THE GAME CHANGER FOR GUITAR AMPS? // Neural DSP Quad Cortex (vs kemper)

The Quad Cortex from Neural DSP. I want to love it. Can I? Should I? Here's things I like, things I don't like, and everything in between.

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0:00 Intro
1:32 Overview
2:00 Preset from scratch
3:33 My favorite feature!
4:28 The onboard FX and routings
6:34 Scene mode, dropouts
7:54 Two British sounds & Stomp mode
10:03 Output & presets misery
12:15 Two things I'm missing
14:03 KEMPER VS QUAD VS REAL AMPS
19:00 My opinion
21:24 Quad Cortex or Kemper?

Hi, my name is Paul Davids! I am a guitar player, teacher, producer, and overall music enthusiast from the Netherlands! I try to inspire people from all over the world with my videos, here on YouTube.

Thank you for watching!
Paul

Below is the gear and services I use to make these videos. They redirect to websites and provide me with a small kickback should purchase any of these things.

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[PaulDavids]

*Update: I should've mentioned the firmware is still in Beta at the moment.*
The dropouts between presets will still be there on final release. Apparently its inherent to having a routing this flexible, but I was told they would be significantly less in the final release.
In live scenarios using Scene Mode or Stomp mode is the way to go; although this limits you to having everything for the song on that one preset. Also doing something spontaneous which might need a preset change will always result to a dropout. I know it also happens on the Helix (not on Kemper tho), but maybe one might expect of a 'new generation' of modelers to switch presets without any audio dropouts... Maybe not. I just think it's worth mentioning.
I would love to hear/see/read your thoughts! Would you ever consider getting one? Please share :)

[MarcoMontero]

Best review from the QC I’ve seen so far, you put hype out the equation and showed us a real opinion.
Massive respect for that.

[omgmatt]

Entered the video: I need a Quad Cortex

Left the video: I need a Tone King Imperial

[zach]

I can't wait to get one of these. As a home hobby player who just wants a bunch of extremely accurate tone profiles for tons of different artists and songs and the occasional cover recording there's nothing better. It's a no brainer this thing is worth every penny IMO.

[glenndavid]

The real game changer is twenty years of practice.

[beatsmithaudio]

Put Paul on the official neural team for the workflow. This man’s got all the troubleshooting done already!

[mingury]

This is by far the best review on Quad Cortex in my opinion, without a pressure for mindlessly endorsing it. Thank you very much for your honest insight.

[litotesone]

Your passion is inspiring and infectious. Thank you for sharing with the rest of us and those on journey to realize our best passions.

[heinrichthiessen]

With all that praise, I've seen and heard yet, I was glad to see a review from you. Thank you, for your honest opinion!

[RCSmiths]

Just from the start, that lick sounded extremely tasteful across all the units. Very great and detailed showcase.

[miitchmitchell]

By far the best review I have seen so far, honest and fair. Thank you.

[dwftube]

At last a critical review. Everyone else is going goo goo ga ga over this thing and not pointing out it's weak spots. Great job Paul! (Edit - Thanks Matto for pointing out that Rhett Schull also has reservations. I hadn't seen his video when I made this comment.)

[skarfie]

Superb review! You properly examined the current drawbacks in the UI. I love how specific you were. I hope the UI Devs see this!

[PhiLikeFlying]

Finely a real and honest review - think i'll hold off purchasing and wait and see if they work on your negative points.

[Aku-khqy]

Thanks again, Paul. Your matchless just sounds incredible. It really compliments your playing.

[JustinShreds]

Killer review! Neural should be watching and making notes — nothing is ever perfect but this thing is pretty damn sweet regardless. Looking forward to receiving mine 🙌🏼

[missinbrain]

I really appreciate that you addressed things that you liked and did not. I hope they are listening to some of your suggestions.

[mathieupelletier]

The sound quality of the cortex is amazing next to the Kemper. Thanks for the review Paul. For your information, you should use Scenes to switch between sound and not presets. The switch will be seemless.

[andresgarib]

This is one of the best reviews i've seen of this product. Thank you Paul for your amazing work!

[Goldensword]

Best QC review out there. Hands down. Appreciated.
I have been waiting for months for a real review. Keep it up. I had seen your videos many times, but after this you gained a subscriber