I have had the Quad Cortex for about 3 months now. The only thing I have really missed is my Halo by Keeley delay pedal. So I repurchased it and will use it with my QC. I loved how you involved your wife and also enjoyed your playing and demeanor. God bless you and all you love!
Brian!! Thank you so much for the kind words. My wife is always my favorite part. She’s the best! And I totally get that. I still haven’t gotten the delays and verbs to quite do what I want them to do, but the rest has been fantastic!
The air fryer reference is exactly how I feel about all these one effects. It’s great and awesome if you love it but I just can’t justify missing out on all the extra things that make it better. I feel like part of the pain and technical difficulties is part of the journey man. Journey!!!
Hahaha! I'm glad someone caught that Air Fryer comparison- Let me tell you, "Journey" sounds great until you are playing an artist's hit song and then a cable goes out on your pedalboard and you're trying to find the problem and the main guitar part is missing. Then you go back to the green room and everyone looks at you and is like, what happened? Did you mess up? It's not a fun experience. And it's happened to me more than once. I still love my pedals. I'm not getting rid of them. I'm just not using them on the road anymore. But Journey in a low pressure environment, that's something special for sure-
@@JustinMuncy haha yea your right! I’ve had times when my board messed up and had to go straight in to the amp. I always try to make it simple so if it messes up I can easily bypass it and go straight but I only ever played cheap shows. Which is a different story then you!
@@Redhotchilipprs haha no no no. I’ve played plenty of cheap shows. I still do sometimes! That’s really wise on your part. See, you’re problem solving. You’ve got a good back up plan. I’m the one over here being like welp, there goes the spaceship. Now what? Lol-
I'm team multi-effect unit, but mostly because of affordability. I bought the Line6 Firehawk like 6 months before they came out with the Helix and I was like...wait. Was the Firehawk like a test run for the Helix? Pretty much. LOL. I got a Headrush Gigboard for our guitar 2 at church. It has been great because of how intuitive it is. Great for volunteer players. I've also played the Helix and loved it, but haven't yet saved up to buy one. Great playing in this video, interesting content and some really comical editing. Loved it!
Jonathan! Thank you so much for all of the kind words. I'm glad it was humorous to you too! And, I've actually never heard of the Firehawk. I looked it up, and man, does that look similar to the Helix! I think you're right- that was probably v1 or the "beta test" of the helix. If you do end up jumping up to the Helix, I feel like it'll be second nature for you though- Probably a really similar interface!
Haha that's awesome!! I'm glad it gave you some insight. If you're curious further, I have a few newer videos where I explain/demonstrate how much better I've gotten it to sound, now threeish months into owning one. I've taken it on tour, used it at local gigs, and it's been a great tool for travel work!
Great video... I too switched to the QC, BUT... I will not give up my Strymon pedals (yet). I've added them via the stereo FX loop on the QC, which give me the best of both worlds. Did you upload any patches to the QC site?
That’s awesome!! Yeah I miss some of the sounds I made in my big sky and timeline, but I’ve gotten the verbs to sound more like what I wanted now. I ended up stacking 3 different reverb blocks. I still use my board, just using the QC for travel dates, so I’m forcing myself to not add pedals to it!! Haha and I haven’t yet, but need to figure out what to do about presets, because a lot of you have been asking!!
Yes and no. The muddiness in some of his QC sounds could be also perceived at loud volumes. For me, the pedals sound way clearer, lively and full of richness (apart from the volume issue)
@DepressedCapitalist I got that from the shorts video he posted of this video. If you start adding up the cost of the pedals, the quad getting 80-90% of the way is nuts. Plus it open up all other sonic options, the quad starts looking like a steal
What do you think? Is the Quad Cortex on par with a pedalboard and amp pedal setup? And for those who have asked, my go-to Quad Cortex Preset can be found here: www.etsy.com/listing/1508694232/quad-cortex-jm-template-preset?ref=listings_manager_grid
Just play real amps though a cab sim (OxBox or Suhr ir). Enough with this digital marketing fanboy stuff. Digital is easier and extremely over marketed and that’s why ppl are going to them.
They both sound really good. My only complaint is that you need to make them unity volume with each other in the video. The one that’s louder coming across on the video is obviously going to sound better to most people than the one that’s at a lower volume. You may have done that on purpose but I think it detracts from what you’re trying to do with your video.
So they actually are pretty darn close to unity volume. I spent a long time on that actually. The main differences that are causing the perception that some are louder than others is the frequency balance and the stereo width of the two units. I went back and forth several times with meters just to make sure they were in fact equally loud, or as reasonably close to equally loud as possible.
