FM3 VS Quad Cortex

[BBN]

The one thing I like about the QC (that unless I'm wrong, we can't do with our Axe IIIs or FM3s), is the profile/capture using a tube amp and a 4x12 acting as a load box.
I have a Kemper in the basement, and I keep it around for just that purpose. A friend gets a cool new tube amp, cool - I profile it with the Kemper. I've got a bunch of great tones in that box. I have also fed that info my Axe III and done a tone match, but without a load box, I can't do that directly in the Axe. That kind of makes me want to dump the Kempe and grab a QC, just for that purpose (as it seems the QC profile is a little more dynamic than Kemper).

 

[Mr.Modeler]

Yeah what he said, QC is way more like a toy and the FM3 with the Austin Buddy Gold pack has been the Bomb for my metal tone and everything in-between. QC does sound big but in a fake way to me, and hard to get them to sit naturally in my mixes

You are one of the early testers?

 

[Smilzo]

The one thing I like about the QC (that unless I'm wrong, we can't do with our Axe IIIs or FM3s), is the profile/capture using a tube amp and a 4x12 acting as a load box.
I have a Kemper in the basement, and I keep it around for just that purpose. A friend gets a cool new tube amp, cool - I profile it with the Kemper. I've got a bunch of great tones in that box. I have also fed that info my Axe III and done a tone match, but without a load box, I can't do that directly in the Axe. That kind of makes me want to dump the Kempe and grab a QC, just for that purpose (as it seems the QC profile is a little more dynamic than Kemper).

You need a load box or you fry any component in a line input!!

 

[Romo82]

It doesn't matter how much I look at the QC, it just doesn't seem road worthy to me. That lovely brushed chassis and nice touchscreen would look like shit after a bit of road use I reckon. It just doesn't seem robust, no kick bars or rubber bumpers and the switches with their rotating feature seems like an obvious fail point. Almost seems like the Apple iXXX of modellers especially in its packaging. More design went into the box than the road worthiness it seems. Disclaimer i love Apple but i have them over protected with cases, screen protector etc as you know they break, scratch etc. so easily whereas the FM3 is a Nokia 3310.

Sound wise Neural have fantastic sounding plugins so if its the same code being used in the QC i have no doubt it would sound incredible. In fact i was using Neural plugins the whole time I was on the FM3 waitlist but haven't used them at all since getting the FM3.

But the biggest factor for someone on the fence and considering early adoption of QC over getting the FM3, it would come down to pedigree for me. As others have said, Fractal had years of experience and field use to put in to the FM3 and that would be the swing at least until a lot of real world reports come back for QC.

And obviously the price difference is significant.

 

[Randalljax]

It doesn't matter how much I look at the QC, it just doesn't seem road worthy to me. That lovely brushed chassis and nice touchscreen would look like shit after a bit of road use I reckon. It just doesn't seem robust to me, no kick bars or rubber bumpers and the switches with their rotating feature seems like an obvious fail point. Almost seems like the Apple iXXX of modellers especially in its packaging. More design went into the box than the road worthiness it seems. Disclaimer i love Apple but i have them over protected with cases, screen protector etc as you know they break, scratch etc. so easily whereas the FM3 is a Nokia 3310.

Sound wise Neural have fantastic sounding plugins so if its the same code being used in the QC i have no doubt it would sound incredible. In fact i was using Neural plugins the whole time I was on the FM3 waitlist but haven't used them at all since getting the FM3.

But the biggest factor for someone on the fence and considering early adoption of QC over getting the FM3, it would come down to pedigree for me. As others have said, Fractal had years of experience and field use to put in to the FM3 and that would be the swing at least until a lot of real world reports come back for QC.

And obviously the price difference is significant.

I think the biggest fact would be its pretty much a product still in beta and development , they have pretty much said it
we don't have a release timeline at the moment

 

[Romo82]

I think the biggest fact would be its pretty much a product still in beta and development , they have pretty much said it
we don't have a release timeline at the moment

One of the worst things Neural did in my opinion was take it to NAMM last year, it certainly made me much less impressed/interested after seeing the reports and vids from there. Even Rabea's early vid didn't do it any favors with me, sounded hissy and very cheap.

Post Edit:
I just realized they actually have it next to a MacBook Pro for size comparison on the website! That's almost sealed its fate for me unless phenomenal performance is reported from the wilds.

 

[RevDrucifer]

It doesn't matter how much I look at the QC, it just doesn't seem road worthy to me. That lovely brushed chassis and nice touchscreen would look like shit after a bit of road use I reckon. It just doesn't seem robust, no kick bars or rubber bumpers and the switches with their rotating feature seems like an obvious fail point. Almost seems like the Apple iXXX of modellers especially in its packaging. More design went into the box than the road worthiness it seems. Disclaimer i love Apple but i have them over protected with cases, screen protector etc as you know they break, scratch etc. so easily whereas the FM3 is a Nokia 3310.

