Really excited for people to try this thing. It’s impossible for you all to really get a vibe for this thing without trying it. Especially with so little content on the tubes! But I’m sure all the content will drop in due course! For those comparing to all the others, I just think try one, to see which you feel suits you best. But to my ear and feel as a guitarist, it’s feel is beyond anything I’ve tried by quite a way. for me that’s one of the most important elements when I’m trying a modeller. The tone sculpting is so painless, and I’m really happy with the sounds I’ve found in it so far! The capture is insane, that’s definitely a must try! As I said, can’t wait for you all to the one!
Everything I've heard is it excels with heavy tones. I play a Helix in church, so driven & clean tones with lots of reverb & delay. Thoughts on how well it does that? Think AC30, AC15, Matchless
@Me8 Me8 we're not saying It isnt good, we're saying that less expensive stuff would be good enough for the reality of most of us non-professional players.
Hey People, Lee here... Really glad you like this video & thanks to Rabea for doing such a great job on the demo. We have more Neural QC Videos coming in January where we'll show you how the "Capture" thing works , and how the QC works/sounds into a power amp & through a normal guitar cab - make sure you're subscribed to our RUclips channel so you don't miss those. Its a serious bit of kit & even for old analogue die-hards like me its impossible not to be impressed. You can pre order on our website already, or visit the page on our blog where you can just sign up for Quad Cortex notifications - here's the link www.andertons.co.uk/neural-dsp-quad-cortex Cheers all! Lee
Anyway you could do a test where you compare the amp, the DSP capture, and the Kemper profile as a blind test? I'm really curious how it stacks up. Thanks!
I'd be interested to see Pete do a demo of the latest helix firmware update. People are doing some amazing demos with it. The Fender stuff is sounding crazy good.
Pro-tip: If you put a noise gate at the front of your amp, right after the compressor, you can set the noise gate thresholds SUPER LOW such that it will get rid of the hiss, but is set so low that it will not affect your guitar dynamics!
I have a HR pedal board from its inception 3 yr+ ago and no backup. Really have it dialed in, sounds awesome. But like you I am intrigued in this system, especially at 3.5lbs, huge processing reserve, wifi connectivity (a game changer) and Neural software.
Great review. Pro tip: gate after the amp and before delays and reverbs; it'll sound much more natural and you won't get rid of your delay and reverb tails.
Rabea is a great player and I love his videos, but man those presets were harsh and hifi sounding - did not sound good at all to me. More dsp power is great, but it pretty much sounds like the other modelers on the market. I like it though and would certainly want to try one out.
I'm ALL on-board for current tech. This unit sounds FANTASTIC! I guess my issue has to do with repair, updating, and especially VALUE over time for the average working person. I'm making the comparison to a straight up Amp and Pedal platform which requires simple repairs and/or a pedal swap out. I'm looking forward to a discussion, thanks.
@@TexTr0 That would be too easy, the Helix will sound and respond totally differently. The goal would be to take two products that allow you to faithfully capture the sound of an amp and compare them both to the amp and to each other. Helix just does models, and I can tell you from experience it feels utterly different to play than a Kemper.
@@slash196 It still would be interesting because the Helix and Quad Cortex play in a similiar price range and I am trying to decide if the Cortex is worth getting rid of my Helix :D
@@davidfaustino4476 I do because I can not try it for myself. Nearest store that maybe getting one is 5-6 hrs away and due to the current situation no music store is allowed to be open until at least 10th of January(probably even longer). And just because Neural stuff is all the rage atm I‘m not gonna buy one „blind“ without at least having heard a comparison.
I gave up amps about 8yrs ago. I currently use a headrush and will never go back to amps again. It just keeps getting better buddy. A good monitor system wipes out the idea that it can not feel rockin live.
@@migueleespinosa2632 if you only play in your living room yeah they are. But plug them into the front of house and your settings all need to be changed.
@@kingfisher7960 I plug direct into my churches PA system. 750 person capacity and a great PA with IE returns. A second smaller church with a QSC hanging PA and Martin floor monitors. It sound great in both. Week after week for the last 3yrs using the Headrush.
Lee, grab some PA speakers and a 500 watt amp off the shop floor. Get that air movement as if it was used in a live environment. I feel like this will be incredible.
The fm3 kinda seems like the elephant in the room with respect to the quad cortex, it's a fair bit cheaper and has a pretty comparable feature set as far as I can tell
Yep, after hearing this, I'm pretty glad I decided to go with the FM3. I've A/B'd my FM3 with several of the amps it emulates through a power amp and guitar cab, plus my PowerCab with IRs, and the Fractal models are pretty damn close in feel and sound. These models sound so stiff and fizzy. The UI definitely looks a lot better than Fractal, though, but those buttons look so close to each other. Wish my FM3 had more but I can't imagine using that thing live, you'd hit the other switches accidentally super easily...
@@KTcDPIYjGJ haha no, totally honest. I use a Helix and the touchscreen and update-ability over the phone without needing it to be hooked up to a pc etc. is one of the things i really miss. plus the turn-joystick-style-knob on the helix used for navigation is very easy to missclick etc. its sometimes inconvenient in a live setting or during rehearsal
@@KKLCNo1 Not to mention it's much smaller and lighter than an LT. Granted, it misses the built-in expression pedal, but to me it's still a huge step forward in terms of hardware design.
@@KKLCNo1 Agreed about the Helix. Especially the joystick part. It's really easy to turn it by accident while trying to just move it and lose all the settings in the block. But the sound. You can still make Helix sound great with a bit of parametric Eq though. And good IRs.
