Quad Cortex for tube-like sound

Quad Cortex
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Hi everyone,

I’m a vintage guy at heart, playing a lot of blues, but I also dabble in modern fusion, pop, and rock. I’ve always relied on tube amps for their classic tone. Recently, though, I decided to give the Tonex pedal a shot, just to see what it offers.

To my surprise, the Tonex pedal has been fantastic – great sound and incredibly authentic dynamics when capturing stomps and amps. I even bought some additional captures for pedals like the Tube Screamer, Klon Centaur, King of Tone, and Morning Glory, and they’ve all been amazing.

Now, I’m wondering if the Quad Cortex can deliver a similar sound and dynamic response. Is it capable of matching what Tonex offers in terms of realism and feel?

I’ve had the Quad Cortex for a week to test it out. While the factory amps and stomps are decent, they’re not exceptional. However, once I started using captured profiles of stomps and amps on the QC, the sound came much closer to the Tonex’s dynamics and authenticity. It’s slightly behind, but still very, very good.

I’m seriously considering switching entirely to the Quad Cortex because of its simplicity, fantastic interface, and live/studio versatility.

I also have a Timeline, BigSky, and Mobius, but I’m debating whether to sell them. Ideally, I’d rely solely on the QC for everything – the simplicity appeals to me. Plus, selling the Strymons could nearly fund a QC. I know Strymons are slightly better for their dedicated effects, but pragmatism might have to win this time.

What do you think? Would the QC be a good move for me, both for tone and practicality? Any thoughts on selling the Strymons?

Looking forward to hearing your advice!

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I got my Quad Cortex in 2021. It was my first modeler and I didn’t know if I was going to like it. But within the first hour of playing my Quad Cortex, I stopped thinking about technical details (Does it sound “digital”? What input and output levels should I aim for?, etc.) and got lost in just playing guitar. That’s when I knew I was going to keep it.

If you can’t live without your Strymons, then keep them. It’s not difficult to have them wired up in the QC’s FX loops and add them to the grid. I use several external pedals with my QC because they all have sounds that the QC does not.

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That sounds reasonable… Regarding the Strymons, they’re great, but I’m considering living without them. The core point of my thinking lies in the amp and pedal sounds on the Quad Cortex…

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Experience is the best teacher. Try playing a gig with just the QC and see if it will satisfy your needs.

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QC routing: unbeatable

QC FX: very good level, 99% you can do what you want summed with routing possibilities.

QC tube likes amp: on MODELS i have Flex prime and in general (10 years of DIY on amps) Flex Is more autentic (behaviour and dynamics, without artifacts. On other side QC has a lot of aliasing that false the tone in dynamic response)

But Qc Is immediate and more intuitive for sounds, due free mic positioning on cabs

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As I said, once I started using captured profiles of stomps and amps on the QC, the sound became much better and more authentic, as well as fuller in dynamics… Could this be the answer for those of us seeking that vintage, dynamic tube sound?

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Mee too, +1
In past i was a strength Defender of QC models, but today i agree that captures are Better. In dinamics and mid highs/highs this Is really evident for me today (sadly because i like model approach)

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Definitely, captures are better. I’ve tested and made comparisons. Unfortunately, what really saddens me is that the best sound comes from the amps and pedals on Tonex. I wish Quad Cortex had such good sound… Nevertheless, I’ll switch to Quad Cortex because of its other features."

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I was trying to shrink my pedalboard; If the ToneX one had come out 3 months earlier, thats what I’d be using. The originals were too big.
However, I am glad I went with the QC. The tones are incredible with the captures I’m using and for my style (amps set floating between just before edge of breakup and just beyond it, depending on the capture);
I am running GFI pedals in the FX Loops and captured all my favorite drive pedals with them set at where I would normally keep them. The QC allows me to tap an icon, and adjust volume or gain on each pedal pretty easily without having to go into the menu thing of a helix etc, so it’s close to my original setup with all of the pedals. Plus I like that I can switch to an “all in one” pre-set should a pedal or cable go down in the signal chain. I’ve got an external tuner, and midi switcher pedals in addition to the GFI trinity, but the QC can do all of that with an easy preset switch if necessary to get me through a set.

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Have you tried capturing your ToneX pedal with the QC? That’s what I did and it worked great.

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Wow. I thought about it. Does it work? That would be great…

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I got good results from it. Give it a try.

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I will :slight_smile: I have some incredible stomps from Tone Factor for ToneX :sunglasses:

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I always say this, but for me the Amalgam Audio Captures are the best for vintage sound, The Marshalls, Fenders, Bartel Roseland.
There are some free captures on the cloud as well. Highly recommend for you to check them out:

I have a ToneX, too, but for me there is nothing missing

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Thank you, I will check it out.

“I have a ToneX, too, but for me there is nothing missing” - For example, when I compare the capture of a Tube Screamer, the Tonex Pedal has more dynamics and attack, more richness in the sound compared to the capture from the Quad Cortex. But maybe I should check another Tube Screamer capture for the Quad Cortex.