NDSP Quad Cortex

[laxu]

Same as on any of the full-fat Helixeseses. I thought the chips were actually identical between the QC and Helix Floor, etc., but I've since heard some people say that the QC has more DSP.

QC should be about double the processing power of the Helix.

Helix uses 2x ADSP-21469 and QC uses 2x ADSP-SC589 in case someone wants to look those up. Each of the SC589 is a dual core chip too, so 4 cores total.

 

[Orvillain]

QC should be about double the processing power of the Helix.

And half of the capabilities

 

[mbenigni]

And half of the capabilities

Half the effects != half the capabilities.

 

[Mikael Dez]

Half the effects != half the capabilities.

And more != better.

 

[Mikael Dez]

@mbenigni here’s an interesting one - captured my V:35 into my DSL return: https://cloud.neuraldsp.com/cloud/discover/preset/view/a90710ea-5829-42d1-9d0e-51358fcc29d2

 

[mbenigni]

 

[Mikael Dez]

F

 

[Mikael Dez]

me to my QC rn:

 

[eggpl@nt]

It’s obviously laughably quiet from the NDSP camp, even compared to the iceberg that is Kemper, but I’ve been jamming the QC a lot lately. Nameless into my fav York IRs is good. I’m still loving the Prometheus captures as well.

 

[Mikael Dez]

It’s obviously laughably quiet from the NDSP camp, even compared to the iceberg that is Kemper, but I’ve been jamming the QC a lot lately. Nameless into my fav York IRs is good. I’m still loving the Prometheus captures as well.

I think it’s the best current unit out there for my needs! If they had their shit together I definitely wouldn’t be looking at the Stadium. On one hand potential decade of updates and support vs whatever QC comes out with

 

[Mikael Dez]

It’s obviously laughably quiet from the NDSP camp, even compared to the iceberg that is Kemper, but I’ve been jamming the QC a lot lately. Nameless into my fav York IRs is good. I’m still loving the Prometheus captures as well.

I’ve got a Mesa and Zilla pack from them, I think they’re my fav IR co.

 

[mbenigni]

It’s obviously laughably quiet from the NDSP camp, even compared to the iceberg that is Kemper, but I’ve been jamming the QC a lot lately. Nameless into my fav York IRs is good. I’m still loving the Prometheus captures as well.

I still love mine and "no regerts". The Stadium timing is weird on several fronts, though. For one thing, my most recent band practice with QC+DSL100 had me thinking, "OK, this is it. Everything is perfect and I'm good on gear for a while." Line 6 comes along days later and says, "You may have all you need, baby, but we got something you want." Meanwhile, my studio QC goes tits up and reminds me, forcibly, that I can "survive" with just one.

So yeah, QC is still exceptional, tiny, paid for. But it's likely I'll have to start thinking about when to sell one of them. (Keeping the other either way.)

 

[mbenigni]

I think it’s the best current unit out there for my needs! If they had their shit together I definitely wouldn’t be looking at the Stadium. On one hand potential decade of updates and support vs whatever QC comes out with

Even if NDSP were firing on all cylinders (and I'm still hoping they'll pick up the pace a bit), the QC is pretty much a known quantity in terms of hardware and capabilities. It's never going to compete directly with Helix Stadium - but it still has its place if you value it's unique form factor, etc.

My biggest worry at this point is that Stadium is going to force competitors to lower their prices, and some of those competitors might find that it's no longer viable to continue manufacturing last gen products. I'd hate to see the Stadium announcement mark the end of the QC's life cycle.

 

[DrewJD82]

Even if NDSP were firing on all cylinders (and I'm still hoping they'll pick up the pace a bit), the QC is pretty much a known quantity in terms of hardware and capabilities. It's never going to compete directly with Helix Stadium - but it still has its place if you value it's unique form factor, etc.

My biggest worry at this point is that Stadium is going to force competitors to lower their prices, and some of those competitors might find that it's no longer viable to continue manufacturing last gen products. I'd hate to see the Stadium announcement mark the end of the QC's life cycle.

I popped on Discord today to see what things were looking like over there after the announcement, it’s going to be interesting as we get closer to the Stadium shipping date. ‘Sobering’ would probably an apt descriptor. There’s a few who are hopeful the Stadium will light a fire under NDSP’s ass, but it seems the majority have accepted a while ago it is what it is, comments about NDSP never looking at their social media for feedback, the two-teams working independently being BS, plugins taking precedence over the QC and poor management at the company went completely unchallenged, which is not how it used to be over there. Eventually a mod, after some ‘I’m coping’ quips toward Fractal, told everyone to move the discussion to another section of the Discord channel and then it was a ghost town for the next 4 hours.

