Neural DSP Quad Cortex is really growing on me, just the (Gojira) 5150 is worth the price of admission imo

[mbenigni]

I think Neural has got me under. Each plugin has unique bits and pieces that I could see myself using, such as the new Grind and Hex Drive pedals that come with the Nameless or the pitch shifter that comes with the Gojira X plugin.

That mix-and-match capability is what makes the Quad Cortex a good way to get more value from the plugins than they you would if you just use them as standalone VSTs.

It's also a great business model.

I agree it's a good business model, but I'm not completely following as to how it's all that consumer-friendly. If you're looking for a particular effect in one of their plugs, you've got to buy the whole bundle. You can't buy a la carte; and said business model is such that they're less motivated to include it in a firmware update gratis.

From my perspective, the added cost to an already expensive hardware modeler is tedious - but more importantly, I don't like having to spend the time downloading and testing a dozen plugin suites to see if there's some tidbit of functionality somewhere that might be of use to me. The Venn diagram of tones and features between these plugins overlaps a lot.

Case in point: how does the Gojira pitch shifter differ from the Pitch Shifter block that's native to CorOS? (And if the Gojira Pitch Shifter is better... why hasn't the QC Pitch Shifter been improved in kind?) I own Gojira and I never even noticed it was there.

Agree overall, though: very satisfied with the QC, and therefore satisfied with the company.

 

[nightlight]

I agree it's a good business model, but I'm not completely following as to how it's all that consumer-friendly. If you're looking for a particular effect in one of their plugs, you've got to buy the whole bundle. You can't buy a la carte; and said business model is such that they're less motivated to include it in a firmware update gratis.

From my perspective, the added cost to an already expensive hardware modeler is tedious - but more importantly, I don't like having to spend the time downloading and testing a dozen plugin suites to see if there's some tidbit of functionality somewhere that might be of use to me. The Venn diagram of tones and features between these plugins overlaps a lot.

Case in point: how does the Gojira pitch shifter differ from the Pitch Shifter block that's native to CorOS? (And if the Gojira Pitch Shifter is better... why hasn't the QC Pitch Shifter been improved in kind?) I own Gojira and I never even noticed it was there.

Agree overall, though: very satisfied with the QC, and therefore satisfied with the company.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I never said it is consumer-friendly, if you look at the quote you cited.

The business model is good for the company, but this doesn't mean it is good for consumers.

Basically it is like getting someone addicted to cigarettes. Once they get hooked, they will keep buying. But it's bad for the consumer.

The only good thing is that the company will be able to keep making cigarettes (plugins) and won't go bust.

In that regard, I think it's a win for everyone that a pitch effect got added to the latest CorOS. I haven't compared it to the Gojira plugin, but I think that may be something I should try to do when I have the time.

It would not be good if the in-built one is sub-par, that's for sure.

On that score, I haven't noticed any of the in-built models or FX on the Quad Cortex being inferior to the plugins. Just different flavours.

I could be wrong though, and so I'm going to try and keep off the plugins for a few days and see if I can get some good tones from the unit itself.

Maybe a comparison of the SLO model that's in-built and the SLO plugin would be worthwhile.

 

[hblu22]

I think the other big difference now in terms of plugin vs native qc tones is the additional
Room mics. It does seem to add something more lively to the tone. Similar results can be had with room reverb dialed in properly but it feels just a little better with the new cabs. Who knows — maybe they will add room mics to the built in cabs as they have added to gojira x and link x which started out without the room mics.

 

[mbenigni]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I never said it is consumer-friendly, if you look at the quote you cited.

Sorry, I must have misunderstood (part of?) your preceding post.

It would not be good if the in-built one is sub-par, that's for sure.

FWIW, I think the QC Pitch Shifter is very good - in fact, even more musical IMO than some explicitly "polyphonic" pitch effects on other platforms. (For that matter, I generally have better results using the QC Pitch Shift than detuning on a Variax, which is weird when you consider the Variax is detuning essentially monophonic signals from individual piezo pickups.)