Posts by Preacher

In any case, whatever you guys are talking about is not a Kemper 2.0 just to get back to the original discussion. People were right from the get-go - a Kemper 2.0 is only warranted if CK writes the whole algorithm from scratch. Using the current algorithm in a box with more processing power and I/O would basically be like a new member of the Kemper 1.0 family. Kemper Rack, Kemper Head, Kemper Floor, Kemper Player and now Kemper Band Edition or whatever. It's not a "sequel" to the Kemper, it's a new member in the current lineup of Kempers. It's a Kemper with bells and whistles. At best it's a Kemper Mk II.

This isn't merely mine or others' opinion, this is the current paradigm for naming electronic products. I'm not saying this is how it should be, I'm just remarking that this is how it actually is per observable reality. The upgraded Axe FX 3 wasn't called Axe FX 4, it was called Axe FX 3 Mk II. And the 3 was not just an Axe FX 2 with more processing power and I/O. It was a wholly new product from scratch. And I only chose the Axe FX because it was the first comparison that came to mind. Playstation 3 is not merely just a Playstation 2 with more power, Pentium i7-13600k isn't just a Pentium i7-12600k with more power. They are major platform revisions with new operating systems, different manufacturing technique. You only increase the number when there's a revolution, otherwise you just make it an edition.

Which brings us to the discussion of whether a Kemper Band Edition with parallell signal paths and double power for duplicating effect slots to the second signal path, is a product that would generate enough profit to compensate for the cost. I don't know this, but I'm willing to bet you can add four more processing chips for the same cost as doubling the amount of I/O. Quality I/O hardware is expensive from a production cost viewpoint, and the processing hardware inside the Kemper is very dated from what I've understood. That's not to say it's bad, that's to say it was cheap then and it's cheap now. The costly part of a Kemper is all the quality I/O hardware, not the processor or memory. Relatively speaking of course. What I'm trying to say is, a double signal path Kemper would be exponentially more expensive than the current top model, with no more benefits than just buying a second Kemper Rack/Head. I'm pretty sure I'm pretty dead on about what I'm saying.

Quote from Toneseeker

I would love to see this in a Kemper 2.0. To be able to combine 2 different amps. Not only for a massive tone but more importantly for me, to be able to use the Kemper with a guitar and bass that has both magnetic pickups and piezo pickups. That way each could be processed separately and then combined internally or using individual outputs. Not only using seperate profiles, but utilizing separate effects and placed into the stereo pan.

Dual amps do not give a massive sound. Having two cabinets, and using any kind of audio trick (different cabs, different effects in identical cabs, stereo effects) to offset the sound timbre of one against the other, can give a massive sound. Simply layering an amp with another amp does not give a "massive" sound. It may even thin your sound out, depending on which amps and at which settings.

As a workaround, try to reduce the mouse sensitivity. Lower mouse sens should give more granular control. Another solution would be to increase mouse DPI.

I'm not sure how common it is, but in Propellerheads' Reason software, there is a system setting for how precise knob movements should be. That would be a swell feature.

Quote from ToH2002

TBH, USB bandwidth is mostly a non-issue, as long as you don't run oodles of audio channels. You can run more than 100 audio channels in parallel over a USB 2 connection, so as long as you have a dedicated USB port for your audio interface, bandwidth is typically not an issue.

If we look at a typical audio stream of 48 kHz with 24 bits resolution, this gives us a data rate (bandwidth) requirement of 1,15 megabits per second. USB 1 has a capacity of 12 Mbit/s, so it is good enough for stereo or four channels, but more will drive it to its limits.

When we get to USB 2.0 (high-speed) , we have a bandwidth of 480 MBit/s, so sending 40 and more channels over USB 2.0 is not really a problem - with this, you address most realistic usage scenarios.

This may be true in general, but let me chime in with something.

