Quad Cortex: 5 reasons to buy it and 5 reasons to skip it

[@vasiGuitar]

I’ve been using QC for a few months now, Leo helped me choose it and I cannot thank him enough for making these videos, and I am very surprised of how good this unit sounds and feels. After the CorOS 2.0.0 update it is even better with hybrid mode and the new John Petrucci Mesa Amp which I absolutelly love. Everyone tells me all the time how good the guitar sounds and this is a big big plus for me. I used Helix, Headrush pedalboard, analog pedalboard systems but nothing compares to this. Very complex signal chains, insanely good amps, effects could be better but still they are not trash. Overall, Quad Cortex is the dream unit for me, for weddings, live gigs, recording and everything. Thank you, Leo once again!! 🎸❤️‍🔥

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome, and I'm happy to have been of some help!!!

[@BrianVallotton]

I feel pretty much the same way. I had a Pod Go and used it for about a year. I think the QC sounds a lot better. I do still hope they add some more and/or better effects to be more competitive. I love the touchscreen, but I was very comfortable with the Pod Go Editor and do hope they are making it a priority for a release soon. I call it my MacBook Pro for my guitar! Rock on!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi Brian, thank you for sharing! Good point about the MacBook Pro for guitar...I feel the same way...I mean the QC has a really Apple-ish design...

[@vasiGuitar]

Indeed, Leo, Neural DSP have a similar take on the modelling world as Apple has on the tech world.

[@AM-oj5xl]

How are you feeling about the latency?

[@KVANTdoo]

Another great and direct video. You are one of the very few who dare to say anything against this very expensive effect unit for which many people had so much hope, but in fact it is not what they expected. Helix, Kemper, and especially Mooer have a great and big base, but this one doesn't. Everyone else can be controlled by a computer, but this one can't. For this money, all these options should be available.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you, I'm happy that you appreciate the videos and of course I try to do my best to be objective and impartial. Thank you also for sharing your opinion!

[@tonepilot]

For me, the greatest Pro for the QC is how easy it is to get great tones from it. It's my #1 and I have sold my Fractal and Boss modelers and most of my amps.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing! Yes, it's pretty easy to be used...

[@AM-oj5xl]

Do you have any latency problems like mentioned in the video?

[@tonepilot]

@@AM-oj5xl I don't use it to connect to my DAW. It's strictly used to play live and in the studio.

[@jakebergen1837]

I just ordered mine yesterday. I've had a helix since 2018 and plan to keep it so the two units can kinda be a backup for each other if one has an issue. But what you said is what I'm most excited for. The helix can sound great, but it takes a bunch of tweaking to get it there. I feel like I should be able to just throw an amp and cab in the chain and immediately have a very good sound from just that, and I'm hearing a lot of people say that's much more the case with the quad cortex than other modellers.

[@tonepilot]

@@jakebergen1837 You’ll be very happy. Check out the TGP Thread on the Quad Cortex near the last couple of pages for some recommended users to download presets/captures from. Look for the post from this username.

[@Smudger654]

Many thanks, Leo, a most useful and informative video. Would like to see more long term perspectives on equipment you have reviewed!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you Richard, I'm happy that you like the video! Interesting suggestion....I will think about it!

[@taylormesa]

A great summary! I love my QC! Yes, I am anxious for marketplace and import of plugins, but the effects are more than enough for me. At first I was bothered by the power supply, but I have since mounted the QC on a pedalboard and am very glad there is not an IEC cable, it is icy easier to connect to my pedalboard power supply.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you, I'm happy that you like the summary! Thank you also for sharing your experience and your findings!

[@-SILON]

Thanks for the video. Nice to hear from someone who has had the device for two years. Main gripes for me are very low-quality power supply, slow load up times and lack of effects. Pros: easy to dial in great tones and ease-of-use with the touch screen. It is much quicker to dial in a great tone then my helix and it just sounds more organic to me. Hooked up my cortex to a Power Amp and 4 by 12 yesterday and didn't take long to get it dialed in. It obviously still doesn't beat the warmth and oomph of a power tube amplifier but damn close and not discernible enough to the audience. Power tube amplifiers are great but are one-trick ponies and you need to have a couple thousand dollars of pedals to match the capability of this device. All personal preference at the end of the day.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing your experience and your findings! As regards real amps vs modellers, I have done a video, that you may want to check out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6GxnHivaM2tr9E Thank you!

