Maybe I should start using the Performance mode too...
How do you guys set up your performances? 1 amp in 5 iterations (like clean, crunch, rythm, solo)? Or do you mix different amps in the same performance? Obviouls, the possibilities are endless, but I was just wondering how you guys use the performance mode. I think I'd rather do 1 performance for 1 amp. I dunno, maybe to have some consistency sound wise through a song?
Guitarists are a bit weird. They always want "purity / authenticity". Like "Man, don't touch the EQ on the Kemper by more than 1 point, because it's totally not going to sound like the original anymore". This compulsive behavior / mindest can go much further in the whole signal chain, from pick to speaker. I have to admit that I also think like that from time to time. But tbh, I learned to listen with my ears. Trying out profiles in a mix or live setting also taught me a lot. I had to learn to accept that I need to increase treble and presence for pretty much all profiles by a bit less than 2 points. I had a hard time with that in the beginning. I was asking myself if something was wrong with the Kemper or my guitar, because the demos sounded awesome. I mainly play the neck pickup on my Strat, which probably explains why I need the additionnal top end. In the end, I just accepted it and it actually sounds the way it's supposed to: adding treble and presence sounds like adding treble and presence on an amp (suprise!).
We are a conservative bunch, but at the same time people open up to new technologies. Very interesting tension going on here 
I'm not sure if they want to go down that road... I don't know if a "Kemper Player Plugin" (like a plugin able to load Profiles) is being considered by Mr Kemper. No idea if this is easily transferable to a Mac/PC CPU architecture.
My personal belief is that Mr Kemper is more of an integrated system guy. A bit like Apple in the sense of "if you want to write great software, you need to build your own hardware". Personally, I'd be surprised if they'd go down the software road. But this is just a personal opinion though and I could be terribly wrong.
I think that running 2 profiles at once, more complex routing possibilities and other features will eventually appear in a 2nd hardware iteration. But I doubt that this will happen anytime soon. With the Stages selling very good, one can only hope that their R&D budget will increase
That statement actually made me think for a minute. Now with the editor almost done it opens up doors to do things that are not possible on the Kemper alone. The editor would allow them to use computer processing power in order to create 'blended amps'. It could be a function of the editor only, much like loading IRs. I think I am more excited to see what creativity this unit sparks in Kemper then what the QC will actually do.
I don't believe that to be the case as the computer processing power doesn't do anything. Via the editor, the computer simply acts as a remote for the Kemper. The actual processing happens entirely on the Kemper. You already can load ir's on a kemper (it actually ships with a selection of celestion ir's). The editor is just a remote that facilitates a lot of functions by displaying everything on one screen.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong?
I've been using the betas for some time now without any big issues (I only use Browse mode though).
Just a tiny question (which probably has already been answered, sorry for that): are we going to get preview mode by just using the keyboard arrows? I really liked this feature and double clicking the profiles for preview is a bit painful. I tried to hit "Return" but that didn't do the trick. I'm on Mojave btw.
I wouldn't start messing up the Headrush. Just sell it if you like the cabinet.
I read several times now that the Camplifier Studio has enough power to drive the Kabinet for Home use or even small gigs. But don't expect to level a loud drummer.
I'm going to wait for the powered Kabinet, which has been confirmed by CK. If it's too expensive, I'm going to go Camplifier + passive Kabinet. But to be honest, I'll probably pay the markup. I prefer an integrated system.
As a headphone player looking for a way to amplify my Kemper, this certainly raises some more questions. I'm looking into highend FRFR (like the german company Blueamps), studio monitors (don't like my HS80's, more something like Genelec's) and now the Kabinet. To be honest, my usage is pretty much only at home, meaning I don't need a power beast. That's why I'm also hesitating about the Kabinet, as a 12" speaker needs to move in order to sound good.
Ingolf what do you specifically prefer about your cabs? The fact that they move air?
I went a bit away from the Floyd profilers and focused just on several profiles that I like.
There are 2 LDW profiles that are in Michael Britt's first pack. It's a Divided by 13 amp and a mix between a marshal and a hiwatt. These are still my favorite profiles of Michael (alongside the Fender Supersonic).
breu has also a great Hiwatt in his Wisseloord pack.