I'm a bit of a PC nerd, and whenever I've bought a PC, I've bought it in parts and assembled it myself. I just say that to say that I take a keen interest in computer specs. I've stumbled over the fact that a lot if not most (all?) PC motherboards have the USB inputs arranged in pairs, where each pair is controlled by a chip. I think one USB chip (and it's two connected inputs) make up a USB bus (??). And it seems very commonplace to use different chips for the various busses. I don't know if it's about cutting costs, so there's a high performance "good" USB chip for the first few (neccessary) sets of USB inputs, and then a cheaper and worse-performing chip for the "surplus" ones. But at the very least, when you connect your interface to a USB connector, it matters what is connected to the other connector(s) on the bus. Or in other words, what's connected to the USB input next to it.. My motherboard is nothing fancy and cost about $300 when I bought it. It's not cheap but not high end either. Maybe the different USB inputs are designed for different purposes, although no motherboard documentation I've ever read has ever stated that "this USB is better to use for such and such device". But that's how it actually is in my experience. My Kemper, my Focusrite, and back when I had a Helix, they would behave differently depending on which USB input I connected them to. Certain inputs would always result in problems updating or transferring presets, or trying to record USB audio. While others have always been reliable, and still are to this day, about a decade after I purchased the computer.

I've noticed the same for the SATA (hard drive) connectors on the motherboard. Mine has six SATA-connectors for hard drives, and they are arranged in pairs, and each pair is controlled by a unique controller chip. So three different chips, in other words. I remember having the same problem when trying to use a high speed SSD hard drive. There was a huge performance difference depending on which SATA connector I used. One pair let it reach its advertised performance, one pair of connectors cut the performance in half, and the last pair of connectors would not even recognize the disk. They would however work fine with optical HDDs (which don't come near SSD performance).

So long story short, different connectors on motherboards often have different controller chips, which is why customer support will often advise you to try different USB ports. And then you might be like "what the hell would that achieve, USB is USB right?" to which the answer is "actually, no, it's more complicatred than that". Bandwidth is one thing, but with hard drives for example, you would differ between transfer bandwidth of one big file, and of a 1000 small files. A hard drive can be good at one but not the other. Likewise, you can be below the max bandwidth of a USB bus but still stress it's ability to process by effectively "DDoSing" it with tons of small operations. Poorly explained but I think I made myself understood. Just something to keep in mind.

Quote from cyprusg

I bought a COAX/SPDIF converter, and my Kemper sounds a million times better using SPDIF into my Apollo Twin instead of TRS/TS. Until proven otherwise, I don't think I'm experiencing a problem. It's just that SPDIF sounds better than analog/digital conversion.

Yeah, you are skipping one round of digital->analog->digital conversion. So what you're actually saying, is the Apollo analog/digital conversion and audio signal circuits are better than on the Kemper (and that more conversions reduces quality). Which seems to make sense to me considering price of the two units and what they can do. Kemper has like 4x as many inputs/outputs but hardly costs a whole lot more.

i've found some fishman preamp profiles on the rig exchange that worked pretty nicely. You can also deactivate the amp block and use acoustic IRs for the same effect. An EQ filter that removes the boomy low end, tightens the mid lows and adds more clarity. Upside with a profile vs an IR is a profile of an acoustic preamp pedal also gives you access to amp parameters like clarity, definition, high/low shift etc. I would find some fishman aura profiles and couple them with IRs made for your specific acoustic (or just an IR that makes your acoustic sound good to you). Together they can give your piezo a tone reminiscent of miced recording.

Acoustic IR

Quote from Ruefus

What if a bunch of other professional sources say it? I didn’t make this up and it isn’t an opinion.

What I wrote was a copy/paste from one of a bunch of sources. Look it up.

https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=mono+vs+stereo

You are both right and/or are talking past each other. In total you have:

Mono signal on mono connection (one signal)

Mono signal on stereo connection (2 identical signals)

Stereo signal on stereo connection (2 unique signals)

If you set Kemper main out to "Main mono", you have number 2 in the list - mono signal on a stereo connection. You're saying the signal is mono, but he's saying the connection is still stereo. Both technically right and not actually in disagreement.

I also offer marriage counseling.

How do you compare the sound of what you are hearing in headphones to what you're hearing in speakers? Im not sure I fully grasp what you're saying, but you're claiming the sound quality of the headphone output is better than the main outputs? And you are comparing this by listening to headphones connected to the headphone output and comparing the experience with listening to speakers connected to the main output? That'd not a 1 for 1 conversion. Have you tried connecting the main output and headphone output into your interface, record both,and compared the recordings? Sounds like you prefer the coloration of the headphone amp.

Quote from Alienator

Yes, it is. He is disappointed for something that is not possible. We are excited because Kemper never disappointed with any new feature.

