I’ll throw in my thoughts, since I’ve got both of them. Bottom line: if I could only choose one, I’d pick Chroma Console. It’s not even close. It’s much more flexible in terms of tone than the Qi.
The CC excels at fat sounds, because it’s got the distortion module, but also the end stage with compressor or tape model. That said, you can also do weird or broken/glitchy sounds pretty easy with some of the delay and character algorithms. If you want to do more delicate ethereal sounds, you’ll have to use some restraint. But you have the filter, swell, reverb, and vibrato that can take you to those places.
Where the Qi wins is the ethereal sounds. Obviously. It’s in the name. The chorus is pretty meh, but you’ll miss it when it’s not there. The delay is a hi-fi digital, but nothing special. The granular can be dialed in for cool textures, once you start mixing it with the delay. The reverb is quite nice, mixing from a small space to an endless expanse, but it’s just over knob. With the CC, I could see a use for any one of the four modules separately, but not with the Qi. The Qi is best when crafting a unified sound. That said, the Qi has a comfort zone. It can get quirky with the Freeze or the Grain Looper, but for the most part, it’s pretty polite (although the chorus goes quickly from “is it on?” to “box of bees.”)
The Qi isn’t quite a one trick pony, but it definitely has a sound. What you hear in the demos is mostly what it does. The Chroma is something you could explore for a long time and approach from many different angles. So it kinda depends on what you’re looking to add to your music, since they are pretty radically different boxes. Not much overlap, I’d say.
Both have the same basic concept—multi-effects where you add a little of this, a little of that—but the end results are quite different. The Chroma Console leans toward gritty textural saturated sounds when I use it, and the Qi leans toward spacious cleaner sounds when I use it.
“Warmth and character” is a bit tricky. The Chroma Console easily defaults to warmer sounds. Both have lots of character. For what it’s worth, I sold the Microcosm but am really happy with the Qi, and find myself regularly reading for it.
It I want to make something dirtier and more tape-y, I reach for the Chroma Console. If I want to make something more spacious and otherworldly, I reach for the Qi.
I’d echo what @cogsy and @jayhosking had to say! I’d absolutely reach for Chroma for warmer, grittier sounds, and Qi for cleaner, spacier, etherial sounds - both being absolutely great choices for multi-effect fun. I’m excited to see how the new Lost + Found from Chase Bliss eventually lands into this mix as well haha.
From what you guys said, I really leaned toward getting the Chroma Console. It sounds like something that would work really well with my music… but then I found an ex-demo Qi at a real bargain price and snatched it.
Got it today, and after just a couple of hours it’s already inspiring and fun to work with — kind of meditative.
I’ll probably get the Chroma Console as well. Let’s see how long I can avoid pressing the buy button.
In case you’re curious what they sound like together, this is a chillwave jam I recorded with Chroma Console into Qi. I start with Qi on a pretty conservative setting, then later I crank the distortion on the CC, fire up the granular and reverb on the Qi, and take off. The Qi can tend to break up a bit with a hotter input and lots of verb, but it can be very lush
Neither the Chroma or the Qi by itself is “that sound,” it’s definitely the mix of the two together
