NDSP Quad Cortex

[paisleywookiee]

Finished up a QC pedalboard recently and I'm pretty happy with the size and convenience (and tone, of course). I like the ease of setting up Hotone expression pedal with the toe switch to toggle volume/wah pedal function.

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That looks fantastic. Cool that Temple came out with the XLR module.

 

[Orvillain]

I just listed mine on eBay. It is a good device, and this second outing was much better than the first, but ultimately, it just isn't a pro device. Plugin support is cool, but it just isn't enough.

 

[Southpaw-DD]

I tend to get hot and cold (love/meh) with a digital device and feel like my ears need a reset. I think it has more to do with IRs and "listening to a mic'd cab" than the models or effects.

I like both Fractal and QC and will probably hang on to them at least until the next generation. The QC will stay for captures and plug-in support as the main reason.

 

[Jarick]

I tend to get hot and cold (love/meh) with a digital device and feel like my ears need a reset. I think it has more to do with IRs and "listening to a mic'd cab" than the models or effects.

I like both Fractal and QC and will probably hang on to them at least until the next generation. The QC will stay for captures and plug-in support as the main reason.

I could not agree with you more!

I've been quite cold on all my modelers lately, but my actual amp doesn't sound great either. So best I can do is run through a different monitor (like the Fender FR-12 instead of my iLoud Precisions).

I will 100% get flamed for this but I stumbled onto this video a few days ago and kind of agree with his "harsh high end" assessment:



There's something in the digital world that seems to have more high end than expected. If I run a modeler into a flat power amp into a speaker cab, there's still a lot of harshness. I have to use high cuts and EQ even though in theory I shouldn't have to as that's how the real amp is supposed to be. Others will keep cab sims on (like John Cordy), and even Cory Wong said he runs the Quad Cortex into the front of clean Fender tube amps.

I think this gets compounded with flat solid state amps too. Here's a measurement I took of a Blackstar guitar amp effects return (power amp) vs a Boss Katana effects return (power amp):

Anyways, to me the Fractal is the brightest of the current amp modelers, Kemper the warmest, and QC somewhere in between. There's less fussing with the sound to fight the high end on the QC to me, but the Fractal effects are so much more varied and richer.

 

[Los-D]

At home, I always use EQ regardless of monitor (or DI) solution, dropping 8K and 16K in my 10-band EQ a lot (I have a bad case of tinnitus). If I am using headphones for practice, I’ll start dropping at 6K or even lower.

When I jam with friends, though, whether through SS amp / cab or PA, I would remove EQ cuts and start adding slight ones (at gig level of course).

In my experience the QC was the worst one before EQ. Fractal/L6 might be brighter for a given tone but found QC harsher. YMMV

 

[GTR37]

At home, I always use EQ regardless of monitor (or DI) solution, dropping 8K and 16K in my 10-band EQ a lot (I have a bad case of tinnitus). If I am using headphones for practice, I’ll start dropping at 6K or even lower.

When I jam with friends, though, whether through amp / cab or PA, I would remove EQ cuts and start adding slight ones (at gig level of course).

In my experience the QC was the worst one before EQ. Fractal/L6 might be brighter but found QC harsher. YMMV

Agreed I personally find QC much brighter than the Fractal or at least prior to the last few. Updates
Fractal to me has always been like the Freidman / Bogner of models where I have to turn up the top end

 

[JiveTurkey]

Bright is the absolute last descriptor I'd use for Fractal. Helix? Absolutely. Boss? Yes.

 

[MTB1973]

“If I run a modeler into a flat power amp into a speaker cab, there's still a lot of harshness. I have to use high cuts and EQ even though in theory I shouldn't have to as that's how the real amp is supposed to be…”

I am struggling with this as well. I often have to cut quite a bit of high end when using power amp and cab.

 

[Southpaw-DD]

I've never meshed with a modeler into a regular guitar cab after trying for years on end. It usually leads me to even more tweaking and trying to compare to a real amp again. I've walled off my gear to separate for digital/full-range and tube/pedals/cabs.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

There's something in the digital world that seems to have more high end than expected. If I run a modeler into a flat power amp into a speaker cab, there's still a lot of harshness. I have to use high cuts and EQ even though in theory I shouldn't have to as that's how the real amp is supposed to be. Others will keep cab sims on (like John Cordy), and even Cory Wong said he runs the Quad Cortex into the front of clean Fender tube amps.

