I know the Pod could run two amps at the same time. Don't know if any of the rest of their reincarnations up to Helix does it? I suppose Fractal doens't do it?
The Axe-Fx II and III allow for dual amps, and you can combine up to 4 IR's in a single cab block with the Axe-Fx III.
Dual amps is the biggest thing I miss about my old stereo tube amp rig. My Kemper sounds as good as any amp I've had the budget to own and a lot more. But it doesn't sound as good as my old AC15 and Deluxe Reverb with stereo delay and reverb effects separating the field.
Dual amps is the biggest thing I miss about my old stereo tube amp rig. My Kemper sounds as good as any amp I've had the budget to own and a lot more. But it doesn't sound as good as my old AC15 and Deluxe Reverb with stereo delay and reverb effects separating the field.
I bet it did sound fantastic. What else could ever sound that good? I think that is a unique setup that can only be recreated by the original config of those amps. But it doesn't hurt to ask for it. Maybe the editor will bring some additional capabilities later this year??
I bet it did sound fantastic. What else could ever sound that good? I think that is a unique setup that can only be recreated by the original config of those amps. But it doesn't hurt to ask for it. Maybe the editor will bring some additional capabilities later this year??
In this interview @17:24 Christoph talks about running a profile being processor-consuming and suggests running them simultaneously isn't possible currently. Definitely something that sounds like it would require a Kemper II.
In this interview @17:24 Christoph talks about running a profile being processor-consuming and suggests running them simultaneously isn't possible currently. Definitely something that sounds like it would require a Kemper II.
Interesting how CK talks about modeling stomps and running multiple amps. It makes sense why it isn't being done right now. Even slap-my-forehead obvious now that he said it. Each profiled option (stomp, preamp(s), poweramp(s) etc) would effectively require it's own Profiler in terms of processing power. Even after 7 or 8 years of computer processor development, that's a lot of grunt.
I suspect beyond processing power, there are other problems to solve. Latency is perhaps one (parallel processing helps), cost another. (Yeah we can do it. Do you want to pay ten-grand?) How does the profiling process of a sinlge pedal/preamp/poweramp differ from the current process? How do you profile a pedal, then mate it with an amp....then mate it with a power amp......etc. Stacking them so they work together properly in any combination? Yeesh.......
This is why there are people who *love* mathematics, and then there are people like me. Who do not. 
One of the key features of the profiler is that the cpu is passively cooled. That means there are no fans inside the casing to make noise. When you reduce the thermal envelope that low, you are severely restricted in what cpu grunt you choose to add to a new system. I very much doubt they will change this anytime soon unless they find a suitable cpu that can run without a fan and offer twice the power..
definitely could use an update as far as the “GUI (?)” the screen and user interaction with the device. Maybe even a touch screen would be sweet as hell.
Or a usb-c connection.
Whatever you do , PLEASE keep the full manufacturing in Germany and don’t cut costs with chinese production and I’ll be waiting in line for the Kemper II
definitely could use an update as far as the “GUI (?)” the screen and user interaction with the device. Maybe even a touch screen would be sweet as hell.
Or a usb-c connection.
Whatever you do , PLEASE keep the full manufacturing in Germany and don’t cut costs with chinese production and I’ll be waiting in line for the Kemper II
Why does the manufacturing location matter?
From another forum....
Is this something for the Kemper II? Or just a rumour from competition?
Text from the above post in case some of this truncated in the link...
"The Axe-Fx III models are extremely accurate. The Kemper has it's own vibe which a lot of people like. It's characterized by lots of midrange compression. You can replicate this on the Axe-Fx by setting the Output Compression type in the Amp block to Feedback and dialing in ~6 dB of compression. Adjust to taste.
The distortion of the Kemper is smoother than a real amp as well. You can replicate this by decreasing the Power Amp Hardness."
Without having read all the comments above, my personal answer has been clearly "yes", the last two years. I think it is time. Would it change anything for the current generation? No, nothing at all, I would say. I would keep at least one stage for recording or as a reliable live backup solution. But I feel I need a new Kemper II as an all in one solution with better drives, boosts, FX and crazy chain options. Not to mention a much better UI and much more reliable midi capabilities (this generation seems to just have unsolvable (?) midi issues for years). Yes, maybe from a strategic marketing standpoint it is time, now. Who knows. I am sure the company knows what to do or not to do in the very near future.
But I feel I need a new Kemper II as an all in one solution with better drives, boosts, FX and crazy chain options. Not to mention a much better UI and much more reliable midi capabilities (this generation seems to just have unsolvable (?) midi issues for years). Yes, maybe from a strategic marketing standpoint it is time, now. Who knows. I am sure the company knows what to do or not to do in the very near future.
