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It seems clear that neural plug-ins and modeling will continue to become increasingly important - quickly, and increasingly inexpensively. I'm looking forward to new products that use it, especially for live applications. But OP touted the Lava Studio Amp as a game changer, and I still don't see why. Maybe it's a significant development in the evolution of neural modeling but again, I don't see a strong use case for the product. The ability to stream Apple Music, etc. on it doesn't move the needle for me.
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06-10-2026 11:26 PM
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I rely on my instrument and hands for my 'sound' whatever it might be but it always sounds like me.
Originally Posted by Navdeep_Singh
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I begin with the confession that the exact same stuff in the same room sometimes sounds great to me and sometimes sounds awful. A neurologist might be able to explain it.
Also, having made the thousand decisions involved in remodeling my kitchen, I would have preferred, with full benefit of hindsight, a contractor who showed me a picture of a single kitchen and asked, "this is the one we offer, yes or no?".
The point is that no matter how much I loved the sound at home, or even in the first set of tonight's gig, I may want to change it. And, I want that to be trivially easy and very quick.
So one essential question for new gear is how easy is it to change on the fly?
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To be fair, the Lava amp isn't just a geegaw or gizmo. It is a fully integrated effects-infused amp, now NAM-accommodating + a mini DAW (although you don't have to use that), a jamming facility and a deep-resources guitar learning center all rolled into one, screen-access signal processor. It's perhaps as recyclable as an obsolete PC, but I think it's designed to have a lot of life in it, and at ~$900 it's priced less than my Mac Air that will eventually head to the recycler.
Web-connected to learning resources alone can make it valuable to many players. You not only have beginners, but also long-time guitar players whose time devoted to guitar has been highly variable over decades of career, family, marriage, crises interruptions, and who may need some instructional rehab, or their interests have broadened and have newfound time to explore a new genre.
In my own case, I started with guitar in 1968 and progressed continually upward for the next eight years. Then graduate school reduced my playing time and some skills slid. Then I did a Peace Corps assignment and got lots of playing time; skills further improved. Then I hit the job market; playtime sagged. Then I got married. Playtime sagged. Then I took some time off. Playtime surged. Then I got involved in technology startups. 90 hour workweeks. Playtime plunged. Then we sold a company and I had some time off. Playtime spiked. Then another startup. Playtime collapsed. Then venture capital, playtime swelled. Then 2008 financial crisis and got pulled into rescue projects. Playtime collapsed. On and on, over and over. My guitar skills mapped over time look like the square wave analysis of a terrible amplifier. Now semi-retired, playtime is swelling again. And looking at the review comments on Lava's website there are more than a few people in a similar situation. If this helps create more new, young guitar players and keeps older players interested for longer, I can't see how there's anything negative at all about the Lava Studio.
This device costs no more than two or three pedals, and look at what it brings to the table. Plus, if you can find your tones from it, it's easy enough to use it as a front end to feed a conventional amp for performances. Navdeep's enthusiasm for it also doesn't warrant any ridicule for him or the device itself, for being unconventional. If we want more influx of teenage and 20-somethings guitar players incoming, then devices like this should be celebrated for the enthusiasm they can create for our shared interest as a whole.
In a parallel, in high-end hifi, the young newcomers have mostly come in via head-fi, something that wasn't initially taken seriously by the audiophile aristocracy, but has for sometime earned its own place in the highest of high-end audio shows and journals. We should all be glad Lava is, via the amp and their offbeat guitars, injecting new blood into guitar. I just turned 72, and as an aging mid-boomer, I'm glad to see it.
PhilLast edited by 213Cobra; 06-11-2026 at 04:07 AM.
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For those who enjoy the tech, have at it. I see amps as depreciating assets that become too expensive to fix at some point compared to their worth. Vintage tube amps may decline in value to the point where the same rules apply, who knows? At some point, all amps will likely need recycling.
I will turn 69 this year and I suspect the three amps that I own (two Quilters and a Henriksen) may outlast me. At my age, I am enjoying the light weight part of the newer technology to be sure. But I don't want to waste precious time with tech learning curves for gizmos that won't sound any better than what I have. It seems that the tech stuff is loaded with features that I would never use, just like my smartphone.
