Neural Quad Cortex

  • For pro bands it might be a little off-putting that there is not a rack mount version, but it will be useful for those that fly to festivals etc.

    I have to say that the omission of a euro socket excludes it from any fly rig I would take out.
    For me (and it’s just my opinion), wall warts do not belong on festival or any other stages. So easy for a flight case or monitor being moved to completely crush them or that they go missing or just simply break.

    Good look getting the local crew to bring you another matching power source immediately. On the other hand, a euro cable is always at hand.


    It’s the first thing that put me off it when it was announced.

  • I’m only six months into my Kemper journey and love the unit. So I understand the religious devotion many of you have towards this company and their product. Many have a long time attachment to the device we spend countless hours of our lives with.


    With that, let me offer some thoughts of support to the KPA community.


    Remember, the QC unit still has not been mass distributed. Until Neural proves that the unit can be mass produced and distributed at the $1,699 (US) price point, we really are still dealing with a prototype situation. And said unit has to hold up out in the wild without malfunctions, chip meltdowns, etc.


    Further, while the QC does look and sound stunning, it is clear that Neural still has months, if not years ahead of them of trying to refine the software and support community around it.


    Think that Neural can pull this off, but it will require them to continue to pour massive amounts of capital into the QC, all while keeping a price point the consumer is willing to pay. I’m still in the camp that QC will not be able to actually get a reliable unit out to the masses at that price point. But we’ll see.

  • Pretty sure why PT, TQ and RS said the Cortex was good, that's because it probably is. For me irrespective of if it was a sponsored review or not. In all their YouTube channels and I would say these guys are pretty objective, Pete and Rhett more so that Tom, (I'll forgive him as he's such a technically brilliant player).

    Lets be honest we can all see and hear just how good it is for ourselves.

    Is it as better than the Kemper? probably not, but then it hasn't got 10 years or so of updates, commercial profiles and an excellent customer service behind it.

    Given the same amount of time as the Kemper it will absolutely be as good, perhaps better, it does have the processing power after all. However this is assuming that Kemper stands still which I very much doubt will be the case.


    For me its ok to like the Cortex......and the Kemper...... and amps and pedals. I dont think they'll ever be a definitive 'everybody's favourite', certainly while we all have our own opinions. Of course its human nature to prefer what you own. I like Ferrari's and Lamborghini's, couldn't say which one is better though.


    I absolutely admire ckemper adding to this thread and I'd be surprised if he didn't have a trick up his sleeve, but if he didn't he's still a genius in my eyes as there wouldnt be a Neural Quad Cortex if it wasn't for him and his colleagues.

    For us lucky folk its great because the bar just gets raised higher and higher.

    'You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead' - Stan Laurel

    Edited once, last by Crookster ().

  • Ok here's my thought, would I like to have the QC, of course I do, I guess everbody would. It's obviously a great tool.


    Do I need it, no I don't :)


    Thing is when all these new stuff coming out and in the pipeline, it keeps us on edge I guess.


    I'll stick with my kemper and keep it safe in a rack, loving the build in amp, loving it to only have a cat5 cable running to the remote. I hate having powercables in the front, speakercables going to the backline , guitar plugged in in the front...


    The sounds are more then we could ever dream of and wonder if they could be improved or needed to be. That being said is a nice coloured touch screen nice, of course it is, is it needed nope ... once the rigs are set I don't tweak anymore ...


    I never even bothered diving deep into all parameters, I'm happy how they sound set by their creators.


    How awesome is it after all these years still owning the best unit on the market


    We got so much from M. Kemper since it's release it's unseen in the business ...


    If you remember how CK walked to the profiler at namm last year to show off the editor, i'm sure it won't take long till he walks again with the same elegance and floor everybody once again ;)


    Raf

    Kemper stage with 2 mission pedals (in a Thon line 6 FBV case) and a Zilla 212 (K-100/V30) , SD powerstage 700 poweramp

  • I an looking this from a competition standpoint and competition is always good. I hope this helps bring down the price of the Kemper and helps speed up some innovation/improvements. Kemper shouldn't sleep on their loures.

  • Yes, I'd even say it's an epic fail as an influencer to leave the compressor in the chain while profiling with the Kemper. It’s user error. And it’s embarrassing.

    Well in this case I believe the point is to show that the QC can capture the entire signal chain including that because it’s a known limitation of the Kemper, but the Kemper does an admirable job anyway (though he should have refined it). It’s trying to show how technology is advancing. Having said that for me the result on the QC has this upper mids fizz/flat sound and lacks the complexity at the lower mids end of the amp while the Kemper nails that but has a little too much bass and loses a little treble detail.

  • Seems like a great product! To me, the form factor of the QC is its strongest point - small footprint, large touch screen, ample back panel, ease of use, etc. However, is the sound any BETTER than my (2) KPAs, enough to switch? Not to my ears. Also, durability questions will take years to answer, whereas, KPA has proven to be dependable with fantastic support. Since I have a KPA rack, and a Stage, it may be tempting to sell one of them, and see, first hand, if I prefer the QC. However, I too suspect that our resident genius does have more aces up his sleeve, in regards to the Kemper future world, so rather than investing in becoming a QC early adopter, I believe I’ll wait until the dust settles.