I pre-ordered last year before NAMM and Steven took me through a demo at Neural's NAMM booth. Sadly, I had to cancel my preorder due to "current events". Hopefully sometime in 2021 I can make it happen. I love the feel of it! The power seems to make a HUGE difference. It shouldn't feel so good, but it does! And the size is perfect! NO special case or bag required! It's small enough to put in the large pocket of pro gig bags with an exp pedal and hop on the train to rehearsal or a gig.
wouldn't it be ironic, if they released it and it was just all the stuff they have already released, because Bea uses them now over his actual amps. ahaha.
I've been looking for something that could truly upgrade my Headrush Gigboard, and this is the only product that actually fully replaces the Gigboard. This is amazing.
thats not how it works. it means wifi tethering. basically it uses the phone to connect to the internet. the quad cortex connects to the phone via its own wifi signal then the phone is connected to internet either via wifi or lte
@@princeoinkins8408 Thanks for explaining how it works. The really lame jokes with a premise that doesn't really apply were confusing since I don't have experience with this product and came here for information.
@@jonin0001 if you’re in the USA they just moved it up to April. Idk where the utubers are getting them from? I guess paid endorsement? Idk. Straight from the company??
As a metal head, I would have liked to hear at least one signature Rabea metal sound. Seems like the QC can't produce them :( The video is basically no tone demos all tech talk and menu fiddling
I would put noise gate after the drive stuff, but before the delay and reverb so that the gate doesn't cut the trails. But if putting it at the end provoked the funny facial expressions, then I'm all for it!
What it doesn’t do.... is break your back when you are carrying it to rehearsals. I have a Mesa Lonestar and I now use my line6 pod go pretty much all the time these days. This looks great though!
I'm absolutely blown away by this. Like, the Helix and the Fractal audio stuff I was always amazed by how they sounded and played. But man this is just outrageously incredible. I must pick this one day
The Kemper Digi fx is the only one that truly sounds like a great tube amp. I own a Mesa Triaxis with the Mesa Simul-class 2:90 power amp and the Kemper copied the Mesa so well I couldn't hear the difference if my life depended on it. The Triaxis and 2:90 sound utterly crushing but if you haven't been in a room with a rig like this then you will be inclined to think the Neural is the ultimate when it isn't even close This Neural doesn't come close to the natural sound and dynamics of a tube amp.
I'm a little surprised at how the noise gate was used here. A compressor won't "add" noise in itself, it'll simply raise the noise that's already there. If the noise gate is placed at the very start of the chain, it eliminates noise at the source, and the compressor has nothing to raise, so everything will be silent. Plus, you won't get that huh-huh-huh effect at the end of a note. Aside from that, though, a good demo. I'm really interested in this unit for when I get back to gigging. I have a full-fat Helix, but it's too bulky for the fly-in gigs I do, so it stays at home. The QC's compact form factor really appeals. I'd very much like to hear some mid-gain tones demoed at some point.
The gate's placement was totally wrong, surprised the guys missed this. It should either be first in the chain or right after the amp block, it should never be placed after the time/space effects, unless you go for the gated reverb result intentionally.
This is customary of people that don't understand how compressors work. A compressor compresses dynamic range, making quiet sound louder and loud sounds quieter. They're thinking a compressor is a distortion pedal or something.
compressors do not "simply raise the noise that's already there", unless you use make-up gain, wich has nothing to do with compression. Compression only reduces gain that get past the treshold, by a certain ratio, and that's it.
i need to hear some profiles :). But as a kemper user i quite like the fact that it can copy / profile pedals if this works fine it‘ll be amazing. Besides that just play live through like 2 amps and create your own sound is just amazing. With kemper you would need to have a merged profile or re-amping through different profiles
Daymn. This sounds really, really impressive. Then again its coming from Neural so not that bit of a surprise. Will definitely sell my Kemper to get this.
@@WeOut There are a lot of features it has that the kemper doesn't. You can use it as an audio interface, it has mic inputs, UI is easier and more flexible, will run Neural plugins natively...I will still keep my Kemper because it does things I like but I will probably get a Cortex too.
@@WeOut A bigger advertising budget? Admittedly the Kemper is 8 years old now but I feel like it already crossed the threshold of "can't tell which one is the real amp and which one is the Kemper" a long time ago. Marketing buzzwords and paid promotion from popular online guitarists seem to be what is getting people most excited about Neural.
@@TomCouture Actually, the only troll is you; he's made several valid points, but because he doesn't say what you want him to say you'll lazily label him as a troll. I despair.
Im loading their plugins with a laptop i found in the trash, yeah this would be more convenient but really its just a computer and we got lots of those, probably better than what they put in this box. Audio interface + laptop = this.
As said on theis FAQ page: Q: If I have bought Neural DSP plugins, can I get them on QC? A: We will send a free plugin update in a Cortex compatible format to everyone who owns our plugins so the modules in them can be loaded onto the device.
@@mikejones-vd3fg audio interface + laptop (daw + plugins I suppose) is never NEAR a proper hardware equipment, even if the hardware is digital, ain't cheap either if you buy everything instead of pirating. As someone that tried dozens of "direct in" recording solutions, audio interface + laptop is by far the worst! For now my 3K £ pedalboard with Strymon Iridium + UA Apollo is the closest to a proper microphone + tube amp recording in a Tier 1 studio, but at the end it all the depends how important is that guitar sound in the song, if it's the main instrument then you might struggle with the quality of AI + laptop. That's why things like Kemper and Quad Cortex are being created.
It sounds like a great product, but I have NEVER heard Bea demonstrate something and it sound bad. Bea could plug into a mouldy banana left in the freezer and sound 10x better than the best I’ve ever sounded!
The acid test for ALL of these devices is whether the reviewer ditches their old pedals and uses this exclusively; they never, ever do, they always find some caveat to excuse themselves from it.
There is still the "colector" factor with pedals. Its somewhere deep in human nature, that we like to collect things. PS: Bea uses Helix live, when giging with Frog leap Leo.
I love to hear the dynamics the equipment can achieve , selecting an early Fender or Marshall style amp with plenty of breakup and rolling the Volume of the guitar on and off to show the dynamics.
