NDSP Quad Cortex

[deadpool_25]

Pro musicians using it is most likely due to these factors:

• They can use captures to make a digital facsimile of their favorite tube amp rig.
• It's relatively compact so perfect for small gigs, clinics, as a fly rig etc.
• It's easy to use.
• NeuralDSP has been sending them to various people.

Yup. Talked to the Erra guys for example and they said they're using captures of the plugin (Atrium iirc) they used on their album. Let that one sink in a bit. :)

The plugin support will not make it sound better in any way. It's just more models, fx and whatnot in the unit.

Yeah I think it'll just add various options that are in the plugins. I don't see why they'd sound any better objectively. Although I have a shitload of NDSP plugins and think theyre all great, the QC does already sound excellent imo. With that said...

Your Axe-Fx 3 is already better sounding especially for effects.

This. IMO/IME.

As much as I like the usability and form factor of the QC, it's just missing the mark in other areas.

The usability and form factor are what has had me considering a QC lately. I even reached out to my SW rep but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'm just certain that as soon as I get a QC Fractal will announce Gen 4 which I'm guessing will be an insta-buy for me.

 

[dean701]

I will add just this. Sometimes the lack of advancement is a good thing. One of my biggest irks about Fractal is the ever changing landscape. Not just small adds but when the underlying algorithms are being altered having to redo presets over and over or finding new bugs is a complete time killer. On one end of spectrum you have Kemper (small advancements and Liquid profiles aside) and on the other end Fractal with the quest for perfection (which I think NAM still wins). In fw 23 (late 2023) they announced the new plates and reverbs, IMO I was happy with fw22. I liked the plates better before fw23. Since then, it's been a steamroller of new codes, and re-designed algorithms. Fractal gives option paralysis as it is but having to re-tool everything all the time gives little enjoyment. I'm passing on fw26 and maybe all future updates. This will probably be my last Fractal device because I simply want to play.
I know this is a hotbed for Fractal fans and I think I've been diplomatic with my diction. It's not bad by any means but does it give the most satisfaction? Not sure about that.
I'm waiting to see what evolves from the TMP and of course QC v3

 

[GTR37]

I will add just this. Sometimes the lack of advancement is a good thing. One of my biggest irks about Fractal is the ever changing landscape. Not just small adds but when the underlying algorithms are being altered having to redo presets over and over or finding new bugs is a complete time killer. On one end of spectrum you have Kemper (small advancements and Liquid profiles aside) and on the other end Fractal with the quest for perfection (which I think NAM still wins). In fw 23 (late 2023) they announced the new plates and reverbs, IMO I was happy with fw22. I liked the plates better before fw23. Since then, it's been a steamroller of new codes, and re-designed algorithms. Fractal gives option paralysis as it is but having to re-tool everything all the time gives little enjoyment. I'm passing on fw26 and maybe all future updates. This will probably be my last Fractal device because I simply want to play.
I know this is a hotbed for Fractal fans and I think I've been diplomatic with my diction. It's not bad by any means but does it give the most satisfaction? Not sure about that.
I'm waiting to see what evolves from the TMP and of course QC v3

I don’t think your being derogatory at all and frankly I can see your point , I totally understand where some will love the constant pace of improvements but I can also see the other side where it’s just too much and you can start to experience firmware burnout , especially where as you mentioned you don’t like the new version or elements of it , and it forcing you to constantly tweak to get back to a point you are happy with only to have it happen again a week later

I do think there is a happy medium Fractal maybe is a bit too aggressive with the development for some

Where as Line6 sits on the other end of the scale with 1 or 2 max a year

QC has kind of been the same thanks to the plug-in fiasco so who really knows where they would be if they had been able to release and update a quarter or 3 or 4 a year as they were initially forecasting

I suspect if they had been able to deliver , likely the gaps in effects would have been filled by now

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

experience firmware burnout

Doctor…I think I suffer from option paralysis and firmware burnout.

Doc: let me prescribe you a deluxe and a Boss pedal

 

[GTR37]

Doctor…I think I suffer from option paralysis and firmware burnout.

Doc: let me prescribe you a deluxe and a Boss pedal

Funny as that sounds your not wrong
You won’t have option paralysis with a Marshall and tubecreamer and you want have to change your settings weekly

 

[Thrifty]

Option paralysis with the Axe FXIII isn't as bad as it sounds. While there's a whole tonne of stuff you can do under an amp model's hood, if you'd just like to have a simple chain such as input>drive>amp>cab>output, it's very easy to create.

