I have also noticed annoying frequencies with the QC right from the start (if using neural captures). By “annoying,” I mean sharp and unnaturally harsh. Initially, I cut at 3400 Hz, which helped, but quickly sounded too soft. Today, I read in another forum about an FOH engineer who always cuts at 6800 Hz when using amp modelers. That seemed crazy to me at first because it’s exactly double the frequency I was targeting. Anyway, I tried cutting generously at 6800 Hz on the Cortex and only slightly at 3400 Hz. I’m very happy with the result. It seems the problematic frequencies are multiples of around 1500 Hz.
But why isn’t this issue addressed beforehand? Maybe most people like it that way? Or perhaps that’s just how guitar amps sound when you hear them directly at the speaker cone?
Conclusion: I can largely confirm the problem and have more or less solved it for myself using the global EQ.
Guitar amp speakers generally go upto 7/8 khz max and lows about 80khz so I would cut anything above that range and most of the time 6khz is the highest frequency I’d let through depending on what I’m going for and what pickups are in the guitar .if using overdrives or distortions high frequencies get cut for sure…
I haven’t noticed any rogue frequency issues on my QC also your ears headphones speakers could have somtin to do with these frequencies being pronounced it’s worth it to check all the gear your using with the QC
I think what you are describing is a different thing. @sledge76 has noise on these frequencies without even playing anything.
I’d take such rules of thumb like “I do this for all modelers” with a grain of salt. It may be a guideline that works for them, but the reason is definitely not because all modelers over-exaggerate these frequency ranges or sound “harsh” per se.
How you perceive a sound has many variables, like the room, the speakers and the volume.
If you are used to standing in front of a cab then a lot of the higher frequencies will be lost, because your ear isn’t straight in front of the speaker. A modeler will sound like a miced amp in another room, probably with more high end.
If you play through headphones, your preset might sound great. Then when it is played at concert volume through FOH it can sound like shit because of the room and how frequencies are perceived differently at higher volumes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour)
In the end it’s up to you (or the FOH engineer) to dial in your presets/eq for the situation. But that isn’t a problem of the QC or modelers in general.
All correct, but i think that QC actually has artifacts on highs, in usable range.
Try recto or soldano in drop D and do 9th intervals on low strings with soft dynamics. Medium crunchs level.
On earth this behaviour Is a unbiased recto
Or BAD polarized tubes.
Also…welcome to aliasing.
Fractal, headrush, don’t have this, and playing with dynamics is very comfortable and they respects the string “soul”. QC in this field Is a robot
We are a minorance saying this…but…this it’ s all…sadly.
Actually i play with more fun Better models and QC Is waiting a future (y or n?) update, but shutted down.
I find it odd you say dynamics isn’t good on the QC am I right your saying that? If I’m wrong I apoligise…but having had the headrush prime 2 of them and tried the fractal for a while I would say my QC is pretty dynamic from high to low volume when I’m Pickin can’t say I’ve noticed an issue in dynamics personally
Not QC.
Some models of QC
High gain aka soldano recto 5150iii for example.
When you rise down the dynamic with pick, the behaviour Is not so good…and aliasing on highs (you have to cut yes… but there Is a limit…).
If for you Is good, no problem for me.
But there are to upgrade some things.
Not disagreeing with you just never noticed… But there amps I wouldnt use so that may explain why I haven’t noticed it… I must check them out though interesting that it’s noticeable
Yes. I get the rogue freq. sound even if the guitar is not plugged in. Please refer to the YouTube private short I made (https://youtube.com/shorts/lPVglaoWnwQ?si=BJqnozYN8hX32Iit). I get this result in other practice rooms with different amps and power supplies.
Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I am not the only person. If you can, could you consider capturing your problem sound and share to us? I wish to freq. analyze and see if it’s really exactly 3400 Hz or somewhere near where my problem which was at exact 1500 Hz (biggest) and 3000 Hz (second biggest, looking like a harmonic). Interesting part is that it is not like 1567 or 1579 like some random number but exact number of 1500 Hz.
Thanks for the detailed instruction @Wolf1 . The double gating technique is interesting and I will try to understand more in the future. I tried and unfortunately I am getting the rogue freq. sound at the sustain. Please view the private YT short I posted (https://youtube.com/shorts/rot_fmsRE1o?si=X6mbt95SJpK17WSS).
Yeah I watched your video before. I just wanted to make sure it was happening without anything plugged in.
It sounds like external interference of some kind. if this is happening on every preset you’ve made, and happens even with a blank preset, then it’s either a hardware problem with your QC or there’s some other electrical device in your space that’s causing it. It almost sounds like USB noise from a computer, but it’s not the same.
Have you tried moving the QC to another room in your house? does it make this sound when you’re out on a gig as well?
Looks like I have a problematic hardware then.
I tried in other rooms and the other place, our band room and it had the problem. Beside those two places, I haven’t tried. Maybe I will lend a QC from the owner I know and see if that different QC has the problem.
I tried putting the 2 EQs before the mixer and after the mixer. And I tried deleting 2 EQs altogether. All of the trials didn’t make difference. I still hear the 1.5kHz sound at the last sustain.
I would make a replacement with where you bought it. Must be a hardware problem.
Only problems I had with mine was when I tried to use a replacement power supply, the myVolts. It has an adapter to change the poles. That I think causes problems with noice in some situations.
Not at home but at the rehearsal room.
This is an interesting topic. I haven’t noticed this issue with my QC but I have it plugged in to a power conditioner. If it’s a power issue like harmonic interference, dirty power etc. a small UPS , power conditioner or a line filter should be able to clean it up. Is the problem consistent at different locations? I used to turn off neon signs anywhere near a stage because they would create havoc with tube amps. LED and fluorescent lighting can cause problems as well. I would experiment with turning things on/of even if they’re not in the same room or on the same circuit. A neighbor could even be introducing harmonics, emi, etc. in to the grid.
I’ve noticed what I think is the same thing as @sledge76
At 1500 Hz, there’s sort of a whistle present. I used the global eq on the outputs to cut with a narrow Q, sweeping up and down to find where it was. Fine tuning, it does seem centered at exactly 1500 Hz.