The Helix, kemper, axefx, and now this are just insane. It is crazy to think how easy it is to have so many great sounds that you could use in a studio or touring environment. I am just wondering how much better can it get, and yet it keeps getting better.
looks fantastic, one question; how beer proof is it? looks robust, but would be good to know that having your whole rig under your feet isn't a big risk around spilage
As said on theis FAQ page: Q: If I have bought Neural DSP plugins, can I get them on QC? A: We will send a free plugin update in a Cortex compatible format to everyone who owns our plugins so the modules in them can be loaded onto the device.
Anyone that says it sounds bad it an idiot. Does it sound as good as the kemper or the axefx? Not sure but from this video and that amp model it doesn't seem to. the Friedman amp models on the axefx are insane and have this amazing harmonic feedback (that the real amps also have and) that this model doesn't seem to have at all. The friedman here just sounds like a generic distorted amp. Does it sound good? Yeah sure but amp modellers have sounded good for almost 2 decades ... does it sound accurate (or at least as accurate as the competition)? .. I am not sure.
Never be able to tell in a few minutes of a demo. I use a Headrush and the amps not only sound great but they feel right. You are right about overtones, harmonics, dynamics and pushed compression makes the difference. I look forward to hearing/playing the Quad and hope to get blown away. We live in the best of times.
"Macbook pro of the guitar world"....................put me off right there. Basically means its an over priced version of something thats already available and needs an operating system update every 6 months disabling it until they figure out how to get it to work hahaha
sounds amazing. I'm in TIER 1 for the preorders ( first after priority influencers and before big stores like Sweetwate, i'm assuming) and cant wait !!! Jumped on it the first hour of preorders. neural DSP is QUALITY. I know they have pushed things back a few times DUE TO CODIV-19 and I'm SOOO glad. I 1000% support them giving us the best and not just what they can produce before the holidays etc ...( *cough* CYBERPUNK 2077). and they haven't LIED to us AT ALL during the process. Letting us know what's up and why things are delayed. CLASS ACT THIS COMPANY. I know we are all getting annoyed with the delays but we would be more annoyed if we got it and it was garbage, glitchy, and flawed. SO lets just wait patiently and when it comes out it will OWN the industry.
I want something with this sound quality but cheaper.. haha much cheaper.. They should bring one out with one input instead of four and then ask a quarter of the price 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
Would be great to see a video comparing this with Kemper when it comes to profiling amps, I've been very happy with my Kemper since i got it nearly 10 years ago but the Cortex has my curiosity
Sell outs. This channel used to be less "sell" and more hangout and let's see what happens. Just so you guys know, they said the same shit about "sounds and feels like the real amp" back with Boss GT100, Helix, Etc.
@@odouroushouseant The problem is not that their goal is to "sell" it's that their opinions on gear used to (IMO) mean honesty. The whole point with Chapman was to bring in an honest perspective about gear (good or bad). Perhaps I am being over opinionated, but to me, this video just comes off as corporate stink.
Perceptions are funny: my eyes tell me "oh go get over yourself!" and my ears tell me "That'll do pig, that'll do!" However, it all sounded same-ish, while entirely satisfactory.
All the neural stuff does have that step backwards same-ish sound IMHO. I will wait till I have one at hand but it doesn't seem to have that modern digital sound that the axe and kemper has and neither does their plugins. Its just a bit bland.
It seems cool. Thank you for the review guys! I just think you guys focus too much on high gain sounds. To be honest some units can match that. But where are the clean no compressed tones? Where are the Fenders, Matchless, Morgan, Dumble tones?
Oh good grief. I would never have a use for this thing, but it's glorious. The connectivity, sharing, etc. is crazy. The fact that you can plug multiple people into it with separate signal paths is nuts. If I was trying to start a franchise of cover bands or something, this would be the way to go. You can make sure that every group has the same settings, and enough inputs for a whole band....
From a Kemper owner, the tech and UI here is really miles away from Kemper. However, from someone who just wants to plug and play, having someone dial in the profiles for me is really time saving. I’d love a Kemper with this form factor though
Same here, but the captures should have you covered then, but with effects and a UI that actually make sense beyond the amp. With my Kemper I always feel like they got the amp bit right but everything else is such an afterthought.
I mean but u got to carry the amp and the mic placement manually. If u got the quad cortex you emulate a hecka load of mic and effects and amps. Better investing.
richard kruspe from rammstein once explained it perfectly in an interview, the problem with amp simulations is that the devices cannot reproduce the after swinging of a guitar cab because it requires a lot of cpu power. I think that's exactly that feeling thing that many amp players criticize
@@CerealDust-nStuff Nothing too fancy, a Marshall Origin head combined with a Studio Vintage cabinet. I cannot push the amp very hard at home and I use a Bogner Blue pedal for extra dirt. But it still sounds a million times better and organic than any modeller I ever had, without the need to go through endless menus and tweak your sound.
Great product. But i guess it's not supposed to be put on the floor. You don't want to smash that screen with your foot and you can't change the settings if you have it on the floor. Is there any additional pedals that you can place on the floor just to toggle presets?
I've been exclusively using their plugins ever since I moved into a flat where I really can't make noise and it's very impressive what can be achieved in modelling these days. I kinda wish there was a rackmount edition which I could load into my desk, but apart from that I'm very interested.
What are you guys using for speaker in room here? Active loudspeaker, guitar centric powered speaker? And is the sound we are hearing DI or from a mic'ed speaker?
They’re all the same, were not splitting hairs about EL34 tubes and 6L6’s or KT66’s or 12AX7LP,WB,C etc.. Just get whatever work flow fits your style wether its Kemper,AXFX,Helix,Boss GT1000,iRig, HeadRush etc.. I know helix has proven itself and has had 5 plus years of hands on with thousands of owner, and touring pro’s,club gigs etc.. This is now about “marketing”
Really excited for people to try this thing. It’s impossible for you all to really get a vibe for this thing without trying it. Especially with so little content on the tubes! But I’m sure all the content will drop in due course!
