No news dear Neural DSP? I want to leave Microslop 
Is this something that is at least considered from Neural?
- You already have Linux knowledge as the Cortex runs Linux.
- It likely only requires providing the USB driver for Linux to have it recognized as device, which on Windows did not change for over a year. So besides the initial port it does not add a lot of maintenance. And as mentioned, the Control app installs just fine in Bottles, it’s just that it does not see any USB device.
- There this thing going on to move away from Big Tech, you would thus actively help people in doing so.
- No other vendor has such Linux support, it would be a unique selling point.
I don’t understand why the Quad Cortex does not offer full Linux support.
Isn’t it based on Linux itself?
Anyway, I am looking forward replacing my Kemper, but I will only do it for a device that offers Linux support.
If Quad Cortex offers it, I will buy one the next day.
I ditched windows in 2001 and only use Linux (Manjaro), even my wife follows suit a few years ago. So I had to fix an old laptop with windows just for the QC and that totally sucks.
So YES, Linux support asap please. Do what Morningstar did…
So with Steam users the Linux market share is now over 5%, which is more than twice as much as the Mac share Steam Hardware & Software Survey, yet Mac is supported and Linux remains unsupported. Yes, it’s still a lot less than Windows, but how much more than Mac does is need to be to no longer get ignored?
Leading the way in supporting Linux gets you a lot of goodwill from Linux users, just look at Valve. Look at REAPER, getting a free 1.2M views ad for simply being the first major DAW to lead the way is not too bad.
And now Fender Studio Pro has a Linux version, will Fender’s Tone Master Pro beat the QC to it?
Come on Neural!
Linux now at 7.51% marketshare!
It’s been really encouraging to see how much the attitude toward Linux support has changed in recent years.
The usual “the user base is too small”, “we don’t have the resources”, etc. seem to turn more and more, into “sure, we’ll look into it” or even “you got it, we’re on it”.
That’s a pretty significant shift.
Here’s the response I got from GFI System when I asked about a Linux version of their SV Studio software recently:
This is a very important feature! Windows 11 is terrible, and Windows 10 is at the end of its support, the only way forward is Linux. There’s more and more support for Linux over time, and music software has to get there too, and soon!
I cannot recommend the Quad Cortex to anyone anymore, not until the Cortex Control will get Linux support.
Really? Even to the 93% of people who don’t use Linux?
What would you recommend?
One of the big reasons I went with the QC was the large screen and UI on the device itself, especially since, as far as I know, none of the controller software for any of the modellers supports Linux (yet).
Since I have to dial in everything directly on the device, the QC seemed like the best option for me.
If anyone is fine with using Microslop’s Windows 11 or Apple’s Mac, that’s fine with me. I’m speaking for myself here as someone who sees Windows 11 as an untrusted operating system and doesn’t have a use for a Mac. So yes, since this is an important consideration when paying a lot of money for an amp modeler/multieffect, I wouldn’t recommend it right now, because I see Linux as the future for many of us in the long term.
The fact that 93% of people don’t use Linux (currently) is unrealated and doesn’t mean that we as customers of NeuralDSP don’t deserve to have full support regardless of OS. Would you consider buying the Quad Cortex if it only supported Mac and didn’t support Windows for example?
As a musician who wants to move away from Windows I realize the heavy sacrifices I have to make, certain DAWs and plugins I like will be unavailable for a long time, but there are many alternatives. I paid a lot of money for the Quad Cortex and its Cortex Control is one of the most important aspects of it for me, and a critical function out of all of my equipment in general (other crucial equipment will work fine on Linux).
True, and this is the same reason I went with the QC as well, however, I refused to buy it before NDSP announced a release date for the Cortex Control, accessability and comfort are very important to me in all of my gear, especially with the Quad Cortex.
While I find its physical and software interface useful and comfortable for small adjustments and quick tuning, it’s a complicated piece of musical gear and I have some presets that are impossible for me to configure on the Quad itself, I have to have the Cortex Control program so the Quad will be truely useable for me.
If I were to not have the Quad Cortex already, and was already on Linux for everything else, and no other modeller would support Linux desktop control, I wouldn’t buy any of them. Simple as that.
Also, you guys may be laughing at me and mocking me, but this is extremely important for me. I want to keep this topic alive and this discussion raised so NDSP can be aware of the need for this feature.