I've noticed recently the QC so much better in my headphones straight out the QC than it does through my interface and monitors. I use Adam Audio A7V monitors, so they shouldn't be the issue. I'm thinking it's something to do with the preamps in the Scarlett 18i20. I may have to switch to UA Apollo Twin. I didn't want to get a UA until I bought an Apple Studio...so I guess we'll see.
The louder one sounds better! But seriously, both have pros and cons, tonally you can do whatever with both, I would go with the quad because I feel it would be less prone to failure, yet in a pedalboard if something fails it can be bypassed or replaced.
I feel you! The QC is great for the road for the reasons you said! Also the ability to source one and reload your back up if there was a failure is pretty huge!!
To my ears in every single challenge the pedalboard sounded CONSIDERABLY better. I mean the tail on that strymon reverb left the QC in the dust! Yes to the portability/form factor, no to the never ending tweaking. That's why I stick to my pedalboard! Interesting video anyway thank you 👍
I feel you!! This video is 7 months old haha so I’ve stumbled upon some tricks gigging and touring with the QC. I have a more recent video where I tried to do a 1:1 copy of my pedalboard in the Quad Cortex and it sounds ridiculously close. That considerably better you hear here is no more-
Nothing beats the strymons, the only reason i just cant with these all in one units, i have the strymon, big sky, mobius, time line and the dig for about 7 years now, in this time i tried almost anything just because i m looking to have a small footprint, but as always, the delays and reverbs always suck in these all in one units, the tech is just not here yet, maybe one day.
I agree that the gain isn’t great on the ACS1, it’s really clean no matter how you run it. But this pedal time and time again has fooled a ton of my co workers who are professional guitarists. They’ve called me listening to tracks I’ve sent them telling me how much they miss playing on their real amp like me. Then I tell them that it’s the ACS1 and they’re always baffled. I’m not saying tonex isn’t good or better, I don’t have any experience other than hearing it on the internet. I’m just saying any of these things can sound really great. I’ve never been one to keep buying new gear though haha. I just find what works for me and roll with it ✌🏻
It’s been so long, I don’t remember… but I do know the left is the AC style amp and the right is the Fender. I have gain like 80-100 percent up on both, about 25 percent room sound, then the EQ is anyone’s guess. But it’s usually a ratio of Bass 6, Mid 4.5, Treble 4.5-5. Hope that helps!
Not very impressed with the Cortex sounds. To my ears, the pedals sound more lively, loud, with more dynamics, clarity and headroom. No contest for me. Of course, it might be your lack of experience tweaking a new device. Also, if portability and convenience is your priority, you might be willing to sacrifice tone and go the QC route.
Thanks Amos! I have and I noticed that they were more clear but not very present. My main thing is I’m struggling to get the reverbs and delays to sound like my strymons and they sounded more similar to that when I threw them in front of the amps. I dunno, maybe there’s a trick to it, but I’ve never had a delay at 50% wet and a reverb with 6 seconds of decay sound so… shallow if that makes sense. But I guess the jury is still out on the position for me. I know the popular opinion is after the amps like an fx loop, but I wasn’t vibing with it yet. If you have any tips, I’m all ears :)
yo se q muchos guitarristas puristas no van a poder superar q el quad cortex suene mejor q un amplificador real desde de aqui con mis cascos en la prueba dije no puedo creer q el QC sea A sin ver el final oseo ya sabia q era el QC y en verdad ya no se trata de q el QC suene a el acs1 antes al contrario como hacer sonar el acs1 como el QC duelale al q le duela el QC suena mejor q el amplificador real y eso lo han dicho ya muchos
Every few years I get the next best modeller. Go into it then always come back to real amps and pedals. I’m selling my quad cortex. There is just something off with it to me. The andy Timmons halo really made me switch back and the real drive pedals are much better. Ps there is a digital high end I can hear and I can feel latency a lot too. Women’s ears are different to men’s due to evolution.
It's videos like this that fuel my addiction.
Hahaha!! You’ve got gear fever-
I have had the Quad Cortex for about 3 months now. The only thing I have really missed is my Halo by Keeley delay pedal. So I repurchased it and will use it with my QC. I loved how you involved your wife and also enjoyed your playing and demeanor. God bless you and all you love!
Brian!! Thank you so much for the kind words. My wife is always my favorite part. She’s the best!
And I totally get that. I still haven’t gotten the delays and verbs to quite do what I want them to do, but the rest has been fantastic!
that board sounds good
Thanks David!
Sounds great man. I love my QCs. It really works well based on the easy peasy part.
