NAM: Neural Amp Modeler

northern_fox said:
I don't need 4 switches - 3 at most is what I generally use. I'll grant you they're close like the QC - I'd rather it had 3, but I haven't had any issues regardless. Next gig I'm actually going to leave it back on the amp and just run my small midi controller up front which is spaced wider and takes less space then my board.
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What are you doing for effects when playing live and is it also MIDI controlled?
 
Sedaxel said:
If some of you are nerdy enough, you should take a look at Mike Oliphant's implementation of NAM for the Raspberry Pi. It's called "Stompbox". His work is outstanding.

He has developed a software that includes full signal chain effects (comps, gates, OD, mod, delay, reverb, EQ, level modules...), freely assignable, and NAM loader plus IR loader. It has MIDI implementation that lets you switch presets, effects on/off, parameters... Plus, it can be controlled with a smartphone, with his app "StompboxUI".

I built it with a Raspberry and a Hifiberry (audio interface). My latency is 3ms (not as impressive as Dimehead, but perfectly good though). Total cost, maybe 150€.

Now, it takes time, some Linux fight, and you must be brave enough to dare to use it live. I'm just using it at home so far, but it's being reliable. I'm probably using it live soon...
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Oh I have to check this out. I have a 3B so need to see if it’s still good enough
 
Sascha Franck said:
@Sedaxel, for someone who has never worked with Linux, let alone a Raspberry, let alone having any programming experience, would such a thing be doable?
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Good question!

I'm not too good with Linux or programming or whatever. I'm not completely a newbie either, but always struggle a little with those things.

The thing is that I find it funny to noodle and spend some time it... So I went for it because I enjoy those puzzles. But yeah, you have to "study" or "research" for every little step you need to do. You have to learn how to burn a bootable SD for the Raspberry. Then learn how to communicate with it. Then learn how to edit a text file from the command line, or how to navigate folders... You know, basic Linux commands. Then how to install GitHub repositories and lots of little details in the middle. I mean, I had to spend lots of hours to have it running. I also discovered bugs that Mike was fixing. At the end, it's a mildly hard process for someone who's never programmed, I think.

The result is great, though. And cheap. Mike gigs with just the Raspberry (NAM and all effects), an audio interface (Hotone Jogg) and a midi controller. That's it.
 
Thanks, @Sedaxel. Seems as if it's not for me, though. Not because I couldn't manage the tasks but because I know myself. I'd end up buying all the things, get started quickly, run into issues and put things aside for so long I forgot anything else again. Sad but true, been through comparable things a number of times (DIY pedals anyone?).
 
Sedaxel said:
If some of you are nerdy enough, you should take a look at Mike Oliphant's implementation of NAM for the Raspberry Pi. It's called "Stompbox". His work is outstanding.
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TBH, this is exactly the problem with this stuff. One man proof of concepts isn't what is needed. A respected player in the game with the resources to properly deliver on a full end-to-end vision, they need to be doing this stuff.
 
Orvillain said:
TBH, this is exactly the problem with this stuff. One man proof of concepts isn't what is needed. A respected player in the game with the resources to properly deliver on a full end-to-end vision, they need to be doing this stuff.
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I don't care whether it's a "respected" player, but it needs someone willing to collect (and partially follow) opinions of expert users, something the Dimehead folks very likely didn't do.
 
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Orvillain said:
TBH, this is exactly the problem with this stuff. One man proof of concepts isn't what is needed. A respected player in the game with the resources to properly deliver on a full end-to-end vision, they need to be doing this stuff.
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Yeah... I said "if you're nerdy enough" and "if you dare to use it live". This is just DIY for the ones willing to go that route.

I agree that there's not a good solution for this in the market. I'm in the same opinion of Sascha, the Dimehead is not very well rounded, IMO.
 
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Elf said:
Thanks for the answer, 3ms that is so good at that price point, what Hifiberry model are you using?
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It's the DAC+ADC.

The pity is that its input is a 1/8" socket (would have been great if it was 1/4"), and the outputs are RCA.

So you have to use adapters, and that can be "ugly" in a compact setup. I'll grab adapter cables instead of adapter jacks+normal cable, to have a much cleaner setup.

Other disadvantage of the Hifiberry is that the input impedance is too low, so you must use a buffer. Or some pedal. I use a Boss MS-3 to act as MIDI controller, buffer, tuner, and to have physical knobs for on-the-fly volume (or other parameters) adjustments, or for effects and whatnot. All of that can be adjusted with the app, but I guess it will be more handy to just use physical knobs in live use.

