Ahhh What's that? A New Kemper Model? Profiler Player

  • I was all excited until I read the limitation on the FX's. The main reason I would buy this in addition to my Head+Remote+EXP combo was its portability but now with the FX limitation what is the point? yeah yeah the stage but that isn't as portable as the Player or the HX stomp (which I was considering). I might end up buying the KPlayer but now I know it is not a no brainer for me and needs some considerations.

  • If you need the extra everything then the Stage, Rack or Head are the tools.

    You could put 2 of these on a pedalboard and get more effects, dual amps at once, redundancy in case one ever fails. I'm thinking that could be my new normal, with the Power Head just doing home studio duty.

    I see what You say but.. tecnically, it's not Me needing everything Extra. It’s what I'm always used to have. Isnt it?

  • If this played rigs exactly as they exist on the bigger units, then I'd say this is for existing users. A product meant for that wouldn't make sense, would it? Why limit your potential customers to the few Kemper users (relative to the entire market) who've already ponied up? Unless you want to Profile - why buy the bigger units at all?


    I see this as appealing to a new group of players where the larger units don't make sense.

  • I see this as appealing to a new group of players where the larger units don't make sense.

    Why limit yourself to just a single cohort? this could easily please both groups but they explicitly decided to limit the player maybe to not hurt sales of the big ones. Tough choice I assume but clearly has made some existing users hesitant of getting it

  • So feature differences from the Head/Stage;

    - No Stereo out XLRs

    - No Looper
    - Only One Volume/Morph Pedal

    - No FX loop

    - No screen (will be interested to try out the tuner without a screen)
    - Support for only two FX pre / two FX post
    - Only 10 banks with 5 slots per bank

    - No dedicated performance up/down

    - No browse/perform. Just set it up and go

    - No Profiling

    - Very high power requirements

    + Bluetooth and Wifi Audio
    + It looks like a forced FX spillover (hardware enforced?)

    I'm still pumped, and one is headed my way. I can't wait to see if I can add it to my workflow. I'm primarily concerned about the limited FX slots. I tend to run compressor, eq, and multiple stages of overdrive in front. Then Delays / Reverb in the back. Maybe 2024 will be the year of simplifying my sound, though. If I can figure it out, It will be much easier to take around with me.

  • I'm glad to see the small form factor, and I know it'll sound great, but so far, I'm mainly trying to wrap my head around the differences between the Rack and this since I'd plan on using this as a backup/fly rig. This list looks like a good starting point. Another few differences:

    - No Morph

    - No Parallel Path or DLY+REV Routing

    - No Natural Reverb (replaced by Easy Reverb)

    And more on data compatibility from the Player manual (page 137):

  • I don't play live. I just use my non-powered rack in my studio. So I look at the Player from that standpoint and ask myself: how would I use it?

    My immediate thought is that I'd like to use it the way MuddySludge suggests.

    Running two Kempers both in stereo has been a consideration for many years. 8)

    I can say that I've almost bought a Stage a few times to do a stereo rig (two profiles in parallel) with my Rack. I have also been toying with the idea of wiring my pickups with two mono outs. Having a Kemper for each pickup makes me drool.

    A $698 solution is a fantastic value IMHO if you already have a full size KPA, regardless of your use case. It's not like you have no way to make profiles. Now if I didn't have a full size KPA and needed to be able to make profiles, I'd get a Stage instead. But if you don't need to make profiles, the Player is a great entry point into the Kemper ecosystem.

    Speaking of value, think about how many of the full size KPA features the Player has, right out of the blocks. When I bought my Rack in 2015, it had almost none of the Kemper effects, no audio interface, no liquid profiling, etc., etc. It cost me $1950 back then.

    As far as the 'limited' effects slots (2 pre / 2 post), everyone is forgetting that you can run outboard effects in a chain with the Player in the middle. Would a pre and post loop have been handy? Sure. But I can live with selecting four Kemper effects on the Player. Note that only the Stage has two loops, BTW.

    There will obviously be some who have created profiles with more than 4 Kemper effects. There will be some profile tweaking necessary, and I suspect that some users won't want to do that.

    In the meantime, I am going to buy a Player early this next year.

  • G String December 19, 2023 at 9:22 PM

    Changed the title of the thread from “Ahhh What's that? A New Kemper Model?” to “Ahhh What's that? A New Kemper Model? Profiler Player”.
  • Taxes and fees will be charged on import to the UK.

    Yep.

    Now that we've (the UK) left the EU - its just like buying from the US - you play the import duty/VAT lottery. UKBorderforce/Tax office don't check everything - but if they do look at your parcel - your carrier pays it on your behalf, and they ask for you to pay this at the point of delivery - or before its sent out. Often with a handling fee added on top.

    But its a lottery. You may win making it a £500 bargain. My fingers are crossed for you.

    NB - I bought a Triaxis from Germany, and a Terratec Axon from Holland and didn't get taxed - so you can win !

  • People will complain no screen etc. But method to the madness. Its to be used like a overdrive pedal. They just threw in some bits to keep people happy and for first time users. If ya want more, get the stage. This is meant to be setup an used, not tweaking. It brilliantly keeps the big units relevant too. Good move Kemper. People may jump the ship an try this then want the larger units, it will bring more kemper adoption for sure