Sound wise Neural have fantastic sounding plugins so if its the same code being used in the QC i have no doubt it would sound incredible. In fact i was using Neural plugins the whole time I was on the FM3 waitlist but haven't used them at all since getting the FM3.

But the biggest factor for someone on the fence and considering early adoption of QC over getting the FM3, it would come down to pedigree for me. As others have said, Fractal had years of experience and field use to put in to the FM3 and that would be the swing at least until a lot of real world reports come back for QC.

And obviously the price difference is significant.

Agreed on all points.

My buddy is in the market for a modeler and LOVES my AxeFX III, but he certainly doesn’t need all the bells and whistles. I’ll be dialing in 95% of his presets anyway. I told him to just get an FM3 and be done with it, but knowing how he’s not exactly technologically proficient, I thought the QC might work out better for him since it’s drag and drop. However, until those things have been in the hands of user’s and tested for durability, I won’t advise anyone to drop $1600 on them.

My first questioning about it was based around those encoders. When gigging in New England during the winter, you’re not going to be able to prevent dirt/salt from getting all over it unless you keep it behind you and use a MIDI pedal to control it. I had switches fail on my GCPro and I’m assuming it was due to the dirt/salt getting in there. Never mind beer and booze getting spilled on it. And it’s funny, whenever that gets brought up, someone inevitably asks, “How often does that happen? I’ve never had that happen once!”.....well, ya need to play some more VFW’s and dive bars. If someone from the audience wasn’t spilling something on my board, I was.

I could imagine one good rum and coke on those encoders would do a great job at gumming them up once it dried.

 

[RevDrucifer]

I think the biggest fact would be its pretty much a product still in beta and development , they have pretty much said it
we don't have a release timeline at the moment

That’s another thing too. Not to start a forum war, but over on TGP there’s a bunch of people slagging off on Cliff for saying “Wait until you guys hear Cygnus”, while having a tried and true record of success and has continued to hold the flag of the modeling community for nearly 20 years. Meanwhile, we’ve had a year of some of the most hyperbolic claims I’ve ever seen in guitar marketing for a product that’s still a beta and they clearly weren’t even close to having a finished product when those initials claims popped up.

Either they went that route knowing the hyperbole would create enough of a stir that it would start marketing itself through discussion, or they really believe that it’s going to be the next level of modeling, before having a finished product to back it up. Either way, from the clips I’ve heard so far (everyone but Quale’s) I haven’t heard anything mind blowing as of yet. Rhett’s review, in regards to effects, said it still has a way to go, to which Doug mentioned that Rhett is more interested in vintage-based effects. Rhett’s not even much of an effects guy outside the standard stuff you’d see on someone’s board, so if those basic things aren’t up to par yet, then it’s got a long way to go before it can live up to it’s claims.

 

[Dave Merrill]

So if I’m comparing a quad to a Helix I will have to add the cost of 1 extra footswitch and an expression pedal?

IMO every product has a concept. I don’t want more switches for my fm3, but if I had a Quad Cortex I would use all the ones available. But it would cost me 60% more.

Off course that depending on your needs and situation you will have to adjust the equation of value... it’s just that you can’t generalize that to compare prices.

I believe a lot of fm3/qc actual/potential buyers are gonna use them as desktop units... what’s the value for the footswitches for them? In that case a boss core would be the better value?

They're controls too, not just footswitches, like Helix only different. Having all those possible actions was a definite plus on Helix, and it only has touch, not rotate.

 

[toesalad]

I could imagine one good rum and coke on those encoders would do a great job at gumming them up once it dried.

I hear what you are saying, but in all fairness, nobody said the FM3 would be immune to this stuff either. It has buttons and encoders on the top, they may not be built-in to the foot switches, but I can’t imagine rum and coke would fare much better there.

 

[AngusV]

I've done a lot of You tube surfing looking at reviews of the cortex. My conclusion based on that is that the AXFXIII is still the product to beat. And to that end I have just gone ordered one. But delivery seems to have been stuck in the snow on the East coast. Lol

 

[Romo82]

I hear what you are saying, but in all fairness, nobody said the FM3 would be immune to this stuff either. It has buttons and encoders on the top, they may not be built-in to the foot switches, but I can’t imagine rum and coke would fare much better there.

That's true, very hard to make an electronic device like this water proof and still function as needed but like I said there's not a single kick bar or rubber bumper anywhere to be seen on the QC.

 

[Douglas Costa]

Those switches can be a source of problems, a point of failure, and I think they are not cheap to replace.

 

[IronSean]

Hi, the price comparison isn't correct. to make them comparable you would have to add the FC6 since the quad has more buttons and my impression is that most users have added buttons in some way to their fm3.

