Quick Start Guide

We recommend you update your Quad Cortex to the latest version of CorOS before use.
Turning On/Off 1/4” Output Jacks: Two mono,
balanced (TRS) outputs provide pristine
To turn Quad Cortex on, connect the sound quality and optimal noise
performance.
power cable to the input on the back
and wait for it to power up. XLR Output Jacks: Two mono,
balanced XLR output jacks.
To turn Quad Cortex off, tap and hold
Headphone Output: Ideal for quiet
the power button for a second and
practicing.
release it.
MIDI In, Out/Thru: Send and receive
After that, tap SHUT DOWN MIDI messages to automate switching
and control of parameters in Quad
Cortex and control other units.

I/O Settings Dual Expression Inputs: Connect up to

two expression pedals.
The I/O Settings gives you an overview
of Quad Cortex’s inputs and outputs. To
You can independently adjust the gain
of inputs & outputs as well as toggle
Global Features
between Instrument and Microphone USB: Ultra-low latency audio
access it, swipe down from the top of Dual Combo Inputs: TS, TRS, and XLR.
settings. +48v Phantom Power is transmission, firmware updates, MIDI,
the screen.
available. Input impedance can be set Variable impedance and level controls. and more.
for each input and there is a Ground Lift Built-in microphone preamps. +48v
Inactive inputs are grey; active inputs
are white. Plug something in and see option available too. Phantom Power. Capture Out: Used for our biomimetic
a grey input instantly change to white. AI technology, Neural Capture.
Tapping any I/O device displays a menu Headphone settings allow you to Dual Effects Loops: Ideal for
that shows further information and create a separate mix by controlling embedding external mono or stereo WiFi: Used for cable-free firmware
allows you to control its parameters. the levels from the outputs being used effects into your signal chain. These updates, backups, and Cortex Cloud
Adjust parameters by using the on The Grid. You can also calibrate and double-up as additional input/output functionality.
multi-touch display or by rotating the configure expression pedals via the I/O jacks.
corresponding footswitch for rotary Settings.
controls.
Press at the top-right to
close the I/O Settings.
Modes Scene Mode allows you to specify
Building a Rig GUITAR
AMP
a footswitch to activate and control
Quad Cortex features four We call the screen where you British 2203
the settings of any number of devices
modes to give ultimate in a rig. Footswitch A could toggle can add devices to build a
control over virtual devices an overdrive pedal through an amp virtual rig, “The
Neural Grid”. The
Capture British 900 Clean
& cabsim for a heavy rhythm tone;
and footswitch customization: Footswitch B could toggle an additional Grid has four rows of eight British 900 Lead
overdrive as well as stereo reverb and device blocks.
Cabsim
STOMP SCENE delay for a beautifully saturated lead British Plexi 100 Bright
tone. Use the up & down footswitches Start by tapping on The Grid to
to navigate through Presets.
PRESET add your first device; this will open British Plexi 100 Normal
the DeviceOverdrive
Category list. Scroll down
Preset Mode gives you instant access
Switch between them by tapping the to eight virtual rigs - one on each by swiping with your finger and tap a British Plexi 100 Patch
name of the mode currently active at footswitch. While Scene Mode allows device category to display its devices.
the top-right of the display or press you to toggle the parameters of any Delay BASS
Tap a device in the list to add it to The
the furthest-right footswitches on the number of devices in one rig, Preset
Mode will enable you to have eight Grid. You can also tap the icons on the
bottom two rows together.
completely different rigs. Use the up & left to return to the Device Category list. you’ve added it to The Grid is effortless.
down footswitches to navigate through Build a virtual rig from left to right. If you add an amp and cab first but
banks of Presets in your Setlist. While it’s important to remember need to add an overdrive pedal in front
how you might approach building a after, repositioning everything is as
Hybrid Mode is ideal for people who signal chain with analog components, simple as dragging-and-dropping the
want to quickly access new Presets dragging-and-dropping a device after devices into the order you require.
while being able to have granular
control within them, or for people who
want to have both SCENE and STOMP
control within their active Preset.
In Out
1 1/2
Stomp Mode allows you to assign
any device to a footswitch so that you
can toggle it on and off. Use the up &
down footswitches to navigate through
Presets.
 In Stomp Mode, devices get assigned Change the parameters, then press
to footswitches in the order they were
added to The Grid. You can assign a device Repeat this for any of the devices
to any footswitch by opening its menu and in your rig. Now when you press
tapping the button. Footswitch A or Footswitch B, Quad
Cortex will navigate between these two
scenes.
In Scene Mode, you can change
parameters or bypass settings for To remove a parameter from all
any device added to your rig. Open a Scenes, tap the Scene icon next to the
device’s settings and set the parameters parameter and confirm the changes in
Once you have added a device to The tap the icon to reveal further how you’d like them in Scene A. Then the popup.
Grid, tap it to open its menu. options. From here, you can tap move to Scene B by tapping the arrow
to the right of “Scene A”. GAIN
“Change device” to replace the device
From here, several controls are available
with another. “Reset to defaults” to
to you. Footswitches will light up and
reset the device’s parameters. “Set
correspond to any controls on the device 0.33
parameters as defaults” to always use
you’ve added. Parameters such as gain
these settings when you add this device
can be controlled either by rotating the
to a rig, or “Remove device from the
footswitch or interacting with the multi-
grid” to remove it from The Grid entirely.
touch display. Expression pedal controls are also
When a device menu is open, you can available here.
Saving Presets
Then tap .
To save a rig as a Preset, click the Give your Setlist a name, then tap
icon at the top-right corner. You can at the top-right corner.
also use the contextual menu at the
top-right and tap “Save as…” to save a By default, Presets will save in the “My
rig as a new Preset. Presets” Setlist. To change the active
Setlist, open the Directory, navigate to
Save as ... the Setlist you’d like to activate, choose
a bank number, then tap one of the
Preset names on the right.
“Save as...” is helpful if you have
modified a Preset and want to save your
changes as a new Preset, as tapping
the save icon will overwrite the active
Preset with your modifications. Gig View
In the save menu, you can name your Gig View allows you to visualize what
Preset as well as assign it tags. You the footswitches are assigned to
can use tags to filter Presets on Cortex instantly. This visualization utilizes the Access Gig View by swiping up from the bottom of the screen
Cloud. You can also choose the Setlist in entire screen.
on The Grid.
which the Preset is saved.
Stomp Mode: Gig View shows you the

Setlists
device assigned to each footswitch.
STOMP SCENE PRESET
Setlists are Quad Cortex’s way of Scene Mode: Gig View shows you the
Scene assigned to each footswitch. You
C C C
making Presets incredibly easy to use
can change the names of your scenes.
and navigate. A Setlist can contain 32
banks of eight Presets. Setlists allow
users to categorize their Presets by
Preset Mode: Gig View shows you the
Preset assigned to each footswitch. Tap A little bit Nice
band, project, album, or anything else! the active footswitch a second time to
British more Machine
show an enlarged view of the current
To create a new Setlist, tap the active Preset. Governor reverb Riff
Preset’s name at the top of The Grid to
open the Directory.
Routing inputs & you might want to switch from using
a stereo out on Out 1/2 to a mono out In Out

outputs using Out 3. 1 1/2

Quad Cortex gives you complete Splitting & mixing Out

control over the routing of your inputs 3
& outputs. You can even repurpose signal chains
the two effects loops as additional
inputs/outputs to allow for rigs with You can use splitters and
four instruments and various output mixers for more advanced
customizations. routing options. For example,
In
1
MONO

Input 1
STEREO

Input 1/2
you might want to send a
Input 2 Return 1/2 stereo signal with a cabsim to
a front of house engineer, but
Return 1 USB Input 5/6

Return 2 USB Input 7/8

USB Input 5 Not in use a separate signal without a

cabsim to a cabinet on stage.
USB Input 6

USB Input 7

USB Input 8

STEREO Out
Output 2 USB Output 8
Multiple Outputs
1/2 + 3/4 + USB 3/4
Output 3 OTHER
3
First, tap the + button beneath “Out 1/2”
Output 1/2
Output 4
Row 3
on The Grid and select Out 3.
Then press and hold on The Grid to
Output 3/4 Row 4
Send 1
Send 1/2 Row 3/4

USB Output 5/6

Send 2
Not in use
bring up the Splitter menu. Drag-and-
USB Output 5
USB Output 7/8
USB Output 6
drop the Splitter to before the Cab
MONO

Output 1 USB Output 7

block and press .

By default, The Grid will build a signal Your rig’s signal now splits before the In Out
chain that processes the instrument cabsim, and Out 3 will send a mono 1 1/2
connected to In 1 and route it out of Out signal through Output 3.
1 & Out 2. You can tap “In 1” on the left
Out
and “Out 1/2” on the right to change
3
the inputs & outputs used. For example,
WiFi updates Assigning expression Use the ASSIGN button to Press the button at the top-

Quad Cortex downloads pedals assign parameters to the expression

pedal, and use the button to
right corner when you’re finished.

