Timestamps where Rabea plays the same thing: 32:53 K (Pos 4 hairier) 32:57 QC 28:19 K (cocked wah) 28:16 QC 27:01 K 27:04 QC 27:06 K (excessive/woofy bottom end) 27:16 K 27:20 QC 27:24 K 27:40 K 27:36 QC 22:35 K (clean) 22:23 QC 22:54 K 22:47 QC --- The Quad Cortex sounds more accurate to me than the Kemper, which is what you want when profiling your own amps The lower end wooliness and cocked wah are pretty noticeable once you hear it The feel is important too I own a Kemper, but my QC arrives in a couple of days This video was one that sold me on it Thanks Rabea! I have some great profiles on the Kemper so I'll probably keep it as well unless I can replicate everything and it becomes redundant
If I want to hear how a pedal or an amp sounds I'm checking your channel first. Simply because your playing is outstanding, the riffs are amazing, songwriting is stellar and your comments are always spot on. I don't really get all the fuzz about the last upload, but I guess you're in a similar spot as other tech youtubers with apple vs android. I thought this comparision was more than fair!
Those are stupid people trying to get world's validation for their purchase..simple as that. They close their minds when someone has a different opinion about their stuff.
Were people insinuating that because the kemper struggles with profiling Victory amps, it wasn’t a fair test? Surely if we are focusing on which is the better profiler, and one product cannot profile certain brands well whilst the other can, that’s indicative of one product just being better, not indicative of the test itself being unfair.
Who knows man! I just wanted to make sure all bases were covered, and so I saw that comment about victory amps, and so I figured I’d just go one further and make sure to do another amp
@@RabeaMassaad Well certainly now, no one could accuse you of bias! I think it’s a testament to your integrity that you put in the effort and remade the video.
@@TobyJBall To my ear I didn't get the feel that the Kemper was struggling with the Victory amp. But the QC is sounding nice a close to all the original amps Bea tested. If I had a Kemper, would it be enough to make me switch? Nah, probably not. But as someone who doesn't own either I think the reviews out there make the QC the clear choice. Also, that Mayones....damn I want one.
No. People were saying the first video wasn’t a fair test because Rabea did not go through the refine portion of the profiling process. As Rebel says in this video, going through that process did make a difference.
@@DavidEidelberg Yes I understand that, but it also seems as if people had complaints he was profiling the Super Kraken because it’s a PCB amp. That seems like a poor excuse to me.
How can anyone dislike this? The guy went back to do it “right” and peeps still came to the video just to dislike, wild. Keep up the good work man don’t let haters get you down or waste your time.
I have the utmost respect for why he did this but I actually think the first approach made more sense. He compared the raw tones that have been digitally created. The QC was incredibly close to the real thing already. The Kemper just wasnt (to my ear). Yes you can fine tune the result. But for me the real value of the product lies in the things it just does for you without you fine tuning the end result. Just my two cents.
@@metalpuppet5798 fine tunig is part of the profiling of the amp, so if you don't do it it's like doing only half the work, not fair for the Kemper. But the QC still wins this one IMO.
Amen brother! Keep enjoying what you are doing and making great music and content. There will always be haters and that means you are doing something right!
Sad to say I'm embarrassed by my fellow human beings who seemed to make you feel that you needed to redo your video, and particularly that some feel justified in making personal comments, rather than non-personal observations on the sounds. Credit to you Bea for the way you've handled it - I do hope that as you say, you don't let the inappropriate opinions impact you in any way.
its about the way the user interface and the quality of the captures that makes it feel good playing it that matter to us. not a brand, just what the people at the helm of the brand can deliver for us.
I've followed Bea for around 8 years going back to the ChasinJade times. I've been lucky enough to meet him a few times too. He's the most down-to-earth bloke you can meet and throughout the hundreds of reviews he has done, has never been biased when reviewing a product. His opinions are made very clear in all videos and nothing is ever fabricated. It's an absolute credit to the man to have re-filmed and edited a 45-minute comparison which is free for everyone to watch. I think it's easy to take for granted how much effort goes into these types of videos. Fair play to the lad.
Completely reshooting a video and re-editing? Yeah. Absolutely. Some people would have said, "tough shit. If you don't like how I did it, do your own video comparison." This dude says, "You know, you might be right, let try to get the most accurate comparison out to you. Sorry about that." Fucking stand up dude, and to me says a lot about his character.