For those comparing to all the others, I just think try one, to see which you feel suits you best. But to my ear and feel as a guitarist, it’s feel is beyond anything I’ve tried by quite a way. for me that’s one of the most important elements when I’m trying a modeller. The tone sculpting is so painless, and I’m really happy with the sounds I’ve found in it so far!
The capture is insane, that’s definitely a must try!
As I said, can’t wait for you all to the one!
Was that a sneaky Karnivool kick at 17.30? Deadman? 🤘🤘
This sounds absolutely killer too!
Everything I've heard is it excels with heavy tones. I play a Helix in church, so driven & clean tones with lots of reverb & delay. Thoughts on how well it does that? Think AC30, AC15, Matchless
How does the capture function compare to Kemper's profiling?
Rabea you can make a stick with string tied to it sound amazing haha
RABEA: you look great physically man... I'm SURE a lot of hard mental/ emotional work went into it as well, so cheers to you mate!
Yeah hes looking pretty lean. Good for him!
Yeah I'm not sure he should be allowed to play that well while looking that fit. Must be using hacks...
Dude is sexy as fck. I keep my girlfriend away from his videos.. dont want to risk it.
That's one of the greatest units that I don't need.
Thanks for sharing that with us, I’ll sleep better tonight!
That's what GAS is all about, buying expensive stuff we don't need
@Me8 Me8 we're not saying It isnt good, we're saying that less expensive stuff would be good enough for the reality of most of us non-professional players.
@Me8 Me8 between ultra expensive stuff and cheap, there's qualitaty thing... I also don't buy inexpensive stuff for the same reasons.
Agreed.. I didn't need one either. That's why I bought one.
Hey People, Lee here... Really glad you like this video & thanks to Rabea for doing such a great job on the demo. We have more Neural QC Videos coming in January where we'll show you how the "Capture" thing works , and how the QC works/sounds into a power amp & through a normal guitar cab - make sure you're subscribed to our RUclips channel so you don't miss those. Its a serious bit of kit & even for old analogue die-hards like me its impossible not to be impressed. You can pre order on our website already, or visit the page on our blog where you can just sign up for Quad Cortex notifications - here's the link www.andertons.co.uk/neural-dsp-quad-cortex
Cheers all! Lee
Any chance you could also demo it using the Katana Mk2 in its power amp mode? Even better with 2 for a stereo effect?
Blind test? Amp or this
Anyway you could do a test where you compare the amp, the DSP capture, and the Kemper profile as a blind test? I'm really curious how it stacks up. Thanks!
I'd be interested to see Pete do a demo of the latest helix firmware update. People are doing some amazing demos with it. The Fender stuff is sounding crazy good.
Pro-tip: If you put a noise gate at the front of your amp, right after the compressor, you can set the noise gate thresholds SUPER LOW such that it will get rid of the hiss, but is set so low that it will not affect your guitar dynamics!
This thing is crazy. I currently have the Headrush but I may have to upgrade
I have a HR pedal board from its inception 3 yr+ ago and no backup. Really have it dialed in, sounds awesome. But like you I am intrigued in this system, especially at 3.5lbs, huge processing reserve, wifi connectivity (a game changer) and Neural software.
So what you can plug ANY amp into it and “capture” the tone?? That’s sick af!!
It means a lot when the captain says it’s a great amp tone. Great video gents.
It sort of loses it's meaning when it's his job to sell the product.
Great review. Pro tip: gate after the amp and before delays and reverbs; it'll sound much more natural and you won't get rid of your delay and reverb tails.
Rabea is a great player and I love his videos, but man those presets were harsh and hifi sounding - did not sound good at all to me. More dsp power is great, but it pretty much sounds like the other modelers on the market. I like it though and would certainly want to try one out.
Some patches sounded harsh because those patches were initially created on humbucker, and rabea had to play them through a strat unfortunately.
Can’t wait to get mine. Pre ordered through neural dsp with complete faith.
No, thank you and the team for putting this out.
i wonder if its worth to sell my helix floor and buy cortex .
i love my helix floor but its just too big ,heavy to carry around
Would have loved to hear the two of you play through it at the same time. Super underrated feature
0:12 Rabea's Mystery Chode sounds epic.
I'm ALL on-board for current tech. This unit sounds FANTASTIC! I guess my issue has to do with repair, updating, and especially VALUE over time for the average working person. I'm making the comparison to a straight up Amp and Pedal platform which requires simple repairs and/or a pedal swap out. I'm looking forward to a discussion, thanks.
Gonna need a Kemper Profile versus Cortex Capture shootout!
Also gotta add the Helix to it I think.
@@TexTr0 That would be too easy, the Helix will sound and respond totally differently. The goal would be to take two products that allow you to faithfully capture the sound of an amp and compare them both to the amp and to each other. Helix just does models, and I can tell you from experience it feels utterly different to play than a Kemper.
@@slash196 It still would be interesting because the Helix and Quad Cortex play in a similiar price range and I am trying to decide if the Cortex is worth getting rid of my Helix :D
@@TexTr0 yeah the Quad Cortex plays in a different league haha
@@davidfaustino4476 I do because I can not try it for myself.
Nearest store that maybe getting one is 5-6 hrs away and due to the current situation no music store is allowed to be open until at least 10th of January(probably even longer).
And just because Neural stuff is all the rage atm I‘m not gonna buy one „blind“ without at least having heard a comparison.
"there is a part of me" that like this stuff....its called my back from not having to haul real amps
I gave up amps about 8yrs ago. I currently use a headrush and will never go back to amps again. It just keeps getting better buddy. A good monitor system wipes out the idea that it can not feel rockin live.
