NAM support announced by Fractal Audio

[ian_dissonance]

you should 100% go and NAM that.

If I ever start my hardcore hip hop and slam band it’s coming out of retirement for the scooped brutalz.

 

[laxu]

If I ever start my hardcore hip hop and slam band it’s coming out of retirement for the scooped brutalz.

If you are old enough, you could call it Bodycan't.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Eh, it's easy to get YOUR captures right the first time, because you're capturing your amps. The minute you start relying on others, it's a toss up as to whether it'll work or not.

That’s sort of the point - they’re just different tools for different jobs. That particular case is what they’re great for. I find plugins more convenient for recording but they’re not great in other situations.

I think Line 6 are pretty good at covering bases with different ways of working, and I hope Fractal follow suit with a plugin version. That, and NAM support would just cover an insane amount of different uses. IMO the sound quality alone isn’t enough to make my use my AxeFX over other approaches

 

[paisleywookiee]

That’s sort of the point - they’re just different tools for different jobs. That particular case is what they’re great for. I find plugins more convenient for recording but they’re not great in other situations.

Except that there are plenty of people, as we're continually told, who don't capture their own stuff. They just use everyone else's stuff. I can't imagine living like that.

 

[ian_dissonance]

If you are old enough, you could call it Bodycan't.

Bro.
Now I feel like I have to.

 

[mbenigni]

If you are old enough, you could call it Bodycan't.

There goes the retirement complex!

 

[Sedaxel]

My point on saying that fractal decision of including NAM support is risky is because they aren't going to develop a propietary tech. I suspect that will let them on par with all the rest of brands (cheapest included). I'm taking about business risk. When you lead the market, as fractal does in the modelling world, and you quit in the race of being the best in a very important feature, you'll probably be in a weak position.

I think Line6 is taking the opposite path.

And, for me, the debate is not whether it's needed to evolve NAM/capturing or not. Yeah, as it is, plus top notch simulations, you cover pretty much everything you'll need. BUT that doesn't matter. What matters is that everything gets better. Everything evolves. And when better options are available, nobody will choose a dated option just because it's enough. Look at us... We can perfectly live with 10 years old modelling, and not a single one of us would choose a dated modeller.

So, as I said, NAM and capturing must, and will, evolve. Because We always want more.

Only time will tell if normalized free tech will succeed or if a brand will develop a propietary tech that's better and, because of that, ends up being our favourite.

 

[Mongillo19]

and you quit in the race of being the best in a very important feature,

How does them adding NAM degrade their modeling? Heck they have a Tone Match block and while it isn't NAM, it still wasn't traditional modeling.

NAM is not going to be the flagship feature. Cliff has said as much.

 

[Sedaxel]

How does them adding NAM degrade their modeling? Heck they have a Tone Match block and while it isn't NAM, it still wasn't traditional modeling.

NAM is not going to be the flagship feature. Cliff has said as much.

NAM doesn't decgrade their modelling. I didn't say that anywhere. Their units will be more complete than without NAM.

What I say is that, if there's a race for developing the best capturing tech (which I think there is), the brands going for NAM are not racing.

Maybe it's not going to be a problem. What I'm saying is that I think that brands developing their capturing, if they succeed, will be in a strongest competing position.

 

[Dez]

I’m surprised Cliff would be willing turn over control of “stuff that makes sounds” on his devices to 3rd party solutions, but on the other hand it’s probably low cost to integrate, leaving him able to focus on other aspects of the platform.

I generally find capturing to be a pointless time sink as an end user, particularly for units that have robust modeling already, but I suppose options are never a bad thing.

If his next post is “You will also be able to run plugins from our next generation hardware” we will have reached the end-game.

I think it makes sense in that they allow IR loading if someone wants that instead of DynaCab, I know an IR isn’t a profile lol but I think of them in the same way.

 

[Chocol8]

if there's a race for developing the best capturing tech (which I think there is), the brands going for NAM are not racing.