I really enjoy Bea's demos, and I've been following him for years. He usually provides quality information, and the production value is great - and because I know what types of sounds he goes for and how his setup sounds, it's easy for me to get a good idea about whether a product is something I might enjoy. However, Bea doesn't make reviews - he demos stuff and is paid to do so by the manufacturer or distributor of said product, and that by default means that he is biased towards them and their interests. And I think he's usually really good a the balancing act of providing quality information to his audience, while also promoting products - many RU-vidrs fail at this task. And the reason he had to do this video again, is that when you're paid by Neural to make a video, and then compare it against one of their main competitors then you really have to make sure that you cover all the bases, otherwise his opinion is worthless. It doesn't matter what the truth is (i personally doubt that he was scheming against Kemper), but the second there's even a whiff of that going on, and he can be suspected of doing it - the whole thing falls apart. He obviously realised this and decided to be transparent and do it again.
HEY Rabea! Don't worry! Thing is that people have expectations when viewing reviews, and they'd mainly like this or that type of sounds or textures demoed, or this or that feature. And there is no way that any reviewer can run through ALL what such modern and complex devices are able to process. So, in the end, we all need to check BY OURSELVES, and that's it. Just a question of personal taste.
They both sound pretty fantastic, and as a Kemper user, I’ve definitely noticed many of the things you’re hearing (especially the compression/feel characteristics the Kemper imparts). It’s why I prefer Axe-FX/FM3. Very excited to get the QC in and make some tones. One thing I like about KPA is its ability to really tweak a profile using things like Definition, Clarity, etc. Do you feel the QC offers these kinds of parameters via things like EQ’s or other types of effects blocks? Thanks Rabea!
At ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wIWcHVknyqg.html Rebea talks about the algorithms being newer. I think there's a lot to that. Ditto on can't wait!
i took the dive and purchased a Kemper last year (never regretted it for a second) i absolutely love it. But this Quad Cortex sounds amazing, seemed to capture a more authentic / sharp sound. Not enough to justify getting rid of the kemper but its really cool to see the tech progressing. Cool vid as always
I'm a Kemper user too and totally agree. I notice the slight 'wooly' tone especially whilst recording with the Kemper. Nothing to lose any sleep over but its there. It can of course be ironed out with a bit of tweaking and then some eq in post but that Cortex did sound better and more amp like. Good vid!
This is the kind of mature and chilled out response the world needs more of, not the defensive bile that the net has in abundance. Good luck to you sir.
I am also a kpa user and love it, the cortex sounds more realistic, but at this time my kpa will stay. In fact it is so i took a lot work to make the profiles so that they sounds right to me, i m happy with it. There comes always new gear, it is a rabbithole. If you bought an old marshall it has its own character, you will not sell it, cause theres a new one. Summary each gear has its own character, its the player who has to become a better player not the gear.😊
But I have to say watching a ton of these types of videos, f this was a Kemper promo video they would do the profiling, then play the Kemper profile back and it would sound amazing.
They look to be the same price pretty much at Andertons and Thomann.. I hadn't really looked into the Quad Cortex much yet, so had just had it passing through my mind with osmosis.. I was thinking of it favourably.. thinking it must be half the price of the Kemper or so.. bit surprised to see the price
Didn’t see the last video but think this was 100% fair comparison. I love my Kemper and can’t see me changing it out anytime soon but definitely think that the Quad Cortex did a better job in capturing the amps natural sound. It was damn close. Good job Rabea and don’t let the haters get you down!
@@joshshultz1250 totally agree. How can you possibly think that tech that was created 10 years ago isn’t going to have good competition! If you like your Kemper then that’s cool, if you prefer the QC there’s no big deal. People prefer different tube amps and it’s no big deal!
Totally agree. Keeper users should be more than happy that their 10 years old product still get free features updates, and sound that good compared to the latest and greatest.
As a Kemper owner I have to say it's a good review. The QC sounds good, but I am still satisfied with my Kemper. In the end it's just a tool to make music, no reason to get upset about it, I don't do that either when there is a new overdrive pedal
Great video dude. As a Kemper owner I must admit the QC sounds clearer and cleaner. Just a tiny bit. The whole "what sounds exactly like the amp" thing to me isn't that important. I just want an usable great sounding different range of tones to play and record. Both of them can give me that. There wasn't a single tone that I wouldn't use to record. All sounded great. We had this war when the Helix was released, I'm pretty sure this kemper Vs QC thing won't last that long. KEMPER is 10 years old. Still sounds great, but QC is superior in terms of technology and capabilities. Do I need one to replace my Kemper? Hell no!! Great job dude, this is a great video.