To me full models into to (whatever) poweramp always is on the bright side, and always needs a highshelf.
In my mind that’s cause of doubling up on the poweramp. (Though your graph doesn’t reflect that..impedance curve the root cause?(idnk)
I don’t think it’s the modeling tech itself causing it…captures of preamps are spot on..and work flawlessly into powersections

 

[Orvillain]

Just accepted an offer on my Quad Cortex. Waiting for payment, but looks like it is gone.

 

[Lysander]

Just accepted an offer on my Quad Cortex. Waiting for payment, but looks like it is gone.

 

[mikah912]

Just accepted an offer on my Quad Cortex. Waiting for payment, but looks like it is gone.

You - and probably a bunch of other people - will likely circle back around once their firmware development team wakes up and clears this dumb PCOM logjam that has brought QC-exclusive progress to a standstill.

Well, IF that happens, I should say....

 

[Orvillain]

You - and probably a bunch of other people - will likely circle back around once their firmware development team wakes up and clears this dumb PCOM logjam that has brought QC-exclusive progress to a standstill.

Well, IF that happens, I should say....

This is my 2nd unit. I doubt I'll be back.

My issues aren't really with anything on the software side. I just don't think the hardware is as good as the Fractal or Line6 stuff - in terms of signal quality, levels, and noise. It has honestly sat on the shelf for at least 4 months, and I keep looking at it thinking... gotta get rid and pay off some credit card! So that's the plan.

 

[mbenigni]

This is my 2nd unit. I doubt I'll be back.

My issues aren't really with anything on the software side. I just don't think the hardware is as good as the Fractal or Line6 stuff - in terms of signal quality, levels, and noise. It has honestly sat on the shelf for at least 4 months, and I keep looking at it thinking... gotta get rid and pay off some credit card! So that's the plan.

The QC is definitely noisier when the gain starts piling on, no getting around it. That's about the only thing that occasionally makes me think, "Hmm, Fractal..." But I just enjoy using the QC so much more otherwise, it wins on balance.

I wouldn't expect you to buy a 3rd QC either. Honestly, I don't know why anyone who's already gotten over the FAS learning curve would be running anything other than FAS.

 

[Orvillain]

The QC is definitely noisier when the gain starts piling on, no getting around it. That's about the only thing that occasionally makes me think, "Hmm, Fractal..." But I just enjoy using the QC so much more otherwise, it wins on balance.

It is noiser with no effects in the preset, just going from any output to any destination device. The core noise floor is 6-10dB higher than Helix and Axe III !

 

[mbenigni]

It is noiser with no effects in the preset, just going from any output to any destination device. The core noise floor is 6-10dB higher than Helix and Axe III !

Yeah, that is a bummer, but it's a bummer I'm willing/ able to ignore at low gain. When I start trying to work up sounds for leads, and a noise gate is basically mandatory... that's harder to overlook.

 

[Los-D]

It is noiser with no effects in the preset, just going from any output to any destination device. The core noise floor is 6-10dB higher than Helix and Axe III !

 

[Elric]

Re High End: I've always felt Fractal's choices, re Cab IRs default significantly too dark for me, personally. I tend to find myself swapping them out to get it more present. I think the Dynacabs are more balanced than the IRs.

 

[Mongillo19]

March 5, 2025
Quad Cortex Development Update #55

We’re still deep in development on CorOS 3.2.0, which will bring Parallax X and Archetype: Nolly X to Quad Cortex, along with some other highly requested features.

Porting these plugins has been more technically challenging than we anticipated while maintaining our high standards for audio quality and user experience. Progress is steady, but we’re not quite at the beta stage yet.

We’ll share more details when CorOS 3.2.0 is approaching beta, including a closer look at what’s coming in the update.

Thank you for your patience.

Quad Cortex Development Update #55

Quad Cortex Development Update #55

neuraldsp.com

Whooo boy