All Neural DSP Amps Ranked: The Best for High Gain!

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

This is obviously an opinion based ranking.. feel free to disagree. Check the description to find a link to the mix presets for each of the S-Tier Amps in this video!

[@dlimi]

Totally agree that Fortin NTS Suite is the weakest one of the bunch. My two personal favourites are Cali and Soldano. Cali is just a super versatile amp and i really love how it has this kind of hot-rodded Marshall type of tone to it but still being able to sound tight and modern. I can get some really meaty chunky metal-tones out of this one. The Soldano is the most realistic sounding one in my opinion and it's my main goto amp-plugin for writing Death Metal stuff. Another important aspect for me is how they feel and respond when playing thru them. Both the Cali and Soldano is top tier on this... by far the best responding amps of all the ones i have tried so far.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

I really like the Soldano! It and the Mesa amps are the most true sounding amps! The mid range response on the Soldano is super natural sounding. There is a fine line between B and A tier honestly.

[@vikingguitar]

Great vid! I'd be interested in a breakdown of the tones you used for the main three amps in the blind test.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

Oooh good idea. Maybe for this video I will pop a link to the presets in the description so NDSP user can try them out on their plugins. The raw amp tones only have a HPF on the stereo bus, otherwise they are untouched. But… there is multiband compression and saturation happening on the Master bus. That will affect the final tone just a tad.

[@vikingguitar]

@@BaritoneGoatStudioThat would be killer! And yeah, some compression and saturation on the master buss will impact things some, but the main tone will still be in the patches. 🙂

[@bison962]

Be getting the nameless, sounds just awesome

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

@@bison962 the nameless is the original and still the GOAT for NDSP plug-ins!

[@brucelivolsi]

Thx for making this video. I'm surprised that before you began, I figured the #Gojira and Fortin Nameless would be in "S" tier. I don't own them yet, but my research has convinced me they are the best for modern high gain applications. Also, I guessed correctly (right away) on which amp was "amp A!" My plan has been to get the #FortinNamelessX and Gojira X during the next #NeuralDSP sale (Black Friday?). The clarity of the Nameless is unmistakable, and you proved it. And the Gojira also has a crushing tone, just a monster (no pun intended).

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

@@brucelivolsi both Gojira and Nameless will always be top of the heap for me! The new release of the Nolly X has improved it a bit. The new IRs included almost make me want to move it to S tier. Not sure yet. I may update my list in a few months. One thing about the Cali plug-in is you get features on par with an Archetype for the price of a single amp suite. I didn’t really compare value much in my list, but part of its S tier status for me is the bang for the buck aspect of that plug-in.

[@compucorder64]

​@@BaritoneGoatStudio Nameless is probably my favourite. I like Nolly X a lot too. But shout out to the OTTO 11 11 11, which is a bargain if you pick it up with the discount, around 60. Which is up there with Nameless, and complimentary to it. I like it better than Granophyre too, and you can get it for half the price. Slightly above the OTTO, there's the Softube Amp Room ENGL Savage 120, and the Bogren Digital MLC too. The Mixwave Spiritbox Mike Stringer is an interesting alternative to Nolly X too, and it's tone is a little shifted more to Nameless.

[@21stcenturymetal31]

I agree My favorite is the cali has been since day 1 release. Such a good sounding plugin

[@davegrice3423]

Hearing Amp A, it was obvious that it was Nameless for me, and absolutely it goes in S. The other 2 I couldn't have called immediately, but feel like those are solid S selections as well. Thanks for your vid.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

I feel like the cab they matched with the head in the nameless gives it a distinct midrange and paired with that grind pedal, it just cuts!

[@davegrice3423]

@@BaritoneGoatStudioyeah I think you nailed it, it's the mids on that amp. My association for that tone is Fozzy, oddly. That's what comes to mind every time I hear it :)

[@tyrannosaurusriffs]

I've watched this 3 times now and I don't know what I want. Every time I pull it up I want another. That nameless though, I love the tone you got in your mix with that.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

Nameless is essential. They just released the X version. Definitely worth having.

[@tyrannosaurusriffs]

@@BaritoneGoatStudio it wasn't even on my list......it is now! I'm going to buy 2 for sure. I think your blind mix has me sold on Nameless though.

