devices · Quad Cortex · reference · the Grid and the DSP budget
the Grid and the DSP budget
How to get hereThe Grid is the Quad Cortex's home screen: what you see when a preset is loaded.
1. row 1 is your main path
Signal enters at the left and runs right. Amp and cab go here. Without a splitter, this row is your whole rig and the Quad Cortex works like an ordinary pedalboard.
2. the splitter sends a copy down
It takes what has reached this point on row 1 and drops a duplicate onto row 2. Both then run in parallel. The S icon sits at the far left of row 2. It cannot be deleted, only dragged.
3. row 2 is the parallel path
Reverb and delay here sit alongside your dry signal instead of on top of it, so ambience gets big without smearing note definition. It is the usual first reason to use the Grid.
4. the mixer merges it back
Row 2 rejoins row 1 here. Set the wet row well below the dry one. A parallel path 3 dB hot sounds fine in a bedroom and like mud through a PA.
5. rows 3 and 4 are a second, unused pair
A second main-plus-split pair, empty in this preset. When a second reverb will not load while the CPU meter reads a third, put it here. The limit is one per pair, not one per preset.
shape
four rows that behave as two paths
- four rows of eight slots
Thirty-two device block slots in total. Neural's own wording is “four rows, each containing eight device block slots”.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0- rows 1 and 3 are main rows, and rows 2 and 4 are their split rows
Neural call rows 1 and 3 “Path A” and rows 2 and 4 “Path B”. Path A means main row and Path B means parallel row. Row 2 splits from row 1 and merges back into it, and row 4 does the same for row 3. Rows 1 and 3 are not joined to each other.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0 · Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQ- so the pairs are 1 with 2, and 3 with 4
The limits apply to each pair. So the reverb limit is “one on the 1/2 pair and one on the 3/4 pair”, not one per preset.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0 · Forum: the limit of gears- two side-chain devices per row pair
Up to two side-chain devices per pair of rows within the same preset.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0- dragging a block between paired rows creates the split for you
Move any block vertically between rows 1 and 2, or between 3 and 4, and a splitter/mixer path is created automatically. You never place splitters or mixers by hand.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0- input and output blocks turn red when they clip
That is the clipping alert, and it is per-block. A red input block means lower IN 1 LEVEL in I/O Settings. A red output block means something on that row is too hot, so check the device parameters on that row.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0- splitters and mixers cannot be fully deleted
Rows 2 and 4 carry a splitter and a mixer that will not go away. To clear a split, drag the S icon fully left and the M icon fully right, then exit to Grid view and delete the empty split rows.
Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQ
DSP
a second reverb needs the other path
A second reverb on the same path will not load, even with the CPU meter at a third. Deleting other blocks does not help.
The meter is working, but it does not show the limit you have hit. Read these four rules in order: the second and third explain it.
- 01
bypassing a block does not free any DSP
Neural state it plainly: bypassing or disabling blocks does not reduce CPU consumption. A bypassed delay costs exactly what an active one costs.
do thisTo reclaim processing, delete the block. Bypass is a performance control, not a budget control.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0 - 02
the CPU meter is rarely the limit you hit first
“Cannot add device” can appear at around a third of the meter. The per-path limits below usually stop you long before the total does.
do thisWhen a block will not load at low CPU, look at which path the blocks are on. Making the preset smaller does not help.
Forum: the limit of gears - 03
reverbs are limited per path, not per preset
The reported limit is one reverb on the row 1/2 pair and one on the row 3/4 pair, with spring reverbs excepted from the count.
do thisMove the second reverb onto the other path instead of deleting it. That is how a preset holds two reverbs.
Community-sourced, not stated in the manual. It matches the behavior owners describe consistently, and it is the only explanation that fits a block that will not load at low CPU.
Forum: the limit of gears - 04
Global EQ and the Input Gate switch off with no warning
When a preset exceeds available processing resources, the Global EQ and Input Gate blocks are automatically disabled. No message appears.
do thisIf your global EQ works on other presets but not this one, this preset is over budget. Delete a block.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0
- measured
- Read off the hardware by us, not taken from a document.
- official
- From the manufacturer's manual, FAQ, guides or release notes.
- retail spec
- From an authorized dealer's published specification.
- review
- Observed and published by a professional reviewer.
- community
- Reported by owners and used to corroborate, not as a primary spec.
- our reading
- Our interpretation, not something the manufacturer states.
- unverified
- We could not confirm this, or sources disagree.
routing
four builds to try
Parallel wet path
Big ambience without the reverb eating your note definition. The usual first reason to use the Grid.
- 01Build your amp and cab on row 1.
- 02Add a splitter after the cab so signal continues on row 1 and also drops to row 2.
- 03Put the reverb and delay on row 2 only.
- 04Mix the two rows back together and set the wet row's level well below the dry row's.
checkSolo each row before you commit. A parallel path that is 3 dB hot sounds fine in a bedroom and like mud through a PA.
Quad Cortex User Manual 4.0.0Two reverbs in one preset
A second reverb will not load and the CPU meter is nowhere near full.
- 01Check which rows your existing reverb sits on. Rows 1 and 2 count as one pair, rows 3 and 4 as the other.
- 02Put the second reverb on the other pair.
- 03If you need both on the same pair, make one of them a spring reverb. Springs do not count toward the limit.
Into the front of a real amp
You are using the Quad Cortex as a pedalboard, not as the amp.
- 01Run a TS cable from OUT 3/L to your amp's input.
- 02Do not put a cab block in the preset. A real cabinet is doing that job.
- 03Do not leave an amp block in the preset either. Two amps in series causes phase problems.
- 04Turn on Global Bypass to switch off every cab, IR and capture block across all presets at once, instead of editing them one at a time.
Into a real amp's FX return
You want the amp's power section but not its preamp. Usually the better-sounding of the two real-amp options.
- 01Run a TS cable from OUT 3/L to the amp's FX loop return.
- 02Leave the cab block out, as above.
- 03Expect the power amp to add some color. It will be far less than running through the preamp.
checkMind the TS penalty: a TS cable on OUT 3/L costs you 6 dB against a TRS one.
Quad Cortex Wiki: Using the Quad Cortex with a Real Amp · Quad Cortex Wiki: Gain StagingGlobal Bypass
Global Bypass disables every cabinet simulation, IR loader and Neural Capture block across all presets simultaneously.
Use this when you play through a real amp and cab. One setting covers every preset, so no preset needs editing.