Neural DSP Quad Cortex

WiresDreamDisasters

I'm semi thinking of selling mine. Go on. Laugh.


But aside from the captures being pretty bonzer, and giving me that immediate amp like feel and instant gratification and all the rest of it.

... I dunno. The rest of the package is leaving me a bit bored. I've just compared it to the Helix, and the Helix has so many amazing sounds in it across all the different effects, and the QC just doesn't compete period.

Also the Helix sounds more transparent to me when used in 4-cable-method and when used as an FX-only platform with other pedals and my valve amp. Could be something I'm doing wrong I suppose, but I don't think so. The QC has lower output, which affects the gain staging throughout.

Fiftyshadesofjay

Couldn’t get rid of the QC fast enough personally. The captures are quite nice but it’s seriously half baked in it’s current form. Captures aside the Helix absolutely spanks it in my opinion. 

And to me the touch screen is completely worthless when you can’t even switch between a clean and dirty amp properly. 

WiresDreamDisasters

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

And to me the touch screen is completely worthless when you can’t even switch between a clean and dirty amp properly. 

Not sure I 100% follow you Jay ???

Fiftyshadesofjay

I meant a lot of people get very excited about the shiny touchscreen etc but in reality a lot of very basic functionality is missing. For example the issue I had where you can’t set up a basic patch with a clean and dirty amp and switch between them in stomp mode. 

That sort of thing is very easy to do in the Helix and should be standard on any device like this. Not sure if that’s been fixed now?

WiresDreamDisasters

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

I meant a lot of people get very excited about the shiny touchscreen etc but in reality a lot of very basic functionality is missing. For example the issue I had where you can’t set up a basic patch with a clean and dirty amp and switch between them in stomp mode. 

That sort of thing is very easy to do in the Helix and should be standard on any device like this. Not sure if that’s been fixed now?

Ah right I get ya. So yeah, they're pretty limited right now in terms of... you need to be in the right mode to do certain things. You'd want scene mode for switching between amps. But then you need to switch to stomp mode if you want individual control over the effects.

There is no real advanced switching or control functionality.

TeleMaster

Fiftyshadesofjay said:

Couldn’t get rid of the QC fast enough personally. The captures are quite nice but it’s seriously half baked in it’s current form. Captures aside the Helix absolutely spanks it in my opinion. 

And to me the touch screen is completely worthless when you can’t even switch between a clean and dirty amp properly. 

Now you tell me.  

I sold it to someone, who sold it to someone else. It’s had 4 owners on this forum since its release.

Adamski

Sticking with the Kemper. Finally got to try the QC and it’s Emperors new clothes for me. 

kjdowd

Personally I'm still loving it, but I completely get the point on feature set. I'm using mine to record alongside some pedals, so the lack of more advanced/complex functionality is not so much of an issue. I might have a different attitude to live. The sound and feel of the models and captures is still totally selling it to me. I just find that it sounds and feels 'right' compared to the competition, although that's completely subjective. 

Am about to do a fair amount of recording with the FM3 (QC is in london and I'm in Devon) so will see whether the QC enthusiasm is just the lure of the new toy...

WiresDreamDisasters

Oh wow.

Super annoying midi issue.


Assign program changes to the switches.... thinking that I'm setting up scenes mode.

Go into stomp mode... the switch still transmits the program change, even though in stomp mode.. erm... I just want it to change the stomps......

Holy moly.

How on earth is that usable in a live situation!?! christ.

WiresDreamDisasters

Noticed today that the FX loop seems to not be unity gain. 

octatonic

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Noticed today that the FX loop seems to not be unity gain. 

LOL- really?
How much is it out by?

Vibetronic

octatonic said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Noticed today that the FX loop seems to not be unity gain. 

LOL- really?
How much is it out by?

Oops. 

I've been using my borrowed unit for a couple of weeks now. It's really good in terms of sounds, but tbh offers nothing that my old AX8 doesn't already do*, and doesn't sound any better. The touch screen is still great, but that's about the only difference I'd find useful - it has no new effects etc that I can find...I'd be interested to borrow it again in 6 months to see what new stuff they've done to it. 

*I'd never use the Neural Capture as I only have a couple of pedals, and no interest in capturing amp sounds. 
 
The one thing it DOES do that I really like is the ability to input more than one guitar - really useful for teaching. In a gig situation I'd find it slightly annoying having more than one guitar into one device though, particularly if stomps/scenes needed to be changed on the 2+ guitars during the gig, which'd be almost inevitable...

NelsonP

Tough crowd 

Helix still king then?

TeleMaster

That would be the FM3.

WiresDreamDisasters

octatonic said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Noticed today that the FX loop seems to not be unity gain. 

LOL- really?
How much is it out by?

-1.1dB or so.

onyir

I used my QC for a gig last Saturday and it was perfect. Mind you, my requirements in terms of fx are limited, as I do mostly classic rock type numbers. But the sound and feel are great (I am using a capture of a JMP by Leon Todd as my main sound). Only use the QC and a mini wah. I am still waiting for NDSP to implement the hybrid switching mode and then I'll be sorted

Vibetronic

TeleMaster said:

That would be the FM3.

If/when my AX8 dies that’s what I’ll be getting…or whatever follows it. The QC is very good but I still think the Fractal stuff has the edge on everything else sound-wise.

WiresDreamDisasters

So I got a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 200 to use with my modellers. I tried the QC through it into my 4x12 earlier, and to be honest... it sounded really good. I don't think I could pick between my JVM and the QC running captures of my JVM into the PS200.

rayttk

Second bloody email from Andertons!
Quad cortex delayed till end of August now 

TTBZ

WiresDreamDisasters said:

So I got a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 200 to use with my modellers. I tried the QC through it into my 4x12 earlier, and to be honest... it sounded really good. I don't think I could pick between my JVM and the QC running captures of my JVM into the PS200.

Interesting.. do you think the Powerstage can get close to the same sort of thump as a big proper amp? I'd kind of written off a Helix/Stomp as there didn't seem to be any decent ways of amplifying it, I don't fancy FRFR or relying on the PA.