😂😂😂 any gigging musician (especially drummers) knows this. I got so tired of hauling around my half stack and other equipment.
@@migueleespinosa2632 if you only play in your living room yeah they are. But plug them into the front of house and your settings all need to be changed.
@@JustinShreds get a road crew.
@@kingfisher7960 I plug direct into my churches PA system. 750 person capacity and a great PA with IE returns. A second smaller church with a QSC hanging PA and Martin floor monitors. It sound great in both. Week after week for the last 3yrs using the Headrush.
I'm looking forward to seeing some AXE vs Cortex videos. I'm intrigued!!!!
Lee, grab some PA speakers and a 500 watt amp off the shop floor. Get that air movement as if it was used in a live environment. I feel like this will be incredible.
Love my Fractal FM3 and I think it is the best in class but competition is always good. Everybody wins in that case as things get better and better
The fm3 kinda seems like the elephant in the room with respect to the quad cortex, it's a fair bit cheaper and has a pretty comparable feature set as far as I can tell
Yep, after hearing this, I'm pretty glad I decided to go with the FM3. I've A/B'd my FM3 with several of the amps it emulates through a power amp and guitar cab, plus my PowerCab with IRs, and the Fractal models are pretty damn close in feel and sound. These models sound so stiff and fizzy. The UI definitely looks a lot better than Fractal, though, but those buttons look so close to each other. Wish my FM3 had more but I can't imagine using that thing live, you'd hit the other switches accidentally super easily...
It´s Better than the Kemper ...
OMG is THIS a COOL SOUNDING "Music Machine"
thats basically everything the helix did right and made it better and added all the stuff we need: wifi, phone connectivity, less buttons. just great
@@KTcDPIYjGJ haha no, totally honest. I use a Helix and the touchscreen and update-ability over the phone without needing it to be hooked up to a pc etc. is one of the things i really miss. plus the turn-joystick-style-knob on the helix used for navigation is very easy to missclick etc. its sometimes inconvenient in a live setting or during rehearsal
@@KKLCNo1 Not to mention it's much smaller and lighter than an LT. Granted, it misses the built-in expression pedal, but to me it's still a huge step forward in terms of hardware design.
Dude remember it's not about processor only. it's the effect algorithm. The neural one seems way to green
@@adamdevo7179 Your mom's name is Helix?!
@@KKLCNo1
Agreed about the Helix.
Especially the joystick part. It's really easy to turn it by accident while trying to just move it and lose all the settings in the block.
But the sound. You can still make Helix sound great with a bit of parametric Eq though. And good IRs.
“Not trying to say this is the best, but... it’s the best”! 😂
I pre-ordered last year before NAMM and Steven took me through a demo at Neural's NAMM booth. Sadly, I had to cancel my preorder due to "current events". Hopefully sometime in 2021 I can make it happen. I love the feel of it! The power seems to make a HUGE difference. It shouldn't feel so good, but it does! And the size is perfect! NO special case or bag required! It's small enough to put in the large pocket of pro gig bags with an exp pedal and hop on the train to rehearsal or a gig.
When you run the Ndsp plug-ins, it feels closest to a real tube amp to me. I’ve spent so much money on them!! Hahahah
Rabea you do such justice to this piece of gear thank you for giving us awesome tones to hear
Neural, just give us Archetype Rabea! 👍
wouldn't it be ironic, if they released it and it was just all the stuff they have already released, because Bea uses them now over his actual amps. ahaha.
Ohhhhh Boy! This is the one I was waiting for!! I'm so excited about this one. First seconds sounded great!
Mystery Chode is my new favorite band name!
I've been looking for something that could truly upgrade my Headrush Gigboard, and this is the only product that actually fully replaces the Gigboard. This is amazing.
Tethering to your phone could lead to some interesting moments if your mum calls half-way through a gig.
"Honey you really need to stop leaving sticky socks all over your room"
Amplified to a crowd in which no doubt someone is recording
thats not how it works. it means wifi tethering. basically it uses the phone to connect to the internet. the quad cortex connects to the phone via its own wifi signal then the phone is connected to internet either via wifi or lte
@@princeoinkins8408 We were just using a bit of comedic license
@@princeoinkins8408 Indeed, but there's also this dynamic in human interactions called "humor". You should give it a try sometime.
@@princeoinkins8408 Thanks for explaining how it works. The really lame jokes with a premise that doesn't really apply were confusing since I don't have experience with this product and came here for information.
Guys, thanks for bringing this to us, and it's really great to see ya Rabea. Happy holidays gents.
When you see Bea and a Les Paul you know you're in for a good time...
I almost feel dirty looking at how awesome this is, with how much I love my helix haha
Same. I love my Helix, but man wow.. This thing looks and sounds great
I love my Helix and my Axe FX III... Sold my Kemper Stage to pre-order and pay for Quad Cortex...
Great little unit. Lots of plagiarism on the UI, from you know where. Ultimately, no VDI, no sale though.
@@jonin0001 if you’re in the USA they just moved it up to April. Idk where the utubers are getting them from? I guess paid endorsement? Idk. Straight from the company??
Hahahahahahah I am crying with the "Hee Hee" of the gate 😂😂
The editing is hilarious🤣🤣🤣 we've missed some of that recently at andertons
Must almost be Christmas methinks
An old guy like me would have loved to hear some sparkly clean sounds a'la Mark Knopfler, Nile Rodgers....
Not everyone's a metal head ;-) ;-) ;-)
That video will be coming soon. :-)
@@andertons with A/B comparison with your own capture?
As a metal head, I would have liked to hear at least one signature Rabea metal sound. Seems like the QC can't produce them :( The video is basically no tone demos all tech talk and menu fiddling
The difficult sounds to emulate are the dirty ones. Probably why it's the majority of the demo on this video. I bet she can put off some crystal
Very interested!!!! And Rabea to the test!!! YES!!
