Quad Cortex Mini

[Sascha Franck]

HX Stomp is $600 new from Guitar Center.

And you can easily grab it for €400 used in very decent condition over here.
Anyhow, the Stomp possibly isn't a good thing to compare anything to anymore. It's actually starting to show its age, as much as it's still a useful unit.

 

[Whizzinby]

And it's twice the price of the Stomp.

Sweetwater has it listed for $1400. HX Stomp is $600 new from Guitar Center. Big difference.

Because Neural made a full powered version of a QC-Stomp, not a price point driven version. It’s a different approach to the form factor.

 

[R590]

For those wondering more about the encoder situation, you can also use the bottom left encoder to quickly cycle through all of the available virtual knobs instead of tapping the screen.

In practice, it works pretty well. Left hand on bottom left encoder to select bass, mid, etc and right hand on lower right encoder to adjust the value. Kind of like an old school Etch a Sketch

The dedicated encoders on my full fat QC are great, but this isn’t a big deal for my desktop/rack use case.

 

[Dez]

For those wondering more about the encoder situation, you can also use the bottom left encoder to quickly cycle through all of the available virtual knobs instead of tapping the screen.

In practice, it works pretty well. Left hand on bottom left encoder to select bass, mid, etc and right hand on lower right encoder to adjust the value. Kind of like an old school Etch a Sketch

The dedicated encoders on my full fat QC are great, but this isn’t a big deal for my desktop/rack use case.

How’s the build quality?

 

[Lysander]

Because Neural made a full powered version of a QC-Stomp, not a price point driven version. It’s a different approach to the form factor.

I legit don't get the comparisons? People were expecting a Quad Stomp, but got a smaller 4-button Quad Cortex instead - at a marginally lower price point. These are similar concepts, but not quite the same.

F.ex. i noted this a couple days ago, but the lack of a stereo input means the QCM won't integrate to a pedalboard as well as a Stomp: it doesn't have one, because the full QC doesn't, and it shares the exact same hard/software as its big brother. And a Stomp. on the other hand, is not a compact replacement for a full DSP Helix either.

 

[Jarick]

I legit don't get the comparisons? People were expecting a Quad Stomp, but got a smaller 4-button Quad Cortex instead - at a marginally lower price point. These are similar concepts, but not quite the same.

F.ex. i noted this a couple days ago, but the lack of a stereo input means the QCM won't integrate to a pedalboard as well as a Stomp: it doesn't have one, because the full Quad Cortex doesn't. And a Stomp. on the other hand, is not a compact replacement for a full DSP Helix either.

Right, I'm not saying the QC Mini isn't a cool piece of gear, it's just probably not what a lot of people were hoping for or expecting. Everyone was looking for an HX Stomp version of the QC and now there's two smaller units out of Neural that aren't that.

 

[Mongillo19]

Right, I'm not saying the QC Mini isn't a cool piece of gear, it's just probably not what a lot of people were hoping for or expecting. Everyone was looking for an HX Stomp version of the QC and now there's two smaller units out of Neural that aren't that.

I don't think TGF is a good place to say what NDSP customers were hoping for. If I recall, NDSP sent out a survey some time ago about what customers would like next.

I'm positive they did their research on what their consumer base might want and knows better than us here at TGF. People bash the QC on here but it often sits at top of sales charts. The Mini sold out in record time.

I know people on here will equate selling out or top sales equates to people not knowing what they are buying or some stupid (imo) argument. However, years of being top sales isn't a fluke, no matter how much some of you want it to be.

If it would have been a dual cortex, 100 percent people would be finding something else to complain about. Let's not pretend the forum has NDSPs best interest at heart

 

[Whizzinby]

I legit don't get the comparisons? People were expecting a Quad Stomp, but got a smaller 4-button Quad Cortex instead - at a marginally lower price point. These are similar concepts, but not quite the same.

So the device was better than expectations, unless you were specifically interested in a certain price point.

F.ex. i noted this a couple days ago, but the lack of a stereo input means the QCM won't integrate to a pedalboard as well as a Stomp: it doesn't have one, because the full QC doesn't, and it shares the exact same hard/software as its big brother. And a Stomp. on the other hand, is not a compact replacement for a full DSP Helix either.

Mono pedals in to IN1 and stereo pedals in one of its stereo Fx loops. Doesn’t seem complicated.

IN2 on the side is stereo TRS as well.

 

[R590]

How’s the build quality?

Solid! Feels just like the full QC and the NC in terms of fit and finish.

