AXE FX VS THE QUAD CORTEX

I can't say what sounded better because you didn't compare them with the real amp. As for the sims. I agree with what you said.

Slick soundz

Thanks for making this. I agree with your assessment. I could hear the difference in the mix, but it was much more pronounced, obviously, in isolation. The AXE FX also seemed to be more mid range-y. I suspect these differences could be eliminated through EQ. Which do you find more intuitive to use?

Thanks for the test.

Quad sounds a bit better to me. BTW, what did you use for the drums? They're super punchy.

They are close..QC may be a little bit better

QC sounds quite muddy. The Axe has more clarity and note definition which I prefer.

Interesting - if it was blind, I'd have guessed the other way around from my experience of the QC and FM3. Fractal usually sounds darker and more compressed but it was the opposite here.

Those are very good tests but I realised having a lot of those in my channel that most people vote by what they have . It is an internal trial to defend your option so you vote in this one by your eyes and not your ears . In blind tests , after the result most people trying to say that the test have been made in a wrong way if they have failed to give credits to the unit they own … very egoistic approach I would say ….

AXE FX has more definition. but it really depends on what you are looking for.

For me they sound the same.

Here's my two cents being an amp, cab and pedal enthusiast that are dipping his toes into the modeler pond. Might be controversial.. just saying...

Let's start here.. i'm not a big fan of the hype train.. If it sounds good to you it's the gear for you.

Between these two i would use the Fractal audio stuff if i was to go direct ( studio use only since you need a computer to do the big changes.)

Regarding the QC It's a nice looking floor unit but the use of the touch screene and the layout on said screen i get a big Apple vibe. iPhones and iPads are very intuitive and easy to use, so i do get why there's a large majority that think that the QC are the end all be all.

so, that said. I went with a Kemper.
What the hell! you don't know what you are talking about?! you are using gear that came out ten years ago!! some of you might or will say..
Well, as i said on the top I've been using amps, cabs and pedals for twenty odd years, so when i was looking to get into the modeler thing for studio use and travel. I did look at both the Axe Fx and the QC, but i came to the conclusion that i needed something that looked a bit like an amp, and the Kemper head does to an extent. And on top of that it sounds good to me, and at the end that's all that matters.

I think both sound great! Does it really matter which one u pick? Both will give excellent results imo.

In isolation the Axe-fx sounds like it has more low string bite than the QC, but I think the extra low mids in the QC are making it's bite less prominent, as you can still hear it, but not as clearly as the Axe.
Prefer the Axe in this instance cause I love low string bite and grind, but I'm sure it's just a tweak away, your other video I couldn't tell the difference.
You can hear more difference in that Seymour Duncan-Merrow pickup shootout, the Nazgul cuts through every time in comparison

Once again the fractal shows why it's the target others are aiming for. This comparison is a closer match between the two than when you sampled one to the other. But the Fractal unit is clearer, has better definition when listened to without the other instruments. In the mix it can be heard as well but not to the same extent. Great side by side comparison and useful for those still on the fence about which way to go. For me, I still do not regret going Fractal! Cheers!!

Honestly, the difference between these two is so minor in this context that no one would have even noticed the difference had they not known that this was a shootout between two units. I think it is getting to the point where we are really splitting hairs here. These differences are so negligible that it is almost silly to waste our time analyzing things to this detail.

With that said, I am glad that she did the video so that we could see just how minute the differences between the two units is in a practical setting.

As expected, the tone differences are really negligible, and what's important for me with tone is that the character of the models are good representatives of what they purport to model. Both sound excellent. What I'm more concerned with are 1) the flexibility of the signal routing both on the digital and analog end so that I can patch internal and outboard elements any way I want as with an amp, pedal board and rack system and this between parallel and inline/serial paths, 2) how comprehensive it is that every parameter can be assigned to single or multiple MIDI controllers for variations either to toggle between any two values of my choosing for any parameter (such as sending one message to turn compressor off while turning distortion on, reducing verb wetness from 64% to 24% while varying delay for level from 36% to 24% then beat value from dotted eighth to quarter, moving amp gain from 30% to 70% while turning bass down from 50% to 30%, and then boosting amp level by 2-3dB) or complete variability (as with a filter that sweeps the cutoff like with synths or just plain post amp pre-insert-effects volume control).

Only one Sound Comparison...(?
Thats not enough to make a Judgement.

The cortex is snake oil

It's not even close- FRACTAL all the way. Also, FAR more effects and ability to adjust. It's a product that has had nearly a decade of development. A new FM9, if you can get one is all most players will ever possibly need.

Axe Fx has overtaken QC now with the numerous firmware updates.

Axe-FX sounds more usable & authentic to how an amp should work, clear notes, string defenition. Quad cortex sounds good but sounds like a photocopy of a photocopy of the Axe-fx where it's lost clarity and interaction of guitar/preamp stage. Too muddy in the low mids. highend whilst there in frequency is less defined and white noise esque. A bit like my kemper sounded when Profiling my BADCAT hotcat30. Generation loss. In a mix using one or the other a random listener is not going to pick up on that or care much. but recording artists/mix engineer's if they had both to use and to mix in they would pick the Axe-FX I'd bet. it's going to play/work better in the mix. good comparison

with axe the picking and the resulting growling is more articulate.. making it sound more rhythmic where as QC sounded more compressed where the pick attack isnt as prevalent.

distorted guitar..... stupid

Fractal is way better than Neural DSP. I played both and the Fractal is more dynamic and 3-dimensional and feels better to play.

Quad cortex sounds so much better

the power supply and the ground hum issues many people have with the QC is scaring me away from the unit, I don't care how easy it is to use, fractal still does modelling better, thinking of getting an fm9 turbo and signing up for cooper carter classes and just learn how to use the thing and not be lazy

Both sounded same