Most of these issues are software related so could be solved with the current version (“better drives”, boosts, FX) so I don’t see that being reason for a new version.
Kemper have already updated the Drives and have said they will develop this further with new Fuzz etc in the future. The new drives clearly show the company’s development strategy so it is unlikely that even if there were a new V2 that there would be much change in that department.
The delays and reverbs are pretty epic already.
There is clearly room for development in the Modulation effects, Rotary, Compressor etc. But again, it seems likely that these could be accommodated with the existing hardware.
The need for multiple signal chains and complex routing etc is clearly something that the current Kemper can’t do but it remains to be seem whether that is an area that Kemper want to compete in. No company can be all things to all people so each needs to decide what problems they are trying to solve and focus on providing solutions to those.
The UI is also a matter of taste. I actually much prefer the current Kemper UI to any of the touch screen nonsense from Helix etc. Clearly There are others with different preferences but I would be really disappointed if Kemper ditched the current physical knobs and buttons Ui in favour of something like Helix or what I have seen on QC so far.
I don’t use the midi functionality much as I like the simplicity of a single stand alone device but I totally agree that basic midi functionality should work flawlessly from day 1 (as should the flashing of the tap tempo light).
I’m not trying to say the current version is perfect or that it should be frozen in time and never developed further. I also don’t care about the impact on resale value of my current powered toaster as I don’t intend to sell it. However, as Kemper apparently bought up a large portion of the stock of the current chip so hey seem to be committed to developing the existing device for the foreseeable future.
Yes and No; there's a bunch of things that could be upgraded on the first gen. There's a handful of features that competitors have that would need new hardware to integrate, some of these features being kind of useless. There are also some advantages that come from the KPA's limitations.
Having briefly owned a Helix, I found it just as easy, if not easier to get things set up the way I like it on the Kemper, and that was before the editor came out. Nor do I see why having touch screen like the Quad is a significant advantage over the robust and plentiful buttons, knobs, and switches on the KPA, although admittedly a larger screen might be nice for visual purposes. How is it any better to twist foot switches than to twist dedicated knobs?
MAYBE there would be some cool combinations of two amps/cabs that would be cool; two KPA owners could chime in here.
But the Kemper's limitations are some of its biggest strengths. The simple straightforward fixed signal path (with pardons to the A-D parallel options and some parallel options for the delay and reverb slots) is quite convenient. There is such a thing on the KPA as locking effect and amp blocks because there is something fixed that is shared between Rigs. The KPA's unique volume attenuating feature is what allows us to boost and cut the gain and never worry about our rigs matching in volume after we do so. An always available looper, not something to worry about DSP or place in individual rigs. Might these things disappear if KPA was to go the direction of the Helix/Quad?
The wide open blank canvas signal path of the Quad and Helix seems cool, but is unnecessary for 99% of guitarists needs. Why do I say this? Because 99% of traditional pedal boards (including ones containing multiple digital pedals with presets) have signal paths no more complex, and usually less, than what you can get with a Kemper. "Oh but you can run multiple rigs through a quad or helix." Yeah, because us guitarists are just dying to give up half of our Dsp so our bassist and acoustic guitarist can plug in our pedal board, and then we can worry about trying to organize all their sound and pedal changes along with ours. Who does this and when would it be useful?
There are also some things that I don's see any reason the first gen KPA couldn't add in future firmware updates with the existing hardware:
1) more midi options; this seems like an oft requested feature and I can't see how expanding the ability to send such simple messages would have any effect on DSP.
2) A handful of new effects. The delays, Reverbs, and Pitch are already first class. The overdrives, are already upgraded and a new one has already been announced as on the way. The compressor and EQs are excellent, though some would like some additional compressor options. The existing mods are good, perhaps something fancier here.
What could be improved in a version 2, that can't be done in the current hardware?
1) Two amp/cab possibilities. How about a parallel mode, where you hear two amps/cabs in parallel with the ability to pan them center or spread out in Stereo? How about a toggle mode so that the two amps/cabs could instead be toggled within the same rig? How about a doubling effect and controls for this in the amp block so that it sounds like two amps/cabs are being used when only one is?
2) How about one or two more effect slots on either side of the amp section with an extra effects block part of the parallel options we have in the current generation?
3) How about fully stereo signal path; mono by nature effects such as overdrives could be left in the center by default or panned left or right?
4) How about more effect loops similar to the Helix setup?
5) The ability to be an audio interface.
6) Bigger screen
7) perhaps six soft buttons along with 6 knobs above AND below the much bigger screen. This would reduce the need for as many feature specific buttons and knobs, since the bigger screen and extra buttons could be shared for many features.