Actually I sold my FC6 after getting my FM3. More buttons would be nice, but I couldn't bothered to drag two of those around with me, and I can make it work with just the three.

I've done a lot of You tube surfing looking at reviews of the cortex. My conclusion based on that is that the AXFXIII is still the product to beat. And to that end I have just gone ordered one. But delivery seems to have been stuck in the snow on the East coast. Lol

I think even QC admits Axe FX III is still the product to beat. You'll notice their marketing says "The most powerful floor modeler ever!" which is a deliberate move to sidestep the fact that the Axe FX III still trumps it on outright horsepower on top of having a mature models and effects library and industry leading model quality.

 

[Mr.Modeler]

It doesn't matter how much I look at the QC, it just doesn't seem road worthy to me. That lovely brushed chassis and nice touchscreen would look like shit after a bit of road use I reckon. It just doesn't seem robust, no kick bars or rubber bumpers and the switches with their rotating feature seems like an obvious fail point. Almost seems like the Apple iXXX of modellers especially in its packaging. More design went into the box than the road worthiness it seems. Disclaimer i love Apple but i have them over protected with cases, screen protector etc as you know they break, scratch etc. so easily whereas the FM3 is a Nokia 3310.

Sound wise Neural have fantastic sounding plugins so if its the same code being used in the QC i have no doubt it would sound incredible. In fact i was using Neural plugins the whole time I was on the FM3 waitlist but haven't used them at all since getting the FM3.

But the biggest factor for someone on the fence and considering early adoption of QC over getting the FM3, it would come down to pedigree for me. As others have said, Fractal had years of experience and field use to put in to the FM3 and that would be the swing at least until a lot of real world reports come back for QC.

And obviously the price difference is significant.

I would say you’re exaggerating the weakness of the switches. They’re designed for years of abuse and have been extensively tested with high loads. Unless you’re playing in a pig pen, there’s no reason the unit would look like “shit” as you say.

 

[Romo82]

I would say you’re exaggerating the weakness of the switches. They’re designed for years of abuse and have been extensively tested with high loads. Unless you’re playing in a pig pen, there’s no reason the unit would look like “shit” as you say.

Fair enough but I say you’re under estimating/acknowledging the realities of road use on equipment like this.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Actually I sold my FC6 after getting my FM3. More buttons would be nice, but I couldn't bothered to drag two of those around with me, and I can make it work with just the three.



I think even QC admits Axe FX III is still the product to beat. You'll notice their marketing says "The most powerful floor modeler ever!" which is a deliberate move to sidestep the fact that the Axe FX III still trumps it on outright horsepower on top of having a mature models and effects library and industry leading model quality.

I could have sworn it claimed to be the most powerful modeler ever when it was first announced. I could be wrong, but I remember the forums lighting up over the marketing. I’m actually discussing this over on TGP right now, where someone said most of Neural’s hype has come from the Neural fans, not Neural themselves. Meanwhile, one of the last plug-ins they released pictured Nolly hunched over a bunch of amp heads as if he took an electrical engineering class and could just look at them and figure out what were the best parts of each to turn into a plug-in.

 

[RevDrucifer]

I would say you’re exaggerating the weakness of the switches. They’re designed for years of abuse and have been extensively tested with high loads. Unless you’re playing in a pig pen, there’s no reason the unit would look like “shit” as you say.

Extensively tested how? High loads of what?

Due to my own gear experiences, I’m weary of anything that hasn’t been put through a snowy winter in New England, where like I said above, EVERYTHING gets covered in dirt and salt. Every bar floor is covered with it, every stage gets covered in it. Unless you’re bringing a fresh pair of shoes to put on before a gig, the shit gets everywhere. I’ve had to replace switches as a result of that in the past and those were just standard switches without any kind of encoders.

R&D is all good but until it’s out in the hands of people and truly put through the rigors of gigging in less-than-optimal climates/situations, I’m not sure how extensive “extensive testing” is.

 

[ESW]

knowing the hyperbole would create enough of a stir that it would start marketing itself through discussion

I think you nailed it. As of this writing, the TGP thread is north of 12,800 posts for a thing that hasn't even shipped.

 

[Severed]

Extensively tested how? High loads of what?

Due to my own gear experiences, I’m weary of anything that hasn’t been put through a snowy winter in New England, where like I said above, EVERYTHING gets covered in dirt and salt. Every bar floor is covered with it, every stage gets covered in it. Unless you’re bringing a fresh pair of shoes to put on before a gig, the shit gets everywhere. I’ve had to replace switches as a result of that in the past and those were just standard switches without any kind of encoders.

R&D is all good but until it’s out in the hands of people and truly put through the rigors of gigging in less-than-optimal climates/situations, I’m not sure how extensive “extensive testing” is.

You are probably not the target consumer, just saying....