NDSP Quad Cortex

[deadpool_25]

That is saying a lot! I've always known you to think very highly of the fractal but cool of you to be able to set any bias aside

You know, I'd like to say I'm totally unbiased but I'm not sure that's true. I love a LOT about Fractal overall and they haven't annoyed me at all that I can remember. Also the FM9 is damn near my perfect modeler. There are literally three things about it that would take it the rest of the way for me: massive user experience improvements, significantly reduced form factor, and the ability to run a 2nd pitch block so I could ditch the Drop and further reduce footprint. In contrast, I've been quite annoyed at NDSP in the past. I was excited about the QC when it first got announced and got in on the first 100 preorders. I ended up canceling that preorder and for a long time was happy I did. I have shared the criticisms about them making promises/statements and not following through, and the annoyance with their marketing.

But here's the thing. I find myself caring much less about that stuff these days and I'm much more focused on how I feel about the QC itself (and the plugins). And the QC is fucking great. Is it perfect? No. But I'd say the same about the FM9. At the end of the day, it's about whether or not I can get what I want.

Which unit gives me great sound? Both
Which gives me great feel? Both
Which allows me to run anything from simple to w/d/w? Both (took some figuring out on the QC and I don't think I could've done it the way I want before 3.0)
Which gives me the amp models I want? Both (especially factoring in captures and PCOM)
Which gives me the effects I want? Okay Fractal has a definite edge here, but the QC does well enough from what I can tell so far

Again, the Fractal routing and grid are waaaaay better IMO; that's not even close. However, since I can still build my w/d/w setup in the QC, I'd have to say the QC is good enough for me in this department. I won't be too surprised if I discover something I want to do but can't but as of now it seems fine.

So now I find myself leaning more towards ease of use and form factor. Editing on the FM9 is clunky but certainly possible. FM9 edit is fucking awesome but I have my FM9/FR12/PXM rig setup in the living room. If I want to use the editor I have to bring the FM9 board into the bedroom. Not a big hassle, but a little bit of one. With the QC I haven't even loaded up Cortex Control yet.

 

[mikah912]

Don't take my love for Fractal stuff as any dislike for the QC btw. After almost a week with it I really like it a lot. It's not as flexible as the Fractal in some ways but it does what I need it to do and it sounds great. And to be perfectly honest, if I absolutely had to sell the FM9 or QC, I'd probably sell the FM9. That's saying a LOT.

Really though, if Fractal Gen IV improves on the user interface type stuff (which...who knows) I'd almost certainly get that regardless. I do love the Fractal stuff.

I get it, bro. A touchscreen modeler with capturing AND plugins and a robust cloud of free goodness is great. If I wasn't into really good and diverse reverbs/delays and synth sounds.....I'd probably still want one too.

 

[Achilles]

If I want to use the editor I have to bring the FM9 board into the bedroom.

IMO, regardless of whatever else happens the one feature the next gen FAS absolutely must have is BT.
Dump the freakin tethers once and for all.

 

[deadpool_25]

IMO, regardless of whatever else happens the one feature the next gen FAS absolutely must have is BT.
Dump the freakin tethers once and for all.

WiFi too. My friend was over here with his QC and had a preset he wanted to share. He sent it to me via the Quad Cortex app, I received and downloaded it, and it was on my QC. Took like 1 minute. That was fucking cool.

Some guy (Davlav) had a QC video where he posted a link to a preset. I clicked it, it opened the app and took me to the preset, I DL'd it, it was on my QC. Again l, like 1 minute. That's just fun.

 

[LP59]

IMO, regardless of whatever else happens the one feature the next gen FAS absolutely must have is BT.
Dump the freakin tethers once and for all.

It was a surprising omission on the AxeFX III.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

So far the only amp model in the QC I really like is the Kraken. That may sound very negative, but the model is so good that it alone might even justify keeping the QC. Rabea‘s plugin also has a Kraken, but I honestly prefer the QC model (which surprises me, because the Rabea version has some additional - and very useful - controls). I tried to dial in the Rabea model to sound like the one in the QC, but didn‘t quite succeed.

I've come to like the effects more in the meantime. I was a bit disappointed at first because everything sounded a bit… well… unspectacular. But then I realized that the QC's effects benefit from a much higher mix ratio than I'm used to from other modelers and plug-ins.

I'm still undecided as to how much the noise level annoys me. The now integrated plugin gate works fantastically (in contrast to the new sidechained adaptive gate, which in my experience kills/softens the transients), but I'm a bit particular about noise levels, and I don't really find it acceptable that the plugins on the Mac only produce what feels like half the background noise.

 

[Lysander]

I have a preset with over 60 effects in it, (More than the entire QC grid) and thats not even including amps or cabs.

 

[CakeEater]

Right, since there isn't really an active Neural DSP plugin thread, I'll just say this here. With all the excitement and hubbub about Plini X, I'd love to see one tiny addition in the next update. A second skin, like we see in other plugins, and all that skin is, is the same UI with a black background. I love Archetype Plini, but it's absolutely dazzling at night when I do most of my playing.