[@BrianVallotton]

I have had my QC going on 2 weeks now. My biggest gripe with it is the appallingly WEAK WIFI. It is a shame that such a beautiful and nice sounding unit apparently has a terrible antenna in it. My router is just down the hall and it barely gets a signal. I only play at church so I ordered a different power supply. That is also one of my big gripes too. I will just leave the good new one at home where I use it the most, and the original at church. That way I do not find myself without it. As far as sound, I am happy with it. I have some presets from Worship Tutorials that I am very happy with. Today I will be using their capture of a 63 Fender Bassman amp. I just tweaked the volume levels a bit and it works great for me in scene mode. It is more than enough for me. Thanks again Leo for providing such high quality, enjoyable content. God bless you my friend.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi Brian, thank you for sharing your findings and your experience!! I'm happy that you like the videos!!

[@LeonardoCaruso]

Leo, your videos are great and as many in the comments, you helped me choose QC as my multi-effects. I’m with QC for a week now and I’m loving it! It’s a versatile and easy to use platform. As a guitarist that needs great tones and signal chain versatility, think there’s nothing on market that compares to this and it increases my will on playing and studying guitar. For me (it’s my opinion), the cons are more for a “tone geek” professional perspective than the general use. I’d love the computer software but the QC is so easy to use that I don’t miss it. The only thing that got me a bit worried is the latency (but haven’t stressed what it means for me). Made a long comment, but think covered what feels for me. Again, thanks and congrats on your videos!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi Leonardo, thank you so much for sharing your interesting experience with the QC and I'm really happy to have been of some help with your final choice!

[@LeonardoCaruso]

​@@LeoGibsonGtr you made a really great job, deserve all the best!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you!

[@sh4dda1musick11]

Ease of use and the size of the unit are big pros for me. The power supply feels cheap and I hate it. The latency isnt noticeable but I don’t use extremely complex chains. The Helix unit is really good but it’s huge. The Fractal stuff seemed to have a bit of a steeper learning curve. I chose the Quad Cortex and have no regrets. It’s definitely not perfect but I am happy. I use the QC into an Orange Pedal Baby into a 4x12 cab with v30s and greenbacks in a x pattern. The speakers are the key to great sound! Invest in a good cab or a few good IRs for sure!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing your experience and your findings!

[@tonepilot]

I had the QC since the beginning too. Haven't yet captured anything, I'm too busy having fun with it and playing it at gigs. Like you, I'm looking forward to the upcoming Marketplace promised for the Quad Cortex. I don't miss having an editor at all. It's so easy to use the touchscreen. Would like to have had an internal power adaptor too but it would have required a larger unit and more possibility for internally generated noise from the magnetic fields generated by power supplies.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing you experience with the QC and your findings!

[@pkauppila]

Thanks Leo for a great summary! I have also owned QC since it was launched and I have to say that I am very happy with this device these days. However, you have some very good points in also your cons. I would definitely point out the lack of desktop app, which actually was promised already in the early versions. So that's a bummer, but I suspect - and at least hope - that changes made with the 2.0 firmware have paved the way for that app. We will wait and see. Anyway , thanks for this and other videos, keep them coming!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi Pauli, thank you so much, I'm happy that you like the summary! Yes, I also miss the compute app...I hope your are right and it will come with future firmware upgrades! Thank you!

[@Alex_Martz]

Great to see the real Leo back! 🙂 I agree with your points about the QC, I was thinking on buying it but I guess I won't, I'm more interested on the upcoming release of the ToneX pedal from IK multimedia, I think that will combine the best of tone capture and portability at a much lower price range, I don't have gear to capture so I prefer a unit with realistic captures and easiness to buy or download great captures, as for FX, since I use my iPad a lot for those I prefer something smaller that I can use as an audio interface too, I've been using my HX stomp for that, the only problem is I can't disable direct input monitoring on it so more routing on AUM is needed but I think something on that footprint like the ToneX pedal as a good preamp/interface will be great to use with an iPad for the rest of FX, I'm glad you also test roundtrip latencies as most reviews never mention this very important factor, Cheers!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, yes...I typically use the A.I. generate Leo for the gear news video...that allows me to make videos pretty quickly and timely. Yes, the TonX pedal looks very promising...I can't wait to try it out... Thank you for sharing your experience and your findings!

