Neural DSP teasing something new (Quad Cortex)

[Chri]

Yes, big time, they are not even really comparable, IMHO.

Definitely good to know. I wrote it off early on expecting it to more or less be the same thing, which has always seemed lame to me. If I wanted EQ corrected “tone matching” I would just load up a DAW and Ozone.

The Kemper is still ahead on variety of effects, but coming from someone that bought a Kemper in 2012, I understand how features get better over time. The mix of modelling, capturing and way more way more effects blocks/routing would make me choose the QC over the Kemper. Which reminds me, I have to factory reset my Kemper and get it up for sale

Obviously the best answer is for me to just own them all, but all these responses do have me suddenly GASing. I am really happy with my HX Stomp, it has no shortage of tonal possibilities, but I do like having my cake and eating it as well.

 

[laxu]

Obviously the best answer is for me to just own them all, but all these responses do have me suddenly GASing. I am really happy with my HX Stomp, it has no shortage of tonal possibilities, but I do like having my cake and eating it as well.

Having owned the Helix Floor, QC and currently owning the FM3, ultimately they can all do a lot of the same stuff with their unique pros and cons. I really wanted to like the QC but at release it was just too half-baked to keep and I feel that's still the case. Next year around this time might be a different situation.

I wouldn't buy the QC if your intention is to just use other people's captures. There's a lot of them of varying quality and while it's initially a lot of fun to try amps and overdrives that are not modeled on any platform, the appeal wears off and you settle on some that work for you. Capturing is most useful if you already own a pile of tube amps and want to cram a facsimile of them at specific settings into one portable box. Keep your expensive amps at home/studio/practice space, bring a nice poweramp and cab and use the captures instead.

 

[DarthV]

Having owned the Helix Floor, QC and currently owning the FM3, ultimately they can all do a lot of the same stuff with their unique pros and cons. I really wanted to like the QC but at release it was just too half-baked to keep and I feel that's still the case. Next year around this time might be a different situation.

I wouldn't buy the QC if your intention is to just use other people's captures. There's a lot of them of varying quality and while it's initially a lot of fun to try amps and overdrives that are not modeled on any platform, the appeal wears off and you settle on some that work for you. Capturing is most useful if you already own a pile of tube amps and want to cram a facsimile of them at specific settings into one portable box. Keep your expensive amps at home/studio/practice space, bring a nice poweramp and cab and use the captures instead.

I love the factory jp-2c captures and can't wait for them to add the full models for IIc+ or(and??) JP2C. There have been some great captures going up recently, I need to try some of the Revv ones.

 

[DarthV]

Obviously the best answer is for me to just own them all, but all these responses do have me suddenly GASing. I am really happy with my HX Stomp, it has no shortage of tonal possibilities, but I do like having my cake and eating it as well.

Well, own both the KPA & QC then thought about an HX stomp for lunchtime noodling at work Even with my out of the way office, I don't think I could get away with bringing in the Mark V25 & 2x12 cab. Hrmmm

 

[The Thing Upstairs]

I'm looking for a small floor unit to go in my gig bag (or small rucksack). I own a AxeFx3 but don't want to take it out. with FC6 etc

Should I be looking at the QC yet or just stick with fractal?

Im not sure the hype train has stopped yet from what I read in the last page or so

 

[budda]

I'm looking for a small floor unit to go in my gig bag (or small rucksack). I own a AxeFx3 but don't want to take it out. with FC6 etc

Should I be looking at the QC yet or just stick with fractal?

Im not sure the hype train has stopped yet from what I read in the last page or so

Why dont you want to take the axe fx out? How minimal are you looking to go?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I'm looking for a small floor unit to go in my gig bag (or small rucksack). I own a AxeFx3 but don't want to take it out. with FC6 etc

Should I be looking at the QC yet or just stick with fractal?

Im not sure the hype train has stopped yet from what I read in the last page or so

Sounds like an FM3 would be the way to go. Half the price of a QC and you'll be able to bring over your presets.

Unless you want to mess with something new/different, which then I'd probably recommend a HX Stomp.