I hate to be that guy, buuuut....

Whether or not it actually is possible is not clear. You wouldn't think a wagon could move forwards if you didn't know about the wheel. As far as disappointment vs. excitement, one's an emotion, the other's an emotion, and neither emotion is informed by information that is verifiable at the time the emotion occurs. It's concievable that, in the same way that your excitement is informed by previous experiences, then the other person's disappointment likewise. It's a matter of differing subjective realities. If I try to be objective, both are just "unfounded feelings" that occur due to subjective bias and inherited temperament.

Quote from Kim_Olesen

Automatic delay compensation in the kemper would require the kemper to break the time and space theorem.

I am not even kidding.

Yeah, I think a better idea is to use the setting for static latency (I forget the phrasing) , and then set up your DAW accordingly.

Quote from dango123

Seems that the powered toaster/rack was created to allow people to use Kemper as a guitar amp, into a guitar cab.

Quite the contrary. At the very beginning, it was created so people didn't have to drag amps and cabs with them to shows. Then the powered version catered to those people that play in venues that have cabs at the venue. It was a digital alternative to amps that could be sent directly to FOH, then fitted with the possibility of also integrating it into your existing amp/cab rig. But the very conception of the Kemper was as an alternative to amps and cabs, not as yet another one.

Edit: Also, what Wheresthedug said.

Quote from dango123

I recently went to a recording session and used some of my patches that everyone really dug thru the 1x12 cab in the room... but those sounds didn't work nearly as well when I went direct to the board via XLR. That's the problem I'd like to solve. Having the imprints on the monitor out further complicates this situation, since it takes me further away from what is actually going to the XLR outs.

Make an IR, or find an IR of the cab you are using and convert it to a Kemper cabinet, then use that with the profiles you are sending to FOH. And also like someone mentioned before, get an FRFR speaker. Set up the tone in the amp, then replicate the way it sounds on the FRFR speaker afterwards. Or vice versa. If this is a livelihood, or a main hobby of yours, the price of a usable FRFR speaker just for output matching should be tolerable.

I don't think your use case is so unique. Just the fact you don't know what you're sending off is

Edit: Couple of Alto's can double as a decent TV/music playback system

Edit #2: didnt realize you owned a Kabinet when I wrote this post originally.

Quote from Grooguit

... and prioritized active guitar players over feature junkies that enjoy pontificating over possibilities over playing. And the KPA has been, in my opinion, the best thing on the market at any point in time over its life.

I feel like this position assumes that everyone that owns a Kemper, uses it as a live performance tool, and has a stable of microphones and amps to pick from when it's time to do studio work. For me, that's not true. I only have the Kemper and it's my multi purpose unit. From my point of view, I have a great deal of respect for the way Fractal tries to ever more emulate the little irregularities and interactions that aren't linear or static.

There's another assumption I also feels has to be made to support your point of view, which is that you see everything before your eyes. But reality is, we don't see the electron clouds swirling around the core of the atom, but you can surely feel it if you stick a fork in an outlet. It seems to be my experience that there are elements of the timbre of a sound that result in physiological responses which you can feel much more than you can hear them. So imo, there is something to be said for the continuous strive for a more realistic representation of guitar amps.

You make other good points about what makes the Kemper successful though, I just wanted to point out why some of us might care more about this stuff than others. It's not just cause we're anal about pointless and meaningless things.

Quote from JEverly

What does everyone think needs to be in this unit? I can tell you from being in both the Kemper and Fractal ecosystems, the Kemper had far less issues than the Fractal and it just works. They are on version 3 of the firmware for the FM9 and there are still things that don't work like they are supposed to. They are still trying to get things from the Axe III ported and working for the FM9.

To be fair, this also happened to some extent when Kemper decided to release new hardware. There were a few firmware updates that only related to the Stage. The way I remember it, the Stage wasn't an immediate hit upon launch. They were quick to bring it up to par though, and by now it's doing better. Maybe my memory's off.

Someone wrote in a thread somewhere that you can actually contact CS with the serial number and they can tell you when it was made. But I mean, it could still technically stay unused on a shelf for years before being sold, so it doesn't tell you how long it's actually been in use for. But yeah, ask the seller to fill out their contact form.