updates wirelessly, negating You can assign an expression pedal to modify the minimum and maximum
any device, and it can control multiple values accessible in the pedal’s sweep.
the need to connect it to a
parameters at once.
computer with a USB cable. Assign Expression Pedal Done
It’s important to remember to
To connect to WiFi, tap the contextual calibrate your expression pedal via Please choose which parameters you wish to control.
menu at the top-right of The Grid, then the I/O Settings menu. You can assign more than one at once.
tap “Settings”.
You can assign an expression pedal to DRIVE MIN RANGE MAX RANGE
Settings any device, and it can control multiple
parameters at once. To assign an 0.71 0% 100%
From the Settings menu, tap “WiFi”. expression pedal, tap a device on The
Grid, tap the contextual menu, then tap GAIN DRIVE BASS MIDDLE MID FREQ
Wi-Fi Assign Expression Pedal. ASSIGN ASSIGNED ASSIGN ASSIGNED ASSIGN
Change Device
Give Quad Cortex a few seconds to scan
the available networks, tap the one you TREBLE MASTER BYPASS
Reset to default
want to join, then enter its password ASSIGN ASSIGN ASSIGN
using the on-screen keyboard. Guitar AMP AG Thor's Hammer 500 Bypass Done
Set parameters as default
Once you’re connected to WiFi, tap GAIN DRIVE BASS MIDDLE MID FREQ
“Device Options” in the Settings menu, Assign Expression Pedal
Guitar AMP AG Thor's Hammer 500 Bypass Done
then “Device updates”. 0.71 +10 0.71 0.71 0.71
Remove GAIN DRIVE BASS MIDDLE MID FREQ
Device Options Device updates TREBLE MASTER
X1 X1
0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71
0.71 0.71
Tap CHECK FOR UPDATES to search for TREBLE MASTER
the most recent version of CorOS. You
will need to reboot Quad Cortex to finish Select the expression pedal you want to
0.71 0.71
applying the updates. use to control the device’s parameters.
 Creating a Follow the on-screen instructions
regarding how to connect your
Neural Capture instrument and your microphone(s)/
amplifier D.I. The entire process takes
Neural Capture is Quad less than five minutes, after which your
Cortex’s flagship feature. Capture will be ready to save to your
Built using our proprietary device.
biomimetic AI, it can learn and replicate
the sonic characteristics of any physical Captures that you have created as well
amplifier, cabinet, and overdrive pedal as Captures downloaded from Cortex
with unprecedented accuracy. Cloud are available as virtual devices
you can add to The Grid under “Neural
To create a Neural Capture Capture”.
you need to be able to mic up
a cabinet or use an amplifier It is possible to Capture overdrive
pedals independently, as well as part of
with a load box or D.I. Out. a signal chain.

Start by tapping the contextual menu

at the top-right corner of The Grid, then
tap “New Neural Capture” AMP

Add to favorites
Neural Capture

Delete preset

et name
B
QUAD CORTEX Cabsim

New Neural Capture PRESET

Tempo Out Overdrive

1/2
CPU monitor

Check for files Delay

Settings
Cortex Cloud Uploading Impulse Responses

1. To add IRs to your Quad Cortex you

Once you create a Neural DSP need to login into Cortex Cloud on
account, your Quad Cortex our website.
is ready to send and receive 2. Login to your Neural DSP account.
Presets, Neural Captures, and 3. Click on Cortex Cloud.
Impulse Responses. You can 4. Click on My Profile then check the
also use Cloud Backups. Impulse Response section.

Your Quad Cortex needs to be

connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi
to use Cortex Cloud features

Adding a Preset or Neural Capture to 5. Drag-and-drop impulse

Cortex Cloud response files from your
Open the Directory and tap at computer to the upload area.
Sharing Presets or Neural Captures
the top-left to toggle Upload Mode. Tap with a friend Alternatively, use the “Browse”
next to each item and they will To share a Preset or Neural Capture, you button.
first have to upload it to Cortex Cloud. 6. Click on Save to finish.
upload in the background.
Once uploaded, use the Cortex Mobile
app for sharing.
Tap again to exit.
To share items with a friend, you
both need to follow each other on
When you upload a Preset or Neural
Cortex Cloud
Capture to Cortex Cloud its privacy
status is made Private by default.
To change it so that it is available
to the public, edit it in the Cortex
Mobile app.
 Cortex Cloud App
Discover Users, Presets, and
Neural Captures using Cortex
Cloud.
The web version of Cortex Cloud is now
available at neuraldsp.com/cloud.

Adding friends
In the Cortex ecosystem, friends can
share items with each other even if they
are private. To become friends with
somebody, you both have to follow each
other.

1. Use the search function on the

Importing Impulse Responses Using Impulse Responses
Discovery page to search for
1. On your Quad Cortex, open the 1. Add a Cabsim block to The Grid another user.
Directory and navigate to the and open its settings.
2. Tap the “Follow” button next to the
Impulse Responses folder beneath 2. Open the Impulse selector box and user you wish to follow. The status
Cloud Directories. tap . will change to “Following”.
2. Tap the “Download” button on the 3. Choose the IR you’d like to use.
3. When they follow you back, you will
IRs you’d like to use, or tap the
be friends, and will see each other
“Download all” button at the top to
on your friends lists.
download all available IRs to your
4. You can share items with each
Quad Cortex.
other from Quad Cortex or Cortex
3. IRs will be downloaded to the The IR Loader Block makes Cloud, even if they are private.
Impulse Responses folder beneath much easier to use your own
Device Directories and will fill any or third-party IRs. 5. Shared items will be available
available slots. You can rearrange to download on Quad Cortex in
them by dragging-and-dropping. Directory > Shared with me.
The full version of the Quad Cortex User Manual
can be found here

support.neuraldsp.com

neuraldsp.com

Rev 2.0