Hi everyone. I bought a Quad Cortex about a month ago. I expect the sound to be like the demos on YouTube. However, the sound is muddy, and it seems too much bass even with the factory preset. Especially when I play the low E, A, and D strings. I have tried different amps and cab still the same. I am not sure if it is the normal sound or if my QC has an issue. My signal chain: guitar > QC input 1 > QC output 3/4 > MOTU M2 input 1/2 > Adam D3V. Could anyone help? Thanks
The preset I tried. I have also tried disabling the input gate, and nothing changed.
Try bypassing the MOTU M2 — connect the QC’s outputs directly to the Adam D3V monitors instead of going through the M2. This lets you rule out whether the muddiness is coming from the M2’s DAC stage.
If the low end tightens up and the mud clears when you go direct, the M2’s DAC (or its gain staging) is likely adding/coloring the low end. If it still sounds the same, the issue is more likely in the QC signal chain or preset itself, not the interface.
This is a very common thing from people who just started with modelers or a new modeler. Definitely try the method of going directly into the monitors. Usually the sound difference is from the preamps of their interface, or a preset that isn’t set up correctly
More than likely if how your preset is, or playing style. Modelers are less forgiving to muddier playing and muddier guitars than a real amp. What guitars are you using?
There is a certain brightness/liveliness modelers are lacking compared to a real amp, but not like the tone knob being rolled back.
I’m going to assume this issue is from how the presets react with your guitar or playing. I also wouldn’t use the factory presets as any sort of gauge. I don’t even both using them at all. Factory presets on these things are always terrible.
I am using Charvel san dimas hsh mj. I know what you mean. I can tell what is the normal sound quality. It doesn’t mean the tone will be good, but at least the sound is normal and flat, not overdriven. I have tried putting a clean amp and a cab only. And the sound I heard is like when you hear the speaker has too much bass. I expect the sound quality at least the same to the demo on youtube. I mean the sound quality, not the tone. So I want to find out what reason would that be.
You could try an eq and remove low-end and hi-end from the amp/preset check the cab for high and low pass filters and any effects you have in the preset.. Lots of info on the net to get an idea of an actual amps frequency response.. Usually from around 75hz to 5/6khz and adjust these parameters by bringing them down or complety removing anything above or below…
Dumb question, I know….but assuming you have new strings on the guitar? Many artists I’ve worked with have had issues like this, only to then realize the last time they changed their strings was weeks prior
i had pretty much the same issue when i stated with the QC. here’s some tips that helped me. try the hipass and lowpass on the cab block, change cabs until you find a less muddier one, use an eq block or use the jewel compressor in which you can turn up the tone so it can be brighter, use the bright switch on certain amps, ecc ecc. the hard part is that you have to experiment with these things and do a little bit of tweaking here and there, and it depends also from the type of speakers and from the pickups you have on the guitar. for reference on the cab block i always take out the bass from 74 to 100hz and it helped a lot. note that these thing may very depending on what you’re using. hope this helps.
There are much more experienced QC users here than me, and many of the problems/solutions I list might be specific to me, but as I have struggled quite alot trying to make it sound good through my Kali Audio UNF-LP’s here are a few comments
I had a small mixer between the QC and the monitors, but I was never able to make it sound good. Mixer/DAc coloration, I guess, and harder to succeed in gain staging. At least for me.
I got better results going out through the 1/2 (XLR) outputs than the 3/4 outputs (using TRS cables for both). The 3/4 output is very hot. I am using XLR - TRS cables now, but I can’t remember if that actually improved anything over TRS-TRScables I just had to try all options
Check that playing music/songs does not sound muddy or very bass heavy through the monitors, ensuring the monitors and/or their positioning is not the problem
I have always experienced too much bass in the presets, and I have never been able to EQ it out, without making everything sound thin. However, for me the crossover functionality in the splitter actually works great. i wish there would be an EQ block as effective as that.
The QC presets are made for specific guitars, so you will always have to tweak them.
The QC cabs can sound harsh, so play with the mic position/distance in them - in addition to the the high and low cuts
A preset that sounds good on headphones will not sound good on monitors
A preset that sounds good as is, will probably not sound good with a backing track and/or in the mix with other instruments
The Youtube demos will always sound better, because they are always processed through Logic Pro or Pro Tools, adding/removing things
Not sure if this helps but if you use a compressor try lowering the compression. At 100% it rounds out the tone and it sounds less “crispy”. Especially with overdrives.
One thing worth checking: the Adam D3V has a maximum input level of +9 dBu. QC Outputs 3/4 can deliver up to +15.5 dBu with balanced TRS cables (+9.5 dBu with TS). So if you went QC 3/4 straight into the D3V with TRS cables, you could have been overloading the speaker’s input stage — which would explain why connecting directly to the speakers didn’t change anything. The low E, A and D carry the most energy, so they break up first, and it comes across as mud rather than obvious distortion.
Easy way to test: in the QC I/O page, drop OUTPUT 3/4 LEVEL by 12–20 dB and bring the volume back up on the speaker end instead. Swapping TRS for TS cables also takes 6 dB off. If the low end tightens up, it was a level problem rather than a fault.
Thanks for your advice. I have tried all the outputs. I have also tried input 2. The sound is the same even when I use headphones through the Quad Cortex and my interface. The only setting that helps is lowering the input level. However, once the input level is lower, the tone is gone. The sound is clearer indeed, but it became thin and weak as well. And I have seen many videos on YouTube. People simply add an amp and a cab block and can get quite a decent sound. So I doubt that my Quad Cortex has an issue or something else.
What amp + cab are you trying to use for the clean and distorted sounds? I would let lower the input level of the QC seeing what type of guitar/pickups you have.
I’d suggest a different amp. Those amps aren’t actually super clean. There’s usually a slight bit of gain happening. Have you tried other cabs? Those influence the tone a lot.