Thanks man!! Appreciate it-
The air fryer reference is exactly how I feel about all these one effects. It’s great and awesome if you love it but I just can’t justify missing out on all the extra things that make it better. I feel like part of the pain and technical difficulties is part of the journey man. Journey!!!
Hahaha! I'm glad someone caught that Air Fryer comparison- Let me tell you, "Journey" sounds great until you are playing an artist's hit song and then a cable goes out on your pedalboard and you're trying to find the problem and the main guitar part is missing. Then you go back to the green room and everyone looks at you and is like, what happened? Did you mess up? It's not a fun experience. And it's happened to me more than once. I still love my pedals. I'm not getting rid of them. I'm just not using them on the road anymore.
But Journey in a low pressure environment, that's something special for sure-
@@JustinMuncy haha yea your right! I’ve had times when my board messed up and had to go straight in to the amp. I always try to make it simple so if it messes up I can easily bypass it and go straight but I only ever played cheap shows. Which is a different story then you!
@@Redhotchilipprs haha no no no. I’ve played plenty of cheap shows. I still do sometimes! That’s really wise on your part. See, you’re problem solving. You’ve got a good back up plan. I’m the one over here being like welp, there goes the spaceship. Now what? Lol-
@@JustinMuncy lol that’s only after like 3 shows were I messed up haha.
I'm team multi-effect unit, but mostly because of affordability. I bought the Line6 Firehawk like 6 months before they came out with the Helix and I was like...wait. Was the Firehawk like a test run for the Helix? Pretty much. LOL. I got a Headrush Gigboard for our guitar 2 at church. It has been great because of how intuitive it is. Great for volunteer players. I've also played the Helix and loved it, but haven't yet saved up to buy one. Great playing in this video, interesting content and some really comical editing. Loved it!
Jonathan! Thank you so much for all of the kind words. I'm glad it was humorous to you too! And, I've actually never heard of the Firehawk. I looked it up, and man, does that look similar to the Helix! I think you're right- that was probably v1 or the "beta test" of the helix. If you do end up jumping up to the Helix, I feel like it'll be second nature for you though- Probably a really similar interface!
“We know one is more expensive.” Standard wife-of-guitarist statement.
I have almost the identical pedal board as u. I’m considering minimizing it to only quad cortex. Thanks for video
Haha that's awesome!! I'm glad it gave you some insight. If you're curious further, I have a few newer videos where I explain/demonstrate how much better I've gotten it to sound, now threeish months into owning one. I've taken it on tour, used it at local gigs, and it's been a great tool for travel work!
@@JustinMuncy for sure. I’ll check them out. Thank so much bro 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Great video... Any thoughts on sharing your presets?
Thank you so much!! Yes- I’m trying to work out the best way to do it. Stay tuned :)
Great video... I too switched to the QC, BUT... I will not give up my Strymon pedals (yet). I've added them via the stereo FX loop on the QC, which give me the best of both worlds. Did you upload any patches to the QC site?
That’s awesome!! Yeah I miss some of the sounds I made in my big sky and timeline, but I’ve gotten the verbs to sound more like what I wanted now. I ended up stacking 3 different reverb blocks. I still use my board, just using the QC for travel dates, so I’m forcing myself to not add pedals to it!! Haha and I haven’t yet, but need to figure out what to do about presets, because a lot of you have been asking!!
You weren’t playing them at the same volume. Something that is louder automatically sounds better.
Yes and no. The muddiness in some of his QC sounds could be also perceived at loud volumes. For me, the pedals sound way clearer, lively and full of richness (apart from the volume issue)
@DepressedCapitalist I got that from the shorts video he posted of this video. If you start adding up the cost of the pedals, the quad getting 80-90% of the way is nuts. Plus it open up all other sonic options, the quad starts looking like a steal
What do you think? Is the Quad Cortex on par with a pedalboard and amp pedal setup? And for those who have asked, my go-to Quad Cortex Preset can be found here: www.etsy.com/listing/1508694232/quad-cortex-jm-template-preset?ref=listings_manager_grid
Would you upload your presets? for QC?
Just play real amps though a cab sim (OxBox or Suhr ir). Enough with this digital marketing fanboy stuff. Digital is easier and extremely over marketed and that’s why ppl are going to them.
They both sound really good. My only complaint is that you need to make them unity volume with each other in the video. The one that’s louder coming across on the video is obviously going to sound better to most people than the one that’s at a lower volume. You may have done that on purpose but I think it detracts from what you’re trying to do with your video.
So they actually are pretty darn close to unity volume. I spent a long time on that actually. The main differences that are causing the perception that some are louder than others is the frequency balance and the stereo width of the two units. I went back and forth several times with meters just to make sure they were in fact equally loud, or as reasonably close to equally loud as possible.
