Quad Cortex 101 - Explaining the Basics of the Quad Cortex

Follow "ToneJunkie" on the Quad Cortex for Captures and Presets.
Check us out at: tonejunkiestore.com
We've had numerous requests for a Quad Cortex for dummies video, so here is an brief overview at the basics. If you just picked up a Quad Cortex or want to understand how the UI and building presets works, this video is for you.

[@maximumguitarage]

HW this is extremely helpful! Best tutorials on the platform. Also the QC101 present really helps get things rolling with the Neural DSP, I have hit the grand running all thanks to you!

[@maximumguitarage]

HW saw you on JHS Pedal show. Bravo, Top notch work explaining that this is not a battle, but tools to achieve your perfect setup and sound.

[@icecreamforcrowhurst]

Been playing 30 years and never used a modeler. Glad I waited cause this one looks like a good place to start.

[@taylormesa]

Sounds awesome and the interface is a game changer! A few things lacking on the QC, but I give it 6 - 9 months for Neural to work out bugs and update amps/effects and this will be the new standard. Sold my Kemper once I started using Neural’s plugins - amazing!!

[@DavidEidelberg]

Anxiously waiting for mine.

[@carlossalazar4508]

Just got one! Love your Kemper stuff. Excited to get going on this unit.

[@jcserrano1663]

God Bless you HW, I know you did wonders with the Kemper but some reason this QC sounds awesome with ease, so realistic. I love your videos Brother, I can wait to get one !!! 😍😍😍🤗🤗🤗🎸🎸🎸🔥🔥🔥

[@bogg4n]

Great video and nice sounds. Subscribed both here and on Cortex Mobile!

[@Nodeproductions]

Looking forward to seeing what Tone Junkies does with this unit.

[@MikaTarkela]

Damn this thing sound beautiful! Great playing of course as well!

[@WaveOfPig]

So when it comes to the dsp issue you were having, I’ve heard Neural say a few times that rows 1 and 2 utilize one processing core, and rows 3 and 4 utilize a separate core. So therefore if you wanted to do a simple stereo rig like in this video, all you have to do is use rows 1 and 3. That should be plenty of processing power for you without needing a janky triple line setup.

[@ramonetl]

You finally got one!

[@DRodMuzicman]

Thank you 🙏 enjoyed this very helpful

[@maximumguitarage]

Got mine on order today !

[@maximumguitarage]

Came in and I am loving it! They just sent updates with 4 more Amps and 4 more reverbs as well as fixes. I can't stop playing HW's TrainWreck captures!

[@fendercs]

Time to capture everything again 👍

[@DougDopplerMusic]

Great job HW:)

[@wkrqjq1896]

question. if its maxing the signal chain, will it be a big difference if you split after drive section, two stereo amps, then merge into one stereo path so they go through one stereo wet path?

[@PhiLikeFlying]

Im bored with my Kemper - i now need a QC. New tones and new inspiration :)

[@psc502]

I know it might be difficult for you to be open about it but I really would like to hear your “honest opinion” on Kemper vs. Quad Cortex amp captured vs profiled tones. I wanted a Kemper stage settled on a hx stomp which is great but I still might wanna capture my own amps, so which would give me the most realistic sounds?

[@mrserv0n18]

The Quad will do a better capture for sure. I have both.

[@MultiGuitarDave]

QC or Kemper .... they are both good. De Kemper has been out for a decade. Made great progress from day one. This will also be the case with the QC. I am still very satisfied with my Kemper. I love the ease of use at the QC! The display, turning the footswitches and the dual amp do draw my attention. Anyway, the development is not standing still. There will be more good things to come in the future. The most important; when are you satisfied?

[@red240red2]

Great video man!!! So are u able to make a single huge chain that spans all 4 rows? This way I could have multiple amps and effects I could toggle on and off with scenes ?

[@johnpannella]

TJ, I hav e a question. Why do you have the Delay and Reverb after the speaker cabinet? I would think the Delay and Reverb would come after the Overdrive (Klon) pedal since you're running straight into the input of the amplifier.

