OOPS! I Got Another Quad Cortex... (Revisit Review)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 ноя 2023
- So I got another Quad Cortex 9 months after getting rid of my old one... What made me get another one? Let's revisit the Quad Cortex and see why I got another one. Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Cheers!
Why I initially sold my Quad Cortex: • Why I'm Selling My Qua...
EVH vs Quad Cortex, Axe Fx & Tone Master Pro (amp models): • EVH vs Tone Master Pro...
EVH vs Quad Cortex, Tonex & Headrush Prime (captures): • EVH vs Captures! (Tone...
Gear used in this video:
- Neural DSP Quad Cortex
- Schecter E1 Apocalypse Red reign
- Cubase 13 Pro
- Steven Slate Drums 5.5
- OwnHammer Low Tuned Essentials IR
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe along with the bell and follow SDS at:
/ sonicdrivestudio
/ sonicdrivestudio_official
/ jon_symons
#neuraldsp #quadcortex #revisit
That Kraken model sounds pretty gnarly eh?
Yes, eh 👍🏻
This has gone down in price too I think it dropped by a couple hundred. For those can't crank a tube amp it's definitely interesting
I thought it sounded a little muffled and indistinct in the low end, but I've never played a Kraken. I'll take your word for it that they made a good capture of it.
I thought it sounded great. It's nice that some of the new Victory models include a presence control now.
@@zanshin09 indeed! I hope I'll be able to review the Kraken MKII someday
Something that’s often overlooked is the fact that the quad cortex has great I/O and routing options. You can run a bass, two guitars and a mic (for reverb for example) on this unit at the same time. It has its limitations, yes, but for someone who wants an all in one solution, this is the piece of gear that does the job.
I just made the jump to a quad cortex unit and have had absolutely zero regrets. The built in amps, cabs and fx sound incredible. It’s extremely easy to use, and takes about 30 seconds to get a good sound out of it. I profiled all of my amp heads and truly cannot find a reason to keep them. In a full mix, the QC is indistinguishable from the real amp IMO. The capturing feature on the QC was what sold me on it.
Love all your videos man.
Brandon
That demo song was a lot better than it needed to be.
Those chords and melodic sections were a beautiful contrast to the rest!
Didn’t expect that, a welcome surprise
Great to hear you got a Quad back. We need captures of the Red Seven Levithian ❤❤❤
That's the main reason (besides music/tones of course) i follow you mate: honest and unbiased opinions. Glad you shot this video!
Cheers!
It's always a pleasure to hear your riffs!
Thank you!
You should record an album@@SonicDriveStudio
I speculate that NDSP had a rough start with their software for a while, and after they did the major update back in November (?) of 2022, they've been pretty consistent with their support. I just wish they were more open about it.
I'm a pretty "set it and forget it kind of player", but now got me interested in trying the Kraken model! Nice video!
Just got mine, and its hands down my favorite sounding modler that ive tried
I knew you'd be back! You know they have awesome pre amp captures on the cortex cloud? Lots of professional EQ captures too I just love this thing and the community. Awesome sounding preset.
I recently got one and I am loving it so far. Did a capture of a friend's Dirty Tree pedal and it came out really good. There's definitely a learning curve, but I imagine not as steep as the Fractal FM3.
you mean, you prefer fractal fm3 ?
@@BagusWibisono what I meant is that it's not as hard to navigate and get used to compared to the FM3.
These videos are worth watching for the demos alone. Good god.
I'd like to buy this gadget to use it on bass and guitar in a small apartment, using phones all the time. Waiting to see more videos of it! Cheers
The lure of gear got you again!! It's a sickness my friend. And it's contagious. I blame you for all of my recent gear purchases :) :) :) :). Enjoy it man!
wow, this just sounds awesome!
Tones are great - but man that guitar is stunning!
The video comes at the perfect time, I was thinking whether I should buy a tube amp including a cabinet or go the modern route with a Quad Cortex since I only have limited space.
The tone in that intro track is nasty 🤘🤘
I knew you got Quad Cortex since a couple weeks ago. In your comparison video posted two weeks ago titled "EVH vs Tone Master Pro, Axe Fx & Quad Cortex!" you said these were the only there platforms you owned!
I must admit im tempted to treat myself for Christmas. But then i remember why end up getting rid of every modeller floorboard thing i ever get lol
Have just had a similar Journey myself.. sold my QC but have just picked up another one yesterday to check out the new Features.. Hoping that they will get plugin support at some point. Enjoy!
going to order mine after christmas :D
You’re doing the lords work 🙏
"who knows when soon is" led me to a FM3 from Fractal Audio :) described perfectly my thoughts :)
That's a great device! Love mine!