  • I have to say that the omission of a euro socket excludes it from any fly rig I would take out.
    For me (and it’s just my opinion), wall warts do not belong on festival or any other stages. So easy for a flight case or monitor being moved to completely crush them or that they go missing or just simply break.

    Good look getting the local crew to bring you another matching power source immediately. On the other hand, a euro cable is always at hand.


    It’s the first thing that put me off it when it was announced.

    Agreed the wall wart is the one big thing that disappointed me. There is always a spare euro socket at a venue, but I'd feel compelled to carry a spare psu in this case. Maybe there might be a different format in the future with kettle lead.

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7

  • We can debate about the tone and eq. But a big selling point is form factor and simple to use and touch screen like iphone.

    If the tones are good enough and the weigh only 1.95KG/4.2lbs




    The Headrush also has a touchscreen and scribble strips and a great UI ? But the tones aren't as amp-like and responsive as the KPA and it's a downgrade lol. Although helpful and nice, easy to use only gets you so far if it only sounds pretty good instead of great. UI is important but if the unit isn't an upgrade in other important aspects such as tone and feel, then I'd feel like I'm downgrading and wasting money or something. But then again, people invest in different stuff and warrant purchases for different reasons.


    If it's really about the touchscreen and easy to use UI for you, just get a Headrush and get a bigger and more colorful screen, more UI features, more features on the physical unit and an expression pedal for almost $1000 cheaper than the QC lol. Of course, I wouldn't recommend it if you already have a KPA.

  • The QC definitely has a great UI and a cool touchscreen. It for sure is going to make some noise as the "cool new shiny toy" effect takes place.


    But when it comes down to it, if it doesn't sound better or have the capability to put out better tones than what we currently can get with what's available, then it's just another toy. It's cool that it does everything in one unit. But if it doesn't excel at all of that stuff, or at least in one of those areas, then it's just a decent all in one unit.


    Already, I can see that the captures are wayyy less flexible and tweakable than Profiles because the Captures only have a 3 band EQ and Gain compared to the KPAs Amp section.


    And Rhett Shull made a comment about the effects lacking in the unit. And he has very high standards for effects and tones considering how many pedals he obsessively goes through - like many of us tone chasers! (disregarding his Capture vs Profile comparison because he used a compressor when Profiling as mentioned by wheresthedug)


    That's already 2 out of 3 aspects seemingly lacking compared to the major players in the field.


    I don't think an all in one unit that does everything decently is going to be as worth it to me as having the best of all that there is to offer for creating tones and playing music. The unit should definitely be at least as good as the other major units as far as stock content goes (Amp models and Effects). Otherwise like I said, then it's just a decent all in one unit.

  • You have to remember that this is the first iteration. More amps, cabs, effects to come. They can do anything with the software. If they want 240 amps like the fractal then they can do it. They started it well with the quad core idea.

  • If it's really about the touchscreen and easy to use UI for you, just get a Headrush and get a bigger and more colorful screen, more UI features, more features on the physical unit and an expression pedal for almost $1000 cheaper than the QC lol. Of course, I wouldn't recommend it if you already have a KPA.

    No, not for me but for me this is some advantages over the Kemper - smaller, less than half the weight of the Stage. a design that is more intuitive and easier to navigate the menu. If the tone is acceptable and price range is close some user will prefer this over the KPA. I am happy with the Kemper but i hope they consider some of this features for the Kemper 2.

  • It seems the QC has four advantages being pushed in marketing against the competition - the GUI (which is subjective), capturing pedals, dual (or more) amps, and the price.


    The sound hasn’t yet convinced me but those four things are IMO still a strong argument. However if Kemper reduced their price and added in pedal capture, or released a 2 with complex routing and dual paths (and better input convertors, as honestly try your Kemper using spdif in sometime from a nice card and you soon find that high end detail) then the QC would just be yet another pretender.

  • As for the kpa..the development of the profiler has reached its limits?Or is close to do so?


    I expect a new product.Don't know when.This year?Next?And I also expect that it will go far beyond "dual rigs" or "profiling pedals"..


    Don't forget @CK started as a synth guy.Sure this must be good for something.Something we guitar players desperately need to stay in touch with the things to come but right now are not aware of..?(


    PS

    I am still wondering why there is no kemper guitar synth module.Maybe as a floorboard?With a dozen additional empty slots to load KPA rigs?I guess many things are possible now in 2021.Much more than 10 years ago.


  • In fairness, the Kemper has had 10 years to get their effects to where they are now and whatnot. I’m sure on time the QC will be comparable when they finally release all the software updates down the road. I still feel they are rushing it out without it being fully featured to satisfy people.


    There will be an editor within months of release...according to Neural. Again, remember how long we waited for a Kemper editor?