I would put noise gate after the drive stuff, but before the delay and reverb so that the gate doesn't cut the trails. But if putting it at the end provoked the funny facial expressions, then I'm all for it!
"He-heh...!" - "Uh-heh-huh...!".
Honestly that's an excellent description of a noise gate :D
this got me in stitches
What it doesn’t do.... is break your back when you are carrying it to rehearsals. I have a Mesa Lonestar and I now use my line6 pod go pretty much all the time these days. This looks great though!
If you have a Kemper, don't buy it.
If you don't, this is the one to buy now.
It's not that hard xD
I'm absolutely blown away by this. Like, the Helix and the Fractal audio stuff I was always amazed by how they sounded and played. But man this is just outrageously incredible. I must pick this one day
The Kemper Digi fx is the only one that truly sounds like a great tube amp. I own a Mesa Triaxis with the Mesa Simul-class 2:90 power amp and the Kemper copied the Mesa so well I couldn't hear the difference if my life depended on it.
The Triaxis and 2:90 sound utterly crushing but if you haven't been in a room with a rig like this then you will be inclined to think the Neural is the ultimate when it isn't even close This Neural doesn't come close to the natural sound and dynamics of a tube amp.
Lee/ Andertons do a modeler shootout. Helix, this, kemper, whatever else. Create a twin reverb clean, Marshall drive, and Vox chime tone
Agreed but let's blindfolded Line 6's Paul Hindmarsh & see if he can pull the Helix out of the group while the rest of us enjoy his playing? 🤔
seems you're looking for a strymon iridium :-)
Eleven Headrush pedal board too !
I'm a little surprised at how the noise gate was used here. A compressor won't "add" noise in itself, it'll simply raise the noise that's already there. If the noise gate is placed at the very start of the chain, it eliminates noise at the source, and the compressor has nothing to raise, so everything will be silent. Plus, you won't get that huh-huh-huh effect at the end of a note. Aside from that, though, a good demo. I'm really interested in this unit for when I get back to gigging. I have a full-fat Helix, but it's too bulky for the fly-in gigs I do, so it stays at home. The QC's compact form factor really appeals. I'd very much like to hear some mid-gain tones demoed at some point.
The gate's placement was totally wrong, surprised the guys missed this. It should either be first in the chain or right after the amp block, it should never be placed after the time/space effects, unless you go for the gated reverb result intentionally.
This is customary of people that don't understand how compressors work. A compressor compresses dynamic range, making quiet sound louder and loud sounds quieter. They're thinking a compressor is a distortion pedal or something.
compressors do not "simply raise the noise that's already there", unless you use make-up gain, wich has nothing to do with compression. Compression only reduces gain that get past the treshold, by a certain ratio, and that's it.
@@victorbicudo1374 Compressors are essentially an automated volume knob.
@@BrunodeSouzaLino you got that right
i need to hear some profiles :). But as a kemper user i quite like the fact that it can copy / profile pedals if this works fine it‘ll be amazing. Besides that just play live through like 2 amps and create your own sound is just amazing. With kemper you would need to have a merged profile or re-amping through different profiles
Daymn. This sounds really, really impressive. Then again its coming from Neural so not that bit of a surprise. Will definitely sell my Kemper to get this.
Why this one above the Kemper?
@@WeOut There are a lot of features it has that the kemper doesn't. You can use it as an audio interface, it has mic inputs, UI is easier and more flexible, will run Neural plugins natively...I will still keep my Kemper because it does things I like but I will probably get a Cortex too.
@@WeOut A bigger advertising budget? Admittedly the Kemper is 8 years old now but I feel like it already crossed the threshold of "can't tell which one is the real amp and which one is the Kemper" a long time ago. Marketing buzzwords and paid promotion from popular online guitarists seem to be what is getting people most excited about Neural.
@@inevitableveganfuture3915 ok troll.
@@TomCouture Actually, the only troll is you; he's made several valid points, but because he doesn't say what you want him to say you'll lazily label him as a troll. I despair.
Haven't watched those for a while. Rabea has lost a tonne of weight😱
They should incorporate their Plini, Nolly, Wong, etc plugins in this.
If you own the plugins, I believe you can load them in. Not 100% sure on that though.
@@oisinmcphillips2090 not initially, but it will be possible later on
Im loading their plugins with a laptop i found in the trash, yeah this would be more convenient but really its just a computer and we got lots of those, probably better than what they put in this box. Audio interface + laptop = this.
As said on theis FAQ page: Q: If I have bought Neural DSP plugins, can I get them on QC? A: We will send a free plugin update in a Cortex compatible format to everyone who owns our plugins so the modules in them can be loaded onto the device.
@@mikejones-vd3fg audio interface + laptop (daw + plugins I suppose) is never NEAR a proper hardware equipment, even if the hardware is digital, ain't cheap either if you buy everything instead of pirating. As someone that tried dozens of "direct in" recording solutions, audio interface + laptop is by far the worst! For now my 3K £ pedalboard with Strymon Iridium + UA Apollo is the closest to a proper microphone + tube amp recording in a Tier 1 studio, but at the end it all the depends how important is that guitar sound in the song, if it's the main instrument then you might struggle with the quality of AI + laptop. That's why things like Kemper and Quad Cortex are being created.
Still waiting for my pre-order lol. I'm jealous. Great video, a long time coming. Thanks mates, the unit sounds very tasty.
It sounds like a great product, but I have NEVER heard Bea demonstrate something and it sound bad. Bea could plug into a mouldy banana left in the freezer and sound 10x better than the best I’ve ever sounded!
The acid test for ALL of these devices is whether the reviewer ditches their old pedals and uses this exclusively; they never, ever do, they always find some caveat to excuse themselves from it.
Truth.
