Quad Cortex, my month with it

[ZEN Amps]

I didn't want to shit in the main thread - probably best left to users sharing positive experiences and enthusiasm.

So a friend let me borrow his QC these last few weeks, he's a 'new toy' guy and already seems over it. I'm a tube-amp lover but also very open to new tech. I have a Kemper for doing demos, have had Fractal stuff so was curious about this thing.

Like the Kemper, it's ok. Not bad, not great, just ok. Hard to get excited about an emulation when you know the joy of playing through the real thing, and ultimately for me it's just a less satisfying and fun experience.

I captured most of the amps in our collection, tried presets, tweaked etc, just not that impressed. The feel seems off, dynamics are strange, saturation feels plasticky, the list goes on. I'm putting it in the category of cool toys that get 80% of the way there. I figure after maybe 40 hours in I can say I gave it a fair enough chance.

Anyone else tried one and been unimpressed? Like I said if you love the thing there's already a thread here which I didn't want to bring negativity to

 

[Donnie B.]

Even handed review but let's be honest - if you have the real things readily available and no
issues with pushing some decent air where you are then a digital amp is never a first choice.

I've had attached neighbors for the last 25 years so I've messed with digital stuff ever since
the first POD kidney bean.

Did a solid stretch with both Fractal and Kemper recently and feel like the QC is the closest
to the real thing yet.

BUT.....

Just like with Fractal some of the amp models are not good and a few of them suck.
And like Kemper's profiles, the QC captures so far have been very hit and miss.

But the really good ones are pretty amazing.
I get completely lost playing with the QC the same as with real amps.

 

[ZEN Amps]

Yeah I always go in with an open mind, otherwise life can be dull.

Glad you're enjoying the QC!

 

[ClintN667]

I love the QC. The Marshall, Friedman, EVH, and 5150 models are pretty great. I've been using the Tamura modded tube screamer in front of it and it's added some analog spice to it.

Fwiw I've hooked my amps up to my Fryette Powerstation then used IR's. I was surprised at how close to the digital devices I've used.

 

[LaXu]

I had one for a month, captured my Bogner and Victory amps. The captures when run through the Fryette PS-100 into one of my cabs sounded and felt extremely close to the real deal. I thought the capture worked just great. The output system will matter here and the closer to it is to like for like the better results you will experience.

For the most part the unit was a joy to use. That combination of touchscreen and knob/switches in a compact size is killer.

I sold mine because the fx were limited and I didn’t want to wait for firmware updates to rectify the situation. Great potential but I expect it to take 1-2 years for NeuralDSP to deliver.

 

[ZEN Amps]

Interesting. I just didn't seem to gel with it like you guys. Besides the tone, there was a bit of a disconnected feeling. I didn't notice much latency, but it just felt processed and less immediate. Maybe there was a bad tube with my unit

 

[ClintN667]

I had one for a month, captured my Bogner and Victory amps. The captures when run through the Fryette PS-100 into one of my cabs sounded and felt extremely close to the real deal. I thought the capture worked just great. The output system will matter here and the closer to it is to like for like the better results you will experience.

For the most part the unit was a joy to use. That combination of touchscreen and knob/switches in a compact size is killer.

I sold mine because the fx were limited and I didn’t want to wait for firmware updates to rectify the situation. Great potential but I expect it to take 1-2 years for NeuralDSP to deliver.

I think the updates are going to start coming pretty quickly. There is a new update coming out next week with at least one new effect and one new amp.

The following update will have several Fender type amps not sure about effects. I'm filling expecting us to hit v2 by the end of the year(although I don't have anything to base that on just a hunch). The last update was pretty great imho. Even the flanger effect that sucked ended up being better