I’ve zipped through every Factory preset. Some 7 meet my style. (60 - 70 Rock)
I’ve zipped through every Factory capture. Some 10 have use (for me)
Admittedly when they are good, they are very good, but overall they seemed to blend into high gain and distortion in extreme and clean that is either pure clean (that broke up on volume with little headroom) or sent into Dr Who credit music mode.
The 50 Amps seems rather limited, with few if any Boutique models, and tend towards standard high gain (or Fenders), Marshall, Mesa, Soldano and Friedman and substantially less than the Fractal or Kemper options.
So off I went to the cloud to explore:
I have little or no idea what amps, pedals, FX, Distortion or Cabinet were used. So I don’t know if I’m meant to add a cabinet, or not. So not impressed with the Cloud at present, but accept it’ll improve with time.
Spent lots of time Setting up a Midi Foot controller, and concluded that I could get better control over my Kemper.
Firstly I’m not complaining … I think the Quad is incredible will be the go to unit - though at present with limitations.
I really want some fantastic Amp blocks (Carol Ann, Bad Cat, Dumble, Trainwreck, Dr Z etc.
I really want some incredible FX blocks
I really want the cloud to have better description of the preset components before I download.
I think the gain levels need to be expanded. They seem to go from 7 to 9, missing all the other settings.
This applies to other items such as Rotary and Tremolo.
But the sound is all they said it was … (I’m just not a head banger)
So Conclusion to date - I have 10 to 15 go to Preset/scenes that are fantastic. Better than my other units. I’m going to tempt fate and gig with the Quad this Friday, but can’t help feeling a little disappointed that it’s still got quite a way to go to meet Studio needs, and fill in as my complete Live rig.
I agree… Cloud needs a few refinements… at the moment it’s a bit of a mess, as you said, there’s no way of knowing what you’re going too get and a lot of the time it’s a bit “hit and miss” (more miss than hit unfortunately.
With that said, I had my first rehearsal with my QC tonight and it sounded great but more than anything the “feel” was fantastic… seriously, if Neural can sort out a few functional issues such as switching and Wah auto on/off, this thing is going to be a real serious piece of kit!
I’m ecstatic to hear it’s got Doctor Who Credit Music Mode! A hidden feature, I guess.
Some sort of generally-accepted format for capture descriptions would definitely be helpful. I see some with just a vague name and no explanation whatsoever, it’s a real guessing game out there so far. A universal template would sure be helpful!
off to favorite the ‘would you care for a jelly baby’ preset now…
thanks for you honest thoughts so far… I’ve not made my mind up yet… I want to hear from someone that has done a head to head comparison of the AxeFX III Mark II vs the QC… that’s the 2 choices for me.
I have an axefx III and just got my QC last week. They’re both great and I don’t think you can go wrong with either.
They both have their own strengths and weaknesses, I think it just comes down to what features are most important to you.
The QC wins in terms of UI, form factor, ability to capture, portability, and feel.
The axefx wins in effects(currently), in depth amp tweaking, and overall horsepower.
Both sound great to me, but I do think the QC breathes a little more than the axefx. That could be due to something I’ve not tracked down in a sub menu in the III, however.
If I had to pick, I would choose the QC because it suits my needs a bit better. That said, I don’t plan to get rid of my III any time soon.
I would agree with this and I have Cygnus running since released.
Not only effects but also amps and cabs. The QC is lite in both of these areas. I am hoping they come through in large amounts here because there is much potential and the models it does currently have are great. For the price though, it should have a little more with it from the start as far as amps and cabs.
thank you Axe FX III owners… one little gripe I have (pre-ownership) to the QC is the closer footswitches… most modelers and loop controllers have switches about 3" apart… the QC is closer to 2 3/4" apart… with my Boss ES-8 I hit the wrong switch from time to time while I’m singing and they’re 3" apart… so I really don’t want something with closer switches… on the other hand: if I got the Axe FX III I would definitely be getting the FC-12 with it… switches are 3" apart… there was a decision early in the planning for the QC to make it smallish… that cut down some features… and pushed things a little tighter together.
I don’t know if this will help at all, but I do vocals for my band as well and I’ve only used the QC in a full band setting once, but I had no issues hitting the switches I intended to. I wear size 10 shoes, and they’re typically boots so they’re fairly wide. I was a bit concerned about that myself, but so far, no issues.
I have 13s and I will hit 2 on the FC12 if I don’t pay attention. You will just have to work on it so you are comfortable. The spacing side to side is similar. The top row is up similar to the MC8. Once you hear the sounds you will make it work. Concern, yes. But when you hear what you are getting you will say that you can deal with it.
my “wrong footswitch” issue is going into and out of a guitar solo on a song that I’m singing lead on… more often the coming out of a solo part and I have to hit a vocal right then… it’s mostly a matter of doing it regularly… like gigging regularly… huh? what’s that?
Yes. I installed it as soon as soon as the beta release let go. Made a huge difference in dynamics and sound quality.
The QC is that plus.
I spent some time yesterday checking my captures against my amp and then against the 3 model. If it was closer I’d sell the QC and wait until later when things have developed. It’s far enough apart that I will keep the QC.
I have been working on the main template preset to arrange effects etc. so I could have a “kitchen sink” setup to contain whatever I could want. I was concerned about the ability to cover all the effects I have in the 3 along with channels. I was able to get close enough that it will work for me. I have 3 delays that I can engage to get close to a multihead and also run separately so it is working for me as to my needs without limitations. There are things that are not ideal but still work adequately. Gone are the days of needing multiple amp settings. With the QC and Axe you can literally have 1 amp setting and use your guitar volume to get your clean, mid-gain and gain sounds - they are that dynamic. The QC is even a little more so to tell the truth.
The only thing left for me is waiting for the FM3 to get cygnus and make sure they are identical sounding with the Axe3. If so I will no longer need or use the Axe 3, but may keep the FM3 for effects supplement and backup just in case.