@@derekchapman5167 true, Kemper is still king if you go off of that metric. All the big players use that, some use helix
There is still the "colector" factor with pedals. Its somewhere deep in human nature, that we like to collect things.
PS: Bea uses Helix live, when giging with Frog leap Leo.
Disagree. I think it sounds pretty incredible.
Very keen to try this. Long time Kemper user and for the first time I am interested in another digital amp.
the swell and decay of the notes sounds like a real amp
I love to hear the dynamics the equipment can achieve , selecting an early Fender or Marshall style amp with plenty of breakup and rolling the Volume of the guitar on and off to show the dynamics.
@this is our house ?
The Helix, kemper, axefx, and now this are just insane. It is crazy to think how easy it is to have so many great sounds that you could use in a studio or touring environment. I am just wondering how much better can it get, and yet it keeps getting better.
I love these videos. The funny moments are rehabilitating. Thank you.
outstanding clean with effects, but crunch-to-dist sound like a behringer v-amp
Havent found a ss or digital that does dirt right
Say what?
The only thing modelers do half decent is distortion.
Everything else is putrid.
But your 100% correct also.
They don’t get it right either.
@@tomvice H&K Spirit of Radio does
@@tomvice lmao nearly all popular overdrive and distortion pedals are solid state
Just preordered mine! The 2FA for the payment was "polished pedal". I'm not kidding!!
looks fantastic, one question; how beer proof is it? looks robust, but would be good to know that having your whole rig under your feet isn't a big risk around spilage
Agreed - I'd be much happier if I could control the patch switching live with a midi foot controller, and position the QC way out of harms way!
Looks and sounds awesome. They should be paying Line6 royalties for the UI design though ;)
This sounds incredible. expensive, but incredible.
Not expensive if you compare it to Kemper.
I think that's how the price it which is too bad for me.
Will be interesting to see it stack up against the future Bluguitar AmpX
Me too!!!
totally agreed...that's going to be epic..question is can I hold until that one launches to compare?!
Kemper really need to update their user-interface.
4:45 I cannot even begin to explain how disappointed I am that the mug did not evaporate here.
To be honest I'm just waiting for them to build the archetype plugins into it because I would love to have that
As said on theis FAQ page: Q: If I have bought Neural DSP plugins, can I get them on QC? A: We will send a free plugin update in a Cortex compatible format to everyone who owns our plugins so the modules in them can be loaded onto the device.
@@lillebom123 That'll be great
I can't wait for Andertons to do the blind tests, and everyone who says it sounds bad won't even be able to tell which one the real amp is.
Anyone that says it sounds bad it an idiot. Does it sound as good as the kemper or the axefx? Not sure but from this video and that amp model it doesn't seem to. the Friedman amp models on the axefx are insane and have this amazing harmonic feedback (that the real amps also have and) that this model doesn't seem to have at all.
The friedman here just sounds like a generic distorted amp. Does it sound good? Yeah sure but amp modellers have sounded good for almost 2 decades ... does it sound accurate (or at least as accurate as the competition)? .. I am not sure.
actually 20:33 seems to do it a bit.
I honestly like the sound of my fender mustang mk2 stereo head unit and it really sounds like a real amp, maybe because it is a real amp.
Never be able to tell in a few minutes of a demo. I use a Headrush and the amps not only sound great but they feel right. You are right about overtones, harmonics, dynamics and pushed compression makes the difference. I look forward to hearing/playing the Quad and hope to get blown away. We live in the best of times.
"Macbook pro of the guitar world"....................put me off right there.
Basically means its an over priced version of something thats already available and needs an operating system update every 6 months disabling it until they figure out how to get it to work hahaha
dont know of anything thats a modeler AND a profiler on the market do you? I think they said it updates via wifi every time you connect.
oh well, if it´s like a macbook pro, then I will definitely go and buy a kemper.
sounds amazing. I'm in TIER 1 for the preorders ( first after priority influencers and before big stores like Sweetwate, i'm assuming) and cant wait !!! Jumped on it the first hour of preorders. neural DSP is QUALITY.
I know they have pushed things back a few times DUE TO CODIV-19 and I'm SOOO glad. I 1000% support them giving us the best and not just what they can produce before the holidays etc ...( *cough* CYBERPUNK 2077). and they haven't LIED to us AT ALL during the process. Letting us know what's up and why things are delayed. CLASS ACT THIS COMPANY. I know we are all getting annoyed with the delays but we would be more annoyed if we got it and it was garbage, glitchy, and flawed. SO lets just wait patiently and when it comes out it will OWN the industry.
Impressive to see the évolution of modélisation, through smartphones and the quality improving. What tomorrow will offer ?
I want something with this sound quality but cheaper.. haha much cheaper.. They should bring one out with one input instead of four and then ask a quarter of the price 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
Teacher: What do you want to do when you grow up, Peter?
Peter: I wanna be a switch-smashing robot!!!
Would be great to see a video comparing this with Kemper when it comes to profiling amps, I've been very happy with my Kemper since i got it nearly 10 years ago but the Cortex has my curiosity
Sell outs. This channel used to be less "sell" and more hangout and let's see what happens. Just so you guys know, they said the same shit about "sounds and feels like the real amp" back with Boss GT100, Helix, Etc.
@@odouroushouseant The problem is not that their goal is to "sell" it's that their opinions on gear used to (IMO) mean honesty. The whole point with Chapman was to bring in an honest perspective about gear (good or bad). Perhaps I am being over opinionated, but to me, this video just comes off as corporate stink.
Perceptions are funny: my eyes tell me "oh go get over yourself!" and my ears tell me "That'll do pig, that'll do!" However, it all sounded same-ish, while entirely satisfactory.
wat
All the neural stuff does have that step backwards same-ish sound IMHO. I will wait till I have one at hand but it doesn't seem to have that modern digital sound that the axe and kemper has and neither does their plugins. Its just a bit bland.
