NAM vs ToneX vs Quad Cortex vs Kemper: can a free plugin beat paid solutions

[@begooode380]

You are providing quantitative information to go along with qualitative assessments/judgements AND real life “in the mix” experiences for context. You deserve way more subscribers based on your earnest contributions to tone fans and great guitar playing, imo. Thank you.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, your feedback and support are super important for me and really mean a lot to me!!! Thank you!!!

[@fernandomoreira256]

The best explanation in the KZbin history.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much for such a great compliment! really appreciated!

[@ricardoalexandreguedes4095]

The best indeed. Thank you for the video

[@kotekutalia]

I love his accent

[@SMGMusic14]

NO ONE comes close to such brilliant comparisons. Such a simple trick of phase inversion being able to pull the pants down on the big players hardware was great. Never change, Leo!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much for such great compliments!!! I'm really happy that you like the video!!!

[@AntonovichHicksenbrau]

Thank you for this video

[@hannibalbarkas1350]

I love NAM so much, it's already my main guitar amp (using a Splawn Pro Mod profile mostly, one of my dream amps and now I got it for free) and not looking back. Great testing, thanks!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome! Yes, it's a great tool!

[@hainokeiji]

Thank you for the objective data from phase cancellation and the blind test where you can enjoy subjective evaluation. I have already purchased Kemper, but I have decided to purchase Tonex as well.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much for your donation and your support: it means a lot to me!!!! I'm happy to have been of some help!!!

[@BobGuido]

Glad to be an influence on your awesome channel Leo! Great testing as always. I am pushing hard for NAM to become stereo, so you can insert it onto stereo tracks and also run stereo wet effects in front of it. I would also love to see a pedal maker build a pedal that hosts NAM, so you can have this sound on your pedalboard. Stereo would be amazing, so that it can integrate seamlessly with all of your other stereo pedals!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you! Yes, actually I load to NAM instances in order to have stereo tracks...therefore a stereo native NAM would be appreciated!

[@rickard9294]

According to anecdotes it is possible to run a Standard quality NAM model on a Raspberry Pi. Even lower CPU usage is being worked on also.

[@winstonsmith8240]

As someone who owns a 335 stereo guitar, ' I second that emotion.'

[@jase_from_down_under]

The Poly Effects Beebo from Australia now runs NAM -it’s currently in beta.

[@arcam4981]

Leo, sei sempre un passo avanti a tutti gli altri. Sempre video con contenuti di altissimo livello.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie mille per il bellissimo compimento! sono contento che i video ti piacciano!

[@poppsen4145]

this is by far the best comparison I've ever seen, this was worth every second, thank you very much for the hard work, it really shows.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Wow, thank you so much....I'm really happy that you have appreciated the video!!!

[@surfinjim]

Merci ! As other said better than I could, this is a very instructive video. Thank you!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Wow, thank you soooo much, I'm really happy that you like the video and your feedback and support is super important for me!!!

[@marcricos]

Man, this video is a masterpiece. Great educational content, great comparison, great entertainment rythm and fun, amazing demo... Congratulations!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much for such amazing compliment!!! Thank you for taking the time to live a feedback: it means a lot to me!!!

[@razznote7586]

This is becoming close to a PH. D. in Accoustics, Modelling and Profiling of Analog Devices to their Digital Representations, Leo you are the best in this domain so far in the world.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you sooo much for such an amazing compliment that really makes me happy!!!

[@taylormesa]

Thank you for the comparison analysis! On the Quad Cortex forums, there are some who are saying that CORS 2.1 has improved the capture quality. It would be interesting to see the same null test after the update (Aug 23). Thanks for all of your work, you have great content!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm really happy that you like the video!!! Thank you also for sharing this info...I'm was not aware...I will think about it. Thank you once more!

[@pjvintage]

Man, thanks very much. You change my life as a guitarist. I didn't know about NAM. I hearded about it, that's it. But after your video and several nights without sleeping, I'm completely sold out to NAM. There are a lot of comments here about your proficiency. I'm not available to do that. And I'm glad they did it. I write just a personal and thankful comment.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you so much for your feedback!!! I'm really happy to have been of some help!!!

