“This was the first amp modeller that I’ve tried that feels like a real amp”: Vower’s Joe Gosney and Rabea Massaad reveal their festival Quad Cortex setups – and why there's a Zappa-inspired “harmonic exciter” on the 'board

Vower's Joe Gosney (left) and Rabea Massaad pictured inside a tent at ArcTanGent Festival, with their Quad Cortex-driven live rigs on the table behind them.

We always talk about the amp modeller transforming what a viable live rig looks like. How there is really no need for an "real amp" and cab. No need for a well-stocked pedalboard. Just take the unit, go direct. But it’s only when you see it IRL that it dawns on you just how radical all this is.

Like when MusicRadar caught up with Vower guitarists Joe Gosney and Rabea Massaad at the 2024 ArcTanGent Festival, ostensibly for a video tour of their pedalboards. There was a catch – there was not much 'board to tour.