Good morning!
My name is Pedro Morales, and I am a musician, guitarist, and producer.
I have been a Quad Cortex user for over a year now, and I am truly impressed with this product—it is absolutely fantastic! However, during this time, I have had some concerns that I have now turned into suggestions. I would love for you to consider them and possibly implement them in future Quad Cortex software updates.
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Suggestions for Tap Tempo
One of the features I’ve really missed is the ability to store different tempo presets. Since I play live using a click track in my in-ear monitors, it would be incredibly useful to be able to save between 8 and 16 different tempo presets to assign them to different songs.
Ideally, there would be two Tap Tempo modes:
1. Live Mode: Works like the current Tap Tempo, where the user manually taps the tempo.
2. Presets Mode: Allows organizing a setlist with pre-configured tempos for each song. Pressing the Tap Tempo switch once would automatically move to the next preset in the list. This would be very helpful for musicians who work with a fixed weekly setlist.
Additionally, when pressing the Tap Tempo switch, a pop-up screen appears and takes a while to close. This can be inconvenient when you need to quickly switch to a scene or stomp mode. It would be ideal if this screen disappeared faster or if there was an option to disable it.
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Suggestions for MIDI Functionality
Currently, the Quad Cortex MIDI integration is functional but has some limitations that affect the workflow of live musicians. In many cases, guitarists need greater flexibility to control scenes, effects, and parameters without relying solely on the built-in footswitches.
- Expanding MIDI Scene Control
The Quad Cortex allows assigning 8 scenes to an external MIDI switch, which may be enough for some users but is quite restrictive for musicians who work with more complex setups. For example:
• In a single preset, you might need more than 8 scenes for dynamic sound changes within a song (e.g., intro, verse, chorus, solo, bridge, outro, different gain stages, etc.).
• If you use MIDI to control multiple presets without completely switching presets on the QC, the 8-scene limit can become a frustrating restriction.
It would be ideal to expand this limit to 20 or more scenes via MIDI, allowing for greater customization without needing to change presets, which sometimes introduces a slight delay in the sound transition.
- More Effect Access in Stomp Mode via MIDI
Currently, Stomp Mode allows assigning up to 8 switches to turn effects on or off within a preset. However, for guitarists who manage multiple effect combinations in a single preset, this limitation can be an obstacle.
It would be extremely useful if:
• More than 8 effects could be assigned to an external MIDI switch without switching presets.
• Effects could be grouped into a single MIDI switch, allowing more advanced combinations (e.g., turning on an overdrive and a delay simultaneously with one MIDI switch).
• Specific effect parameters could be controlled via MIDI, similar to how it is done on processors like the Line 6 Helix or Fractal FM9.
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Suggestions for Stomp Mode
Currently, switches in Stomp Mode only allow turning effects on or off, but it would be incredible if they could also modify effect parameters. This would open up many creative possibilities without needing to switch scenes or presets.
Implementation examples:
• If you have a reverb activated, you could configure it so that holding the switch changes the Mix and Decay, while a quick press only modifies the Pre-Delay.
• If using an octaver, a quick press could activate only the -8va, while holding the switch could activate only the +8va.
• For overdrives or distortions, you could adjust gain or tone in real time without switching scenes, allowing for greater expressiveness.
This functionality already exists in other processors like the Line 6 Helix and Fractal FM9, and it would be a fantastic addition to the Quad Cortex, making it even more versatile in live performance settings.
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I hope these suggestions are considered in future updates, as they would significantly improve the experience for musicians who use the Quad Cortex live.
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