Some nice sounds, but still that digital rasp, great interface, but live will be the test, Kraken sounded really harsh, not convinced.
watched whole vid for once , coz its rabea & no rob 🤘
@@adamdevo7179 g-r-e-e-etings
It seems cool. Thank you for the review guys!
I just think you guys focus too much on high gain sounds. To be honest some units can match that.
But where are the clean no compressed tones? Where are the Fenders, Matchless, Morgan, Dumble tones?
Are you expecting that from people putting noise gates after reverbs to cut noise from compressors?
@@BrunodeSouzaLino please ready my message once more. You may didn't get it
I thought Kemper was a profiler rather than a modeller?
The Quadcortex is both. Here's a video of it profiling. ruclips.net/video/d1OKydv4eWE/видео.html
Oh good grief. I would never have a use for this thing, but it's glorious. The connectivity, sharing, etc. is crazy. The fact that you can plug multiple people into it with separate signal paths is nuts. If I was trying to start a franchise of cover bands or something, this would be the way to go. You can make sure that every group has the same settings, and enough inputs for a whole band....
"Can Lee figure out how this works?". New series idea? :D
I'll stick with my Marshall and pissed off neighbours 🤣
Why not use the cortex in the effects loop? Sounds a lot more fun to me
@@professorprog4170 it was a joke
I think you just sold a million of these . . . .
0:25 The string bend woke your t-shirt up
From a Kemper owner, the tech and UI here is really miles away from Kemper. However, from someone who just wants to plug and play, having someone dial in the profiles for me is really time saving. I’d love a Kemper with this form factor though
Same here, but the captures should have you covered then, but with effects and a UI that actually make sense beyond the amp.
With my Kemper I always feel like they got the amp bit right but everything else is such an afterthought.
Marcelo, if you really want a plug and play experience try the Strymon Iridium. After buying it I sold my Kemper…
Reb has done a comparison between this and kemper with amp capture and this is much more authentic.
I'm walking round Tesco with this in my pocket and headphones in. You lads got me some strange looks with your noise gate impressions!
Wish I could just buy a single little pedal that plugged in directly sounds like a mic'd up '65 Princeton Reverb. That's it, nothing else.
I don't know exactly but look at mad professor super black
Revival Trem from Origin Effects
I mean but u got to carry the amp and the mic placement manually. If u got the quad cortex you emulate a hecka load of mic and effects and amps. Better investing.
Holy crap! This thing is amazing.
richard kruspe from rammstein once explained it perfectly in an interview, the problem with amp simulations is that the devices cannot reproduce the after swinging of a guitar cab because it requires a lot of cpu power. I think that's exactly that feeling thing that many amp players criticize
Sounds amazing, couldn't be more excited to get my QC! Great demo, guys.
Imagine Jimi Hendrix watching this right now haha!
17:23 that's the Spiderman Animated series music from the early 90s
#Childhood
which was originally performed by joe perry
I now own one.. and it has made me so much happier to pick up my guitar!
Ok, the first 60 seconds sounded sterile and strange. Turned me off.
After that, I think I'm sold. Impressive, It sounds really good. Wow!
The headrush touchscreen is probably the best and most intuitive user interface up to this point but I would be really interested in trying this.
But sounds good he worst ! 🤪😎
I would never be able to figure this thing out. I still can’t figure out my HX Effects so I bought some pedals instead.
I went back to regular amps and pedals after years of using modelling and it's really refreshing :)
@@dstfno - Well put! What amp or amps are you currently enjoying?
@@CerealDust-nStuff Nothing too fancy, a Marshall Origin head combined with a Studio Vintage cabinet. I cannot push the amp very hard at home and I use a Bogner Blue pedal for extra dirt. But it still sounds a million times better and organic than any modeller I ever had, without the need to go through endless menus and tweak your sound.
@@dstfno - nice!👍
Great product. But i guess it's not supposed to be put on the floor. You don't want to smash that screen with your foot and you can't change the settings if you have it on the floor. Is there any additional pedals that you can place on the floor just to toggle presets?
I've been exclusively using their plugins ever since I moved into a flat where I really can't make noise and it's very impressive what can be achieved in modelling these days. I kinda wish there was a rackmount edition which I could load into my desk, but apart from that I'm very interested.
What are you guys using for speaker in room here? Active loudspeaker, guitar centric powered speaker? And is the sound we are hearing DI or from a mic'ed speaker?
Straight into the DAW obviously
Yeah but I'm wondering what the monitoring situation is...
They’re all the same, were not splitting hairs about EL34 tubes and 6L6’s or KT66’s or 12AX7LP,WB,C etc..
Just get whatever work flow fits your style wether its Kemper,AXFX,Helix,Boss GT1000,iRig, HeadRush etc.. I know helix has proven itself and has had 5 plus years of hands on with thousands of owner, and touring pro’s,club gigs etc.. This is now about “marketing”
People would rather spend most time with tones and gear than learn some more advanced playing techniques
@@OhSoInsane yes! I spent a lot of time getting my fingers happening with skill level then hit my helix with simple amp block and speaker block...
@@rockkstah2550 yup, exactly
Slightly hurting inside watching the noise gate placed at the end of the chain after delay and verb. Looking forward to it finally coming out though
okay the "heh heh" edits I knew they were coming but still got me giggling
new cuts to watch when you are sad
"This does what a real amp does"
... Yeah, I've been hearing that since the first generation Line6 Pod 😆
That's not even a remotely fair comparison. It's like comparing a modern computer to an abacus, or a potato.
@@raelik777 did somebody ever say that a potato could replace your computer?
@@chrisandersson Clearly my humorous hyperbole was lost on you.
@@chrisandersson its true... the line6 pod is a potato.
@@MrJC1 did I say something to the contrary? 😄