FM3 VS Quad Cortex

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Severed said:
I've read through the answers the QC guy Doug has provided on that gear page thread. I think people are over dramatizing the cloud thing because they are not knowing all the facts. It's not going to be apple/iTunes way of skimming profits and controlling content.

Further, they will expand to include redundancy and old ways of transfers, just won't be available in the beginning, apparently.
Doug has had plenty of opportunities to unequivocally reassure potential buyers. All he'd have to do is pledge that eventually users will be able to manage all data for the QC from their personal computer without going through an NDSP server. In spite of the ongoing and obviously damaging controversy, he has declined to do that.

You may be right, but I don't see any evidence to support your assertion.
 
Not that I would buy one. Who knows though. What happens if you purchase a lot of presets/captures and NDSP goes out of business. I would hate to think that I would lose all of that money I invested. That is probably unlikely to happen, but still always a possibility.
 
Not that I would buy one. Who knows though. What happens if you purchase a lot of presets/captures and NDSP goes out of business. I would hate to think that I would lose all of that money I invested. That is probably unlikely to happen, but still always a possibility.
I'm still pissed about Jammit, a great backing tracks app in which I had sunk 4-500$ into buying a couple hundred tracks. When the company went down the drain my purchases went with it as the tracks were hostaged within the app which could not operate without signin.
 
I'm still pissed about Jammit, a great backing tracks app in which I had sunk 4-500$ into buying a couple hundred tracks. When the company went down the drain my purchases went with it as the tracks were hostaged within the app which could not operate without signin.
That’s why I use the Capo app or use backing tracks from Elevated Jam Tracks. Karaoke Version has some really well done covers where you can chose what instruments/vocals to keep while jamming.
 
Hey guys! I currently have an Axe FX III, but I am considering switching to something smaller so I can have a backpack/pedalboard style rig. I’m not sure what to do, I just want less bulk and great sound. I play prog metal.
Any suggestions?
I tried the Quad Cortex at NAMM last year, I own several NDSP plugins, and I got an FM3 last month.

The short answer is: FM3 without a doubt!

Long answer:

I've been using NDSP plugins since the end of 2018, and I was very excited to try the QC at NAMM last year, as it seemed to be the perfect digital rig, combining the best features of all the modellers on the marker, plus some more. The unit is very beautifully designed, and as I got to sit down with it, I was ready to have my mind blown, BUT 🤯🤯🤯...to my surprise, not only it didn't sound as good as the NDSP plugins, but it sounded and felt worse than the L6 stuff! If I recall correctly, I tried the BE100 and the JCM800 on the QC, which are amps that should wanna make you pick harder and really rock out, but the mojo just wasn't there. Everything felt kind of flat. As this was a over year ago, I'm sure the software has improved, but hearing the new YT demos, I still hear some of that plastic that I felt at NAMM, and I still think the plugins sound better than the QC. Interestingly, the plugins I really like are supposedly modelled at the analogue component level, and they won't be compatible with the QC until they're converted to their machine-learning-based black-box modelling.

Now, comparing the QC to the FM3, the QC has a lot of extras - cough mostly gimmicks cough - but for my personal use case, the only ones I'd care for are:
  • Extra footswitches: I do wish the FM3 had more, and there'd be space for them.
  • The Cab block: the FM3 is packed with tons of great IRs, but the 3d Cab block in the QC is very neat!
  • Ability to process multi amps/cabs: I do wish the FM3 allowed for dual amps/cabs, within the CPU limitations obviously.
I personally don't care much for captures/profiles, as they're never as good as the source, and they're not really full captures of the source anyway, they're captures of the source at certain static settings 🤮🤮🤮 This is just my personal opinion, but I see why folks oriented towards the Kemper might enjoy this, and the QC seem to capture a bit better than the toaster.

So, where does the FM3 score its big win against the QC? THE F*CKING SOUND!

The truth is, no other company has nailed the sound and feel of tube amps like @FractalAudio has.

I had been alternating between NDSP plugins and the HX Stomp (📽️ which I find to be in a similar league, despite what the dark web says 📽️) for a while, but I always went back to real amps+load box for recordings I really cared for, as I was always missing something.
This has totally changed for me over the last 3 weeks, since I got my FM3, and for the first time I'm not missing playing through a physical tube amp!

🤘😝🤘
 
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Kind of like when you buy lifetime free updates in Cakewalk.

