NDSP Quad Cortex

[northern_fox]

The upper midrange 'smoothing' that makes it sound more present and lack of sub low end push seem to be the main characteristics I notice with the QC. Also really depends on what it is you're capturing - but that's one of those things that really only shows itself in precise solo A/B against the reference and it also isn't universally the case

 

[laxu]

These pro-QC / QC-curious threads the past couple of weeks are a long overdue relief from:

View attachment 16091
(sic.)

The turning point was clearly the release of the TMP and then the less favorable tests from last month. IK's blunders and lack of action with the Tonex have probably helped too...not a lot of "Kemper and QC killer" type talk about it anymore.

This is funnily enough one of the few threads here that is about the device and what it can do, rather than bickering about what it can't do or what was promised. That of course doesn't let NDSP off the hook, but there's a lot of things to enjoy about the QC.

PS. You can find my Victory VC35 and Bogner Goldfinger 45 SL captures in the cloud under the same username I use here. I can't remember how they stack up, but at the time I thought they represented my favorite settings on the amps pretty decently. There's also some "all knobs at noon" captures if you want to try tweaking them with the post-EQ in the capture block.

 

[GTR37]

Too me as far as sound goes from owning one early to what most of the comparison demos show the QC is #2 right behind the Fractal even not using the captures
Helix to my ears still is off a bit
Not huge and can be tweaked to sound good but ifs more work
The TMP as others mentioned have just boosted NDSP but showing the comparison of the 2 devices
So for me end of 2023
It’s Fractal
NDSP
Line6
Kemper

As others have mentioned if Fractal next Gen focuses on improved GUI and navigation , based on the current landscape I think the gap will widen further , compared to the other modeller modern interface design , it’s the only area fractal might be lacking to some

 

[Jarick]

For me it was a series of blind shootouts and clips where I was consistently picking QC in the top two for sound. Then seeing the computer editor along with a ton of QOL improvements.

Form factor is killer though. I don’t have a good portable modeler. There’s times I want to play guitar in my bedroom or plug into an amp across the room.

The Boss doesn’t have the tone and is clunky, the HX Stomp again I’m just over the amp sounds, Kemper needs to be hooked up to a computer to download rigs, Axe 3 lives on a shelf because it’s a big rack unit. Even the boards with the Friedman IRX and HX Stomp or Effects are kinda clunky.

If QC can add plugin support and expand their effects next year it’s going to be killer.

 

[Jarick]

I could also be a lot more interested in next gen versions of Helix or Kemper.

I actually think the Kemper profiles especially with liquid profiling are still quite good, but the interface and working with rig manager sucks. If I could do everything off an iPad or have a touch screen on the device plus store my rigs in the cloud that would be so much easier. Still use the same profiles and build off the effects but more modern interface.

For Helix I feel like there’s misses in the amp modeling at this point and the form factor could be improved. The amps seem to lack some depth and have a push in the midrange that can be annoying. Would also like to see a more compact unit with more DSP. Hopefully for them it’s more like remastering and building off the platform instead of a complete new start from scratch unit.

 

[Achilles]

I could also be a lot more interested in next gen versions of Helix or Kemper.

Let's see if that sentiment still exists after a week with the Quad.

 

[Whizzinby]

If QC can add …

This is the path to madness.

 

[Mongillo19]

This is the path to madness.

Yup, you best be getting the QC for what it does now (which imo is still quite a bit)

 

[GTR37]

Yup, you best be getting the QC for what it does now (which imo is still quite a bit)

And as a an early owner it is way better now than it was at launch IMO

 

[Mongillo19]

And as a an early owner it is way better now than it was at launch IMO

Yeah it's better. But idk, I'm at the point where the company may be irredeemable to me. I still have their product but alas.

At this point, it was a blatant lie what they marketed the QC as. They made it out to be this ultimate unit with endless features to drum up preorder money and then released a unit that had a fraction of what was promised.

Yeah it was COVID times and whatnot but the fact that they still don't have it up to what was promised further proves they were just be dishonest. While I've had excellent support when needed, it doesn't negate the fact the company is built on lies and false promises.

They have a long way to go to make it up to users imo

 

[timbuck3]

if fractal can just revamp the gui on next gen it would be nice. They pretty much have the amps and effects and power amp thing down pretty good.

 

[Jarick]

Picked it up over lunch.

First impressions: it is quite compact! Fits on a desktop easily. Just a little bit bigger than the HX Effects. Good looking device too, nice beveled machined edge and the grey is a good color. It doesn't feel as rugged or sturdy as Fractal or Helix gear though, a little more of a pretty studio unit.

Touchscreen is nice and big, fairly responsive, better than the old Headrush devices for sure but not like a modern phone or tablet. The footswitch knobs feel different than I expected but seem to work fine. Actually dragging on the screen to adjust knob values works great too, unlike Headrush sliders.

Created one preset from scratch pretty easily. Just a basic Deluxe Reverb with cab, reverb, delay, chorus, and compressor. It sounds pretty good! Spinning through factory presets sounds good as well. It's not knocking my socks off but I need to dive deeper especially loading my own IR's.

