Neural Quad Cortex

  • 7. Naming presets - again... touchscreen makes this a piece of piss. Both the Helix and the Kemper are way more annoying to use. Kemper is more annoying than the Helix in this respect. In fact, the Kemper user experience is from stone age compared to both units.

    For a change I really like KPA's arcade style of naming present. Reminds me of editing "high score" entries in games I played in late '80. :)

  • I got this rating idea in mind for "at the end of the day " from very least to most...


    1. A , do it yourself helix that's better in many ways.


    2. A fair and even competitor all around.


    3. The fan fare ultimate new bad ass in town, for now.


    Or something like that

  • Thank you for this Review!


    A QC Rack Unit would be something great.


    But your normal QC for live usage you could put the QC behind the stage/in your rack and plug in a midi Controller so you have just your Midi Controller in front of you. So you dont have to be afraid that your QC will be damaged on stage and if the Controller is damaged because of beer and whatever than the Midi Controller is the much cheaper one to buy!

  • One of the major issues I think might come to light over time will be the thermal issues. The QC has massive vents for a reason and if those vents get blocked due to the harsh environments (dust and dirt) they are likely to be in due to live use, it's a nightmare in the making. Especially if it happens during a gig... Also that power supply is another massive weak link that can fail. These are serious concerns if one is planning on live use..

  • One of the major issues I think might come to light over time will be the thermal issues. The QC has massive vents for a reason and if those vents get blocked due to the harsh environments (dust and dirt) they are likely to be in due to live use, it's a nightmare in the making. Especially if it happens during a gig... Also that power supply is another massive weak link that can fail. These are serious concerns if one is planning on live use..

    The vents are for WIFI, not temperature - according to Doug Castro.

  • Thanks for your thoughts - I'm way more inclined to to take note from reviews like this vs Youtube paid up stuff.

    No probs.


    I only spent half a day with it. I hope to spend some more time with it soon. I started off with mild skepticism and by the end of the day I was convinced.


    But I pre-ordered one anyway. I think the amp capturing tech is better than the Kemper by a wide margin. I think the effects are serviceable and hopefully they'll add more to it over time anyway. Even if they don't, it's a much easier and friendlier prospect adding my Strymon pedals to it than doing the same with the Kemper or Helix.

  • .... all of the did I do it right? Why doesn't this sound closer? How can I make it better? type stuff that I always think when I'm profiling with the Kemper...


    Your profile is spot on, beside the differences in the bass response. Such deviations can easily be controlled by refining with that same palm mutes and checking again. Takes 30 seconds.

  • Your profile is spot on, beside the differences in the bass response. Such deviations can easily be controlled by refining with that same palm mutes and checking again. Takes 30 seconds.

    No sorry Christophe, but this is not true. There is a quackiness in the high frequencies that cannot be easily dialed out.


    The QC sounds closer to the real amp; with no effort required on my part. I loved the Kemper over the years, but right now for me the QC wins.

  • No sorry Christophe, but this is not true. There is a quackiness in the high frequencies that cannot be easily dialed out.


    The QC sounds closer to the real amp; with no effort required on my part. I loved the Kemper over the years, but right now for me the QC wins.

    I think Definition parameter have something to do with this. Sometimes you have to dial it back a bit to get rid of this effect.

  • Like the vast majority of users I mostly use commercial profiles from people who know how to make it right and I'm pretty sure it will be the same on the QC users side. So, why the easiness to profile seems to be so important all of a sudden? It's certainly not a reason to make me swap my Kemper for the new toy absolutely not. But, you know, people like buying new toys and there is nothing wrong with it! ;)

  • In KPA, several parameters are set automatically by the profiling algorithm. There is no clear path to profiling. Except for the last video with Guido. A big plus for that.

    There are hardly any parameters in QC. There is no Profile Refining. Gain is sometimes too small from what I've seen. If you add to it no problems with profiling several stages of distortion, then you have an answer why it might be more attractive.

    Small amount of variables it is sometimes an advantage.


    But again I do not believe that they will be able to add any parameters to change some capture variables like in KPA . This is probably a model to predict the behavior of the output signal based on statistical data. I don't really see the possibility of introducing any specific variables there to control this prediction.


    Many people appreciate the possibility of modifying a profile with parameters such as definition, pick or compressor. Each tool will have its opponents and supporters.

  • Like the vast majority of users I mostly use commercial profiles from people who know how to make it right and I'm pretty sure it will be the same on the QC users side. So, why the easiness to profile seems to be so important all of a sudden? It's certainly not a reason to make me swap my Kemper for the new toy absolutely not. But, you know, people like buying new toys and there is nothing wrong with it! ;)

    You need a way to rationalize spending 1700 euro on a new thing you don’t really need.

    Not judging though. I’ve done that too many times.

    Gas is strong.

  • I don't want parameters personally.


    I want to make 10 profiles of each channel on my amps, and choose the ones I want; just like with impulse responses.


    I don't want the variation of the refining process making a difference to all of the profiles across a single channel.


    The end goal for me is: I want my valve amps in this digital box that I can use in a myriad of ways. QC gets there quicker and easier and more consistently than the Kemper does. IMHO, and based on experience of using both. I've got much more experience with the Kemper of course.


    If I wanted parameters, I would've gotten an Axe FX !! :D


    I've owned two of those in the past as it happens, and I got great tones. You CAN get great tones out of all of these boxes; I'm just looking for that final 2% accuracy.

  • Like the vast majority of users I mostly use commercial profiles from people who know how to make it right and I'm pretty sure it will be the same on the QC users side. So, why the easiness to profile seems to be so important all of a sudden? It's certainly not a reason to make me swap my Kemper for the new toy absolutely not. But, you know, people like buying new toys and there is nothing wrong with it! ;)

    You'll find threads and comments from me going back to 2011/2012, where I spoke about palm mute response on the Kemper and lack of accuracy. It's not a new thing and it's nothing to do with buying new toys. I have plenty of toys!

  • The thing is we compare the Kemper which is over 10 years old.....of course with Updates.....to the QC which is Brand New. The difference in tone is not that big on Profiling or Capturing Amps so the Kemper is a hell of a unit for that age! That are my 2 Cents!