Define best? Right now, NAM isn't just racing, it is leading the pack in sound quality. Tonex is darn close behind in sound quality and leading in resource efficiency and price point.

With the hardware capability of a future Axe4, Fractal may not care at all about efficiency, and Tonex is likely not an option, so NAM gets them to the front of the race at least until Proxy and or Tonex 3 come out. Plus, if NAM falls behind, Fractal will still have the option of trying to license another option...or develop their own.

 

[Richard_G]

that they allow IR loading if someone wants that instead of DynaCab

Not only do they (still) allow it; I believe Fractal was the first to support user IRs as mic’d cab sims in a guitar product. DynaCab can be described as a further development that came along much later.

It will be interesting to see whether something similar happens further down the line after NAM support is introduced.

 

[timbuck3]

Agreed 100%. It takes a lot of tweaking to get models to sound like amps. It is easy to get captures to sound right the first time, and then you can just focus on playing. More time playing music, less time tweaking and giving yourself ear fatigue.

I remember there was this guy I think he’s part of the forum I don’t know his name I forgot, but he makes a lot of videos where he adds a lot of EQ and stuff to the preamp and the after the chain signal I mean, he does it on every single one I watching a lot of his videos and he always added them so I’m thinking like why for every single chain he has he adds them in there

 

[Dom Mcsweeney]

I watching a lot of his videos and he always added them so I’m thinking like why for every single chain he has he adds them in there

yes

 

[timbuck3]

yes

That’s totally taken out of context

 

[Desertdweller]

I think he means, if you have a reference amp that you want your modeller to replicate then it takes quite a bit of work to match the response. It’ll sound similar but you have to get your hands dirty to get the nuances the same, while a decent capture will get that right straight off the bat.

Exactly. I’ve had amps and modelers for a long time and I’m super picky about my tone. I get fed up with modelers because I know how my amps sound and I know how they sound through a reactive load and IRs, but getting to that with a modeler and not having it sound cold or digital is always a task. Then there’s the fun experience of dialing in a perfect sound on a modeler only to come back to it in a day or two and have it sound like absolute ice picks because I was tweaking the model for too long and gave myself ear fatigue when I programmed it.

I don’t have that experience with amps, and I don’t have that experiences with capture devices I’ve used. For me, having a capture device means I can store my favorite sounds from my amps and recall them instantly without having to turn them on, be near them, and I can throw it in a gig bag and go. All these tools are wonderful, but a Kemper or QC along with Fractal effects is just an awesome mix for me. I much prefer captures to models, but of course that’s my unique viewpoint and YMMV.

 

[Sedaxel]

Define best? Right now, NAM isn't just racing, it is leading the pack in sound quality. Tonex is darn close behind in sound quality and leading in resource efficiency and price point.

Best, as the word implies, is better than the rest.

NAM is great as we all know. But We also know that it's not perfect, she there are several things to evolve.Tweakability, gain calibration without the need of the user action, CPU inefficiencies... All of this takes time and resources.

 

[Chocol8]

Best, as the word implies, is better than the rest.

Define “better” then. We have different needs and wants. There is no one best or better right now. For pure amp tone, NAM is best. For user experience it is probably Kemper. If you want a hardware player, the best price to sound quality is definitely Tonex.

 

[Sedaxel]

Define “better” then. We have different needs and wants. There is no one best or better right now. For pure amp tone, NAM is best. For user experience it is probably Kemper. If you want a hardware player, the best price to sound quality is definitely Tonex.

Well... Let's put it this way: NAM can be better than it currently is? Right? When there are things that can be improved, it means the tech can get better.

That's my point. "Capturing" is not perfect. And so, it can improve.

Some use cases would favour one or the other, as you say. But if some brand solves the caveats of the tech, and make it more suitable for every user... that'll be "better".

 

[Orvillain]

Bro.
Now I feel like I have to.

When I was like... I dunno, 10/11 or so... and I watched Surviving The Game... this shit hit HARDER than anything I ever heard before: