NDSP Quad Cortex

[Sedaxel]

Pricewise I don´t think there´s other unit more justified than the QC, IMO. Just the cost of that hardware, processing power, I/Os... not to speak about doing captures and sims (being both at very high quality level)... you could think in units you like most, or that give you an approach that is better suited for your needs, but honestly, for aprox the same price you have the Kemper Stage, the TMP, Helix Floor for 200€ less... And the FM9 is noticeably more expensive in Europe (2.3k). Which of that units is better "for the money"?

So... I don´t agree that it´s not the unit "for the money". If I had to spend 1.5k in a unit, for me there´s no other option. I still wouldn´t buy it because I think all units are far from being perfect, honestly... and that´s what surprises me. All have one or another detail that is meh...

Of course, if it doesn´t suite your needs, then the money is a no-go. But I don´t think there´s a cheaper unit that is objectively "better" than the QC, or that justifies its price tag in a better way. And sorry, don´t tell me the Ampero II Stage, please. Being great, it´s in another league. I guess We are all talking about top tiers.

 

[2dor]

Pricewise I don´t think there´s other unit more justified than the QC, IMO. Just the cost of that hardware, processing power, I/Os... not to speak about doing captures and sims (being both at very high quality level)... you could think in units you like most, or that give you an approach that is better suited for your needs, but honestly, for aprox the same price you have the Kemper Stage, the TMP, Helix Floor for 200€ less... And the FM9 is noticeably more expensive in Europe (2.3k). Which of that units is better "for the money"?

So... I don´t agree that it´s not the unit "for the money". If I had to spend 1.5k in a unit, for me there´s no other option. I still wouldn´t buy it because I think all units are far from being perfect, honestly... and that´s what surprises me. All have one or another detail that is meh...

Of course, if it doesn´t suite your needs, then the money is a no-go. But I don´t think there´s a cheaper unit that is objectively "better" than the QC, or that justifies its price tag in a better way. And sorry, don´t tell me the Ampero II Stage, please. Being great, it´s in another league. I guess We are all talking about top tiers.

I tend to agree here. It's a pretty attractive package overall & I love what it offers in terms of portability, routing & I/O. The guys I play with also dig it because we can just go straight into it and be all set but they're not gear snobs lol (which I think I'm becoming with each passing day).

 

[laxu]

Pricewise I don´t think there´s other unit more justified than the QC, IMO. Just the cost of that hardware, processing power, I/Os... not to speak about doing captures and sims (being both at very high quality level)... you could think in units you like most, or that give you an approach that is better suited for your needs, but honestly, for aprox the same price you have the Kemper Stage, the TMP, Helix Floor for 200€ less... And the FM9 is noticeably more expensive in Europe (2.3k). Which of that units is better "for the money"?

So... I don´t agree that it´s not the unit "for the money". If I had to spend 1.5k in a unit, for me there´s no other option. I still wouldn´t buy it because I think all units are far from being perfect, honestly... and that´s what surprises me. All have one or another detail that is meh...

Of course, if it doesn´t suite your needs, then the money is a no-go. But I don´t think there´s a cheaper unit that is objectively "better" than the QC, or that justifies its price tag in a better way. And sorry, don´t tell me the Ampero II Stage, please. Being great, it´s in another league. I guess We are all talking about top tiers.

IMO the Helix Floor is an overall better product, and with the dirt cheap Helix Native for hardware owners there's even more value to that platform. I don't care for its large physical size, but it is a true all-in-one, with no extras needed.

At 10 years old, I think Line6 got a lot about it right from the start, considering how much NDSP or Hotone have also imitated its UI. If Line6 had put in the touchscreen it was originally supposed to have...I think the current set of modelers would look different today.

I agree it's hard to justify the roughly 800 € price difference of the FM9 to the Helix or QC. In the US it's a no-brainer as the FM9 and QC are about the same price.

Hotone Ampero 2 range challenges the 2-4x more expensive products, and while it falls short of them in several areas...it's still pretty damn solid considering the cost. I think it's the closest to the "Dual Cortex" concept, especially with the compact A2 Stomp. The hardware is very good quality where I've had no major issues with it no matter how I've used the A2 Stomp.

