Quad Cortex mini: Insane amp modeling power for the discerning guitarist
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I'd love to see a Good, Bad, and Ugly part of this excellent review. I'd also suggest an "Incredible": No microtransactions or subscriptions. It's $1400 once and for all.
It is, like you say, both a lot of money and an amazing value.
It is, like you say, both a lot of money and an amazing value.
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I don't know that I'll be running out to get this piece of kit just yet. Wrist injuries have kind of ended my guitar phase. But I would be really interested to see something like this intersect with the desktop hifi Class D amplifier craze. It would be cool to see Wiim, Fosi Audio or Douk put out a hifi pre-amp version of this focused on modeling vintage hifi receivers, amplifiers (integrated, mono, tube), and/or speakers. Modern room correction software should be able to assist in getting the actual output to match what's being modeled. But it would be super cool to just select a preset for 70's rock that modeled a Pioneer SX-1250, Marantz 2600, or Sansui G-33000 reciver with a pair of JBL L100, Pioneer HPM-100 or Large Advent speakers. And do it beliveably through a Fosi ZA3, and a pair of sub $500 monitors.
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Thanks for the great review. Does the software (either on the device or the desktop app) have any, or a lot of, advertising for purchasing more presets, effects, amps, that kind of thing?
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i can feel the option paralysis making me sigh just reading about this thing. yikes.
i can't even handle Chase Bliss pedals with their banks of DPI switches and hidden options, etc.. just give me the basic pedals and a pleasant amp and i'm happy.
i can't even handle Chase Bliss pedals with their banks of DPI switches and hidden options, etc.. just give me the basic pedals and a pleasant amp and i'm happy.
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Somewhat: it support Neural DSP's DAW VST plugins so if you purchase the John Petrucci or Cory Wong plugin, you get the IRs and devices included in those plugins added to your arsenal. It's a closed ecosystem, not like the Mod Duo. Neural DSP's sales pitch is that you can bring your plugin studio tone on the road.
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I found a teardown of the full Quad Cortex, which showed it using dual Analog Devices SHARC DSPs for processing. By comparison, the Darkglass Anagram, which is a not entirely dissimilar device for bass players from Douglas Castro's previous company, uses a Rockchip RK3582 Arm-based SoC running Linux.
The 45-second boot time sounds ridiculous, not something you pull out just for a quick noodle (the Anagram starts in a couple of seconds, it really is amazingly well-tuned for being Linux).
The 45-second boot time sounds ridiculous, not something you pull out just for a quick noodle (the Anagram starts in a couple of seconds, it really is amazingly well-tuned for being Linux).
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Yeah, the QC Mini sounded great to me except for the bootup time and price, the sound demos I have heard sound really nice. But I play Bass so I went with the Anagram which was a cheaper, almost 1k AUD, and potentially better fit for me. A bonus is the interface is great for fiddling and refining your sound.
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Related topic IEEE Article
Jimi Hendrix Was a Systems Engineer: He precisely controlled modulation and feedback loops
Jimi Hendrix Was a Systems Engineer: He precisely controlled modulation and feedback loops
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chaos215bar2
Ars Praefectus
Somehow the music tech industry has done a uniquely good job of rejecting all the nonsense going on elsewhere in tech.
There's a vibrant market of small companies and even individuals making cool products, especially since the advent of cheap, powerful DSP hardware. (Although unfortunately tariffs are kind of throwing a wrench in things, especially after the post-COVID slowdown.) Even Aurich seems to be involved: https://modulargrid.net/e/hakai-labs-turbocharger.
On the computer/DAW side, subscriptions and restrictive licensing schemes exist, but can mostly be avoided. Resale of software purchases is frequently possible even where not explicitly required by law. It's kind of a weird window into what could have been in the greater tech industry if everything hadn't consolidated around just a couple major platforms intent on extracting money in every way possible.
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Not sure about that. E.g., IK and UA are quite the offenders when coming to restrictions and bloat. Subscription is also getting popular.