Both these sets of profiles work really well for Gilmour stuff.
I recently bought a Keeley Dark Side, which I place just in front of the Kemper input with above mentioned profiles. Works great!
I just read comments on the bluguitar Facebook page. One of the employees confirmed that unit will not start selling before 2021.
Now this I'm interested in. I've had my Amp1 for a few years, but in conjunction with the Remote1 and Looper system, it became too bulky and heavy (and the gap when switching with my original Amp1 was a pain in the arse), so I use it now as a clean pedal platform mounted to my pedalboard. I'd love to be able to do away with (most of) my pedals and just carry the one unit. Any idea of a price range?
I had the mercury (with the blubox) and couldn't get a nice balance between the clean and the vintage channel. I could get amazing cleans with one or two cabinets, but I needed other cabinets for the vintage channel. That was too much fiddling for me, as I could get great sounds with the Kemper just by switching profiles on the remote.
The amp-x seems to be a nice all in one solution (if you can save specific ir's per preset). I love Thomas' no-nonsense approach. I'm very much looking forward to reviews and trying it out for myself.
As for the price point, I guess it will be in the Kemper Stage area. What I like less is the fact that additional amps / fx need to be bought seperatly. I much prefer the Kemper approach in that regard
I'm also always a bit reluctant toward floorboard units. Sure, if you have an editor, no need to put the unit on the desk. I doubt however that the amp-x will have an editor as this is all analog? On the other hand, if it can save presets, an editor should be feasable? Even without an editor, the floorboard aspect wouldn't put me off that much, as I see this unit more as setting up your 4-6 sounds and not touching it anymore.
Definitely amazing times for guitarists! There are now tube amps with integrated loads and ir's, hybrid kind of amps (bluguitar, hughes & kettner and now even Victory) and digital amps. I really hope that products continue to improve
Looks quite impressive. I recently bought the Amp1 Mercrury but even though the sounds I was getting were nice, it was too much tweaking for me. I kept it for 1 week and sold it. The fact that you can now save everything in presets really makes this different. Will definitely try it out
You gotta give it to Neural DSP though... The marketing campaign works wonders. The pre-orders are coming in massively with the first 1000-unit batch being sold out. A lot of Kemper owners, including forum users, pre-ordered. And look at how much we're talking about it!
Imho, this shows that a lot of guitarists are feature hunters. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad sense. I think that our needs are evolving and so do our expectations.
Featurewise, the quad cortex definitely is a 2020 machine. The screen (touchsensitivity, size, resolution), the editing possibilities (with the integrated wifi, desktop and smartphone editors) are ahead of the competition (especially the Kemper). The Kemper editor is nice, but could be better (Having a dozen of knobs for a graphic EQ is just weird). And the screen on the profilers and remotes are just terrible.
The Kemper looks like an early 90's machine. But boy, does it sound good...
I'd also mention the integrated audio interface, but the Kemper is pretty much the only device not having an integrated interface. Having to buy an audio interface was really painful for me at the time. However, I'm so happy with my interface now and I use it for plenty of other stuff. Also, it gives me flexibility for the future. I'm currently tempted to go Tube Amp with integrated Load + IR (like Suhr PT15, or Hook Wizard). I played with more tube amps recently and I really liked the experience Having the interface would allow me to sell the Kemper without having to buy an interface...
Regarding the cortex, I'm not buying something that I didn't listen to. Because that's the most important factor when spending 1.6k on a piece of equipment, isn't it?
On a more personal note, the workflow does seem to be more on the tweakier side. I'd probably tweak for hours to get "THE" sound I have in my head (or an even better one). Currently, I just want more simplicity and I'm not excluding going back entirely to tube amps (with the IR thing).
Let's see what time brings... Maybe the reviews are going to be amazing and I'll get one. One thing is for sure: it's exciting times for guitarists. Lots of new products and certainly more than enough tools to sound freaking amazing !!!
breu Count me in for the XTC profiles!!!! Very excited about this !!!
Btw, if you ever have the chance to profile a Wizard Modern Classic, you would have one guaranteed customer
A bit overkill in my opinion.
You can either go with studio monitors or FRFR cabinets (like the DXR10).