[@LunchBXcrue]

Hey man I know this is an old video but is this something I can just hook up to my PC and use my speakers (I have a set of Edifier R1280DBs as my computer speakes) and use this as an amp/effects machine? Or is it meant to be output to an amp or amp head. I don't know a lot of this stuff I just want something that I can take and plug into and either use my speakers or my headphones to listen to myself play. I see it goes to usb so does it also have a computer program you can use along with it or do you use a separate program to record what your playing? Again I don't know a lot about this stuff I just want something where I can make any tone I want and also have the ability to buy or download specific tones from artists I like when I try to play their music it actually sounds like them lol. I especially want Tim Hensons preset amp profiles cause his tones are sound soooo good.

[@sergejkrynycky728]

Hey man! Great video! How does the QC sound through your Yamaha HS8? I’m considering getting this exact setup.

[@BigJohn95]

Can’t wait to get my unit in! Planning on allowing it to replace my Kemper stage. (Blasphemy I know). So appreciate the time and effort you pour into the videos, captures (I’m sure), rigs etc. Thanks a million!

[@Niksounds]

Blasphemy? The tech goes on

[@r.llynch4124]

@@Niksounds yep its better than Kemper so........

[@lorcanmacken4882]

Are you just plugging straight into the mains or do you need a power condition or PSU of any kind? Power in my house is real dirty and i dunno if it’s gonna perform as expected

[@davidhallowell3457]

Great tips. One question on the dual mono setup...wouldn’t the ping pong delay be just confined to one side?

[@paulpearland]

Do you plan to create presets same way you've created for Kemper?

[@DoctorMcFarlandStudios]

Can you do a Dumble and Fender pack for the QC? I bought the packs for Kemper but may want them in the QC. :)

[@JCleggy]

I know the QC capture stuff is good enough for my ears, but for what it’s worth, how does Tone Junkie feel about it? Is there a clear edge in the accuracy of the two units, or are they nearly the same, just different?

[@ToneJunkieTV]

In my opinion, I am not hearing a clear edge for the QC over the Kemper. Both units are very close to the reference amp and I have to really focus to hear any differences. I will definitely do some sort of video on this.

[@r.llynch4124]

@@ToneJunkieTV maybe BUT its much more streamlined without all those silly knobs and buttons.

[@icecreamforcrowhurst]

R.L Lynch yup interface wins the day

[@alienlovesecrets9379]

I, personally, haven't heard overwhelming sounds in THIS video, so I'm looking forward to watching the next TJ - QC video. I am sure this unit can do better.

[@r.llynch4124]

so watch other videos..lol

[@alienlovesecrets9379]

@@r.llynch4124 don't understand the content of your post. Read again mine.

[@SouidosMetanasths]

Can you connect quad cortex directly to studio monitors for home practise? I mean without using a sound card and a computer.

[@TheAtheistworld]

Does it have analog dry through?? Or everything goes through dsp, digital conversion?? Thnxx brother ❤

[@thesoozeTJ]

LOVING the hair 🙌

[@ToneJunkieTV]

Trying to keep up with your beard

[@Xorezzz]

I'm dying to see your next video on this thing! Honestly I don't need it, have my Kemper for years + a Carr Merc V, but that's life when you love guitar tonez :D. The problem with the QC : no Kemper Kab :/ .

[@kcussrebutuemos4815]

I just stick all of them thru a regular 1x12 guitar cabinet. Sounds fine. I do have to add a real overdrive pedal tbh for feel and sound and then I go back to my amps and pedals. Real nice double modeler in sound and feel and comes with power and just plug in and play the Yamaha, 100hd. Overlooked for $800 new. Yamaha bought line6 btw.

[@carlhardwickofficial]

Agreed. Kemper Kone is a game changer for accurate amp sound. I'm not going back to FRFR. And no, a regular cab doesn't sound as good.