It's a fair point, to say that the Kemper's process should include the refine feature, but to attack your integrity is a foul reaction. You shouldn't have to defend yourself when giving an honest opinion based on subjective analysis. IMO, the Kemper DOES sound good, too, but I've watched a bunch of comparisons now, and all say the same three things against the Kemper that made me choose the QC over it... 1. Low end sounds slightly muddier or muffled 2. It has slightly more gain, or distortion applied to the profile, and 3. It doesn't have quite the same "feel" as the Reference or the QC. Add those reasons to the fact that the QC is a modern design, smaller, better UI and menu (making it far more intuitive and simple to use), easier ways of storing and sharing tones, and being able to capture pedals... I've made the choice to go with the QC. The one downside I've heard about the QC, is that the onboard effects are not quite as good as the Kemper, but this can all be updated with patches later on (another thing that is easier with the QC), so I'm all in. I really hope you (Bea), Martin Kid (of Victory Amplification), and Michael Britt get into making Captures for sale soon, too. Because I've got cash to spend on delicious tones!
Just a general comment to everyone: If you're chasing tones and you're after new gear - and can afford it - then that's fine! If you're already the owner of some older gear and it still works - and you already found your tone be happy - why change? Get the next, newest, bestest thing when you need to. Either way - can I have your old thing please?
@@DeltaLimaBR must be nice living in a bubble where you think every country (or most countries) has an income that can cover a $2000 piece of gear. Imagine being that dumbass
About the profiling yeah but kemper isnt bad at all. But the feeling i get from a Kemper is more my taste. At the end the people need to test both and then decide
@@dvaoa there is a difference between getting an amp exactly...and getting a good sound. The Kemper always sounds good, even if it's a little bit off in comparison. Moreover, Kemper is probably more robust and has better effects..German made...etc..
Can't judge the Kemper by the profiles. You can find some really shitty profiles for the Kemper that sounds worse than the worst PoDXT sound or super good tones that sounds like coming from a real amp in a room. I recommedn the JTM profiles or CHP or TJ profiles. Depending if you like rock or metal.
Imo, if the Kemper struggles with certain amps, that's kinda its own problem. It's completely to fair to compare same amps and if the other one doesn't work well with them, that's just a con to add to the list.
I bought a used Kemper for my band and for what has accidentally turned into my home studio. Couldn't be happier with it, really. It's offered so much flexibility and allowed for so much experimentation a real amp just wouldn't and that it can stand up this well to technology a decade later is a testament to how well made it was. Then again, I never cared for how accurately it captured a specific amp, just that I found sounds I liked. The Quad Cortex sounds great and sure does seem to surpass it, but not by as much as I perhaps expected from something so much more modern. So if anybody made it through that block of text, I do have a question. My kemper can run a real cab, does the Quad Cortex have built-in power and capability to do that?
I'm sure there will be. There's no Poweramp in it but nowadays no one needs one in modeles. Just go through the FX loop of your amp or buy a cheap ass solidstate Poweramp for like $100.
Hi Rabea, long time subscriber, first time commenter here. I have immense respect for your professionalism and integrity in these videos, they are second only to your playing, which is an inspiration to me (especially when you play strats and tele's! ). I'm sure everyone else viewing feels the same. All the best from Australia!
Rabea mate, you shouldn't need to apologise to the people who think you're "fake" whatsoever. If they can't get that across in their heads that you're (A) Extremely humble and honest about these things, I've met you myself and can confirm haha and (B) Extremely knowledgeable too, I've watched pretty much every single video since you started your own channel and even as a bassist, I've learnt a metric shit-tonne that I've been able to put into my own musicianship and my band... If they can't see it, then that's their problem dude! Fuck em and crack on with the sick vids and sick tones!😂👌🏻🔥
Rabea is an absolute dude and being so close to NDSP and the QC he's in an impossible situation here. To be fair though, £1500 is a LOT of money so it is understandable that people are trying to weed out hype and marketing, of which there has been a ton, from honest opinion. For example, do you think if Rabea had done this comparison and Kemper was still beating the QC on certain amps/tones that those would make it into this video? What I don't get is the animosity towards guys like Rabea who contribute so much to the community whilst also having to make a living. I think questioning the context to some of these videos is valid, especially when so much money is at stake but the aggressive nature of the comments is just pathetic. As you say, fuck em!
To me it sounds like the Kemper takes away a little bit top end and adds a little bit of gain, wich adds some natural compression, i guess. I actually liked the Quad Cortexmore more, because it sounded closer to the reference amps to me, plus: i like the concept of the Quad Cortex. I mean there's a neural network programming the profile simulation, wich is cool. That doesn't mean it's better or worse than anything else, i just like to see new technology in action. So yeah tone wise it's the quad cortex for me.
Great comparison Bea, I must say the Quad Cortex sounds a lot clearer, the Kemper sounds a bit woofy. Great attention to detail mate, this must of been a long day filming this.
