Quad Cortex Mini

[RevBillyG]

I feel NDSP has had the wrong idea what people wanted out of a "Dual Cortex". They got the size about right, but then at the same time gimped the footswitching and editing convenience in a big way. I'd have to try it myself, maybe it's nice to edit via tap + turn specific knob due to the form factor.

I saw the Dual Cortex premise as "for users who want something cheaper, smaller and less powerful because they don't need 4 paths for fx or to run a whole pile of captures"

Right, I don't think this was aimed at those wanting a Dual Cortex. This was aimed at the (bedroom) studio artist. The only things they took away were live use features.

Well, if Stadium's Showcase becomes a thing... who needs footswitches? Actually, I'm hearing a lot of people are switching over midi & leaving the QC in a rack anyway.

The Dual Cortex, would you want pcomm with that, or just the models & effects?

 

[GTR37]

Right, I don't think this was aimed at those wanting a Dual Cortex. This was aimed at the (bedroom) studio artist. The only things they took away were live use features.

Well, if Stadium's Showcase becomes a thing... who needs footswitches? Actually, I'm hearing a lot of people are switching over midi & leaving the QC in a rack anyway.

The Dual Cortex, would you want pcomm with that, or just the models & effects?

I would have been ok without Pcomm
Just one lane amps / fx
But that’s me

 

[GTR37]

Saw this on FB lol

View attachment 58311

There are tons of them
There is QC toilet / bidet
Qc Ring
Qc watch

 

[sashimi]

One thing I don’t see anyone talking about is the lack of knobs and buttons on this thing.

 

[Dez]

One thing I don’t see anyone talking about is the lack of knobs and buttons on this thing.

That's the point! lol

 

[ChordInversion]

One thing I don’t see anyone talking about is the lack of knobs and buttons on this thing.

It is made for people who loves them some touch screens.

 

[Chocol8]

Saw this on FB lol

View attachment 58311

If it is another $400 less than the mini, sign me up for a pre-order!

 

[FourT6and2]

Ok so let’s say you buy a QC or QC Mini. Out of the box although it will have a ton of great sounds onboard, it will not have access to any of the devices from the plugins (since you don’t own them already).

Next you buy a plugin that is already ported to the QC.* You connect the QC to wifi and log into your NDSP account (that you just created while buying the plugin). Next time you start up your QC you’ll be able to load the devices from the plugin you bought. You’ll even be able to load up the presets from that plugin.

You’ll can actually do all that without ever touching a computer since you can create your NDSP account and buy the plugin from your phone.

Yes, you can run either the QC or Mini into a power amp and cab no problem.

* The plugins that are already ported to the QC are:

Cory Wong X
Plini X
Gojira X
Nolly X
Nameless X
Soldano SLO-100 X
Parallax X

The other “X” plugins, like Rabea X, Mayer X and Petrucci X are going to get ported but we don’t know when. And NDSP has been very slow with adding plugins.

As far as I can tell NDSP isn’t working on porting the Granophyre, Cali, NTS, Morello, Morgan, Asato, Boogie Mark II C+, Tone King, or Abasi. Some of those make sense not to ever bother with though imo.

Great, thank you!

Do you get the same "real amp" visualizations of the plugins on the QC and Mini as you would on desktop? Or are they simply little icons on the screen with parameters you can tweak?

 

[Dez]

Great, thank you!

Do you get the same "real amp" visualizations of the plugins on the QC and Mini as you would on desktop? Or are they simply little icons on the screen with parameters you can tweak?

They're icons, you don't get the graphic renders. It just looks like another QC block but it'll have 3 letters to indicate what plugin it is (GOJ for Gojira, NAM for Nameless, etc)

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

One thing I don’t see anyone talking about is the lack of knobs and buttons on this thing.

Who can talk when...

 

[Dez]

Who can talk when...

 

[sashimi]

My cat is going to love this thing

 

[FourT6and2]

They're icons, you don't get the graphic renders. It just looks like another QC block but it'll have 3 letters to indicate what plugin it is (GOJ for Gojira, NAM for Nameless, etc)

Got it. So you need desktop for that. But you can use either device as an audio interface... They work well for that or is it better to use a dedicated audio interface? Looks like the QC/Mini are only 48KHz, whereas some dedicated interfaces have much higher sampling rates. Does it matter?

 

[Dez]

Got it. So you need desktop for that. But you can use either device as an audio interface... They work well for that or is it better to use a dedicated audio interface? Looks like the QC/Mini are only 48KHz, whereas some dedicated interfaces have much higher sampling rates. Does it matter?

You can still use the plugins you just don't get the shiny graphics or anything. Here's a screenshot of a preset I use that includes Nameless devices:

The QC works great as an audio interface. I don't run into any issues using 48KHz - that shit is above my head though, I just use what works and if it doesn't work, I figure it out lol

 

[dws2384]

Perhaps you could add some conjecture as to how much it'll save, and how many people would complain, and who would be the first?

Well, based on the manufacturers website it looks to be about $40-$50 (list price) per DSP. So I think the dream of saving $1000 bucks off the full QC for half the DSP might not be realistic...

 

[Dez]

This is actually the only product they could have released that got to me. A bigger/more powerful QC would not have interested me - I barely hit half the DSP on the QC as it is now. A smaller unit with half the DSP would mean that I could use it 98% of the time fine and then get frustrated sometimes when I can't go silly with it.

Smaller =/= lower quality, so to expect over 50% cheaper because it is over 50% smaller is a strange expectation I think. They literally just removed a bunch of switches and rehoused it

 

[paisleywookiee]

Well, based on the manufacturers website it looks to be about $40-$50 (list price) per DSP. So I think the dream of saving $1000 bucks off the full QC for half the DSP might not be realistic...

And that's all that goes into it? Wow!

 

[Chocol8]

And that's all that goes into it? Wow!

No, but to save a little money on hardware would have cost quite a bit in software development, so the idea that they could make a dual cortex for half the price was never realistic. It might have cost as much or more than the mini which would have been a huge flop.

 

[paisleywookiee]

No, but to save a little money on hardware would have cost quite a bit in software development, so the idea that they could make a dual cortex for half the price was never realistic. It might have cost as much or more than the mini which would have been a huge flop.

Half? Definitely not. Getting in at a $999 price point? Maybe, maybe not. Development cost would tie into how the device is designed internally, which I obviously don't know.

 

[Whizzinby]

Theoretical Dual = Smaller, Less DSP, Less Features, Cheaper

Actual Mini = Smaller, Equal DSP, Full Featured, Somewhat Cheaper

Market Analysis: