Will loss of power risk data corruption? - Kemper Profiler Forum (2024)

Hey, guys.

Brand new owner of a powered head. First, allow me to state the terribly obvious - wow. I've been fooling with digital amps since the early Line 6 days but could never warm up to one. An hour after plugging in I listed every amp I own for sale on Craigslist. I sling code for a living, so a most deferential tip of the hat to my German counterparts. Very nicely done, both the amp and the Windows Rig Exchange software.

Regarding my question, I know that anything even remotely digital should be on a UPS (battery backup), and one's on the way. That said, if for whatever reason the Kemper loses power without being properly shut down, is there a risk of data corruption, e.g. like yanking a USB drive from a computer without ejecting it?

Just making sure I know all the risk factors so I can practice safe guitaring.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

Chris

Chris, welcome to the forum!

As with any digital device there's a chance of this happening, but Kemper specific, not that I'm aware of.

Thanks, man.

Always good to hear that from the guys who've had it for a while.

... and according to Burkhard who coded the shut-down routine it's fine, but he recommends a chicken-knob shut-down once in a while 'cause it allows said routine to do a little "housekeeping".

Welcome, Chris!

Hi Chris,

Never had a case of data corruption with the Profiler in almost 7 years!

Awesome, and from such reliable sources. Thanks, guys!

You know how it is with technology - paranoia is your friend.

The PROFILER is designed for musicians - and there always can be a power outage.

We designed it to handle such situations, but indeed I recommend to power it off with the chickenhead setting to "Off".

I can assure you, since I wrote the shutdown procedure, that it is the better way, though the PROFILER does take countermeasures to prevent data loss. Also, the outputs are muted to prevent a popp noise.

If you just pull the power cord, the likelihood rises that the next bootup might take longer (sorry for tech speak ahead) since it might trigger a recovery procedure then to rollback the last probably incomplete transactions.

Hey, Timo.

Actually, I appreciate the geek speak (I sling MS code for a living). My default had been to do a controlled shutdown with the chickenhead as I just assumed there was stuff happening in the shutdown process, so I'll slap a UPS on this puppy and continue to use the knob for power up / down.

That said, with the power amp connected to my Marshall 4x12 and master out on about -18, I consistently experience a couple of moderate clicks / pops when doing a normal shutdown. It doesn't sound speaker threatening, and it's not like my tube amps don't behave this way, but I thought I'd ask - is that normal behavior?

Thanks for filling me in on this stuff. And if I ever happen to be on your side of the pond maybe I can buy your devs a beer or two - very nicely done, man.

We had a discussion on UPS ( another thread) and I think the general consensus was that unless you are in a high profile/pro environment, its no more needed than for a regular valve amp...

...and welcome

A UPS is rarely a mistake, but in the last 3 years some unintentional power off situations have happened to me. There was never a data loss.

The only thing that sometimes occurs is really just a longer restart phase.

I also had an accidental disconnection in the supply line, which I immediately repaired. The Kemper continued unimpressed. There could also be a certain buffering, because with the desk light I saw that the voltage was really short gone.

Welcome !

Quote from Monkey_Man

... and according to Burkhard who coded the shut-down routine...

Quote from timo

I can assure you, since I wrote the shutdown procedure

So sorry, Timo; I thought Burkhard wrote it.