[@abgz1206]

As always Mr. Leo your thoughts & experience is very resourceful 🤘🏾 Thanks 👏🏾👏🏾👍👍 #staysafe ❤

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome!

[@SLASHMPI]

I have been using the gc for quite a while and I love it, the UI is like being at 2023. Thxs

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you for sharing!

[@2tubeguitar]

Thanks! Another great post! Of all, latency can really be a deal breaker to me.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing!

[@fritzhieke7209]

I can'r recreate the latency, maybe there is somthing wrong in the signal chain

[@dantille83]

Great work on all the videoes about amp modellers! They're really informative and thorough! :) It would be really great if you could do a review series on which light monitors are best suited for these amp modellers... PAs, FRFRs and the like. Besides studio monitors (which of course aren't suitable for live use), it seems to be a topic many - including myself - struggle with and there aren't really that many youtube vidoes about this topic.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you, I'm really happy that you like the videos! Yes, it's a very good suggestion. The problem is that I don't have access to many of them, and they are typically expensive and big...therefore not easy to get and compare...maybe in the future. Thank you!

[@Slavetskiy]

Hi Leo, thanks for the video! Btw, next big issue is poor jacks, that soldering to main board. So you can loose it, when simple pulling a cable. But, you can fix it like me. I put in on board with own power adapter, amp, and external jacks connection. And now this is amazing experience ☺️

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing! Interesting tips!

[@jakebergen1837]

Maybe I'm not understanding exactly what you mean, but the quad cortex uses all neutrik connections which are high quality.

[@jamesryan1939]

I had a quad cortex and returned it, I was just looking for basic functionality that I got from the Helix and GT-1000, such as; *You can’t assign effect parameters to a foot switch. * You can’t change the colors of the foot switches, and without the scribble strips or any colors it makes it impossible to know what each pedal does on each patch. * Also only the foot switch that is currently active has a led on, the other ones are off completely making it impossible to see in a darker room. * I didn’t realize it has an external AC adapter, cheap for a device this price * No 1/4” amp control out to control my amp that uses a traditional TRS foot switch * Lastly the biggest issue is I use 4 cable method with my Mesa TC-50 amp, and midi to control the amp, and you can only assign a single cc code per scene, currently with the helix or Gt-1000 I can assign multiple and that is how I can control my amp without needed the amps pedal.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi James, thank you for sharing...interesting points...

[@user-tf9vn1ef1y]

Cool processor in terms of modeling and sound, but 10ms latency is a lot. I recently experimented with buffer and latency, and at 5.3ms I’m no longer comfortable playing passages. The maximum that I squeezed out of my computer was 4.6ms with a buffer of 32. With buffer 8 (4ms) fingers bounce off the fingerboard, so I will assemble a more powerful computer.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing! Let me just say that the 10ms latency is reached only with very extreme signal chains. Here you can find more info: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJemmH-VgqyHadE Thank you!

[@abehaddad]

Hi Leo thank you for another great video. The first con you display is perhaps better worded to say there's no capture market rather than capture download because the latter is inaccurate as you well know. Capture downloads are available for free through their mobile app straight to the unit. I do have a question regarding the two separate signal chains, is it possible to run one signal to the front of my tube amp and another into the return of the effects loop? I ask this because now that the OS allows us to run it in hybrid mode I am wondering whether you can use stomp mode into the front of the amp and scene or preset mode (minus the cab sim) into the retun of the effects loop and switch between them as required?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi Abe, thank you for pointing it out. As regards your question...I think it's possible, but I'm not 100% sure, as I have not tested myself. If someone has done this test, please drop a message here. Thank you!

[@mraybarsx]

Hi Leo, thank you very much for this video. would you please do a video about the studio monitors ? cause thats where most of us the bedroom players get our sound from and its not necessarily recording but just playing guitar mostly.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for your suggestion! It would be for sure an interesting video! I'm not an expert and I have not tested many monitors...so far among my favourite there are the Focal and the Genelec....maybe a video in the future. Thanks!

[@martinlee6694]

Thank you, unik info.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm happy to have been of some help!

[@DaringDan]

As a non-gigging guitarist, I went with Tonex. I use a Scarlett 2i2 interface through my amp. The free software is amazing but the student version is only like $150 US and has a ton of great amps on it. People keep adding new amps all the time too. If I were a gigging musician I'd have gotten the Quad Cortex or the Kemper for sure. I just want to play amps I don't own though and Tonex is perfect for that.

[@ithebastardking2800]

Tonex will come out with a hardware unit in the near future

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing...ToneX pedal seems to be pretty interesting...

[@putin---huilo]

Hi Leo, have you noticed any latency improvements with more recent OS versions? Is there any chance you could again run a short up to date latency test?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, I didn't notice it...but I should do some more tests to verify...maybe in a future video...thank you for your suggestion!

[@putin---huilo]

@Leo Gibson Thank you! Can't wait to see the results 🙂 BTW, there are a couple of fresh discussions on the NDSP forum. I can't post links here, but it's easy to find by searching the word latency. As of now, it's a kind of confirmed that the lowest latency can be achieved by using only the 1st row. And here are more findings from the forum: * The QC has a base latency of 1.75ms (1 row + no blocks) * Row 3 (if used with a splitter or a block) adds 2.67ms to the base latency * An FXLoop (if used on rows 1 or 2) adds 1.85ms to the base latency * An FXLoop used on Row 3 or 4 ( Send/Return + row 3 latency) adds 7.19ms to the base latency

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

@@putin---huilo Thank you! I have to find the time to study the numbers and make some more tests...

[@jimamsden]

One pro I would add is that it sound pretty good.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Sure, thanks!

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Personally have a hard time with manual rotary knobs doubling as footswitches in the context of bar room floors.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing your experience!

[@notalkguitarampplug-insrev784]

Sold my QC months ago. Pretty sure ToneX Pedal+FM3 will be my main rig for years to come

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing! ToneX is gonna be pretty interesting!

[@christianvonfalken3445]

And last 6 cons,,,,looks Neutral are not able to provide regulatory updates…..to slow.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing.

[@algorithm007ify]

I still prefer Kemper...a better ecosystem with the Kemper Kone/Kabinet, powered head variants, iPad/Desktop app, etc. Kemper also has better effects.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi Jay, thank you for sharing! Good point about the Cabinet, powered head, etc...

[@CorNigrum]

Have you used the Quad Cortex as a recording interface with proper microphones? I wonder how the mic preamps compare to dedicated home studio interfaces and how usable the reverbs and other effects are for use with vocals and acoustic instruments. If the recording quality is up there with consumer devices from companies like RME and UA, that's a great value proposition.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, yes, I have done a video just using the QC for recording everything. You can check out the video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHe1f5KqntOkmaM It's hard to tell if it is on pair with studio equipment...I can say that with the QC you can obtain pretty good results. Thank you!

[@CorNigrum]

@@LeoGibsonGtr Thanks Leo!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome!!!

[@nele4470]

External power supply and touch screen is big turn off for me.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing!

[@algorithm007ify]

Agreed

[@vomito72]

Leo why in your opinion it still have not and probably never have a software interface? is it a small company. If I had a badget I could probably would go to this unit instead boss gx 100 but the lack of pc/Mac controller is really bad even I guess it's still the top in the modelers choice

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

I exchange some messages with Neural, as they were commenting on some of my videos. They said that the pc/Mac app would require them to design and code it from scratch...therefore they have to spend a lot of effort on it. For me it is a pretty important feature...but maybe they think that it is not worth to spend the money, as the unit is touch sensitive. Thank you!

[@vomito72]

@@LeoGibsonGtr thank You Leo!

[@Bonedriven1984]

Cons has to be the amount of delays and reverbs, which is probably the weakest set of any multieffect/guitar processor unit out there :]

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing! Yes, I mentioned the effect section in general in the video and of course delays and reverbs are the most important effects.

[@stebortz2468]

Restituito a Thomann e ricomprato Kemper stage.. Kemper è più reale secondo me,e mi sembra di suonare un vero ampli mentre con il QC non avevo la stessa sensazione. Boh, questione di gusti

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie della condivisione. Si, certo, poi dipende dai gusti.

