NanoCortex: My First Impressions

The NeuralDSP NanoCortex is a confusing little guitar pedal in some ways... will it find a place on my board? Time will tell.
#Neuraldsp #nanocortex #guitargear #guitarpedals

[@CoolStuffDad]

Appreciate the no holds barred approach on this review- highs & not-so highs, no BS, practical realistic summary.

[@Plant_Based_Riffs]

I try to give it to you straight, appreciate you catching that.

[@HenkvanVersendaal]

Restriction is just the reason why I am using the Nano and not the Quad Cortex. Nice channel btw, subbed.

[@Plant_Based_Riffs]

@@HenkvanVersendaal and i feel like that is perfectly legitimate. there is a lot of creativity in boundaries and limits. it makes you expand outward instead of upward. :) Thanks for the sub

[@sneaky_general]

Having used the Quad Cortex for a couple of years, I realized that the signal paths I used were always pretty straightforward and really resembled what the Nano Cortex setup is, so I agree that the limitations are totally fine for me. I might throw an overdrive or two in front of it though!

[@Plant_Based_Riffs]

@ So here’s something funny. I drove 30 minutes to a gig and realized I forgot my QC power supply. Ever since then, the nanocortex and a little 9v power supply stay in my back as a backup rig. 😂😂😂

[@HenkvanVersendaal]

@ Thats exactly what I did. My Signal path is now: Keeley Compressor Plus to Keeley Mk3 Driver to JHS AT+ to NanoCortex to Keeley Halo to my Mackie mixer. I've noticed putting the Halo in front of the NanoCortex did not work well with high gain captures and since it is stereo it works well 'after' the NanoCortex. And now my small pedalboard is full (Harley Benton Power 50C with onboard powersup. which can also power the NanoCortex)

[@sneaky_general]

@@HenkvanVersendaal that sounds great! Thinking of doing Tumnus - King of Tone - Nano - Chroma Console on my old Pedaltrain Mini now

[@TjDES]

Very well put. It's intriguing to think about how they decided to design this thing. For those that make it work it's great, but I know I'd miss my QC.

[@Plant_Based_Riffs]

@@TjDES Yeah it’s a great pedal! It’s just odd for my personal use. I still love having access to the incredible captures all on my phone tho.

[@thomascassidy3203]

I’m a simple man I see Jared and I like

[@CoolStuffDad]

And kitty gets his way yet again!

[@NACHOXVALLE]

The cat is your undercover master, you just was ready when he fall slept.

[@nunolance23]

Video looks sharp!! 100% agreed, for the money this should have a lot more presets and IR slots, compressor (I could live without overdrive since you can add it to a capture), not fixed chain, any screen (even if pretty small), another footswitch in the middle, and it should be able to adjust presets on a PC totally offline, not just with your phone. Should in 10 years the app be abandoned because the company gets bought, or Bluetooth gets phased out on smartphones for some reason, or that connection simply stops working, and you effectively are stuck with whichever sounds you had there the last time you updated, and you can't even know what amp/IR you're using. The worst part IMO is that this is limited just for the sake of it as a design option (probably not to cannibalize Quad Cortex sales), which is similar to the way Kemper approached their Kemper Player and are now selling upgrades (because of course the software can be expanded to have more effects and so on). Not a fan of this type of business decisions as a consumer.. The only thing this thing offers exclusively from the competition is effectively the NDSP captures database. If I was going to keep with NDSP, I would get a Quad Cortex rather than this. To be honest, I just got a 60 bucks Mvave Blackbox - it can load captures which you can create with your PC (similar to NAM or Tonex), so the tone quality is just 100% dependant on how good the captures you use (same as the Nano), and even though the effects are shitty, it only has 1 mono output, etc., it still has PC connectivity, a tiny screen (!!) where you can change things on the fly and see what you're doing without needing a phone or PC, and it has enough DSP for a basic (shitty) noise gate, compressor, modulation, delay and reverb. If they can do it in a $60 box, larger companies definitely could do it for a 500€ price tag - they just don't want to.

[@Plant_Based_Riffs]

That’s a very detailed take on it, and you raise a lot of good points. I’m just happy to see NDSP try to appeal to a more affordable market. I just wish this was something I wanted to recommend to every student, but it’s too complicated for beginners, and not quite flexible enough for pros.

[@nunolance23]

@@Plant_Based_Riffs yep, it’s definitely a step in the right direction don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy NDSP plugins in particular.. it just doesn’t feel like the best product design or market placement imo.. If the nano covered the points I raised, they would absolutely dominate that mid price level market and still have plenty of margin left for those who want the extra power/chains/footswitches/models/plugin portability/etc of the QC.

[@DesertProductions-v9s]

Great Video.. ..however what happened to using quality pedals, tube amps to raise your own signature tones??... Gosh with Plumes, Archer, Morning Glory, Silos, MXR, Clover.. into a small tube combo you can't get better than that (BTW, no smart phones, apps, etc.)....

[@Plant_Based_Riffs]

Good point! but i have to fly too much to use all that haha. 😂

[@anthonynelson1699]

If you're like me, a guitarist that largely plays extreme metal music (formerly was in the band Inpathos if you like Soilwork and the like check it out), then the hardware you've got to work with usually weighs enough that a pedal based system works far better and is more convenient and less taxing. Huffing around a 5150 and cab with casters, while ALSO having an IEM rack unit is a lot when you don't have crew to help with it. Slapping down a pedalboard and popping into the FOH's stage box is a much faster process. I get that this pedal platform is really marketed towards a lot of people that largely only play at home, but I think it's smart to make more stuff like this for stage use. If you're bangin out weekend gigs at Johnny's 5 and Dime Swillery playing covers to wine moms, then it's not a big deal, but trying to lug stuff on and off stage in the small amount of time between change on a bill with 5 other bands is where stuff like this comes in handy! That's why I play a Kemper live!

[@omynel]

The Cat LOL!

[@fadelast7234]

Hi a question, if I don't need to capture anything but just use existing profiles and modify them needing only a few of sounds. Is this solution better or another? and what do you think of the pitch shifter from the point of view of live or rehearsal room use? comparable to its big brother?

[@Plant_Based_Riffs]

@@fadelast7234 I think this is a great solution if someone needs a “do it all” in a small package, regardless of captures. The pitch shifter identical to the quad cortex :-) sounds great.

[@bonafideguitar]

Really