Kemper Player - What Works & What Doesn't (Review)
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- Опубліковано 23 січ 2024
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Hi, my name is James. I am a full time filmmaker and founder of the Content Creation agency severnwave.com as well as the founder/songwriter of my musical baby "Kill Deluxe". Aside from filmmaking, music and guitar is also a huge passion of mine. Chilled Guitar Reviews is my creative outlet to engage with other like minded people through feature videos, livestreams, original music performances and tutorials. I am always grateful for any and all engagement/viewership and am committed to uploading new videos regularly. Take care of yourselves and I'll see you soon!
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Kit Used:
Legator N7X w/ Seymour Duncan Retribution Pickups
Kemper Profiler Player
Kemper Rack
Zilla 2x12
Headrush FRFR112
Focusrite Scarlett 4i4
Reaper DAW
@kemperampsofficial @Legatorguitarsofficial @seymourduncan
#kemperamps #kemper #guitar #kemperprofiler #music #guitarplayer #guitarist #metal #rock #guitarsolo #fender #espguitars #musician #gibson #prsguitars #ibanez #riffwars #metalmusic #elixirstrings #guitarporn #guitaristsofinstagram #livemusic #telecaster #ibanezguitars #heavymetal #guitarra #kemperprofilingamp #youtube #rocknroll #bass
Great video- very thorough and informative. Nice that you covered the pros and cons in depth in an unbiased review.
Very useful for anyone considering buying this as you tell us many items not covered by other reviews. Thanks!
Many thanks mate and thanks for watching!
Another great, balanced review, Jim. Sounds are pretty spot on, but no screen and rubbish effects selection is a noodle scratcher.
Cant wait for your next vid, mate
Thanks so much mate always grateful for your support. Loved the sounds out of this thing just wish the functionality wasnt so limited...
I got one also. I'm really happy with mine. I plug it into my PC and plug headphones in the kemper so I'm not annoying my wife. Its perfect for me for fucking around in the house without having to buy loads of pedals. I know it will updated in the future. If you dive a little deeper in the rigs people have uploaded there is some mad shit and mad effects to mess around with. You review was very fair for people like yourself who are WAAAY more into gear than a casual scrub like myself its not the product for you. For the likes of myself who want something small and minimal its pretty much all I need for messing around at home.
So kemper is my favorite amp and modeler but I dont wanna spend the cash on the big boy. I’m just starting the Video and I’m curious… let’s say I want to buy one of the top jimi amp packs, does this take the same patches as the full size?
Alright so from what I’m understanding, all profiles will work, it just can’t profile which is fine. But I just wanna confirm before I buy lol.
Yep all Kemper amp profiles work on this thing just not all the effects.
There is talk going around, it could be a pay for play situation by Kemper. Will Kemper unlock it and for how much money? There is plenty of dsp chip power on board…question is, is this true and what will it cost? I am hoping there is a new mini Quad Cortex coming “Soon” with a Mini screen, Effects loop, plenty of dsp. If same price, or even cheaper than the Kemper Player, I think many will opt for QC Mini Player…
The HX stomp has far more in it: a screen, effects loop, more blocks. Kemper sounds better, and opens you up to thousands of profiles. Yup agreed , it’s too little for the money, and very late, maybe too late. And Here comes the NDSP Mini Quad Cortex….if that is a reality, at HX Stomp price or cheaper, that is the way to go…
Great video! It really answered a lot of my questions as I am seeking to get one. I am not a very fancy type of player when it comes to effects so I guess that would be ok for someone like me. I actually have the small Headrush (MX5). How do you think this compares to the Hearush for heavy rock/metal-ish tones? Am I better off with the MX5 maybe?
MX5 is great, but I think it's safe to say the sounds on the Kemper are of higher quality. Also, MX5 has nearly twice the latency, which reduces it's amp like feel imo.
What’s your openion and thoughts on the Kemper player and Fractal audio FM3 ????
Does kemper sound and feel better than the Fractal for you etc!!!!!!
Please do make review on them aswell 🙏🏻
Is it possible to buy extra effect packages?
Hi great video! Can you profile your own amp with player as you can with the classic Kemper? Thanks
Thank you! Nope this unit cannot create profiles only use existing ones.
Hmm I‘m very interested in this unit, but never be a early adopter, I‘ll wait a bit what they will bring in the next updates, time will tell if there will be more effects without charge and what I don‘t understand …. why the app didn‘t work via Bluetooth? Wifi makes only sense if it would be possible to load complete Rigs from the internet.
