A Geek Goes Flying

The rehearsal rig  To avoid lugging around my gargantuan FM3 setup (and cram it into a tight rehearsal space), I setup my NUX MG-300 MK II with some appropriate presets, added wireless with the B-5RC kit , and proceeded to hook it up to my 50 watt Marshall G50RCD combo amp, via the FX RETURN input (to avoid additional coloration, etc., from the pre-amp). Problem: Now I have no volume control, except the one on the guitar itself. I’m also not wild about constantly connecting/disconnecting the DC input on the back of the NUX (those 5521 barrel connectors wear out and/or break off, AMHIK.) So, being me, I decided to build up a small pedal board for this setup. Asked ChatGPT¹ to find me a reasonably sized board that would accommodate the NUX and a Duncan DVP1 pedal, which is ... large. 12+" deep. Ghost Fire STANDARD 1.0  seems like it will fit the bill, and I like that it comes with a carrying case and some hook and loop tape, etc. (though I still have a bunch of this Velcro le...

Updated the NUX MG-300 MK II to Firmware 3.0.0 Gen2 (scroll down on the NUX page). Also installed NUX Quick Tone V2.6.7.16 (macOS) (ditto), and setup a couple of presets. (An aside: I need to look into “scenes” more. Watching this video , it seems like navigating between scenes and presets would be clunky, but there must be some reason to use them...?) Playing with my first NAM A2 capture and this board, specifically, this Marshall JCM 900 . Before a NAM capture can be assigned to an amp block, you have to import it into one of the 10 dedicated slots, using this button on the top of the QuickTone app’s window: Still learning my way around, but suddenly glad I decided to keep this thing (and sell the MG-101, even if I did only get a few bucks for it). Added a B-5RC receiver/transmitter pair to use with this board at rehearsals. (I was eyeing used Line 6 POD Go Wireless units, which bundle a receiver and G10TII transmitter, but if I’m also going to be picking up the bass for some songs...

Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) “is an open-source project that uses deep learning to create models of guitar amplifiers and pedals with state-of-the-art accuracy,” started by Steven Atkinson. It uses machine learning to make a digital “capture¹” of analog gear such as a guitar or bass amp, a pedal, a piece of outboard equipment, or a whole signal chain. A NAM model is a snapshot of that gear at one set of knob positions. In contrast with earlier profilers like Kemper and ToneX that kept their formats closed, NAM’s trainer, core DSP library, and plugin are all open. That has let hardware makers build NAM playback into their own products, and it produced a very large community library of captures, mostly hosted on TONE3000.  In June 2026, TONE3000 and Atkinson released Architecture 2 (A2), the first new default network since the original A1. It comes in two versions. A2-Full is meant for DAW and studio use, and TONE3000 says it uses 30 to 40 percent less CPU than A1 while sounding more a...

An amp and a microphone One of the most frustrating parts about being a self-taught n00b when it comes to amp modeling (whether it be in a $100 NUX box or a bit of Fractal kit) is trying to decipher the different fake names the modelers have for the different pieces of kit, especially if you’re not already steeped in guitar tech. Like, the Jazz Clean NUX amp is (I understand) modeled after the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus . The Class A30, the  VOX AC30 , “a legendary British tube amp known for its jangly cleans, warm overdrive, and chimey tone that’s been a staple in rock, pop, and indie music.” Etc. Sometimes, there’s no hint. Using Fractal’s DynaCabs , for instance, you get a choice of four microphones for the Cab Impulse Response (IR) block. They’re helpfully</sarcasm> identified as Dynamic 1, Dynamic 2,  Condenser, and Ribbon.  If you read the Wiki , those map to the Shure SM57 and SM7B , the Soyuz 023 , and the Royer 121 – but that knowledge seems to be tribal ...

So, I got RockSmith 2014 working on the Mac Mini (a late 2014 model with an Intel® Core™ i5-4278U CPU @ 2.60GHz, 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM, and 256GD solid state storage (Apple SM0256F)). That machine maxes out at macOS Monterey, and I have no reason to upgrade it past that point; it’s just running Yousician and now RockSmith. (And I understand RockSmith 2014 won’t run on the newest macOS versions.)  (The Mini was a cheap eBay purchase that was meant to be a music streamer, but I never really ended up using it for that.) Although I have the “ Real Tone Cable ,” I didn’t have it handy when I was setting things up. I’m trying to keep things more or less wireless, because of the puppy. I’m wirelessly connected to the NUX Mighty Air amp. That, in turn, is connected to the Mac Mini via a USB C to USB A cable. The Mac (and thus RockSmith, as a “Microphone”) see the NUX as an audio input source when so connected: One quirk of this method of connecting things is, I hear the guitar through th...

O ne of my NYRs is to practice guitar more diligently. Towards that end, I picked up a “used” 2019 serial number EC-256 in immaculate condition at a price no one could say no to (basically $150!), picked up a very lightly used NUX Mighty Air wireless modeling amplifier for less than half price from a guy who lives down the street, and, finally, splurged a bit on the 50% off sale (archived) for Yousician (currently using their desktop app on my MacBook Air, but there's also, of course, versions for the iPad / iPhone, Android, Windows...) This system is kind of a trip. All the nostalgia (and addictiveness ?) of Guitar Hero . But in this case you're actually developing fretting skills, getting more precise with timing, etc. Any time spent practicing guitar skills is time well spent, IME. Jamming along with a (so far, snippet of a) recognizable song connects for me a lot better than playing a song's guitar parts in isolation, or even with most of the backing tracks you fin...

This is a quick note about the  MG-101 Multi Effects Pedal  from Nux (pronounced “new-ex”). Nux MG-101 There are at least a dozen YouTube videos that explain and dissect the device better than I ever could. Suffice it to say this thing is awesome, and something I can only wish I had had decades ago when I was getting started. I haven’t gone past the presets yet, but have been enjoying Funk Starter (a cleaner set with a bit of character), Metal Starter, and Punk Starter (perfect for songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit ) most of all so far. But what has really been a game changer for me is the drum loop. For whatever reason (maybe it’s because it’s patched in to the headset, or because it sounds slightly less mechanical than a metronome?), it’s opened the door for me to just jam along with it, drilling song melodies until I can get them intertwined with the beat. One common complaint with this unit is that there’s no power switch, and the only way to turn it off is to disconnect...