NUX Cerberus - Herculean Tone in a Simple Pedal!

[@SomeKindOfMadman]

Digital John aka Johnny Bandana, what a killer player; he made that product sound awesome.

[@TheBedroomRocker1]

This is a killer pedal for those who like the sound of analog drives, but want the versatility of digital multi-effects for modulation, delays, reverbs, and an IR loader. I use it frequently for smaller gigs when I don't want to bring the full pedalboard and it gets the job done nicely. I also have done a nice review of it on my KZbin channel. However, this unit came out good 5-6 years ago and, while it was priced very competitively back then, I believe fully digital multi effect units (including Nux MG-series) improved significantly in sound quality, usability, and reduced a lot in price during this time

[@pramkriuk]

Now this model price is about $200 in my country, so it is still a very good offer

[@totochatal8225]

Hi, I am looking to get a multi effect pedal and I came across this one and the Trident - which seems to be the big brother. I am no expert (yet :D) but wanted to know if it is worth the difference of money - it would be my main tool I would keep for a while for sure :D Is there any recommendation you could make here ?

[@TheBedroomRocker1]

@@totochatal8225 it may look like the Trident is the bigger brother of the Cerberus, but there are some other key differences that make them quite distinctive units. The Trident is fully digital whereas the Cerberus has the analog overdrive and distortion which some people really value. On the other hand, the Trident has a wider selection of effects and, most importantly, it can also digitally model amplifiers. This means that you can use the Trident as your entire rig as it has drives, amps, effects, speaker cabinet while the Cerberus is meant to be paired with a real guitar amplifier. Whether the extra price of the Trident is worth depends on your needs and use, but both are quite solid units that have their own place and offer quite a nice bang for the buck. I hope that helps a bit in your decision process.

[@rooberry-music]

​​@@totochatal8225you may have made a decision by now - but the key differences are that the trident has preamp simulation as well - with this you'd need to plug into an amp or an amp simulator pedal. I would recommend the joyo American sound as a super affordable (£30) clean fender amp sim pedal, which you can put after the cerberus. The trident also functions as an audio interface if that's important to you. To me, the cerberus, especially at its current often discounted price, is better value The trident is all digital, while the drive and distortion on the cerberus are analog!

[@metesev]

I’ve used this unit in gigs, so let me write pros and cons from my subjective perspective: Pros: Very good modulation effects, both manual and patch mode, has tuner and output-input loop, small footprint, good software. Cons: O/D is light and distortion is heavy (I wish the O/D had more dirt), on board IR is not very good and need external IR to be loaded, no master level, CTRL switch functions (reverb, modfx etc) need fiddling (I want to use boost, so everytime I turn on the unit, I need to adjust it). I mostly used it with additional O/D and compressor pedals, yet one can use it as it is. I have other processors but I keep this for small venue gigs.

[@CGCEifel]

Got mine for 2 yrs. and it's amazing in front of my Laney Cub. You can switch one Reverb mode for a Shimmer Reverb via the NUX Software. And it's one of the best i ever heard. The Univibe is also great. OD section feels super responsive. They even copied the logo of the Morning Glory in said software, which i consider a pretty ballsy move. Love that thing.

[@notshared4072]

That intro was phenomenal! I had no idea John had licks like that.

[@FluffyAnvil]

Could not have spent a lot of time researching this before demonstrating, first of all it’s not a modeller but a multieffect pedal board, the main selling feature of this is that the drive is based on JHS Morning Glory and the drive is JHS AngryCharlie both analoge and faithful circuit replicas. Additionally the CAB simulation here is an IR loader (and you can load custom IRs, while I agree the factory provided ones sounds like arse, they can be replaced). There is also a software editor (which is why there is an USB jack on the backside) further more you completely missed the shimmer reverb (which requires the software to setup though, as it was added in a software update. It replaces the slot of the hall reverb). And what ”kill dry” etc is useful for is clearly documented in the manual, even given with examples…

[@zewenyang1661]

Works really well with loadbox setups, it keeps the signal chain running with the least adda. The drive and distortion are analog, it runs into amp and from speaker out of the amp into a loadbox, from which signal enters the unit again to load IR for cab sim and then running thru the mod dalay and reverb. For it is a product released 3 years ago, you can get one of this used at used line6 M9 price. I just hope it could include a comp in the very front of the chain, but man, at this price I can't really complain any on it hahah!

[@golfrick007]

Anderton's commercials are worth it just to hear Digital John and Mr. Pete!❤

[@jasmith85]

DIGITAL!!! JOHN!!!

