NMD: NDSP Quad Cortex

[mbenigni]

Poly or not the pitch shifting is pretty decent for capo effects. Not flawless but I don’t think any of the effects are.

Pitch Shifter, yes. Minivoicer OMG, no.

 

[Jarick]

Anyway... keeping an open mind. :) The FM3 presets do sound amazing, and frequently have me wondering, "Can the QC do this??"

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Yeah I have QC on my work desk and Axe 3 on my main desk/computer setup. Killer pairing.

 

[mbenigni]

Yeah I have QC on my work desk and Axe 3 on my main desk/computer setup. Killer pairing.

I imagine so. If one of the FM3's inputs were combination 1/4" XLR* with phantom power, the calculus would change completely. As soon as I have the FM3 connected to my computer, I like it 10x better. But it just doesn't have the right complement of I/O to stay there for long.

Might have to go hunting for the right dongle...

*EDIT: Speaking of which, one of the combi inputs on my QC - which always felt a little too tight when plugging/unplugging guitar cables - is getting a little wobbly. So expect me back here in a couple of months bitching ironically about a hardware failure LOL.

 

[JiveTurkey]

And now I will add insult to injury by throwing Whammy Pedal into the mix. Since this has two pitches, couldn't you leave it unmapped and use it to the same effect as dual detune?

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Ah shoot. Semitones only. Nevermind....

The TBP has the Pedal Detune effect from the Whammy pedal which does the thing great. Though there is a fair bit of latency I noticed with it. Boss dual detune KILLS and FAS is excellent as well. HX is good till you compare it to the former two. Still respectable but I prefer Boss and FAS to it by a good bit.

 

[Aleksi]

I'm playing with it now. It's actually pretty cool once you start to get it dialed in. But it's very sensitive to where you put it in the device chain (prefers to be post-dirt pedals; maybe this is typical of harmonizers? I rarely use them...) and it is viciously NOT polyphonic.

To be fair, you won't find a (real time) polyphonic diatonic harmonizer anywhere. Not even Eventide. The point is to choose a scale and it will harmonize what you play within that scale. The pitch shifter in the QC is easily the worst out of the ones I've tried (QC, HX, Fractal and Eventide). Everything is pretty ok as long as you play single notes or power chords. Play a minor chord and it'll glitch badly. It's only slightly better than the purposefully glitchy Line 6 original whammy model.

You'll probably want to have the harmonizer after the amp, try having it before or after the cab and see which you prefer. Set it to E minor, select your intervals and shred the shit out of your favourite E minor position.

 

[Mongillo19]

*EDIT: Speaking of which, one of the combi inputs on my QC - which always felt a little too tight when plugging/unplugging guitar cables - is getting a little wobbly. So expect me back here in a couple of months bitching ironically about a hardware failure LOL.

Those I/Os were always so tight. Basically locked my cord in place but it always felt like too much effort to get it out (like it would break)

 

[Aleksi]

Also, you'll need two distinct pitch shifted voices with fine control (cents) for a proper detune effect.

 

[mbenigni]

Also, you'll need two distinct pitch shifted voices with fine control (cents) for a proper detune effect.

Right. I’m surprised the TMP Whammy would do that. Did the original Whammy pedal have independent pitch detune settings by cents? The QC model just allows you to pick two min/max interval offsets, then set (or assign) the pedal position.

 

[mbenigni]

To be fair, you won't find a (real time) polyphonic diatonic harmonizer anywhere. Not even Eventide. The point is to choose a scale and it will harmonize what you play within that scale. The pitch shifter in the QC is easily the worst out of the ones I've tried (QC, HX, Fractal and Eventide). Everything is pretty ok as long as you play single notes or power chords. Play a minor chord and it'll glitch badly. It's only slightly better than the purposefully glitchy Line 6 original whammy model.

You'll probably want to have the harmonizer after the amp, try having it before or after the cab and see which you prefer. Set it to E minor, select your intervals and shred the shit out of your favourite E minor position.

Great info - thanks.

 

[mbenigni]

Those I/Os were always so tight. Basically locked my cord in place but it always felt like too much effort to get it out (like it would break)

Glad it’s not just me, I guess? Weird that this would be a problem across the board. Bad batch of parts, maybe. It always makes me wonder what the connector is soldered to, and just how badly things are going to go when it breaks. :O

 

[Mongillo19]

Glad it’s not just me, I guess? Weird that this would be a problem across the board. Bad batch of parts, maybe. It always makes me wonder what the connector is soldered to, and just how badly things are going to go when it breaks. :O

I mean could it be a "good" thing that cable isn't going anywhere unless you truly want it to? The whole it becoming loose now tho is concerning.

I do recall someone saying their cable broke inside the port

 

[TubeStack]

Ok went and grabbed it.

Will post pics when it’s all set up!

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[mbenigni]

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Extra love for the Fixx reference.

 

[TubeStack]

I'm home now with it. Can't try it quite yet because my daughter is having a band practice in the house here. Gives me time to update it, wish me luck, haha!

 

[TubeStack]

So far, so good with the update. While that's happening, a few points:

- I've owned the Helix Floor before, briefly, but it was during Covid and I never tried it in 4cm with my amp, or with a SS amp + cab, nor anywhere outside my house (ie. no gigs, band use, etc), just used it a bit with f.r.f.r. and ended up returning it in the 30-day window

- already a huge fan of HXFX, Stomp, HX One, as mentioned

- there's not many Floors in stock nearby these days, and this one was available

- recent price drop also makes it pretty darn good value for the money, hard to resist

- I figure it's worth a try as an all-in-one for 4cm + some amp model use

- I'll continue this in an upcoming NMD thread (QC II: The Sudden Helix Takeover)

 

[la szum]

Well, if I do this, it will be all-in on the Floor in 4cm, no extra pedals, to see how it goes.

 

[la szum]

Tubestack is out on the town kissing pretty ladies again.

 

[Whizzinby]

Damn TubeStack didn’t take long to fall back into the arms of another.

 

[TubeStack]

Tubestack is out on the town kissing pretty ladies again.

Damn TubeStack didn’t take long to fall back into the arms of another.

Yes, one peck on the cheek from HX One and I’m dropping my pants for the Helix Floor…

 

[Aleksi]

Right. I’m surprised the TMP Whammy would do that. Did the original Whammy pedal have independent pitch detune settings by cents? The QC model just allows you to pick two min/max interval offsets, then set (or assign) the pedal position.

I doubt a Digitech Whammy does dual detune, maybe the latest one could? I don't know. A whammy is generally meant for big shifts. The TMP might have a separate detune effect or a general pitch shifter capable of detune effects. I think the pitch shifter in the QC allows for shifting in cents up or down, so maybe there's a way to use two pitch blocks for the effect, although you'd probably have to do some tweaking due to the limited parallel routing options.