The pod go sounds good, but not as good as the Kemper or QC( Not even in the same league or ball park). There's a reason why things are cheap and why things are more expensive. You get what you pay for.....keep that in mind. I do like the look and features of the QC, plus the touch screen is awesome as well, but it isn't enough to convince me to sell my Kemper and go to being a QC user. The Kemper does exactly what I need it to do and it sounds amazing for recording or using live, I'd never part with it. I personally would just save my money and save for either the QC, Axe FX III or a killer amp like Revv or driftwood. Eventually I'll have them all in my studio arsenal, I'd only sell one if I absolutely hated the product. Anyway I've digressed big time lol. Point is its all perspective and preferences. If you want the line 6 go for it, but if you want a better product, sounds amazing for any application, allows you to capture your amps etc.... I'd save the extra cash to get the Kemper or Quad cortex. Like I said I can back Kemper 110% and I'd buy another in a heart beat because I own one and like I said the QC sounds and looks great but it isn't enough to make me sell my Kemper for one. I personally can not wait for a Kemper II, I can only imagine how amazing that thing will be
Not sure. To me the Kemper was better, no harsh frequencies. We’ll see if guys like Rabea or other get rid of their Kemper and go for the QC. Had serious private conversation with one of those YT dude who said that it wasn’t that good and had that tiring ear effect after playing on it. To him Kemper was better but they need to earn their money. Aliasing is inherent to neural network profiling.
@@notalkguitarampplug-insrev784 Aliasing is tied to the internal sampling rate. That of Kemper's is around 700 kHz with a dsp that is 5 times less powerfull than the Neural's... Don't know if we can find the Neural's spec somewhere, but I doubt it's less than the Kemper's.
F the haters man, everyone hears things slightly different, both are awesome bits of kit. Awesome video! The QC sounds better though, especially on the SLO.
Don’t listen to the negative comments man you’ve always came across as an honest down to earth person I’m not a gear junkie I just love hearing you play . You’re proof that gear isn’t everything, what’s most important is playing and mastering the instrument. Cheers stay safe
I own a kemper and it does have a natural compression. My ear has grown accustomed to it. The QC defiant sounds awesome. Pick what you want and enjoy the riffage! 🤘🏾
People who hate on paid reviewers are hilarious. Theres a reason why every review we see these days is positive and it aint because they're faking it. It's because tech these days is all do bloody good!
The thing is the videos on quad cortex where it stands “includes paid promotion” etc they say it’s awesome but the videos where it doesn’t stand that they are pretty negative about the qc, (the videos I have watched) I may be wrong but I think I will go for the Kenner rack instead of the qc
So you are saying you trust a guy who do a paid review equally as with a guy who reviews the same product, but gets no money / gear / benefits from the manufacturer?
@@elguitarTom no I say that I don’t really trust the paid promotion video as much as the other who don’t get paid because the paid promotion is like a ad, they want to get the product sold to help the manufacture, with no paid promotion they will be more straight up with the negatives and if it’s worth etc.
Regarding the "flexibility" thing, the QC might win when talking about the flexibility of everything BESIDES the CAPTURES lol. JUST talking about amp models effects and overall routing capabilities. The only flexibility the Captures have "after the fact" are being able to be stacked on top of each other. So you can Capture pedals and stuff and run a bunch of Captures together, which is truly sick as hell! lol But aside from that, they're much less flexible than Kemper Profiles. There's only a 3 band EQ and Gain to tweak Captures. And if you're working with the QC Captures' equivalent of a Kemper "Studio Profile" (an Amp+Cab Capture), then you can't change the Cab section or use a different IR and you're limited to a 3 band EQ and Gain. And the Cab makes the biggest changes to your tone when swapped. So that limitation along with only having a 3 band EQ, makes Captures much less flexible and less tweakable than Profiles in a really inconvenient way. The Kemper Amp section for a Profile gives you a good number of parameters to tweak the fundamental tone of the Profile in ways that EQ can't. And that coupled with less flexibility with the Cabs as well, gives the Kemper the win for flexibility when talking just about Captures and Profiles in my opinion. And the quality about Kemper Profiles that you described as "woofy" , I hear as fullness that the QC doesn't have in the high gain scenario. And when going back and comparing the Kemper and Captures to the original High Gain amp tone earlier in the vid, the Kemper sounds closer to the real fullness even though there's a tiny bit extra low end, and the Capture sounds clearer and brighter but has less punch and less depth to the tone. And that fullness in Profiles is what feels more like a real amp mic'd up while it's pushing air and cranked. And it's the exact quality that makes the Kemper feel richer and fuller in comparison to amp models that sound more hifi. And even if a Profile's fundamental tone comes out not exactly matching the reference amp, you can tweak a ton of parameters that affect the