Any word on 4.0 yet?

    Assuming a KPA II has the ability to have two amp profiles at the same time in parallel, all the morphing would do would be a crossfade between the two. (as one is turned up the other down.) I think those clamoring for a future KPA to be able to profile the full range of controls of the original amp rather than a snapshot will be disappointed. Think about it for a second. How would you capture the full range of all the control? As the Profiler is blowing noises through, it would tell you to slowy sweep the treble knob? and then so on for each knob. However even if it did this, the knobs on amps are interactive. What the bass knob "does" depends on where the gain is set for example. In the end, it would be an organizational nightmare.

    For that matter, what would be the advantage? Why do guitarist love tube amps in the first place? It is not because of their versatility, weight, reliability. It' also not for their ability to sound good through all its range of controls. (They're not) It is solely for one reason: The warm tone, particularly in the realm of slightly broken up to high gain and everything in between Most guitarists would have gladly abandoned tube amps if solid state sounded as good. They would have abandoned them once the early digital modeling amps came out in the late 90's/early 2000's if they sounded. Because in every other facet, digital amps and solid state amps are vastly superior to tube amps. They are more flexible and capable of a wider range of tones(albeit harsh sounding), easier on the back, more reliable, less maintenance. We kept lugging around tube amps with their limited flexibility because we just couldn't get their warmth from their otherwise superior solid state and digital competition.
    Until the Kemper. Now we have all the warmth and feel of tube amps, but with all the convenience and flexibility that digital offers. I don't miss the way the tone knobs functioned on the tube amps I used to on. I miss nothing. I much prefer taking a good profile and having Kemper's tools to adjust it.

    Quote from waraba

    I wish 4.0 will be out just before or during the next week's musicmesse !

    I'm really looking forward the news morph & delays feature , and I don't care if it's still in beta since I mainly use my KPA for recording

    Kemper will not be at the Musikmesse so there is no initiative to show something to the public. I think they are running at an independent pace. ;)

    Quote from endlessnameless

    <p>Line 6 just released an editor for the Helix. Not that I want one for the Kemper. But their wheels are turning at a different speed sadly!</p>


    Hehe. ;)
    That's why the Helix will be an abandoned product when the original Profiler will still be going strong, let's say at FW 7 or 8.x. :)

    Quote from Ingolf


    Hehe. ;)
    That's why the Helix will be an abandoned product when the original Profiler will still be going strong, let's say at FW 7 or 8.x. :)

    Quite true. How many "POD"-based products has Line 6 released in the past 5 or so years?

    2015 -- HELIX
    2013 -- POD HD Pro X
    2013 -- POD HD X
    2011 -- POD HD Pro
    2010 -- POD HD

    . <X

    Quote from Ingolf


    Hehe. ;)
    That's why the Helix will be an abandoned product when the original Profiler will still be going strong, let's say at FW 7 or 8.x. :)

    I don't think so, actually. Well, maybe the "helix" line will be replaced by something else, but I don't think Line6 will give up on the modeling stuff. Quite the opposite, I think.

    Products like Kemper and Axe-FX are in many ways game changers, giving legitimacy to digital devices like these as a whole. Furthermore, continued development is bound to improvements for many years (the competing companies HAVE to improve to compete). Ratio of performance to price will go up.

    It's not very evident on this forum, because almost everybody here has embraced the new paradigm, but the main "battle" is very much still between digital and analogue, not between digital and digital. Even though there is competition between line6 and Kemper, every kemper sold helps line6, and every helix sold helps kemper in the longer run - for now (maybe the MEDIUM run to be exact).


    ......And re-reading your post before clicking "submit", I realize that this probably has nothing to do with what you meant.

    Sorry for the interruption... Carry on.... :)

    I hear you @Michael_dk.
    What I was meaning to say is: I have seen (and used and paid for) too many Line 6 'flagship' products since 1999.
    Longevity was never an attribute you could give to a Line 6 product. And quite a few of their products (Axsys, Ax2, Vetta 1 and 2) were abandoned from one day to the next. End of FW development, end of support, end of story.
    Such policy evidently is never going to happen with Kemper.
    And in the light of these facts I don't care at all if they (Line 6) are fast at releasing an editor. ;)

    Quote from Ingolf

    I hear you @Michael_dk.
    What I was meaning to say is: I have seen (and used and paid for) too many Line 6 'flagship' products since 1999.
    Longevity was never an attribute you could give to a Line 6 product. And quite a few of their products (Axsys, Ax2, Vetta 1 and 2) were abandoned from one day to the next. End of FW development, end of support, end of story.
    Such policy evidently is never going to happen with Kemper.
    And in the light of these facts I don't care at all if they (Line 6) are fast at releasing an editor. ;)


    Gotcha :)

    Quote from Ingolf

    I hear you @Michael_dk.
    What I was meaning to say is: I have seen (and used and paid for) too many Line 6 'flagship' products since 1999.
    Longevity was never an attribute you could give to a Line 6 product. And quite a few of their products (Axsys, Ax2, Vetta 1 and 2) were abandoned from one day to the next. End of FW development, end of support, end of story.
    Such policy evidently is never going to happen with Kemper.
    And in the light of these facts I don't care at all if they (Line 6) are fast at releasing an editor. ;)

    I have a lot of respect for you ingolf but I am not sure I agree. Line 6 just get from A to B quicker which explains why FW updates stop sooner than with the Kemper. I am no great defender of Line 6 but they usually give several years support and do several major FW updates to key functionality before moving on to other products. If Kemper had moved faster in rolling out key features for the profiler perhaps we would see them moving on to other things such as a floor unit by now?

    Quote from endlessnameless

    I have a lot of respect for you ingolf but I am not sure I agree. Line 6 just get from A to B quicker which explains why FW updates stop sooner than with the Kemper. I am no great defender of Line 6 but they usually give several years support and do several major FW updates to key functionality before moving on to other products. If Kemper had moved faster in rolling out key features for the profiler perhaps we would see them moving on to other things such as a floor unit by now?

    Respectfully disagree on all counts. ;)
    Line 6 NEVER finished a product to a state that all bugs were sorted.
    And at the same time they NEVER stated that the life Cycle of a product had come to an end.
    They only chose to roll out a new flagship.
    And as for getting from A to B: Kemper nailed the core technology from te beginning.
    From there it is embellishments. So they don't need to get to B.. ;)

    Come the Summer, I'll have had the Kemper for 3 years.

    In that time, the core sound has always been 'there' - I'm happy. Improvements have still happened but (with the exception of Purecab) these improvements have been due to commercial profilers getting ever better at capturing the soul of an amp. This has been very exciting for me.

    By now, 90% of other makers would be bringing out version 2 which devalues what I've got in monetary terms and means that I have to either live with last year's model or go and start thinking what I will tell my wife this time as to why I need another box.

    With this box, I am not in fear of spending money on anything but profiles for the foreseeable future. I'm really excited to still be getting more and more mileage out of a unit that is now in it's 5th year of selling and still seen as the flagship / one of the flagships by anyone in the guitar world who is open to non-vintage gear. That takes some doing and shows how ahead of its time it was at the point of release.

    I'm looking forward to morphing, more delays, hopefully spring reverb and all without having to have 'that conversation' with my wife *


    * I obviously miss 'that conversation' because, whilst I've bought no gear as such since owning the Kemper, I've bought several guitars ;(

    Quote from Ingolf

    Respectfully disagree on all counts. ;)
    Line 6 NEVER finished a product to a state that all bugs were sorted.
    And at the same time they NEVER stated that the life Cycle of a product had come to an end.
    They only chose to roll out a new flagship.
    And as for getting from A to B: Kemper nailed the core technology from te beginning.
    From there it is embellishments. So they don't need to get to B.. ;)

    I agree that Kemper nailed the amp modelling. I am not debating that or whether it is better than Line 6

    My point is that Line 6 do roll out key functionality (new/upgraded fx computer editing software/flexible routing) much more quickly, which frees them up to create new products.

    Your other points I think are veering away from my original point. But to address them:

    Not saying L6 sorted all the bugs but in my experience of MANY Line 6 products there were never any bugs as serious as I have experienced using the Kemper. Kemper fixed the bugs to their credit - but even so I was pretty concerned when I bought the unit how many serious bugs and hardware issues I came across even though it wasn't a new product at the time.
    And I am not sure how relevant it is if L6 state that a life cycle had ended or not (that is a PR issue - Kemper said the new firmware would be out in Feb and we are still waiting ).

    I am no supporter of Line 6 - I hated some of their products. And they had their fair share of QC problems. And I really like my Kemper for all its faults. I have said that Christoph is clearly a genius. But when you look at rolling out key FW L6 clearly have the resources to do it more quickly. I feel a little envious - but I remember that the Kemper amp sounds are much better than L6 which makes it an easier pill to swallow.

    Quote

    I agree. There's clearly a demand for a floor unit. I personally have asked for one numerous times on these forums. At this point, having already developed the remote, making a floor unit would be super easy, as all they basically have to do is cram the screens, knobs, led's, buttons and the inner hardware from the KPA and Remote into one metal case. No programing or software development or anything. Just design a metal case that holds all the components that are in the in the rack and remote. Yet no indication from them that this is even on the horizon. (and we know it took 2+ years after they asked Kemper users to vote on a design to bring the remote to market.) And in both these this cases, we're not talking about them developing a feature to make folks who already purchased KPA's a little happier (headphone space for example). We're talking about new products that will bring them new revenue from old customers and new customers! When they finally got the remote they couldn't sell them fast enough and had a 6 month waiting list, at $600 a piece! Plus, making a dedicated controller is something that tons of Kemper owners were begging for from the beginning. There were also folks that didn't buy the Kemper or were waiting to buy the Kemper because they demanded a dedicated foot controller.
    Line6 absolutely gets from A to B faster. Probably because they are a larger company with the resources to bring products to market faster. Remember they make amps, guitars, single pedals, multi effect pedals, wireless systems, monitors, and a host of other products including plugins over the last 20 years or so. They've developed editing software on various products over the years. Kemper makes 2 basic products. That synth whatever its called and the profiler and now the remote.