 

[Lysander]

I'm positive they did their research on what their consumer base might want and knows better than us here at TGF. People bash the QC on here but it often sits at top of sales charts. The Mini sold out in record time.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” -- Henry Ford

I'm certain NDSP has troves of information on what their customers want, but building products is also about compromises about what you can actually deliver.

Again, this is 100% speculation on my end, but it's pretty obvious to me that the QCM was designed to reuse as much hardware and software from the QC as possible - which is why it's basically built around its 7"display, and it's pretty remarkable how they managed to come up with a good product out of that concept.

 

[JiveTurkey]

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” -- Henry Ford

I'm certain NDSP has troves of information on what their customers want, but building products is also about compromises about what you can actually deliver.

Again, this is 100% speculation on my end, but it's pretty obvious to me that the QCM was designed to reuse as much hardware and software from the QC as possible - which is why it's basically built around its 7"display, and it's pretty remarkable how they managed to come up with a good product out of that concept.

Yes; yet this is admittedly the first time I've looked at an NDSP piece and had a bit of contemplative moment and impressed with the device at hand. It's an odd feeling for me

 

[deadpool_25]

I'm positive they did their research on what their consumer base might want and knows better than us here at TGF.

I actually did a research call with someone at NDSP. He was asking for feedback on things I liked and things I didn’t and things I’d like to see. It was a really cool experience and nothing I’ve seen or heard of from other modeling companies.

I mentioned and emphasized a few things like them needing better reverbs, delays, and a dual detune.I even said straight up that Fractal was way better in these areas. Now I’m not delusional enough to think that was any major factor, but they’ve addressed all of that lately. Factor or not that’s fucking awesome. It makes me think they may not be listening to people here (and let’s be honest, why the fuck would they ever poke their heads back in here), but I think they’re listening to some people.

If it would have been a dual cortex, 100 percent people would be finding something else to complain about. Let's not pretend the forum has NDSPs best interest at heart

 

[dean701]

No fans, no heat slots, no openings. This scares me. Waiting on Proxy results when 1.3 releases then I'll decide between QCM or Stadium.

 

[Lysander]

No fans, no heat slots, no openings. This scares me. Waiting on Proxy results when 1.3 releases then I'll decide between QCM or Stadium.

The only hesitation i'd have about buying a QCM on day one is how well that big-ass touchscreen survives being stomped on. You can make it as thick as you want, but glass is glass

Then again, mine would probably live on a desktop anwyay...

 

[AZG]

For those wondering more about the encoder situation, you can also use the bottom left encoder to quickly cycle through all of the available virtual knobs instead of tapping the screen.

In practice, it works pretty well. Left hand on bottom left encoder to select bass, mid, etc and right hand on lower right encoder to adjust the value. Kind of like an old school Etch a Sketch

The dedicated encoders on my full fat QC are great, but this isn’t a big deal for my desktop/rack use case.

Any notable improvements in signal to noise between the full size and mini?

 

[Chocol8]

No fans, no heat slots, no openings. This scares me. Waiting on Proxy results when 1.3 releases then I'll decide between QCM or Stadium.

Given what kind of power we have in sealed phones and tablets and even something like a MacBook Air, I am a lot less skeptical about the cooling than I would have been 20 years ago. If they can spread the heat efficiently, a metal enclosure as a heat sink and to transfer to the outside is plenty viable.

 

[dean701]

The only hesitation i'd have about buying a QCM on day one is how well that big-ass touchscreen survives being stomped on. You can make it as thick as you want, but glass is glass

Then again, mine would probably live on a desktop anwyay...

Tabletop or not if it has the same processors as the QC why does the QC have ventilation and the QCM doesn't?
Could you imagine a laptop with no vents?

 

[dean701]

Given what kind of power we have in sealed phones and tablets and even something like a MacBook Air, I am a lot less skeptical about the cooling than I would have been 20 years ago. If they can spread the heat efficiently, a metal enclosure as a heat sink and to transfer to the outside is plenty viable.

My phone overheats on the dashboard in the sun and shuts down

 

[Lysander]

Tabletop or not if it has the same processors as the QC why does the QC have ventilation and the QCM doesn't?
Could you imagine a laptop with no vents?

IIRC the QC supposedly got a significant power efficiency boost when they had to change the hardware codec. Also the QCM looks to me like it's designed the same way as a phone, where the main heatsinking surface is actually the display itself.

Time will tell, but i'm pretty sure they wouldn't have put a product out that overheats on normal use.

 

[Chocol8]

My phone overheats on the dashboard in the sun and shuts down

That's not from the heat coming from the inside, but yes, I would not try to play a digital modeler that is sitting in direct sunlight on a black dashboard due to the same risk.