Neural Quad Cortex

[redd]

Did anyone take advantage of the plugin black Friday sale? I just wondered if any of the available plugins are worth it for bass? I've already got Rabea and Parallax.

 

[MrDinsdale]

50 minutes ago, redd said:

Did anyone take advantage of the plugin black Friday sale? I just wondered if any of the available plugins are worth it for bass? I've already got Rabea and Parallax.

 

I didn't, although I have Nolly and Gojira, and both fave stuff that sounds great for bass. The clean amps with some tweaking are pretty usable. 

[Kev]

The new updated has an OC-2 and Meatbox model, nice for bass to get some attention.  No experience with a Meatbox, but the OC-2 model is bloody good , compares very, very well with the original '82 I have on the board!

[redd]

12 minutes ago, Kev said:

The new updated has an OC-2 and Meatbox model, nice for bass to get some attention.  No experience with a Meatbox, but the OC-2 model is bloody good , compares very, very well with the original '82 I have on the board!

That's good to know! I had a little play but haven't had time to sit down and properly dial in the sounds yet. 

[Razvan Sofronescu]

Hello guys ,

 

I’m thinking about going from the Reddi to something more portable /better sounding/ and I was thinking about the quad cortex or the nano and a preamp .

 

Your real world experience would be of great help to me to decide making a rig .

 

Basic info: I play on a Fodera imperial and sadowsky . Exclusively IEMs . Mostly clean , 10-20% of the time may require a drive. I rarely use modulation fx . Don’t travel much internationally at the moment . The budget may be around 1500

 

So I want to decide if I go the quad cortex/ nano route or stay analog

 

These would be the options;

 

- Quad cortex and that’s it

- I get a analog preamp ( thinking of Jule SImone ) and then into a Nano cortex for amp/cab/more complex capture-

- A Jules Monique rack mount + maybe a Cab sim ( already own a Opus )

 

Thanks for your ideas!

 

[joel406]

7 hours ago, Razvan Sofronescu said:

Hello guys ,

 

I’m thinking about going from the Reddi to something more portable /better sounding/ and I was thinking about the quad cortex or the nano and a preamp .

 

Your real world experience would be of great help to me to decide making a rig .

 

Basic info: I play on a Fodera imperial and sadowsky . Exclusively IEMs . Mostly clean , 10-20% of the time may require a drive. I rarely use modulation fx . Don’t travel much internationally at the moment . The budget may be around 1500

 

So I want to decide if I go the quad cortex/ nano route or stay analog

 

These would be the options;

 

- Quad cortex and that’s it

- I get a analog preamp ( thinking of Jule SImone ) and then into a Nano cortex for amp/cab/more complex capture-

- A Jules Monique rack mount + maybe a Cab sim ( already own a Opus )

 

Thanks for your ideas!

 

I would go full QC. Don't worry about the preamp. There is a Noble pre on the Cortex cloud. Along with tons of other amps, Preamps and cabs. The possibilities are literally endless. I do recommend the Keely compressor pro. There are some good ones in the QC, but I've really taken a shine to the Keely pro. 

[Kev]

7 hours ago, Razvan Sofronescu said:

Hello guys ,

 

I’m thinking about going from the Reddi to something more portable /better sounding/ and I was thinking about the quad cortex or the nano and a preamp .

 

Your real world experience would be of great help to me to decide making a rig .

 

Basic info: I play on a Fodera imperial and sadowsky . Exclusively IEMs . Mostly clean , 10-20% of the time may require a drive. I rarely use modulation fx . Don’t travel much internationally at the moment . The budget may be around 1500

 

So I want to decide if I go the quad cortex/ nano route or stay analog

 

These would be the options;

 

- Quad cortex and that’s it

- I get a analog preamp ( thinking of Jule SImone ) and then into a Nano cortex for amp/cab/more complex capture-

- A Jules Monique rack mount + maybe a Cab sim ( already own a Opus )

 

Thanks for your ideas!

 

I guess I'd open with, what is leading you towards to Quad Cortex, given your preference for what sounds like a very straightforward setup?

 

Gut response is to go Nano, as it doesn't sound like you'll use anything but captures and IRs, but just curious.

[Razvan Sofronescu]

1 hour ago, Kev said:

I guess I'd open with, what is leading you towards to Quad Cortex, given your preference for what sounds like a very straightforward setup?