The Quad Cortex has the potential to be the best modeler on the market, but Neural DSP seems so far from realising it. TINA has not brought any faster pace development of new amp or drive models, effects selection isn't moving much etc. I just don't have any faith in their development. I don't think they'll ever get there and new products from other brands will overtake them.

 

[Sedaxel]

IMO the Helix Floor is an overall better product, and with the dirt cheap Helix Native for hardware owners there's even more value to that platform. I don't care for its large physical size, but it is a true all-in-one, with no extras needed.

Fair enough. Even so, I don´t think it´s objectively better. The QC has capturing, more power, more modern hardware... and I find it better sounding, honestly. But apart from my tastes (or yours), I don´t think either of them clearly leading the race. Again... if I´m spending 1.5k... it´s absolutely not going to be in a 10-year old unit (but that´s just me).

At 10 years old, I think Line6 got a lot about it right from the start, considering how much NDSP or Hotone have also imitated its UI. If Line6 had put in the touchscreen it was originally supposed to have...I think the current set of modelers would look different today.

I loved my Helix LT. But it didn´t sound as good as the QC I played (nor the NC I now have). The UI was a home run, sure. That said... now the unit is old, and while being still great... it´s not as great as the QC (IMO, of course).

I agree it's hard to justify the roughly 800 € price difference of the FM9 to the Helix or QC. In the US it's a no-brainer as the FM9 and QC are about the same price.

Maybe yes, maybe not. If they had the same price, I wouldn´t buy the FM9 over the QC either. Just because of the user experience, which for me is as important as sound quality or effects variety. FM9 hardware and UI is not giving what this age has to offer, sorry. That kills the "no brainer" thing for me.

Hotone Ampero 2 range challenges the 2-4x more expensive products, and while it falls short of them in several areas...it's still pretty damn solid considering the cost. I think it's the closest to the "Dual Cortex" concept, especially with the compact A2 Stomp. The hardware is very good quality where I've had no major issues with it no matter how I've used the A2 Stomp.

Ampero II falls short, full stop. It´s great, yeah. But it´s on another level. Now, if We´re not speaking about the top tiers... sure, the Ampero is a strong contender. Even more if We think (as I do) that there´s not a single one unit that is perfect, so spending less money in a good unit can be much worthy depending on each one´s use case.

The Quad Cortex has the potential to be the best modeler on the market, but Neural DSP seems so far from realising it. TINA has not brought any faster pace development of new amp or drive models, effects selection isn't moving much etc. I just don't have any faith in their development. I don't think they'll ever get there and new products from other brands will overtake them.

That´s another story... yeah.

 

[laxu]

Fair enough. Even so, I don´t think it´s objectively better. The QC has capturing, more power, more modern hardware... and I find it better sounding, honestly. But apart from my tastes (or yours), I don´t think either of them clearly leading the race. Again... if I´m spending 1.5k... it´s absolutely not going to be in a 10-year old unit (but that´s just me).

I loved my Helix LT. But it didn´t sound as good as the QC I played (nor the NC I now have). The UI was a home run, sure. That said... now the unit is old, and while being still great... it´s not as great as the QC (IMO, of course).

I put the Helix and QC head to head when the QC was released, and felt they were on par for amp modeling, and Helix had better fx in several categories. The effects quality was disappointing to me on the QC, which is why I sold it.

It's fair to not want to buy an old platform, it's why I don't bother with the Kemper. I wouldn't buy Helix new either.

Maybe yes, maybe not. If they had the same price, I wouldn´t buy the FM9 over the QC either. Just because of the user experience, which for me is as important as sound quality or effects variety. FM9 hardware and UI is not giving what this age has to offer, sorry. That kills the "no brainer" thing for me.

Axe-Edit is good enough that you can live with the onboard UI - and I'm saying this as the strongest critic of the Fractal onboard UI. IMO Fractal is so far ahead for effects, overall functionality etc. The captures are at least for me largely irrelevant when Fractal has so many amp models to choose from. That basically leaves the form factor and onboard UI as the only advantages the QC has over the FM9, with several negatives to counter it.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

I also think the remarks about price are a bit silly. Bottom line..there’s loads of people sound of mind using this device…so appearently people set different priorities. Every unit has different strengths, there is no “best for everything”.

