Neural Amp Modeler, a free amp profiler?!?

  • Guitar/Pickups profiling would be a "next big thing".....probably dreaming here

    Dreaming? Not really. At least I don't think.

    When you look at Fishman Fluence pickups, it sure seems as if the sky is the limit.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Maybe i miss read it and im not sure if there is any confusion with similar names but the free NAM Neural amp modeller and Neural DSP are not connected in anyway as far as i know.

    I have a few of the Neural DSP suites and for what they are they are fun and certainly useable. Its cool how they are branching out from what they are predominantly known for (METAL!!) and releasing other suites too. They just released a cool sounding Mesa Boogie suite :)

  • Maybe i miss read it and im not sure if there is any confusion with similar names but the free NAM Neural amp modeller and Neural DSP are not connected in anyway as far as i know.

    I have a few of the Neural DSP suites and for what they are they are fun and certainly useable. Its cool how they are branching out from what they are predominantly known for (METAL!!) and releasing other suites too. They just released a cool sounding Mesa Boogie suite :)

    You are correct. I know NAM and Neural DSP are completely separate. I think I misread the post I quoted as I thought it said ToneX and Quad Cortex (which is Neural DSP) are now wiping the floor with the Kemper. Which is why I mentioned my experience with NDSP. I also had a similar experience with the ToneX VST. I wasn’t overly impressed with it. Nothing wrong with it but nothing game changing either. Plus I don’t like the plugin approach instead of a physical device like the KPA. I’m not averse to plugins in addition to hardware but I couldn’t survive with a plugin only workflow which some people seem to think is the future of modelling/profiling.

  • that NAM sounds cool, looking forward trying it.


    If that tool is open source, I guess the KPA could used as a controller for this plugin, or even better : be Embedded at some point into a slot of the KPA (Yeah it's allowed to dream here ;)


    Plugin may be cool , but dealing with menu & mouse would ruin my KPA workflow.

  • You are correct. I know NAM and Neural DSP are completely separate. I think I misread the post I quoted as I thought it said ToneX and Quad Cortex (which is Neural DSP) are now wiping the floor with the Kemper. Which is why I mentioned my experience with NDSP. I also had a similar experience with the ToneX VST. I wasn’t overly impressed with it. Nothing wrong with it but nothing game changing either. Plus I don’t like the plugin approach instead of a physical device like the KPA. I’m not averse to plugins in addition to hardware but I couldn’t survive with a plugin only workflow which some people seem to think is the future of modelling/profiling.

    Ah! gotchya! :) for the longest time ive been flirting with the idea of trying the QC (which i know is Neural DSP) lol maybe i will pull the trigger on one \m/

  • The reality is that no one is "wiping the floor" with anyone. With the exception of the Profiler, all of these technologies are in their infancy. Their combined user base probably doesn't equal Kemper's by itself, yet.


    How long are these companies going to support their products? A free plugin on GitHub? That place is as much a graveyard as it is a garden.


    Will they 'beat' the Profiler? Eventually, yes. Absolutely. 100% yes. No one stays on top forever.


    All that to say...and so what?

    Helluva time to be interested in digital gear.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Others have been profiling years now. What about meorr? Tone x now too. And i read kempers patent is over. What I do know is its wiping the floor with capturing a amp. Kemper needs to update the profiling process because its last on the list for many. I got neural an it sounds way more realistic. Dynamics are fantastic an its just more open. The software allows for looooong profiling. You even get a chart showing how close you got. Downside is its glitchy and finicky. Its developer mode stuff but guys are working on updated versions already

    Oh yeah really? More real then a real hw amp then? Have you ever owned hw amp(s)? If you hear a commercial song you wouldn't know it was a kemper and you would belive if someone lied to you and said it was X amp that was used. Why do you think many well known guitarists use a kemper live? If you prefer nam, well good for you but please spare us claims you can't back up. We've heard that the newest is so much better and more realistic than anything else many times before. I'm bs-vaccinated.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • If I were to develop a new product right now it would be a PC based device capable of running VSTs.

    • It would have all of the hardware ins/outs/pedals of the Kemper Stage. Use MIDI for interface.
    • I would throw in a few Amp/IR/Verb VSTs for free to get people up and running.
    • I would shoot for two models: $300-500 and $1000-2000.
    • Create an ecosystem to buy/sell/authenticate the VSTs. This is where you will make bank. (Steam)
    • Could also be used for keyboards, vocals, etc. Limited by the Audio, USB, and MIDI interfaces.