That said, I am glad to see capitalism at work, bringing new products to market. If guys do well selling stuff and those products make some of you cats happy, that sounds like a win-win to me. Onwards!
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Looks very interesting, I too think NAM files are a game changer. Especially now that they're available in pedal format too.
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For the record, my #1 amp is my Buscarino Chameleon. My #2 amp solution for a very tiny footprint is the Benson by Milkman. I just need the best jazz clean with sparkle sound, mainly. But this is a very nice and elegant device, for many reasons. I literally use to watch all my YouTube stuff (minimal commercials, compared to YouTube on the every other device or computer).
The real radical part is the open source (non-proprietary) incorporation of NAMs. This aspect-the non-proprietary, open source aspect-is anathema for Fender-AxeFX-Line 6 et al. Whoever made this is just a recent start-up that does not have decades untasted as a traditional amp maker. And the price isn’t terrible. I think we will see NAMs everywhere, going forward, in all kinds of real form factors-pedals-etc.
Take Note, also that JBL has also entered this kind of niche desktop amp market, with the BandBox Trio. Even cheaper ($600). JBL is an audio speaker company that just put out a great sounding speaker that also works as an amp, with 10 hours battery life, the ability to stream ANY song onto the amp and use a 4 channel mixer that allows you to isolate-remove-mix guitars-vocals. this is called Stem Separation, and it’s a premium-subscription app based service elsewhere. But it’s free and built in to the JBL speaker.
Plus it has nice audio specs, per JBL: “With a 6.5” woofer, dual tweeters, and 135 watts of clean, powerful output, BandBox Trio plays way louder than it looks. Just plug in and jam like you mean it” they write.
Take note of the legal description JBL had to insert, given the ability to incorporate Stem separation for any song you can stream easily and play along with—this is a Band-in-the Box Killer basically.
“Put yourself in the mix. Whatever the song, BandBox Trio lets you jump right in. Stream any track and it’ll automatically separates out the vocals, drums, and guitar in real time. Take the solo, front the band, or lock in with the groove—it’s your call. Stuck on a tricky riff? Isolate it ‘til it’s second nature. Whether you’re sharpening your skills or just jamming for fun, BandBox Trio makes every session feel like the real thing.*
* For non-commercial use only. It is your responsibility to know and abide by copyright laws in your country, and your use may require permission from the copyright holder(s). Review terms associated with use of prerecorded or licensed music, and streaming services, before using BandBox.”
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This is a fair comment. I don't have any problem with the product or anyone's enthusiasm for it. Information about new products and technologies that can currently or eventually help our playing or boost musical enjoyment has a great deal of value. My comments weren't meant to be taken personally, and my reaction to what struck me a double-down on clickbait may have been a bit harsh. Originally Posted by 213Cobra
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NAMs.
I used to hear that word back in the day. Like, "My friend got drafted and they shipped him to Nam."
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Yeah, that was me, only I enlisted. Army spent a year teaching me Arabic (plus some 'spook' stuff) , then sent me on a one year, all expense paid vacation in the beautiful Republic of Vietnam. Now, I'm 100% disabled, with heart problems, diabetes, PTSD, neuropathy (fortunately not in my fingers), and who knows what's waiting in the wings from Agent Orange Originally Posted by TF
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I have a hard time with my cell phone. I think I will stick with tubes, more my tech. I did have a Kemper for a while so not a total luddite. I also used to build liquid nitrogen cooled supercomputers.
Thanks John
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Let's Rock Crazy in Gb? Who ever rocks in Gb?? Originally Posted by GuyBoden
Looks very interesting, I too think NAM files are a game changer. Especially now that they're available in pedal format too.
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You get a chick singer sitting in who has no idea what key she sings a tune in. You listen to her for 30 seconds and determine she is in Gb. And there you are...... Originally Posted by Hep To The Jive
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Yea but this is a backing track, and the whole thing from what I read is supposed to be use at home enjoy palying with backing tracks? Unless a crazy chick singer comes to your house and wants to jam? Come to think of it maybe this gadget does have a practical appeal... Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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…until she starts singing it in C Originally Posted by Stringswinger
But to be honest and unbiased, gender is not a filter for problems. I’ve had the same experiences with men and women.
