devices · Quad Cortex · reference · gain staging
gain staging
input gain
set input gain to 0 dB, then check it
There are two common answers. One says leave input gain at 0.0. The other says set it just below clipping. Both are right, in order.
0 dB is the default. The modeler is built to take a hard-strummed humbucker there without clipping. “Just below clipping” is the verification. Play your loudest and the meter should only tickle red. If it buries the red, that is the adjustment to make. One is a starting point and the other is a test.
How to get hereSwipe down from the top of the screen, tap I/O Settings, then select INPUT 1.
1. IN 1 LEVEL—start at 0.0 dB
This is the default and it is correct for most guitars. Neural build the input to take a hard-strummed humbucker here without clipping, so for many players this screen needs no change. Only move it if step 3 says to.
2. the meter: play, don't guess
Play a little harder than usual: a bit above your real playing, short of your hardest. The input stage has to handle that level all night.
3. aim to just tickle the red
Peaks should touch the top of the amber and barely graze the red. That is “just below clipping”, the check that follows 0.0 dB.
4. buried in the red? Come down
If a hard strum sits inside the red instead of grazing it, lower IN 1 LEVEL until it stops. Digital clipping does not soften the way analog clipping does.
5. this setting is global
It is not saved per preset and no scene can change it. Set it for the hottest guitar you will play, then make up the difference on quieter guitars with a gain block inside the presets that need it.
the procedure
five stages, in this order
- 1 · Input
IN 1 LEVEL
Swipe down from the top of the screen → I/O Settings → select the input
Start at 0 dB. Only move it if the meter says to.
The modeler is designed to take a hard-strummed humbucker without clipping at 0 dB. For most guitars this stage is already correct and needs nothing.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Staging · Quad Cortex Wiki: Setting the Input Level - 2 · Verify the input
IN 1 LEVEL meter
Same screen, watching the meter while you play
Play a little harder than usual. The meter should just tickle the red, or sit right below it.
This is the check on stage 1. If a hot pickup buries the red at 0 dB, pull the level down until it only tickles. If a weak single coil never approaches it, you have headroom to spare, so leave it alone.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Setting the Input Level - 3 · Preset output
Lane output
On the Grid, at the end of the row
0 dB as a baseline, then adjust for headroom.
Match levels between presets here. Leave 12 dB of headroom on clean patches and 6 dB on distorted ones. Clean tones peak far higher than they sound.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Staging - 4 · Device output
Output level
I/O Settings
0 dB.
Set the baseline here and leave it. This is a device-wide trim, not a per-preset one.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Staging - 5 · The knob
VOLUME
The one physical knob
Maximum, while you set everything above. Trim from there for the room.
With the knob maxed, what leaves the jacks matches what the meters show. With the knob halfway, no meter on the modeler shows what front of house receives.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Staging
Headroom: 12 dB clean, 6 dB distorted
Clean tones have a far higher peak-to-average ratio than distorted ones. Distortion is compression: a saturated patch does not spike the way a clean one does. Set both by ear at the same apparent loudness and the clean presets clip in the room.
1. the lane output lives on the Grid
It's at the end of the row, and it matches one preset's loudness to another's. This is the one to move.
2. the output meter lives in I/O Settings
Swipe down, then I/O Settings. Only this screen shows how hot the signal is, and it is a different screen from the control above.
3. you cannot see both at once
There is no combined view, so you cannot nudge the control and watch the meter. No setting adds one.
4. so measure by finding the ceiling
Turn the lane output up until the meter flashes red and note that number. Then back it off a known amount: 12 dB for clean presets, 6 dB for distorted. You measure against the ceiling instead of watching a needle.
traps
five things the modeler does not show
you cannot see the meter and the control at the same time
The output meter and the lane output control live on different pages. No view shows both, so you cannot nudge the control and watch the meter.
do thisTurn the lane output up until it flashes red, then back it off a known number of dB. You measure by finding the ceiling.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Staginga TS cable on OUT 3/L or OUT 4/R costs you 6 dB
The quarter-inch outputs are balanced. Plug an unbalanced TS cable in and you get half the output voltage.
do thisUse TRS into balanced gear. If the destination is unbalanced and TS is the only option, add 6 dB to get back to unity. That spends 6 dB of headroom.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Staginginput level is global and no preset can change it
It is not saved with a preset and a scene cannot recall it. Swap between a Les Paul and a Strat mid-set and the input stage is a compromise for one of them.
do thisSet it for your hottest guitar so nothing clips, and make up the difference with a gain block inside the presets that need it.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Staging · Quad Cortex Wiki: Setting the Input Levela limiter does not fix clipping
Digital clipping does not soften the way analog clipping does. A limiter on an over-hot chain trades a level problem for a worse tone problem.
do thisFind the stage that is too hot and fix it there. Headroom is cheaper than repair.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain Stagingthe FX loop send runs at line level by default
Unity out of SEND 1 and SEND 2 is line level. Most pedals and many preamps expect something a lot quieter.
do thisPull the send down for unamplified devices. Start around −5 dB, then use your ears and the device's own input meter.
Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQