AI can not understand anything. Zero. It can only predict the next most probably character or word and does that so good people think it ‘understands the world’. Well, it cannot. Yet. maybe one day, when AGI is reached. Until then AI will recommend it’s best prediction(s), which can be pretty useful, or useless.
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Just wanted to add my support for this idea! I was actually exploring the new Poly Endless pedal and thinking how incredible it would be to have this kind of AI preset generation built directly into Cortex Control.
I think the key difference between what ChatGPT can do now versus what Neural could build is context awareness. Neural knows exactly what devices exist in the QC, what the valid parameter ranges are, and could even learn from the preset library to understand common routing patterns. With RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) as mentioned above, you’d avoid the hallucination issues where ChatGPT suggests devices that don’t exist.
Ideal implementation for me would be:
∙ Built into Cortex Control alongside the existing preset browser
∙ Natural language input: “Create a John Mayer clean tone” or “Gritty punk with scooped mids”
∙ Generates 2-3 preset variations to choose from
∙ Shows you why it made certain choices (learning tool aspect)
∙ Optional API access for power users to build custom tools
Even as a beta/experimental feature, this would be incredibly valuable. The fact that Positive Grid is already doing this successfully with the Spark shows the technology is mature enough for production use.
Would love to see Neural explore this!
Anyone using AI to try and build tones deserves to get the wrong answers haha. ChatGPT is always so inaccurate l. Can’t believe anyone tries to use it for anything
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Instead of trying to shove AI into everything, try having some pride in your work and learn to dial in good tones yourself.
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i mean i understand the need of it. They just want to experiment around some presets and don’t want to spend much time with researching.
But i’m with you. I’m in love with researching the history of musicians and their sounds. I love re-creating sounds with what i have (and the QC can nail every tone on this planet tbh, even if the exact devices/captures aren’t in there often).
Personally i find it like a cheat in GTA, once you enable it, the game becomes boring. You simply skip the whole dopaminergic increasing process with getting to the goal directly. But this would start a ethical discussion haha
Not sure what reality you’re living in, but AI is part of life now. Not everyone has the luxury of spending hours and days tone diving to try and get the sound of their favourite artist or a specific tone.
For years, preset builders have been selling their presets, including for the Quad Cortex. It’s a powerful modeller with near-infinite possibilities, and not everyone understands how to dial in an EQ or achieve certain tones. That’s not a character flaw, it’s just reality.
Even as a starting point, an AI tone builder that gets you in the vicinity of what you want is a far better use of time than fumbling through it yourself from scratch.
There is no pride in doing everything the hard way. It’s 2026, not 2006. We have tools, and if you’re smart, you’ll use them. What’s your stance on tradespeople using power tools instead of hand tools? Or a restaurant using commercial appliances instead of doing everything by hand? Or a surgeon using a robotic arm instead of relying purely on their own hands?
Just because you’re against the use of AI doesn’t mean everyone else has to be. AI in 2026 is very capable provided the right context, were not in 2023 ChatGPT anymore, champ.
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Educational Tipps and tricks would be much better, then some ai doing something to my tone.
I understand the feeling, that everything seems overwhelming at first. But learning all the settings is part of the fun for me.
To start easy use presets and then learn from there.
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I’m in the I-want-to-dial-in-my-own-tones camp personally. But I wouldn’t mind if an AI tone building thing was built into the environment–most likely Cortex Control.
All I would ask is that there would be a way to completely disable it, and not have any kind of annoying pop-up or reminder that it exists.
“Hi there! I noticed you’ve been flipping through several amp models for the last twenty minutes! Do you want to tell me what tone you’re trying to get?” Ugh.
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Sure, a carpenter can use a hand saw. But if they’ve got a table saw sitting right there and they choose to hand-cut every piece of timber out of principle, that’s not admirable. That’s just inefficient. Nobody is hiring a builder because they refuse to use power tools. They’re hiring them for the end result.
Learning how to use it is literally what people would be doing using AI tone tools. They’re learning what settings get them closer to a sound, what EQ curves work, what signal chain choices matter. A theoretical AI tone builder would never be press a button and walk away. It’s a starting point. You still have to tweak, adjust and understand what’s happening. That IS learning.
It’s easy knowledge doesn’t cost you anything to say when you’ve got unlimited free time. For people gigging on weekends, working full-time jobs and raising families, time is the most expensive thing they have. If a tool gets them 80% of the way there in five minutes instead of five hours, that’s not laziness. That’s being practical.
And the we’re getting lazy and submitting to AI argument is the same thing people said about modellers replacing tube amps. And before that, it was the same thing people said about solid state. And before that, electric guitars themselves. At some point you have to accept that tools evolve and using them doesn’t make you lesser.
Nobody is stopping you from dialling in every tone by hand. Go for it. But telling other people they should too because it builds character is just gatekeeping dressed up as wisdom. Being a tool it would be completely opt-in, it should never be forced on anyone. Just like we’re not forced to use specific things on the QC, it’s a utility belt.
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I’m so tired of this argument. I know you know its a bad analogy.
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