[@Alex_Martz]

Your tests are the best!, I think you're the only youtuber doing a real Null test which is the most scientific way of doing these kind of comparisons, for a trained ear the other difference is that the more realistic the capture the more "3D" it appears to be and NAM really has that 3D quality, another interesting point you mention is that these captures are accurate for a SINGLE setting and as soon as someone tries to EQ or adjust the capture it'll divert from the original in an unpredictable way that no longer resembles the original unless, as you also stated correctly, you can blend captures with each knob movement and that brings the problem of processing power and memory as you'll need almost infinite combinations of captures to truly recreate an amp in software, fortunately we have Modeling which tries to solve this problem by programming it's algorithms to emulate and recreate what these knob movements would create on the real amp, That's why I think a combination of both technologies is what manufacturers should focus on, BTW, did you uploaded your Friedman capture into the NAM hive cloud?, Thanks!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, interesting point...mixing modelling and profiling would be interesting...I think we can also proceed in discrete steps...like proteus is starting doing. I mean for instance we can profile the gain knob at 20% 30% 40% etc...and then make the other combination...I think it's feasible...of course you have to spend a lot of time profiling all the combination...or the most relevant ones..... Thank you so much for your comment and I'm happy that you like the videos!!

[@imcrazedandconfused]

@@LeoGibsonGtr Profiling and neural network modeling are very different approaches. The neural network for us is a Black Box. It has nothing to do with emulation of a tube amp at all. We train it as a whole, we can not change certain characteristics after the model is trained. That makes it hard to combine it with other techniques. The tone stack of Tonex shows this, many criticize it, because you can hear it is not naturally baked into the amp. With Proteus and NAM it is principally possible to train a model with more parameters, from the real thing. One complete amp has already been made with NAM. It took 1 week to train and sounds fantastic. It took 70 captures to get the best out of it. Still, the resulting model does not need THAT much processing power, the most is invested in the training. I think, for future, there is not much potential in combining profiling with neural network amps, but a lot of potential in making it a bit more lightweight, in optimization, usage of graphics cards and meaningful user interfaces and a good choice of parameters to model. The other great thing are fantastic hardware emulators like Otto Audio II II II. This thing let me build hi gain amps, that I never heard before, in a plugin. Very intuitive, very sophisticated, great sounding. I use it to design some fantasy amp sounds for metal to use in a project. I then make Proteus models of them and use them inside of BYOD in the project. It's a fantastic new world for sounds right now. You can also model your studio hardware with NAM. There are already nam models for the nonlinear soundeffects of the Neve 1073 micpre, the Teletronix LA2A and the 1176 blue stripe compressors and a Studer tape (left and right). Fantastic times for musicians.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you so much for this informative post! May I ask you where can I dine the complete amp made with NAM? I would like to do the same thing with my Twin Sister and my Pink Taco...very interesting also the Otto Audio plugin...I want to try it out! Thanks!

[@hirpisorani9600]

​@@imcrazedandconfusedwhat's the complete amp in nam?

[@imcrazedandconfused]

@@hirpisorani9600 There are a lot of amps captured with a load box These need an IR. But there are also models of the whole stack captured with a microphone, amp and cab.

[@seyrnahd]

Fantastic video. This is the exact kind of comparison we need to help us get informed opinions and buying decisions.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you sooo much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video!

[@AlleiN]

Im here just to congratulate you for this amazing video. Nice job. Nice explanation. Nice technique. Nice everything.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video...and well....Nice comment ... 😀 Thank you so much!!!

[@jwright8838]

Great video, Leo. Its very telling that the AD converters/preamps play a very important role in Profiling.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you, I'm happy that you like the video! Yes, they have for sure a role...I'm not sure how big it is...but there is...

[@itamar_vidal]

Hi Leo. Congrats that was a great test. If you want to refine the test I recommend to use a frequency generator to scan a narrow band frequency and invert it. I am going to explain. Amps are extremely non-linear. Most parts of tone are composed by harmonics superposition which are extremely reach. Therefore some resulting frequency intensity is a complex superposition of many combinations, If you scan a single frequency and its harmonics you will be sure they are been reproduced precisely. But for first trial your test is amazing. Congrats for the unique video test.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm happy that you like the videos and the tests! Thank you also for the tips...pretty interesting...I have to think about this suggestions...Thank you!

