NDSP Quad Cortex

[Stone]

Those fizzy tones may sound good in a studio mix but they aren’t going to hold up in live settings at high volumes.

No, Live is a different beast all together for sure
But it still sits in the Mix

 

[Achilles]

I think it’s probably not the tubes as much as the overall circuit because tubes are used in hifi stereos.

Ya, that's where the electric guitar specific speaker comes in for sure.

 

[Achilles]

I've played tube amps that will tear your @#$%^ head off with high end shrillness and sizzle.

Me too.

Arrived! NAD: Friedman Pink Taco V2

thegearforum.com

I phrased that post terribly.

 

[laxu]

That QC power brick dongle to a skinny cable is a non-starter for me with gear at that price. I'd prefer a bigger device with a standard 3 prong cable. If they make a Gen2 that'd be something.

Have you ever broken the power cable on a pedal, or audio interface? I certainly haven't. Being able to power the QC with a good pedal power supply is a plus in my book.

 

[Achilles]

Being able to power the QC with a good pedal power supply is a plus in my book.

Funny, Michael Nielsen in his review of the Amperium went out of his way to point out you can power it with just about any 9V adapter or power brick - like it's a good feature! The QC's been out in the wild well over 2 years now and there's been no changes to the cord - meaning it's a urban legend of a problem in the real world.

 

[Mongillo19]

The QC's been out in the wild well over 2 years now and there's been no changes to the cord - meaning it's a urban legend of a problem in the real world.

I think it got some hate due to the noise the adapter created and there was no method to stop it other than a 3rd party brick and NDSP still to this font can't seem to correct the issues

 

[Achilles]

I think it got some hate due to the noise the adapter created and there was no method to stop it other than a 3rd party brick and NDSP still to this font can't seem to correct the issues

I remember the beginnings of it all. I'd just say that Neural doesn't have anything to fix since it's not an issue out in the real world.

 

[Mongillo19]

I remember the beginnings of it all. I'd just say that Neural doesn't have anything to fix since it's not an issue out in the real world.

Noise is very much an issue in the real world and they even admitted it was a real issue and allegedly spent time and resources to find an alternative solution.

They know it's an issue but it's not a priority

 

[Achilles]

Noise is very much an issue in the real world and they even admitted it was a real issue and allegedly spent time and resources to find an alternative solution.

Ya, 22-24 months ago and then the 'issue' turned into crickets with all of the 1,000s of folks using them in all sorts of applications.
I realize there are some who will continue to beat this horse to death but it's no longer an 'issue'. It's always been way overblown anyway.

Funny, lots of members here have been kicking the QC's tires of late and i don't recall any noise and/or power supply complaints.
But like I said, it's forever stuck in some craws.

 

[Mongillo19]

Ya, 22-24 months ago and then the 'issue' turned into crickets with all of the 1,000s of folks using them in all sorts of applications.
I realize there are some who will continue to beat this horse to death but it's simply a non-issue to Neural of the many happy
owners.

Funny, lots of members here have been kicking the QC's tires of late and i don't recall any noise and/or power supply complaints.
But like I said, it's forever stuck in some craws.

For me the noise floor of my QC is still an issue. But what I'm supposed to do? Support fails to fix it.

I emailed them to get on the list for a new "floating" power supply that would allegedly remedy the issue but have heard nothing since.

They know it's an issue but I truly think they just can't figure out how to fix it. Imo NDSP doesn't know as much as they should about the workings of their device, it's pretty strange.

Edit:

Yeah I can work around it and have but that required buying a $200 power supply which I think a good amount of people did. It was just like the MIDI trick people implemented prior to hybrid mode. I shouldnt have to have these strange setups to obtain basic functionality in a $1699 unit.

Edit edit

Apparently the QC PSU is ungrounded which may be the culprit? I'm assuming other device PSUs are grounded?

 

[Los-D]

Noise was absolutely an issue in the brief time I had it. Both while running via headphones as well as with a few other pedals. Never by itself

 

[mbenigni]

Apparently the QC PSU is ungrounded which may be the culprit? I'm assuming other device PSUs are grounded?