Quote from Wheresthedug

Maybe I’m imaging it but I also think the rotary knobs on my Toaster are more responsive with a better taper for fine adjustment.

I feel like that makes sense. Maybe they're not actually more responsive. From my understanding, seems to me like whereas before, the UI was lagging behind slightly whenever you twisted the knob, the numbers on the screen are now refreshing faster or in finer increments. Better FPS and less lag, basically, making the value of the parameter as it appears on the screen be more in sync with your knob movements.

Here's something relevant from the Kemper FAQ:

Quote

There are nearly no relevant hardware differences between early PROFILER™ Head and Rack units compared to those built recently. Even the first units can be updated to the latest operating system version including all features.

There is just one exception: Units built before 2019 have to be master of the S/PDIF clock. Head and Rack models manufactured since 2019 can also be switched to act as S/PDIF clock slave - like all PROFILER Stage™ units.

If you're using an older Kemper, it is master by default, meaning your computer's audio interface _has_ to be set to slave, meaning the other Kemper can't be slave to a slave interface (slave-slave), nor master (because then you have 2x masters in the overall configuration).

You need two Kempers with the newer SPDIF interface. That way, the computer audio interface can be the master, and both Kempers can be slaves. I don't know that this works from personal experience, but in theory that should work. Pursue that angle in your further research.

But first and foremost, figure out whether the Kemper you have right now is the kind that lets you set it to slave. Either you can send your serial number to Kemper support and ask when it was made, or you can simply look in the global settings under the SPDIF tab and see if there's a setting that let's you choose between master/slave. If you don't, that means you'll have to sell your Kemper and buy two new ones to get what you want

Edit: I suppose it couldn't hurt to ask Kemper support whether they could retrofit the newer SPDIF interface to your Kemper for a hefty price

I don't know if perception has played a trick on me but it feels like updates were mostly quiet for a good amount of time, like a few months at least, and then after christmas there's been tons of updates happening.

It's been a while since there was a huge update that was exciting to old rack users. A lot of the new updates like the iPad editor are only really relevant to Stage users. Most of the recent updates were just bug fixes and stuff like that. Anybody have any thoughts about whether we'll see more updates containing new features that work across the whole landscape?

Quote from BayouTexan

The question remains though, Why some guitarist are against effects? I still run across guitarists today in this forum who frown upon using effects. I've also heard the recommendation to get a good sound before you apply effects. Since "good sound/tone" is subjective, I think you can start with a poor sound and build it to a good sound using effects. Maybe, that's not conventional but I seem to hear every dry profile as a poor sound, and I am finding some guitarist who I thought played dry to actually have a lot of post processing before it's gets to the record.

I guess I am trying to be convinced to be "effect-less" if that's even possible without sounding like a record from the 1950's.

To me, it just comes down to what you are trying to do with the music you are playing or creating. If what you are trying to do is be the next it guy, or find some kinda sound that propels you to stardom, maybe the no effects guys are onto something. The next Hendrix or whatever probably won't be a P&W player.

I personally don't have any ambitions as a musician, I just like to try to make stuff. You could think of it like children just drawing. I'm just having fun doing it and so my focus is less on the be-all-you-can-be guitar techniques and more about textures and soundscaping. From my angle, effects just make sense. And then there's maybe a discussion out there about what constitutes good music, what's real vs. fake, and all that stuff. I'm not denying people that can take a dry guitar and make it sound heavenly arent't beacons to be inspired by, I'm just saying that's like one avenue of musicianship, and that not everybody has to be that. Music doesn't only belong to the best of us, and "best" is subjective anyhow. The ones that have their heart set on "being that" probably will identify with the kind of guitar player they are, and then I guess it's just a typically human thing to like... bolster your ego, tell yourself you're on the right path, etc. So it creates these players that worship the art of guitar playing that just think anyone that's not on that pursuit are somehow misguided or whatever. That's my real take on it, anyway. And to me it's silly but to them it's not. And not to get too meta, but that's just me doing what they're doing in a different way. Who's to say who's right but I feel the way I feel and they feel they way they feel I guess

Quote from Ronniestrat

ummmmm? what? lol little angry at the world bud?

Nah. Partially a joke, partially the way I feel, partially bullshit probably. Did you feel offended by what I said or why are you commenting like this?