Thanks for your honesty , I always thought Kempers sounded great , by the time i decided I would get a unit that has amp modeling I ended up with a Headrush pedalboard not the Prime their latest , I would have rather bought that one retrospectively but didn't see it coming as usual with technology, or didn't want to look ahead because of enthusiasm the prices of Headrush products are very good ,Probably would have bought a kemper otherwise also over fractal, line 6 and Quad cortex. I just recently picked up a Tonex pedal and even more recently a Tonex one, whats your outlook on those 2 By IK media ? ( I did also pick up an "Axe IO one" Ik media's bottom line interface with an amp out for a load to be able to model amps) for $100 needed a loose interface floatinfg around for my laptop anyways. got the others on sale as well. so Tonex ? have you tried ?
James, are the stock profiles the new "liquid" ones? Or can you just utilise that feature on existing profiles?
How much more do you prefer the amp sounds to the Headrush/helix, etc.?
The Liquid profiles are available on this unit yes. The stock presets I tried were a mix. In terms of Amp modelling I would rate Kemper and Quad Cortex as the best I've tried, with Headrush a close second and Helix in last place 👍👍
@@ChilledGuitarReviews thanks Jimmy. I know you didn't necessarily recommend the player, but as I don't have a Kemper, I'm using it as a way in at a reasonable cost. I understand that while according to null tests it's perhaps not the most accurate, people talk of a specific feel of the Kemper that's preferable to other solutions. Add to that liquid profiling which appears to address the limitations of static profiling, and I just couldn't say no.
Looking forward to your Quad vid mate
I would like to see a 1 or 2 U rack version of this with 8fx blocks and performance mode. I fully agree with you with the lack of editing the signal path.
I use a Kemper and always use more than 4 fx blocks. Therefore the player is useless for me. Also live I use the performance mode.
Same here, for all my guitar reviews I use Performances too. Another omission....
Currently - which one has better amp modeling in your opinion - qc or. kemper? Btw love your channel and look forward to future videos!
Tough question mate as Kemper has no actual stock amp "Models" it's all just profiles of real amps, so your sound is completely dependent on the quality of the Profile you are playing with Kemper. QC has decent built in amp models as well as Profiles (Captures) so it's probably easier to get up and running with it for that reason. I still think that a GOOD Kemper Profile dialled in well sounds as good as anything you can stack in up against even newer bits of kit like the QC. It's everywhere else like UI and software that it shows its age. Thanks so much for watching my friend lots more videos currently in production!
Great video ! I agree on every point you make.
Thanks man! Is that an Ibanez Dino Cazares I see on your channel? 😲
@@ChilledGuitarReviews exactly. Then customized with an Evertune bridge.
@@pj666kemperprofiles No way. They are incredibly rare due to the FF lawsuit Ibanez got caught up in. How did you find one! And do you want to sell it 🤣
@ChilledGuitarReviews I have got one with an endorsement with Ibanez France. I won't sell it but a good friend has got two of them, I can ask him.
Super helpful video. I was about to buy one to save mysef an effort of taking rack from the studio to the rehersals, but if I can't have my sounds on it due ot the FX limitation that thing is completely pointles to me. But hey, at least I will stay fit 😆
This reminds me of the HX FX one, but I honestly see no point in something like that but this reminds me of something like the black star amped series. I could see a use case for this if I wasn’t spoiled by the headrush MX5 and the line 6 stuff (currently saving up for a full blown helix floor).
Keep up the good work!
I've seen Helix Floors going for really good money used lately!
Hello James, thank you for that great review. Maybe you cann help me further with my Questions about the unit. I am thinking of buying the Kemper Player for some live shows with my band. In my mind it is a handy solution. What do you think about it? We are playing metal and I love my Engl Amps, but it is very heavy and I only need a 1) Fat Metallica like Rhythme Tone, 2) A lead tone and a 3) Clean tone. Do you think I can archiv that? And the other question is, can I go straight in an Guitar Cabinet with the Kemper, or do I need a pre amp for this? Thanks in advance. Have a great Friday, my friend 🙂
It could probably do the job of those 3 tones quite well! To run this straight into a Speaker cabinet however you will need a Power Amp and you'll want to disable the built in Cabinet SIM/IR On the kemper. A nice budget pedal power amp I have used for rehearsals is the Harley Benton GPA100. Check it out! Thanks for watching 🤘🤘
@@ChilledGuitarReviews Thank you very much for your help and your response. I really appreciate your answer! I will test the GPA 100. Thank you again. I subscribed. You are awesome! Thanks bro!
@@JohnnyBargeldBoom thank you my friend!