What is the issue with Cakewalk? It is totally free, and the program is standalone (no cloud dependent). It would still work if they suddenly disappear or decide to charge for the new versions. Furthermore, the young billionaire Kuok Meng Ru, BandLab's CEO, has repetitively expressed his personal commitment to maintain it free and updated.
 
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I tried the Quad Cortex at NAMM last year, I own several NDSP plugins, and I got an FM3 last month.
  • Extra footswitches: I do wish the FM3 had more, and there'd be space for them.
  • The Cab block: the FM3 is packed with tons of great IRs, but the 3d Cab block in the FM3 is very neat!
  • Ability to process multi amps/cabs: I do wish the FM3 allowed for dual amps/cabs, within the CPU limitations obviously.


🤘😝🤘
Where is the 3D cab block on the FM3?
 
I tried the Quad Cortex at NAMM last year, I own several NDSP plugins, and I got an FM3 last month.

The short answer is: FM3 without a doubt!

Long answer:

I've been using NDSP plugins since the end of 2018, and I was very excited to try the QC at NAMM last year, as it seemed to be the perfect digital rig, combining the best features of all the modellers on the marker, plus some more. The unit is very beautifully designed, and as I got to sit down with it, I was ready to have my mind blown, BUT 🤯🤯🤯...to my surprise, not only it didn't sound as good as the NDSP plugins, but it sounded and felt worse than the L6 stuff! If I recall correctly, I tried the BE100 and the JCM800 on the QC, which are amps that should wanna make you pick harder and really rock out, but the mojo just wasn't there. Everything felt kind of flat. As this was a over year ago, I'm sure the software has improved, but hearing the new YT demos, I still hear some of that plastic that I felt at NAMM, and I still think the plugins sound better than the QC. Interestingly, the plugins I really like are supposedly modelled at the analogue component level, and they won't be compatible with the QC until they're converted to their machine-learning-based black-box modelling.

Now, comparing the QC to the FM3, the QC has a lot of extras - cough mostly gimmicks cough - but for my personal use case, the only ones I'd care for are:
  • Extra footswitches: I do wish the FM3 had more, and there'd be space for them.
  • The Cab block: the FM3 is packed with tons of great IRs, but the 3d Cab block in the QC is very neat!
  • Ability to process multi amps/cabs: I do wish the FM3 allowed for dual amps/cabs, within the CPU limitations obviously.
I personally don't care much for captures/profiles, as they're never as good as the source, and they're not really full captures of the source anyway, they're captures of the source at certain static settings 🤮🤮🤮 This is just my personal opinion, but I see why folks oriented towards the Kemper might enjoy this, and the QC seem to capture a bit better than the toaster.

So, where does the FM3 score its big win against the QC? THE F*CKING SOUND!

The truth is, no other company has nailed the sound and feel of tube amps like @FractalAudio has.

I had been alternating between NDSP plugins and the HX Stomp (📽️ which I find to be in a similar league, despite what the dark web says 📽️) for a while, but I always went back to real amps+load box for recordings I really cared for, as I was always missing something.
This has totally changed for me over the last 3 weeks, since I got my FM3, and for the first time I'm not missing playing through a physical tube amp!

🤘😝🤘
I wouldn’t really put any weight on you playing it a year ago. All commentary from people who played it then to now is that it has significantly improved over the past year. I think we’ll truly find out soon enough the next month or two if it stacks up.
 
A concern I'd have about the Quad is that it may turn out to be a jack of all trades, master of one (or two). For example, the "capture" feature might be very good, but the modelling might not be, etc. Time will tell.
 
I wouldn’t really put any weight on you playing it a year ago. All commentary from people who played it then to now is that it has significantly improved over the past year. I think we’ll truly find out soon enough the next month or two if it stacks up.
I'm sure it has improved, and I'm sure it'll keep improving over time, though if I take their plugins as the benchmark for the quality of NDSP amp modelling, I think Fractal is superior. Don't get me wrong, I've been using NDSP plugins for years and I love them, but when I got the FM3, the tone quality felt like an upgrade, hence I'd recommend it over the QC.
 
I wouldn’t really put any weight on you playing it a year ago. All commentary from people who played it then to now is that it has significantly improved over the past year. I think we’ll truly find out soon enough the next month or two if it stacks up.

People have been saying that for 6 months!
 
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