[@davidmultimedia2024]

Thank you Leo, it is such a joy to watch your consistent quality content! I've paid for Tonex Max just a few days before discovering NAM, but I still prefer Tonex for a few reaons. First, CPU usage. NAM is noticeably more taxing on the processing power, and in a mix at 48khz 64 bit float which include a complex console emulation rig on the mix bus (which is already pretty taxing because it needs to apply it on every track in the session), it becomes way too heavy and i'm having crackling/popping noises even on my custom pc built for 6K RAW video editing. To reduce it, you have to drop down the training fidelity when creating the profile, which makes no sense to me at this point. Also, since I don't own any amps anymore and I'm exclusively using other people captures, Tonex has a lot more to offer at the moment. The null tests do confirm that NAM is even more accurate, but otherwise you couldn't tell (at least not enough for me to care). Still, NAM is awesome and will definitely change the game even further!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm really happy that you like the videos!!! Interesting points...good point about the CPU usage...I didn't notice it...I have to try....Of course ToneX is a much more complete platform...and the Tone X pedal was a great addition to the IK line up of products... Thank you once more!!!

[@imcrazedandconfused]

You might check out the GuitarML Proteus for lighter CPU usage. The models can also be load into Chow DSP BYOD. They are lighter on CPU and can be modeled FAST (I can train a model in 10 minutes easily in 1660 to 3080 wit CUDA. I wrote a Proteus Model Builder to easily train a model offline. They are still on par with the Tonex easily, if not better. The guy who wrote Proteus also contributes to NAM now.

[@imcrazedandconfused]

@@LeoGibsonGtr It may be interesting to hear, that there are active developments underway to make the open source neural modelers more complete and user friendly. I wrote a wrapper app for Proteus and am currently actively developing a GUI for the training process for 'NAM, too, and Proteus can be run in a DIY pedal already. There are also active developments underway to compile also NAM for the ARM platforms, e.g. as an lv2 plugin that could be loaded into MODDwarf, a commercially available pedal.

[@davidmultimedia2024]

@@imcrazedandconfused interesting, thanks for the insight

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, very cool info!!!!

[@marcelospaiva]

Excelent video... I was very curious to see you doing this a comparation. You are the best in the internet, teaching and showing us the amp and gear sounds

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much Marcelo, for such a great compliment!!!

[@roscius6204]

The phase inversion idea was brilliant Leo. Now I wonder if the same were applied to different takes. So capture an amp and then capture it again, same unit and compare :O

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you! Yes, good point about the amp sound captured in different moments. Here there are some more info about this topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJWTYZRoq81pfJo

[@slazinger]

Best gear channel in KZbin, no bullshit, objective comparisons and great playing! Regarding the comparison to me 4 and 5 sounded the best, I felt like the attack of the pick was a bit sweeter in those, anyway the all sound pretty damn close 😂

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video and the channel! Thank you also for sharing your findings! If you are interested in my music, maybe you can check out my last EP: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIC1iohpYttnqpY Thank you!

[@henryzometa]

I was waiting this comparison. Thank you

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome!!! I'm happy to have been of some help!!!

[@lukadegrossi1431]

Il miglior video per distacco che tratta di profilazioni. Nel mix sono indistinguibili, il nam è tanta roba considerando che è gratis e che ogni giorno si aggiungono nuove profilazioni...

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie 1000, sono veramente contento che ti piaccia il video! Grazie anche per aver condiviso la tua opinione!

[@89ji76]

Would love to see a comparison between the NAM with a high end interface like yours and something like a Focusrite Scarlett that we could expect most people would be using. Especially people looking for a free solution.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing and for your suggestion!

[@trentreimer130]

Thanks for these great tests Leo! My favourites, ranked, were #1, 5, 2, 4 and 3. Surprised to see that I ranked the Kemper one spot ahead of the more accurate ToneX. Will have to give NAM a try on my opensource operating system.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you for sharing your findings!

[@lapocasini1246]

I was surprised as well. Though ive heard that tone x for some reason has a little less gain than the amp its profiling and experienced profilers will add a clean boost to make it more close to the amp. I wonder if thats what we were hearing.

[@deanandthebeans857]

Thanks for going to all this trouble - brilliantly done!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm happy that you appreciate the video!!!

[@pablomenezzes]

You have the best videos, best content, best editing ever. Love your chanel. Cheers from Brazil!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi Pablo, thank you soooo much for such an amazing comment and compliment!!! Really appreciated!

[@AndyInTheUK]

No of course I can't tell the difference! And even if I could it doesn't mean I prefer one rig over another one. What a brilliant demonstration. Thank you.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you Andy, I'm happy that you like the video!!!

[@bootlegnjack]

I've been mucking around with NAM and it's been pretty bloody fun

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you for sharing!

[@digitalchris6681]

Very interesting and very useful. I'll try the NAM and, if it's as good as I suspect it will be, sell my Quad Cortex (which I don't use for pedal emulation etc). Please do post a video on how you train the NAM.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much! Yes, I will try to do a video about NAM training...

[@TheXIT]

I appreciate your videos and guitar playing! Please try the new Headrush Prime!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I’m really happy that you like my playing! as you can immagine, I can’t afford to buy everything, and this is pretty expensive. obviously if Headrush send me a unit to test, I will be happy to make some videos. thank you!

[@Viperfitness]

This channel has crazy good content! You are truly great, Leo!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much for such a great compliment !!!! Really appreciated!!!

[@davidletterboyz]

What a genius way to compare audio similarities!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you sooooo much, really super appreciated!!!

[@csharpminorseven]

Rig 3 fwiw. Much more important is your great contribution to guitar players' understanding of this new technology - fantastic, thanks Leo, your videos much appreciated! 👍

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video! Thank you also for sharing your favourite rig!

[@mik3rizzo]

Scientifico, pratico e concreto! Complimenti, ho apprezzato il video sia da fan del suono che da ingegnere :)

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie mille, sono veramente contento che il video ti sia piaciuto!

[@MeTuLHeD]

Awesome video Leo! I've been preaching this gospel for years now. The null test is truly the ONLY way to determine how close a real amp is to a modeled counterpart. Ain't science grand? :D

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you, I'm super happy that you like the video!!! Yes, science is grand!!!!

[@guitartoneSA]

I'm waiting for one of the famous "KZbinrs" to do an A/B/C comparison and NUL test between three 1965 Deluxe Reverbs or JCM800s all mic'd up the same...they'll sound different, so what's the point?

[@MeTuLHeD]

@@guitartoneSA True. But you missed the point. Every modeled amp is based on a specific amp. They can't model EVERY Rectifier. The null just allows them to create a copy of that one single amp. But it would be a perfect copy. Completely indistinguishable from the amp being modeled.

[@AlexandreAugustin]

Very technical, very comprehensive and very good explanation. You are amazing! Great job.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video!!! Thank you for your feedback!!

[@LegendLength]

that quantification really is cool thanks for showing it

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm really happy that you appreciate the video!

[@bosher11]

This is the best guitar channel for these kinds of comparisons. So technical and also entertaining

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much for such an amazing compliments!!! I really means a lot to me!!!!

[@andythefrenchy8026]

It would be great to also include GE Labs and AIDA-X in future comparison videos. Thanks for your amazing work!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you! Yes, good suggestion, even if GE Labs runs on iPad and require a totally different connection and routing...that's why is not included.

[@robertodepetro1996]

Io ho votato per il 5, nel mix lo preferisco, ed è quello gratuito! Questo canale è il top, bel brano, video intelligenti e di taglio pratico. Bravissimo, un abbraccio

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie mille Roberto, sono contento che i contenuti ti piacciano!!!!

[@zanzibar3758]

Great video! Thanks for that. Consider make profiles for the NAM to share or sell in the future.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm happy that you like the video!!! Thank you also for your suggestion!