 

[Mongillo19]

Picked it up over lunch.

First impressions: it is quite compact! Fits on a desktop easily. Just a little bit bigger than the HX Effects. Good looking device too, nice beveled machined edge and the grey is a good color. It doesn't feel as rugged or sturdy as Fractal or Helix gear though, a little more of a pretty studio unit.

Touchscreen is nice and big, fairly responsive, better than the old Headrush devices for sure but not like a modern phone or tablet. The footswitch knobs feel different than I expected but seem to work fine. Actually dragging on the screen to adjust knob values works great too, unlike Headrush sliders.

Created one preset from scratch pretty easily. Just a basic Deluxe Reverb with cab, reverb, delay, chorus, and compressor. It sounds pretty good! Spinning through factory presets sounds good as well. It's not knocking my socks off but I need to dive deeper especially loading my own IR's.

The effects don't hold a candle to fractal. The spring reverb....is it even a spring reverb? It sounds so bad. Maybe I'm dialing it in wrong.

The models don't have the same nuances as fractal but still sound good in their own right. Captures are really fun but searching for captures is not (not NDSP specific, felt the same about Tone X and Kemper)

 

[SeeD]

Picked it up over lunch.

First impressions: it is quite compact! Fits on a desktop easily. Just a little bit bigger than the HX Effects. Good looking device too, nice beveled machined edge and the grey is a good color. It doesn't feel as rugged or sturdy as Fractal or Helix gear though, a little more of a pretty studio unit.

Touchscreen is nice and big, fairly responsive, better than the old Headrush devices for sure but not like a modern phone or tablet. The footswitch knobs feel different than I expected but seem to work fine. Actually dragging on the screen to adjust knob values works great too, unlike Headrush sliders.

Created one preset from scratch pretty easily. Just a basic Deluxe Reverb with cab, reverb, delay, chorus, and compressor. It sounds pretty good! Spinning through factory presets sounds good as well. It's not knocking my socks off but I need to dive deeper especially loading my own IR's.

Enjoy your new device, it`s fun to use and sounds good. I still enjoy mine after 2 years. It`s so much fun to go look at stuff on the Cortex Cloud, and just press download, and it`s on your QC in an instent (under dowloads captures)
QC needs a folder structure in the capture device list, scroling is a pain, but try using the Cortex Control editor. Or just drag your finger on the rigth side on the QC screen ( jumping from A-B-C.. and so on)

 

[timbuck3]

For me it was a series of blind shootouts and clips where I was consistently picking QC in the top two for sound. Then seeing the computer editor along with a ton of QOL improvements.

Form factor is killer though. I don’t have a good portable modeler. There’s times I want to play guitar in my bedroom or plug into an amp across the room.

The Boss doesn’t have the tone and is clunky, the HX Stomp again I’m just over the amp sounds, Kemper needs to be hooked up to a computer to download rigs, Axe 3 lives on a shelf because it’s a big rack unit. Even the boards with the Friedman IRX and HX Stomp or Effects are kinda clunky.

If QC can add plugin support and expand their effects next year it’s going to be killer.

maybe now you can sell off your old modelers collecting dust?

 

[JiveTurkey]

maybe now you can sell off your old modelers collecting dust?

Are you in the market

 

[luckymethod]

Why bother with the QC if you have the Axe FX 3 and lots of other stuff?.

Good question. Let me add another question: why bother posting a very long post of impressions about a product you don't own yet? If you're set on it and you seem to be maybe invest the energy in telling us how you feel AFTER you had time to compare. Just spitballing here

 

[Mongillo19]

Good question. Let me add another question: why bother posting a very long post of impressions about a product you don't own yet? If you're set on it and you seem to be maybe invest the energy in telling us how you feel AFTER you had time to compare. Just spitballing here

Probably because people have to walk a little bit on egg shells around here with the QC

 

[mbenigni]

Probably because people have to walk a little bit on egg shells around here with the QC

Yeah, believe me, when a TGF member considers buying a QC, that's news enough. The OP had me on the edge of my seat.

 

[mbenigni]

Picked it up over lunch.

First impressions: it is quite compact! Fits on a desktop easily. Just a little bit bigger than the HX Effects. Good looking device too, nice beveled machined edge and the grey is a good color. It doesn't feel as rugged or sturdy as Fractal or Helix gear though, a little more of a pretty studio unit.

Touchscreen is nice and big, fairly responsive, better than the old Headrush devices for sure but not like a modern phone or tablet. The footswitch knobs feel different than I expected but seem to work fine. Actually dragging on the screen to adjust knob values works great too, unlike Headrush sliders.

Created one preset from scratch pretty easily. Just a basic Deluxe Reverb with cab, reverb, delay, chorus, and compressor. It sounds pretty good! Spinning through factory presets sounds good as well. It's not knocking my socks off but I need to dive deeper especially loading my own IR's.

I actually like the presets, but they're really dry across the board. Like, barely discernable room reverb, if that. I like to add a little plate or hall (yes, the spring sucks) while listening, but that sure slows the auditioning process down. Especially with the gratuitously stereo or quad-path presets. (You can cut a lot of these in half and they sound just as good IMO.)