I agree on the screen size thing - a larger screen would eliminate the need to advance through so many pages in various parts of the OS - there are 16 and 18 pages in some areas IIRC. Having physical knobs - rotary encoders - for many parameters is really useful for tweaking while playing.. I really wouldn't want to lose that. The KPA as we know it - besides all the I/O- is a control surface for software and not having to do it all with touchscreens and/or increment/decrement buttons is actually a huge advantage for players.
I agree on the screen size thing - a larger screen would eliminate the need to advance through so many pages in various parts of the OS - there are 16 and 18 pages in some areas IIRC. Having physical knobs - rotary encoders - for many parameters is really useful for tweaking while playing.. I really wouldn't want to lose that. The KPA as we know it - besides all the I/O- is a control surface for software and not having to do it all with touchscreens and/or increment/decrement buttons is actually a huge advantage for players.
While I agree that a larger screen would be a nice to have feature it is difficult to imagine how this could be accommodated without either making the unit bigger or removing some of the physical knobs and buttons. If it could be done I would be happy to have it but in a fight between a bigger screen and losing physical knobs and buttons I would back the physical interface every single time.
While I agree that a larger screen would be a nice to have feature it is difficult to imagine how this could be accommodated without either making the unit bigger or removing some of the physical knobs and buttons. If it could be done I would be happy to have it but in a fight between a bigger screen and losing physical knobs and buttons I would back the physical interface every single time.
One way to do that would be to use perhaps pressable knobs. As mentioned above, you could have 6 knobs along with 6 buttons above and below a larger screen. If the knobs doubled as pressable, you could elimitate the 12 hypothetical buttons. So right now on the KPA, in many screens you have four functions accessible with the four soft buttons above the screen. If the screen were taller top to bottom, you could have four more functions accessible at the bottom of the screen. Make it a bit wider as well, and you could have six above and below. That's more than would be needed for most screens, thus features like save, copy, paste, exit, type, browse could be relegated to say the bottom soft buttons. perhaps.
I'd eliminate the mod, del, verb knobs. I would keep the buttons for the 8 effect slots (10-12 effect slots perhaps in a future KPA).
I'm not in a position to have a valid opinion on whether the Kemper could be improved sound-wise.
I mean, it sounds very good to me, but what do I know. I wouldn't know to identify an authentic amp tone even if it hit me over the head 
With respect to UI though, I must say that I believe investing in fancy touch displays is the opposite of progress, and I'll explain.
We have smartphones in our pockets. These phones are designed by huge corporations with the sole purpose of coming up with an excellent UI experience. In my opinion, no gear manufacturer can ever compete with that. It will always be clunky and more awkward of an experience than a smartphone app. The quality of the display will not be as high, the touch sensitivity will not work as well, the OS will not be as flexible, etc.
I'm sure everyone here can think of these gadgets that presume to have a smartphone like experience, and end up being very clunky and annoying to use, especially when we compare them to the phone experience.
For that reason, I would think it smarter to take the time and money it would take to deliver the fancy integrated display, put that in smartphone/tablet/PC wireless connectivity and an excellent companion app, and keep the on unit UI very simple and reliable.
Hey, maybe that could even be done in the current Kemper. We do have a USB dongle
Anyway, just one guy's redundant opinion, but maybe something to consider. In other words, be careful what you ask for
If they added a IOS/Android version of Rig Manager and then add a Bluetooth chip for connectivity to the daughter board that has the processor on it, that would be a major step in the right direction for lots of users.
What could be improved in a version 2, that can't be done in the current hardware?
1) Two amp/cab possibilities. How about a parallel mode, where you hear two amps/cabs in parallel with the ability to pan them center or spread out in Stereo? How about a toggle mode so that the two amps/cabs could instead be toggled within the same rig? How about a doubling effect and controls for this in the amp block so that it sounds like two amps/cabs are being used when only one is?
2) How about one or two more effect slots on either side of the amp section with an extra effects block part of the parallel options we have in the current generation?
3) How about fully stereo signal path; mono by nature effects such as overdrives could be left in the center by default or panned left or right?
4) How about more effect loops similar to the Helix setup?
5) The ability to be an audio interface.
6) Bigger screen
7) perhaps six soft buttons along with 6 knobs above AND below the much bigger screen. This would reduce the need for as many feature specific buttons and knobs, since the bigger screen and extra buttons could be shared for many features.
1) no need for studio. For a lot of us, it 's already difficult to have/find a (one) good sound...
2) 8 fx, it's already huge (+2 with midi)
3) ...disto, stereo...no.
4) ok
5) NOOOOOOO! extra price if you have already an audio card (all studios 've their audio cards)
6) No need, in live, you don't look your gear but the audiance. At home, you're using your computer.
7) all this things (hardware) have a cost. Editor is more easy.