[@Filip_K_Shapethesound]

Subbed and liked, super cool video. The only tiny thing that I'd like to add is that it's not a "phase inverted", but "polarity inverted" signal :)

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you like the video and your sub really mean a lot to me! As regards polarity, as far as I know, “Reverse Phase” in Cubase means “reverse polarity,” so that positives become negatives and vice versa. I'm not 100% sure...but that's what I found in the forums....Any feedback from you on this topic would be appreciated. Thank you!

[@Filip_K_Shapethesound]

@@LeoGibsonGtr Thanks for the response! Well, as far as I'm concerned, polarity refers to either positive or negative values of the sine wave, where phase actually refers to sine wave in time. So when you align 2 waveforms that they start precisely on the same sample - you're aligning phase. But when you make positive values negative and vice versa, you reverse polarity of the signal. My Console1 also states that it's phase inversion, which is not what it really is :)

[@Filip_K_Shapethesound]

@@LeoGibsonGtr kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6O7eYmNhayXm7M found this and it seems like a really good explanation :)

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Ok, thanks!

[@danthegeetarman]

I preferred 5 & 1 while 4 came in third with my least favorite being 3. Was almost going to buy a quad cortex but since they were hard to get, never ended up getting one. Now glad I didn’t get one. There’s a FREE plugin that sounds almost exactly like the real amps. Unbelievable. And thanks again for your thorough technical review Leo. I love seeing stuff like that for your reviews 👍🙏🙏

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you, both for the compliment and for sharing your findings!!!

[@imcrazedandconfused]

I want to really thank you for your very good videos. Actually, I bought an Ampero after seeing one of them a while ago. It is great, that you use actual science to show the viewers, that good sound is NOT magic. It is science. Tubes are tubes and not magic fairy dust. And if someone is not actually able to perceive the difference between the analog device and the digital model, there we have a point, where the discussion of "what sounds better" became meaningless. Then everything is about handling, processor power, mobility, real estate and physical weight! Of course people will still buy amps, because of nostalgic or historic value, status symbols etc. or for namedropping to get clients!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the videos!!! Yes, I think that tube amps are here to stay even if we will be able to copy them digitally...I still buy tube amps, even if I think that digital solutions are very very good. It's like my black Suhr guitar....why I finally end up wanting to play that guitar? Because I have a connection with that guitar...when I see her, I want to play...the same think happens with real amps...they are attracting me, they are nice to see, they have an history...This is not logical, considering the price, but as we said in Italy "al cuore non si comanda" ...

[@rflessati]

Excellent video Leo, perfect comparison. Great músic as always!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you like the video and the music!!!

[@tumvero]

My friend you did an excellent job in this video, very professional. Please keep making videos with this technology. Cheers

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you sooo much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video!!! Yes...a new (and hope interesting) one is coming...😀👍

[@lgx2410]

What an incredible comparison. Thanks!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm really happy that you like the video!!!

[@sergioquintero8782]

Leo excellent video!! great comparsion, you deserve more subscribers than you actually have

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you sooo much Sergio, I'm really happy that you like the videos!!!

[@soundstorm9508]

Excellent tests, Leo! I wonder how the Tonex would perform on the null tests after their updates? It seems to me from watching others channels that they always had to raise the gain control after the capturing was complete, and also they would add a bit of presence too.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you! I don't think that the update has changed / improved the capturing process....I have to check it out. Thanks!

[@400_billion_suns]

Great job Leo! I can tell you always put a lot of work into your videos and I think they’re the best on KZbin for this kind of stuff. Big kudos to you. I have two questions about the null test: (1) Did you make sure the waveforms were time-aligned down to the individual sample? (2) Did you also make sure the two waveforms were level-matched until they gave the quietest null? To have truly accurate null tests, both of those things are crucial. Thanks!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video! Yes to both the questions...I've spent a lot of time to level match the wave forms and to align them...I'm working on this video actually almost since a month... Thank you!

[@400_billion_suns]

@@LeoGibsonGtr Thanks for the reply! You’re always so thorough that I expected you did do those things, but I just wanted to double check. Again, great job, and thank you for all the top-quality videos you create.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you!

[@Stefan-]

Very interesting and great video as always !

