Neural DSP Nano Cortex

[MirrorProfiles]

Think of it another way.

You’re a TOP mega church pedalboard user. You have your reverbs, delays, modulations, boutique boost pedals, switchers, MIDI and god knows what else. There is limited space on your massive board, any available space needs to go for some trendy new pedal.

Would you put a NC or QC on this board, knowing you aren’t going to use any of the FX or routing options?

I’m sure there’s plenty of punk/HC type guys who don’t have a complex rig and want something easy to power, small, reliable, consistent. Accidentally toggling onto the wrong flanger mode just doesn’t need to be something that comes up.

 

[metropolis_4]

Great. I’ve been posting in the wrong thread all morning

Nobody told me the party moved over here

 

[laxu]

Not true. Making the effects slots flexible all of a sudden brings DSP usage variability into the mix. So much product design work is often done around handling this reality of flexible signal paths and switchable block types/models.

If you hard-bake a fixed signal path, with fixed blocks, you get to ignore a massive chunk of workflow problems and architecture problems.

I'm not suggesting you should be able to put any effect into any slot or rearrange them. I'm suggesting more options in a specific category. Like a chorus, flanger and phaser for modulation. Spring, room, plate and hall for reverb etc.

The app workflow looks setup exactly like that to me, they just left out all effect options.

I can agree that different combinations of those effects can mean it's a lot more testing to make sure you can't exceed its CPU limits. Again, we will see if that happens.

I’m sure there’s plenty of punk/HC type guys who don’t have a complex rig and want something easy to power, small, reliable, consistent. Accidentally toggling onto the wrong flanger mode just doesn’t need to be something that comes up.

It would never come up if you don't adjust your preset from the app to the wrong mode. All you can do from the pedal would be turning that flanger on/off and how much flanger depth you want. Or you leave it turned off in all your presets and never have to think about it.

 

[metropolis_4]

Has anyone spent time running their overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedals in front of their QC?

How naturally do Captures respond to these effects?

 

[Sedaxel]

Well it is and isn't. Just adding that Transpose in there y'know? Should have left it out if they expect people to put a boost before the Nano - it'll screw the pitch shifting.

Anyway, that's just my take on it.

Well... if it hadn´t the transpose, you couldn´t use it (obviously) in any preset, having OD before or not.

While having transpose lets you use it when you don´t have OD before NC.

So... What´s the advantage of NOT having the transpose? The fact that it´s there doesn´t imply it has to be used.

 

[Sascha Franck]

If you hard-bake a fixed signal path, with fixed blocks, you get to ignore a massive chunk of workflow problems and architecture problems.

And that's why they possibly could allow you to boot into different modes.

 

[Whizzinby]

I'm not suggesting you should be able to put any effect into any slot or rearrange them. I'm suggesting more options in a specific category. Like a chorus, flanger and phaser for modulation. Spring, room, plate and hall for reverb etc.

The app workflow looks setup exactly like that to me, they just left out all effect options.

I can agree that different combinations of those effects can mean it's a lot more testing to make sure you can't exceed its CPU limits. Again, we will see if that happens.



It would never come up if you don't adjust your preset from the app to the wrong mode. All you can do from the pedal would be turning that flanger on/off and how much flanger depth you want. Or you leave it turned off in all your presets and never have to think about it.

100%. I love the Dimension C chorus, but that’s such a bizarre implementation to say you have “modulation effects”, but in actuality include a single pre-determined chorus algo. (Insert head scratch meme) I mean, saying you have “modulation effects” is functionally irrelevant to anyone that doesn’t like Chorus (I would hate this hypothetical person) or would prefer a Phaser, Tremolo etc. Allowing the user to select a mod effect would have made more sense.

And honestly I think they’d have been far better off offering a Comp and Drive option rather than any post-fx. At least let the device be comprehensive for the pre-fx and let it be BYOB for post-fx.

I’m actually with you, this all seems like they pushed this out to meet a deadline and are planning to update it later to have the effects be a bit more coherent. (Soon?)

 

[Sedaxel]

The better comparison is with the Kemper Profiler Player - still stripped down in terms of FX, but not to the degree that the Nano Cortex is.