 

[mbenigni]

I popped on Discord today to see what things were looking like over there after the announcement, it’s going to be interesting as we get closer to the Stadium shipping date. ‘Sobering’ would probably an apt descriptor. There’s a few who are hopeful the Stadium will light a fire under NDSP’s ass, but it seems the majority have accepted a while ago it is what it is, comments about NDSP never looking at their social media for feedback, the two-teams working independently being BS, plugins taking precedence over the QC and poor management at the company went completely unchallenged, which is not how it used to be over there. Eventually a mod, after some ‘I’m coping’ quips toward Fractal, told everyone to move the discussion to another section of the Discord channel and then it was a ghost town for the next 4 hours.

Two kinds of QC owners:

1. Those who understand that it is, more or less, what it is, and are getting exactly what they bargained for.
2. Those who are feeling disillusioned and pissed off.

But really, this Line 6 announcement is more about the Stadium being so much more than most would have anticipated - not about the QC being anything less than it ought to be (IMO, anyway.) I mean, at this point, the main deficits NDSP is running vs. their promises at launch have to do with content (amp and effect models) and plugin support. Otherwise, it does the job as advertised, and pretty gracefully (again, IMO.)

 

[deadpool_25]

I very much enjoy my QC even though it's currently collecting dust (the real amps are getting used these days). There are only a few things now that really keep me in QC land:

1. PCOM. I have a ton of their plugins and like them enough that having them on the unit is great, and will get better.

2. Ease of use. It's pretty damn simple to navigate and edit from the unit. I do find that preferable to editing on the computer, especially because my computer is in a different room than my rig.

3. Cortex Cloud. It's just fun to grab a preset or capture at any time the idea strikes me. I'm often watching a video at work or away from home and think it's a cool tone and then just grab it on the spot. And it's on my QC when I fire it up. I just find that so much fun.

4. Form factor. I love the size of the QC. I get the complaints about the foot switches being a bit too close but it's fine for me at home.

That's about it really. Those things have me satisfied with it even over the Fractal. And I do love me some Fractal.

But this Stadium has me intrigued now. I suppose I could Proxy the plugin amps, which somewhat takes care of number 1.

The Stadium looks as easy to use if not even more so which should negate number 2.

It sounds like L6 is looking at some kind of easy to access eco system with all the WiFi, Bluetooth, etc. capabilities. That's still TBD of course but I think but maybe number 3 might be addressed as well. If not, it might be a worthy sacrifice for the Stadium's other features.

Finally, the Stadium Floor is larger than the QC but still smaller than FM9. And I'm moving back into a slightly bigger space in the fall so this could be fine for number 4.

I love my QC but idk...

 

[2dor]

IMHO the form factor & ability to run 4 parallel signal paths are still something I see as the QCs biggest strengths.

If, now after the Stadium shakeup, NDSP add NAM support to QC & start releasing more amps, effects & functions I'm going to hold on to it.

If they don't make a move until November, mine is going up for sale.

 

[mbenigni]

IMHO the form factor & ability to run 4 parallel signal paths are still something I see as the QCs biggest strengths.

If, now after the Stadium shakeup, NDSP add NAM support to QC & start releasing more amps, effects & functions I'm going to hold on to it.

If they don't make a move until November, mine is going up for sale.

Form factor, again, is a "known quantity". Stadium (even the small one) is going to be a bit bigger than QC, no getting around it. Flipside is a bigger screen and more physical buttons, if you're into that kind of thing. (Personally, I think most of those buttons could have been on-screen elements, but I'll have to reserve judgement until I've worked with the UI myself. Which I 100% intend to do LOL.)

As for 4 parallel lanes, Helix Floor has been doing that since 2015.

I have to imagine we'll see at least a few more f/w revs out of NDSP, but if they're the same incremental moves we've seen over the last 4 years, they're not going to move the needle vs. Stadium to any significant degree.

 

[LCW]

Ordered an open box QC from SW but on the fence whether I’ll refuse delivery. All this hype for Stadium and doom for QC has me second guessing.

With all my real amps I’ve neglected my Nano for the last 6 months but recently busted it out and realize how fun they are. But having a screen and full amp modeling (not just captures) would be more fun. So impulsively ordered a QC when I saw they had some cheaper open boxes (past experience is that they are practically new)…

 

[mbenigni]

Ordered an open box QC from SW but on the fence whether I’ll refuse delivery. All this hype for Stadium and doom for QC has me second guessing.

With all my real amps I’ve neglected my Nano for the last 6 months but recently busted it out and realize how fun they are. But having a screen and full amp modeling (not just captures) would be more fun. So impulsively ordered a QC when I saw they had some cheaper open boxes (past experience is that they are practically new)…

I have every intention of purchasing a Stadium when the time is right, but the QC is still a "from my cold dead hands" piece, for whatever that's worth.