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chaos215bar2
Ars Praefectus
Do you really need anything from IK or UA, though?
If you're running a recording studio, sure. If you're just buying for yourself, generally speaking there are high quality alternatives without the restrictions. (So long as you're not set on using an emulation of some specific vintage hardware, anyway. Though way too often those "emulations" amount to little more than some licensed graphics over a set of intentionally limited controls.)
This is also the only industry where I've seen software subscriptions that give you credit to permanently own the thing you're using over time. Not everyone does this, of course, but the fact that anyone does is pretty remarkable.
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Well, to be fair, the ToneX can do some excellent sounds and boots fast for a fraction of the price of a QC mini.
I get what you are saying, and you are not wrong. The low barrier of entry surely democratizes an industry, and perhaps small players are more visible here.
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Neural DSP have squandered a lot of their goodwill on the Quad Cortex line though, they made promises regarding porting their plug-ins years ago which they still haven't fully delivered on.
That said this version of the packaging of the QC will be popular for fly-rigs and for those using rack based setups with remotes, which is a significant part of the pro-guitarist market.
(My own setup is all studio based so I'm purely AU/VST3 plugin based now, incorporating a few of Neural DSP's products which are definitely up there with the best in class.)
That said this version of the packaging of the QC will be popular for fly-rigs and for those using rack based setups with remotes, which is a significant part of the pro-guitarist market.
(My own setup is all studio based so I'm purely AU/VST3 plugin based now, incorporating a few of Neural DSP's products which are definitely up there with the best in class.)
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I'll never be able to justify that purchase, but thanks for the detailed review and the demo song. Do you have a Bandcamp or similar? Now looking at Neural DSP's amp sim plugins. . . thanks for that too. Next purchase though is a ride cymbal for the kid's drumset.
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I bought a used ToneX and was appalled to find I couldn't just download the software and connect to it. I had to create an account and take ownership of the pedal. The guy who sold it to me wasn't techy and had never done that, but he was the second owner, and didn't have any way of contacting the first owner, to whom it was still registered. I eventually got it straightened out with the support people, but that was the last IK Multimedia product I'll ever buy. The Kemper Profiling Amp doesn't put you through that, and, as this review notes, neither does the Quad Cortex.Well, to be fair, the ToneX can do some excellent sounds and boots fast for a fraction of the price of a QC mini.
I get what you are saying, and you are not wrong. The low barrier of entry surely democratizes an industry, and perhaps small players are more visible here.
One thing I wish Neural DSP would do is start supporting Linux with their plugins and control software. The plugins are too good to give up but I'd like to switch to Linux.
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As someone who has been on and off again entrenched in just software Sims for the last 19 years or so. It's always fascinating to see what people are doing with hardware modules simulating/emulating other gear. But also as someone who doesn't enjoy playing lives or gigs never enough to invest in any. Sounds like the interface needs work and is the opposite side of software that tries to be too flashy and thus difficult to navigate and use practically.
It would be cool to see some independent testing of this vs the best Tone-C capture of the same equipment , vs software modeled vs hardware modeled.
GuitarBonedo over on YT is usually my go to for demos of amps, pedals and stuff. They occasionally compare to real hardware too.
It would be cool to see some independent testing of this vs the best Tone-C capture of the same equipment , vs software modeled vs hardware modeled.
GuitarBonedo over on YT is usually my go to for demos of amps, pedals and stuff. They occasionally compare to real hardware too.
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This. I bought an Axe IO interface from IK Multimedia in 2019, and had to register an account for the drivers and firmware. Annoying but whatever. It has worked great but I switched to Linux late last year, which they don't support, so I'm selling it. Turns out I have to pay $20 to unregister the device so the next owner can register it. That person will be able to download drivers and firmware without registering, but they will have to reach out to IKM support to do so. Really puts a damper on resale value. I got my money's worth out of it, so not super fussed about that aspect, but it's bullshit, plain and simple. I'll never buy another IKM product.