You really got to want a QC for it to be the best option.

 

[The Thing Upstairs]

Why dont you want to take the axe fx out? How minimal are you looking to go?

My AF3 is in a rack and I'd need to carry the FC6 too. I don't want to disconnect it to take it out.

I'm looking for something I can take to jam with a mate so smaller than a helix. I'd say something Mac sized would be good.

Sounds like an FM3 would be the way to go. Half the price of a QC and you'll be able to bring over your presets.

Unless you want to mess with something new/different, which then I'd probably recommend a HX Stomp.

You really got to want a QC for it to be the best option.

I'm in UK so the FM3 is only a few hundred cheaper after importing it.

The appeal of the QC is that it's new and different but it looks part baked and developed at a much slower pace than I am used to with fractal (which is anything but part baked).

If I buy the FM 3, I know what I'm getting but then if I buy the QC I'm able to try something new that might just (one day far far in the future) be...... better *

#heretic

*I don't want to start a modeller war, that's said tongue in cheek. I don't believe one will be better than the other, just different.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

My AF3 is in a rack and I'd need to carry the FC6 too. I don't want to disconnect it to take it out.

I'm looking for something I can take to jam with a mate so smaller than a helix. I'd say something Mac sized would be good.



I'm in UK so the FM3 is only a few hundred cheaper after importing it.

The appeal of the QC is that it's new and different but it looks part baked and developed at a much slower pace than I am used to with fractal (which is anything but part baked).

If I buy the FM 3, I know what I'm getting but then if I buy the QC I'm able to try something new that might just (one day far far in the future) be...... better *

#heretic

*I don't want to start a modeller war, that's said tongue in cheek. I don't believe one will be better than the other, just different.

I think it's less that it's "half baked" more that prior to release a lot of stuff was promised, and there's still a lot left to deliver. I didn't get a sense that it was really "missing" anything when I tried it and tons of folks are happy with it, so if you want someone to just tell you to go grab one I'll be happy to do so.

Go buy a QC right now, because it's different, not a ton more expensive, and maybe it'll be even better later.

 

[laxu]

The appeal of the QC is that it's new and different but it looks part baked and developed at a much slower pace than I am used to with fractal (which is anything but part baked).

If I buy the FM 3, I know what I'm getting but then if I buy the QC I'm able to try something new that might just (one day far far in the future) be...... better *

There is an argument for familiarity. You know how to work the Axe-Fx 3 to your liking so FM3 will be easy to adapt to.

That said, the QC is very user friendly from the front panel and having more built in switches and knobs is a big plus. To me the FM3 at minimum needs a couple of extra switches which you can add fairly cheap.

The QC switch spacing is a bit tight so depending on how big feet you have that may or may not be an issue. I had no problem stomping it but definitely needed to be more deliberate about looking before stomping.

Featurewise the QC has gotten better but is still far away from Fractal. You are covered for amps and overdrives as you can just use captures for more but the effects section is something you can’t do anything other than wait for more updates. So depends on how big an fx user you are.

QC might have a benefit of being available locally from a store so you can easily try and return if it doesn’t work for you.

 

[budda]

Hx stomp?

 

[The Thing Upstairs]

thanks chaps. At the moment, I'm leaning slightly toward QC as it's very easy to tweak on the move. I know I can setup PP on FM3 though too.

Hx stomp?

Hadn't considered, will take a look - thanks!

 

[Flappydoodle]

My AF3 is in a rack and I'd need to carry the FC6 too. I don't want to disconnect it to take it out.

I'm looking for something I can take to jam with a mate so smaller than a helix. I'd say something Mac sized would be good.



I'm in UK so the FM3 is only a few hundred cheaper after importing it.

The appeal of the QC is that it's new and different but it looks part baked and developed at a much slower pace than I am used to with fractal (which is anything but part baked).

If I buy the FM 3, I know what I'm getting but then if I buy the QC I'm able to try something new that might just (one day far far in the future) be...... better *

#heretic

*I don't want to start a modeller war, that's said tongue in cheek. I don't believe one will be better than the other, just different.

