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Playing live

Gig View, the expression trap that bites mid-set, Wi-Fi that works in a venue, and a checklist for the door.

Lesson 10 of 107 min
The short version

Set up Gig View and check every preset's Global EQ before you leave the house. Both problems are silent, and both surface on stage.

Gig View exists because the Grid is unreadable from standing height

A seven-inch screen full of Grid detail is fine on a desk and useless three feet below your face in a dark room. Gig View strips it back to preset and scene names large enough to read while standing up.

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reach it, or hold BANK DOWN and TEMPO together — the footswitch route arrived in CorOS 4.0.0 and has to be enabled in Device Settings first. Do that at home.

Expression assignments are per-preset

There is no global expression assignment. A wah you want on every preset has to be assigned on every preset, which is exactly the kind of thing you discover two songs into a set.

Build it into a template preset before you start making copies. Retrofitting it across a finished setlist is an evening you will not enjoy.

One physical pedal can drive two functions: run two TRS cables into EXP 1 and EXP 2, assign EXP 1 to two blocks, then assign EXP 2 to both blocks' bypass in Switch mode with the range inverted on one. Recalibrate afterwards in I/O Settings.

Quad Cortex Wiki: FAQ

Venue Wi-Fi, if you need it at all

You do not need Wi-Fi to play — plugins verify once and then run offline indefinitely, and nothing in a preset requires a connection. But if you want Cortex Cloud at a venue, the requirements are specific rather than vague.

  • Signal must reach −60 dBm or better. Below that you get failures, not slowness.
  • Use 2.4 GHz, or a mixed 2.4/5 GHz network with the bands split into separate SSIDs.
  • Avoid special characters in the network name.
  • Give the unit a static IP and prioritise its traffic in the router's QoS settings.
  • Tethering to a phone? Turn on “Maximize Compatibility”.

The checklist

Ten minutes at home, in exchange for not discovering any of this on stage.

  1. 01Input level set for the hottest guitar you are bringing, verified on the meter.
  2. 02Every preset's output level matched — 12 dB of headroom on cleans, 6 dB on distorted.
  3. 03Global EQ checked on your biggest presets. If it is silently off, that preset is over the DSP budget.
  4. 04Gig View enabled in Device Settings and reachable from the footswitches.
  5. 05Expression pedal assigned on every preset that needs it.
  6. 06Mode set, and the BANK DOWN + TEMPO combo practised — it is printed on the chassis, but not at gig speed.
  7. 07A backup on your computer via Cortex Control.
  8. 08The A + H recovery combo written on a card in your case.
  9. 09The right power supply. 12 V at 3 A, mains only.
  10. 10A spare TRS cable, because the TS one costs you 6 dB.