I do hope that they eventually allow some of the FX to be swapped for different FX of the same type, but I'd imagine this may break gapless preset switching.

It just adds on board capturing, which no other unit offers at this size and price.

Kemper Player offers more effects (it´s much more an all-in-one unit). But you need a big profiler to make your own captures (or borrow one). So each to their own.

 

[2dor]

Well... if it hadn´t the transpose, you couldn´t use it (obviously) in any preset, having OD before or not.

While having transpose lets you use it when you don´t have OD before NC.

So... What´s the advantage of NOT having the transpose? The fact that it´s there doesn´t imply it has to be used.

I'm not advocating for removing it just saying that it doesn't make sense in the overall scheme of things to put an external boost in front if you give users that block in the unit.

 

[Piing]

I've never asked for this. I only watch cat videos. Why is my YouTube feed suddenly flooded with all these ugly faces?

 

[Sedaxel]

I'm not advocating for removing it just saying that it doesn't make sense in the overall scheme of things to put an external boost in front if you give users that block in the unit.

I don´t know... I prefer having it than not. If an external boost is on, and you need the transpose, you could try it. If it doesn´t work, you just use other solution (just as you´d do if there weren´t a transpose block). But at least you have the option and surely you could use it many times.

I think I´m not understanding your point, though... because I see it too obvius.

 

[Sascha Franck]

I've never asked for this. I only watch cat videos. Why is my YouTube feed suddenly flooded with all these ugly faces?

Similar here. And none of them is mentioning any shortcomings.

 

[Piing]

Similar here. And none of them is mentioning any shortcomings.

 

[BenIfin]

Just watched the deep dive MIDI section of the video ...... it *looks* like:-

=> USB Port is Midi Out only but it can send PC and CC
=> TRS Midi Jack is Midi In only and it only receives Midi PC messages [ no CC's ]

That means that if you use any Midi FSW, you cannot set up a FSW to turn on/off one of the in-built efx.

Is this right (?)

Ben

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I'm not suggesting you should be able to put any effect into any slot or rearrange them. I'm suggesting more options in a specific category. Like a chorus, flanger and phaser for modulation. Spring, room, plate and hall for reverb et

I still think the whole point is that you would use seperate pedals for those fx anyway.

It would never come up if you don't adjust your preset from the app to the wrong mode. All you can do from the pedal would be turning that flanger on/off and how much flanger depth you want. Or you leave it turned off in all your presets and never have to think about it.

You’d still be making lots more different types of preset on there and have to get into managing something more complex and demanding. If it’s just doing basic amp and IR sounds, it’s a more basic experience. IMO this kind of pedal shouldn’t be trying to be an all in one. They already exist and have their own optimisations that don’t apply here

 

[Sedaxel]

Just watched the deep dive MIDI section of the video ...... it *looks* like:-

=> USB Port is Midi Out only but it can send PC and CC
=> TRS Midi Jack is Midi In only and it only receives Midi PC messages [ no CC's ]

That means that if you use any Midi FSW, you cannot set up a FSW to turn on/off one of the in-built efx.

Is this right (?)

Ben

In the FAQ section, they say this:

 

[Lysander]

Cordy got his... suspiciously fast



Noted this on the other thread, but the UX could really use some polish. That phone app looks very clunky to use.

 

[BenIfin]

In the FAQ section, they say this:

View attachment 28816

Question becomes then, if the video is wrong, and both ports support Midi In, do either-or-both of them support receiving Midi CC in messages (?)

Does the manual contain the Midi Spec (?)

Ben

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

I really wonder if the NC is already DSP-constrained. Having stuff like transpose instead of a drive block is a weird decision.

If I recall correctly NDSP's transpose is monophonic, which makes it of limited use as an "always available" pre block.

Single sharc I'd guess so.

 

[metropolis_4]

Honestly, I’d be happier if it just contained the FX to replicate what an amp itself might do:

Reverb
Tremolo
Maybe chorus

And use the footswitches to control these like I would on an amp.

Make it a simulacrum of an amp for my pedalboard and I’ll BYOP the rest