Neural DSP Quad Cortex

NelsonP · July 2021

It gets a very good review here...
https://guitar.com/review/effects-pedal/neural-dsp-quad-cortex-game-changing-guitar-product-of-the-decade/

But I'm wondering, how much better are Quad Cortex, Fractal FM3 etc vs the previous generation (Helix, Kemper, Amplifire)?

TeleMaster · July 2021

Big thread here.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/191592/neural-quad-core-thing-demo/p1

Personally, I think that the QC sounds good and has excellent potential but doesn't come close to the Kemper for the whole package simply because it's not the finished product. It needs a few years before you can seriously compare it as a gigging product to a tried and tested, finished and refined product. I've owned them all and if I were to have a floor modeller it would be the FM3 every day.

NelsonP · July 2021

Thanks. I know you've tried a few of them.

What are you using these days?

TeleMaster · July 2021

Axe FX 3 and the FC12. Funny thing is it's the setup I've lusted after for ages and now I've been looking at amps again, but I'm not gonna get one. I've made a decision to keep what I've got and to stop looking at other gear. It's just a merry-go-round.

NelsonP · July 2021

So true. I've now got a Mesa .50 Caliber, a Marshall DSL and Atomic Amplifire! The last thing I need is another piece of gear.

Fortunately most of the new breed of modellers are too expensive for me to want to 'upgrade'.

For now at least ;-)

TeleMaster · July 2021

Yea at the moment the used prices of the QC are the same as the new price and I sold mine as such. I think a used Kemper is amazingly priced option.

monquixote · July 2021

Overall people seem to like the QC more than what has come before but plenty of people have considered it a marginal improvement, or just "as good as".

Where it seems to win is user interface which is very important. I'd have a Helix over an AxeFX because I like using the Helix a lot more even if the Axe is 1% better sounding.

At the moment I'm quite into the Boss approach where they've given up on accurate modelling and tried to go beyond what a real amp can do.

fretmeister · July 2021

monquixote said:

Overall people seem to like the QC more than what has come before but plenty of people have considered it a marginal improvement, or just "as good as".

Where it seems to win is user interface which is very important. I'd have a Helix over an AxeFX because I like using the Helix a lot more even if the Axe is 1% better sounding.

At the moment I'm quite into the Boss approach where they've given up on accurate modelling and tried to go beyond what a real amp can do.

This.

I never understood the obsession with super accurate amp modelling. It's not like a load of different plexi's actually sounded the same! And it seems that under 1% of players have used all the real amps so have no clue anyway.

I'm quite bored with telling metal kids that 'no - the model of a dual rec is actually quite accurate and that amp really isn't that high gain and really is a massive flubby mess in the bottom end... until you hit it with a TS or similar' - I think they believe just activating the model will make them sound like 1990's Machinehead or something.

It either sounds good or it doesn't. The name on the model is irrelevant.

monquixote · July 2021

Totally agree.

You can get the super accurate Plexi model, jumper it, boost it, eq it etc or just have a model that sounds like what people want a Plexi to sound like in the first place.

Everyone uses the Badonk on the Helix because it's what everyone wants a recto to sound like rather than the reality.

fretmeister · July 2021

I've owned 3 Dual Recs and I really like them, but if they upgrade it again I hope they build in a TS that can be footswitched in on the dirt channels automatically.

Not that I'd actually buy one at £3000 these days!

WiresDreamDisasters · July 2021

I wouldn't call the QC game-changing. But it is very very good.

The QC has nice responding palm mutes. The Kemper slightly less so for my tastes. I've not tried an Axe FX since I had a II with the Quantum firmware. It was cool, but I never really bonded with it.

The QC has great ux. The Helix has great ux. The Kemper ux gets more bashing than it deserves in reality; it's actually pretty well thought out. The Axe isn't thought out at all in my view. Spaff a load of parameters on screen and call it done. Fortunately most of those parameters you never need to touch anyway.

The QC is absolutely ready for the stage, just as much as any of them.

monquixote · July 2021

But then everyone would say it was bad because it had solid state components in it!

WiresDreamDisasters · July 2021

fretmeister said:

I've owned 3 Dual Recs and I really like them, but if they upgrade it again I hope they build in a TS that can be footswitched in on the dirt channels automatically.