[@mrblues1981]

last year i bought helix floor loving it but week after i bought discover cortex , only problem with helix os way too big to carry around or take it to abroad ,cortex is perfect but looks very complicated then helix . ive got quick question ,on helix every patch or preset got a diffrent volume ,some presets very high and some of them very low ,i cant adjut them all patch in same level . how is it in cortex ?? im thinkin to sell my helix amd buy this one ,

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

would I still need an audio device to use the QC for home recording?

[@1ch1goStRawBerry]

I believe it is a full fledged interface!

[@joeleade7622]

Are you playing it through a Kemper Kab?

[@Johnmannish]

Are you gonna make DI captures of the amps instead of micing them? to use with a real cab, and not duplicate the cab

[@chhau123]

If only one can find anywhere that have this in stock !

[@worshiptutorials]

Sounds GOOD, HW!

[@DougDopplerMusic]

-ish:)

[@ToneJunkieTV]

@@DougDopplerMusic LOL

[@MrTupeloFlash]

HW….long time customer & Kemper user, as a guitarist have you an opinion on AmpliTube ?

[@LEUNN_]

Sounds good and all but the real question is when are you buying an original klon and a vintage tube screamer for pedal captures

[@ToneJunkieTV]

I’ve got them both.

[@ovoono3050]

Why is there so much top end here? Did you dial it in like that or is QC adding it?

[@ToneJunkieTV]

I’m using a capture of the bright channel of the trainwreck with a strat. It’s a bright sound. Next video I will show captures of the normal channel and bright channel with a couple different guitars.

[@NathanLemmon]

Hoping that the QC can capture amps with pedals well.

[@eliasramirezcroman]

It absolutely can! 😁

[@TheChicagoTodd]

Great video....but you didn't show the basic setup of the Quad Cortex....I can't seem to get into the main menu to set up wifi, and everything else....I must be missing something really obvious....how do you get into the main menu to set wifi and other settings?

[@ToneJunkieTV]

Should be 3 dots it the top left corner.

[@TheChicagoTodd]

@@ToneJunkieTV Thx HW.....I'm an idiit...I was pressing on those 3 dots....but the menu that was showing....was only listing a few items.....I failed to recognize that there were MORE menu choices and I just needed to scroll.....duh! Thx sir!

[@2550marshall]

I have a Stage and have one of these QC arriving.....sometime??? they keep changing the date! I'm starting to get the feeling that I won't like it. I have never had any interest in the Fractal stuff because of price and a tweaking nightmare I have heard. Recently I have been watching vids on the Fractal gear and have quite frankly been really interested. I think I may very well sell the kemper Stage and the QC and just get a Fractal Axe FX iii.

[@brucerawsthorne8936]

I have one on order but really like the fractal tones . It appears to be a great time as a guitar player but a very confusing as so much is going on , but maybe I should just play better🙄

[@fraenkiboii]

Stellar sounds and amazing playing. Your strat sounds absolutely great! Would you share which pickups embellish the neck position of your strat?

[@sugarprobe]

Sooooo…..nothing happening with this anymore? Or just trying to figure out how to sell captures?

[@Polletross]

This? Or a MacBook Pro M1 and Logic Pro and a Neural DSP plug-in? Damn I think I want this more.

[@kenpasque6970]

Man I could not wait for you to get yours. But did you have this for a while? Or just get it? I will need to make you up a skin for your QC!

[@ToneJunkieTV]

Ive had it for about a month.

[@kenpasque6970]

@@ToneJunkieTV So there have been updates since the making of this video I presume. When mine arrives I'll be sending you on over a TJTV skin!

[@ToneJunkieTV]

@@kenpasque6970 I made the video yesterday so it should be pretty up to date unless there was an update in the past few days. I haven't checked.

[@kenpasque6970]

@@ToneJunkieTV Gotcha! I was thinking it was one of those delayed QC videos since you ran out of space on the second core. I was just surprised that happened.

[@jazz_grooves]

Double blind control test needed ;)

[@DanielStaff_]

Great video, line 1 and 2 use 2 cores and line 3 and 4 use the other 2

[@ToneJunkieTV]

That makes sense. Thanks!