It''s crazy how much more you can get from a Headrush for a little more money, especially as the Kemper is app/pc reliant to get the most out of it. It wouldn't surprise me if you see some deep price reductions or a Mkii in the near future to make it more competitive!
Great review as always and looking forward to the next one :D
I just want the Kemper sound with the Headrush touchscreen UI 🙏
Thanks for watching as always my friend!
Had the KPP for 2 weeks now.
Took awhile to get the phone app working but it sure helps.
The unit sounds more like a guitar amp than my Tonex pedal and the Tonex only has reverb.
I also own the Headrush MX-5 and don't agree with your comparison.
The Headrush modeled amps aren't even close to the Kemper.
Haven't used the Headrush since I got the Tonex.
No regrets with my purchase, although I hope they make more f/x available in future updates.
I agree the Kemper amp modelling is superior to Headrush, it's just everything else that isnt lol.
@@ChilledGuitarReviews Doesn't superior amp modeling justify the higher price? While I agree the Kemper is too expensive, suggesting that the HX Stomp is superior mainly because of its editing features seems a bit comical, especially when the HX Stomp's sound quality falls short in comparison.
@@gazzyb85 Fair question. The thing is whilst I do think the KP amp modelling is superior, the difference is like 5-10% MAX in my opinion. If the gulf in quality of sound was vast and easily audible I'd agree with you. But the very best amp models on Headrush really are not that far away from the Kemper. It's a subtle difference that I'm willing to bet a lot of people won't even be able to hear.
I got my KPP this week, still tring figure out some features :), I also have mx-5 and a Kemper Toaster, I remember when I first bout it I told to my self "If I woudl have ever designed a prossesor, I would design this". MX5 is answering all my needs, but i really missing my toaster sound, I am still using it at home but it is too much effort to carry a toaster (and a behringer fcb 1010 ) to studio for rehersal. I was thinking to sell mx5 after I get KPP, I even bought a expression pedal, but now I have controversial toughts, yes sound is amazing, but there are lots of fx missing as James told in the video. Also only 4 fx channel is a bit frustrating. Now I am planning to use KPP in the FX loop of mx5, so I will use FXs of mx5 and sound of KPP :D. But I really have high hopes for KPP. It is obvious that there will be lots of updates (some of them will be paid unfortunately). This is my personal specilation but they released it a bit early for NAMM and maybe for a new year sale. Even Combo Swith feature is locked now (1 + 2 and 2 +3 switches). So I am keeping my mx5 for a while now
I'm right here with you, the price seems really high for the lack of effects and low number of concurrent effects. I guess the intent would be to use your own pedals, but at that point why not just make double the investment to get Helix, Fractal FM-3 or a used Quad Cortex?
Or just £100 more for a Headrush Core that makes this thing look like your old school calculator 😂
Another solid, unbiased review. I wouldn't buy one unless it was at a deep discount.
I'm expecting a price drop in the next 18 months. Though having said that all the other Kemper products hold their money extremely well..
Just got mine yesterday since I own a bunch of profiles. The profiles sound glorious through the Kemper Player, however the limitations are obvious regarding the number of effects available and the number of fx blocks available. For example, I would like to be able to reorder the signal chain and have 1 fx block pre tonestack and 3 post stack (chorus, delay, reverb). Or even better give us at least one or two more fx blocks. If this limitation is due to DSP, then why didn’t they think about including an effects loop, if their intention is for users to use this on a pedalboard. I will test the unit a few more days and keep or return it.
Yeah the no effects loop is mind boggling. Especially with the limited effects they neutered it with. I personally would have liked a slightly bigger unit with a screen and fx loop, and same effects pool as the stage and profiler. (Like a mini stage) kemper are you listening?!
Would this make sense to buy to supplement a hx stomp? I'm returning a tonex pedal (pain in the arse to deal with) and was looking for another pedal to take care of amp sounds, while the hx does the f/x.
Thanks
The actual core Amp modelling is superb so could do the job I think!
Be aware that using two digital devices will introduce extra latency. That's one reason I favour the all in one approach. Hopefully Kemper adds a few more effects to this as it'll make it the perfect solution imo.
Hopefully fractal come out with something like this but it'll be even more expensive than this, looking for something smaller than the fm-3 with the same functionality
The FM3 is surprisingly big!
Great video, I am between going for Kemper Player and Headrush Core... I totally agree with your impressions about Player, the same blocks would be a safe purchase for me, even without a screen, the Kemper clone is undoubtedly one of the better and with a huge number of profiles! It would be interesting to compare it with HR Core, for now it would be interesting to see some movement from Neural if they release a trimmed QC unit between $650 and $750 it would be very interesting, greetings!
