more experienced amplifier repairmen would avoid working on them.

Because to affect a repair would be far more time consuming and complex than to perform the same repair on a typical Fender amplifier, but would be expected to charge the same.

So Fender gradually dropped these red knob amplifiers.

Smaller boutique amp companies from innovative designers trying new ideas became a distinct trend in the amplifier community and Boogie made waves.

So Paul Rivera started his own amplifier company producing his very own designs which incorporated the push pull circuitry to access high gain sounds and greatly admired by players looking to produce their own, new, clearly identifiable sonic signature.

It appeared to me that given the speaker size Rivera cabinets were rather more spacious than typical established Fender designs ever enjoyed.

Although it is an assumption on my part. I believe it is entirely reasonable to suppose that the additional space afforded by his personal designs allowed for better prevention of overheating, (which was a problem in some Rivera designed Fenders) a superior layout for the circuitry and components along with easier access to internals should the product require serving and repair.

Designing for Fender, Paul was required to cram all the extra circuitry into a size of box that was already predefined by long existing products.

Therein lay most of the issues that I believe it’s helpful to be aware of.

Quote: “My statement had an if in it.”

I’m thinking that the difference in opinion here is actually non-existent.

That both posters are correct and that apples are being compared to oranges, and there is therefore, an apparent misunderstanding.

That the full band width power amp that doesn’t colour the sound is the type of Tube Amplifier one would find in some mastering studios or in high end Hi-Fi systems.

And the other type of Tube amplifier is specifically designed for Guitar amplification. So exactly the type of amplifier one would expect a guitarist to own but quite different in sound to a high-end full bandwidth amplifier.

He sadly passed on a couple of years ago, but I used to belong to a discussion group inhabited by amongst notable others, an amplifier designer called Tim de Paravicini. He also made tape decks for some artists as well. But I think the type of amp Tim designed is what is being referred to.

I hope I am correct and that helps resolve any misunderstanding.

Quote: "That's my sound. I'm not changing."

The Fender twin reverb is my favourite bedroom amp. I like to run two of them in stereo.

True story. Cliff Richard had a group he toured with after the shadows had disbanded that featured two terrific lead guitarists.

One of them, (actually the best of them), had a twin and just couldn’t resist continually turning his amp up louder and louder during the sets. This caused chaos at the mixing desk.

This was during the period when major acts were starting to move from quite loud instrumental backlines to quieter more controlled environments with superior monitoring. Where the sound engineering was becoming much more sophisticated.

They tried to work with this guitarist repeatedly (Cliff is an extremely nice person indeed and a total professional) but in the end, because he stubbornly refused to alter his sound, they had to be let go, rather then allow him to keep spoiling the act for the audience. He then disappeared into obscurity. Worst case of a supposed “session musician” I ever came across.

“Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis”

Quote: “Like how we taught EVH and Jimmy Page how to play guitar. And how we taught Gene Simmons to stick out his tongue.”

The drummer that is featured on most of my older recordings was part of an elite group of session musicians that regularly featured Jimmy Page. They both first met in nearby Aylesbury when the drummer heard Jim playing with Neil Christian and the Crusaders.

Li'l Jim lived in Epsom and would regularly use the Railway/Tube/Underground to attend recording sessions in London Studios. Sometimes his amp would stay at the studio, other times it would travel with him on public transport.

Like me, Jim didn't, drive so would at time spend overnight at Bob's place sleeping on the couch, as I and others did at times too. Sometimes the group of session players featured John Paul Jones or Brian Odgers.

Anyway, my friend had a cine camera and filmed Jim turning up for a recording at Olympic Studios with his guitar fresh from his travels on public transport.

Jimmy Page - Outside Olympic Studios, 1965 (Filmed by Bobby Graham) - YouTube

Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page - June 1963 interview - YouTube

Some years ago before I retired, a brand I was associated with launching tied up with Gene Simmonds and his band KISS to promote the work of a charitable organisation through auctioning some custom built products with a unique paint finish.

As you pointed out.

We do what we can to encourage and help others to get on…

Which is what this excellently moderated forum, is really all about. Thank you for all the help I have received!

Quote: “I spent a semester of my PhD work at Imperial College where I was faced with this stuff all the time. Still can't make sense out of it.”

The forum was created so that Kemper owners can help each other, so in the spirit of that fact:

The blackboard was part of a lecture Professor Einstein gave here, which was the second in the series.

Unfortunately, another blackboard he used at the time was actually wiped clean by one of the universities staff.

Presumably his job involved keeping the boards clean, ready for use in the next lectures the following day. Some bright spark's spirited this blackboard away, before he could get his blackboard rubber to it.

