Another mainstream modeler is now offering native support for the fastest rising digital amp technology – and it could mark a watershed moment for the gear industry.
HeadRush has announced a major firmware update for its Prime, Core, and Flex Prime floorboard modelers, which now support direct integration with TONE3000 and Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) captures.
TONE3000 has revolutionized the modeler space over the past few years, having worked with engineer Steve Atkinson on the open-source AI NAM platform. Recently overhauled as the Architecture 2 tech, it has changed the way players access tones.
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In practice, TONE3000 and NAM lets players create and share digital captures of amps, pedals, cabs, rigs, outboard gear, and more. And, because it’s open source, it’s completely free to use.
The movement has gained strong momentum recently. TONE3000 has steadily grown its industry partners, bringing NAM to a growing range of modelers, practice amps, and headphone amps.
The list includes the LAVA Studio Smart Amp, Blackstar Beam Solo, Blackstar Beam Mini, Valeton GP-50, NUX Amp Academy Stop, and more. HeadRush has now joined the lineup.
What’s even more significant in this particular case is that HeadRush’s pedals have become the first to allow players instant access to TONE3000 and NAM captures directly through the onboard touchscreen on the pedal, no computer connection required.
The opportunity this presents to the player shouldn’t be understated. When TONE3000 announced the NAM Architecture 2 platform, it released a research paper that showed it beat the market’s biggest players in a blind-listening competition.
It quantitatively outperformed the likes of Neural DSP, Fender, Line 6, and IK Multimedia.
The fact that such cutting-edge tones can be accessed for free directly from a modeler of HeadRush’s cost and caliber (the $499 Flex Prime scored a near-perfect review from us), is a huge step towards the democratization of digital guitar tones.
Before, the perception was that premium digital tones had to come at a premium financial outlay, and that budget floorboards were objectively tonally inferior to the industry’s big guns.
That no longer seems to be the case. The HeadRush Flex Prime, for instance, costs under $500, and thanks to this new update, statistically proven market-leading tones are within reach.
“I’m very proud of the level of quality that NAM offers,” notes Atkinson. “Seeing HeadRush affirm this by bringing it to their product line is a win for open-source technology in the music industry and, ultimately, the artists that industry serves.”
The sky is the limit for TONE3000 and NAM. We fully expect more companies to offer direct integration in the near future. The market’s big guns will no doubt be looking over their shoulders at what’s happening here. Whether they too will hop on the trend remains to be seen.
In the meantime, head over to HeadRush and TONE3000 to find out more.’