[@taurushamilton2739]

This is one of my all time favorite pedals ever made… seriously!🤘🏾💯

[@niclastname]

This kind of thing may not appeal to most of us who have been playing and have pedals etc, but something like this is perfect for someone just starting out and just needs the basics. It's simple and all in one and sounds pretty good. I think getting a kid their first guitar and something like this and they're all set! Plus it's got a headphones out, they don't even need an amp to start off. I could even see something like this for "boomers" who want something simpler to take as a little travel amp instead of something more complicated like a headrush or podgo etc.

[@markbaker2267]

Going well till you said “boomers”

[@steveyankees1]

I’m a baby boomer and I second that.

[@tornadoluke]

Listen to these great analogue drive/distortion sounds but also the fullness of the effects!! I've been using the Cerberus for 2 years now and I want nothing else. (I even bought a backup unit). I use it along side a Plethora X5 of TC Electronic cause it adds looper, compressor and many other and the presets are midi linked.

[@ezwanrosli772]

hi, can u please teach me how to connect this two pedal.

[@gatrupi]

Great video as always, please next time you can make a video between the NUX Trident (that has the amp simulation too) and ME90. Also I still wait a review for the NUX MG 30

[@benallmark9671]

Don’t hold your breath

[@TheGuitarEffect]

I’m sure some people have mentioned this already but the boost, overdrive and distortion are actually analog, you can plug an external footswitch in and do extra control switching and it sends MIDI PC Every time you change preset which is really useful.

[@orionasgardzero7793]

3 of my students bought Cerberus under my suggestion; I have to say it sounds very good, It fits very well in the mix, it's a solid unit, great construction and It has analog drive and distortion too..really good product!! 2 years ago they bought It for 190€, incredible valute for the price!! In my opinion it's better then digital Boss stuff like M models..Italian turist in Anderton's, thanks for the pic Lee and Pete 👋😉

[@tripledistilled2822]

Yes, I got mine for around 190 euros a couple of years ago. I think you can also load your own IR's if I'm not mistaken.

[@EzequielTejerina]

The product is great! It doesn't have a preamp but does have a cab sim, so if you use a preamp after de OD/Dist, it sounds great. There are also a few more things you can do with the computer application, even changing IRs and uploading your own. I still have mine and I'm so sad od section is not working. (It fell to the ground pretty bad)

[@glendoggett9670]

The ROUTING buttons are interesting push-push buttons that allow you to set order of Drive and Distortion in Serial or chose Parallel routing. While the signal chain of the pedal effects goes from right to left, like a set of pedals would be, that little icon display of ROUTING options goes from left to right! Drive->Dist which actually means Dist

[@terryenglish7132]

I have the NuX micro amp and Tube Screamer clone (no horrible nasal sound like a real one ) and both sound great , w a surprisingly big soundstage

[@taurushamilton2739]

Cerberus is the 💣 software update and xtra footswitch opens it up even more. A mainstay on my main recording board 🤘🏾💯👏🏾👏🏾

[@CashCatz]

Which extra footswitch?

[@taurushamilton2739]

@@CashCatz I use the Ampero 2 button footswitch 💯

[@CashCatz]

@@taurushamilton2739 Thanks. Mind breaking down what sort of additional features this adds? How do you use it in your setup?

[@taurushamilton2739]

@@CashCatz I use one button for the reverb and the other button as a boost 4 solos… this allows me to use the control switch on the Cerberus for the chorus 👌🏾

[@johnnyboyhynes11]

How strange seeing this video now,I was in your shop a few weeks ago with the intention of buying this product but as luck would have it a used one had just come in a few days earlier,it was mint condition and I bought it straight away, it sounds awesome with a tele,strat and a gibson!!!😀 I would say it is for home use mostly in manual mode straight through the amp and I have no use for the computer side of the product....I do love the sounds it has and works really well for what I need it to do!!!! I would recommend it!!!!😀🎵🎵🎵🎸

[@francescodamico7903]

I think that this time, onestly, you went quite wrong on this test. 1- there is a firmware update that allows some more options 2- drive and dist are all analog ! 3- cab sim (which you disliked) is active only on "out 2" (i think you plugged from out 1) 4- many IRs available for choice... and many more that you can load. 5- Cerberus came out many years ago 6- don't think of it as a digital all in one. Is a stomp boxes pedalboard whitin one box 6- you could compare with red truck mooer, fly rig sans amp, and those kind of things

[@sergiohotjazz]

The most underrated piece of gear ever. It's my swiss army knife.

[@tornadoluke]

Indeed it is. I bought a backup unit. It's that great.

[@mundane_in_the_membrane]

Hmm, I like the idea of these simplified, all-knobs no-screens multi-fx units. The only thing is is that the Boss ME-90 is only $50 more... perhaps a shootout is required in the future?

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

I was worried John wouldn’t come back. Glad to see him.