Thanks man! Ive just had a Neural DSP Quad Cortex land with me and will be doing a comparison to the HR Core so keep your eyes peeled!
Can you run one out without the cab going to a real cab onstage and another out with an IR going to FOH at the same time?
You can configure the Outputs to do one or the other but I'm not totally sure if you can have both at the same time. You can on the full size Kemper but unfortunately I no longer have the Player to confirm.
@@ChilledGuitarReviews thanks for the answer. Yeah I read that you can do one or the other but I haven’t been able to find the info on “splitting” the signal to have one out with the cab sim and one without.
By far the best review of this product, I have a stage and after watching I see no reason to get this lil guy in it’s present state but still seems pretty cool
Thanks man! The Stage is a fantastic product and actually my pick of the current Kemper range.
There is no need for fancy touchscreens and hi res signal chain graphics. The Kemper is like the Battlestar Galactica. An old bucket, but still awesome.
Perhaps not. It definitely needs updating to some degree though. I believe they could find a way to do that whilst maintaining the tank like build!
What is your guitar please? Lovely video btw
Thanks man it's a Legator N7FX in Ruby finish fitted with Seymour Duncan Retribution pickups 🤘
Nice review, really appreciate your honest opinion, its not worth its price at all, at similar price we can get hotone ii stage , just waiting for you to review it, 👍 good job
Thank you my friend I've been asked a lot to try a Hottone product I will review one soon!
This product has it’s place in the market but with its limited functionality and usability it’s overpriced. Great video once again and we appreciate your honesty here, too easy to song the praises of a product that you have knocked out a lot of money for, I think there’s name for this ha ha, peace man!
Confirmation Bias? 😂
@@ChilledGuitarReviews that’s the one ha ha
Talking about the lack of a screen on this unit… the Fractal axe Fx3 and the FM9 screens are useless, unless you have a laptop it’s nearly impossible to use that screen to work on your settings, specially on live situations, it’s a nightmare
Fair point. I still think even a small screen will help with basic stuff though like seeing what patch you're on at a glance, fine tuning etc. The Remote foot switch I have for my Rack Profiler has the perfect screen as an example.
@@ChilledGuitarReviewsCan you plug the Kemper remote foot switch into the Kemper Player?
@@giovanigiorgos2955 Nope! Doesn't have an input for it.
Well that kina sucks@@ChilledGuitarReviews
You gotta remember buying two or three effect pedals will be the same or more money than this product you won’t have the amps you won’t have all the other features it has it is also upgradable so I think the price tag is justified I have the Kemper toaster I have the Kemper stage. I also have the Kemper Player and I have the fractal FM 9 and the FM 3 so I am quite familiar. What all these products will do I like them all for different reasons I am in a touring band so I have them all for different situations that I come up with
Damn, nice gear collection!
Yes but the point is this won’t take the place of 3 pedals with the neutered effects lineup. I would have to go get my own delay, reverb, and distortion pedal to add on.
So it’s essentially an overpriced “amp sim” pedal
Yes, there are some trade-offs ,when I’m playing local I use my amps and pedals but when I fly, I have to keep my rig as small as possible as the airlines charge a great deal of money to bring more gear, I first tried Amp rentals in the towns I was playing, but the amps I got were all over the place some good some crap
I have one, not impressed v my real amps, are you runing straight into PC out to the Yamaha's?
Have you miked up your amp in a isolated room and then listened to it through studio monitors?
Or have you plugged the Kemper into a Poweramp into a speaker cabinet and listened to it?
Those are the only two real ways to do a real amp vs Kemper test.
great review. thank you for steering me away from an expensive archaic limited model. i hate when guys just tell you its the greatest thing since sliced bread since they got a free one sent to them.
Every video I've watched on this talks about how great it sounds and just demos a bunch of tones. I feel like it sounding good is almost a given since Kemper are the industry standard for amp profiling. It's the rest of the package that's disappointing IMO. I just want the full suite of Kemper sounds in a Headrush Core type form factor/UI
This would be a great option for current kemper users to make dual rig setups without dishing out all the cash on another kemper.
Stereo 5150 setup? 👀
Personally I think its much better to go the samsamp route. Much, much more tube response like and true analog and it sounds that way. Its a more modular and budget friendly approach where you can add in whatever high or low cost REAL effects you want and the sansamps themselves are not expensive at all when compaired to a Kemper or even a real amp. With a sansamp you can do neat things like integrate Two Notes Opus speaker emulation into your rig which is far superior to Kemper.
I feel this is a misleading review, you show the Player's reverb selection which suggest there are only 3, because you didn't go one further level down in the reverb selection menu. I count 22 different reverbs. Same with the Delays, your video suggests there are only 3 delays, in fact there are 24 different delays.
