Kemper Player vs Quad Cortex

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    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.

    This is basically the situation in the US as well.

    Quote from Wheresthedug

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

    ah, yeh, sorry if i misunderstood. I am a grumpy old sod who has seen the UK gig scene change over the last 30 years, so i'm with you on that.

    Kind of pleased i'm not a teenager starting out now. I dont know if its me getting old or what but i think many of the young lack the passion and commitment (or too many distractions, social expectations) or want instant results.

    Saying that, i've met some great young musicians and with determination they can apply themselves and wish them the all the success they deserve but they are up against many more hurdles than i was back in the day.

    sorry if we've gone off topic

    Quote from Plank Spanker

    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.

    That's interesting because I had exactly the same experience. And it happens again and again. I've been using the Quad Cortex again for several weeks now and yesterday I used the Kemper Player . I had that amp feeling again. It's not that it's not there with the Quad Cortex. You only notice it when you switch. It's hard to describe. In any case, the Kemper works better for me live.

    • New

    For what it is worth - I have a toaster and the QC. The other day, I had a fly gig and bringing the toaster was not an option but the QC and a volume pedal fit in the suitcase just fine. It sounded really good on stage and through the PA, I got the patch changes done ok with a few inevitable misses due to the close switches, dark stage and wild audience.

    I really like my toaster and had it for ten years or so but rarely use it these days because it is sitting next to a lot of other gear in the studio and it rarely is the most convenient solution … first world problems I guess.

    The entire workflow of the QC gives me the impression that it was not designed by working musicians. I much prefer the Helix ecosystem in that respect and I also think the Kemper UI is fine - no idea why they get so much backlash for the UI. It is only when deep diving into menus that the Kemper becomes a bit clumsy after all the million updates. But normally that is not necessary and the infinity decoders of the Kemper are genius,

    Capturing on the QC is reasonably fast and easy. I am not loving the effects too much and I much prefer Kemper as a company over Neural DSP. If there was a similarly powerful unit by Kemper with a comparable footprint I would probably go with it over the QC. The player seems a bit too limited to fill that spot. It seems to me to need more additional gear to get a fully functional which then negates the form factor to some extent. Maybe there is some space for a middle ground? A unit with screen, size similar to the QC but full functionality in terms of signal chain and effects.

    • New
    Quote from Frank67

    I am not loving the effects too much

    When I borrowed a friend's QC, that was my impression as well. The effects are there....and that's about all the good I can say.

    I found adding them to signal chains gave things a 'fake' sort of sound. Hard to describe, but I didn't like it. The form factor (touchscreen, rotary encoders/footswitch combo) is inspired - but the workflow was clumsy.

    What really irked me was the amp controls were extremely basic. I'm spoiled by the Definition and Clarity controls.

    • New
    Quote from Frank67

    For what it is worth - I have a toaster and the QC. The other day, I had a fly gig and bringing the toaster was not an option but the QC and a volume pedal fit in the suitcase just fine. It sounded really good on stage and through the PA, I got the patch changes done ok with a few inevitable misses due to the close switches, dark stage and wild audience.

    I really like my toaster and had it for ten years or so but rarely use it these days because it is sitting next to a lot of other gear in the studio and it rarely is the most convenient solution … first world problems I guess.

    The entire workflow of the QC gives me the impression that it was not designed by working musicians. I much prefer the Helix ecosystem in that respect and I also think the Kemper UI is fine - no idea why they get so much backlash for the UI. It is only when deep diving into menus that the Kemper becomes a bit clumsy after all the million updates. But normally that is not necessary and the infinity decoders of the Kemper are genius,

    Capturing on the QC is reasonably fast and easy. I am not loving the effects too much and I much prefer Kemper as a company over Neural DSP. If there was a similarly powerful unit by Kemper with a comparable footprint I would probably go with it over the QC. The player seems a bit too limited to fill that spot. It seems to me to need more additional gear to get a fully functional which then negates the form factor to some extent. Maybe there is some space for a middle ground? A unit with screen, size similar to the QC but full functionality in terms of signal chain and effects.

    I love my Powered Toaster but I actually find the Player is ideal for 90%of what I need. I rarely use many (if any) effects so a good basic 2 chanel amp with a boost and a delay and I can do almost anything I need. A few more footswitches wouldn’t go a miss and a built in poer amp would be cool but not a deal breaker.

    • New
    Quote from Frank67

    If there was a similarly powerful unit by Kemper with a comparable footprint I would probably go with it over the QC. The player seems a bit too limited to fill that spot. It seems to me to need more additional gear to get a fully functional which then negates the form factor to some extent. Maybe there is some space for a middle ground? A unit with screen, size similar to the QC but full functionality in terms of signal chain and effects.

    IMO, it ain't gonna happen soon.... I think the next step will be to unlock features on the Player. It will be much more easy than designing a new hardware and it seems not to be Kemper's philosophy to launch/have a wide range of products.

    • New

    I have been gigging a Kemper Stage for a few years now. Recently, I tried the Quad Cortex to see what else is out there. The UI is better in some ways, not better in others. The amp tones were really nice. The effects were average compared to Kemper.

    Ultimately, I returned the unit because as I would add gain, I would get this awful hum which is a known issue I guess. I also missed morphing and the general setup of performance mode. And the tweaking options are not on par with Kemper. Yes, you can capture pedals (which Kemper should think about) and there are some dual amp things, but I honestly never think about dual amps. Just get the amp you want and use a studio EQ block for the rest (IMO).

    What I would love from Kemper is the ability to drop my laptop and use my iPhone or iPad for all of Rig Manager. My iPhone has USB-C now, so I feel like we should be able to manage rigs, presets, etc. with a mobile app. Right now, I use my laptop for transferring rigs and just ease of use.

    • New
    Quote from Wheresthedug

    I love my Powered Toaster but I actually find the Player is ideal for 90%of what I need. I rarely use many (if any) effects so a good basic 2 chanel amp with a boost and a delay and I can do almost anything I need. A few more footswitches wouldn’t go a miss and a built in poer amp would be cool but not a deal breaker.

    Same, I tried adding the kemper dual switch but then I had no expression pedal input and then bought a wah. Then saw the Paint Audio midi pedal and thats pretty good and solves the problems.

    I miss the bigger display just for orientation reasons but otherwise its great!