Sound of amps, and this goes for all top tier units, putting one over the other seems like rating a car based on the destination it drove you tbh. To me..my observation is that captures are accurate…that’s all i need to know.

 

[mbenigni]

I loved my Helix LT. But it didn´t sound as good as the QC I played (nor the NC I now have). The UI was a home run, sure. That said... now the unit is old, and while being still great... it´s not as great as the QC (IMO, of course).

Helix UI/UX was a massive leap forward when it came to market (and I loved it!) In some ways QC appears to have borrowed from it and iterated. But the bottom line is, the QC UI is a substantial improvement over Helix. Touchscreen is only one aspect of this. The use of hybrid switches in order to get so many encoders onto a unit with such a small footprint is brilliant. As is the elimination of a bunch of cascading text menus in favor of a single, readily accessible image of the back panel I/O.

Maybe yes, maybe not. If they had the same price, I wouldn´t buy the FM9 over the QC either. Just because of the user experience, which for me is as important as sound quality or effects variety. FM9 hardware and UI is not giving what this age has to offer, sorry. That kills the "no brainer" thing for me.

Same here. Money where my mouth is: I owned a QC and an FM3 and could have kept both, but I decided I'd rather own 2 QCs. It's a workflow thing, mainly. I live on the Edit screen, and with just a couple of swipes on the touchscreen I can add/ remove/ change instrumentation, repurpose I/O, etc. These things are always speedbumps on other platforms.

 

[Jarick]

QC is definitely unique as the easiest device to learn/use and the only device I can think of that runs multiple captures. It's also super powerful, sounds really good, and offers a lot of switching in a compact package.

Just depends on your use case. Sonically it's in the same ballpark as the Fractal on average, both maybe a tick above Helix but that could just be my bias. Effects it's behind those others. And my trust factor for reliability during gigging would be Fractal 1, Helix 2, then QC 3.

If the development team took a different approach, being much more agile and less focused on fulfilling marketing dreams, the QC could be an absolute monster.

 

[mbenigni]

Looks like they are saying next big update
3.2 is going to have PCOM
For Namless , Parallaxe, SLO and Nolly now

I'm a little turned around. I got an email this week saying that SLO-100 X is now compatible with QC, but the email didn't say anything about a firmware update. Is this just old news - i.e. new hype for a plugin that had PCOM compatibility months ago?

 

[Mikael Dez]

I'm a little turned around. I got an email this week saying that SLO-100 X is now compatible with QC, but the email didn't say anything about a firmware update. Is this just old news - i.e. new hype for a plugin that had PCOM compatibility months ago?

Old news, that comment is September.

 

[Mikael Dez]

I know the history of why some of y’all get so fired up over the QC but it never fails to give me a smile to see the essays produced on here regarding the unit

 

[mbenigni]

Old news, that comment is September.

The comment I quoted, yes. But I don't think SLO-100 X was PCOM-compatible then, and I don't think NDSP has released f/w 3.2 yet(?) I could be wrong about that.

"PCOM-compatible" LOL.

 

[mbenigni]

I know the history of why some of y’all get so fired up over the QC but it never fails to give me a smile to see the essays produced on here regarding the unit

Versus TGP talking about... anything else, really?

 

[Orvillain]

I know the history of why some of y’all get so fired up over the QC but it never fails to give me a smile to see the essays produced on here regarding the unit

How did you feel about my noise floor comparisons?? Did you get a boner, or did you shit yourself?

 

[Mikael Dez]

How did you feel about my noise floor comparisons?? Did you get a boner, or did you shit yourself?

Both

 

[Orvillain]

Both

 

[deadpool_25]

The first plugins on the QC were Plini and Gojira IIRC?

Then Nameless and SLO, right?

And I think that's it so far?

 

[mbenigni]

The first plugins on the QC were Plini and Gojira IIRC?

Then Nameless and SLO, right?

And I think that's it so far?

OK, this is starting to ring a bell...