Hey guys, recently got my quad. I’m running it through a power amp into a cab but it just isn’t sounding good no matter what I do? I’ve tried different Amps, overdrives etc and it just sounds fizzy and muddy, it’s not the cab as it sounds great with a head! Any suggestions ?
I run my QC into a Seymour Duncan powerstage and then In to a 4x12. Playing around with putting an EQ block in the QC chain helped me get the tone I wanted. Also watch your output levels from the QC into your power amp. I cut mine down because I used to have issues of it sounding bad and clipping going into the power amp. Possibly look there?
Looked at all that 
something just doesn’t add up, I’m using the orange pedal baby 100 which is a good power amp and all the presets just sound like ass, I have a £500 Blackstar head that sounds way tighter than this almost 2K piece of gear
Rule #1 of QC into a power amp: turn off any cab blocks in your preset(s).
Ensure you are disabling or routing around the cab block. Are you using XLR outs or OUT3/4? If OUT3/4, are you using TRS or TS cables?
All cab blocks are off!I’ve even turned them on to see the difference and it sounds better if they’re on which makes me believe something is wrong
what physical cab are you using?
Something is DEFINITELY wrong if it sounds better with a cab block on.
I spent a long time A/B’ing a JCM2000 DSL and the QC’s JCM800 into two 4*12s in a room and I was getting pretty close (bar the obvious amp differences). There was definitely something different, but I eventually put it down to the cabs being in different parts of the room.
Yeah, I also think something isn’t right with a setting or something. I use QC > Powerstage 170 > 4x12, and it sounds great. I use Peavey 5150 and EVH 51503 blocks for my high gain tone, and I also happen to have both of those real heads in the band rehearsal room. I did some A/B tests for fun and the QC sounds nearly identical to those heads going through the same cab.
Might help if you include some more detail on your power amp and cab, and shared the presets you’re using. What kind of sounds are you going for?
I am still pretty new to the QC but I have been very happy running from out 3 into the effects return (power amp) of my 5150 block head and to my 4x12 cab. Also into the return of my Quilter Microprocessor Mach 2 effect return and my open back 1x12 with an EV12F, although not quite as sweet as the 5150 setup. And my Bose headphones also have good sound from the headphone out. The headroom for dynamics with the 100 watt power amps is awesome. I use the same cabs/IRs for all three setups and do not find it hurts the tone. The only things I have to do when switching between the three is to change the volume, at the right level for the headphones I peel paint off the walls with the amps, and I think I will need to copy all the pre-sets with the reverb and delay levels raised for the amps compared to the headphones where I hear the reverb where I want at a much lower mix than with the amps (maybe because the overall volume is so much lower?) and the delay as well even at single digit settings.