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Waves, too. I couldn't use a plugin awhile back for some ridiculous reason involving buying their update plan. And iLok terrifies me. Why does it need to run as a kernel driver?
But, this looks neat. I'm not a guitarist but I would be interested in this if I was.
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I have a tin ear, and it's decades since I last paid any real attention to music. So I'm about the least likely customer for such gear. But this review was enthralling: I had no idea that the niche should exist it, or who occupied it, or why I should care. And now I know something of all this, and I feel slightly more connected with that great big world of possibilities.
Thanks for that! I've come to realise that my Ars subscription occupies the niche that my Dad's "Scientific American" subscription did in my youth, back when it was a serious journal for the educated layman, opening doors onto topics that were unguessed.
Thanks for that! I've come to realise that my Ars subscription occupies the niche that my Dad's "Scientific American" subscription did in my youth, back when it was a serious journal for the educated layman, opening doors onto topics that were unguessed.
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Many thanks for the great, in-depth review. Now I want one too (the Cortex, not the reviewer). Knowing myself, the only drawback will be choice paralysis. So many parameters! It reminds me of my DX synth, which has a seemingly infinite number of combinations of the main operators. But hey, it is the kind of choice one wants to have
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The Geeman
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
I have an MX5 which replaced a Podxt Live. It's brilliant but I do have to steel myself up to create new patches. It makes me shiver thinking about it...haha.
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I have a full-fat Quad Cortex, which I got as a compact alternative to my Kemper. The Kemper is pretty great, but has two main drawbacks in my eyes: it's heavy to lug about to gigs (~12kg with the foot controller, vs ~2kg for the QC), and it only supports 1 single, fixed size signal chain - so no dual amps or anything.
The QC definitely inspires me to experiment with sounds much more than the Kemper ever did, and those sounds are really great. The OS and UI are pretty cool, though the desktop software has some really odd limitations (e.g. no straightforward way to rearrange presets, no drag-and-drop, no true window resizing).
But as a gigging machine, it's a disappointment. It (only) supports two expression pedals (Kemper: 6 - and the mini here only supports 1), but still has no proper momentary switch support. It took them until OS v4(!) to provide a way to access "gig mode" without having to bend down and swipe the screen or use an external controller. And speaking of external controllers, the gravest problem in my eyes: the MIDI support is diabolically, laughably poor. MIDI would allow you to work around the limitations of the device's compact footprint with a small, programmable external controller. It's nominally great having a "warehouse of guitar gear in your hand", but if you can't efficiently access all that goodness in a gig context it loses some of its appeal...
I haven't decided to give up on the QC yet. The problems are mostly fixable in software, so it would be great if Neural would perhaps give a little more love to the pragmatic gigging aspects of the units. But given how long early adopters were waiting for many basic usability features, I'm not holding my breath.
The QC definitely inspires me to experiment with sounds much more than the Kemper ever did, and those sounds are really great. The OS and UI are pretty cool, though the desktop software has some really odd limitations (e.g. no straightforward way to rearrange presets, no drag-and-drop, no true window resizing).
But as a gigging machine, it's a disappointment. It (only) supports two expression pedals (Kemper: 6 - and the mini here only supports 1), but still has no proper momentary switch support. It took them until OS v4(!) to provide a way to access "gig mode" without having to bend down and swipe the screen or use an external controller. And speaking of external controllers, the gravest problem in my eyes: the MIDI support is diabolically, laughably poor. MIDI would allow you to work around the limitations of the device's compact footprint with a small, programmable external controller. It's nominally great having a "warehouse of guitar gear in your hand", but if you can't efficiently access all that goodness in a gig context it loses some of its appeal...
I haven't decided to give up on the QC yet. The problems are mostly fixable in software, so it would be great if Neural would perhaps give a little more love to the pragmatic gigging aspects of the units. But given how long early adopters were waiting for many basic usability features, I'm not holding my breath.