[@DanielStaff_]

@@ToneJunkieTV no worries, I’m guessing the best way to do a duel rig is to have input 1 set for lanes 1 and 3 then at the end of lane 1 send it to lane 2 and lane 3 to lane 4.. then just output lane 2 to output 1 then lane 4 to output 2

[@dukey558]

Wish some presets available at reasonable prices , especially sorting according to artist based tone. Let's say a set of respective SRV, Jimi Hendrix...Gary Moore, etc. Thanks!

[@ToneJunkieTV]

There is no marketplace yet so all presets are free. We have some captures and presets available for free on the cloud and will keep adding more next week.

[@chrispotts4830]

Lol! Do you feel a little naughty not using the Kemper?

[@hunterbarrett7343]

Where is that buzz coming from? I'm getting ready to buy one of these but I NEED it to be noiseless.

[@bigeclipse718]

You can put noise gates in...

[@jobelewis6416]

Obviously the unit doesn’t just generate noise🤔

[@ProcashFloyd]

That Trainwreck alone makes it worth buying the cortex

[@kodymiller1602]

If HW puts his stamp of approval on this unit, I’ll pre order one. It’s going to replace my hx stomp mini board backup

[@ToneJunkieTV]

It's way better than the stomp in my humble opinion , QC vs Kemper.... to me that has more nuance and is harder for me to pin down for several reasons....I'll make a video.

[@kodymiller1602]

@@ToneJunkieTV I’m too invested in profiles from TJ to leave kemper. Lol. I’m also very happy with how little i have to tweak things on my kemper. Which is why i left helix. It’s all subjective in sound. Thanks for posting this video though. I’m excited to hear what sounds TJ can get out of this unit.

[@eyalgold1]

@@ToneJunkieTV I'm on the fence: fractal fm3 cygnus update, qc or a kemper. Which one sounds like areal tube amp? Is there any lag between picking the strings and the sound you are getting? Thanks

[@tperry5839]

Watch Tom Quayle reviews to hear the quads awesomeness running the neural plugins and the internal quad tones at the same time just sic !. Good review bro 😎

[@MiterAlmeida]

Oh no should I sell my kemper ? Is tone junkie going to be centered around Quad cortex now ?

[@ToneJunkieTV]

I don’t recommend selling your kemper. We are experimenting with the QC but we are still Kemper fanatics and we are nowhere near completed on profiling the world!

[@r.llynch4124]

Much more streamlined than kemper. Sounds just as good and when they port over the plug-ins game over

[@lanceholland]

You know what we want to see HW. A comparison with the Kemper by someone that has a clue.

[@billyshears6622]

That hoodie string... ☠️

[@user-lq7ee6rn4s]

Super informative and easy to understand. Just got mine today. Setting up2 FrFr’s is my goal,but gonna work in mono for now. lol. Maybe it’s me,but headphones sound like shhh. (Audio-Technica M50). Low impedance junk. Don’t buy! And im not spending 400$ on headphones!

[@jdimeleegoku2971]

Plot twist: the sound is coming from the Kemper

[@DavidEidelberg]

Nobody shows how to use the app.

[@farko63]

Kemper is crying behind you man ;) When the VS test ?

[@jeffdombrowski4736]

That fretboard is disgusting, you need to give that thing a cleaning. Aside from that, this unit sounds promising.

[@BigMagnumims]

🤮🤮🤮🤮🤢🤢🤢🤢

[@BigMagnumims]

Burn it!

[@mario23sb]

Take a shot for every “uhhhm”

[@ToneJunkieTV]

Careful you’ll die!

[@mario23sb]

@@ToneJunkieTV Oh no haha. Love the video man! 👍🏽 Super informative.

[@MrTupeloFlash]

Not really 101… set up ?

[@Nig6tWalker]

mmmmm i dont think im going to buy this unit,the sound is ok,Kemper still the king.

[@luisbrito1755]

I have two friends that play kempers and they glitch a lot, then to turn them on it takes a lot of loading time they’ve been out of guitar for a while in the middle of shows, not good. These where indoor gigs with good ac.

