devices · Quad Cortex · learn · 01 of 10 · 6 min
what you actually bought
the one thing
It is a small computer with a routing canvas. When something will not work, the answer is almost always on the canvas, not in the sounds.
it does all three things
The Quad Cortex carries over 90 amp models. It can make and load Neural Captures of real amps. Since CorOS 3.0.0 it also runs Neural DSP's plugins on the hardware itself.
You do not have to pick one approach before you start. Load a factory model now. A capture of your own amp can sit next to it in the same preset later.
This is the clearest difference from the Nano Cortex, which has no models and cannot create captures. If you have used one, that limit does not apply here.
Plugins need a perpetual license. A subscription or trial license will not transfer to the hardware, even if the plugin runs on your desktop. The modeler needs internet once to verify, then runs offline indefinitely.
Quad Cortex product page · Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQthe Grid is the actual product
Four rows of 8 slots, 32 in total. Rows 1 and 3 are main rows, and rows 2 and 4 are their split rows. Splitters and mixers move signal between a main row and the one below it.
You can ignore this and build straight lines for a long time. But every limit that is hard to spot on this device applies to a row pair, not to the whole preset. When a block will not load, look at the Grid first.
one knob, and a lot of glass
The only physical knob is the master volume. Gain, levels and routing all live on the seven-inch touchscreen. Swipe down from the top for Settings and up from the bottom for Gig View.
The 11 footswitches are the other hardware controls. Learn them before you need them on a stage.
Eleven footswitches, all of them rotary encoders. BANK DOWN and TEMPO end the two main rows; BANK UP sits up by the screen. Every one turns as well as presses.
Gridleak: read off the modeler · Quad Cortex product pagecontrol map
A – H
The eight lettered switches, in two rows of four. What they do depends entirely on the mode you are in.
- Press, in PRESET mode
- Loads a preset from the current bank.Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0
- Press, in SCENE mode
- Recalls Scene A–H within the loaded preset.Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0
- Press, in STOMP mode
- Toggles an individual device block on or off.Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0
- Turn
- Each one is a rotary encoder. Turning it scrolls the assigned parameter, with your hands still on the guitar.Quad Cortex product page · Gridleak: read off the modeler
- watch for
- The letters are printed to the right of each cap, not above it. In a dark room the LED above the switch is the thing to read, not the letter.