I love my Nano Cortex. I connect a Rocktron All Access midi foot controller to it and have access to 15 presets per bank at my feet of all my amps and preamps captured with or without IRs with some basic but great sounding effects. Much easier to travel with than actual amps or rack full of stuff. Just my pedalboard and a midi controller and I have everything I need. Totally happy with it!
@@ToneJunkieTVI’ve had my LS120 for over 15 years. Absolutely a 10/10. Can’t even count how many videos it’s been in. The Sheptone PAF’s in it are chef’s kiss
Love the look of that Tokai. I have a custom and a standard and hands down, for the money, I will put them up against my pricey Gibson Les Paul’s any day. Cheers!
Well done for right prediction! I wonder if IK multimedia is on path to dominate the market. Releasing mini Tonex was genius move, allowing many to enter their ecosystem for cheap. I guess they need to release fully fledged large flagship modeler at some point to assert the dominance in being able to offer something at every price point/size/usage.
I just realized you can actually Capture on the pedal itself. That is a very big thing and all of the sudden makes this more appealing than Tonex, etc. Once one realizes they need the Tonex Capture box for another $250, that's $650. Rather spend that on the Nano, overall much better in many ways. The big knobs that are the same as any amp, a very big plus. And with macOS 15 / iOS 18, iPhone Mirroring one now can just control their iphone from the mac. The DSP chip hardware power is there, and I think with some nice software engineering and creativity add some nice added functionality: different reverbs, delays, a compressor, eq, etc. Using HX Stomp as a centerpiece IO hub…
I’m glad this will allow more people into the echo system. If pic is right, I wish there were more stomp buttons but I have a QC doesn’t really effect me
Shoulda been a dual cortex. Not sure why they dont do market research cause i cant figure out who this is for. Affordable capture box for people on a budget with blues deluxes and katana? If it was a little better featured without capture i would have ordered pretty quick. Id rather have delay and reverb options instead of pitch shifting too. I see a lot of people saying "maybe they'll change or update it to be better" when folks are still waiting for plugins and launch promises on their qc. Thats a bad bet
It turned out to be a crappy attempt at a HX stomp. Rather than giving a full featured solution with less DSP available they cut a lot of corners and released a severely limited product. They could have hit a grand slam but decided to go for a severely limited version (likely to prevent undercutting the QC) They went the same route as Kemper . Disappointed
Same as Kemper? With the Player you have 10 Banks/Performances each with 5 rigs at your feet that you can switch between instantaneously. You have 4 FX slots plus Noisegate plus Transpose. You have dozens of FX options to choose from, not 3 preset FX options you cant change. And that's before any updates.
I agree. It's priced accordingly though. The kemper is much pricier. These units work best in conjuction with another dsp heavy multi effects like hx stomp or ampero, or gt1000. I think they also wanted something that they didn't have to put updates in for. They wanna focus the updates on the QC.
@@guitartoneSA comparison the Player may not be the best. I was thinking about the player being fairly fixed from a signal path routing perspective (no dual signal paths as best I can tell). The kemper player does seem like a more flexible approach and is probably a better value than the Nano at this point even though it is more expensive. What I was really hoping for was an attempt to take on the Stomp head on. Basically a full featured product with less DSP and maybe a bit less in the IO department.
Nah, I’ve owned the Stomp for years and spent about a month setting up my singers QC for shows and the quality of high gain sounds from the QC are SIGNIFICANTLY better than anything the helix LT I used to own and my stomp HX is capable of producing. I really like my stomp HX but it’s only in my gig bag as a last resort backup amp in an emergency or something to use in a tube amp’s fx loop for effects. My angle on this is that it’s a lower price point getting you into the QC ecosystem if you want to upgrade later to the full size unit and is much better suited as being treated like an amp in a box like the Friedman units or origin effects (all of them near the price of this nano) and you would use your own drive and/or effects pedals with it just like with the Friedman, origin or UAFX amp in a box pedals.
@@FastRedPonyCar I think the issue was them making their hype and bench mark as if they were coming out with something revolutionary. This is just a tonex competitor. Why is the qc ecosystem inhwrently better?
I got the nano cortex today. I love it. I downloaded a bunch of your captures. Man they sound great. I am going to send you some cash to support what you're doing. I have FM9 and several amps, but this thing is awesome too. Love your captures man! Do you have a paypal or something where I can send you a donation?
I love the Neural DSP plug-ins. All I need is four of them if I could operate them from my phone plugged into a Seymour Duncan stereo power source into my two Egnater for 12 cabs in stereo I’m good.omg I be golden
Looks more like a tonex or the kemper player. Also the quad cortex uses the exact same dsp chips as the axe fx 3 it just has one extra mobile chip to run the touch screen ui.
@@guitartoneSA how so? I know it has another switch and more effects. Does it have a custom signal chain? I know it can’t take captures only play them so it’s a different use case for a different customer.
@@xlilxillx Custom signal chain? Not sure what you mean by that. On the Player you can setup 50 custom rigs, in 10 Banks/Performances, 5 rigs per bank. Each one of those 50 rigs can be saved with a different/custom FX setup, a different IR/Cabinet, different modelled amp stack (Liquid Profiling/Modelling), and controlled live with the footswitches, and the option of more control live by adding a simple two switch pedal. Is that what you mean by custom signal chain?
@@guitartoneSA i think kemper only has profiles not models but yeah in the nano cortex you can’t rearrange the order of your amp and effects ie fixed signal chain
@@xlilxillx Kemper now has Liquid Profiling....where the Gain and EQ tonestack of the amp gets modelled during the Profiling process. The gain and EQ controls of the Liquid amp Profile then react like the real amp that was Profiled...or you can select the original Kemper "generic" tonestack. They've also modelled about 60 amp tonestacks that are always available to use with all Kemper units including the Player. So for example you can take a 65 Deluxe Reverb profile and check out how it sounds and reacts by selecting the AC30 modelled tonestack.
@ToneJunkiwTV I'm with you on the price. I'm not with you on the effects. I think it'll have a few but this is an AMP in a box type deal. I am ALSO with you on "EVERYONE thinks I smoke weed"................never touched it. P.S. The Helix is perfect for me. Even the wah's. haha
The big deal for me for this unit would be if it’s easy to power and has the same capabilities of the full quad cortex, doubt it will happen, it wont make sense to compete with themselves but I can wish!
The Nano Cortex isn't like the HX Stomp because it only has a mono input. The HX Stomp was made to be compatible with other stereo pedals. The Nano Cortex will not be compatible with other stereo pedals. This is the same design blunder committed by Kemper with their profiler pedal and by the ToneX pedal. Strymon, Line 6, UA and Walrus invented the wheel when it comes to amp modeler pedals. They established that these products need stereo operation in order to integrate with other stereo effects pedals. For some reason companies like Neural DSP, IK Multimedia and others fail the basic product design for an amp modeler pedal right out of the gate and these products will all be disqualified immediately.
They really fumbled here. Instead of releasing a mini QC with most of the same features just less DSP they released a severely cut down version from a features and functionality perspective. Very disappointed. The only company that has come close to getting this right is Line 6 but they unfortunately do not have capture tech (maybe one day they will?)
Nope I wish it was the hx stomp comparison. They intentionally didn't make a strong competitor to their own. If it were an hx stomp competitor I would have bought it. Just gonna stick with my tonex and hx effects.
@@otfan522botjournalismisdea2 yeah they have the tools to be able to do that. But I think they see how many people chose the hx stomp over the helix and opted out of it. People don't need that much dsp. That's why people still use hx stomps live in 2024. They really should make a mini stomp. I'd buy it at 800 to make a more compact all in one rig.
@@simons5652well they do claim it to be to most powerful but who know for sure what that means when the others say that also. I haven’t seen any info processor comparisons.
I love my Nano Cortex. I connect a Rocktron All Access midi foot controller to it and have access to 15 presets per bank at my feet of all my amps and preamps captured with or without IRs with some basic but great sounding effects. Much easier to travel with than actual amps or rack full of stuff. Just my pedalboard and a midi controller and I have everything I need. Totally happy with it!
I was not ready for that guitar tone comparison at the beginning 👀🌮
At least you know what a great LP the Tokai is. 👋🥇
Yeah man this thing is awesome!! Maybe my fav les Paul I have found.
@@ToneJunkieTVI’ve had my LS120 for over 15 years. Absolutely a 10/10. Can’t even count how many videos it’s been in. The Sheptone PAF’s in it are chef’s kiss
Love the look of that Tokai. I have a custom and a standard and hands down, for the money, I will put them up against my pricey Gibson Les Paul’s any day. Cheers!
Well done for right prediction! I wonder if IK multimedia is on path to dominate the market. Releasing mini Tonex was genius move, allowing many to enter their ecosystem for cheap. I guess they need to release fully fledged large flagship modeler at some point to assert the dominance in being able to offer something at every price point/size/usage.
I just realized you can actually Capture on the pedal itself. That is a very big thing and all of the sudden makes this more appealing than Tonex, etc. Once one realizes they need the Tonex Capture box for another $250, that's $650. Rather spend that on the Nano, overall much better in many ways. The big knobs that are the same as any amp, a very big plus. And with macOS 15 / iOS 18, iPhone Mirroring one now can just control their iphone from the mac. The DSP chip hardware power is there, and I think with some nice software engineering and creativity add some nice added functionality: different reverbs, delays, a compressor, eq, etc. Using HX Stomp as a centerpiece IO hub…
I am interested in a mini QC especially if it can run 2 captures.
