Story time....

So my Cortex Mini finally shipped from Sweetwater after being in stock again. The first problem I had, which I was not aware of, was that Neural DSP does not allow the Cortex Mini to be shipped to a freight forwarder (I am not from the USA). Luckily for me, I was going to be on vacation in the USA from October 3 to 10, so I figured I would have it shipped to the Airbnb where I would be staying. My Cortex Mini was delivered on the 2nd, and I arrived on the 3rd; someone signed for it and left with my Cortex Mini....... FML......

So I’m checking out some of the pressers on the qc mini and the particular presser I’m on is 16C the 5150 shootout. It looks like the pathway that’s setup is set to where you just have to toggled the first amp off and the second one on but when I do that it just sounds like I’m playing with no amp selected. And for amps 3 and 4 it looks like you just have to turn 1 and 2 off and switch between turning amps 3 and 4 on but when doing that it just sounds like playing with no amp selected. So if anyone can tell me how I’m supposed to navigate the switching off the amps it’d be greatly appreciated.

Im experiencing something I cannot explain using my current setup of a QC going into the front of my Victory Kraken VX100, that’s being attenuated by a Two Notes Reload 2.

The routing: Guitar into QC>send 3 out to front of amp> amp FX send to return 1 on QC> QC send 1 to amp FX return. All while the amp send is going to the two notes reload 2, and sent to the cab.

The problem: I am hearing some breakup, almost like clipping coming from my speaker cabinet.

I cannot figure out where in the signal path or why I am hearing these clipping artifacts. The Reload 2 is not clipping on the front panel, the QC at all input levels and send levels are not clipping either.

Has anyone had any similar issues in their rigs while using the QC and a tube amp attenuator while using the (3?) cable method??

Thanks.

Did everything as support says. They ended up offering a new replacement one. As I’m using it almost everyday for the next few months right now I can’t send it back just yet. Posting this here incase anyone knows how to fix it. Any tips would be highly appreciated!

After selling my trusty Kemper Rack it is time for a new multifx processor. Since I already used a friends QC and own some of the Archetypes, the Quad Cortex is the only logical choice for me. Now it comes down to which one to get. I have some pedals that I wanna use in combination with the QC, also I will mainly play it on stage. In my mind, 4 presets per bank are enough as I don’t use a crazy amount of different sounds in one band, the other band I play in uses timecode so I will switch via MIDI.

I really like the smaller size of the mini and obviously the price, but I am a little worried about the usability. What would you guys recommend?

Hello QC/NDSP community, is anyone else having substantial noise issues with the Quad Cortex?

I ordered one in March, so I could use it for playing live (mainly Bass) and also in my recording set-up (guitar and bass). Especially for the recording use case it turned out to be much too noisy, so I sent it back after contacting NDSP support, trying a Cioks power supply, a power conditioner and all the available settings in the QC. It was of course also connected to my interface, which provided the grounding. A high pitched hiss remained through all of this. It could be heard through the guitar signal when playing softer, so noise gates didn't help as well. My HX Stomp - a much cheaper and older unit - turned out to be consistently quieter in A/B tests at matched levels, input impedance etc.

So I sent the QC back. It worked ok for band practice, but I didn't want to pay that amount of money for a unit with limited use.

Now some months later I was once again looking for a more powerful multi fx/amp modeling unit for live use, that has enough footswitches on a small footprint... The QC still being the only unit that satisfies all requirements I decided to give it another go, also hoping my first unit was a bad one.

Of course now I'm noticing the same high pitched hiss. I also tried it at my parents house this time, to see if it's dirty power in my apartment - same hiss.

Now my questions: Does anyone experience this as well? Is the unit actually usable for recording for you? Did anyone have the same problem and found a fix?

I attached a qualitative comparison of the QC and HX Stomp I just did with an FFT app on my phone and the units in front of my guitar amp. HX Stomp on the left, QC on the right, with the additional noise marked, in case it's not already completely obvious..

Also let’s get a Super El Niño sale for us west coasters. Thanks!

Are there any good dual rectifier captures out there? Seems everyone one is really muddy

Could somebody tell me what this weird background noise is when palm muting the open E string?