[@MiguelDeLaMarta]

Kemper sounds way better.

[@THINJIMI]

Me buy! …Me love!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Me thank you!

[@Niksounds]

Strano però al di là delle misure che non metto in discussione non so se ci si perde qualcosa ..perché io 10 MS li sento di brutto sul cubo, con qc mai avuto una sensazione sbagliata; hai qualche preset da condividere? voglio provare. Perché dopo 7 ms per me non va già più bene dal 2002... Nel senso che lo percepisco e mi dà fastidio. Se condividi qualche preset in questo senso mi fai un piasèr..thanks ciao Nik

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Ciao Nick, scusa, non ho capito, vorresti un preset che crei una latenza superiore ai 7ms? Grazie

[@Niksounds]

@@LeoGibsonGtr yes, se riesci si, thanks. O anche se mi dici come fare per portare a 10 ms come dicevi nel video. Per vedere che effetto mi fa. Ah, ovviamente senza inserire il pitch shifter che lì la latenza la sento su tutti i modellers nel mondo :-D, che poi quella la sentiamo tutti

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Ciao, c'è un metodo semplice per verificare diversi setting di latenza: crei una patch con solo un delay, setti il segnale diretto a zero, in modo che si senta solo il delay stesso. Poi giochi con il tempo del delay. Ad es. setti il delay a 5ms, per sentire 5ms di latenza, o 10ms per sentire 10ms di latenza...etc Un saluto

[@Niksounds]

@@LeoGibsonGtr chiaro sul delay, ma dato che lo poni come CONS, volevo provare un esempio su strada utile, nell' utilizzo reale, dato che non mi sono mai accorto di problematiche anche con utilizzo multiamps e diversi riverberi. Escluso pitch shifter che sarebbe una cavolata inserirlo come parametro di verifica. Se non riesci fa lo stesso comunque. Ma era interessante perché dopo 7ms secondi per me è una pietrata in faccia.. diventa inutilizzabile una macchina che fa così..cosa che non mi è mai successa, con diversi modelers

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Ciao, qui puoi trovare i test che ho fatto sul Quad Cortex: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJemmH-VgqyHadE

[@pathfinderindustrial6351]

what? no computer app?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Exactly...it's really a pity...I hope they will do it...

[@CitAllHearItAll]

It's out now. Finally.

[@bradguitarmanintx157]

Having an external power supply most likely lowers the noise floor.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, interesting point...thank you for sharing!

[@HeartcoreMitRA]

One other possible con - quite a while ago i heard that the sound breaks when switching presets, so you can't have things like delay tails while switching from one preset to another. Don't know if they've fixed it with an update or not. And also, i think there were no looper at that point.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing! Let me just say that the looper has been introduced with a fw upgrade, and we can use scenes to switch presets almost seamlessly.

[@mrnorbotron3308]

The quad cortex can't even run the Neural DSP plug in wich is an absolute deal breaker.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, yes....I hope it will be added in future...

[@burtosu86guitar]

And I'm complaining about my 36 ms latency 🤘🤘🤘

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi...36 ms are really a lot...May I ask you what signal chain have you used to obtain such a value? Thank you!

[@burtosu86guitar]

@@LeoGibsonGtr I'm a windows user, using reaper and cubase 12. If I get lower then 36 i get a lot of artifacts. Using an audient id14 MK2. Thing is I can't use anymore asio4all driver because of an friking Windows update

[@burtosu86guitar]

@@LeoGibsonGtr i only used my QC like 5 times, for me at home my PC is way easier to use. never tryed to record with QC, thatrs why i use amp sims, and now that i saw this vid, dont know how it slipped me, i se i have a max of 6.3 ms with delay, reverb and compresor

[@gjohung]

Does he really talk like that or is it a shetick?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Considering that he has such a bad English that he even does not know what shetick means ...I think that he really talks like that...😀😀😀

[@zolwikwkurwik]

What is the best budget to quality ratio amp emulator pedal in your opinion?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, this is a pretty hard question to answer, and I prefer not to provide with black or white answer. There are many budget effects unit, that are very nice, like the NUX MG 400, ore the Valeton GP 200 LT, etc. It really comes down to what is the best for you. Thank you!