Touring with Neural DSP Quad Cortex: The Workhorse of Tone for a Touring Guitar Player

[@angrybuzzy]

That story of your dad getting you that Marshall had me choking up. Good stuff, JW.

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

thank you man... I'll never forget it, he was an amazing man....

[@isashax]

So many things that you need to know when you are a musician. You guys are just so amazing!

[@alanschwartz4047]

Hey John-I'm a NYC Session guitarist. I had to write just to say the story of yr dad surprising you w the 50 & that cab is ❤️ warming. I had a 73 50-watt & a 4 x 12 that was killer in the late 70's. I also have a QC, which I use live on local gigs. I also like how lightweight the QC is...Great video, my man.

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Thank you Alan, I love those half stack rigs, but man... with the tones we get out of those Quads for the working gigs...killer! Keep in touch!

[@alanschwartz4047]

I love the Ox Box w my ceriatone plexi 50 for recording. I got this 50 tryin to get back the glory of that Marshall...It's really good. I can't have a 4x12 in my NYC Apt. your luck! HahaThis is kind of a PM, but, what the hay....😊

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

@@alanschwartz4047 Yes... I fear the neighbors would have a word or two if one were to fire up a 4x12 in the apt! Yes...very lucky here... neighbors don't care in the daytime and ISO box in the evening! Keep an eye for Vertical Horizon in NYC, if we come through hit me up!

[@michaelpal7641]

It's been close to 9 months with the QC. Just purchased a Laney LFR 112 and with the Cortex Cloud-have found presets for both a hard rock gig as well as a single acoustic guitar gig for those small coffee shops etc. Been using presets and learning (the QC manual is fraking vague) learning about Scenes-another "game changer" for live use!! But, all in all, I do not cry over not having 4 Marshalls, 3 Fenders and a Soldano and countless other amps that thru the years, ended up collecting dust! I do not cry over not having to rent a van to haul equipment. Rock, Blues, Acoustic-All tones I would, or could ever need are on the Quad Cortex. Solo gigs are my Laney, my Quad Cortex, a mic/stand, a Tablet to scroll thru a saved library of songs with chords and lyrics for audience participation. Hell, there's a bass Preset that you can use with the Looper-add some homegrown lyrics and your off to the races with another genre of music at your fingertips. Game Changer? 100% Agree. Great video, thanks for making this. Your preset tones were really solid!

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Thank you, yes the QC is so good, after this video I went even deeper in and now have added my acoustic and better captures... the possibilities are endless... so happy you are loving yours!

[@4ctmam]

Thank you so much, very informative video that might prove really useful for me soon. And lovely bit of soloing at the end!

[@GMHG777]

Good Stuff ...some of those delay IR's were truly beyond sick, they were legit delicious !!!!

[@Vineyardedge]

Thoroughbred Music! That's where I bought my Fender Chroma Polaris Keyboard & gear. Talk about heavy! In the flight case it is a beast. I like that technology is going to help us get away from all that weight, but I still have a hard time parting with old speakers, speaker cabinets, etc. Great video, Wes! ❤

[@beckadearth9948]

I still have my Thoroughbred tshirt!

[@christianfilouler]

Hello, Thank you for the great video with the beautiful backgrounds of your personal skills, that makes it really interesting. I'm still a young guitarist but not that young ;) and I've never seen or played the old amplifiers. I got my QC last week. I like the device, that was a video about it so that I couldn't compare this and that device again. Otherwise you'll never get to the end of what you want to do. greetings from Germany

[@soundofsix7066]

Hey John, I went to a Porcupine Tree concert in Eindhoven during the Fear of a Blank Planet Tour in 2007. Being a young aspiring guitar player it was you that made me drop my jaw. Was a great gan of Steve Lukather back then who I saw just a year before.. but he never achieved to amaze me performing live the way you did that evening. As for me, I’m trying to get an inspiring sound out of my Kemper and my Les Paul, but watching this it made me realise that there’s a reason I’m not a pro ;) thank you sir!