You couldn’t make this stuff up, could you? However, it’s worth appreciating that what you observe on the preserved blackboard, is only a part of the equations he actually delivered on the occasion of that particular lecture. Additionally, that lecture was only a part of the overall series.

“Its equations connect the age, density and size of the Universe.

During the 1920s, the work of the astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889–1953) on red shifts had established that other galaxies were receding from our own.

In combination with his own theories, Einstein was able to use Hubble’s observations to explain this apparent expansion of the Universe.

The mathematical models were very complex, but at about this time, Einstein was developing a much simpler model in which troublesome factors were ignored. This is the subject that the blackboard records.”

In as far as I understand it.

The equation is a simplified version of other, more fulsome equations of Professor Einstein’s.

There was a large number of attendees at these lectures, over four hundred, with people standing at the back.

Significantly, as well as the university dignitaries one would expect to attend a lecture given by someone of Professor Einstein’s reputation, the notable specialists in his field and the typical assortment of renowned academics, there was also a large number of “students.”

In my experience, the greatest authorities in their field, have the capacity to some degree to tailor their lectures according to the level they perceive of the audience before them.

Its not entirely clear that this was the case here at all, but is a possibility. However, I feel that its more likely that with a demanding tour of lectures and a tight schedule, the Professor used the simplified version, to avoid going down unwanted rabbit holes in question and answer sessions.

According to Patrick Moore, Professor Einstein had an exceedingly charming personality indeed and I have heard some hilarious stories regarding things that happened during his stay here and during his tours. But as you will appreciate, I always attempt to keep my posts as short and concise as possible.

None the less.

Perhaps you enjoy the fact that Professor Einstein was rather tickled.

Humorously enjoying the fact that during one of his lectures, the Dean of Christchurch College, who was sat in the front row, right in front of him as he delivered his scintillatingly interesting lecture...... Had fallen asleep!

That’s a completely true story.

Years ago, Professor Einstein came here for a conference.

We still have a blackboard hereabouts he filled with a simplified version of one of of his equations.

The security for his visit was very tight, so as the conference progressed during the evenings, the small group of attendees would gather together and create their own private entertainment.

One of the attendees was a former correspondent with me, an excellent musician and a brilliant man in his field which was astronomy, of which he was one of the world’s very top authorities.

His knowledge was so great in his particular field that he provided NASA with detailed maps of the moons surface, to facilitate and enable the safe landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft as it arrived on the Moon.

His name was Patrick Moore and for decades he appeared on BBC TV in the U.K. on his programme The Sky at Night. He became great pals with Brian May (another musician) who shared a similar interest in astronomy.

Anyway, during the get together at this reception. Professor Einstein chose to perform for everyone with his violin. The thing was, he needed an accompanist, so Patrick accompanied him on the Piano. I gained the impression the group rather pushed Professor Einstein into performing as he had his violin with him, and he chose to play Saint-Saens' Swan.

Perhaps he thought he wouldn’t need to play it if they didn’t have an accompanist. He may have played some Mozart and Bach too, as he liked those composers work, but I really only can be sure about the Saint- Saens' piece.

So Patrick came to the rescue on the Piano, though he actually played a number of instruments well. Somewhere, I had a picture of Professor Einstein with his violin and also one of Patrick sat at the Piano.

Goodness knows where it is these days. But I’ll upload the blackboard for you to scrutinise below.

That’s a completely true story and by all accounts.

Professor Einstein was an excellent violinist.

Quote: “However, effects in the Kemper are better (but you can add your own trough other vst). Whatever you write, it will probably make a dent in Kemper sales.”

Thank you for your thoughts.

I appreciate the admission that effects in the Kemper are superior. That perfectly accords with my own experience.

You make an excellent point in stating that the regrettably inferior effects in emerging products can be mitigated by adding VST’s.

Then go on to presumptively hypothesize in speculative supposition that such products will probably make a dent in Kemper profiling amp sales.

Following the logic of your own well explained, prophetic arguments.

What is not in doubt is that that considerable ongoing dents in the pockets of purchasers of such equipment, will be a marked feature of ownership.

As procuring all the extra VST’s a user desires to acquire, will inevitably involve additional monetary outlay, on an ongoing basis, to pay for the cost of obtaining them.

As it is in the very nature of typical guitar owners to continually upwardly aspire towards and seek that magic bullet product that will lift their performance to another level.

It is reasonable to predict that over a period of time, acquiring all the VST’s they aspire to own, will inevitably involve the accumulated expenditure of quite a princely sum of money.

A sum, which if totalled and fully taken together, properly understood at the point of the initial sale of the central device, would probably be likely to deter them from ever purchasing it in the first place.