[@tomic_luka]

Had two of these. Both froze upon powering up on outside gigs when it was colder. Otherwise best all in one budget solution I ever had. Shame. p.s. the effects are digital, the drives are analog (kinda Angry Charlie and TS9), for me it sound way better than other all digital processors in this price point, and even more expensive ones. :)

[@radosawpendziaek7503]

Did it defrost? Were you able to gig with it after restart?

[@tomic_luka]

@@radosawpendziaek7503 under normal temperatures it worked fine

[@michaelbolshazy3532]

As an ALL IN ONE pedal, the market will most likely be people looking to get into multi effects at a decent price. Sounded good

[@futurekarlos5256]

I recently bought the NUX Amp Academy and I'm thinking my next purchase will be one of these so I can make a small "pedalboard rig" with everything I need in 2 or 3 pedals. Amp Academy + Cerberus + Wah and I'm sorted.

[@grrrahg]

Kill dry is used if you have a serial fx loop on your amp. Very useful.

[@christopher7310]

Morning gents! Great playing and awesome pedal. I've owned and been a fan of the Boss ME80 for years. That NUX is pretty nice, but not sure if it is enough of an upgrade. Hope all have a wonderful Wednesday 🤘🏾

[@ToneDeth.]

You would be interested in the NUX Trident then. It adds amps and cabs and more effects but keeps similar form factor with all the knobs for each section

[@mrbigg7255]

Sounds great. Great playing.

[@RodVonLongrod]

I always think these types of pedals sound best with light OD. The high gain stuff can sound good but the light gain OD is where it's at. Light OD cranked up sounds better than high gain cranked up. Change my mind.

[@AllanGildea]

Cheers fellas, always fun.

[@odie5268]

Went to check out the product page on their website. As far as the cab emulation it has an IR loader that's rather extensively talked about right on the page. I doubt anyone would use what comes with it, there's plenty of great free IRs and tons of reasonably priced paid IRs.

[@Turbo-D]

looks very much like the mooer black truck to me and it is almost the same price as the boss me-90 here in germany, i love the nux plexi crunch but i think i skip this one

[@GerryBlue]

Sounds pretty decent, and nice to see I'm not the only one obsessed with Johan Nathan Cordy's playing

[@tonystartup3817]

Jees, I've just come from his video. It's like i can't get away from him

[@tonyleeglenn]

Cordy is just a mesmerizing player. Love his channel. He should be elevated to the top of KZbin guitarists.

[@jheresuello1195]

You guys should check out the new updated one, NuX Trident. Would be excited to see what you guys think of it.

[@tornadoluke]

It has digital drive and distortion sections and that gives you a much less quality tone. I still prefer the Cerberus.

[@aristocaster]

There is new ( years old) firmware update, you have with older firmware on video. Kill dry is for parallel effects loop There is eight Ir's that you can use, sorry that you did not like the one you used.

[@joek81981]

5:32 Is he called Digital John because of his extraordinary finger lengths?

[@franki68]

Had one ,it’s ok but preferred the boss I had at the time .The drive was very good though I recall just the rest wasn’t as good as the boss me unit.

[@onbedoeldekut1515]

I'm FAR more interested in a Trident deep-dive. That one's only been out for a month or so.

[@jeffdad6808]

Output two is the ir. If you were using one, it would sound poorly. Can load ir's also.

[@joeyramonelookalike]

Sounds great! It's a shame it sucks as a DI cause that's how I would use it myself. But honestly, I look forward to when they figure the Cabs and Amps simulations. Would also be nice to have more options for the reverb.

[@francescodamico7903]

There are IR that you can load (thid party too), there is a firmware update ... see other demos! I'm not sure they test it right with cab sim (it is active only on "out2")

[@michael.darrin1963]

Are you all going to do a review of the Nux Trident?

I will suggest you guys mix this with the new Opus and see what you can do through MIDI.

[@tomedwards81]

Should do a NUX Trident review instead, but I guess that’s coming next.

[@youWoNtLikeMe04]

That could be a great all in one set up for a wet dry wet rig.

[@aydan1686]

Would have made more sense to do the NUX TRIDENT as its the next generation follow on from this pedal.

[@robinr22]

I agree that it's currently a bit much but if you say the price is going to drop in a while and right now people should pay a bit more for a better product, I can't imagine you're going to sell any of these at all at the moment...

[@zeluizsn869]

Hi there! Great vid as always. Why didn't you review the NUX MG-30?

[@archer__4044]

can you make a tutorial for the intro song? ;D

[@nycshelbygt500]

That Thumbnail....I can't unsee that. 3 Headed #Hydra. #DigitalJohn

[@beakmann]

Dig Johnnn 🔥🔥

[@pouyatorkiyan3258]

Nice 👍

[@notarealperson87]

1:29 - Dandertons

[@bartoszkrawczyk4976]

Does it sync to clock via midi? For delay tempo

[@80sday36]

Does it has drop tune fx? Can it be use for bass guitar?