I've noticed recently the QC so much better in my headphones straight out the QC than it does through my interface and monitors. I use Adam Audio A7V monitors, so they shouldn't be the issue. I'm thinking it's something to do with the preamps in the Scarlett 18i20. I may have to switch to UA Apollo Twin. I didn't want to get a UA until I bought an Apple Studio...so I guess we'll see.
That could be it! It's also possible that you prefer the frequency response of your headphones more.
Hey! Thanks for video. Could you share Ambient Tone preset via QC Cloud? Thanks.
Hey! It's not on the cloud at the moment. Trying to figure out a good way to distribute these without just giving it all away. Stay tuned-
The louder one sounds better! But seriously, both have pros and cons, tonally you can do whatever with both, I would go with the quad because I feel it would be less prone to failure, yet in a pedalboard if something fails it can be bypassed or replaced.
I feel you! The QC is great for the road for the reasons you said! Also the ability to source one and reload your back up if there was a failure is pretty huge!!
To my ears in every single challenge the pedalboard sounded CONSIDERABLY better. I mean the tail on that strymon reverb left the QC in the dust! Yes to the portability/form factor, no to the never ending tweaking. That's why I stick to my pedalboard!
Interesting video anyway thank you 👍
I feel you!! This video is 7 months old haha so I’ve stumbled upon some tricks gigging and touring with the QC. I have a more recent video where I tried to do a 1:1 copy of my pedalboard in the Quad Cortex and it sounds ridiculously close. That considerably better you hear here is no more-
Nothing beats the strymons, the only reason i just cant with these all in one units, i have the strymon, big sky, mobius, time line and the dig for about 7 years now, in this time i tried almost anything just because i m looking to have a small footprint, but as always, the delays and reverbs always suck in these all in one units, the tech is just not here yet, maybe one day.
Try the Tonex. I find the ACS1 the least inspiring amp sim. It just feels flat to me, and breaks up a bit weird.
I agree that the gain isn’t great on the ACS1, it’s really clean no matter how you run it. But this pedal time and time again has fooled a ton of my co workers who are professional guitarists. They’ve called me listening to tracks I’ve sent them telling me how much they miss playing on their real amp like me. Then I tell them that it’s the ACS1 and they’re always baffled. I’m not saying tonex isn’t good or better, I don’t have any experience other than hearing it on the internet. I’m just saying any of these things can sound really great. I’ve never been one to keep buying new gear though haha. I just find what works for me and roll with it ✌🏻
I would like to know your settings on the acs1
It’s been so long, I don’t remember… but I do know the left is the AC style amp and the right is the Fender. I have gain like 80-100 percent up on both, about 25 percent room sound, then the EQ is anyone’s guess. But it’s usually a ratio of Bass 6, Mid 4.5, Treble 4.5-5. Hope that helps!
I have to say nothing compares to pedals... I invite you guys... There's no fractal and Neural console that can reolace quatily sounds
I'm a pedal fan for sure! I have no plans to get rid of them!
Not very impressed with the Cortex sounds. To my ears, the pedals sound more lively, loud, with more dynamics, clarity and headroom. No contest for me. Of course, it might be your lack of experience tweaking a new device. Also, if portability and convenience is your priority, you might be willing to sacrifice tone and go the QC route.
Love your tone! On the QC, have you tried the wet effects after the amps? or do you prefer to keep them pre amps
Thanks Amos! I have and I noticed that they were more clear but not very present. My main thing is I’m struggling to get the reverbs and delays to sound like my strymons and they sounded more similar to that when I threw them in front of the amps. I dunno, maybe there’s a trick to it, but I’ve never had a delay at 50% wet and a reverb with 6 seconds of decay sound so… shallow if that makes sense. But I guess the jury is still out on the position for me. I know the popular opinion is after the amps like an fx loop, but I wasn’t vibing with it yet. If you have any tips, I’m all ears :)
yo se q muchos guitarristas puristas no van a poder superar q el quad cortex suene mejor q un amplificador real desde de aqui con mis cascos en la prueba dije no puedo creer q el QC sea A sin ver el final oseo ya sabia q era el QC y en verdad ya no se trata de q el QC suene a el acs1 antes al contrario como hacer sonar el acs1 como el QC duelale al q le duela el QC suena mejor q el amplificador real y eso lo han dicho ya muchos
Every few years I get the next best modeller. Go into it then always come back to real amps and pedals. I’m selling my quad cortex. There is just something off with it to me. The andy Timmons halo really made me switch back and the real drive pedals are much better. Ps there is a digital high end I can hear and I can feel latency a lot too. Women’s ears are different to men’s due to evolution.