[@Nig6tWalker]

@@luisbrito1755 zero isues with my Kemper using it live,load time depend on how many profiles people have on the unit

[@daviddorrian5349]

Litterly everyone that has reviewed these along side the kempers have said the sound is better than the kemper, more real sounding, open and the big one the mids are more accurate and all the guitar bull 😅 and why wouldn't it be. The kemper is great but 11 year old tech. If I was buying one not having any digital stuff I'd definitely go for the quad. Just far more upto date, more accurate to a real amp and the interface is just light years ahead.

[@Nig6tWalker]

@@daviddorrian5349 you dont own the Kemper or the QC?and no the QC doesn’t sound better than the Kemper,,i tried the QC and i didnt heard something that make me sell my Kemper,cool unit

[@daviddorrian5349]

@@Nig6tWalker I don't own either no but would love to own a modeler at some point for ease at cover gigs.

[@Bobby_Digital37]

RIP Kemper 🥺

[@pet0ria640]

Boat Builders

[@MrTupeloFlash]

I’ve tried this unit...sorry it is far too overrated

[@kcussrebutuemos4815]

You may have saved me money because I’m running out of it. I always end up back to my amps and pedals to actually play not tweak. If this would’ve come out first I would chosen this though tbh.

[@MrTupeloFlash]

@@kcussrebutuemos4815 - im glad I’ve helped I use a Kemper & am very happy On a budget try Boss GT100 Or Mooer GE300, 1/3 of price if u only need effects

[@shakespeariancopy3053]

I own this and Kemper... not overrated at all. Maybe you didn’t know how to really use it at its best bro, but this IMO is way ahead my kemper stage. Kemper has done basically nothing in 10 years, sure some upgrades here and there but it’s owner doesn’t really give a dime about it. Guys from quad cortex are obsessed with their product, I assure you this is gonna evolve fast and good. It’s not only about what it does today but what it’s capable of doing that Kemper is not and what it will be able to do in a near future

[@MrTupeloFlash]

@@shakespeariancopy3053 - I still stand by my opinion, but thanks for the reply

[@RudyJunior7]

Are you saying it doesn’t sound like this video? This sounds amazing.

[@miked9000]

So, one minute in, we have a 17 "um"s. Maybe, um, you could, um, write a, um, a script, to um, to not, um, sound like you, um, learned, um, english, four days, um, ago.

[@lordvincentrandles4610]

Dude! What a snooze-fest!! Way to go with the step-dad tones! Yawn!!

[@bobq7910]

Kemper died for you? I'll have to look for other channel in youtube.Bye

[@roberta.3486]

It's all about the Benjamins.

[@sugarprobe]

No. He’s doing both as well as helix.

[@michaelaugust3626]

HW is a Kemper lover. But he also is helping people with multiple platforms. Obviously he’s done it for the helix as well.

[@ToneJunkieTV]

I've made 1,000 videos on the kemper. I've made some videos on Helix as well, did that bother you? I'm not allowed to try out something new? Have I stopped making Kemper content? Have I not put out 2 completely free Kemper packs this month? I made a video discussing my entire process of profiling literally yesterday. If you want some channel recommendations check out... Dan Leggett kzbin.info Big Hairy kzbin.info/door/YFYUq796NVfuvgWIIkiN1w kzbin.info I watch all these channels and find them very entertaining. Sorry, I couldn't bring you more value in the way you would have liked.

[@ToneJunkieTV]

@@roberta.3486 In a way you are correct, I have many customers named "Benjamin" so it is sort of about the Benjamins and the Daves and the Stevens and the Roberts.

[@johncarter1852]

Best decision was selling my Kemper and buying the Quad Cortex.

[@nineninex5558]

Can you tell me why? I have the Stage and am researching deeply into this to see if it’s worthy the change at this point

[@johncarter1852]

@nineninex5558 one of the issues I had with the Kemper was that fact that it had too many options. I had a hard time dialing in tones and just the pipeline involved. The QC was easy to acclimate to right out of the box. The unit is smaller and easier to use and it has been a very good interface for recording. This has been my own views and experiences, I know not everyone will agree but for me the decision to move to the QC was the right one.