fundamental tone of the Profile in a way that just EQ can't-in order to get the Profile to match the reference amp tone exactly. If the QC Capture doesn't come out perfect, you have to restart the Capture process because you can't refine, or hope that the 3 band EQ and Gain can get the Capture tweaked enough to match the reference amp exactly. But when it comes to the routing capabilities, features, and UI, the QC is a clear and strong winner! Some of the best features of the Headrush and the really fun UI that the Headrush had. But with better amp modeling and better effects, and more routing capabilities, and more I/O!! And although not very flexible aside from stacking them , the Capture feature is really cool and sounds great. So each unit has it's positives and negatives. The QC has so much potential to be the best but I see a lot of drawbacks right now at launch. But they're all things that seem like they can be improved. So I have extremely high hopes for the QC and look forward to what it's pushing forward in the industry! I'm stoked to check one out when I can! I hope as it improves, that you keep showing the improvements and I hope it reaches it's potential. Based on what I've seen so far, it's already a heavyweight contender that's hitting hard like the big boy modelers and Kemper and that in itself is huge this early on. I can't wait to see where it goes with the QC, and I can't wait to try one out as soon as I get the chance 😀 Thanks for such sick tones in the vid! Regardless, the video was sick and the content overall is great and I watched it a few times already just for the tones and the shredding! hahaha😀
1. Don't think you're a shill. 2. Great scientific approach. 3. Playstation analogy was bang on. 4. Appreciate your willingness to dot all the i's and cross all the t's. 5. Your drive to do the comparison right was illustrated when you threw out the hand wired amp. SOLID WORK
@@eliasklemetz5718don’t need to answer you. If you don’t own any of them your opinion means nothing. Did you understand that?! Did you FEEL the difference with your eyes closed too? The feel is there with the quad. The Kemper needs help with feel and sound. That’s exactly correct what Rabea said re the cocked wah sound.
Interesting, the QC basically saved the mezzabarber, it was virtually unusable with that hum, but the QC capture sounded pretty close and it was a usable tone. Meanwhile the kemper couldn’t do it.
Hey Rabea, your "wooly" and "cloudy" observations with the Kemper is something I have brought up for years too. It's like the Kemper doesn't quite respond to palm-mutes in the same way as a real amp. The QC sounds much closer and "real" than the Kemper. I love my Kemper still though! Hopefully Kemper can do a firmware update in the future that fixes this. I'd love that because I'm not mad keen on the form factor of the Quad Cortex.
absolutely agree. palm mutes and chugs have never been right with the Kemper and for some reason they don't acknowledge it. And it's a huge part of my playing so it's very frustrating. The only way to deal with it is high pass filtering which goes some way to making it tighter but not the feel. Looking forward to receiving the QC as Neural seem to get that part right in their plugins
@@wingee Yes I agree it's been a long-standing issue, and for metal and rock it's obviously a big deal. Many profiles do not sound "bad" per-se, but they don't sound accurate to what was going into the amp at the time. Which is why I've never really purchased profile packs - I don't trust that I'm getting what I am paying for. I've made custom profiles of all of my amps, and have spent a long time with pre and post EQ to minimize the effect of the palm-mute inaccuracies, but there is only so far that this will get you. QC looks great. I'm not a fanboi. I'll use whatever works best! I own a Helix and a Kemper and 5 great valve amps. I will eventually add a QC to my list.
Very interesting! Thx! Was listening to this on my monitors and to me (as a lucky kemper user) the K definitely won the race. to me the "refining"-option holds the secret. if you do good refining, the kemper can capture (idc about brand terms - it does capture a sound) a lot more information. f.e. when I do my high gain profiles I chug every fret up to the 12th, play single notes, pinchharmonics, turn the volume poti down and do more of a funky strumming, and possibly ANY technique I would use when I play. even tremeolo squeals and what not. to me, this seems to bring best results when profiling. the QC seems to try to solve the capture-refining with simulated "playing". as far as I can tell by just watching this video. nevertheless, these are white noise, pink noise and sine waves, and not an actual string vibration of a real string. you always capture the entire signal chain. to me the QC sounded a bit scooped compared to the reference amp. maybe just 0,5 dB in the mids but that´s just my view on this. thanks man! very enlightening! keep up the good work!
Well i really think Quad Cortex wins this one and that seems to be the case in other youtube comparison videos too. Nice to see technology getting better and better. Still happy with my kemper though. There is alot of absolutely great profiles out there :)
The Kemper sounds better especially if you use a tape saturation machine after you captured this tone & then recapture the combined Kemper Profile with Tape Saturation. That is hands down the best tone you can get. Its an extra step, but in my opinion well worth it. & of course use a quality tube power amp, Best Soldano/ VHT or Mesa Boogie.