That said Nuerals track record on the hardware front has been pretty lackluster.
The hardware hasn’t changed in 5 years so I’m not sure what you’re referring to here…
I should have been more specific. Their track record in updating their HW units to release promised features (like plugins)
I’m glad this will allow more people into the echo system. If pic is right, I wish there were more stomp buttons but I have a QC doesn’t really effect me
Definitely like the Kemper Profiler! Great vid - love hearing your thoughts!
It’s going to be an amp modeler only. The FX button will be for external send effects.
Definitely curious to see what the end up doing with it. Primarily amps with some effects?, hx stomp without a screen?, and price?
Shoulda been a dual cortex. Not sure why they dont do market research cause i cant figure out who this is for. Affordable capture box for people on a budget with blues deluxes and katana? If it was a little better featured without capture i would have ordered pretty quick. Id rather have delay and reverb options instead of pitch shifting too.
I see a lot of people saying "maybe they'll change or update it to be better" when folks are still waiting for plugins and launch promises on their qc. Thats a bad bet
It should have some kind of display screen even a mini screen?
It turned out to be a crappy attempt at a HX stomp.
Rather than giving a full featured solution with less DSP available they cut a lot of corners and released a severely limited product.
They could have hit a grand slam but decided to go for a severely limited version (likely to prevent undercutting the QC)
They went the same route as Kemper . Disappointed
Same as Kemper?
With the Player you have 10 Banks/Performances each with 5 rigs at your feet that you can switch between instantaneously.
You have 4 FX slots plus Noisegate plus Transpose.
You have dozens of FX options to choose from, not 3 preset FX options you cant change.
And that's before any updates.
I agree. It's priced accordingly though. The kemper is much pricier. These units work best in conjuction with another dsp heavy multi effects like hx stomp or ampero, or gt1000. I think they also wanted something that they didn't have to put updates in for. They wanna focus the updates on the QC.
@@guitartoneSA comparison the Player may not be the best. I was thinking about the player being fairly fixed from a signal path routing perspective (no dual signal paths as best I can tell). The kemper player does seem like a more flexible approach and is probably a better value than the Nano at this point even though it is more expensive.
What I was really hoping for was an attempt to take on the Stomp head on. Basically a full featured product with less DSP and maybe a bit less in the IO department.
Nah, I’ve owned the Stomp for years and spent about a month setting up my singers QC for shows and the quality of high gain sounds from the QC are SIGNIFICANTLY better than anything the helix LT I used to own and my stomp HX is capable of producing.
I really like my stomp HX but it’s only in my gig bag as a last resort backup amp in an emergency or something to use in a tube amp’s fx loop for effects.
My angle on this is that it’s a lower price point getting you into the QC ecosystem if you want to upgrade later to the full size unit and is much better suited as being treated like an amp in a box like the Friedman units or origin effects (all of them near the price of this nano) and you would use your own drive and/or effects pedals with it just like with the Friedman, origin or UAFX amp in a box pedals.
@@FastRedPonyCar I think the issue was them making their hype and bench mark as if they were coming out with something revolutionary. This is just a tonex competitor. Why is the qc ecosystem inhwrently better?
I got the nano cortex today. I love it. I downloaded a bunch of your captures. Man they sound great. I am going to send you some cash to support what you're doing. I have FM9 and several amps, but this thing is awesome too. Love your captures man! Do you have a paypal or something where I can send you a donation?
yeah i also think its gonna be a mini portable more affordable mini qc
I love the Neural DSP plug-ins. All I need is four of them if I could operate them from my phone plugged into a Seymour Duncan stereo power source into my two Egnater for 12 cabs in stereo I’m good.omg I be golden
Looks more like a tonex or the kemper player. Also the quad cortex uses the exact same dsp chips as the axe fx 3 it just has one extra mobile chip to run the touch screen ui.
But the Kemper Player is way beyond this Nano in every department especially live gigging from Performance mode to FX to switching, etc etc.
@@guitartoneSA how so? I know it has another switch and more effects. Does it have a custom signal chain? I know it can’t take captures only play them so it’s a different use case for a different customer.
@@xlilxillx
Custom signal chain?
Not sure what you mean by that.
On the Player you can setup 50 custom rigs, in 10 Banks/Performances, 5 rigs per bank.
Each one of those 50 rigs can be saved with a different/custom FX setup, a different IR/Cabinet, different modelled amp stack (Liquid Profiling/Modelling), and controlled live with the footswitches, and the option of more control live by adding a simple two switch pedal.
Is that what you mean by custom signal chain?
@@guitartoneSA i think kemper only has profiles not models but yeah in the nano cortex you can’t rearrange the order of your amp and effects ie fixed signal chain
@@xlilxillx
Kemper now has Liquid Profiling....where the Gain and EQ tonestack of the amp gets modelled during the Profiling process.
