Kemper Player vs Quad Cortex

    Been using the Quad Cortex since launch (a few years now). It replaced Fractal and along the way I've had other guitar processors. The Quad Cortex did everything I ever wanted in a modeler and sounded the best to my ears.

    I've always been Kemper curious though so when the Player dropped, I thought, hey, this is for me! A small little unit I can take to jams and I can discover what all the Kemper fuss is about. I was also looking forward to finding tone (rig?) packs for some of my favourite artists - more on this later.

    So a week after launch, this thing found its way from Germany to Canada and into my hot little hands. I was impressed with the build quality and couldn't wait to plug this thing in. I used its XLR out to the board alongside the dual XLRs from the Quad Cortex going into the same board and PA speakers. After a real short bootup (at least compared to the Quad Cortex), it was up and running and waiting for my opening riffs.

    Starting with rig one on bank one, my initial impressions were that this sounded just like I would expect an amp through a guitar cabinet to sound. I know users have talked about Kemper feel but I never understood what that meant. Now I know. You feel like you are one with the unit and not separated across a digital divide like I feel with other modelers including the Quad Cortex. It was a great experience. I experimented with other rigs and found a few more I really liked.

    The Player is easy to use, intuitive for the most part and sounds very good, especially at stage volumes. I feel I'm playing through the actual amp and cabinet. Kemper did an amazing job too with the iOS apps. It's so easy to adjust the unit on the fly using my iPad or iPhone. Picking new rigs is quick and easy with the app and it's easy to see what's in the rig. I actually prefer using the iPad with the Kemper to the screen on the Quad Cortex.

    As for my tonal preferences, I slightly prefer the more "processed" tones on the Quad Cortex. There's a little more going on that gets me feeling like I'm playing with a large board with all sorts of effects leading to a more interesting sound. I'm pretty sure though, that with some tweaks to the blocks on the Player, I can reproduce this (I'm a Dave Gilmour fan so that's why I think I gravitate to more complex signal chains).

    The one thing that worries me is that when I bought the Player, I didn't know the number of effect blocks were limited. Now I'm concerned that I won't be able to find the rig packs I want for the artists I would like to emulate. For more simple artist rigs like AC/DC, Queen, Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, etc that won't be a problem. Basically, most of the classic rock and blues genres will be easily covered by the unit's current capabilities.

    For more exotic rigs such as those from Pink Floyd, I think it may be a struggle building or buying the rigs for their songs. We'll see. I'm hopeful that at some point, the Player will have its signal chain expanded to support more blocks.

    Overall, this is a keeper for me. It won't replace the Quad Cortex but it's going to stay part of my regular playing rig for the studio and I'll likely use this for jams when I'm not gigging with my band. Kemper did a really good job with the design and I don't miss having a screen at all. I'm looking forward to learning how to use this device and the accompanying Rig Manager. It should be a fun journey!

    So I have been playing for over 30 years and dived into the profiler world about 6 weeks ago and purchased a quad cortex not really understanding what I was getting myself into.. I dialed in some decent tones and went and did 2 shows with the unit and and everyone including my lead singer commented on how good the unit sounded however the designers that engineered it must not have played live because the foot switches were way to close together and I found myself playing footsie almost all night trying into the the right sound I needed for the song. So I was still in my return window at sweet water so I exchanged it for the Kemper stage. My first impressions are that the lay out of the Kemper stage is much easier to navigate. The profiles are far more abundant with the Kemper as well as the support however I do the QC will get there but it has a way to go. I do agree the user interface is a little more robust with the QC however the Kemper does have its own sound which I find intriguing. The proof will be in the pudding when I do my next set of gigs in 2 weeks I will update with my impressions thanks

    Quote from Plank Spanker

    For more exotic rigs such as those from Pink Floyd, I think it may be a struggle building or buying the rigs for their songs. We'll see. I'm hopeful that at some point, the Player will have its signal chain expanded to support more blocks.

    Well, I think that for that kind of tones and atmospheres the Player is meant to be used with other pedals.