[@ammostockpile]

Great ranking! The only spot I differ is the Tom morello, it’s a D for me

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

It is at the bottom of C for me, but some of the JCM800 tones and the effects they included at least make it a true to form plug-in. The Henson amp also has a JCM that is just as capable though. I hope the NDSP develops a Marshall suite on par with the Mesa IIC+

[@ammostockpile]

@@BaritoneGoatStudio I hope NDSP has a great Jcm coming too, currently I’m getting the Jcm tones from the Lasse Lamert (probably butchered that) from STL

[@kaerithmallock]

petrucci, you can do so much stuff, and with some good custom IR and some settings you can achieve a really brutal high gain sound

[@AndresPrass]

Spot on!

[@constantinranis]

On their latest sale i downloaded every high gain amp from neural and tried the trials for a whole weekend straight in every possible scenario and i ended buying nameless x,omega and gojira, the first 2 for the character the third one because is the more vanilla amp ever made , its like a swiss knife

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

I need to revisit the Omega more. A lot of people really dig it.

[@constantinranis]

@@BaritoneGoatStudio definitely man, spend some time with it , to my ears is something between Mesa and EVH, it blends well with a lot of amps

[@vincenttaylor9691]

I have Gojira and Soldano for the higher gains, Gojira is my go to, i can also get great clean tones out if it, love it !!!

[@robspectre1973]

I’d have to go Gojira X, Mesa 2C+, and Omega personally but I’m mostly a Drop C/D Standard 6 string Gen X’er.

[@MatthewBagar]

When I heard AMP B, I immediately knew that's CALI. This is the first video where someone puts that amp on top of the list. Basically, my list would be similar. I love Gojira, I love Nolly, and also Nameless. But if someone tells me that I can keep only one, without any hesitation, I would say Cali. When it came out, I didn't even consider buying it, but when I did, it suited me right away, and since then, I've been using it for demos, for writing, and also on final official productions.That amp has something in it that others don't. Like I said, in a blind shootout, I knew in a second that's the amp. I wish we'd get an X version of it, but I heard they're updating those amps based on which ones are used the most by users. So, I think Cali won't be updated soon.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

Cali is underrated! And AMP B is the most distinct for sure. The bottom end and fullness of the Cali amp is pretty unmatched. Also, you essentially get an Archetype level of tones in the plug-in without paying the extra $40. It is just insane how slept on the plug-in seems to be!

[@arilotringer]

B was my favorite definitely, whole other level, the other ones sounded more harsh and scooped, so Fortin Cali yeah! Didn't expect it. I wish NDSP would make an archetype Diezel of some sort, one of the contenders in real life imho to the Fortin is the Diezel Herbert.

[@TommyGunzzz]

I really will never understand why everyone loves the nolly so much

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

I think it is a combination of it being the first real artist suite with a bunch of added stuff, and it was the first decently decked out 5150 sim that also had a modeled JCM 800 as well. It was a lot for the time. I like it enough, and it did set the bar for future releases… but, I like other sims better and other companies do the 5150 better.

[@bison962]

Agree, to me the worst hi gain tones from them, a disappointment

[@mattvgyo]

I LOVE Archetype Rabea!!!

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

It was one that I demoed with no idea if I would like it, and after 10 minutes with the synth and clean ambient tones… I was like “guess I am buying this one”

[@modernroyaljams]

Cool vid! I do use Omega the most these days mixed with the Soldano. Rabea and Petrucci are great but there’s just so much stuff in them which most guitarist would dig. I prefer the Omega, Soldano, Nameless, Gojira….. you open them up and in about 10 seconds ‘bang’…. You have a killer tone. Just swap out the IRs for something like Bogren Digital and its killer riff tones.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

The omega gets alot if love! Maybe I should work with it more and do a bit more mixing it with other amps.

[@modernroyaljams]

@@BaritoneGoatStudio kzbin.info/www/bejne/qX2yqoKfhdB5m80si=A8733CnJaJQhQNZx

[@modernroyaljams]

@@BaritoneGoatStudio This track is two Omega and Two Soldano. Quad tracked. They lift each other I think.

[@cunjoz]

11:44 idk if you're talking about the plugin or the real amp but the real amp is definitely NOT one of the hardest amps to dial in. bass - low (controls the flub) mids - a bit higher (controls the meat) treble - high (controls another gain stage and tightness) eq smiley face is your friend it's not a 5 5 5 amp, it's a low mid high amp. a different concept for sure, but nothing complex. if the plugin emulates the real thing like that then the same applies.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

The plug-in. It has a lot more control knobs and emulated parameters of the actual amp than most plug-ins and if you haven’t ever played around with a mark series amp, you end up with a bit of a learning curve. Most folks are used to the 5150 style plug-ins. There is a fairly standard way to set them up as you said, and that gets you 90% of most high gain tones. If you try and get it into more modern metal territory, you will spend some time tweaking certain parameters. Additionally, since these are mostly mix tools, how they sound in standalone and in a mix end up pretty different. The main thing about this amp sim in a mix is that small adjustments seem to have a dynamic effect. I found that some of the best preset they have omit the graphic EQ completely. I am also not a fan of the cabs they matched with the amps though. It limits the tone somewhat to me as they all seem to be v30 based.

