Review: Quad Cortex vs Kemper

[alexreinhold]

I thought some people might be interested in this. I have been playing tube amps + pedals and a Kemper (thanks to Mark @TBurst Std ) for a while and while I love digital amps, I do understand all the subjective opinions regarding the unique feel of tube/cab. That's why I always kept a tube amp in my home studio (and often times in my live rig) - just to occasionally get that feel.

But I do think the sonic gap between digital and analog has vanished to almost 0. And that's why I am optimizing my rig towards digital (incl the portability pros associated with it).

Long story short, I recently bought the Quad Cortex and I will keep it (and maybe even sell the Kemper). Here's why:

• Sound: I hear no differences in quality between the two units
• Selection: Kemper has more (or too many?) presets on the rig exchange vs the cortex cloud but the Quad Cortex still has more available than I will ever be able to seriously try. Hence, the lower amount of availability is good news for me because it slightly reduces the rabbit hole factor.
• Volume: for some reason the Kemper is a lot louder which is a pro for the Kemper if you wanna play large stages with just one cab (some Quad Cortex users have been complaining about this)
• Feel: the Quad Cortex does feel a hair more natural than the Kemper. Just a hair though (but that might be in my head)
• Design: imo the Quad Cortex is by far the best unit on the market. Comparing it to the Kemper, it's like an iPhone 14 Pro vs an old Android phone. Neural DSP is really on the forefront of design.
• Usability: Quad Cortex is much better than Kemper. Huge display, incredibly intuitive UX, simple ways to build complex signal chains, etc.
• Creating presets: 100x easier on Quad Cortex than on Kemper
• Creating captures: haven't tried but seems to be the same
• Plugin support: you can pull the amazing (!) Neural DSP Plugins on your Quad Cortex. No such thing exists for Kemper
• Connectivity: small win for KEMPER as it support S/PDIF

Conclusion: I moved from Android to iPhone 3 years ago and will never go back (for various reasons). I feel the Quad Cortex situation vs Kemper is similar. Will definitely keep the Quad Cortex and enjoy every second of using it.

PS: never tried Helix or Fractal - maybe others can add info.

 

[aarontunes]

A very useful review. The UI of the unit itself matters a lot to me. I own the Fractal FM3, and while I think the sound is great the UI totally blows. I've messed with the Kemper I am not the hugest fan of that UI either.

It seems the QC and the Helix win in the UI department, and if the sounds in those are as good as the Fractal I don't see myself purchasing another Fractal unit.

 

[TBurst Std]

I can speak to Fractal and Helix.

Fractal for certain has more flexibility in programming and does sound better than the Helix.

An example of flexibility is the ability to change between parameters on an effect without scenes, patches etc. in my main patch, I have 2 delays. 1 can be either 1/16 or 1/8, the other either 1/8 or *1/8. I can run any possible combination of those even simultaneously. Can’t do that on a helix (I run one as 1/8 and the other as *1/8).
Another example is multiple paths. I can easily run 3 paths with 1 delay on 1 path, another with reverb, then another path with another delay. Nothing is acting upon/on top of each other. Can’t do that on a Helix. (2 paths max). I work around it by placing the 1/8 delay and reverb on the same path.

For live applications, the sound difference isn’t that significant. I am quite pleased with either.

UI- I use a computer to program both. Don’t even try doing it native on the product.

Portability- my Fractal is a rack with the foot controller. I could go floor unit, and may consider one. The Helix is a floor unit with an exp pedal. Helix for me is more portable.

 

[Bruce Campbell]

I like digital stuff enough to use it entirely except for issues of latency and how it affects feel/timing. I recently moved away from the Strymon Deco and Flint because of these issues - once I was in enough situations running one rig with, one without, in quick succession, the difference in feel with latency became very noticeable. Those are somewhat in neighborhood of .8ms latency each, I believe. I tracked this down after A/Bing extensively after the gig where this popped up.

Any thoughts on the latency factor for the Kemper/Quad Cortex/Fractal/Helix, even if only subjectively?

 

[TBurst Std]

Fractal and Helix. Not discernible.

Keep in mind Fractal is pro level gear. Helix has a number on inroads with pro Christian players.

 

[alexreinhold]

Same with Quad Cortex and Kemper. Both pro level, non discernable latency

 

[TBurst Std]

When I say not discernible, these units have much less latency than any wireless unit.

You’ve got recognizable bands touring with this stuff. Def Leppard, U2 etc

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Thanks for the replies on latency - I saw some forum posts where people mentioned that the latency isn't truly bad on any of the multi FX, but adds up once you factor in instrument signal wireless + wireless IEMs, compounding issues from one unit to the next. Clearly a ton of people are using them successfully, so hopefully whenever I consider these types of units again, specs/performance will only be better!