Even if they only would do Cortex Control only, I would be migrating to Linux an hour after the release of CC. I only use PCOM plugins so I can live without that support for a long time (if not even forever) because the iLOK thing is the major obstacle and that’s out of their control…. All the other stuff not only audio but everything I use on a PC has native support for Linux or via Wine (which I already tested out) or I can happily live without, but not my precious CC
Precisely. I’m pretty much in this situation.
As far as I know the QC itself is already USB class compliant and works on Linux with Pipewire/Pulse Audio (though I may be wrong). Though I don’t use it as a sound interface personally.
It’s Cortex Control that is still bounding me to Windows. As soon as a Linux supported CC would be released, I would start working on a full migration immediately, leading to a fresh start on Linux. Whatever software I will have to give up for now (Cubase, Fabfilter, NDSP Plini, etc.) will stay behind and replaced with a Linux alternative.
Additionally, if any other modeler will be out with Linux support before the QC, I might start considering buying it and getting rid of the QC so I can move on.
A couple of notes, if Cortex Control or iLok VSTs are the “last things” tying you to Windows:
You can use Cortex Control on Linux by using a Windows virtual machine (or WinBoat, which sets up the VM for you, making it pretty easy). You just pass the Quad Cortex USB device to the Windows VM. But it is a bit fiddly, because the USB device is connected either to Linux or the Windows VM, so you can’t use it as a sound card in Linux while using Cortex Control in the Windows VM. Wine doesn’t work here, because you can’t pass USB devices to it. So yeah, a native version would definitely be much better.
You can also get iLok VST plugins working on Linux (through Wine / yabridge), although that’s a bit fiddly, too. And when Wine is updated, iLok might detect that as a “new PC”, so you might lose some of the seats on the license due to that. Hasn’t happened to me yet. Apparently what you’d need to do is to report the “old PC” (old version of Wine) as unusable in iLok License Manager. That request goes to Neural DSP (who “usually approve it within 24 hours”):
https://support.neuraldsp.com/help/getting-back-lost-activations
Like I said, both of those are a bit fiddly, but work well enough once you get them working. So, if you really want to get rid of Windows, those two reasons shouldn’t be stopping you (but I’m not volunteering as Linux tech support, sorry).
I know if you’d really really want to switch you can, but it’s not garantied it will always 100% work… and I’m using the QC as an interface so the USB passthrough isn’t an option
I appreciate your attempt at offering a practical workaround, however:
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I was aware of this solution and consider it as an absolute last resort. I don’t want to “fiddle” with the Cortex Control or VMs in order to get it to work. As I wrote earlier, comfort and accessibility are absolutely crucial for me here, I NEED CC to open quickly in one click and have it running in a stable manner.
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I still have to use Windows in some form in this solution, so I’m not getting rid of Windows here, I’m still bound to it.
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This topic is about requesting a feature, the feature we are requesting is Linux support for Cortex Control, it’s not a discussion about workarounds or about if or when we should have Linux support, but that NDSP need to add this feature.
Same thing with the iLok VST, you shed light on another issue here, though it’s not related to this topic, this should be on a different topic (probably). I don’t think that any musician should “usually” wait 24 hours in order to gain access to the VST they paid for because of a software update.
Hopefully this solution can be useful to someone who doesn’t mind those problems, but it’s not the case for me here.
I’m already on Linux (and have been for 15+ years), so for me this isn’t a “last resort”, it’s just the only way I can use Cortex Control, without using another computer with Windows/macOS (or dual-booting).
Cortex Control is one of the only things I use a Windows VM for, and with WinBoat it’s practically “transparent” that I’m even using a VM, it’s just a slightly ugly looking window (because it has Windows styling, so it looks out of place with everything else). You could call that “still being tied to Windows”, but at least it’s not your main OS anymore. You’re cutting the cord, but there’s this one little yarn left. And you don’t really have to look at it, and you don’t have to pay for a license (knocking on wood, that could change at some point).
But while this “works”, I definitely still want a native version of Cortex Control, I’m not at all disagreeing with you there. But for the time being, this is the best you can get on Linux.
And for the iLok plugin “within 24 hours” thing: that’s to get that one seat on the license back. Unless you’ve already maxed out the number of seats, you can still use the plugin as before. Basically the same thing happens if you reinstall Windows, and forgot to deactivate the iLok seat before that. Just iLok being iLok. I think it’s much less likely for Neural to get rid of iLok than for them to make a Linux version of Cortex Control.
Personally, I’m not interested in jumping through hoops to get things working on Linux when it’s not officially supported. I know there are ways to get the Neural plugins to work on Linux, but as long as there’s no official support, I’m not interested.
In other news, Meris has a Linux build of their prEDITOR software 