    A more powerful and versatile solution would be to use the Player in the loop of a small, powerful multift unit, in order to get the best of the two worlds

    :)

    Still chasing a worthy one :/

    Quote from Rivsrul

    So I have been playing for over 30 years and dived into the profiler world about 6 weeks ago and purchased a quad cortex not really understanding what I was getting myself into.. I dialed in some decent tones and went and did 2 shows with the unit and and everyone including my lead singer commented on how good the unit sounded however the designers that engineered it must not have played live because the foot switches were way to close together and I found myself playing footsie almost all night trying into the the right sound I needed for the song. So I was still in my return window at sweet water so I exchanged it for the Kemper stage. My first impressions are that the lay out of the Kemper stage is much easier to navigate. The profiles are far more abundant with the Kemper as well as the support however I do the QC will get there but it has a way to go. I do agree the user interface is a little more robust with the QC however the Kemper does have its own sound which I find intriguing. The proof will be in the pudding when I do my next set of gigs in 2 weeks I will update with my impressions thanks

    I moved all the blocks I normally turn on/off to the lower row on the Quad Cortex. That helped a lot. I also have separate presets for each song so I often just need to hit the preset up footswitch on the far right. Looking forward to your feedback on the Stage.

    Quote from pippopluto

    Well, I think that for that kind of tones and atmospheres the Player is meant to be used with other pedals.

    A more powerful and versatile solution would be to use the Player in the loop of a small, powerful multift unit, in order to get the best of the two worlds

    :)

    I think you're bang on but I'd still like to see the Player's capabilities expanded to more of a standalone unit. But, I understand the product's positioning. I just don't want to build another board and was attracted to the Player for its small footprint.

    Quote from Plank Spanker

    I think you're bang on but I'd still like to see the Player's capabilities expanded to more of a standalone unit. But, I understand the product's positioning. I just don't want to build another board and was attracted to the Player for its small footprint.

    Yeah, but I mean... look at Gilmour's pedalboard... plus racks :D

    Still chasing a worthy one :/

    Quote from Rivsrul

    however the designers that engineered it must not have played live because the foot switches were way to close together and I found myself playing footsie almost all night trying into the the right sound I needed for the song. So I was still in my return window at sweet water so I exchanged it for the Kemper stage. My first impressions are that the lay out of the Kemper stage is much easier to navigate.

    ^^THIS^^

    I've been dying to try a QC and have read how close the footswitches were a few times.... This helped me decide not to get a QC as a 2nd, or even to try to replace my Kemper Stage (only out of curiosity). I usually wear some kind of "hiking boot" style of footwear when I'm playing, which tends to be bulky at the toe... I can see the QC being a problem for me.

    The Kemper Stage, Rack and Toaster (with FC), are definitely in a different league of a gig rig than either the Kemper Player or the QC (or any floor processor having few buttons, or buttons placed close together).

    I find that the Kemper Rack with FC is the height of gigging bliss. All the power you could ever ask for and a single cable that powers and connects the FC to the Kemper Rack to keep the cable clutter out from your feet.

    I was baffled by the QC introduction. Surely they handed this thing out to beta testers that actually GIG for a living? A little simple competitive analysis should also have warned them that there really is a minimum distance between foot switches needed for ergonomics when gigging. A shame really. It is a really nice unit in most other regards.

    Quote from OneEng1

    I find that the Kemper Rack with FC is the height of gigging bliss. All the power you could ever ask for and a single cable that powers and connects the FC to the Kemper Rack to keep the cable clutter out from your feet.

    That’s definitely my view too. i don’t like having any more cables at the front of stage than absolutely necessary. I can (sort of) see why some people like the stage but I still struggle to see an advantage over a head/rack and remote. Maybe I’m just a weirdo thpigh 🤣

    Quote from OneEng1

    I was baffled by the QC introduction. Surely they handed this thing out to beta testers that actually GIG for a living? A little simple competitive analysis should also have warned them that there really is a minimum distance between foot switches needed for ergonomics when gigging. A shame really. It is a really nice unit in most other regards.

    Nobody gigs for a living anymore 🤦‍♂️ Those days are long gone. Its all about YouTube/Instagram/TickTock views and advertising revenue now. I’m pretty sure they beta tested with a lot of “influencers” so live use never really raised its ugly head. The market for people playing at home is probably exponentially greater than the market for people actually gigging so their decision is that baffling to me. Although the QC wouldn’t work for me, and I don’t personally like the Neural plugins that I’ve tried, I can see how they could have arrived at their design decisions.