 

Gut response is to go Nano, as it doesn't sound like you'll use anything but captures and IRs, but just curious.

the thing that would be interesting for me would be the possibility to run things in parallel.
Something like a clean channel (nobel capture or some other clean preamp) and blend that with a parallel compression channel  and on another lane an saturated amp/cab sound.

I like having the natural sound of my bass and blending some more texture/saturation to that. Similar to what i would do in studio situation

 

probably i need to test a QC and see how it feels playing through it. I’ve only played through the reddi for the last 8 years

[Kev]

10 hours ago, Razvan Sofronescu said:

the thing that would be interesting for me would be the possibility to run things in parallel.
Something like a clean channel (nobel capture or some other clean preamp) and blend that with a parallel compression channel  and on another lane an saturated amp/cab sound.

I like having the natural sound of my bass and blending some more texture/saturation to that. Similar to what i would do in studio situation

 

probably i need to test a QC and see how it feels playing through it. I’ve only played through the reddi for the last 8 years

Ah okay fair enough, QC it is then!

 

Its a different world, but once you learn how to use it i'm sure you'll find itll do everything you want, and tons of stuff you didn't think you'd need.  I've owned since launch, replaced quite a hefty pedalboard, and no regrets at all.

[MrDinsdale]

I'm really loving the Gojira Clean amp for bass at the moment. Had a play to see if I could dial in some nice tones without looping any physical pedals or captures in which I usually rely on a bit and very impressed.

 

I'm definitely going to make more effort to utilise the models rather than reaching straight for a capture.

 

It helped settle my mind to not bother with a Nano Cortex.

[Killerfridge]

On 14/12/2024 at 00:27, MrDinsdale said:

I'm really loving the Gojira Clean amp for bass at the moment. Had a play to see if I could dial in some nice tones without looping any physical pedals or captures in which I usually rely on a bit and very impressed.

 

I'm definitely going to make more effort to utilise the models rather than reaching straight for a capture.

 

It helped settle my mind to not bother with a Nano Cortex.

The Gojira plugin has been a surprise success for me. I got it just because I thought it would be fun for the octave effects (and for guitar obviously), but it's got some great bass sounds too

[acidbass]

Fairly new QC user here - what's everyone's favourite compressor for bass?  Looking for an always-on mild compression (4:1 ratio, smoothing maybe 3-4db)

[Dood]

16 minutes ago, acidbass said:

Fairly new QC user here - what's everyone's favourite compressor for bass?  Looking for an always-on mild compression (4:1 ratio, smoothing maybe 3-4db)

 

I've got a little time off from gigging so I'm planning on getting my QC up on the bench to have a look at the live presets I use. I need to tweak a few things, namely the compressors. Theyt all nearly  do what I want. They are good though!

 

For general use I like the 1176.  I like chaining the 1176 and the Opto together for the 1176/LA-2a trick as well and, at the very end of my chain I have a very fast comp for brickwall limiting. I'm pretty sure that's the 1176 set to 20:1.

 

I am thinking about adding an always-on external comp as I have the rather amazing Becos Stellar pedal at my disposal which has a transformer coupled DI out that sounds FAT. It seems a shame not to use it. 

[Dood]

Oh! I forgot to add! I can't wait until nDSP bring the Cory Wong plugin over to QC. I love the SSL desk preamp and "4th position compressor" (in parallel mode). In fact, the sound I want to use 90% of the time is the Cory Wong plug-in. It's brilliant for fundamental bass tone.

[acidbass]

Been using the 1176 at the start of my chain (well, after HPF block) to smooth out the signal before it hits the OC2 block.  Seems to work well, although I'm not quite sure that I'm using it correctly!  The hard comp at the end is a nice idea but I'm just learning about gain staging at this point for all the different blocks, so may leave that one for the future!

[acidbass]

@Dood have you had to reduce the input gain of the QC significantly to ensure the signal isn't hitting the compressor too hard?  I have reduced the input threshold of the 1176 hugely to ensure it doesn't overcompress, but think maybe a pad on the QC input itself might be a more appropriate way to gain stage (particularly with active basses)

Edited January 8 by acidbass

[Dood]

6 minutes ago, acidbass said:

@Dood have you had to reduce the input gain of the QC significantly to ensure the signal isn't hitting the compressor too hard?  I have reduced the input threshold of the 1176 hugely to ensure it doesn't overcompress, but think maybe a pad on the QC input itself might be a more appropriate way to gain stage (particularly with active basses)

 

I do as a matter of course! I'm using EMGs on all my basses with the QC and the input gain definitely needs pulling back even as a starting point. Check the input level meters to see what's coming in to QC. I also keep an eye on the output level meters too, (hence the hard limit at the end of the chain).