Hey Rabea, thank you for the newly made comparison and the obvious extensive work that went into it! I think surely no one can complain now and it's more than fair between the two units. Few more notes to round this off: Generally Kemper doesn't have a problem with Victory Amps - my guess is that the official victory profiles don't work for some people, which is why they may have said that in the comments. There are great Kraken profiles around. That said, it would be great if you could make your Profiles / Captures from this video available for download. These are massive tones! Overall what I take away from this video: Both units sound exceptional and I see no reason to make the switch from my Kemper anytime soon, which works perfectly for my needs. For people who are looking to get a unit I'd say it's about 50/50 depending on their specific needs and pros and cons. Soundwise, they are easily within 2% and could be made indistinguishable with a simple touch of EQ. Also what people tend to forget, new tech doesn't make the gear you have any worse! Competition is good for the market and the consumer, because it'll push all companies to improve and innovate. No need to spread hate! Thank you for your honesty here, Cheers
Yes bro! A man wiser than me taught me never to wrestle with pigs. You get dirty and the pig likes it. Those who appreciate your hard work and honesty trust you and will support you.
Quad Cortex delivered in all disciplines better. Time for Kemper to either reinnovate and put something awesome once again to the table, or moving back for new contestants for the throne of Amp capturing. That said, the BluGuitar AMP X is not out yet - this will be a very interesting year for gear, I feel.
You talking about FAIR Rabea but then the company you praise comes up with the shadiest move you can regarding the CPU. I mean, what the heck? The 2 GIGAHERZ QUAD CORE IS A LIE! they present it wrong to provide it for advertisement advantage. A really SHADY move. It is a 500 MEGAHERZ Quad Core! That's a huge difference. Not even INTEL advertises their processors like a 16GHZ Quad Core. NO it is a 4 GHz Quad Core for example.
Worked ALLOT with Kemper and I got rid of it after a few years. 2 things that annoyed me. Lowmid bump and that kind "razor" thing happening in the crucial mids. Worked as a semi-pro mixer with a few known bands under my belt. QuadQ. sounds allot better. Clearer more "3d". Would love to try one :D
When you had the Kemper, did you tried to get rid of that low mid bump that you said using a post eq? And do you remember what was the frequency? I heard that, but was'nt shure what it was, in all the profiles i bought since i have the Kemper (5 years), and wanna try to take that off with eq, or i think i'll sell it and go for the QC. Thanks, sorry to the long question!
@@Johnmannish nope! I had some really awesome profiles that sounded great. But listening back now it was extremely thick in the lowmids but that's kind of alright. The worst thing is that razor/static thing going on in the mids. I do think Neural plugins are just as good and the new QC seem to slay the Kempee in the profiling department. Sell it before it plumits in price :)
Great video, the differences are very subtle in my opinion. If you‘d play the profiles, original and the captures without knowing which is which, I probably won‘t guess what you are playing. Maybe I need a doctor to check my ears.
Nothing against your integrity Bea but I'm really glad you redid the test, it helps to really draw a confident conclusion: the Captures are just better. I have a kemper, love its sounds, don't plan to sell it, but I've seen several of these now and it's clear Neural has Kemper beat on the basic technology. Software still has a ways to go, effects and UX stuff, but I think it's fair to say the Cortex sets the new standard.
I agree very much and also won't be selling mine anytime soon. While the QC is great, it still has a lot of potential to improve - most noticeable the audio dropouts when switching presets and effect quality (see Paul Davids video). But the good thing is it will certainly push Kemper to improve, too. So in the end with a competitive market everybody wins anyways lol.
Great video, I'm glad I found this before I bought a Kemper - unlike some of the other "reviews" I've seen on popular channels that highlight problems with the Quad Cortex I think are actually user issues, it's so useful to see someone who really has a command of the technology (and can really play!). I can hear the difference, the Quad Cortex sounds more 3D, and I can imagine how that translates with the feel. It reminds me of when I played my Vibro King handwired amp next to a Blues Deville, both sounded good but there's a depth to the handwired amp which is part of the feel/sag etc. This video has cost me £1500 - thanks!!
Insanely good video. Mad respect for redoing it. I know the time and effort is insane. I'm sorry people make awful assumptions in the comments. If there's one channel I trust to be unbiased. It's this one. Great job!
You obviously care that you’re being as fair as possible Bea, just know this, you will have fans that will support you no matter what. I’m a fan for life.
Here three years after the NAAM announcement and we still don’t have an app, and still don’t have the capabilities to put plugins on the QC. Kinda sad because I was rooting for them.
There isn't a single human on the planet who could tell the profile from the real deal in any mix and certainly not in any live setting. This technology is insane.
