Neural DSP

101
AUGUST 2021 GUITARIST
REVIEWNEURAL DSP QUAD CORTEX
9
takes just a few minutes. The results are
really good with just a little post-capture
tweaking needed to get the taken global
snapshot pretty indistinguishable from
the real thing – whether that’s the sound
of rig, or a single amp or dirt pedal setting.
You can then store it in the QC, integrate
it as a block into presets and maybe gig
with it, without having to take the original
equipment out of the house.
Sounds
The Quad Cortex is naturally responsive
to play through and has some great-
sounding amps, with the usual familiar
favourites covered. The actual modelled
amps are variations on less than 20 guitar
amps and a handful of bass amps, but
these are supplemented with Neural
Captures and, once you are part of the
Neural community, there are loads of
other users’ Captures available to load
into your machine. There are effects in all
categories, but not the variety you’d see
in some rival floorboards; there’s no plate
reverb, for instance. However, Neural says
it is committed to expanding the amount of
virtual devices and tells us there’s a major
update on the way with significant changes
and features.
Verdict
By now, you’ll all know the amount of
different scenarios a unit such as this can
be used in. Versatility is the name of the
game and the Quad Cortex definitely has
it. But does it outstrip the competition?
Well, in certain ways… While its collection
of models, particularly effects, is a work
in progress (Neural is inevitably playing
catch-up as other companies have been
refining and adding to their hardware units
for years), there is plenty of potential there.
It has size and portability in its favour,
its user-interface is outstanding, and the
Neural Capture is an excellent facility.
Overall, it’s a powerful addition that pushes
the boundaries of the genre.
Each footswitch has a
rotary encoder that twists
to adjust a parameter value
NEURAL DSP
QUAD CORTEX
PRICE: £1,449
ORIGIN: Finland
TYPE: Amp and effects
modelling floorboard
FEATURES: 2GHz Quad-Core SHARC
architecture, Wi-Fi, 8-in/8-out USB
audio interface, tuner, MIDI, 2,560
presets, tap tempo
CONTROLS: Touchscreen, capacitive
power button, Volume knob, 11x
footswitches, 11x rotary actuators
CONNECTIONS: XLR/standard jack
combi inputs (1&2), standard stereo
phones output, standard Capture
out, XLR Main outputs (1/L&2/R),
standard outputs (3/L&4/R),
standard Send (1&2), standard Return
(1&2), EXP 1, EXP2 , MIDI In, MIDI Out/
Thru, USB, S/PDIF digital out
POWER: Supplied adaptor 12V DC 3A
DIMENSIONS: 290 (w) x 190 (d) x
49mm (h)
PROS Compact and portable;
innovative touchscreen operation;
ease of editing; Neural Capture
facility; Neural Cloud for fi le storage
and download; good USB interface
capability; versatile connectivity
CONS No computer-based editor;
no looper; lacking in some areas
of eff ects