markbunney

I got the mini QC yesterday, and have only had a quick go on it, but first impressions are that it is awesome. I tried the Anagram, and the Nano Cortex but returned them both. So far I think it’s worth the extra over the Anagram. I like the ease of use of the cortex cloud for downloading presets and captures without having to hook it up to a PC. The QC mini has factory presets for Steve & Duff, and they both sound great.

Not sure where you live, but last time I was in Andertons they had some HILS in the store to try out

Am also very tempted by this!

I can’t comment on the HILS, but I do have the Ibanez EHB5MSBSP with the Fishman Fluence pickups which is awesome, and might be worth checking out if you like the form of the Ibanez EHB. The side dots on it are also useless though!

I think overall it was too much for my needs, and I had concerns over taking something so expensive out for pub gigs. I have nothing negative to say at all about the unit, it sounded amazing with loads of options, and it was so easy to use (probably helped by all the YouTube videos I have watched on it!!!). For home rehearsal, I still have a little Boss Katana Go which does the job, and I don’t do any recording or anything like that, so ultimately it was more than I needed. I was pleased to finally get to try one, after having been looking at them since they came out, and I wouldn’t rule out getting one in the future if my circumstances/requirements changed.

I have just sent mine back It was an amazing bit of kit, but after spending a bit of time with it I came to the conclusion that it was just overkill for my needs.

My Anagram arrived a couple of days ago, but haven’t had chance to try it yet. I used to have the Orange Terror bass amp, so am keen to try that new model

Yes, have definitely had worse gigs and played to less people! It was nice to play on a stage and have a bit of space, and the organisers were very friendly and offering us free drinks etc. That was a nice change from our last gig where we had our fee withheld until we had paid for the two pints of coke that we had had (but that’s a different story!)

Played at The Allington ACA near Maidstone for NYE and it was absolutely dire! It was a ticketed event and there were less than 50 people in a massive room, including 10 kids! We’d been booked for ages, for a decent fee, but it was a long night with no atmosphere, especially with having to do 3 x 45 minute sets which kills any momentum. Apparantly there had been some politics with the committee, which had led to a lot of people celebrating elsewhere, and people not wanting to pay £20 a ticket to go somewhere that they go to for free every other week when the pubs in town had bands on with free entry for NYE. That said, we played well and a few people complimented us at the breaks, and also apologised for the lack of people there. Took both of my Ibanez 5 strings, but just used the EHB all night.

Did it come with a power supply? I have seen some listings saying it does (Thomman) and some saying it doesn’t (Andertons). thanks

Well I ordered a Nano in the end, but then have returned it. it arrived just after the launch of the new V2 captures, and it did sound great, but ultimately I found only being able to have 1 capture per preset quite limiting. Also I found it annoying not being able to turn an effect on and off, and having to have two different presets, one with the effect and one without it. I was very impressed with the sound quality of the captures, especially the Tech 21 GED 2112. Aside from a Boss Katana Go, this was my first foray into digital effects, and I liked them a lot. I also found the app quite easy to use, and set up presets etc. Its a shame that Neural dont have a device that sits between the Nano and the full size QC, but I guess this is where the Anagram fills the gap. When I used the Nano powered by a USB battery pack, there was quite a lot of interference, which is something to watch out for. It was fine through headphones with the battery pack, and fine with the power supply through the amp, just not the battery pack.

I read on some of the Neural DSP forums that you have to delete and reload the app for the new V2 captures to appear

Am currently leaning towards the Nano (but will probably have changed my mind again by tomorrow!!!!) the thing that puts me most off the Anagram (and the full size QC) is having something so expensive on the floor, at great risk of being stepped on by the punters and having drink spilled on it. my Shure wireless pedal was almost taken out by a glass of wine at Saturdays gig, and even my brand new amp got a soaking!