Come on, man. In a live setting, as you move around the room the sound of the amp through a speaker changes. The PA with a profiler tends to sound about the same. You can totally tell. Stand in front of the guitarist’s rack, then move a few feet to the side and you know it’s a “real” amp.
I literally love you Rabea. Seriously. One of the best youtubers out there. Listening to the community, re-recording a whole video, fair comparisons. I can not thank you enough for all the great content you put out in the world
If you barely give a critical word about the products you review. It's not unreasonable for people to doubt your integrity as a product reviewer. Other people have commented on the Quad Cortex effects being fine but not great. Not Rabea though. Just one example.
I’ll wait for the guys who make great profiles to start doing captures for the QC, like MBritt or Tone Junkie. As I don’t have any amps to “Capture” myself.
Kemper has a better ecosystem...with the Kemper Kabinet/Kone, a built in power amp (for some models) and the many years worth of A-grade profiles. I would also suggest that the Kemper is more robust for the road.
I'm interested in the capture/profile process NOT dealing with presets and trying to screw with those to get them better. Most guitarist DO NOT reach for a factory preset with any modeler so when I see a video of someone doing that with the cortex and complaining about it I turn the video off. I feel the cortex is right now, the best at capturing/profiling bar none. The kemper is still very good at what it does but I dislike the form factor. The cortex is so much easier to deal with which gets you to playing the guitar faster without a bunch of fiddling around. I thought this video comparing both was excellent. You really can't get any better than that. Thanks so much Reba, that was a lot of hard work for you.
Whether or not you are being paid to push the Quad Cortex over the Kemper does not concern me. My plan is to purchase the Kemper stage because i have always wanted the Kemper. I will wait for the Quad Cortex to improve as i am sure it will, then i will purchase that one too. I want the Headrush too. Probably not the Helix though.
So the kemper failed at something, therefore its not good at what it does. I mean, thats how it works. He tried to compare two products and the neural was better.
Even if the these comparisons are close, QC has soo many more options compared to the kemper. It's a profiler AND a modeller... so you can actually change literally everything in a preset if you please, It's UI is way better, It's smaller and much more preferable for transport and its cheaper. The kemper only profiles, has a terrible user experience and you can not adjust anything but add some effects before or after the profile. You can modify the eq slightly on a kemper profile but it sounds very digital if you do which means you are stuck with one sound. It's ok if you own 100 real amps to profile but otherwise you'll have to find someone else's tone online.
Great video man. I've had my Kemper for around 10 years now and hearing still how close these two are, it's really a testament to how far ahead Kemper's tech was back in the day. I've yet to make a profile that I didn't end up tweaking here and there with the EQ to truly perfect. Those inconsistencies between the amp and the kemper are usually pretty quick to line up with a little EQ'ing so while I don't want to say it's a moot point when comparing vs the QC, it narrows the "this vs that" gap but props to Neural though. They've delivered an amazing little box of power. I definitely will be picking one up but I'm probably going to wait until the inevitable rack unit comes out and I want to see what sort of software they end up delivering to manage the unit as well. It'll also be interesting to see (if they do bring out a rack version) if they follow Kemper's lead and build a dedicated foot controller for it as well. That thing has made the kemper an amazing plug and play gig rig
As someone who didn't see the original comparison: I think it's admirable that you took the criticism, re-did the comparison, and made it the best you possibly could.
quad sounds better but the kemper is good enough for me. i dont have the money for real amps so i working with plugins and the kemper is my live set up solution.
This thing looks pretty awesome, but I'm not going to throw my Kemper in the trash now just because it exists and I must have it. 95% of any amp I want to use at my fingertips at any time vs. 96.5% and a better UI isn't enough to make me feel FOMO. I guess these things work for me because I'm not loyal to any gear and I'm not a tone purist. I just want to be able to find/create sounds that serve what I'm doing and the Kemper is the first thing I've tried that can do that. My tube amp (Krank Rev+) undeniably sounds and feels bigger in a room, but I liken it to driving an older car with a big loud V-8 vs. a modern turbocharged 4-cylinder with about the same torque and horsepower. One is big, heavy, simple raw power whereas the other is lighter, refined, efficient, and versatile. Small and versatile happens to serve me better at this point. If I really wanted the sound of one tube amp, then I would go and buy that amp and build my life around it. There will never be a real substitute for that. I'd probably have picked the Quad Cortex if it were out in 2019, but it doesn't make the Kemper suddenly trash. I just see it as a great sign of things to come for profilers, modelers, and plugins in the future. Whatever's next when it's time to change will just be that much better. The Kemper's improved greatly via software update and allowing us to edit in software, but I'd say that is where the next generation of that device can stand to improve. Make it easier to edit on several platforms.