I mean, that's what you're doing right now. Bringing up stuff that's half a year old just to step on someone and have a higher opinion. Being all "ey there bud, what's going on?" like saying "some people like to elevate themselves above others" is an outlandish idea that you didn't just confirm lol. I could extract all kinds of different personality traits in you from that alone, but at the end of the day, I recognize forum posts are just forum posts. For me, for you, and for most people. And then forum posts can offend people, just like news articles, law bills and all kinds of other written information that isn't presented by a talking head. You never got pissed off reading something on the internet? Wow, just wow, how do I know you're lying ? We're like dogs chasing cars. All of us. "Ooh there's one". It happened to me when I wrote my post, and it happened to you now. I see something, and feel like I wanna say something about it on that day, then I do. Most of the times I don't but some times I do. Some times you do too. You did today. It says nothing more about us than we like to interact with other humans, for better or worse. There's nothing more to it lol.

With that said, if you get the kind of person I am talking about and wanna tell me you never met that kind of person, fine. Maybe you haven't. Or maybe you're forgetting about it cause making me look bad is way more fun and stimulates serotonin-production in a much more significant way than seeing someone else's point of view does. The former makes you feel like you won over someone, the latter makes you feel like you're working. How did it make you feel to tell me what you said? How did it feel to think you had me pegged? Why did you even do it? Do I have a point or don't I? Maybe I'm just lazy and a big loser in addition to being mad at the world. That's for you to decide and me not to care about But if you haven't ran into guitarists that think they have it all figured, or people with elitist opinions in general, you probably never ran into people that get off like that, and I understand your confusion. They are psychologial archetypes though but let's pretend it's just the madness talking, because people NEVER act that way in real life surely. It's all in my head. You trying to shit on me is an act of righteousness and it's just my bitterness that shrouds the truth from me that I am the mad one, and you're all swell. The previous paragraph before this one made exactly 0 points worth taking home.

How do you get "mad"? Have you seen mad people? And why does that matter? I still made points. Ukraine is probably mad at Russia now, should we disregard everything coming out of Ukraine now cause it's being said by someone that's mad? That's not a very elegant point but I think you get what I'm trying to say. I can keep going, but you either get my point or you're "one of those". But come and tell me you didn't enjoy giving that jab. Why else would you do it?

(Edited for the Nth time because english is my secondary)

Haven't been around in months due to having moved, started a university course, and a new job all at once. I wish I was here when the "why do you need updates?" debate was going on because I feel I have something to say about it, so I'm just gonna throw it in here. Don't worry, this won't instigate anything I'm sure.

I just wanted to add that I don't know where everyone is coming from as far as having lived and grown up around electronic devices, but I've had them since around when I was 13 or something, when I got my first cell phone. Which was in like 1999 or something. Since then, I've had all kinds of phones, MP3 players, wireless headsets and speakers, smart watches, training watches and all kinds of other devices, not to mention operating systems, games that I've played with DLCs and expansion packs and balance patches and etc. etc., now down to guitar modellers, wireless guitar units, effects units, pedals, etc. They have all been updated with new features so many times over I've probably experienced 500 big feature patches across all the devices and softwares I've used, spread out over two decades of my life (some of it being formative years). By now, my brain is basically wired around this. I'm guessing the same is true for anyone in the same boat as I.

Say what you want about technology ruinining our youth, but nonetheless, I am ruined now down to the neurology of my brain. Those circuits just fire up when another software update drops, as they have 500 times before. The numbers are just being thrown out to make a point but so to come to a conclusion, for some of us, it's just exciting to get new updates because of what I just said.

A smoker would get it. Just cause you smoke doesnt mean you don't have a life outside of smoking. But you continually take little smoking breaks throughout the day, every day, all the time. Likewise, I continually come here (and other places for other devices I own and use) and check for updates, or I simply daydream and lust for updates with some unspecified feature that's exciting (like all the previous exciting features I didn't predict). I just want that experience, right? But in between the "smoking breaks" of coming here to look for an update, I do the same thing everybody else do. Get my job done, play guitar, go out with friends lol, the whole nine yards. None of it is affected by my desire for new features. My interest for new features for devices I own, and the rest of my life as it were, co-exist and it's entirely unproblematic.

If you don't have this history with electronic devices and software updates, surely you wouldn't feel the same way. That's okay, too!