[@they_arent_human]

It's completely dif setup than most amps. The tone controls are like a eq pedal going into most amps. The eq sliders are like the eq knobs on most amps.

[@mattvdh]

the abbassi one also kind of sucks. The only thing I dislike about NDSP stuff is that they require too much CPU, so it starts to sputter out when I have some other plugins loaded. have you tried Vtaramps? you'd like the Raven volcanic or RedTone

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

I have noticed the X updated ones have been much better on my CPU. I will need to check out the Vtaramps. There are just so many options these days.

[@shanecollins9282]

I use Gojira X more than Cali but once the Cali gets the X update, that my change.

[@godned74]

Gojira for leads and Plini for rhythm

[@TheDarkEthereal]

Not wrong at all. Preference is subjective to personal taste. Also, those 3 are my top S tier 😂.

[@necroticpoison]

Grano takes a lot of work of figuring out how to and what to do. Most people can tweak it but for the most part only to shine w/ low tuned tones, but once you've learned, it does everything from buttrock to deathgrind. No lie. Maybe it's not everyone's taste, but you can make the sig sound be not noticed by listeners and just sound great. It also sounds good no matter how bad the source is. Plini I agree. Sounds cardboardy to me and soft in attack. Part of what makes the Cali great is its IR. Gojira is also often not great in the mix, it can be worked, and yes people say its great, but if not done right it will not fit and people do not recognise that bc they're so infatuated with how good it sounds (true, but mix is a mix)

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

I think I need to pull up the granophyre and mess with it a little more!

[@MatthiasBuesing]

Don't get the bashing on the Natas. The real thing is a beast and so is the plugin...

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

Can’t get anything out of it I like. And I am not alone apparently, if you got a preset I should try, send it along!

[@FyreofShadow]

The Mesa/Boogie Suite may be the easiest S tier amp on this list for me, it's so versatile. To be fair I'm also biased towards Mesa amps in general, but still :P Do however wish that the effects were a little more in-depth like the John Petrucci amp suite, and the gate still affecting the signal even when it's turned off is annoying.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

My main gripe with the Mark II suite is the cab selection. I wish they had like a black shadow cab or something other than the V30 OS and Trad 412s.

[@FyreofShadow]

This is VERY true. Usually I just abandon the built-in cabs and use custom IRs, cause all of the built in stuff sounds pretty basic.@@BaritoneGoatStudio

[@they_arent_human]

It should have the Metallica setups. Marshall cabs, option to switch to a Marshall power amp

[@joesaxon6566]

What does S tier mean? They didn't have that grade when I was in school...

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

Yeah. It is carry over from modern gaming culture. Basically mean “superior”… it also comes from a Japanese word meant to denote exemplary performance.

[@joesaxon6566]

@@BaritoneGoatStudio Thanks for the explanation for this old dude

[@justsomerandomguyman]

I agree with the Gojira being S tier, and a lot of that is because the 5150 III is S tier in real life, but I didn't really like any of the Fortin ones, tbh. They'd all be in C tier for me. Not a fan of their tonality. Too dry, not bright enough. Very different from the Gojira's 5150 III sound in a bad way for my tastes.

[@ErebosArt]

For me Omega should be lower. Abasi too. Should be D.

[@BaritoneGoatStudio]

Omega has a very specific sound and I like it enough for what it can do. But the Abasi was big disappointment. Very much not what I expected.

[@ErebosArt]

@@BaritoneGoatStudio i find the yellow amp unusable. The "crunchy" one is fine and the clean is good. Maby if i played 8 string with similar techniques to Tosin it would shine.

[@XCenturionX]

The Gojira is one of the worst sounding Neural DSP amps. It has really bad annoying frequencies that I cannot stand. The Cali is a hard pass, and the NTS, Nameless, and Granophyre are right up there in Tier S for me

[@steffenwolf3200]

Ive never enjoyed any of them

[@wce74wce15]

NDSP is overated

[@TheFunnyzach]

I’ll bite, let’s hear why then?