Kemper

For players, Kemper's name is tied to the Profiler line: the Kemper Profiler Head Mk2, the Profiler Rack, the PowerRack and the Kemper Profiler Stage. These are amp profiling systems rather than individual stompboxes, and Kemper's effects, from compressors to delays and reverbs, live inside them²³.

A German maker of digital sound

Kemper presents itself as a company whose guitar products grow out of digital sound design expertise. Its own description of that experience¹:

That claim covers the effects found across the Profiler range. On its compressor page, for example, Kemper notes that "a compressor for guitar is mostly used for clean sounds"³, a practical framing aimed at players deciding where in their signal chain the effect belongs.

The Profiler line and expression control

The Profiler family shares a common approach to control. Each of the three rack and head formats Kemper lists provides two expression pedal or switch inputs⁴⁵⁶:

Kemper's support FAQ adds a detail players should know before buying a pedal for those jacks⁷:

The Profiler's expression inputs are widely enough used that other makers design for them. Lehle lists the Kemper Profiler Head and Stage among the typical uses for its Dual Expression pedal, alongside keyboards, synthesizers, multi effects pedals and modular CV control⁸. Players choosing an expression pedal for a Profiler therefore have a broad choice of compatible units.

Does Kemper make guitar pedals?

Kemper's effects are not sold as standalone stompboxes in the way a traditional pedal maker's are. Its compressor, and the rest of its effect set, are part of the Profiler products¹³. A player who wants Kemper's take on a compressor or reverb gets it by using a Profiler Head, Rack, PowerRack or Stage, not by buying a separate enclosure for the pedalboard.

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