NDSP Quad Cortex
- Thread starter Jarick
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Lysander
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"Borderline" is doing a loooooooot of work here
QC's capture technology has little to do with AI-based solutions (NAM, Tonex) and more with Kemper's.
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If it is doing anything like NAM, then at the very least I would wager they're using pre-trained models and then using their test signals to fill in the details.
NAM is far more accurate and enjoyable to play than QC.
Southpaw-DD
Roadie
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Decided to sell my QC this week and it moved within 48 hours. I really like some aspects of the unit. I mostly play while sitting at a computer desk so the Axe FX III setup makes the most sense for me to focus on and I can still use the NDSP plug-ins.
I would love a NDSP QC native plug-in to be able to use captures.
I would love a NDSP QC native plug-in to be able to use captures.
2dor
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Thinking about moving mine as well. While very convenient due to form-factor & ease of use / editing, there's just something about how everything sounds in the unit that just comes across as plastic-y imho & I think it's software bound because I also used VB Matrix to route the DI of my guitar plugged into my RME UXC Ii into the QC using the USB ins & outs and routed the audio from the QC back to RME via the USB outs. I trust that RME UCX II 100% and even so, there's just something a bit less lush even when I compare the Nameless plugin on the PC vs the QC port. It's not BAD, it's just not a 1:1 at least in the tests I carried out. The noise gates also don't behave that great even if sidechained to the DI input & placed after the amp block.
Thing is, I still need something easy to lug around so until I figure out what I might replace it with, I'll hang on to it ... not because I like the unit but more because it's convenient. Oh, and it still doesn't have a built-in metronome 5 years after launch.
ejecta
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Since a lot seem to be sharing the fate of their QC… at this moment you can pry mine from my cold dead hands. The Amalgom capture of a plexi style amp is all I need and the QC with that capature does an imitation of a plexi amp better than anything I’ve tried and the effects to me sound just fine. Still doesn’t sound and feel exactly like my amps but for situations where I have to go direct it will work the best for my tastes and I can leave my Helix as part of my studio setup where it works best for me. Now I have a better sounding and smaller direct gig rig. Win…. win.
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Mongillo19
Rock Star
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Sounds like you maybe could have benefited from the Nano Cortex vs the Quad?
Jarick
Rock Star
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Same, I will continue to use the plugins. I'd love a unifying plugin which has all the models you own and could mix and match. But I can't see that happening with their development...
Sonically it was good to me, but limiting overall. Felt like almost everything on the unit, Fractal could do better. So for me it was hanging onto a piece of hardware because I liked the design and potential, but ultimately that doesn't make sense for a home player.
I also didn't fully trust the hardware for longevity...the input jack had loosened over time internally which made me nervous. Plus the impedance issue which NDSP did fix for me free of charge, but again makes me nervous for longevity.
Lack of development was a big one too, it seems that pace has slowed drastically. When I got mine end of 2023 they had released the computer editor and added a bunch of models and were prepping for plugin compatability. I think all this time later they have four plugins done, added a couple amps and effects, and that's it. Honestly think we'll see next gen Helix or Fractal gear before NDSP catches up to where they should have been.
Southpaw-DD
Roadie
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Of all the units I've owned, Helix, Kemper, Fractal, and QC - the QC is my favorite for the built-in cabs and how easy it seemed to get a great sound in seconds. The user interface for that is also well implemented.
If I were playing live, it would be a tough choice between the FM9 and QC for me.
If I were playing live, it would be a tough choice between the FM9 and QC for me.
ejecta
Shredder
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I like to run my direct rigs with a mix of scenes and a pedal board type of layout so having more switches is a must for me. The nano would be a pass on that aspect alone.
2dor
Shredder
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For live gigging, I think the QC still wins because the ease-of-use. FM9 is still the better sounding unit & more mature / flexible but withouth a PC editor, it's a no-go at least in my book.
AFKAEjay(retired)
Roadie
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QC still has an undisputed spot in my rig, my list:
- does captures, multiple in 1 preset
- does scenes
- fits a gigbag yet has enough switches to be a rockgod
- the bread & butter efx, of which one dual delay with crossfeedback.
Since I use the QC,I shifted to only using captures of my analog gear (also drives) and also shifted to using captures of preamps instead of full amps. (+poweramp captures for foh). That closed the book of “digital tonehunt”, improved my sound using returns of amps, and integrates seemlessly into a hybrid approach where I sometimes use 4cm…but when I do, my sounds/preset setup can remain the same cause it’s all it does is flipping between real/captured preamps.
I can imagine switching to another unit if one pops up with the same capabilities & formfactor..but with better time efx, but tbh..even then I might save myself the trouble of setting up/capturing stuff again, cause it works fine now.
- does captures, multiple in 1 preset
- does scenes
- fits a gigbag yet has enough switches to be a rockgod
- the bread & butter efx, of which one dual delay with crossfeedback.
Since I use the QC,I shifted to only using captures of my analog gear (also drives) and also shifted to using captures of preamps instead of full amps. (+poweramp captures for foh). That closed the book of “digital tonehunt”, improved my sound using returns of amps, and integrates seemlessly into a hybrid approach where I sometimes use 4cm…but when I do, my sounds/preset setup can remain the same cause it’s all it does is flipping between real/captured preamps.
I can imagine switching to another unit if one pops up with the same capabilities & formfactor..but with better time efx, but tbh..even then I might save myself the trouble of setting up/capturing stuff again, cause it works fine now.
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I agree. I don't really understand what 2dor is saying re: QC sounding "plastic-y" above. I often felt that way about Helix, but never QC - even when I was A/Bing the QC against an FM3.
But I get why some people would choose to move on from the QC. If you need a really diverse palette of FX, Helix and Fractal walk all over it. And Fractal high gain models "chug" much more convincingly based on my brief experience. (Which is weird because so many people seem to reflexively associate QC with the metal crowd. I think it fares much better as a clean/ mid-gain/ maybe "classic" high gain platform.) And again, the QC does have a significant amount of noise that can get unmanageable with high gain amps. (I finally confirmed over the weekend that isolating the unit from AC power doesn't help in this regard. Guitar -> battery-powered QC -> FR10 and nothing else, still more hiss than I would prefer.)
But yeah. Easy to make sound great + 11 encoders/switches + touchscreen = not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
Elric
Roadie
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Agree. That’s absolute nonsense. My QC’s a definite keeper. Love the form factor, power, I/O, UI and quality (and simple process) of captures.
nicolasrivera
Roadie
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Yes, the QC is a keeper, just not the best unit for the moeny out there.
2dor
Shredder
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Could very well be nonsense for some; just my 2 cents on how I perceive the high-gain sounds coming out of it now that I'm on my 2nd unit. It's a great gigging solution & checks all the "must have" boxes but something in the way its amps sound / behave doesn't really hit home.
Los-D
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It’s not nonsense when A/B’d with an amp for me. I don’t recall my FM3 ever sounding that way. YMMV as always
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Yeah, I would have stopped short of “absolute nonsense” LOL. So much of this is subjective. I’m sure I’m more forgiving of the way the QC sounds, simply because I like the way it works in every other regard.
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The price tag does set the bar pretty high.
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