I still use your Archon capture with an Omega 4x12 ir. It sounds like the tone I’ve been chasing for 10 years. I play so much more guitar now than playing with gear.
Helix offers so much more but really want to switch for the sake of size, capture and PCOM coming soon!
After 7 years with the Helix I switched to the QC and never looked back. Still have the Helix as a backup but the sound of the Quad is in another level.
Great stuff Jon! Sounds like NDSP made this thing more of what they originally promised. I have my issue with NDSP, but there's no denying that Kraken sounds beast!
I just ordered my Quad Cortex, super excited! Any chance you captured your redseven?!
I appreciate your truthful reviews of gear. Neural DSP over-hyped the QC when it first launched before taking the time to flesh out many of the issues. That was a real turn off for me personally and only now are they approaching a more usable point - where it should have been from day one.
I have mine since preorder and it definitely was perfectly fine and usable from day 1.
They just promised a ton of nice to have extras, which they didn’t deliver on until much later, some of which we‘re still waiting for.
They really made a mistake with their promises and didn’t take delivering on them super seriously. Only in the last few months have they won back the support of their community.
Does the QC Editor have a built-in feature to quickly audition sounds? I think that was a smart feature for ToneX to include.
No
how to connect your guitar to audio intarface then use usb in 5&6 ?? i'm not see guitar jack in the input quad cortex pls explain
I reamped the tracks, that's why I'm using the USB input
Hell yeah man! I definitely understood when you sold your QC and replaced it with a Diezel VH2. I needed to downsize from an amp to a modeler because I moved into a place with strict noise rules, and when deliberating on which modeler to get I landed on the QC. I love my QC, I think it's a kickass unit that gets a lot of bad rep due to Neural's infuriatingly slow support of it, but I still love it very much. Personally, if noise complaints weren't a thing and money were no object, I don't think I would bother with modelers at all, but considering where I'm at in life I don't think I could have possibly made a better choice in gear :) cheers!
I've had one for a long time, and once the desktop editor was released I realized why I had barely been using it: I really dislike having to lean over all the time to use the unit interface. The touch-screen is pretty good for what it is, but it's very awkward to use in my home studio, I'm so used to dealing with my PC to interact with the AxeFX editor or whatever else. Also, as you point out, file management is a mess, and I hope they keep improving on that now that we have the desktop editor. But now it's almost as if I'm rediscovering the Quad Cortex and falling in love with it again.
That's similar to my experience actually!
It was a huge mistake for the QC to not have a Desktop Editor from the very start.
Same here. I was looking forward to the desktop editor, but I didnt realize just how much more it would dmake me want to dig in and tweak.
The desktop control software release was HUGE for how I feel about and use my QC. Such a quality of life upgrade for someone who's QC is bolted to a pedalboard.
Updates are still only twice a year, it's still WAY behind on effects and for a company using ML to create amp models, we're not getting very many (10 channels from 3 amps in over a year?). Not to mention they started giving away free plugins with newer purchases but so far the early adopters have just received stomach ulcers... Defintiely a love/hate relationship for me. Love how the QC sounds and how easy it is to use. Not a fan of NDSP (or maybe just their ownership) with the overpromising and underdelivering.
Hindsight is 20/20, if I had thought they were going to be this slow rolling things out, I would have bought a FM9 or a FM3 + HX Effects years ago.
Good points!
Is there a Fortin Cali on the QC yet? I'm more asking out of curiosity; that's probably my favorite ampsim suite of their's.
Can you share some of your captures on the cloud?
Echt precies op het moment dat je je afvraagt of die krengen in de black friday deals terecht gaan komen.
Smart move.
Care to share what makes your unit a b-stock and what the deal was approximately? Cheers 🥃
Is your unit silent when you turn it on? Mine has always made a loud noise for several minutes until it randomly silences, no matter the cables or setting of use. I haven’t used it live, but I’m scared to because of this. My unit has always done this so I assumed it was normal
Weird, mine doesn't do that
I disagree with the "Kemper profiles are outdated.." Absolutely not. Especially with the latest liquid profile update..My buddy has the QC..we tested profiling/capturing...Both did phenominal jobs. If you haven't used the Kemper with the latest update, you're missing out.
Liquid profiles change how the tone stacks react, it doesn't change the accuracy of the actual profiles
I have all the premium processors…Kemper is king of tone…hands down! Quad is the best overall with it’s touch screen, and easy user interface…but, Kemper is king of basic tone….not outdated at all!
@@THINJIMIagreed!
I have a buddy that tours with a quad cortex, he has had to send his for service 3 times already, he has an HX stomp as a backup, neural stuff sounds amazing but I have reservations about durability.