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you Stefan, really appreciated!

[@HippyDruid77]

Great video mate! Thanks for sharing. 🤘

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome, I'm happy that you like the video!

[@halfhashed8688]

Wow great video! This is really tough to discern but here goes (if I get one right it's a win lol) - 1. Quad Cortex 2. Neural 3. Real Amp 4. Tonex 5. Kemper

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you for sharing!!!

[@riglerdaniel]

This is how you do a test. Love your channel!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you like the channel!!!

[@97guitarzan]

Great information...Great video and great playing as usual!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you soooooo much!!!

[@magicmusic8]

warm greetings from Oz; thanks for all your efforts to convey these DI amp tones, in simple terms..... can be a deep digital rabbit hole .... avoided by an analogue Princeton reverb amp & EQ pedal

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you for sharing

[@hav_bs0lll]

excellent information Leo, thanks

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome, and I'm happy that you like the video!

[@pepper...]

Imbattibile. Grazie tante per il tuo lavoro!!! 👍👍👍

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie a te, sono veramente contento che ti piaccia il video!!!

[@trentberry4081]

OutSTANDING video sir!!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm super happy that you like the video!!!

[@gablevan]

Great, great, great comparison!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you soooo much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video!!!

[@MrTupeloFlash]

Great time to be a studio guitarist, please more on NAM Leo & dont forget the clean tone subscribers 🙏🏻

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Ok, thank you! Yes...sorry, I have in mind a video with clean tones since a long time...I need to find out the time...You are right. Thank you!

[@KevinAEDGuitareBlues]

Thank you Leo ! Very interesting video and the song is very beautiful !

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you sooo much....when you like my music...I'm super happy!!!

[@Fender308]

Leo, you are a proper scientist! Love your videos.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you soooooo much!!!! This is such a great compliment...really appreciated!

[@Bero70]

Thank you Leo. Null test is the only way I would ever accept any comparison .So far ,in 2023, NAM is THE BEST at profiling unless someone can prove otherwise.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you for sharing!

[@Hexspa]

Something worth considering is how “deep into a mix” we can hear. Ethan Winer did tests where he mixed tones and noise into various program material. Depending on the kind of program, like a rock mix, and noise, like a sine or noise burst, and how loud they are relative to one another, even obnoxious and inharmonic sounds can be completely masked. That applies here. Let’s say there’s a 30dB difference in accuracy among these modelers vs the real amp. Then let’s also suppose we can only hear the top 20dB of a loud and dense rock mix. That means as soon as the guitar is pushed back 10dB from the top of the mix in terms of volume, the differences among the amps and profilers will disappear. You can hear that in your demo where you swap sounds on the rhythm guitar. The differences are less noticeable or altogether imperceptible. In contrast, when you play the the solo and switch, because the whole crest of the guitar is higher, the differences become more obvious. I’ll add that the solo also places the frequency content emphasis toward our centers of hearing from 1-4kHz (high E 20th fret is around 1kHz plus the harmonics) which is subjectively the same as turning up the volume (equal loudness contours). Put simply, it matters more for lead guitar than rhythm in many cases. This is just a little more detail on the common notion that people say with “but in a mix you can’t tell.” Well, maybe or maybe not. It depends on the program material, how featured the sound is and how close the model/imitation is to the “real thing”. If you’re interested in reading Ethan’s article on it, you can search his name and “artifact audibility” or just test yourself with various backing tracks and noise generators in your daw.

[@progrob27]

Great video thanks dude and nice playing, if you would be up for doing a capture process tutorial for the nam plug-in that would be a resource lots of us would find really helpful I think would probably help support the developer/s as well.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you, I'm really happy that you like the video!!! Yes, I should do it...I need time...Thank you!

[@rderfa]

Nice!!! Thanks for the awesome video. Cheers.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm happy that you like the video!

[@jessychancerel]

Thanks for this really objective comparison. 👍👍

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome Jessy, and I'm happy that you have appreciated the video!!

[@UserName20241]

Excellent test! Congratulations! And the Mooer GE 300 Tone Capture, where does it rank in this test?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you! Unfortunately the Mooer runs only on tablet / iOs, therefore I have to use a different interface to make the profiles and therefore it is not comparable....but it is very good sounding (in my opinion)

[@jan9]

Thank you Leo, for doing this review :)

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome!!!

[@VanjaSpirin]

Great vid. I use NAM regularly. It is impossible to tell the difference from a real amp in a mix.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm happy that you like the video! Thank you also for sharing your experience!

[@crissvis9204]

Crazy! Thank you Leo, I enjoy It.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm happy that you appreciate the video!!!

[@tranqbee6543]

Great job on the comparison bueno

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you like the video!!!

[@Gramasz]

Zio sei un mostro. Incredibile.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie mille!!!

[@filotest3093]

What a surprise for me. I thought 1/3 (Kemper or QC), 2/4 (NAM or Tonex) and 5 Friedman. Because I like sound of 5, I thought it must be an original amp :) Thank you Leo!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you so much for sharing your findings!!!

[@thecaveofthedead]

Same. I was thinking exactly that.

[@RunawayThumbtack]

Thanks for the video! Three suggestions: 1. 2:24 Record the Friedman a second time, and attempt to null the two recordings. This gives a baseline of how good is possible until noise prevents further cancelling. 2. It sounds like you used NAM to model an amp + cab? For now, you'll probably find that NAM does better when modeling an amp alone. 3. It's informative to try things out both loud and quiet. One thing I'm proud of is that NAM's reamping signal includes quiet parts, which allows the model to learn how to respond correctly not only when strumming plainly, but also when playing dynamically. Cheers!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, you are welcome! Are you Steven in person? well, actually I should "Thank you" for your plugin...which is awesome! Thank you for your suggestions too! 1) good point... 2) I read that NAM is supposed do to better when modelling amps alone. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the best captures are the ones with also the cab included, capturing the interaction between amp and cab, the impedance curve etc...furthermore I have captured both the amp alone and the amp+cab and finally, I was able to obtain better results with the amp+cab in the null test....don't know why... 3) I totally agree...the input file has low volumes signals...that are highly appreciated! Thank you once more!!!

[@emmanouilchatzigeorgiou1386]

Without checking the other comments, I'd say that I prefered 1, 5, 4, 3, 2. Thanks for the comparison!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you for sharing your findings!

[@michelemori1765]

e anche oggi Leo si riafferma il punto di riferimento per le comparazioni 🤘

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie Michele...troppo buono!!!

[@BobGuido]

What audio interface did you use to conduct your tests Leo? What reamp box did you use to conduct your test? I picked 5 immediately. It has far more frequency content and dynamic range.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, I use an Apollo X16 and a Radial reamp box. Thanks

[@BobGuido]

@@LeoGibsonGtr Definitely better quality hardware than what is built into any one of the dedicated hardware units. Great testing Leo!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Yes, I do agree....thank you!!!

[@jcoulter43]

Most of the technical stuff you talked about was way over my head, but interesting nonetheless. Will be interesting to hear about Proteus that you mentioned. My favorite way to use IR's is exactly what you mentioned, by having 10-20 IR's of the same speaker and mic combo, but with the mic position moved subtly around the speaker and at different distances and angles. It's totally nerdy stuff, but fun to experiment with. God bless and rock on 🎸😎👍

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you! Yes, I do agree...pretty nerdy...but totally worth trying... Thank you!

[@andrewrwhitfield]

Awesome video! Thank you.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome, and I'm happy that you like the video!!!

[@mathieswedler]

Hi thanks for the scientific approach, truly unique! One question: I guess that all methods introduce their very own latency to the signal. Did you account for this in the test by matching the phases (shifting the signals) prior to inverting?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Absolutely yes...all the tracks have been aligned at sample level and I have also match all of them in terms of LUFS...this video required a lot of time Thanks

[@mathieswedler]

@@LeoGibsonGtr Great, I expected nothing less from you :-) very nice work!

[@atrothe]

Thanks Leo. Your the best reviewer in the business man.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much for such a great compliment! really appreciated!

[@demondrive147]

Thank you for this!! Awesome tones and scientific testing!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much!!!! I'm really happy that you appreciate the video, the test and the tones!!!