 

I do have one issue with the QC with regard to this, a post maybe for another day, but I wish that QC had an analogue "line driver" at the output to make up for lost gain in the DSP path by staying "in the green" when gain staging. 

[Kev]

On 05/12/2024 at 09:21, Kev said:

The new updated has an OC-2 and Meatbox model, nice for bass to get some attention.  No experience with a Meatbox, but the OC-2 model is bloody good , compares very, very well with the original '82 I have on the board!

Going to expand on the OC-2 comparison a little.

 

I got the board out this afternoon with a view to seeing if I can actually justify selling the rather £££y OC-2 and just using the QC's model going forward.  I use mine with my Chunk synth mostly but I do like it -1 solo'd too.

 

I decided not to sell.

 

It IS very good, particularly when used with other effects, but isolated it just doesn't quite nail the rubbery tone, and the mids are a little off and EQ'ing couldn't quite bring it round.  I also think they may have slightllllllly overdone the glitching?  I feel like it glitches easier, which could be cool but I preferred the pedal's action.  If I didn't have the OC-2, I would be perfectly convinced that it sounded identical, there really isn't too much in it.  But side by side, I feel i'd miss it.

 

This is compared to an '82 anyway.  I have had later Japanese and Taiwanese models that sound different to mine so YMMV.

[attackbass]

I'm considering moving on my Quad Cortex...

 

I think it's an amazing unit both in terms of functionality and sounds but I sometimes get sucked into elaborate setups and spending time tweaking it and making effect chains only to find I never use any of this stuff on actual gigs. I find it also draws me away from actually practicing at home and find myself tweaking it constantly. I love it but more as expensive toy than a useful tool, probably due to my brain and personality! 

 

The potential final nail in the coffin was last weekend. I had a fly gig up to Scotland and all I could take was a bass and whatever gear I could fit into hand luggage. So I took up my Sansamp BDDI and a tuner, plugged it into the rented backline and was blown away by the sound, how easy it was to dial in and all the techs knew what to do with a Sansamp when it came to plugging it all in.

 

I think probably at most all I ever need is a preamp/di, drive and maybe an octave pedal and so mulling over whether the Quad is just a bit overkill for me!

[MrDinsdale]

4 hours ago, attackbass said:

I'm considering moving on my Quad Cortex...

 

I think it's an amazing unit both in terms of functionality and sounds but I sometimes get sucked into elaborate setups and spending time tweaking it and making effect chains only to find I never use any of this stuff on actual gigs. I find it also draws me away from actually practicing at home and find myself tweaking it constantly. I love it but more as expensive toy than a useful tool, probably due to my brain and personality! 

 

The potential final nail in the coffin was last weekend. I had a fly gig up to Scotland and all I could take was a bass and whatever gear I could fit into hand luggage. So I took up my Sansamp BDDI and a tuner, plugged it into the rented backline and was blown away by the sound, how easy it was to dial in and all the techs knew what to do with a Sansamp when it came to plugging it all in.

 

I think probably at most all I ever need is a preamp/di, drive and maybe an octave pedal and so mulling over whether the Quad is just a bit overkill for me!

Yeah I think that’s fair. 
 

I’m not in a band or doing any gigging at the moment. I do a little home recording which the QC is excellent for but realistically I could just use the NDSP plugins direct in logic for guitar and DI from my board for bass.

 

That being said I’ve been here before with the Boss GT1000core, as soon as I sold it I got GAS for modulation, delay and reverbs which I don’t have any practical use for except experimentation. I’ve not spent much on gear since grabbing the QC which is a big win.

Maybe have some stuff on the horizon that will let me test out if i really need my QC. For now its a keeper though. 

[attackbass]

1 hour ago, MrDinsdale said:

Yeah I think that’s fair. 
 

I’m not in a band or doing any gigging at the moment. I do a little home recording which the QC is excellent for but realistically I could just use the NDSP plugins direct in logic for guitar and DI from my board for bass.

 

That being said I’ve been here before with the Boss GT1000core, as soon as I sold it I got GAS for modulation, delay and reverbs which I don’t have any practical use for except experimentation. I’ve not spent much on gear since grabbing the QC which is a big win.

Maybe have some stuff on the horizon that will let me test out if i really need my QC. For now its a keeper though. 