Yeah I have heard simular stories. Nothing like that has happened to me though but we'll see...
It amazes me that people don’t take extra steps to protect their equipment. Like you see the wide open air vents, you see that it’s made of aluminum and you take zero measures to try and mitigate those things. That’s on the player at that point. It’s not difficult to ensure your equipment is taken care of when you perform.
Been really interested in getting one recently. I've been running a live Helix/Powerstage rig through a cab. As well as using the Helix for tracking stuff. Has served me well, I just wonder if the Quad Cortex can fill the shoes? Like can you ReAmp with the Quad Cortex? Can you do split processing with the Quad? Like have a track full processed and a split track of clean DI? Does the Quad Cortex have an autoswell effect? Just have a few questions about what the unit can do. I already trust that they sound great. 🤟😁
The Helix is also great. One of the main things that sets the QC apart from the Helix is the capture feature. Helix has more stuff and options though. Most modelers these days allow for recording dry DI tracks alongside processed signals
If you own a helix the only reason to switch is A. You have the money B. You want to save time dialing everything in to make it perfect.
The QC is 100% the easiest product to use.
@@jacobcarrizales427 I'm sure they do sound great along with every other Neural DSP product I've ever used. Their plugins make it an easy choice to want the quad as well. I love my Helix, but would love to experiment around with the Quad Cortex one day.
Is there an autoswell effect on the Quad Cortex by any chance? I don't see any info on that anywhere, so I'm left with asking folks who own one.
Have you tried the Headrush Prime? I'm really interested in that platform and it's really come down to being between the Headrush and Quad Cortex for me....which to choose? 🤔
Yeah I did a review. Out of those two I definitely recommend the QC
Hey Jon. What's your opinion on the pitch shifter? Would you gig with the unit and using the pitch shifter to down tune your guitar instead of taking multiple guitars?
Cheers
I have never relied on any pitch shifter for taking care of downtuning my guitars but I also haven't tried it in a while. I should try!
I knew it that you return with Quad Cortex..beacuse pc editor :)
What does a "good deal" means? How much?
It’s all about how to dial your tone
"I'm back!" 😂
I did the same. Bought one.. it was not there yet. Then they made updates and I got back into it. I also got a B-Stock item hahaha nice 👍🏻
if i bought gear at jon's pace i'd be bankrupt three times over. lol
Lol
Basically high gain chugs sound the same on almost every amp
i haven’t try Fractal fm and Quad Cortex before, so I need your preference about their sound quality, powerful, picking feel, and for my main rig. So which one will you recomend for me?
I’m metal guitarist by the way.
Regards buddy.
If I had to choose I'd go with Fractal but that's very personal
@@SonicDriveStudioI didn’t like fractal because you’re limited on amps. And I found the amps being offered I only liked two. And they were ok. The cortex has the captures so whatever ndsp doesn’t cover captures will.
Both units are capable of getting a great sound. I ended up with the QC because is much easier to use and you have tons of great captures to choose from the cloud. The feel of the QC is far superior from the Helix and the Fractal in my opinion.
@@SonicDriveStudio what’s the reason you choose fractal? tell me please
@@pino_7428 ypu prefer QC overall for guitarist experience? you have QC for sure?
What's your favourite modeler right now?
Helix and Fractal shared 1st, Quad Cortex 2nd. Tonex is amazing too but it's not a modeler technically
I really wanted the QC but honestly 95% of what I do is record from a bedroom studio, and I can use free apps for that which sound just as good. So now I just use the tone x app and may eventually get the pedal
Nice riffs! What tuning is the Schecter guitar in?
Drop C
@@SonicDriveStudio Thank you! 🤘🏻
you just made buy a QC (again). Let's see how it tests out this time.
I like the unit, I use their plugins all the time. But the price of these devices (qc, axefx, helix, kemperfloor) seem a bit obscene to me. I'd be happy with half the dsp power, half the size, half the price of the QC. Yet as soon as the plugin integration comes, the qc will be hard to beat by anyone in the game, at least so I think.
$1,600 isn’t so bad for this kind if gear. I’m just ashamed that it’s $900 more than my guitar cost.
So now u hating TONEX? I think its nice but it doesnt have the same audio quality as Quad Cortex, which is needed for professional studio aplications. Also the capturing takes a lot of time on the TONEX.
I never said that? I love tonex!
I wish I knew why someone is waiting plug-ins integration in a unit that is able to capture real amps….
I guess a lot of those people don't have real amps...