    You know I totally get that point. I am just observing the market really.

    Personally I think the original Kemper would hold its value quite well even if a V2 came out. I wouldn't be opposed to paying good money for some extra features.

    I believe that they are secretly working on a KPA II and they won't roll out a KPA foot unit until that is released. I can't think of another reason that they haven't even hinted that they are thinking of bringing a floor unit to market. However, they are pouring a ton of their resources into features with long-term pay off (delays and reverbs and morphing for example) these would all be investments for the future as a KPA II would also include them. However, they only have so many employees and financial resources. Why spend time developing product like a floor unit if a KPA II is on the Horizon? Especially since they are a company that prides itself in long-term development of a product vs. rolling out new hardware every other year.

    Quote from endlessnameless

    I agree that Kemper nailed the amp modelling. I am not debating that or whether it is better than Line 6

    My point is that Line 6 do roll out key functionality (new/upgraded fx computer editing software/flexible routing) much more quickly, which frees them up to create new products.

    Your other points I think are veering away from my original point. But to address them:

    Not saying L6 sorted all the bugs but in my experience of MANY Line 6 products there were never any bugs as serious as I have experienced using the Kemper. Kemper fixed the bugs to their credit - but even so I was pretty concerned when I bought the unit how many serious bugs and hardware issues I came across even though it wasn't a new product at the time.
    And I am not sure how relevant it is if L6 state that a life cycle had ended or not (that is a PR issue - Kemper said the new firmware would be out in Feb and we are still waiting ).

    I am no supporter of Line 6 - I hated some of their products. And they had their fair share of QC problems. And I really like my Kemper for all its faults. I have said that Christoph is clearly a genius. But when you look at rolling out key FW L6 clearly have the resources to do it more quickly. I feel a little envious - but I remember that the Kemper amp sounds are much better than L6 which makes it an easier pill to swallow.


    line 6 is a great company. They make products for every wallet size. They reinvent their technology and not really abandoned it. POD 2.0 modeling is still available in Pocket PODs. They make products for a much larger market (millions), not thousands like Kemper and Fractal.
    Helix effects and drives are much more versatile and better than those in the KPA, but I didn't buy my KPA for Drives or effects.

    I support every guitar company that makes usable products and there are tens of thousands of working musicians and professionals using Line 6 products every day.

    When it comes to amp modeling, clearly Kemper is the best and it stops right there, which is more than enough if you're interested in modeling.

    Quote from Grooguit

    I believe that they are secretly working on a KPA II

    This wouldn't surprise me at all. The KPA is about 5 years old, in this business that makes it a Senior Citizen. The CPU power on the KPA is weaker than any of its current competitors. The Helix and Fractal AX8 both have dual SHARC 450mhz chips and are floor units. To make a floor model of the KPA would be a bit of a trick IF you expect to keep all those knobs and dials of the original unit. Neither the Helix nor AX8 need a fan as opposed to the Ax Fx that must have a fan ( which is the reason Cliff gives for not making a floor Ax Fx). Yes, Christophe could make a new, stronger KPA that does most if not all of what the Helix and AX8 do as I think it takes less CPU power to process a Profile as opposed to a modeling algorithm such as Fractal uses. Line 6's modeling on the Helix is simply reworked HD models and lacks a lot of the detail in the AX8's, which are the same algorithms in the Ax Fx II XL+ Quantum firmware.

    Now, would I go get a new Kemper II having just gotten my Toaster? Not right off the bat. Do I really need dual amps and a effect chain like the AX Fx? Do I really need a "kitchen sink" preset? The answer is no, not really. There appears to be enough flexibility so far in the KPA, I will also use some of my outboard pedals in front and in the FX send/return. I am in total awe for the tones coming from my Kemper. I mean I am totally stunned by how great the clean sounds are and find myself just noodling with them. I am in Fender Tweed Heaven right now.

    What we really have here, folks, are First World Problems. 8)

    I probably wouldn't jump to buy a Kemper 2, unless hypothetically it had a ton of effects that Kemper 1 didn't say more OD's delays and reverbs.
    I'd also make the jump if Kemper 2 was a floor unit
    If it had extra effects loops/routing/extra slots, I'd also make the jump

    I wouldn't care that much about dual amps