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    Nobody gigs for a living anymore 🤦‍♂️ Those days are long gone. Its all about YouTube/Instagram/TickTock views and advertising revenue now. I’m pretty sure they beta tested with a lot of “influencers” so live use never really raised its ugly head. The market for people playing at home is probably exponentially greater than the market for people actually gigging so their decision is that baffling to me. Although the QC wouldn’t work for me, and I don’t personally like the Neural plugins that I’ve tried, I can see how they could have arrived at their design decisions.

    I won't criticize this unit cause i've never tried it.... And don't know if i could not get used to this tiny box !?

    But it's interesting to say that it's done for geeks or Utubers.... The first thing i do when a new unit is announced is to jump on Utube to watch vids about it (them). And the least i can say, is that a lot of ones are not made in the appropriate case the hardwares were done for. To be fair, i've watched Profiler Stage's first Vids made by many different Utubers and a lot of them are made with the Stage elevated from the ground on a desk or on a stand....And switches are pushed by fingers :) ;)

    I assume with its touchscreen and its turning parameters buttons/switches, QC's tests are the same....

    Many poeple like QC form factor to put it down on their desks....

    As always, you have to find the unit that suits best for you following your needs, and sometimes it's hard to X/ ;(

    I've reached my goal with Kemper Stage <3

    Exactly. I totally agree with this.

    I don’t think any of the digital solutions sound bad. In fact I believe there is so little to choose between them from a sound perspective that sound quality of the basic amp and cab is no longer a distinguishing factor for choosing one device over another. I could be perfectly happy with any of the main devices if I put in enough effort to learn their capabilities. I didn’t like the Neural plugins personally but I am pretty sure that if loaded some different IRs I could have gotten something I was really happy with.

    The point is that the workflow design and form factor are really the biggest differences between all the competing devices. Although I have no way of knowing for sure, I would be shocked if Neural didn’t FULLY understand their target market and designed the unit more for use in a studio on a desk but to look like something you could gig if you wanted. And if I wanted a desktop unit to double as my ultimate guitar rig and the only interface I used then I think the QC would need to be very close to the top of my shortlist.

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    Nobody gigs for a living anymore 🤦‍♂️ Those days are long gone. Its all about YouTube/Instagram/TickTock views and advertising revenue now.

    i know this is a bit off topic, but curious as to the basis of that statement. To whom do you refer to?

    Yes, i agree, there are far more home/bedroom players than gigging musicians. After all, thats how we all started and 99% of us started playing because we enjoy it not as the path to our main income.

    Quote from slateboy

    i know this is a bit off topic, but curious as to the basis of that statement. To whom do you refer to?

    Yes, i agree, there are far more home/bedroom players than gigging musicians. After all, thats how we all started and 99% of us started playing because we enjoy it not as the path to our main income.

    There are still plenty of people that still make a living gigging and studio for hire who do not bother with social media stuff. Not as much as the decades prior, but still plenty.

    Quote from slateboy

    i know this is a bit off topic, but curious as to the basis of that statement. To whom do you refer to?

    Yes, i agree, there are far more home/bedroom players than gigging musicians. After all, thats how we all started and 99% of us started playing because we enjoy it not as the path to our main income.

    It was intended as tongue in cheek not a statement of fact.

    The point is simply that the number of gigs available (at least here in the UK) is constantly dwindling. Most of the pubs that still have live music are still paying the same amount per gig as they were in the 1980's. That part isn't a tongue in cheek joke unfortunately. In Scotland pub gigs are paying around £300 - £500 for a full band, with all their own gear including PA, doing a couple of hours with a break. Of course there are more professional gigs and corporate work the competition for them is high. The days of the weekend warrior pub circuit which a huge number of semi pro players used work regularly or cut their teeth on before moving unto a higher level is dead and buried over here unfortunately. Live music venues are closing almost weekly. Even some great venues that have been going for decades have been closing over the last 12 months. It is tempting to blame it all on COVID but the truth is the decline was already well underway for many years before that. COVID just put the final nail in the coffin.

    Therefore, if younger players want to make a living from music they need to think differently and exploit different avenues and markets. I'm not being a grumpy old man shouting at clouds and ranting about how good things were in the old days but everything sucks now. Far from it actually. I believe there is hope for good younger players (and even old farts from my generation) but the opportunities are simply different. Trying to make a living/career playing live music venues (other than weddings and corporate functions) isn't worth the effort now and won't be in future unless the world changes significantly.

    That is only what I am seeing here in Scotland and hearing from other parts of the UK. The situation may be very different in other countries though.