Kemper new iOS/iPad app, do you think fractal will be next?

iaresee said:
I'm really happy with Fractal putting the majority of it's (limited) engineering capacity into making their technology sound better and better.
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Me too. But....the landscape is changing. With diminishing returns ahead on the tone front, attention should be shifting to user experience and usability, making it easier to access, employ and control all the power that is currently in place. It's getting harder and harder to set one modeler apart with claims of superior tone. It'll take superiority in other areas as well to stay on top.
 
GlennO said:
Me too. But....the landscape is changing. With diminishing returns ahead on the tone front, attention should be shifting to user experience and usability, making it easier to access, employ and control all the power that is currently in place. It's getting harder and harder to set one modeler apart with claims of superior tone. It'll take superiority in other areas as well to stay on top.
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I disagree on your take. But you're welcome to it. :)

Kemper releasing an iPadOS app for a modeler that's remained largely unchanged for how long now? Lipstick on a pig.
 
It's not just Kemper. There's Helix, and now Quad Cortex. Next year it will be another new entrant. They all sound great and are improving (well, except for Kemper :)). It's getting crowded at the top and sonic superiority is getting harder and harder to achieve and demonstrably prove. It's gonna take advances in other areas to lay claim to the king of the hill.
 
GlennO said:
Viable? Without bluetooth, probably not. Look at the difference between the bluetooth-equipped Kemper Stage where it works quite well, and the bluetoothless Kemper lunchbox, where it's a convoluted mess. Cliff has hinted the FM3 USB-A port could be used to add bluetooth.
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You can already add Bluetooth to fm3 with yamaha md-bt01 or widi master
 
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AlGrenadine said:
You can already add Bluetooth to fm3 with yamaha md-bt01 or widi master
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I’m sure you’re aware of the overheating problems that have been reported with that. Plus, it means giving up your midi port. Proper Bluetooth support in the FM3 is really needed to take full advantage of fracpad.
 
brokenvail said:
For all these years fractal has avoided making an iOS app. Kemper having built a blue tooth module into that stage for later use was smart. They seems to think way a head and just get to stuff when they can.
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I've used a Kemper for over 6 years, have a Stage and traded the toaster for the FM3, and was involved in early testing of the Kemper iOS app on both the Stage and toaster. First thing; I am not aware of the Stage having bluetooth, it has an internal WiFi module that can connect directly to iOS as such. It works extremely well but for one thing; I haven't seen where you can load or download profiles or Performances with it. But as an editor it is extremely stable and fast due to the WiFi connection. Also if you have your iOS on a network, and you plug the toaster into that same network with a cable, the Kemper iOS app can control the toaster. You could also use a wireless hub on the Kemper and connect it that way. But the key to the Kemper's success here is its ethernet connectivity.

I recall a Line 6 rep on TGP saying they had to limit the use of their iOS apps through a standard or BLE midi connection as it is just too slow to transfer a lot of data. To my knowledge the FM3 does all its external editing through midi over USB, which can be faster than standard midi.

I'd guess from all of this that the reason we haven't seen a Fractal iOS app or stellar performance from FracPad is the standard non-USB MIDI comm speed (50kbs IIRC). But since the FM3 can talk comfortably via USB to iOS (class compliant perhaps?) maybe there's something Fractal can do with that.

Does Fractal offer any iOS apps at all? That appears to be its own ecosystem that perhaps they aren't into yet.
 
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I have to say the Kemper iOS app is really cool. You have to connect the Stage through wifi to your iOS device to use it. During the pairing process, the Kemper onboard UI shows a QR code that contains all the network info, you point your iOS device to that and it sets itself up. Basically it's a two button process. Mighty slick.
 
MKB99 said:
I've used a Kemper for over 6 years, have a Stage and traded the toaster for the FM3, and was involved in early testing of the Kemper iOS app on both the Stage and toaster. First thing; I am not aware of the Stage having bluetooth, it has an internal WiFi module that can connect directly to iOS as such. It works extremely well but for one thing; I haven't seen where you can load or download profiles or Performances with it. But as an editor it is extremely stable and fast due to the WiFi connection. Also if you have your iOS on a network, and you plug the toaster into that same network with a cable, the Kemper iOS app can control the toaster. You could also use a wireless hub on the Kemper and connect it that way. But the key to the Kemper's success here is its ethernet connectivity.