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

If you have a Kemper and a Les Paul you most certainly have the tools, all it takes is the time. It is amazing you saw me on the FOB tour, that was a special set of shows. Keep playing and again... you will get there... JW

[@Utube-g3g]

I hope John doesn’t mind this post. If he does I’m sure it will get deleted. Had the Kemper. The quad feels, sounds better. The UI is the best. I still love my amps the most and always will and just one great pedal. It took Yrs to get good and move up to a few great amps so I want to enjoy them. 😢Kemper is used by pros etc. but ttr feel isn’t there. It needs an external pedal to help it along. Same with helix. Just my opinion. FYI constant tweaking with Kemper and helix. Yamaha double modeler overlooked. It sounds and feels great. No manual needed. Simple. Comes with footswitch and a few fx. $800 new with its own power.

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Yeah man, my amps are my favorite to play but the Quad is crushingly good, I've been working with it to prep for the touring season starting next month for us and it is amazing. We all do the best we can with what we have... @@Utube-g3g

[@uparmoredhomestead8671]

Wow! That's awesome, brother! Great info!

[@Wishpool]

Fascinating! It seems like you have to be a rocket scientist to learn this. 🚀 🎸 I'm a music lover, but don't play anything. My brother's a guitarist, so I grew up around it. Love the tones you're getting! If you were on stage and the QC faltered, what's plan B? Sweet story about your dad surprising you with the Marshall cab... and what a cool car he had!

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Plan B has two phases, because of weight and travel restrictions, I carry a UA Dreamverb, although I want to get their Marshall style pedal. I am working to get a spare Quad, that will be on deck at home packed and ready to be overnighted if the main one goes down. The UA can get me through a show, until I could get to another Neural. When I can carry a spare Neural, I will, as even though it is bullet proof, airlines can lose or crush anything if I have to check it!

[@lynn2112rush]

Thank you!

[@dco_]

Awesome man, I'm looking at doing something similar and switching to ampless for live shows vs my 4-cable method board. Guess what, it's for a 90s alt rock cover band, and we're covering VH.

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Yeah man... I love my amps, but gigs are different these days, the Quad really delivers that "thing"...

[@kmburkhart]

Sounds great, Wes! - Kiley from Ohio

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

I hope you have been well, it's been to long!

[@kmburkhart]

@@TheJourneymanGuitarist I have been! Happier than ever : )

[@jonanderson3105]

Great run through!! I'd also like to know if you've used it with a power amp and guitar cab or straight into the PA?

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

At this point, live I have only used it with In Ear monitors and straight to FOH. We are trying to keep the stage volume down. I use it in QSC powered speakers at home, sounds great...

[@budgetguitarist]

I remember Thoroughbred Music - it was a great place. I was sad when it closed, but we do have Replay now, which is great. The Quad Cortex sounds amazing - as more pros move to modeling, so too will more consumers move. Amps are fun, but modeling is so much more practical.

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Heading to Replay today.... it's a dangerous place!!!!

[@angusorvid8840]

This technology is here to stay and its only getting better. I wish this existed in the 80s when the only thing I could do to lighten my load was switch from a Marshall stack to a Boogie combo which was a great amp but still didn't hit all the marks I wanted and was still an absolute backbreaker to carry gig to gig. We live in an age of technological miracles. I don't understand those who want to live in the past. It's archaic.

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Yeah man...I hear you. It's funny how heavy a combo can be, I used to use a Bad Cat Hot Cat and once I got it onto wheels it was great. Except for getting in and out of vehicles...

[@barneychamorro]

Hey John, do you go straight to the PA with the QC or do you use an external poweramp and guitar cab?

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

So far, just straight to FOH and IN ears, at home on QSC's but I know some guys that do and it works amazing with a power amp and cab.

[@d.wyndal]

It’s always interesting to learn about how someone gets their sound. Thank you.

[@robelson3078]

Thoroughbred! And Roydon; you can’t forget Roydon 😏

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Roydon!!!!!

[@barneychamorro]

Hey John, what pickups do you have in your PRS Singlecut?

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

57/08's. I really love them...

[@swankmotee]

🤘😉🤘

[@markdonatelli5742]

Are your presets available on cortex cloud? 😉

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Hi Mark, the sounds that I use were downloaded from the Cortex cloud, I have not uploaded them yet but I will try to get that done.

[@beckadearth9948]

Ladybug! ❤

[@yaniv-nos-tubes]

the real reason why everybody went digital is that backline amps suck.

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Yep... we had three backline amp "incidents" that pushed us over the edge, and the new tech was so good we could no longer stay out of the arena, so now the consistency is there.

[@roadhog-so8en]

I love my QC!

[@TheJourneymanGuitarist]

Right!!! I am using it all over the world and it sounds so big!