Mini-Kemper for practice

    This is more of a product request than feature request. Many of us Kemper users seem to be spoiled by the sound of the Kemper, and at least for me, when I'm on vacation or otherwise travelling, it really sucks to have to practice with something else really small, because in my experience, everything else now sounds terrible. I would like a mini-Kemper to practice with (or maybe even play a simple gig). Eliminate all buttons (or almost), just have one or two or five rigs on it max, and no stomps can be turned on or off (thus whatever the rig is like when you load it, that's the sound you get). Maybe only a simple reverb, guitar in jack, headphone out jack, etc. (Yes I'm thinking of those mini Vox plug-in thingys -- a really cool idea, but the sound . . . )

    This all depends on how much of the processing power/cost goes in to the amp sound, vs how much to run all the effects, buttons, gizmos, bells & whistles, and controls. If a large portion of the processor and cost is just for the good amp sound, then forget it, this won't work (or it will cost so much no one will buy it, me included!).

    I know the Kemper is pretty small already (compared to a stack), but we're trying to send someone to Mars, so why not?

    BTW, love the Kemper, love the forum, you all are so helpful. I had given up on humanity before finding the forum!

    Guitarhack

    +1

    Quote from nkisaac

    just have one or two or five rigs on it max

    Good news there. IMHO, the number of Rigs won't be a definitive factor as to the CPU grunt needed or indeed the onboard flash RAM required, 'cause their size is so tiny (RAM required for storage) and only one Rig will be loaded at a time (CPU grunt). We'd still be able to have shedloads of tones to choose from.

    Hey Guitarhack, are you the dude who's IR's I downloaded from GAMF and whatnot, like, 10 years ago or more? If so, it's an honour to have you here on the forum, mate!

    If not, it's an honour anyway of course, and welcome!

    Quote from nkisaac

    it really sucks to have to practice with something else really small, because in my experience, everything else now sounds terrible

    it's so true, I often prefer not to play than playing on other gear , including real tube amps because I'm so used to stereo monitoring and classy KPA tones with an overall very small volume an NO ear fatigue...

    modern guitarist life ...

    Quote from Monkey_Man

    +1

    Good news there. IMHO, the number of Rigs won't be a definitive factor as to the CPU grunt needed or indeed the onboard flash RAM required, 'cause their size is so tiny (RAM required for storage) and only one Rig will be loaded at a time (CPU grunt). We'd still be able to have shedloads of tones to choose from.
    Hey Guitarhack, are you the dude who's IR's I downloaded from GAMF and whatnot, like, 10 years ago or more? If so, it's an honour to have you here on the forum, mate!

    If not, it's an honour anyway of course, and welcome!

    I second this !!! Welcome here Guitarhack, huge fan of your IRs !!

    @Monkey_Man...no, I'm not that guy, but ever since I thought up my 'unusual' nickname, I've seen it all over the place. Same as when I named my kid...
    And you're right about the number of rigs... it amazes me how small they are. The only problem would be the interface to change between them... just a push button that cycles through them?
    And the honor is mine... I've been hanging out here a lot these last 2 years, trying to learn about amps and effects on the Kemper, without ever having owned a tube amp (I came from the Boss GT-8... What a change! LOL). I did not even know what a good amp sound was. And you, sir, in particular, have added immensely to my knowledge and ability, through your advice to others, tips, pointing out good profiles. Many thanks to you!

    Guitarhack

    Quote from nkisaac

    And the honor is mine... I've been hanging out here a lot these last 2 years, trying to learn about amps and effects on the Kemper, without ever having owned a tube amp (I came from the Boss GT-8... What a change! LOL). I did not even know what a good amp sound was. And you, sir, in particular, have added immensely to my knowledge and ability, through your advice to others, tips, pointing out good profiles. Many thanks to you!

    ... and you, sir, ought to have your I.H.I.A. (Interpersonal Hyperbolic Implementation Algorithm) adjusted; I certainly feel I don't deserve such high praise! LOL

    Thanks man. Much appreciated, and glad I could help.

    Quote from nkisaac

    @Monkey_Man...no, I'm not that guy, but ever since I thought up my 'unusual' nickname, I've seen it all over the place.

    Not surprising. I noticed his IR's all over the place back then. The Sneap forum and GAMF sprung to mind, but there were other postings of his free pack pretty much everywhere one could find guitar-cab offerings.

    Quote from nkisaac

    And you're right about the number of rigs... it amazes me how small they are. The only problem would be the interface to change between them... just a push button that cycles through them?

    Well, I'm guessing the box would be big enough, due to its having to house the processor and I/O circuitry, to be able to accommodate a screen of some sort. Even if it were much smaller than the KPA's one, it would only need to be able to display, say, a single line of text for the current Rig name and a programme number. Two lines would mean a chosen effect chain, displayed as a series of abbreviated FX names separated by arrows indicating the signal-flow's direction, could be simultaneously-visible too.

    An up / down set of switches (in addition to the requisite +/- 1 Rig-at-a-time ones) could be set to skip Rigs by a user-determined number of slots; this'd make navigating larger collections of Rigs easier.

    Just thoughts off the top of my head.