I recall a Line 6 rep on TGP saying they had to limit the use of their iOS apps through a standard or BLE midi connection as it is just too slow to transfer a lot of data. To my knowledge the FM3 does all its external editing through midi over USB, which can be faster than standard midi.

I'd guess from all of this that the reason we haven't seen a Fractal iOS app or stellar performance from FracPad is the standard non-USB MIDI comm speed (50kbs IIRC). But since the FM3 can talk comfortably via USB to iOS (class compliant perhaps?) maybe there's something Fractal can do with that.

Does Fractal offer any iOS apps at all? That appears to be its own ecosystem that perhaps they aren't into yet.
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FM3 does not "talk comfortably" to ios on its usb, it only handles audio
 
There is an USB port on the back of FM3. Maybe it could be activated for bluetooth adapter/dongle?
 
Arek said:
There is an USB port on the back of FM3. Maybe it could be activated for bluetooth adapter/dongle?
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That was one of the intended use cases Fractal stated in the past but the Axe-Fx 3 and the new FM9 do not have this port so I feel there is zero chance we will get that with this generation.

Next gen Fractal should come with integrated wireless support for sure as well as an official phone/tablet app. That seems to be where the competition is going too and moving some of the UI to devices that are actually built to work well with GUIs is better than maintaining a somewhat lackluster custom front panel UI on the hardware itself. Fractal doesn't seem too keen to improve it in any significant capacity whereas Axe-Edit has had some of its views redesigned for better usability etc and is a far superior user experience. If Fractal can offer this on more devices for the next generation that would be awesome.
 
I have an old Microsoft Surface (which is an awful attempt to merge ipad and windows IMHO)
But I decided to plug it directly into my FM3 to see if FM3 edit would work, and sure enough...works great.
I know it's not iOS, but it's a nice portable solution.

That said - I think the Kemper iOS solution is awesome...but if you can't load profiles, then it's half useless.
I have a Quad Cortex, and one really fun thing is surfing their app on my phone, picking new captures that users have shared....and just 'starring' them as favorites. Next time I turn on the QC, they are automatically waiting to be downloaded. Very fun way to find new amps/captures to play.
BUT - after I find one I really like, play it for a while....I turn back on my FM3, and like it better.

Love all the toys, but Fractal still wins on sound/tone.
 
Given that the M1 Macs can run iOS apps; you’d think an M1 native FM3-Edit that’d run on both might be worth the investment.

Line 6 should do a proper app next.

Quad Cortex will get there with theirs…

Fractal needs to think about more than just amp modeling, it is not the differentiating factor it used to be.
 
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I’m surprised it’s taken this long for the majority of modellers to have this feature. The Eventide H9 Bluetooth app was great and has been out for a long time. Even my Lumix Camera has an app for remote control. For that, the camera generates its own wifi signal and I connect to that with my phone.

Sean Meredith-Jones
 
The future of interfaces is mobile/wireless control and touch screen. That would be one of the number one things I could use more than anything in a real world situation to separate the use of a digital device over an analog one. Today the sound is great and we get close enough in many cases. 10 years ago we were not, so now one of the main focus areas (I feel) should be heavy on user interfaces.

Lots of companies are knocking on the door with this idea but no one yet has completely solved it. In many cases it is more undeveloped than robust.

QC/Headrush/HoTone/Singular are nice interfaces but they really are smaller versions of a desktop.

I just not that inclined to lean over on a live gig. Or, in the studio having my device on a desk (unless it is a trophy). In the same way I don't really want to adjust on the front of a device either.

But it is where it is at right now. A true mobile app would be great.

The biggest issue? - the operating systems are not stable and it is very hard to make it robust enough currently.

But tech is getting closer and someday we will get there. I am sure Fractal will solve it - if they already haven't.
 
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