[@demondrive147]

@@LeoGibsonGtr my inner self is nerding out happily! Thank you!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

😀👍

[@joejohnson8966]

Unbeatable. Thank you so much for your work.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and I'm really happy that you like the video!!!

[@picksalot1]

Thanks for making this excellent video, learning about NAM, and doing the comparison fascinating. I'm glad it's something you enjoyed doing, and I'm sure it required good computer skills and technical know how. The Null Test clearly demonstrated that NAM had the highest fidelity available. Do you have any insights on how the NAM Captures/Profiles could be imported into a Modeler, like the HX Stomp? Could they be imported as an IR, would they require some type of VST Host running on the Modeler, or some other solution that would make them portable and loadable inside the Modeler?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you, yes...it was very funny to learn all this stuff....even if pretty time consuming... I don't think it is possible to import it in an amp modeller...but you can port it in any windows device which is able to host a vst plugin....also a table... Thank you!

[@swmorgan515]

Wow great aporoach to objectively evaluate profilers, and great explanation. I'm curious how the profiling in the Mooer ge300 and other devices stacks up.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, I'm really happy that you appreciate the video!!! Yes, it is interesting...but unfortunately the GE Labs App works only for phones or tablet...and with phones and tablet I cannot use my "standard" recording chain, as I have to use a different audio interface...therefore I cannot compare....

[@Airtrooper719]

1 and 5 edit: oh crap NAM is really awesome!!! my ears instantly loved that tone more than the others, sounds very rich, detailed and organic.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, thank you for sharing!

[@andre77coelho]

Awesome video, as always. Leo, the Mooer GE Lab app could be on this competition... Right? Or wrong??? Cheers from Brazil!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, yes, it could be...the only problem is that, as far as I know / I'm not able to load it in my M1 Mac, and to use it in a tablet I should make a totally different routing, using a different audio interface (iOS compatible), etc...it's a pain... Thank you!

[@andre77coelho]

@@LeoGibsonGtr that's true!!! And it seems that Mooer give it up of the GE Lab... Or it's working in new features... Who knows! 😜😄😄😄

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

The idea was great...they use need to evolve it, bringing it to a PC / MAC. I think Mooer is currently more involved in guitars / audio interfaces than modelers...

[@andre77coelho]

@@LeoGibsonGtr you got a point and I'm very sad about it... Because they made a very good job in amp modeling. Let's see what they bring to us on a a future.

[@akaerik1]

Leo you are by far the coolest tone nerd in existence. Keep up the awesome work.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, really appreciated!!!

[@topavelka]

I like rig n.1 (blind test) . . . but difference are very small . . . thanks for the demo.

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

You are welcome and thank you for sharing!

[@minigka]

It's great! What sound interface you are using? Is it apollo twin x?

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Hi, I'm using an Apollo X16, which has better converters than the Twin X Thank you!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Leo is a legend!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much Jon...but actually, You are a legend...your videos are awesome! Thank you!

[@Stratguy10NZ]

Fantastic video Leo

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much, really appreciated!!!

[@fritzhieke7209]

The Kemper sounded fizzy and muschy/not good the other one were spot on. Great video!

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you for sharing , and I'm happy that you like the video!

[@onga84]

Ciao Leo, sei veneto come me credo! Complimenti perché sei di una professionalità unica! Altro che la mandria di youtube italiani! Da Fanton in poi….

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Grazie, sono molto che apprezzi i miei video!!! Eh si...sono veneto...l'accento mi tradisce...😀 (P.S. Se possibile, chiederei la cortesia di non far riferimento a colleghi con accenti negativi)

[@georgeliniet7875]

i agree with superEgo person mentioned here..I hope Leo will never participate in one of his broadcasts (only for clicks) Leo Gibson Top Notch video. Subscribed

[@kingpossie]

With the Kemper you could have used the S/PDIF to bypass one A/D conversion - anyway awesome test.

[@StratsRUs]

Superb ! Well Done.. and your great bass player is a giant !

[@LeoGibsonGtr]

Thank you so much!!! Well, the bass player must practice more...😀