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The line art for the effects actually makes a whole lot of sense after you see the labels -- the delay literally shows a wave form plus its delay, reverb shows volume and implies an effect mimicking the sound echoing in a larger space, etc. But I could see the icons being baffling without context. Regardless, while I'd love to play with something like this, my Spark amps are probably all I need at my rather mediocre playing level, though I do dislike how you can't alter effect order and are limited in the number of effects. The Spark also doesn't sound as good as my Boss Waza Air, but holy hell is the Waza interface garbage, whereas Spark is very intuitive.
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How rugged is such a Cortex? Can it be used for e.g., some intense live metal performance?
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The construction is pleasingly robust, and the quality and feel of the stomps is great. But there's not a huge amount of space between them, and I often misstep, especially with the upper row of switches - gotta practice doing the stomp dance a bit more
I've seen a lot of videos of people putting oversize stomp caps on the buttons to increase the landing zone size - I might try that too.And there's a big LCD screen to crush with your thrash-metal boots should you misstep... but I've personally never had that problem with my old-folks classic rock band! But if you kill that screen, you're in a really bad place.
And finally there is quite some surface area covered with ventilation grills on the two sides and underside, so if you've got a audience liable to spontaneous moshing - or anything else that might cause drinks to go flying - you might want to add some extra spill protection somehow.
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Having been involved in ‘The music biz’ both decades ago—when virtually all the gear was analog; and in the last few years, when so much of the gear is digital (even low-end mixers!), and increasingly AI-assisted; this transition, still, regularly ‘blows my mind’; both for the possibilities unlocked—and for how frustratingly UN-intuitive many of the User Interfaces are.
Or maybe I’m just a bit frustrated because I deal with complex, often ‘bleeding edge’ software and AI at $day job—but when I’m involved in my part-time gigging, for live events, I really enjoy the hands on, analog, aspects of it, but having to deal with the complexities of digital mixers (and their often, ah, ‘quirky’ UIs, and the related digital networking, takes a lot of the fun out of it! (Sigh)
Or maybe I’m just a bit frustrated because I deal with complex, often ‘bleeding edge’ software and AI at $day job—but when I’m involved in my part-time gigging, for live events, I really enjoy the hands on, analog, aspects of it, but having to deal with the complexities of digital mixers (and their often, ah, ‘quirky’ UIs, and the related digital networking, takes a lot of the fun out of it! (Sigh)
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Line 6 and Zoom (plus a few others, those just are front of mind) have both been using a similar 'diagram' icons for over a decade now so I guess its probably considered widely understood - but that is a really good point, maybe they all assume too much on the user's behalf!
And yes... Nobody seems to know why Boss seem to choose the oddest, least appealing UI implementations. I used a DD500 delay for a long time, and the editor for that was like something out of a retro sci-fi film - just a grey panel with option boxes with white text. Functional, but the sort of thing a programmer tossed together while coding it and nobody ever thought to alter! I keep a little Spark Mini at my desk, and its a perfect pick up and play amp.
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Digital gear sure has come a long way. But regarding the app situation - I have a Headrush Flex Prime which I bought mostly for its web interface (well, also for being a very competent modeler, but there's a lot of these nowadays). It's awesome - once connected to the WLAN, you can just go to http://headrushflexprime.local and the interface is all there. No problem even with Linux.
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This is way too much for me at my current skill level, but dang, my gear acquisition syndrome is kicking in strong.
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If you're just noodling at home it's worth checking out, Neural Amp Modeler. It's open source and the price is right.
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I don’t really have a good excuse to own a quad cortex, but the Neural DSP Soldano plugin is pretty great.
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Haha, nice detective work. Hakai Labs is my dear friend Scott Danesi, I designed several faceplates for his modules.
Have my Turbocharger installed in my case, but haven't been playing with modular stuff lately, need to get my music gear set up properly again.
I do agree with your premise though, my minor involvement aside. There's a lot of really fun gear out there now from cool small companies. It's a weird time to be a musician, but it's a pretty awesome time to be a bedroom noodler.
The Ectocore installed next to my Turbocharger is another great example. Two guys, small run of hardware, really fun breakbeat mangler.
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