    Kemper has stated the beauty of profiling is that they are not responsible for the amp sounds. The users make the sounds. Having a VST package removes you from everything: Amps, IRs, Pedals, etc.


    Probably could work out a deal with one of the USB KEY licensing companies (iLok) to ease the VST auth work.


    Many may recall Neural was supposed to do this already. But they probably saw the handwriting on the wall and they were not ready yet. They probably thought it was a cool idea and then realized how much bigger it could be and held off.


    But it is coming. Probably one of the lower tier companies selling on Amazon will be first.


    This is the way.

  • Oh yeah really? More real then a real hw amp then? Have you ever owned hw amp(s)? If you hear a commercial song you wouldn't know it was a kemper and you would belive if someone lied to you and said it was X amp that was used. Why do you think many well known guitarists use a kemper live? If you prefer nam, well good for you but please spare us claims you can't back up. We've heard that the newest is so much better and more realistic than anything else many times before. I'm bs-vaccinated.

    Get a grip ya big baby

  • Your thinking of another product.? This is the free new software, not trials

  • that NAM sounds cool, looking forward trying it.


    If that tool is open source, I guess the KPA could used as a controller for this plugin, or even better : be Embedded at some point into a slot of the KPA (Yeah it's allowed to dream here ;)


    Plugin may be cool , but dealing with menu & mouse would ruin my KPA workflow.

    I heard kempers going to use the new nam software in update or new kemper............ hope so.

  • How does this even work? Out of curiosity, I downloaded the program and all I get is a direct signal of my guitar.
    You can choose amp models, but there are none loaded? Care to give a guide how I can test a Marshall-style profile for example?

    its very simple an hit an miss. Its goin to evolve. Join the facebook group, loads profiles on there. Im still trying to profile with it but my daw is causing problems. It has what I wish the kemper did. Just a bones vst tho. Like I said elsewere I heard a rumour kemper have hired this bloke software.

  • Theres certainly a buzz around it. im not totaly tech with how it works but i heard its an open source vst so i think that means anyone can go into it and update its code.

    Scary how technology is evolving.

    Yea its nuts an what he has done is stir the pot for sure. It goin to evolve. Kemper wins with flexibility and sound scoping options. But sound wise this mops the floor with all the units. The fact its free is very strange because its open source, anyone can put it in a system. Kemper can if want

  • This is an interesting development and opens up the question of physical dedicated machine vs software based.


    The gap for me will always be:

    1) a solution for live work - I'm not taking a laptop to gigs

    2) Software is more temperamental IMO (license verification, PC versions, hardware differences etc). Given I work in IT ( so I'm not IT illiterate) I couldn't get any of the Neural stuff to run on my PC, it was too resource hungry. I had issues even with Amplitube installation and ilok plus soundcard clashes with ASIO blah, blah. Dedicated hardware takes out one main variable.


    Personally I don't see this as "the end for Kemper" but pushing the boundaries is always interesting as it drives innovation.

  • Unlike all these other systems that appear to be entirely software based, Kemper remains unique.


    Kemper use a specific chip, with code specifically optimized to run on it. One without the other isn't possible. At least not right now, and I'd doubt they'll ever bother. Similar to Apple writing their OS specifically for their silicon. Like it or lump it, you can't have one without the other. There are clear advantages (and disadvantages) to this approach


    From a live performance perspective, nothing else with a Profiling-type function has the track record. Modelers certainly do, but that's not what we're talking about.


    I'd guess CK and those at Kemper are looking at these new devices thinking "So, you finally figured it out." and/or "What have they done we hadn't considered?" They certainly aren't thinking "We're the best and no one can ever beat us."

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • All of this is correct.


    That is why I said the first person who can make a stand alone unit with working buttons that handles the authentication stuff will rule the world.


    I dont buy VSTs unless I absolutely have to because I hate having to make an account somewhere, get it authorized, etc. And what happens when that company folds? Can you still get the VST to work without being auth'ed??? our HDD fails or you get a new PC then have to dig thru days of re-authing everything. No thanks, I will just use my Kemper or Helix.


    Press power and off I go.

  • Yeah it can be a real ball ache authorising multiple softwares to sometimes multiple companies and if ya not PC savvie (like me) things can get a bit messy and lost in the madness lol. I guess we have the naughty pirates looking to illegally obtain and distribute said software to thank for that wonderful procedure.

    Makes sense from a companys perspective.