Some are and some aren't. My assumption is anything with a two prong wallwart (HX Stomp, etc.) is similarly ungrounded, but I could be wrong. As for whether implementations like this can be better implemented in terms of isolation/ shielding, I can't say. I do think (per completely unscientific observation), that the QC has a higher noise floor than e.g. FM3, but I'm not convinced that this is a direct result of its being "ungrounded". Grounding issues will usually result in 60 cycle hum, whereas the noise I'm talking about is hiss. (It's also hard to make apples to apples comparisons when gain varies or when noise reduction/gating solutions are active.)

I can totally see why some people would prefer an internal PSU with IEC cable, but that would make the device larger, hotter, and in some circumstances less viable. I do like being able to run DC current from whatever source I prefer (including battery packs) direct to the unit.

 

[DrewJD82]

Ya, 22-24 months ago and then the 'issue' turned into crickets with all of the 1,000s of folks using them in all sorts of applications.
I realize there are some who will continue to beat this horse to death but it's no longer an 'issue'. It's always been way overblown anyway.

Funny, lots of members here have been kicking the QC's tires of late and i don't recall any noise and/or power supply complaints.
But like I said, it's forever stuck in some craws.

Show me one touring band using the stock power supplies and I won’t make fun of NDSP for “boutique power supply” promises.

 

[Mongillo19]

I can totally see why some people would prefer an internal PSU with IEC cable, but that would make the device larger, hotter, and in some circumstances less viable. I do like being able to run DC current from whatever source I prefer (including battery packs) direct to the unit.

Yeah it's not the end of the world by any means. Just an annoyance that very may have been glossed over if they didn't have those other issues at launch.

I do wish they would try and create a better power supply tbh

 

[Jarick]

I don't have any ground noise issues with mine but with the cheap 2-prong adapter I could see that as an issue.

For serious use, a real power supply like Cioks would be key. I saw on Google that the Voodoo Labs $29 power adapter would work, and that's a hell of a lot more robust. I've got one and once I finish sorting out all my stuff I can see if that's an option.

Haven't played with much today but tried capturing the Friedman IR-X...first attempt it was way too low gain and muffled, second was much better but still kind of duller than expected. Need to do some research and figure out the best approach, like do I need to crank the volume to max or something.

 

[northern_fox]

I don't have any ground noise issues with mine but with the cheap 2-prong adapter I could see that as an issue.

For serious use, a real power supply like Cioks would be key. I saw on Google that the Voodoo Labs $29 power adapter would work, and that's a hell of a lot more robust. I've got one and once I finish sorting out all my stuff I can see if that's an option.

Haven't played with much today but tried capturing the Friedman IR-X...first attempt it was way too low gain and muffled, second was much better but still kind of duller than expected. Need to do some research and figure out the best approach, like do I need to crank the volume to max or something.

FWIW the only parameters on the QC that will affect it are the return level and the input impedance on the return port (you can totally ignore the guitar level knob, it does not have any effect). Sometimes things like the hum eliminators can be helpful if it's noisy and ground lifts don't do anything.

 

[Achilles]

 

[Mongillo19]

View attachment 16431

Idk what to tell you lol it was enough of a problem that the company themselves are trying/tried to correct. Maybe send Doug an email and say you solved the issue and people were lying or somesuch.

Not sure why you are trying to gaslight actual QC owners

 

[Achilles]

Not sure why you are trying to gaslight actual QC owners

I never said that some QC users don't have noise issues. I never called anyone a liar.
I said that the issue simply isn't a real world problem in the grand scheme of things over two years after product release.
Those still harping on it like it's a major thing are making mountains out of mole hills. IMO.

 

[Mongillo19]

I said that the issue simply isn't a real world problem in the grand scheme of things over two years after product release.

Still trying to figure out why you think this. I think the majority (if not all) the QC owners on here use a 3rd party power supply