 

[SeeD]

I love the Plugin Blend block we got in 3.0, it adds this nice EQ as you go from 20-30-40-50 %
I love using it to add a bit of DI Guitar into the lane, or add it to my Bass presets, and bring in some clarity from the DI signal into the mix.
Love it!

 

[Whizzinby]

WiFi too. My friend was over here with his QC and had a preset he wanted to share. He sent it to me via the Quad Cortex app, I received and downloaded it, and it was on my QC. Took like 1 minute. That was fucking cool.

Some guy (Davlav) had a QC video where he posted a link to a preset. I clicked it, it opened the app and took me to the preset, I DL'd it, it was on my QC. Again l, like 1 minute. That's just fun.

Yeah the wireless and cloud functions are ace

In that regard I think they’ve set the standard for future premium tier modelers. (UI + Wireless)

 

[mbenigni]

There are very few instances where the QC block/grid is better than the Frac imo.

To me it's more a question of which "workflow" is more intuitive to any given user. If you're mindset is "my amps have channels; I want my amp block to have channels", then I can see where the FAS paradigm makes sense. For me, managing channels within scenes within presets is just a bit much of a muchness, and the 4 channel/ 1 block (on FM3) limitation feels arbitrary. On QC I just put whatever I need in the preset, add and remove as I go, and tweak across scenes without having to give it much thought.

It's true that you burn through block space quickly, though. This is rarely an issue for me, but I can see where the FM9/ AxeFX grid would be more attractive for you effects maniacs.

 

[mbenigni]

Yeah the wireless and cloud functions are ace

In that regard I think they’ve set the standard for future premium tier modelers. (UI + Wireless)

I remember, going all the way back to the "official original" thread at TOP, how everyone would poop all over the cloud integration, and I'd just SMH. I mean, ignore it entirely if you have some kind of phobia, but it adds all kinds of value.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I remember, going all the way back to the "official original" thread at TOP, how everyone would poop all over the cloud integration, and I'd just SMH. I mean, ignore it entirely if you have some kind of phobia, but it adds all kinds of value.

I think cloud ONLY was the pooping target (well, one of them )

Question is do you have to join into the cloud hivemind to get it up to date to 3.0? Or can you exist blissfully unaware and still be current?

 

[Achilles]

So far the only amp model in the QC I really like is the Kraken.

Have you tried the Mesa Mark III red stripe capture yet?
That was my go to most of the time on the QC.

 

[mbenigni]

I think cloud ONLY was the pooping target (well, one of them )

Yeah, I think the criticisms about not being able to back up or save presets to PC/Mac were warranted. But there were other complaints - some of which have persisted right into this thread - that make zero sense to me. Somebody here has said several times that they dislike selecting captures on an iOS app and having them appear automatically on their QC. I have a hard time imagining anything easier. Maybe an on-device browser would be nice, but then, I'm not always on the device.

Question is do you have to join into the cloud hivemind to get it up to date to 3.0? Or can you exist blissfully unaware and still be current?

I think this depends on how you define "joining into the cloud hivemind". The QC is downloading the update from the web, so I guess this is a "cloud feature"? But I didn't have to mess with any apps or anything. I just pressed a couple of onscreen buttons on the QC itself.

 

[mikah912]

I remember, going all the way back to the "official original" thread at TOP, how everyone would poop all over the cloud integration, and I'd just SMH. I mean, ignore it entirely if you have some kind of phobia, but it adds all kinds of value.

I think it was the lack of offline/mass file/individual preset backup control that put people off, really. We get too many outages with cloud-based services these days for people to feel fully comfortable putting all of their eggs in that one basket. All it takes is one time when you really want/need to post on social media/play Xbox Live/transfer an important file to a client/etc. and have that not be available for you to start thinking the same.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Yeah, I think the criticisms about not being able to back up or save presets to PC/Mac were warranted. But there were other complaints - some of which have persisted right into this thread - that make zero sense to me. Somebody here has said several times that they dislike selecting captures on an iOS app and having them appear automatically on their QC. I have a hard time imagining anything easier. Maybe an on-device browser would be nice, but then, I'm not always on the device.


I think this depends on how you define "joining into the cloud hivemind". The QC is downloading the update from the web, so I guess this is a "cloud feature"? But I didn't have to mess with any apps or anything. I just pressed a couple of onscreen buttons on the QC itself.

Joining the cloud hivemind aka creating an account and giving the Neural turds your contact information.

 

[mikah912]

Have you tried the Mesa Mark III red stripe capture yet?
That was my go to most of the time on the QC.

I don't think anyone lacks for good captures on QC for pretty much any genre. He was talking specifically about the amp models, which I also found to be a bit limited. To be fair, tho, I pulled the cord before they added the Herbert, Kraken and JP2C models.

The JP2C and Herbert aren't go-tos for me on the FM9 either. The Kraken drive channel is pretty 5150-based, from what I understand.

 

[mikah912]

Joining the cloud hivemind aka creating an account and giving the Neural turds your contact information.

No escaping that. You have to log in to your QC for file management/plugin authentication/using any free or third party files.

 

[JiveTurkey]

No escaping that. You have to log in to your QC for file management/plugin authentication/using any free or third party files.

Boo. Gross. Nope.