And the amp models really sound good. Just load up one with the default settings and get going. I did that for a few months before I started to get comfortable with delving into the belly of the beast.

 

[laxu]

I will add just this. Sometimes the lack of advancement is a good thing. One of my biggest irks about Fractal is the ever changing landscape. Not just small adds but when the underlying algorithms are being altered having to redo presets over and over or finding new bugs is a complete time killer. On one end of spectrum you have Kemper (small advancements and Liquid profiles aside) and on the other end Fractal with the quest for perfection (which I think NAM still wins). In fw 23 (late 2023) they announced the new plates and reverbs, IMO I was happy with fw22. I liked the plates better before fw23. Since then, it's been a steamroller of new codes, and re-designed algorithms. Fractal gives option paralysis as it is but having to re-tool everything all the time gives little enjoyment. I'm passing on fw26 and maybe all future updates. This will probably be my last Fractal device because I simply want to play.
I know this is a hotbed for Fractal fans and I think I've been diplomatic with my diction. It's not bad by any means but does it give the most satisfaction? Not sure about that.
I'm waiting to see what evolves from the TMP and of course QC v3

That's a totally acceptable viewpoint. Having been without a modeler for some months now, it's been weirdly liberating that I'm not waiting for the next big update, or having to rework my settings, or constantly trying things, instead just working with what I've got.

Fractal's constant updates are of course very welcome, but when it's constantly evolving it can mean having to rework stuff now and then. IMO most of their updates work fine as is but there are some that make me want to adjust stuff. The more presets you use, the bigger a problem this can become.

You can always just choose to stick to an older firmware version and update when you feel like it, when an update brings a feature you like etc. The FM9 and FM3 getting bigger, less frequent updates is on one hand convenient because you avoid the iterative releases, but on the other hand means you need to wait for improvements you know are already on the Axe-Fx 3.

But it can also be frustrating when the right updates never come.

 

[Orvillain]

@MirrorProfiles When I had the QC side-by-side against the Axe FX III back in 2020, both myself and the old TNBD 2nd guitarist thought that the Axe FX III sounded more detailed and punchier and more "real" than the QC; this was when comparing like-for-like models; Recto versus Recto, 5150III versus 5150III.

The QC amp captures definitely sound killer though. Much better than the Kemper.

Part of me would like to pick up a QC again, just for shits and giggles. <ducks>

 

[SeeD]

Was reading reviews, I've never tried the unit. From what I read, the common complaint was that the in-built models are underwhelming. In contrast, I've read far better things about Neural's plugins.

So totally conjecture, but if they do it right, it should be a step up from the existing tones.



I think there are also places where you can purchase good captures, for example the Omega Ampworks folks have released their own captures of their amps. Sounds like a good starting point. I also have no idea, but I'm hoping some of the free captures that have been shared are also a good starting point.

I also have a few amps of my own, so I might try capturing some of those as well.

I won't be selling the bike shop, the Axe FX is a very useful unit to me. I even sold my Kemper after spending some time with it, I vastly preferred the ability to create my own tones, rather than having to be locked into what someone else perceived as a good tone. Great unit, but I struggled with it. I was one of the earlier adopters too, got mine in 2013 and had it for some 8-9 years before I switched.

Portability is one of the main factors that is motivating me to get one of these units. I've busted my back hauling around tonnes of gear and guitars from one jam to another (you could count the number of gigs I've played at on one hand), and I think it would be great to just have a small unit that I could cart around without struggling too much.

The amp models on the QC is good sounding, and the unit come with a buch of Capture of a lot of amps on the unit.
I would say, you dont need to buy a capture pack at all ( or if it`s a amp you `need` to have ) Making a capture is easy, and fun, it`s easy to use

 

[MirrorProfiles]

@MirrorProfiles When I had the QC side-by-side against the Axe FX III back in 2020, both myself and the old TNBD 2nd guitarist thought that the Axe FX III sounded more detailed and punchier and more "real" than the QC; this was when comparing like-for-like models; Recto versus Recto, 5150III versus 5150III.

The QC amp captures definitely sound killer though. Much better than the Kemper.

Part of me would like to pick up a QC again, just for shits and giggles. <ducks>

You see, whenever I’ve used it I thought the captures were “fine” but a bit pointless with the modelled stuff in there. I’d probably need to spend more time with it to notice it sounding worse or different in some way, most A/B’s I’ve done it was at least on par with the real amps/Helix/Fractal/their plugins

 

[SeeD]

When I had it 3 years ago, I found I had to use very weird settings to get some of the models to sound close to the Fractal ones. Like the JTM45 for example.