Not that I'd actually buy one at £3000 these days!

This is why I was going to get a Badlander. Recto with tighter lows, and more 'ready to rock' tone. But I bailed out at the last second to get the QC as it happens!

Nikc · July 2021

I think its horses for courses I bought the new atomic amifbox mkII and love it, really simple to set up and dial in for me. However I get for many its not enough, my 'sound' is fairly simple I just want sounds good with my Tele, my Les Paul and my Strat - it all sounds good with my PRS so all is good

TTBZ · July 2021

monquixote said:
Everyone uses the Badonk on the Helix because it's what everyone wants a recto to sound like rather than the reality.

Love the Badonk! Still one of my favourite high gain tones. Over lockdown I was sad enough to install trials of all the Neural DSP plugins and Helix Native and I think the Badonk was my favourite of the lot. The Nolly 5150 was pretty good too, as was the Helix Revv Red. Still have all the clips (isolated & mix) somewhere!

WiresDreamDisasters · July 2021

TTBZ said:

monquixote said:
Everyone uses the Badonk on the Helix because it's what everyone wants a recto to sound like rather than the reality.
Love the Badonk! Still one of my favourite high gain tones. Over lockdown I was sad enough to install trials of all the Neural DSP plugins and Helix Native and I think the Badonk was my favourite of the lot. The Nolly 5150 was pretty good too, as was the Helix Revv Red. Still have all the clips (isolated & mix) somewhere!

Oi!! I do that every 3.33333 days!!

I'm not big on Badonkey tbh. But I love the Helix Revv Purple + Red. They're dope AF.

onyir · July 2021

I have a quad cortex and I'm enjoying it very much. It's been said before, it's not a game changer in terms of sounds. But coming from an Atomic Amplifire the user interface is just great.
The capture process is pretty neat too. I have captures quite a few of my pedals and it does a great job at it.

fretmeister · July 2021

WiresDreamDisasters said:

fretmeister said:

I've owned 3 Dual Recs and I really like them, but if they upgrade it again I hope they build in a TS that can be footswitched in on the dirt channels automatically.

Not that I'd actually buy one at £3000 these days!

This is why I was going to get a Badlander. Recto with tighter lows, and more 'ready to rock' tone. But I bailed out at the last second to get the QC as it happens!

That does seem like a nice sounding amp.

Maybe one day - but not soon. In just over a year I have to start paying for spawn's university.

PC_Dave · July 2021

If anyone is interested in one I’ll be putting mine up for sale here and on the usual places this weekend. I absolutely love it, but it’s not getting used and I need to free up some cash.

NelsonP · July 2021

Another amazing review of the QC here...
MusicRadar verdict: A pro-quality amp modeller and effects unit that presents its many features in an easy-to-use format, the Neural DSP Quad Cortex is a triumph of design. The sound quality is incredible, the user experience unsurpassed. This is the sort of kit to make a digital convert of the most devoutly analogue player.
https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/neural-dsp-quad-cortex

£1600 too spendy for me though...

Vibetronic · July 2021

I'm still using the Fractal AX8 and won't bother upgrading until it breaks - when I do it'll be the FM3 or whatever the latest iteration is I guess - I use one sound 99% of the time and only dip into the rest of it for recording/gigging, so not worth getting the full Axe-FX3. Currently borrowing a QC from a friend who's kindly lent me one - first impressions are really good, and it seems to be just as responsive to my playing as the AX8. I've always found Kemper/Helix stuff to be a lot less dynamically responsive (if that makes sense), and never enough crunch or bite (and I'm not talking stupidly high gain either). The interface on the QC is amazing - wouldn't say the sounds are better/worse than my AX8 (which I know is quite old now!), but have yet to test it out properly and make my own patch. Finding patches on your phone and downloading them on the wifi is a neat function, and the stomp pedals which double as knobs are cool too. I think there's still some stuff they've yet to iron out, and an editor for Mac would be good, but otherwise first impressions are good and I definitely prefer it to Kemper & Helix.

WiresDreamDisasters · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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

kjdowd · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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 · July 2021

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

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