After some FX updates including Ambient Reverb Delays, and the dual switch update, possibly Performance mode and Morphing updates, I'll have five switches and pretty much what I have on my Kemper Head and Remote.
So for new Kemper users who haven't previously owned a Kemper, the Player is a bargain. IMO.
A lot of current owners of the bigger Kempers seem to be adopting a snobbish attitude towards the PLAYER...which is understandable psychology 101. 🙂👍
Fair enough.
Something worth keeping in mind is that these players were primarily targeted towards pedalboard guys like me. People who have been using a full kemper toaster with pedals into it. I agree, the feature set isn't great, and something like the hx stomp looks way better on paper. But, line 6 stuff is not even close to things like kemper, fractal, and QC tonally.
I fully acknowledge I'm not much of a Pedalboard guy so perhaps I come at it more from that angle. I did enjoy building my all in one Rack unit but a pedalboard seems like a massive headache lol
It's just too little too late
A little too wrong, and I can't wait
But you know all the right things to say
You know it's just too little too late
If it was $500 even I would get one, and I have a Fractal FM3.
Definitely wont be surprised if we get a significant price drop in the next 18 months..
Appreciate the review dude....this will be a huge flop for Kemper...for the price HX stomp will completely annihilate this...for chump change more the headrush will slay it even harder. And no screen??? 😅😅😅....Kemper has good 👍🏻 drugs at the office now lol 🤣...now I will say though if n when Kemper actually does some homework n release a new touch screen 24 plus block signal chain unit...we will probably buy it...Kemper can be amazing just in ts too dated to buy now ...have a blessed day dude 😎👊
I just want Headrushes UI with Kempers sounds please 🤣
WAY too many negatives for me and TONEX with no effects to speak of not doing it for me either so I'll stick with my Fractal gear.
The thing about TONEX though is it's at a VERY reasonable price, barely half what this costs, so the shortcomings are easier to forgive.
@@ChilledGuitarReviews Only if you already have external pedals and a pedal board. I priced TONEX, pedalboard and 5 pedals which was 2100 bucks. Most good pedals are 300.00 each so with that not such a good deal.
@@r.llynch4124 Don't get me started on the ludicrous amounts people pay for Guitar Pedals 😂. Maybe I should do a video on it for the rage bait value ..
Agree with your conclusion. Overpriced, neutered effects, and no screen to tell me what performance I’m on is a big no for me. I have a stage but it’s just a bit too large for me as I’d like to put it on a small pedalboard with an extra overdrive or distortion. Thinking of looking into the headrush. That looks dope.
The Player is supposed to be a pedalboard “AMP”. Add as many stomp boxes to it as you want. Anyone believing it was going to be anything more, is seriously disillusioned. Add an iPad (which most people already have) and you have a bigger screen than the competition. If you use Liquid Profiles, the app is unnecessary, you use the profile as you would any amp and the controls are all on the unit. Yes, they have included some general effects, but it’s less than half the price one can’t complain.
ToneX is the only other option, but one sacrifices quality.
Just seems expensive if that's the case. Either make it cheaper or keep the price and give us the same number of effects blocks as a full Kemper so all our rigs can carry over. Kemper even mentioned in an interview recently that the Player can technically handle the same number of effects blocks.
@@ChilledGuitarReviews yes, I am quite sure they built a fair amount of leeway into the Player. But I wouldn’t change anything (price or offering), if you want the quality, you have to pay for it. And changes, to bring it closer to the full versions, should be paid for.
I find it strange how people bought the Player, knowing exactly what they were getting, and now complain. It was common knowledge by release date, and their website was very detailed and transparent on the product. It’s like buying a Toyota, but thought you were getting a BMW, I mean come on!
@ougall9973 I'd take a Toyota over a BMW any day but that's just me😂
@@ChilledGuitarReviews you’re cheap 😂
@@jimmcdougall9973 Owned many BMW's, Jags, Range Rovers, Audis.... I worked in the motor trade for many years in my old life so have seen behind the curtain of it all. Currently drive a Lexus (fancy Toyota) which puts them all to shame in every regard.
Damn it sounds so digital. And that's no compliment.
I'm sure you could get a sound out of it you like from the tens of thousands of profiles available though!
@@ChilledGuitarReviewsI guess so but I already have nearly every Strymon pedal!
@@RPSartre01 You probably have everything you need already then 😂😂
Be good without the hideous noodling
God forbid I actually demo the product I'm reviewing.
EAD, Steve.
@@WholeLottaBulldog whatever that means