To be fair, the Fractal models have changed a lot in 3 years. Tweek this, and twiddle this.
I used to have a Axe Fx II and it sounded good, but when i sold it and got a QC it also sounded good. A lot may change in 3 years

 

[laxu]

To be fair, the Fractal models have changed a lot in 3 years. Tweek this, and twiddle this.
I used to have a Axe Fx II and it sounded good, but when i sold it and got a QC it also sounded good. A lot may change in 3 years

Sure, but the point is that both Helix and Fractal for the same models worked more like I expected the real amps to work, whereas QC as an outlier required weird settings to sound similar. This was not even consistent between models, some behaved better than others.

 

[Thrifty]

My gut says try out the QC, but my brain says no. Lots of negative reviews on Youtube, and obviously those get more likes and are bumped up.

Saw a video from Andertons that compared the QC, the Axe FX, the Headrush Prime, and the ToneX.

Not surprisingly, they said, "All of them are great. Just buy buy buy from us." Lol.

I think what I like most about the Axe FX is that it is a mature product. But I need a stopgap solution for a couple of months. The QC cannot be had very cheaply even in the secondhand market, so I'm thinking that maybe I should buy a used Kemper just so that I can keep up with guitar.

 

[mbenigni]

I’d probably need to spend more time with it to notice it sounding worse or different in some way, most A/B’s I’ve done it was at least on par with the real amps/Helix/Fractal/their plugins

 

[TubeStack]

@MirrorProfiles When I had the QC side-by-side against the Axe FX III back in 2020, both myself and the old TNBD 2nd guitarist thought that the Axe FX III sounded more detailed and punchier and more "real" than the QC; this was when comparing like-for-like models; Recto versus Recto, 5150III versus 5150III.

The QC amp captures definitely sound killer though. Much better than the Kemper.

Part of me would like to pick up a QC again, just for shits and giggles. <ducks>

 

[2dor]

My gut says try out the QC, but my brain says no. Lots of negative reviews on Youtube, and obviously those get more likes and are bumped up.

Saw a video from Andertons that compared the QC, the Axe FX, the Headrush Prime, and the ToneX.

Not surprisingly, they said, "All of them are great. Just buy buy buy from us." Lol.

I think what I like most about the Axe FX is that it is a mature product. But I need a stopgap solution for a couple of months. The QC cannot be had very cheaply even in the secondhand market, so I'm thinking that maybe I should buy a used Kemper just so that I can keep up with guitar.

I got my 2nd QC used from Reverb and got it at a pretty damn good price. It suits my gigging needs (and my bands') great.

 

[Thrifty]

I got my 2nd QC used from Reverb and got it at a pretty damn good price. It suits my gigging needs (and my bands') great.

Stateside, it's the land of milk and honey. Over here, I have to deal with shipping and customs costs, which can become prohibitively expensive.

Recent experience: I ordered a Mesa Boogie Rectifier Recording from someone in Australia. I pay customs for the package, only to find that it has been damaged in shipping. I run from pillar to post trying to get my customs funds back. After two months, I send back the package and at least get back my purchase amount and shipping costs. I lost out on over $500 in customs on a $1200 purchase. That's why I'm so leery about ordering from overseas. Luckily for me, there are stores around here that I can buy a new QC without any wait and customs troubles.

 

[Jarick]

I also got my QC used at a great price. I feel like the used gear prices are coming down (or will be) as a lot of the huge demand from the pandemic led to a huge supply surplus in the market. My local used gear store for instance has 3-4 times as many used guitars as they did five years ago.

Personally I wouldn't bother with buying captures at least until there's a marketplace or some better way to buy and load them. Not sure it's necessary, but I haven't found a lot of captures on the cloud that blew me away. The stuff I did with a few pedals was impressive, although the factory models were pretty dang close.

 

[2dor]

Stateside, it's the land of milk and honey. Over here, I have to deal with shipping and customs costs, which can become prohibitively expensive.

Recent experience: I ordered a Mesa Boogie Rectifier Recording from someone in Australia. I pay customs for the package, only to find that it has been damaged in shipping. I run from pillar to post trying to get my customs funds back. After two months, I send back the package and at least get back my purchase amount and shipping costs. I lost out on over $500 in customs on a $1200 purchase. That's why I'm so leery about ordering from overseas. Luckily for me, there are stores around here that I can buy a new QC without any wait and customs troubles.

I'm in the EU if it matters, not the US.

 

[MindCrime]

QC demo will ship out today for me...looking forward to it.

@mbenigni it's your fault...I couldn't hold back any longer.