@@SonicDriveStudioyou don't need to have real amps in order to buy qc and play with captures... You give a free capture in every video you do. There are plenty of producers selling captures for 10-20 euros. But during this debate, any chance to tell me your opinion about which is more accurate? Axe 3 or qc?
Not crazy Spensor it’s easy
Just get an FM9 turbo and be done with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Better than the Kemper" you are about to get told how good liquid profiles are now....
Lol, probably! Doesn't change the accuracy of the profiles themselves though
"kemper profiles is outdated" - total BS
no. its from europe....
Pretty cool but I am still a fan of real amps.
Just be honest and say you never ditched QC
I don't lie
I like Neural DSP amps, but I'm waiting for a QC2 because I agree with the rule of thumb to never buy first gen tech.
Life's too short for that mate
@@SonicDriveStudio there is no shortage of other options in the meantime.
You are gonna wait a very very very long time, but you do you
@@serafinrazo4097 who cares how long it takes? I'm not spending my money on a first gen tech product. You do you, leave your own comment instead of replying to mine, and stop worrying about what gear I use.
@@sqlb3rnok brokie, you do you lmao
I had the QC when it first came out..I wasn’t impressed..I liked the way it sounded,but there were too many limitations..The Fractal stuff ended up being much better to me..
give it away
I had my QC since September 2021 and ditched it last week for a FM3 MKII Turbo and I do not regret it in the slightest so far.
Don't get me wrong the QC is a great device, especially the amount of processing power in such a small package, but I feel the support from NDSP is kind of lacking for a device in this price category.
Add to that the still to be fulfilled promised features, the upgraded/better PSU that was promised and seemingly went MIA, the kind of lacking FX(for example the Wah's and the Pitch Shifter) and, what to me feels like the ultimate disrespect, of gifting the new joiners a free plugin, while the long term supporters are left with the typical "Soon" promise from NDSP.
All the modellers live from the support they recieve from the company, for example the Helix wouldn't be anywhere near where it is today, if Line6 didn't constantly improve and expand it with updates.
I personally have lost my trust in NDSP, that they are/can be a company like that, that will improve the Quad Cortex for years to come.
I sold mine after half a year ... for three years they promise the possibility of using plugins. There is no market place and that is also a very big minus ... And nothing has changed in the last year. For live gigs there are a couple of flaws that are unacceptable for that price. I would never buy it again.
Hi can you share the flaws you ran into for live gig application? I’m debating on selling helix for size reasons and the sound of the QC sounds better to me.
@@matthewdewitt884
I have the feeling that this device was not made by people who play the guitar. And, it seems to me, that it is intended for use in the studio. The first thing is that when you change the preset everything stops. There is that one gap in the tone between the two presets that makes me was always annoying because I'm the only guitarist in the band. It always looked like I stopped playing at that moment. another thing is that to change the mode you have to bend down and change the mode on the screen with your hand. Lack of grounding. The buttons are too close for me, it often happened that I pressed the wrong button.The preset or bank button is close to tap tempo...it often happened to me that pressing the tap tempo, I press the preset button,or both together,and go to another bank or preset. In a live situation when you play and sing, you don't have time to look and think about what you need and what you don't need. to press. The power cable looks like it's a 50 dollar device, it's completely unacceptable. You have to take into account that it can't be used on every pedalboard because it has cooling grills on the side and below. Velcro can't go over it and there has to be space underneath for it to cool.Then, maybe just for me, the size is neither here nor there. I had a problem fitting it on the pedal board with other pedals. It would be easier if it were a little bigger, so that it could fit with other pedals in order.Next to it, I always had to put one pedal horizontally and the other vertically. Like one unit size is maybe ok.
I sold it when the 2.0 update came out, after months of waiting for it, and all this was then. Maybe something has been solved now with the new update. But these other things still remain with the size, grounding noise, buttons too close, power cable...I say again for this price, all this is very unacceptable.
In the end, nothing can be better than a real guitar amp and a few pedals... When it comes to digital, in terms of size, tone, flexibility, live friendly use, Kemper stage is my choice
The fact is that QC is less good than =
- ToneX when it comes to capture amps
- Fractal stuff when it comes to amp models
- Helix, HX stomp, Boss GT, Fractal, Headrush, when it comes to effects
And of course NAM is a lot better (but it’s a plugin)
That’s why I sold mine too, it always sounds digital to me (aliasing is way too much)
Because they paid you ;)
Absolute nonsense! NDSP has never paid me for anything
Sorry I forgot the question mark at the end.
When he said he couldn't get a good tone with the fortin nameless by neural...most hope is gone for this channel.. sorry
Haha!
You make everything sound good. Your TONEX profiles are my favorite and I hope you release more soon 🫣🥺
What's your name on qortex cloud?