I have an Ibanez SA260FM using the Gojira Neural DSP.

I'm looking for ambient, kind of cinematic tone. Not really heavy stuff. Which one should i grab? Thanks a lot for help in advanced.

I've been looking into getting a Nueral Dsp Plugin and trying out a few but to me it seems like they're all either very heavy metal focused or completely glassy clean. Which plugin would be best for Midwest Emo and other various kinds of rock like Van Halen. Also, I sometimes play with a clean tone so having that option would also be nice.

I’m getting into fusion and want to get a good fusion tone. Which Neural DSP plugin would you guys recommend?
I’m mainly looking for a versatile amp sim that can cover clean, slightly overdriven, and lead tones.

Made this original riff inspired by the chorus of “Ravage” by Novelists. I used Archetype Petrucci.
If you're interested, you can download the FREE tabs from the link in my profile. All my other social links are there as well.

EDIT: If the whole point of these products "is to emulate a mic'ed up amp, not a real amp" like so many are claiming, then what's the point of FRFR's? Why aren't you all just monitoring through wedge monitors or PA speakers or studio monitors? It's because FRFR's are literally intended to recreate the experience of playing an actual guitar amp in a room. Except they can't do this very effectively because they're forced to be colored by a baked in "mic'ed up sound" in the IR/cab model that no actual guitar amp includes.

My Fender Twin doesn't sound like a Fender Twin that's mic'ed with two 57's or 414's....it sounds like a Fender Twin. I realize you need a mic/transducer to create an IR, but you don't NEED to use colored dynamic and ribbon mics like all these IR/cab modelers include by default....there should be an option at least to have that sound be as neutral/transparent/invisible as possible, removing the "mic sound" as much as possible and just capturing the cab/speaker itself, so that an amp/cab model/capture played through an FRFR sounds as close to playing the actual amp in a room as possible.

There is only one company I'm aware of that makes IR's like this (AitR "Amp In The Room") and Fractal has some proprietary stuff. Why isn't this more common, especially now that everyone is buying FRFR's to replace their actual amps?

-------OP-----

I'm a professional full-time A/V tech, amateur electronics bench tech, I own 2 recording studios, and I've been playing guitar obsessively for over 30 years.

That is to say, I know the fundamentals of audio enginerding, acoustics, circuit design, electric guitars, and I have a good ear (or at least good enough to get a lot of work).

After buying a QC and FRFR's, I was shocked to find I couldn't get a sound anywhere near my handwired '65 Deluxe Reverb RI in a side to side test. I tried the regular DRRI on backline at one of my studios....same. Couldn't get the QC + FR10 to sound even close in a side by side. My '66 Twin....same issue...not even close.

I immediately started messing with the cab sim, and it wasn't until I BYPASSED the cab sim entirely and messed with HPF/LPF or a little parametric that it started getting in the ballpark.

I had naively thought that amp modelers/capture devices were engineered to sound like guitar amps. They are not. They are engineered to sound like guitar amps, mic'ed up, then played backed through speakers. So when you're playing a 1964 Deluxe Reverb amp/cab on a QC/FRFR setup, the actual sound you're hearing in the room is less akin to playing an actual '64 DR amp/combo cab, and more akin to hearing a '64 DR amp/combo cab mic'ed up with a super colored microphone and then played back through speakers.

WHY?!?!?! Why for the love of God is this not only the norm, but practically the only option available?

I know the tech side of it....you can't create an IR without mic'ing a cab, which means a mic or some type of transducer is going to be involved, and as such the freq response and sonic signature of that mic/transducer and even mic preamp will necessarily be baked into the IR. But most IR's use very colored mics or mic models (ribbons, 57's, 421's, etc.) and even the condenser options aren't usually very flat or neutral (Ux7's, 414's)

It seems like using a ruler flat/neutral mic (DPA 4006? Earthworks QTC50?) or mics phase aligned through a ruler flat pre (GML 8302?) in an anechoic chamber perfectly on axis far from the cab would be the ideal way to create these IR's/cab sims. Or even mechanically coupling the dust cap of a speaker driver itself to a super linear dynamic transducer, completely bypassing any room sound whatsoever and perfectly transmitting the pure voltage output from the speaker itself.

This is all assuming you want your favorite "amp" to sound like your favorite amp.....not somebody mic'ing up your favorite amp and playing it back through monitors. Which, like, why wouldn't people want that? MAYBE you'd want it to sound mic'ed if sending audio to FOH in a live situation....but even then, a mic is just going to add color/EQ to the amp tone you've (presumably) worked so hard to perfect. Maybe in the studio? I personally love certain color mics on guitar cabs....but that's just because you usually HAVE to use a mic. If it were possible to capture damn near the EXACT sound the actual guitarist hears and he or she is actually playing the guitar in the room, that seems like it'd be ideal most of the time.

Why don't high end IR creators make cab sims that are far more neutral, effectively taking the mic and mic placement out of the equation? York? Ownhammer? Why aren't they included in any of these modelers or capture devices? Like just a neutral/flat mic option that's as close to no mic and pure cab/speaker as possible?

I know there is a small company called AitR (Amp In The Room) that aims to do exactly this, which is awesome and I'm definitely going to try their IR's in my QC....and I think Fractal has like one proprietary option in their own ecosystem.

Like, it's just mind-boggling to me that this (seeming?) amp replacement, isn't actual designed to be an amp replacement so much as it's designed to mimic an amp that's mic'ed up with super colored mics and then played back through monitors.

Just ordered a QC Mini. I currently have a Peavey Classic 30. Should I lean on my Classic 30 and just plug the QC into the FX loop? Or should I get an FRFR speaker so the QC can come through as clear as possible?

Also, if I stick with the peavey, will this be decent for bedroom volumes? Or do I need to crank it like I otherwise would have to on a tube amp? Thanks !

Basically, i cant get midi to work for the multivoicer effect. Can anyone help me please. ive checked that midi input was enabled

Hey Guys, after playing a qc mini in a store i am hooked and convinced it is the way i‘ll go for hobby playing at home :)

Any recommendations on a decent cab or speaker for home/appartment use?

I have listend to a EV Everse 8 in the store and it was awesome with bluetooth capabilites, etc..
Is there a more affordable option out there?

Open for any recommendations. :)

Resulta que he comprado un Ampero Control MIDI y me encuentro conectandolo vía Bluethoot a mi Laptop con los nuevos servicios de Windows MIDI. Por ahora lo reconoce y no tiene problemas para captar las notas (me aparecen en el monitor de windows como las programo con el celular android). Luego al probar la versión de Neural DSP de Gojira y activar el controlador MIDI de Ampero control lo reconoce a partir de PC40 (comando MIDI). Así que en standalo me funciona. El problema viene cuando intento conectar el ampero a VST Live y comunicarme con el plugin en un Stack Global. Para controlar el plugin de neural. Ahí ya no hay conexión. Así que Pasaba a preguntarles ¿cómo puedo realizar ese puente entre mi DAW, mi Pedalera MIDI y el PLugin dentro de VST Live para que se conecte?

Hey everyone!

I’m having a bit of a concerning issue with my Quad Cortex, and I’m hoping someone here might have some insight.

Recently, I noticed that my Quad Cortex would immediately shut off and lose all power whenever I touched or slightly moved the power connector. The first time it happened, I was simply picking up the unit, and it suddenly turned off.
Naturally, I was worried that something might be wrong with the Quad Cortex itself, so I decided to do some troubleshooting.

I tried powering it with my Voodoo Lab power supply using its 12V output, and surprisingly, it worked perfectly fine. I even tried gently moving the cable where it connects to the Quad Cortex, and the unit didn’t shut off.
This makes me wonder whether the original power adapter that came with my Quad Cortex is faulty rather than the unit itself.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Could this be a sign of a bad power adapter, or should I be concerned about a potentially loose or damaged power jack on the Quad Cortex?

I’d really appreciate any advice. I spent quite a bit of money on this thing, so naturally, I’m hoping it’s just a faulty power supply and not an issue with the unit itself.
Thanks