Will Kemper be dethroned?

[Pseudohobbit]

I’m curious if anyone thinks the Neural DSP Quad Core will dethrone Kemper? Any major threat to Helix or Axe-FX?

 

[stratton]

They are all threats to each other, which is good for us!

 

[Craig Erickson]

I don't think so. Kemper has its own culture and approach to players. I don't know much about Neural's approach to modeling, but I much prefer the point-to-point approach by Fractal and Line6. Interactive controls that behave a lot like the real thing are the closer for me. Kemper may see the most direct competition, but Neural isn't out of the gate yet. Lots of unknowns there.

 

[aleclee]

The notion of one device killing the others' market share is kind of unrealistic IMO.

It's not like the new Corvette is gonna put an end to Porsche sales. While the C8 is an awesome car, there are folks who are gonna prefer a Cayman or 911. Even if the Quad Cortex delivers on everything it promises, there are still reasons for people to prefer Kemper, Line 6, or Fractal.

Each of those lines has features that NDSP won't offer because the philosophy driving the product is different. NDSP isn't gonna add a power amp to the QC. They've shown no interest of creating a plug-in version of the hardware like Helix Native. Doug has stated that they don't want QC to have amp geek parameters like Fractal. Pick your poison. If a product checks all the boxes for you relative to the others, consider yourself lucky.

 

[123eflores]

I agree that Kemper has its own culture, but a lot of other companies are making a name for themselves by almost copying the abilities that a Kemper is capable of. But I personally don't think that Kemper can not be " dethroned" because they are unique in their own way and has a community of players that rely on Kempers own sound sooo. NO

 

[Pseudohobbit]

Interesting. I’m thinking some of the devices are 5 or 10 years old. Not to say anything will be completely killed off, but start phasing out. Sort of like will what happened with a lot of old Digitech stuff. Sure, a few people still play them, but it’s very uncommon.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Finally. A thread about this.

 

[totoleheron]

Check the emporium you will have your answer.

 

[Gasp100]

I think the QC has the potential to make some serious waves in the industry if it delivers on it's promise. The YouTube clips of captures sound better to me with direct comparisons and the modeling sounds like it might be on par with Fractal. It will also (eventually) be readily available through Sweetwater and the top outlets in the EU and abroad. The UI, cloud integration, even the top YouTube gear influencers they chose were all very forward thinking moves that show these guys are not messing around.
KPA was an amazing breakthrough a decade ago and has had a few major updates since (Delay, Reverb) but pretty quiet and providing a self fulfilling prophesy of "cannot be improved" tech. So... what do YOU think?

 

[scotth]

The Kemper will be de-throned one day, but that’s ok.

The Kemper sounds great now and will still sound great when it’s “dethroned”. It might not even sound as good as the the new “King”, who knows? But the Kemper is still going to sound the same as today.

It’ll be nice when people start unloading theirs and I can pick up a 2nd one for $200-300.

The only concerns I have is that Kemper will eventually stop supporting it and it’ll slowly become unusable or the electronics will die.

 

[douglaswarren]

When it comes to digital amps, I never really thought Kemper was in a position to be dethroned. Personally, I'd give that honor to the AX-FX III MkII. But for amp profiling, the Kemper is 10 years old, which is a long time in the tech world. When I got mine I thought there was no way the sound could get better. But after a while I started recognizing certain artifacts in tone from the Kemper I couldn't ignore. They weren't pleasant to me, as well as several pro players I know that are not a fan. From what I've heard online from the DSP, it seems to have a fresh character to it, but I'd have to hear it in person to see if I like it or not more than the Kemper. When it comes to functionality, hands down I would give that to the DSP, even without trying it. I could not stand digging through the layers in the Kemper. When I'd watch my buddies do their Ax8 or FX-II through the computer I'd be very jealous how easy and smooth it was in comparison. Currently, if I had to get a floor modeler right now, I'd go with a FM3.

 

[spikey]

Competition is great, isn't it! Some prefer one unit over another unit. There will be some that sell one to buy another. Others keep what they already have and purchase another. That said, each one of us needs to get what they want, after doing their own research, knowing their needs, and buying with confidence and without remorse afterwards.

 

[spikey]

t’ll be nice when people start unloading theirs and I can pick up a 2nd one for $200-300.

I wish you all the luck with that one, in about 10 years...

 

[AuntieDiluvian]

I’m curious if anyone thinks the Neural DSP Quad Core will dethrone Kemper? Any major threat to Helix or Axe-FX?

Let's wait until it has been released before that sort of speculation.

That said, I can't see it competing with the Fractal flexibility and model list.

Kemper has tens of thousands of profiles available.

Methinks that the rumours of their pending demise are greatly exaggerated.

 

[Mango Positive]

I can't imagine a whole lot of Kemper users feel a terrible need to improve upon what they've already got. I mean... I'M getting a QC, but I'm also not selling my Kemper. If nothing else, it will be the perfect back-up when live music starts back.

 

[timbuck2]

who cares? just get both and rest easy

 

[LolainNB]

If Kemper gets a fancy interface then I think they will fight to the death

And tie

 

[PBGas]

I think they all have their place and fans of each device and you simply pick what works for you and sounds the best to your ears. I wish we had all this amazing gear when we were growing up.

 

[spikey]

The funny thing about all this comparison- is if we all had the exact same set of ears that heard the exact same frequency listening range and determined the same outcome from what we heard, this place wouldn't change one bit.

 

[cam0122]

W

Check the emporium you will have your answer.

What do you mean by this?