I have the QC for over a year and I still can’t get it right. I am looking for a single kitchen-sick preset that includes clean/crunch/metal/solo scenes that is designed to connect to a guitar amp’s return fx, so no cab modeling. PLEASE HELP! it is a one year quest that presently lead to very disappointing results.
Hey! What amps have you tried for your tones? Before I got my Seymour Duncan Powerstage I was running my QC into FX return like you are.
Personally I’ve been finding the Rust and Hot amp models from Gojira have been working well, but before then I was using the Bogner Uberschall model and EVH III Red (peavey 6505 model may work too) amps in the QC for metal. I’ve boosted those with ts808 then tweak with EQ to taste, and used scenes to dial back gain. So I’ve set mine dialed back for rhythm/crunch, a heavy rhythm, then lead, with other scenes for common effects like wah and flanger that I use.
The US DLX 64 and 65 (based on Fender Deluxe Reverbs) do a good job for cleans, and have been running that with a compressor for the softer side. Hope that helps for a starting point!
Applying a downloaded do-it-all preset to an amp’s FX loop return will depend on the amp itself–some physical amps will play nicely this way with an external preamp patch, some may not. You haven’t mentioned which amp you use. Generally I would say that a power amp like a Duncan Powerstage or Orange Pedal Baby (which I use) is a better option overall.
I would still suggest building a preset from scratch. Start small, just trying to get just one tone dialed in at a time–clean, then crunch, then metal tones, etc.–and moving on to the next tone. Repeat until you’ve got everything covered in one preset that sounds good with YOUR amp. If you’re stuck getting a particular sound, the community is more likely to help with solving that, one at a time.
Beyond that, try to narrow down the field of amp tones to a few that sound good to your ears. I keep coming back to the same 10-12 amp block types, and maybe 4-5 overdrive blocks, for different presets that I build. I’m satisfied with them and it keeps me from reaching option paralysis.
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I ended up using factory presets for specific amps as a basis with minor tweaks. This worked well in a live framework, and I connected that to the PA. This seems to be the most balanced approach to get good sounds quickly. It would have been nice if NeuralDSP would put tutorial about how to set up QC for a live show.
Sooooooo much content available on YouTube for setting up a QC for live use.
I agree, I watched a lot of content BUT I wonder why NeuralDSP do not make it easy, I still need to figure things up. Why can’t I have a tutorial that is based on 1-3 existing factory presets that demonstrates how I can run a live show using the existing presets? and create 1-5 presets for Rock, metal, clean, blues, etc. songs with a few scenes. I spent a year trying to figure things out, I followed tons of content that never worked in real life, I bought presets that never worked, just to realize about a few days ago that I can use some existing factory presets and do a fairly good job there.
If you have spent a year trying to achieve this, you may not be capable of using it. It may not be the device for you.
If QC is only for professionals or audio Einstein’s then it limits a lot the device appeal. I disagree, I think QC is designed to be simple but they don’t spend enough resources on creating a simple factory preset framework and tutorials. The device needs to be useful out of the box, like an iPhone. My 2 cents.
This, 100%. I came from running a 4 cable method amp rig for rock/metal and this approach worked for me. Starting small with one lane into the FX return, or with a standalone preamp would likely be the best bet.
Get the core amp models in there that you like with your setup, then add the other effects and shaping from there to taste. If you try to start with a full preset it can be overwhelming so getting the basics first is likely best if the QC setup is a bit information overload
I agree with you. And it was useful to me out of the box and I was able to replicate most of my analog / tube rig within a couple weeks, and fine tune over a couple months. I am a hobbyist and rarely have more than 30-60 minutes a day to play music, let alone tweak knobs, etc.
But regardless of what it supposed to be or actually is, the reality is you havent been able to do that after a year. It shouldnt take that long to get value and usefulness out of a musical instrument.
It is for the masses, but not for everyone.
This is not a judgment or insult. I had an Eventide H9 that I always struggled to use, I had a couple useful effect but I could nevet get the full value from it. I was happy to sell it.
Dont get me started on the damn entry level Focusrite I could never get working for me lol.
My problem was not related to producing a good sound at home but replicating this sound when we go live on different PAs, Amps. I got to nice presets at home but they sounded not so great on the road. Finally, I focused on the existing presets centered around amps, and this played well at home and through PAs.