Preset
a.k.a. a tone / a patch
A preset is one complete saved tone: amp, cab, effects and all their settings. On the Quad Cortex it lives on the device and Cortex Cloud. In a plugin it saves as a preset file on your computer.
Everything you need to export presets from Neural DSP, across the Quad Cortex and the plugins. Learn exactly how Cortex Cloud, captures, the Preset Manager and preset files work, so you can export your tones, back them up, import them, and get every preset ready to share or sell.
Before you export anything, it helps to know how Neural DSP organizes your tones. The Quad Cortex and the plugins work in two very different ways, so this guide covers both.
A preset is one complete saved tone: amp, cab, effects and all their settings. On the Quad Cortex it lives on the device and Cortex Cloud. In a plugin it saves as a preset file on your computer.
A Neural Capture is the Quad Cortex sampling a real amp or pedal. Captures live inside presets and can be shared on Cortex Cloud right alongside them.
The Quad Cortex shares presets and captures through Cortex Cloud. The plugins export and import presets as plain files, just like any other brand.
The account based cloud that stores, shares and syncs Quad Cortex presets and captures over WiFi and the app.
The desktop and mobile companion for the Quad Cortex, used to edit, organize and manage your presets.
The panel inside every Neural DSP plugin, with Save, Import and Export for your preset files.
Exporting presets from Neural DSP takes just a few things. Get these ready first and the how to below becomes a quick job, whichever product you own.
A Quad Cortex, or any Neural DSP plugin such as an Archetype, the Fortin suite or Nano Cortex software. Each one exports presets its own way.
You need a Neural DSP account and a registered Quad Cortex to use Cortex Cloud. The same account authorizes your plugin licenses.
WiFi on the Quad Cortex for Cortex Cloud, or your computer for plugin preset files. Cortex Control connects over USB and network.
Keep the Quad Cortex firmware, Cortex Control and your plugins up to date, and always back up your presets before an update.
Always get Cortex Control, plugin installers, firmware and manuals straight from Neural DSP, never a third party mirror. Sign in with your Neural DSP account to authorize plugins, and back up before every update.
The Quad Cortex does not export presets as loose files. Instead it uses Cortex Cloud: you upload a preset to the cloud, then download or share it from there. Here is what it looks like.
On the Quad Cortex, connect to WiFi and sign in with your Neural DSP account. This links the device to your Cortex Cloud library.
Open a preset, use its menu and choose to upload it to Cortex Cloud. Any Neural Captures inside the preset travel with it automatically.
Choose Public so anyone can find and download it, or Private so only you and friends you share with can access it.
Browse Cortex Cloud in the app or on the device, star a preset, and it appears on your Quad Cortex over WiFi, ready to save and play.
To send a preset directly, you and the other user must follow each other on Cortex Cloud. Once you are mutual friends, you can share files between accounts.
The plugins are the easy part. Every Neural DSP plugin, like the Archetype series, has a Preset Manager with Save, Import and Export, so a preset exports as a simple file you can share like any other brand.
Open the plugin in your DAW or standalone, dial in your tone, then use the Save disk icon in the Preset Manager and give it a clear name.
Click the Presets area in the top toolbar to open the manager, then find and select the preset you want to send out.
Choose Export and save the preset to a backup folder. Neural DSP plugin presets are small preset files, so they are easy to store and send.
Presets also live on disk. On Mac they are in Library / Audio / Presets / Neural DSP / [Plugin], and on Windows in ProgramData / Neural DSP / [Plugin].
To load a preset you received, open the Preset Manager and use Import, or drop the file into that same presets folder and reopen the plugin.
Neural DSP is a special case. The Quad Cortex has no preset file to attach, so selling and free sharing work differently from the plugins. Here is exactly how to handle each one on Tons of Tones.
Because Quad Cortex presets only move through Cortex Cloud, the seller has to share each one by hand. There is no file to upload to the store.
At checkout, get the buyer's Cortex Cloud ID, their Neural DSP username.
Follow that user on Cortex Cloud, and have them follow you back, so you become mutual friends.
Share the preset directly to that user from Cortex Cloud. It lands in their account, ready to star and download.
For a free preset, skip the manual friend step. Set the preset to Public on Cortex Cloud and share the link with the buyer through the order.
Upload the preset to Cortex Cloud and set it to Public.
Copy the public Cortex Cloud link for that preset.
Paste the link into the thank you note of the purchase, so every buyer gets it instantly.
For the Archetype and other Neural DSP plugins, there is a real preset file. Export it from the Preset Manager and upload that file to your product on Tons of Tones, exactly the same as every other plugin brand. The buyer downloads the file and imports it.
Neural DSP gives you a few ways to keep your tones safe across hardware and software. Pick whichever fits your setup, and always back up before an update.
Upload your presets and captures to Cortex Cloud. They stay tied to your account, so you can restore them to any Quad Cortex you sign in on.
Copy the whole Neural DSP presets folder from your computer to a backup drive. That single folder holds every plugin preset you have saved.
Export individual presets as files from each plugin Preset Manager. Perfect for the exact tones you plan to keep, share or sell.
There is no loose preset file for the Quad Cortex. Upload to Cortex Cloud, then share or star to move a preset between devices.
Direct sharing needs a mutual follow. Ask a buyer for their Cortex Cloud ID, follow them, and have them follow you back.
When you share a Quad Cortex preset, any Neural Capture it uses goes with it, so the receiver hears the exact same amp.
A Quad Cortex preset will not open in a plugin, and a plugin preset will not load on the Quad Cortex. Keep them clearly separated.
Quick answers about Quad Cortex, Cortex Cloud and plugin presets
No. The Quad Cortex shares presets and captures only through Cortex Cloud. You upload a preset, then download or share it from the cloud, rather than saving a loose file.
The seller shares it by hand. Get the buyer's Cortex Cloud ID, follow each other so you are mutual friends, then share the preset directly to their account from Cortex Cloud.
Set the preset to Public on Cortex Cloud, copy its public link, and paste that link into the thank you note of the purchase so every buyer receives it.
Open the plugin Preset Manager, select the preset and choose Export to save it as a file. You can also copy it from the Neural DSP presets folder on your computer.
On Mac, in Library then Audio then Presets then Neural DSP then your plugin. On Windows, in ProgramData then Neural DSP then your plugin. Copy that folder to back everything up.
For the Quad Cortex, yes. Cortex Cloud needs a free Neural DSP account and a registered Quad Cortex. Plugin presets are plain files, so sharing them needs no account at all.
You have exported your Quad Cortex and plugin tones. Turn them into income on Tons of Tones, the world's first marketplace built just for guitarists.