The gain and EQ controls of the Liquid amp Profile then react like the real amp that was Profiled...or you can select the original Kemper "generic" tonestack.
They've also modelled about 60 amp tonestacks that are always available to use with all Kemper units including the Player.
So for example you can take a 65 Deluxe Reverb profile and check out how it sounds and reacts by selecting the AC30 modelled tonestack.
I know what I make (doing just fine) and was wondering how you could afford all of this gear.
Cool to hear just a glimpse of your backstory.
@ToneJunkiwTV I'm with you on the price. I'm not with you on the effects. I think it'll have a few but this is an AMP in a box type deal. I am ALSO with you on "EVERYONE thinks I smoke weed"................never touched it. P.S. The Helix is perfect for me. Even the wah's. haha
well it s not an HX stomp, it s like a tonex or kemper player, that can capture but has very few fxs
The big deal for me for this unit would be if it’s easy to power and has the same capabilities of the full quad cortex, doubt it will happen, it wont make sense to compete with themselves but I can wish!
I think HW will be impressed by the price but not impressed with the actual capabilities of the unit, it's seriously limited, confusingly limited.
If only they did what you described.
I think this is a platform for their new multi-parameter capture technology.
I assume what Kemper call Liquid Profiling.
The Nano Cortex isn't like the HX Stomp because it only has a mono input. The HX Stomp was made to be compatible with other stereo pedals. The Nano Cortex will not be compatible with other stereo pedals. This is the same design blunder committed by Kemper with their profiler pedal and by the ToneX pedal.
Strymon, Line 6, UA and Walrus invented the wheel when it comes to amp modeler pedals. They established that these products need stereo operation in order to integrate with other stereo effects pedals. For some reason companies like Neural DSP, IK Multimedia and others fail the basic product design for an amp modeler pedal right out of the gate and these products will all be disqualified immediately.
They really fumbled here. Instead of releasing a mini QC with most of the same features just less DSP they released a severely cut down version from a features and functionality perspective.
Very disappointed. The only company that has come close to getting this right is Line 6 but they unfortunately do not have capture tech (maybe one day they will?)
HW getting on here to let everyone know he called it. (Tone Prophet)
Gimli. Pedal train. 😂
Bingo!
800$ , trust me
I’m hoping it’s priced around the kemper player is. If it is…. I’m getting it
$550
@@markbrooks7257 damn that’s an awesome deal! I just got a line 6 helix LT and now am kicking myself in the ass
i thought the same, but was pleasently surprised with the around 600 euro price tag for me
Love this HW!!!
Cortex must be like fender master tone pro
You are a prophet!
Nope I wish it was the hx stomp comparison. They intentionally didn't make a strong competitor to their own. If it were an hx stomp competitor I would have bought it. Just gonna stick with my tonex and hx effects.
I was ready to buy it too if it was trying to take on the Stomp head on.
@@otfan522botjournalismisdea2 yeah they have the tools to be able to do that. But I think they see how many people chose the hx stomp over the helix and opted out of it. People don't need that much dsp. That's why people still use hx stomps live in 2024. They really should make a mini stomp. I'd buy it at 800 to make a more compact all in one rig.
H Dub the business major fortune teller! 🤯
Not gonna lie. At 3:33, I thought you might have been having a stroke. 🤣🤣🤣
If it was affordable. That be great.
Taco Bell sounds never sounded so good
Taco Bell sounds out of a Tokai. HW strikes again.
Or cortex floor
Gilgamesh lol really?
Give me your name, horse master and I shall give you mine
It'll probably just be another amp modeler or capture player, similar to tonex. Let's hope it'll have at least some of the qc fxs as well. 🤞
I’ll be stunned if the actual thing is as ugly as the leaked pic. Horrible.
That's the Cry of the Kandahar Giant, at Taco hell !!!! Hw and his diets.
I literally yelled Gimli right before you said you heard me yell it. What the actual heck.
lack of R^D with brain
Pretty sure the Fender Tonemaster Pro has the most horsepower under the hood.
I’ve seen no evidence of that and their UI would tell you otherwise.
@@StupidGuitarnot sure how the UI would tell you how powerful it was but it does have an 8 core processor vs the the 4 in the QC.
And it doesn't sound nearly as good as Kemper, Helix, QC...not even close..
More cores does not automatically result in more power
@@simons5652well they do claim it to be to most powerful but who know for sure what that means when the others say that also. I haven’t seen any info processor comparisons.
How do you not know a joke when you see one?
Maybe it looks like that and maybe it doesn’t but they are still announcing something tomorrow and I think it’s the nano cortex.
@@ToneJunkieTVtodays video confirmed the name is nano cortex so even if the pic is fake your guesses sound right to me
This is very interesting! You called it tho!