EliasFriedl
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I‘m thinking about buying one of the modelers above in the future and I just wanted to know which one you think is better and why.
Fractal fm3/fm9 or Neural DSP Quadcortex
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Shask
Well-Known Member
Fractal fan here also. I have had them over 15 years. Great support, sounds, feel, the most complete system overall in terms of switching, effects, options, etc....
JDB123
Newb Extraordinaire
I've been considering upgrading my modeler setup as well and the form factor and ergonomics of the QC really appeal to me. That and the tones I've heard over the years via Fractal products have a baseline sound that's a little cold/sterile to me. The Quad Cortex has a little more "polished" sounding patches to my ear with less menu-diving and parameters to fuss with. I'm not one to go in and spend hours messing with tube bias controls and power amps, all the stuff Fractal can offer in that regard. If you are then more power to you. I think it's all about what the time you put in gives you back.
Fractal has been around a lot longer and has a more proven track record of support and updates, Neural has been pretty lackluster in that regard and taking years to ship early promised features. If there were more smaller footprint alternatives with more touchscreen and knob options and less compass navigation and menu buttons I'd be exploring those, but the QC makes the most sense for my purposes. Line 6 products are a good alternative as well, makes me wonder what next-gen modeler thingy they're working on now.
Fractal has been around a lot longer and has a more proven track record of support and updates, Neural has been pretty lackluster in that regard and taking years to ship early promised features. If there were more smaller footprint alternatives with more touchscreen and knob options and less compass navigation and menu buttons I'd be exploring those, but the QC makes the most sense for my purposes. Line 6 products are a good alternative as well, makes me wonder what next-gen modeler thingy they're working on now.
MatrixClaw
Whoaaa No Way!!!
I think it depends on what you need, really. Obviously if you really want a specific amp and Fractal doesn't have it, QC probably does. If you want to capture your own amps, obvious QC wins as well. QC's UI is far superior as well, but the buttons feel much more congested to use live, so definitely something to consider vs the Fractals, which are more spaced out. The QC is also a pretty high quality recording interface and it has mic preamps built in so you can use it to record a full band.
That said, Fractal is much better as far as effects are concerned. They are as good as any high end pedal or rack effect. Fractal has way more options for routing. Fractal has much deeper editing and the ability to completely change the tone stack or power amp of any given amp. Fractal models amps at the component level and when you turn a knob, it reacts the same as the actual circuit would.
Personally, I see little upside to the QC vs something much cheaper, like the ToneX pedal for my use, but it definitely has its strong points if you intend to use it to its fullest.
That said, Fractal is much better as far as effects are concerned. They are as good as any high end pedal or rack effect. Fractal has way more options for routing. Fractal has much deeper editing and the ability to completely change the tone stack or power amp of any given amp. Fractal models amps at the component level and when you turn a knob, it reacts the same as the actual circuit would.
Personally, I see little upside to the QC vs something much cheaper, like the ToneX pedal for my use, but it definitely has its strong points if you intend to use it to its fullest.
AwakenTheSkies
Life is like a box of chocolates
Famous bands using Fractal:
Famous bands using QC:
Famous bands using QC:
Fractals have more effects, and an insane level of tweakability.
The QC is smaller and simpler, which I prefer. The capture cloud is a goldmine. There's some dross on there, but plenty of nuggets of pure bliss. I stick to DI captures because they're a bit more idiot-proof, and I can add my own IR or use my real cab.
I've had mine for almost 2 years, and exclusively use captures in all my day-to-day presets. The models are probably fine, but someone's already put in the work finding the sweetspot with the decent captures. If I want to mix it up, I'll drop the gain a bunch on the capture block, and stick different drive pedals in front.
The QC is smaller and simpler, which I prefer. The capture cloud is a goldmine. There's some dross on there, but plenty of nuggets of pure bliss. I stick to DI captures because they're a bit more idiot-proof, and I can add my own IR or use my real cab.
I've had mine for almost 2 years, and exclusively use captures in all my day-to-day presets. The models are probably fine, but someone's already put in the work finding the sweetspot with the decent captures. If I want to mix it up, I'll drop the gain a bunch on the capture block, and stick different drive pedals in front.
Deadpool_25
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Metropolis
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Deadpool_25
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I love my FM9. It's damn near perfect for me.
There are a few things that are attractive about the QC to me. The primary one is form factor--it's relatively small and light. I also dig its onboard UI (although I can navigate the FM9's well enough).
I don't care much about capturing but it does mean your selection of amps is basically limitless. The AxeFX has a Tone Match thing that, while very under the radar, seems to work pretty well. I have a couple times built with Tone Matches that sound great imo.
The other thing attractive about the QC is the impending (finally) Plugin integration. I have a bunch of those things and like the idea of having that stuff in the box--it's the main reason I initially preordered one. It's also the main reason I canceled my original preorder.
If you leave out how annoying some of the stuff the NDSP has done (and is understand not being able to get past that), the QC seems pretty good on its own merit. The Fractal effects are top of the class imo, but the QCs seem "good enough" in general if one isn't very picky (I'm overly picky though).
There are a few things that are attractive about the QC to me. The primary one is form factor--it's relatively small and light. I also dig its onboard UI (although I can navigate the FM9's well enough).
I don't care much about capturing but it does mean your selection of amps is basically limitless. The AxeFX has a Tone Match thing that, while very under the radar, seems to work pretty well. I have a couple times built with Tone Matches that sound great imo.
The other thing attractive about the QC is the impending (finally) Plugin integration. I have a bunch of those things and like the idea of having that stuff in the box--it's the main reason I initially preordered one. It's also the main reason I canceled my original preorder.
If you leave out how annoying some of the stuff the NDSP has done (and is understand not being able to get past that), the QC seems pretty good on its own merit. The Fractal effects are top of the class imo, but the QCs seem "good enough" in general if one isn't very picky (I'm overly picky though).
Shask
Well-Known Member
I wonder what would happen if Fractal would suddenly add profiling to the Axe Fx.
Given Cliff in the past, I could see him doing that out of nowhere. The methods on how to do it with AI are published out there in the public.
Deadpool_25
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Kinda already has it but no one really does many deep dives into it afaik. Maybe not as hands-off/simple as with the other stuff though. I'm not too sure.
I feel like there isnt much conversation around being able to change the tonestack (which near as I can tell is the preamp?) either. Im willing to bet that is in part because it is easier/faster to dial in now, so the extra steps users took are dwindling.
TedEH
Cromulent
I've never tried a QC, but an FM3 covers pretty much any sound I could think of. I don't know how other devices handle this, but one of the biggest advantages I found when switching to the Fractal is how flexible the routing can be. Most of my meaningful / real patches end up splitting in three, so that I can have a DI, a cab-sim out for FOH, and my no-IR signal to go into a power amp and cab on stages. And they're all generally controllable with separate levels so my stage volume changing doesn't mess with the FOH guy, which is great.
My QC has never let me down.
My first FM3 went back and was replaced. The second one had the same issue (USB port). I still have my Axe FX 2 and think it's great. But my experience with the FM3 really put me off.
On stage it's the QC. For warming up off stage I have FM3.
My first FM3 went back and was replaced. The second one had the same issue (USB port). I still have my Axe FX 2 and think it's great. But my experience with the FM3 really put me off.
On stage it's the QC. For warming up off stage I have FM3.