I mention this because, prior to purchasing my Kemper I sat down with my local dealer for an hour and he explained the background of the various companies that produced the various products I could purchase.

I was told that Kemper originated as synthesiser hardware equipment manufacturers. Another competitor manufacturer it was explained to me originated as software designers of VST instruments.

I asked if it was likely that if I chose the latter product, I would need to be continually spending further monies in order to acquire additional VST instruments and effects in order to get the best from the central device?

Yes, I was told. The company made some excellent VST’s but the best of those would most likely to involve further additional purchases. Indeed, that continuing updates to such VST products, adding more features and improved sonics, in new VST releases gave the company a continual additional revenue stream.

So, as it appeared to me the choice was as follows:

Pay a significant premium up front from a hardware manufacturer for a well proven, versatile professional tool that rendered everything I wished for, and gave free product updates will many thousands of profiles readily available at zero cost.

Or purchase a newer, cheaper cosmetically flashier product from a company with little experience of hardware manufacturing, and that was currently experiencing a lot of seemingly difficult to resolve product issues according to its users. One that would require ongoing, continual, significant additional investment for the best VST’s the company was noted for.

In my case, compellingly, there was also the issue that right out of the box the latter device only had four profiles of my favourite amplifier.

Whilst the Kemper had literally hundreds of profiles of my favourite amp, free to download through Rig Manager.

This was the reasoning process behind my purchase of the Kemper.

In regard to Kemper sales.

A large part of my experience and background has been with high end, premium products with commensurate price tags.

Generally speaking, when there is an ongoing economic turndown, people that cannot afford a product avoid purchasing it altogether until the economy improves.

Whereas, the typical purchasers of high-end products tend to be in an altogether better position to weather an economic storm. They can still afford to buy, what they aspire to own.

This means that well established, profitable manufacturers of premium products tend to be less adversely affected by negative economic outlooks and trends in the wider economic community and continue to advance their company.

No doubt, some consumers will turn toward cheaper, far more limited products, made to a price in China, and take temporary satisfaction in using them. Good for them, I genuinely wish them all the best.

However, mass market technological products do not stay the course over time in my experience. Made to a cost, they tend to be less reliable, and do not generate a premium in their profit margins, so cannot over time, afford a high level of customer service. This should be self-evident to anyone with a wide experience of product manufacturing.

It doesn't matter to them, investors will have made their money and ran. Furthermore, whilst the initial product run tends to be flush with copious labour thus the product regularly validated for quality. Over time companies seek to reduce the product cost, re-engineering to find cheaper manufacturing processes and seeking cheaper part suppliers, to increase their tight profit margins.

You see, they have to sell very many, many more units altogether, to generate anything like the actual profitability of that of a premium manufacturer. Here today, gone tomorrow, is built into the genetic make up of many cheaper manufacturers.

In the final analysis, it is only the generation of such profitability that will enable them to stay in business.

Let alone ,ever reinvest in the production of any innovative device or product updates.

Or honour warrantees, giving good customer service and product repairs.

Premium products generate better profits.

This enables the business to establish itself over time, to grow and build new products.

Cheap products from "Johnny come lately" manufacturers, will always be around, hanging onto the coat tails of genuine innovators.

The real question is whether one prefers to continually throw one’s money around speculating on every emerging device. Attempting to find a product that will lift one’s performance to a slightly higher level. A matter that often amounts to subjective personal opinion.

Or make a sound investment in a proven company that will stay the course, and be there for you when you need them.

As this excellently moderated forum more than adequately demonstrates.

It is the proof in the pudding of all the above!

Quote: “We could quibble about the meaning of 'game changer', but there is nothing to be gained from that discussion IMO.”

I totally agree.

So, let’s not discuss it, but go instead to the dictionary to see what the term actually means:

“An event, idea, or procedure that effects a significant shift in the current way of doing or thinking about something.”

With due respect to everyone involved in this discussion. In the light of the dictionary definition, it’s clear that such hyperbole cannot genuinely be applied to the plethora of newly emerging products.

They appear to be following and taking advantage of a trend, long established by ingenious originators and their market leading product. Either adding cosmetically superficial features or presenting more limited, cheaper products. Albeit some are quite expensive, but more poorly implemented reinterpretations.

I suspect that many purchasers of the cheaper devices will actually be in a similar position to those who aspire to own a Custom Shop Gibson, Custom Shop Fender or a Boutique Guitar, but find the cost of such products, beyond their financial means at this present moment. So, purchase a Chinese Epiphone or a Mexican Fender etc.

