I’ve bought the QC 2 weeks ago, and actually there’s something strange about, i don’t know if is my guitar, (i have a schecter c1 + bare knuckle pickup) but the quality of the sound i can hear is kinda different from youtube video i saw. I have to say that i need to take Input Level of guitar at -5, because of my pickup input.
I’d like to know what’s the best Complete routing for you.
Actually i have the same problem on those two situation:
Home
Guitar → QC → Output 3/L ->Line Cable → MAudio Interface Input 1-> Pc →
Headphones (attached to the MAudio headphone out).
Band gig
Guitar → QC → Output 3/L ->Line Cable → Amp in → Cabinet
(i’ve tried to deactivate the cab sim, but sound really bad, am i doing something wrong?)
Thanks a lot, i’d like to know your type of routing and maybe a check on my routes some suggestion.
Can you describe what is different on your sound vs what you heard online? Was the youtube video using the exact same setup (guitar, etc)?
-One question, why did you need to change the level input of the guitar down -5? Changing the level input alters the “natural” way the guitar would sound. Every guitar will be a hotter or less hot signal when you plug into the QC, but that is normal. It would be the same if you plugged into a real amp. This may be one reason your sound was off. Were you clipping on the input signal? Also check your output levels on the QC and make sure you aren’t clipping. Any digital clipping is really going to sound bad through your DAW.
You might also consider using XLR cables to reduce noise into your DAW.
I hope this helps.
Also, what kind of amp and cabinet are you using in your live rig? How you set up for a power amp and full range cabinet is very different from going into a guitar amp and/or guitar cabinet.
I use it -5/8 because sounds clip really hard, i think is because my pickup has really high output, is better connected with XLR, but i have to be sure that my sound is the same on my headphones, and on speaker, because with my band mixer is far and Monitors too
I would suggest maybe starting from a blank preset on the QC and taking this one step at a time.
Don’t add any blocks to the preset yet.
Can you plug in your guitar, set the input level to 0.0 dB and strum? Where is the input level going to on the meter?
Most folks who run into a guitar amp plug into the FX return on the amp (so the sound won’t be colored by the amps preamp section) and bypass the cab block in the Quad Cortex. The sound will still be colored by the tone of the power section of the amp but usually less so than going through the preamp section. Also, plugging into the amp’s guitar input requires you to back way off on the QC’s output because a guitar amps front input is designed for a much lower, guitar level signal.
If you still have the speaker block active, you’re running a guitar speaker model through a guitar speaker. This usually leads to a pretty dark tone.
The sound is probably different from the YouTube video because you’re running the QC into a cheap M Audio interface. The preamps/ada conversion on those isn’t great. The QC would sound better through a real preamp/convertor. The YouTube video you saw probably had that. Aside from any preset/playing differences.
Running into the Marshall amp also could be weird because the amp models on the QC sound best when going through a clean power amp, and not a tonally colored power amp such as the Marshall. On helix they have specific Pre Amp models for running into a tube power amp. The full amp models have the power section modeled as well for QC, so it won’t sound great going into another power amp usually. I know people love to say “use your ears” but sometimes things are just fundamentally not going to work the way you’re expecting them to.
When running into the Marshall head you’ll want to go into the effects return, and not the normal input of it. From the original post it seems like you’re going into the input of the amp which is then even more tonally colored from the preamp.
I think the QC will sound better if it’s the audio interface. Of course the sound in the end will be dependent on how you dial in the QC preset, but you’ll have a better starting point with the QC a the interface. I have a cheaper Presonus interface for travel and I hear a big difference between that and my other gear at home.
Yes, I’ve tried both and ended up using the QC as the main interface through usb. This will get you closest to the natural sound of the QC. Also, have in mind that the tones you hear on most youtube videos are already mixed and post prosessed -.- So they are enhanced to sound reaaally good, and you will probably have to add a lot more EQs to match that sound, even if you have the same preset as they… And guitar and pickups will also “color” the sound…
At band gig, connect through the FX loop, your sound will be 10x better by just bypassing the preamps and stuff. Or if you have the possibility, just go straight into the PA system to get a feel for the sound in the preset you have