“Not a fair comparison because the Kemper has a refine feature. Not fair because the Kemper doesn’t profile a specific amp very well.” At some point we have to realize that the Kemper is 10 years old and there are some things it can’t do that some of the new toys can. You love your kemper? Cool. Stick with it. You want to buy a Neural QC? Cool do it. Leave Rabea the fuck alone! 😂
It’s overhyped because neural does good jobs in its plug ins. So when they made the qc everyone expected a great amp sim. I do think it’s better then kemper and helix tho. 1 best captures and can capture more amps then kemper 2 can be pedalboard friendly unlike helix and kemper 3 great touchscreen, nice nobs switches, and small unlike kemper and helix 4 can capture overdrive pedals and some fuzzes unlike kemper or helix 5 it is extremely user friendly or more then other modelers 6 because it’s a new it has more potential in general then it has rn. The company is updating it and are active on the updates. 7 it cost at the same price and kemper and helix. Like damn that’s was worth the hype and wait just like Rhett said. Don’t be delusional it obviously has it’s cons like alright effects and not amazing. But if u add all of my reasons above to its cons it’s worth the price and it’s a great modeler.
I'm IT guy so I'm looking at that from IT perspective. QC will be better than Kemper because of processing power. Kemper is decade old piece of hardware. Its still great sounding piece of hardware but its getting old. People whinning about Kemper are like people whinning why games on PS3 looks worse then games on PS5 or why iphone 4 is worse than iphone 12. Neural networks achived mass improvements thru last 10 years and can very accurate reproduce sounds, voices, images like etc. Its the same technology used to making deepfakes and QC is based on that technology.
I beg to differ. While I will probably buy QC over Kemper and I am quite excited about the machine, I think neural networks are still far from providing a direct sound elaboration with a speed and quality that can be usable for hi-end audio and production - and whn they perform well, it's usually over selected types of samples. I think, and I have quite some elements to think I am right, that the neural network here is used more as a sort of "simulation tuning device", in a more intelligent way than deterministic ones, but still the comparison to deepfakes seems inappropriate. That said, I think that QC can represent the moment where AIs enter full on in the guitar gear and it will be amazing to see the development of this trend.
@@Cranio76 Deepfakes was used by me as just an example known for most people. I don't know how exactly neural networks works in QC. Maybe its modify built-in algorithms to sound more like source or it creates whole sound algorithms from the ground. Maybe its trying to recreate soundwave of source. There is many ways how neural networks can be used to get resuts. Only Neural DSP devs knows that secret. ;) I agree AI will be the future of digital guitar gear.
@@Devilson131313 I think very likely the former, less likely the latter. Though not an expert by any means, I have some grasp of the state of the art on audio AI and while some results are astonishing, with guitar modeling you would need two game-changers: almost realtime processing and top, undisputed, pristine audio quality. But I can see this coming in not many years ... And yeah, I would really be curious to know what's behind the curtains :)
that mid/hi-freq ish thing is what made me left kemper a couple years back. I'm glad that people starting to notice it, not in a bad way but it is what it is
I asked on the old version, but i'll reask here. Once live shows happen again, do you think you will you be touring with amps or modelers? I know you've used Helix with Frog Leap and Kemper with Dorje in the past, but as far as i know, your Toska rig was always real pedals and amps. Any plans for that to change?
There’s always haters Rabea, you always come across as totally honest to me, if they don’t like what you’re doing then f#%k ‘em... they should watch someone else. The last time I checked you could watch who you please. Carry on the great work dude there are a lot of us that enjoy your channel.
I’d like to see a comparison between the user interface of each unit. How to program foot switch functions . Comparisons of effects sounds(boost, modulation, reverb) and how to edit them on each. The Kemper editor should also be compared. Can you load two amp captures/profiles and play them simultaneously on each? How well does spillover work with delay for each when changing presets? Does one have better MIDI features than the other? Is there a lag in changing presets on either ?
I saw Between The Buried and Me in 2021 and they were using Kempers (i think the powered rack mount versions)…and I was blown away. I’ve never been more impressed with a bands live guitar tone and clarity. It was absolutely flawless and insane. Those guys are phenomenal players but their tone was crystal clear through all of their different presets and if you know that band….they have a lot.
From what I'm hearing, it's no wonder your preference is the Cortex. It sounded more accurate and the high end chime and clarity is simply an important detail. If I had to chose I'd chose the Cortex too. The Kemper added an odd sterile detail to each sound. Subtle, yes. But I would feel that under my hands and it would drive me nuts.
on my speakers, for the cleans, the QC, when comparing the the ref tone to the capture and compared to the Kemper, has more low mid which could be perceived as mud. For High gain, it seems the opposite, QC was closer, Kemper had a Low mid build up. Interesting comparison!