They will have a usefully playable, reasonably well-made product, they derive real pleasure from owning.

But have no doubt, the truth is, they will continue to aspire to own, "the real thing.”

Perhaps it would prevent misunderstanding and help us understand each other better if we were all better communicators in the English language.

Like the man in the movie below.

The Two Ronnies Fork Handles - Now 1080p - March 2019 - YouTube

True story.

The large gentleman in the movie lived around the corner from me and after he became well known, we both used the same branch of bank in the city.

If you needed to speak to an advisor, they would take you upstairs to a private room. The eyes of everyone in the bank were on this famous celebrity, just as his very attractive young advisor came through a door and said to him: “would you like to follow me upstairs?”

“Very much so” he replied, it’s the best offer I have had in years!”

The whole bank erupted in laughter.

It’s the best medicine.

Another true story.

When I was a young man, the chap in the movie below, would come into where I worked, and act very strangely indeed.

It took me a while to work out what was happening, but it finally dawned on me that Mel Smith (Comedy Film Director) stood right out of the way, was watching me, watch Rowan Atkinson.

At the time, they were actually working out how people would respond to unusually funny situations. Creating a form of humour that involved virtually no language at all. Rather like Charlie Chaplin before the talkies.

If they could pull it off, this form of humour could successfully translate well across international boundaries, transcend national barriers and their regional languages, creating a readily understandable humour, involving few spoken words, for a worldwide audience.

The Dentist Chair | Funny Clips | Mr Bean Official - YouTube

Funnily enough, as it happens I attended a lecture given by a celebrated musician who actually worked with Charlie Chaplin.

Creating sound effects for his films, after the advent of the talkies.

It was sensational.

He used a quill, a primitive form of pen common to that era and predominantly white.

On a more serious note, its worth contemplating the ingenuity of Kemper in making the deliberate design choices they have.

Although the design of the Kemper "toaster" is a dramatically original concept with an iconic look to match its revolutionary, uniquely quintessential versatility.

Its easy under such circumstances to underestimate the value of the distinctive green colour is an on trend, in vogue colour that portrays the company's underlying values. The advent of a surge of awareness in ecological issues make it absolutely on point.

To be honest, although there would be a cost to this which I imagine is why they haven't done it As a purely consistent branding issue I feel all the accessories, including the leads should be green to reinforce the fundamental brand identity. Everything matters in product branding and when everything matches together perfectly there is a stronger aesthetic that is extremely satisfying for consumers.

Mozart would write lots of his ideas utilising short musical notations called "sketches". His wife threw literally hundreds of these away. But he would sketch out a basic idea, keep a lot in his head, and notate basic outlines to be filled in later and full orchestrated to complete the concept. In this respect, it seems to me he was little different to many composers today that use cassette and digital recorders to capture basic musical themes.

Indeed, the concept of laying down basic tracks in a recording studio today and building upon them, augmenting later with full orchestration appears to have been the most commonly used method of composing popular recordings for many a decade now. In 1961 the Shadows walked into EMI Abbey Rd. and recorded Wonderful Land then added a few overdubs on the drums and then left for a tour. When they got back their producer Norrie Paramour had added Strings and Horns and in early 1962 it went to Number 1 and stayed there for eight weeks. The fuller orchestral arrangement made a guitar groups sound appealing to a far wider age group and audience.

NEW * The Shadows - Wonderful Land (1962, Stereo) - YouTube

Its intriguing to contemplate that possibly some of us may have have more in common with Mozart than we would ever imagine, working in a similar manner, merely utilising the latest technology at our disposal.

(But I wrote my first major scores with a pen).

A completely true bit of fun for you.

All the greatest musicians had a good sense of humour.

Mozart had a great number of talented singers available to work with.

And a favourite soprano had a habit of deeply lowering her chin whenever she sang a low note.

Conversely she would throw her head right back high in the air as far she could whenever she hit a very high note.

Unfortunately, both of them had a very serious falling out in their relationship, a split that remained completely unreconciled.

Fortunately, Mozart had an excellent sense of humour and wrote a magnificent Opera, featuring her soprano voice in extended solo passages.

In the Opera he composed her songs so that the scansion of the melodic line involved copious amounts of disjunct motion.* The pitch of the singers notes literally jumped up and down, repeatedly throughout the whole of the soloists performances.

Because of the habitual manner she had developed with which she positioned her head to enable and facilitate her projected volume of tone. Inevitably, she had to repeatedly nod her head forward and downward and then thrust it backward and upward as she sang the notes, written like jumping beans. Note after note, after note, after note.

This created a unique effect in the soprano’s appearance, extremely similar to that of a chicken moving about, bobbing its head up and down, forward and back, as chickens are always prone to do.

