Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

Mr. B

Mr. B

New member
Got a new Kemper Profiler amp yesterday, and so far it appears to be the worst purchase I have ever made. Running it very simply from the mains out on the Kemper to two KRK Rokit Powered 6" studio monitors. Ignoring the Kemper crashing, another glitch that made all models sound like they were 100 miles away in a well, and the glitch that made all models sound like there was an auto-wah running, even though all effects were turned off (these were all "fixed" by the Kemper tech telling me to reset this and that) this is the harshest, stiffest, fakest, most digital sounding thing I have EVER played through. I have spent 15+ hours trying every suggestion that anyone has ever made online to lower the amount of digital harshness, but it is there on every model.

I have many other modeling amps, and when flipping through the models there are many I do not like, but at least they have their own personality and feel, and I can see what the programmer was going for. With the Kemper, EVERY model sounds like the SAME model, only with differing amounts of gain, or the EQ adjusted. It sounds this way with EVERY guitar I own, or while running it through 2 powered cabinets as well. I don't get it. Running my 50 dollar Pocket POD though those speakers sounds WAY better than this 1700 dollar Kemper. What gives? I can't imagine that anyone kept this thing after demoing it, if it is supposed to sound like this. Can any owners help me understand what is wrong here?
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

It might not just be for you.
I know lots of people that get amazing tones from them...maybe go ask for some settings/patch dumps to see if yours sounds the same.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

Something's gotta be wrong. It can't be that bad, you've got a premium product there.
Hope you get it sorted out and your next post is about how ****ing amazing the Kemper is.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

Might be that it doesn't like the speakers you're running through. The first thing I'd try is different speakers.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

I didn't dig the Kemper either. The UI is not intuitive. I have NO doubts about its capabilities. But it just made me appreciate my tube amps that much more. I far preferred the Helix to the Kemper. But I get why many guys like the Kemper. Just not my bag.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

I have already tried it through 2 different powered speaker cabinets, and the tone is not better. One of the cabinets has tubes, so that lends a little tube flavor to it, but the base tone is still harsh, brittle, and generic. I have yet to dial in an organic tone with it, clean or distorted, and now the background wah-effect is back on every rig model and did not go away with the reset technique that the tech told me to use. It looks like one text response per day may be all I am going to get from Kemper. Maybe I have a lemon? Makes me worry though, I don't want a replacement Kemper if what I am hearing when it is NOT glitching is what the Kemper sounds like. I might as well use my Pocket POD, and that way I would not be flushing the extra $1,650.00 down the toilet.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

KRK are Full Range Reference Monitors, I wouldn't use them as the best judge of a Kemper's possible tones -unless you are confident you are modeling guitar speakers successfully with the Kemper (which I know it can do well) -those KRKs are designed to be brutally honest, not accentuate or color like a guitar speaker, and since guitar speakers are a gigantic part of guitar tone (if not the most important part) -I'd look into making sure you are getting that portion dialed.

Second, those KRK are only front ported 6" speakers (which claim 38hz performance) but I've never used a anything smaller than an 8" that didn't make the bass mix heavy from compensation -so perhaps you are being lied to -check it with headphones or another source.

also, maybe your speaker placement is creating imaging or modal issues and causing issues monitoring the quality of the Kemper too.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

NegativeEase said:
KRK are Full Range Reference Monitors, I wouldn't use them as the best judge of a Kemper's possible tones -unless you are confident you are modeling guitar speakers successfully with the Kemper (which I know it can do well) -those KRKs are designed to be brutally honest, not accentuate or color like a guitar speaker, and since guitar speakers are a gigantic part of guitar tone (if not the most important part) -I'd look into making sure you are getting that portion dialed.

Second, those KRK are only front ported 6" speakers (which claim 38hz performance) but I've never used a anything smaller than an 8" that didn't make the bass mix heavy from compensation -so perhaps you are being lied to -check it with headphones or another source.

also, maybe your speaker placement is creating imaging or modal issues and causing issues monitoring the quality of the Kempe too.
Click to expand...

That's the bit about modeling that falls flat for me: Real speakers.
If you're recording, those emulations are a godsend for a mix. In a room, I'd rather use the preamp modeling, and use a real power amp with a real guitar cabinet.

Even outdated solutions sound great that way.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

This sounds more like a lemon than a platform issue. Is it still in warranty?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

NegativeEase said:
KRK are Full Range Reference Monitors, I wouldn't use them as the best judge of a Kemper's possible tones -unless you are confident you are modeling guitar speakers successfully with the Kemper (which I know it can do well) -those KRKs are designed to be brutally honest, not accentuate or color like a guitar speaker, and since guitar speakers are a gigantic part of guitar tone (if not the most important part) -I'd look into making sure you are getting that portion dialed.

Second, those KRK are only front ported 6" speakers (which claim 38hz performance) but I've never used a anything smaller than an 8" that didn't make the bass mix heavy from compensation -so perhaps you are being lied to -check it with headphones or another source.

also, maybe your speaker placement is creating imaging or modal issues and causing issues monitoring the quality of the Kemper too.
Click to expand...

9868_10153351508990334_2866176021334356505_n.jpg


They're not that flat/honest. Big bump in the lower end and swings between +/- 10 dB for the rest of the frequency range.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

Something don't seem right - nearly every band I saw last year had one or two Kempers, I've heard them on dozens of albums. Having said that, if it's new shouldn't there be a return policy, especially this soon? I made the mistake of hanging on to a Carvin guitar too long past the return date and ended up losing money selling it later. Don't delay returning that sucker if you hate it.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

GuitarStv said:
9868_10153351508990334_2866176021334356505_n.jpg


They're not that flat/honest. Big bump in the lower end and swings between +/- 10 dB for the rest of the frequency range.
Click to expand...

yeah, that's why I said "designed" because those 6" reference monitors (no matter the brand) have trouble transitioning to the low end -I'm not the biggest fan of KRKS -they're fine, but to my ears I prefer many other ones and all at 8" or bigger.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

A modeler replicates the sound of a micced amp. No matter how well it does that, it isn't the same as the amp in the room sound, especially if you're using small monitors.

That aside, it sounds like your unit is defective and Kemper isn't helping you enough. Just return it and get something else. Try a Helix or Ax8.

Sent from my BlackBerry using Tapatalk
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

I know a handful of people that gig with them and none of them have had anything close to the trouble you describe. It's either the Kemper or how you're setting it up. Either way, as others have said, send it back if you can.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

Sounds like a borked unit. It should put make an old POD run for the money right out of the box.

Or maybe... Are you absolutely certain that you set it up right?
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

Found someone (not the Kemper tech, they never responded again after their first 2 suggestions failed) who explained how to reset it to blank factory state, and then reload the system entirely. It is working without glitching now, and I can see there is a lot of potential there. I'm not hearing anything a lot better than my much cheaper Vox and Fender modeling amps yet, but I will keep fiddling with it.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

Just reading in the new Guitar Player that even Mark Knopfler is touring with Kempers now, there must be something there... But yes, they did use them to profile his amps.
 
Re: Kemper Profiler: Never been more disappointed in a purchase

devastone said:
Just reading in the new Guitar Player that even Mark Knopfler is touring with Kempers now, there must be something there... But yes, they did use them to profile his amps.
Click to expand...

To be fair, Knopfler is 69 years old and has been a gigging musician (at volume) for most of those years. As great a guitar player as he is, I'd be shocked if his hearing is as good as your average 50 year old, let alone your average 20 year old . . . so I'm not sure his endorsement really means all that much.
 
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