Kemper Transpose vs Digitech the Drop problem

  • Hello,

    I was wondering if there is any way to fix artifacts in Kemper's Transpose as I wanted to get rid of the Drop pedal that I have to carry around all the time to give me additional range up to -5.

    I recorded a short audio file where the problem can be clearly heard. In the file I am alternating between Transpose, clean, and the Drop. The transpose function appears to be having difficulties doing its job in certain conditions. This applies both to the effect used in a slot and the rig setting. Apparently, the Drop does not have the same issue, but, well... another thing to carry around with more wires is just meh.

    Note: there is no unaltered signal bleed that mix with transposed signal, I checked that, and I am aware of the effect if strings are heard along with the transpose effect. Using the latest (non-beta) Kemper OS.

    transpose.mp3.zip

  • Transpose works fine for me. Sounds nothing like your sample. Are you running a parallel path or something?

    I only get a slight warble when going down to bass level (-12). From -8 to zero sounds good on my end.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • I have a Whammy DT (which has the drop included) and I find the Kemper cleaner and more accurate. The Whammy seems adds something nice that isn’t there in the original which is probably why people like it. But I don’t get the kind of dalek noises that you do.

    As Ruefus says though all transpose effects get less authentic the further away from the original pitch you get.

  • I found the Kemper and Drop pedal to be quite similar. Both take a bit of getting used to, but in a live situation they are exceptionally good. The maximum I use is +/- 3, but more often it is just a semitone.

    The difficult part is playing a clean part with any kind of shift, as latency is more apparent to the player. Dirty rhythm and leads are not a problem.

    Karl

    Kemper Rack OS 10.2.2 - Mac Sonoma 14.5

  • Alright, I see... Thank you for your responses.

    Not that it is there all the time, I only hear it when I use very light touch, or let a chord fade away, then it starts wobbling. It is not that apparent in a mix with other instruments, but there are some quiet acoustic parts when it matters. I use -2 and -5 mostly.

    Cheers.

  • Alright, I see... Thank you for your responses.

    Not that it is there all the time, I only hear it when I use very light touch, or let a chord fade away, then it starts wobbling. It is not that apparent in a mix with other instruments, but there are some quiet acoustic parts when it matters. I use -2 and -5 mostly.

    Cheers.

    Use the Stomp version of transpose and look for the check box "smooth chords".

    Karl

    Kemper Rack OS 10.2.2 - Mac Sonoma 14.5

  • Did you try to swap your noise gate and transpose? I have the transpose in slot A and Noisegate in B. Maybe Transpose gets irritated by the on and offs of the gate?

    I selected slot A because I wanted it to be the very first pedal. If you got a baritone or a deeper tuning it is before any noise gate, too. Just my logic. Would you test that?

  • I have a Whammy DT (which has the drop included) and I find the Kemper cleaner and more accurate. The Whammy seems adds something nice that isn’t there in the original which is probably why people like it. But I don’t get the kind of dalek noises that you do.

    As Ruefus says though all transpose effects get less authentic the further away from the original pitch you get.

    My experience is the exact opposite. I think that the whammy DT both sound cleaner and is more accurate. And ai feel a slight lag with Kemper. With the DT less so… ^^

    I still use the Kemper transpose though, because with midi switching and wireless, the rig is much simpler with just the Kemper…

  • I found that the only way I could make a good judgement on transpose effects was to record both. I had The Drop and Kemper after the major update to reduce latency.

    At the time I felt The Drop felt slightly lower latency, but the Kemper sounded a bit more natural. That was mostly on 1-3 semitones up or down.

    Did anyone actually measure latency between the various options?

    Karl

    Kemper Rack OS 10.2.2 - Mac Sonoma 14.5