Given that her dress and headwear hilariously complimented and vividly exaggerated this powerful visual effect, most especially the dynamics of her every head movement, Mozart’s music brilliantly achieved its intended result.

*With disjunct motion in a melodic line the pitch generally moves about from note to note in wide jumps, from low to high and high to low.

*With conjunct motion in a melodic line the pitch generally moves about in small movements around and about a specific note in particular. (Like the one note Samba).

This morning, I dreamed up a new colour.

Then realised it was a pigment of my imagination.

I have just been using a grey one.

Grey, silver, black and white are currently the most popular colours for cars.

Then blue and red followed by other, far more vivid colours and customised shades, featuring metallic and pearlescent finishes with a mica additive.

Paint companies have colourists who make up batches of paint for manufacturers and they can produce a final result blending and mixing from a variety of different coloured bases.

For instance, gold can be produced from a green, yellow or orange base. If you look carefully at any gold you own you may notice such differences in the metal, so too gold paint may be able to be determined as how it was made up.

Nightfire (a metallic red) includes, all the hues one would expect to see in the flames of a real campfire. Green, blue, yellow etc. et al. The salient point being that you will not observe these included hues in direct sunlight. But if you go out in the dark at night and shine an old fashioned torch (not a bright LED one) on Nightfire paintwork, the very low colour temperature of the extremely weak illumination will tend to reveal the various disparate elements used to make up the final colour.

Very clever people, colourists. The best way to observe how the colour was made up is to actually spray it on a product. Under those circumstances, for example a metallic blue might at first appear to be nothing other than completely green. But as the layers of the various colours used to make up the batch are applied, the green will gradually be overwhelmed by the addition of other hues that will contribute to achieving the ultimately desired final result. A complete transformation. I'm very interested in manufacturing industry.

This leads me to my question.

Does utilising differing, more exotic cables shades, colour the actual sound?

For example, how many of you are utilising differing coloured cables as an additional forms of sonic equalisation.

My daughter in law originates from Ireland and green is a bit of a theme for her: "Green is my favourite colour. I love it even more than blue and yellow combined."

I believe all Guitarists should try that eyesight chart whilst their wives are with them.

Wives can't easily argue with proven medical science.

Anyway, its on the internet.

So it must be right!

Quote: “That repsonse from crispy is way overboard an him pulling the colour blind card is radiculous but ofcoase some white night politicly correct one has to leave me no room to wiggle.”

A classic response, thank you!

Though it appears, few have clicked on the only card I have actually posted, thereby missing its good-humoured content.

However, conceding there’s “no room to wiggle” means you have run out of defendable argument, though many no doubt will feel, none ever existed anyway.

I also appreciate your acknowledgement to being a "white knight". Presumably because of your profound appreciation of an earlier contribution to the lively discussion in the thread below.

Describing the importance to knights in medieval times, of lance thrusts, sword play, lunges with a mace and propelling a spiked ball chained mace, in determining which side of the road we drive on throughout the globe.

Look how awesome Kemper users are. - Page 10 - Profiler - Questions and answers - Kemper Profiler Forum (kemper-amps.com)

Quote: “These intellectual, long, critical, opinionated replies are insane.”

With all due respect.

Such views will be widely regarded as floccinaucinihilipilification.

In any event, as a believer, I personally will deprecate it, if you absquatulate, taking free speech along with you.

You see, freedom of speech is really in a democracy, the best method we have of differentiating great ideas from bad ones, that if implemented could have a devastatingly disastrous effect upon us all.

By this method, ideally, we avoid having to enact the more dangerously ridiculous notions that arise in individuals minds, and can filter them out arriving at solutions that afford the best possible outcome, for the greatest number of people.

Thus, in reality, though it might be hard for many to appreciate at this moment, without some profoundly deep reflection. By talking about these things, we eliminate the likelihood of superficially appealing notions being introduced, that have little practical value in affording functioning benefit to the majority of users.

The only thing I regret is that to borrow your terminology, a “wtf” attitude is adopted by anyone hereabouts. Simply because I believe this forum to be one of the very best on the internet, by virtue of the high quality of the moderator’s judgments and the mutual respect, politeness and good humour of by far the overwhelming majority of contributors.

In short.

Its ok to raise daft ideas.

Because they will get quickly shot down.

Everyone will be able to identify them as having little merit.

Differentiating between the notions that are of little use and really very good ideas.

Its ok to disagree, but its not ok to be disagreeable. So necessary to agree to disagree, without being disagreeable.

You need to click on the attachment to see it properly and appreciate its full relevance.