There are plenty of posts about studio monitors in the forum. Plenty of options for all kind of budgets... I have a pair of Yamaha HS8 and they are good. I'm thinking of switching to a pair of Genelecs though. I'd like to have smaller monitors so I can put them on my desk in the living room.
As for FRFR's, there are also a ton of options. Mission Engineering, Headrush, Yamaha DXR, Friedman, Laney, just to name a few. I don't have any experience with those, but you'll find plenty of information about them in the forum. I'm currently looking into the Blueamps Junior. It's a german dude building high end frfr's.
But honestly, event with an investment of 300 to 500 eur, you can get good results.
In:
Amps/Cabs:
Bluguitar Amp1
Bluguitar Nanocab
Out:
Amps/Cabs:
Bluguitar Nanocab
BluguitarAmp1
That's funny, as I did the same only a couple of weeks ago. Just wasn't working for me. I missed the flexibility of my Kemper too much.
Very short list for me...
IN:
OUT:
My 2019 Kemper takeaway: A couple of weeks ago I watched an "how to dial in the Kemper" video by Josh Myers. You probably know him from his profile demos for several profilers. That video was really helpful for me and allowed me to improve my sound by a lot (to my taste that is).
2020 Project:
I mostly play with headphones and I want to change that in 2020. I want to have something with a small footprint, and a nice enough design to put in my living room. The question is: studio monitors, frfr or kemper kabinet (whenever that comes out...) ?
I have Yamaha HS8's, but those are just too big for our living room. I'm tempted by the Genelec 8020. I'm also looking into the Blueamps Junior FRFR, which fits really well with what I'm looking for (and it looks great). The thing with the FRFR is that I'll pretty much only use it with the Kemper. If I go with the Genelecs, I'll be able to use it for listening to music in my living room. Budget is more or less the same.
Tough call... I'll probably need both 
When I think of buying music gear, I become a bit unreasonable. But that's OK. Life is short, so you better enjoy it.
In any case, 2019 was great and I hope 2020 will be even better. I for starters will become a 2 time dad by June, so that's gotten me all excited already
Wishing you guys all the best! I hope that you'll find gear in 2020 that makes you sound great and more importantly put a huge smile on your face when you use it!!!
I tried a couple of tube amps and I really liked the tones I was getting. However, I also immediately missed the flexibility of my Kemper. And the tones I’m getting from the green box are amazing too... I thought that I was fiddling a lot with the Kemper, but I totally forgot how much I fiddled with my tube amps. I have a mark iv and getting a good balance on all 3 channels is quite tough. And when you got it just right, you want to play a les Paul instead of a strat...
And then there’s the effects... I’m a big Floyd fan and I’d have to invest a lot in pedals. And when you have a lot of pedals, you start thinking about a looper Switcher like the gig rig (Dan from that pedal show). The total investment would be a lot more expensive than a Kemper + remote. Plus, you don’t even have a recording solution at that point. So I decided not to go down that road.
I bought a keeley dark side for fun and it really sounds great in front of the Kemper.
Running very well on Catalina. It's actually more stable than before.
Thank you so much for this!!!!
If I would have requests, they would concern the graphical interface as such (a graphic for the graph equalizer, some nice graphics for delay, etc). I'm thinking of Elektron's Overbridge in that regard.
Clearly they focus their resources on other projects. I really want to try out the Kabinet. This might be the product that makes the Kemper the perfect all in one solution. Imagine that they would have made available the same time as the Stage. They would have sold a ton of them...
I had some time to play this weekend and found some very nice profiles (again...). It also made me realise how convenient the Kemper is for my use. My kid is less than 2 years old and I generally only get to play when he's asleep. When that's the case, it wouldn't exactly be responsible parenting of mine to play a pushed tube amp. Also, using the Aux In for backing tracks and for online courses is so easy.
Basically, reality caught up with me and my GAS for tubes has to take the backseat. Before buying a tube amp, I think I'd rather upgrade my monitors. Something fancy like Genelec 8030, which I can also use for my living room (I play in front of my mac).
At some point, I guess that Kabinet will be available. That surely will be a nice solution...
It's very likely though that I'll change my mind again in 1-2 hours. I might hit the buy button on that Brunetti Singleman
