NDSP Quad Cortex

[duzie]

Michael Schenker was not sitting in his bedroom with headphones on trying to dial in "his tone."




Let that be a lesson to us all!

Lesson #2
Or scrolling through guitar forums seeking confirmation of his views .
I may be guilty

 

[la szum]

Listen to this ratty-ass, scratchy, nasty guitar tone opening this song. What the fuck is wrong with Nuno??

 

[la szum]

Lesson #2
Or scrolling through guitar forums seeking confirmation of his views .
I may be guilty

 

[mbenigni]

Michael Schenker was not sitting in his bedroom with headphones on trying to dial in "his tone."




Let that be a lesson to us all!

Professionals have a specific role (e.g. playing guitar like the devil) and the luxury of staying in their own lane. Hobbyists and even semi-pros have to wear a lot of hats, and we’re not very good at staying focused on one role at a time. So, we’re distracted by our tone (and want it to sound like a finished production) while we practice and play; we worry about cartage and logistics when we should be picking the gear that provides the best tone, etc. It complicates things, for better or worse. Mostly worse lol.

 

[Whizzinby]

I had noise issues when using only headphones on my first unit. It was largely irrelevant because I never used it while not connected to another grounded piece of gear. I think they likely pushed a firmware update that helped on something, because a year or so later when tried it again with just headphones it wasn’t an issue like I remembered.

I think the radio silence on a new adapter is simply because they overreacted to the initial feedback when they had a small sample size. In the post launch window I think they looked at forums and socials and thought they had a really big issue, and then as more and more of them got sold they probably realized they weren't getting a lot of new feedback. (And/or, very few people are actually using it not connected to other grounded gear)

My issue with the adapter was it was a flimsy POS. Works sure, but generally when you buy something of that price tier the power supply has a more durable outer shell. Even using the barrel connector, they could have used a higher quality version of it. It’s the only thing when you unbox the device that stands out as lacking in quality. Everything else (including packaging) has a pretty high feel of quality.

 

[la szum]

Professionals have a specific role (e.g. playing guitar like the devil) and the luxury of staying in their own lane. Hobbyists and even semi-pros have to wear a lot of hats, and we’re not very good at staying focused on one role at a time. So, we’re distracted by our tone (and want it to sound like a finished production) while we practice and play; we worry about cartage and logistics when we should be picking the gear that provides the best tone, etc. It complicates things, for better or worse. Mostly worse lol.

Haha! All very true.


I still wonder if it is worthwhile to take note of our heroes and icons and follow in their footsteps??
I mean, who the fuck would want to follow in mine?


I say, "Do what the best do, not what the mediocre do."


Not that there is anything wrong with mediocrity. My hunch is most
of the world occupies that space, including myself----on a good day!

 

[Stone]

who the fuck would want to follow in mine?

 

[la szum]

And does fewer options/choices result in more creativity and productivity?

The limitations on choice seemed to make a lot of people make do with what
they had access to 40, 50, 60 years ago---which was not much. The grass was
seldom greener, because all you had was dirt on both sides of the fence.

 

[duzie]

Not that there is anything wrong with mediocrity. My hunch is most
of the world occupies that space, including myself----on a good day!

 

[Mongillo19]

As most threads, this has gone through the ringer hope you are enjoying the QC Jarick and continue to do so

 

[duzie]

As most threads, this has gone through the ringer hope you are enjoying the QC Jarick and continue to do so

Sorry

 

[Mongillo19]

Sorry

Oh I add to it as well! It's part of the charm of TGF

 

[la szum]

 

[mbenigni]

Haha! All very true.


I still wonder if it is worthwhile to take note of our heroes and icons and follow in their footsteps??
I mean, who the fuck would want to follow in mine?


I say, "Do what the best do, not what the mediocre do."


Not that there is anything wrong with mediocrity. My hunch is most
of the world occupies that space, including myself----on a good day!

I think it’s important to understand what our heroes are doing as a baseline for what we ourselves do, or as an example of what to do if we ever find ourselves in similar circumstances. But it’s also important to remember that our circumstances are usually quite different, so best solutions are usually different, too. Most nights I spend practicing in my basement, the “real thing” (e.g. a 100W full stack) would be too loud, less pleasing to the ear, and/or less fun to play than my little modeling (or hybrid modeling) rigs.

Definitely agree that endless options can be the enemy of creativity/ productivity, though. You’ve got to know when to park it and play. (Answer: usually.)

 

[Jarick]

Mind taking a pic of the send return levels? You need to get those tickling the red as they say

Best I could do was about -15 dB, and I think I want to be around -12 dB on peaks.

If you wanna get real specific with it, you can measure voltages and use a clean preamp between the QC and the preamp to make sure the input level is precisely correct. However, it might be easier to just raise the gain a bit for capture and lower it back down for comparison. I usually aim for -10 to -15 dB on return level for best results. Inst level does nothing.

That's something I'm seeing and honestly is kind of dumb. You have the tone dialed in nicely, but then it captures at like 3 dB lower gain, and to make up for it people are having to add in a clean boost. That certainly wasn't an issue with the Kemper.

 

[timbuck3]

Headphones for guitarists and bassists

Looking for the right headphones for your setup? Our guide covers the essential features to consider and presents options at different price ranges.

neuraldsp.com

 

[Jarick]

Little bit of an update,

I didn't play guitar for over a week as I was busy getting ready for my new job, and then dealing with the stress of starting the new job.

But I started playing again a few days ago, and I'm still really enjoying the QC. It's easy to use and doesn't require much tweaking at all. I haven't done much other than basic stuff but for the basics it's quite good.

The Cortex Control or whatever the computer editor is called works really well without connection issues I've seen on things like Kemper.

 

[namathan_zirwir]

@Jarick - thanks for the feedback.Lots of great info in this thread, I just ordered a QC and should have it in a few weeks. Looking forward to it.

 

[MindCrime]

@Jarick - thanks for the feedback.Lots of great info in this thread, I just ordered a QC and should have it in a few weeks. Looking forward to it.

@namathan_zirwir I have not tried one myself but I hope it will work for you. There have been recent updates / bug fixes and from what

I have read & heard there are some killer tones to be had. Let us know how it goes.....

 

[TubeStack]

Little bit of an update,

I didn't play guitar for over a week as I was busy getting ready for my new job, and then dealing with the stress of starting the new job.

But I started playing again a few days ago, and I'm still really enjoying the QC. It's easy to use and doesn't require much tweaking at all. I haven't done much other than basic stuff but for the basics it's quite good.

The Cortex Control or whatever the computer editor is called works really well without connection issues I've seen on things like Kemper.

Hey @Jarick, have you used the effects loop(s)? If so, have you found there's a significant volume boost with them? It seems to be a big jump in output, so I've been lowering the send around 2-3 db, though some are saying it needs a 4.5 reduction.