 

HA! Yeah I know what you mean about selling a pedal and then suddenly lusting after delays and filters! That's slightly party of the indecision about moving the Quad on! 

 

I guess I'm weighing up, selling it and having a word with myself about what I really only need and buying a couple of standard pedals. I hated pre QC where I was always buying pedals and having to rearrange my board so maybe I just need to shut myself from the Internet bass world! Lol.

[tayste_2000]

18 hours ago, attackbass said:

 

HA! Yeah I know what you mean about selling a pedal and then suddenly lusting after delays and filters! That's slightly party of the indecision about moving the Quad on! 

 

I guess I'm weighing up, selling it and having a word with myself about what I really only need and buying a couple of standard pedals. I hated pre QC where I was always buying pedals and having to rearrange my board so maybe I just need to shut myself from the Internet bass world! Lol.

100 percent relate to all of this, I should buy a HX …… but I won’t 

Edited February 6 by tayste_2000

[MrDinsdale]

17 hours ago, attackbass said:

 

HA! Yeah I know what you mean about selling a pedal and then suddenly lusting after delays and filters! That's slightly party of the indecision about moving the Quad on! 

 

I guess I'm weighing up, selling it and having a word with myself about what I really only need and buying a couple of standard pedals. I hated pre QC where I was always buying pedals and having to rearrange my board so maybe I just need to shut myself from the Internet bass world! Lol.

 

Yeah every time I see something new and shiny I'd get drawn in, the QC helps a lot. There's still a bunch of stuff like the Non-human Audio Slow Loris that I want to pick up despite having no practical use but I find it easier to say no before I get too far into the checkout 🤣

 

I really need to find a band ASAP so I'm more distracted from GAS

[tayste_2000]

17 hours ago, tayste_2000 said:

100 percent relate to all of this, I should buy a HX …… but I won’t 

 

To expand on this because… well… internet

 

For years I had various complex pedalboards, different rigs for different gigs until one day I replaced it all with a Line 6 M13, following this I replaced the whole rig with an ipad and audio interface, as time went on this eventually paired down to just a bass and a good quality DI, which led to many many many DI purchases.

 

Essentially I play “clean” bass but that can mean so many things, my main complaint when just playing with a DI is it just needs a little bit more magic, magic that you get when running in the studio.

 

I have a Cranborne Audio Camden EC1 which I really wanted to be the live DI because that mojo control adds that magic and it sounds wonderful. But it has a power connector I’m not comfortable with live and it’s big and heavy for travel.

 

I have a JHS punchline that I’m currently using for that signal chain, it’s got analog amp/cab sim and sounds wonderful. But it’s also not doing much to the signal, very light touch.

 

So often I think a Kemper, Quad Cortex, Nano Cortex, Tonex etc could cope with what I want, I could go and profile studio signal chains, have whatever amps I want at my finger(toe) tips and it’s all become more appealing with the latest round of smaller profilers.

 

But on the flip side I’ve got through 5+ years of gigs with a bass and a good DI 😅 so why make everything harder/more complex? with a stompable computer?

 

However as I don’t have a stompable computer this year alone I have spent £700 on misc pedals that all do light gain, amp sim, saturation, boost type things.

 

With the latest idea is that the Darkglass Element will give me what I want not only as a practice rig but with 5 IR slots, I can have my clean DI, I can have something a bit more like the vintage Sansamp Bass Di (Not the driver, the absolute original I’ve just bought) and then try and get something closer to the Camden with the Darkglass’s resonance control.

 

It won out as it was the smallest thing I could find that would serve as a headphone amp/practice rig, IEM mixer, Amp Sim, IR Loader, 6 band eq, Audio Interface and DI.

 

So I should really by a HX or a Nano Cortex or a Kemper Player…… but I won’t.

[WinterMute]

I think it's a brilliant tool for a recording studio that needs to be able to create convincing tones for any number of guitar and bass sounds in sessions etc.

 

Most of them in use live will have a couple of patches, at best, for bass, I have one for fretted, one for fretless, both with switchable OD/distortion/chorus as needed.

 

Maybe a guitarist would have more patches, I know my guitarist mate, who uses the Helix, has a different set of patches for each song, he tap-dances in his spare time...

 

If you don't use an amp/cab of any description, these modellers are worth the effort I think, and probably the expense. I tried the HX Stomp, didn't like it as a replacement for my Line6 Bass Pod Pro, the QC does everything I need in a one-shot box. YMMV.