With a USB interface, it's difficult to get under 5 ms. But that's a good value too and you wouldn't need a buffer, using the Hi-Z input, and you'll have a volume knob.

And other dangerous thing of the Hifiberry is that the Pi can get hot. I found that my Pi didn't work right unless I force the CPU to stay at its high clock speed, instead of letting it slow down to its low speed if there's not too much demand. This is so no matter the interface. Mike's one seems to work fine with default CPU settings, though. I have it a little overclocked too. Thus, with just a passive heat sink, it can reach over 60C, so it might start to lose performance. I ended up adding a tiny fan, plugged in a 5V jumper available on the Hifiberry board, just in case.

Other than that, the Hifiberry not only had better latency than almost any other USB interface in a logical price range, but also is MUCH less noisy than a Zoom AMS22, and slightly less than an EVO4. It's also great to have it plugged to the Pi, instead of having 2 separate devices (Pi + interface + USB cable).
 
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Dimehead NAM player is actually one of the most awesome things I've ever bought.
Especially since the latest firmware means you can load 2 x .nam files in series.
It has lovely modulated delays, a tremelo, an fx loop, and still the only 60s reverb IR loader that exists in any hardware pedal. It's a tragic thing in my opinion to keep seeing that someone keeps putting it down on literally every forum thread, not just in this forum, but many other website forums and on social media, just because they don't think it does what they need. Really??? So use something that does what you need instead of posting incessantly about what you don't like about it. It's absolutely awesome, and does everything that most people could want it to do.
 
Some people post what they (We) don't like about it. It doesn't mean it's bad. It just means that for someone it's not really good in certain subjects.

At that price point, I (personally, subjectively, not absolute truth, just an opinion, IMO, IME, etc...) feel it lacks lots of things.

But, obviously, it isn't a bad pedal, and it's understandable that for someone it can work

Peace.
 
Hey - I have no issue with anyone who says how they feel, it's totally cool to offer constructive feedback about anything.
My issue is when someone is just going out of their way to spew negativity about a company that has just started out and deserves better than that, just because they didn't include features they wanted. It's just the height of being entitled and rude in my opinion.

Yay! Let's go stamp all over any hope that a small company may have in surviving past making their first product.
I really do hope that they succeed and out last this first year or two, not just through the difficult conditions in the market place, but the unnecessary negativity that some person in this forum (and plenty of other forums) seems to think is the way to go about positively influencing anything. It's like as if that one individual needs to shout it a thousand times, across 5 or 10 different websites, and totally disrespectfully, I really do hope they stop soon.
 
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northern_fox said:
dirty trees (always on) -> nam pedal -> eq -> power amp . On lead and clean settings I just have a little delay and reverb. You can control it with midi (I'm using an old Peak controller)
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Dirty tree into any amp or digital unit is one of my subtle checks when I mess with gear (how far can I push it before it goes haywire).... the output on that thing can be insane :rofl . Good to hear the dimehead can take it like a champ.
 
[Nathan] said:
Dirty tree into any amp or digital unit is one of my subtle checks when I mess with gear (how far can I push it before it goes haywire).... the output on that thing can be insane :rofl . Good to hear the dimehead can take it like a champ.
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Yeah it's actually pretty ridiculous how much output it has! Mine is actually set just a bit below unity because my guitar is pretty hot already, so as to maximize headroom on the player input and not worry about clipping since it's also a really hot input. I use it in TC mode with a little treble lift and bass cut - it's absolutely my favorite OD pedal because of the EQ curves / stack placement and no distortion, so you can make it as transparent or aggressive as you want! It's transparent enough that I can switch to my clean sounds and not need to switch it off too.
 
Dom Mcsweeney said:
It's a tragic thing in my opinion to keep seeing that someone keeps putting it down on literally every forum thread, not just in this forum, but many other website forums and on social media, just because they don't think it does what they need.
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By any chance, are you talking about me?
 
Dom Mcsweeney said:
it's totally cool to offer constructive feedback about anything.
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I offered positive feedback *way* before they released the thing. People agreed with me and offered the same kind of feedback, too. The Dimehead folks completely ignored everything (not just the things coming from my side). And that's why they just have to live with each and every criticism. It's every bit "fuck around and find out".

And you can spread your fanboy love all you want, but there's very serious things not nailed properly in the Dimehead unit - things that pretty much everyone complains about. So there.

Dom Mcsweeney said:
(and plenty of other forums)
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Which "plenty"?!? I have commented about the thing in exactly 2 threads on exactly 2 forums. Don't make yourself look silly.
 
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