I've used to have an AxeFx, currently own Helix and Atomic (Amplifire 3, Amplifire 12, Firebox) and the 4C seems to address what I consider to be the shortcomings in each:
- AxeFx
- HATE the rack form factor
- Lots of scrolling through menus to program the device
- Helix
- Big and heavy for a floor unit
- Amplifire
- Device is too big (A12) or not enough control for live use
- No USB audio
- Limited # of amps
The Quad Cortex is in the Goldilocks zone from a size standpoint: big enough to have 10 foot switches (same as Helix LT) and small enough to fit in a gig bag. On a pedalboard that's basically the size of my Helix, I can fit the Cortex, wireless, two (mini) expression pedals, and
six other stomp boxes. If I don't feel like running that many outboard FX, I can go with a smaller board or just shove the modeler in the pocket of a gig bag.
Given NDSP's prowess with plugins, there's no doubt that they know how to make good-sounding guitar modeling. The UI is slick. On top of dozens of amp models, there are also dozens of captures and likely to be hundreds more in the coming months. BTW, based on the demo videos they've done, the captures sound pretty much spot on.
For me, the main questions are performance features (e.g., preset switching, expression pedal parameters) and USB audio capabilities and latency. While I don't expect those to be perfect at launch, seeing CEO Doug Castro talk about software development makes me think that NDSP knows what they're doing when it comes to writing code. Thus, deficiencies would most likely be due to insufficient understanding of user requirements. Assuming the hardware is up to the task, that's fixable as the developers' understanding improves.
In case you didn't figure it out by now, I'm pretty excited about the potential here. Hopefully we'll get our first look in the coming weeks...