I'm looking at FM3 (or FM9) vs Quad Cortex too.

I'm leaning towards FM3. Fractal simply has a way larger user base, a much more experienced company backing it. That means more presets, better support, better community etc. It's been built up over many years, and tons of major artists use their stuff live and in the studio. The desktop editor is great too, and QC doesn't have one yet, as far as I know. And finally, finding a QC is difficult, as is FM9.

I think that the touch screen and twisty dial knobs are very alluring, but FM3 is giving you the same flagship tones and effects, and I think the form factor is still good enough to get 95% of things done.

 

[profwoot]

I'm looking at FM3 (or FM9) vs Quad Cortex too.

I'm leaning towards FM3. Fractal simply has a way larger user base, a much more experienced company backing it. That means more presets, better support, better community etc. It's been built up over many years, and tons of major artists use their stuff live and in the studio. The desktop editor is great too, and QC doesn't have one yet, as far as I know. And finally, finding a QC is difficult, as is FM9.

I think that the touch screen and twisty dial knobs are very alluring, but FM3 is giving you the same flagship tones and effects, and I think the form factor is still good enough to get 95% of things done.

I'm weighing options similarly, and yeah the FM9 is probably a better comparison. I might be leaning that direction if there were any. Anybody know when FM9s are expected to be available?

FM3 is same thing minus some processing power, but how much do y'all FM3 owners lament having only 3 buttons? I don't play out so maybe it's fine?

I also hadn't realized QCs are not really available at Sweetwater. That does tend to point toward FM3

 

[budda]

grab a morningstar MC6 and dont sweat the 3 buttons

 

[budda]

edit: laggy today

 

[laxu]

I'm weighing options similarly, and yeah the FM9 is probably a better comparison. I might be leaning that direction if there were any. Anybody know when FM9s are expected to be available?

FM3 is same thing minus some processing power, but how much do y'all FM3 owners lament having only 3 buttons? I don't play out so maybe it's fine?

FM9 is going to be hard to get. Fractal has difficulty getting the parts needed so you will probably be looking until summer or fall to get one if you are not already on the wait list.

FM3 switching is definitely limiting but you can add a cheap 2 button switch to it to expand it a bit. For home use you will be fine if you configure e.g hold functions to access more scenes. Each footswitch can be configured many ways as there are multiple layers of functionality available.

 

[Emperoff]

If the FM3 wasn't so expensive in Europe I'd have like two of them . It's not just expensive, but limited availability keeps used prices at retail level or sometimes even more.

I can get away with 3 buttons just fine, since each one can have an alternative version. I do that on my Boss MS-3 and I find myself wondering what to do with the remaining two switches.

 

[laxu]

If the FM3 wasn't so expensive in Europe I'd have like two of them . It's not just expensive, but limited availability keeps used prices at retail level or sometimes even more.

I can get away with 3 buttons just fine, since each one can have an alternative version. I do that on my Boss MS-3 and I find myself wondering what to do with the remaining two switches.

Here in Finland they seem to sell around 1100 euros (new price is 1349 + shipping at G66) but they are definitely rare, I think I have seen like two or three for sale in a year's time and bought one of those.

I think two would be just annoying to manage because FM3-Edit does not support multiple devices. You can use Axe-Edit/FM3-Edit/FM9-Edit at the same time for each device but two of the same model needs you to plug and unplug USB cables or turn off one device. I wish they merged them all together into one app with multiple device support.

 

[Emperoff]

Here in Finland they seem to sell around 1100 euros (new price is 1349 + shipping at G66) but they are definitely rare, I think I have seen like two or three for sale in a year's time and bought one of those.

I think two would be just annoying to manage because FM3-Edit does not support multiple devices. You can use Axe-Edit/FM3-Edit/FM9-Edit at the same time for each device but two of the same model needs you to plug and unplug USB cables or turn off one device. I wish they merged them all together into one app with multiple device support.

I was merely exaggerating... Probably . Even then I wouldn't use them at the same time. I tend to leave the backline for each of my bands at their respective rehearsal space. So I have several rigs ready to go.