[@dedetube]

Can this unit control the Tonex via MIDI?

[@radosawpendziaek7503]

Yes

[@KerteszHuba]

I had this year's ago. Gigged ton of concerts and wedding's with it and it was awesome. The editor software's UI was ugly and kind of counter intuitive to be honest.

[@LA.Guitar]

Had one of these years ago. They’re not great sounding, very dark. It needs an eq section really to brighten it up. I didn’t keep it for long. I’m surprised Andertons is stocking old tech like this?

[@benallmark9671]

I’m not

[@Maddy29]

11:16 Danish Pete is the editor...

[@TraneFrancks]

Not a terrible demo, but all the effects were drowning in reverb. We know how the Captain loves his 'verb.

[@terryenglish7132]

Did he catch the reverb virus from Micheal Lemmo ?

[@moroboshidan7960]

DIGITAL JOHN! 🤖

[@terryenglish7132]

Remember, it's pronounced Nucks , like Curley of the 3 Stooges use to say . "Nuks, nuks, nuks, Moe this effect sounds good

[@MichaelMitchell9969]

It's like the FlyRig by TC Electronics

[@GengdaiLiu]

tech 21

[@gregmize01]

this and a cry baby mini would make a great little gig package!

[@jorgefannoun]

Does this sound better than the Valeton GP 200? I want one of these two but i am not sure which one sounds better

[@dansca72]

I have both. The GP is more rich of options, effects, could be a stand alone, the nux sounds better but needs some stuff to have a complete rig. Anyway, two really good choices and not really expensive!

[@josephowens9053]

“MODDIST” 😂 11:53

[@denverm4x]

Careful, Lee! Those knobs are getting perilously close to 2 o'clock!

[@ryanmct1892]

Lee appears less than impressed 😂

[@RobertFisher1969]

It’s a shame the cab modeling isn’t good. That kills the advantage of being one small package for a lot of use cases.

[@Markleford]

Well, you can load your own cab IRs into it, as well. I'm not sure if these two tried to hook it up to a computer and experiment before judging it.

[@odie5268]

^^ this, tons of great IRs out there just load your own. Unless the IR feature itself is just not good, hard to say.

[@sofyan_sauri]

yang lahiran 90 pasti iya., klo saya iyaaa

[@marco.S.]

This review/test was really rushed. the dont have all the info about the nux cerberus, tehy are free styling

[@fadzlizaidi8896]

I agree.

[@Mikesosa75]

DIGITAL JOHN

[@paulhancock7670]

My ME90 cost me £290. This lists at £249. I'll keep the Boss, ta.

[@eduardwilliams1245]

So much reverb. Why? Hard to hear the character when it's so wet. Look, I love Anderton's videos. Been a fan for long time. Never been as much fan of the omnipresent reverb as you guys though admittedly.

[@sejtaridiss]

Ahh... if it only had a compressor!

[@tornadoluke]

Listen to these great analogue drive/distortion sounds but also the fullness of the effects!! I've been using the Cerberus for over 2 years now and I want nothing else. (I even bought a backup unit). I use it along side a Plethora X5 of TC Electronic cause it adds looper, compressors and many other and the presets are midi linked.

[@stephenradlett1418]

Please check out the Amp Academy

[@johnconnearnmusic]

Insaaane thumbnail

[@DOESlab]

there is a new model of this, but not called cerberus

[@stopcallingmeshirley]

Swiss Army peddle

[@pauleuro123]

Small is beautiful - except if you have big feet! This is no use to me in a live situation.

[@lance134679]

Oddly, if they spelled it "Gnu-X", we'd better know how to pronounce it. 🐮

[@mrchrisbeaver]

DI GI TAL JOHN 🤣 Never gets old

[@pepmasters-999]

I was just thinking maybe they should consider retiring it after they did it for the umpteenth time.

[@kasnitch]

They flogged that long enough .

[@fawkesandhound]

@@pepmasters-999no way you’re crazy! I love the Dalek-style voice shouting DIGITAL JOHN 😂

[@biomechanism1]

🤖

[@matthewtyler-jones8317]

Gah a USB-B output. Fragile and archaic. It’s a no from me.

[@D1570R73D]

USB B is more robust than USB C and is more than enough for this pedal.

[@jmabs5096]

I suspect this product will be discontinued and sales aren't great when this came out. The normal guitar will look at this and immediately say too much knobs, too much of a learning curve and move on

[@antons368]

Johnny and his ridiculous Bandana Again!