I’ve been shocked at the weird issues had by some great singers. Some can’t count, some don’t listen, and some have to be fed their cues visually and audibly or they’d let intros and solos go on forever or come in at the wrong time and/or in the wrong key. My blues band had a date at Cafe Classics, a wonderful but sadly closed club up near the old Willow Grove air base. I brought tenor and trumpet in addition to keys, harmonica, me, bass & drums. The vocalist had great pipes and was a joy to hear, until she came back in right in the middle of a sax solo during one of our best numbers..
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Gender and singers: Don't really want a guy singing Julie London tunes. Started working with a singer. Great voice. Non-flaky person. Formal education in music. And she still doesn't know what key. And doesn't own a mic. Sometimes I think they do it on purpose.
New stuff: New tech replaces old tech all the time. Often the new tech scares old people. My mother-in-law refuses to get off of Windows 7. OK.. maybe she has a point on that one. But it's not about what the tech does or what it costs. It's about comfortable and familiar followed by rationales about why the new capabilities are not needed. Fender addressed this with their Tonemaster amps. I'm sure in the age of NAM A2 we'll see similar things. But if you can follow some simple instructions (download from here to there, select items) you will have any amp, any speaker, any EQ, any FX, any time you want. Choices are not bad.. they are good. Especially when it's cheaper, lighter, smaller, and more reliable. And it's fun.
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Originally Posted by jads57
I'm with you on sound guys, but studio engineers without ears were few and far between when I was in the recording world. Those guys didn't last long.
Good recording engineers are creative partners like musicians, in fact, usually es-musicians. At least in the big leagues.
And music hasn't become dumb down, there has always been dumb music around, if that's what you were looking for.
I think I will go listen to "Yummy yummy yummy I've got love in my tummy"....
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Unless the lyrics are awkward when adjusted for gender, I don't have a problem with it. Originally Posted by Spook410
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No doubt, I too have had the issue with vocalists from both genders. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
…until she starts singing it in C But to be honest and unbiased, gender is not a filter for problems. I’ve had the same experiences with men and women.
I’ve been shocked at the weird issues had by some great singers. Some can’t count, some don’t listen, and some have to be fed their cues visually and audibly or they’d let intros and solos go on forever or come in at the wrong time and/or in the wrong key. My blues band had a date at Cafe Classics, a wonderful but sadly closed club up near the old Willow Grove air base. I brought tenor and trumpet in addition to keys, harmonica, me, bass & drums. The vocalist had great pipes and was a joy to hear, until she came back in right in the middle of a sax solo during one of our best numbers..
But for some reason, the jokes are always about the chick singers.
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As for the tech in the OP, it's over my head. But I LOVE that there is so much cool stuff coming out for the teenagers looking to play guitar. It's a good time to be young (but isn't it always?)
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Just about a year ago a majority of guys on guitar forums were saying the big players in the modelling world had the market cornered and NAM would always remain niche. Well here we are, with a v2 even better than the original one.
I use a Neural DSP unit into a Quilter SB + Toob cabinet. That's one solution among many. I have Fender Deluxe, Twin, Princeton and Tweed, Polytone and Dumble profiles at my fingertips or almost anything I would want. All can sound great. As a guitar hobbyist I could never justify ownership of all these amps. Even just one of them would be of very limited use at friendly volumes and would need the complement of an attenuator. Traditional tube amps are not just made for the home unless you have a dedicated room for them, like a Ferrari is really meant for the track not commuting. It's cool to have all those solutions.
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Yes. I think it'll be Polytones till the end of my days. Is there such a thing as computer tech dyslexia or is it pure laziness? I'll be spending most of my time with II V Is etc etc. Originally Posted by Navdeep_Singh
ps I can't say I know what this thread is about!
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It's about flogging a dead horse. Originally Posted by garybaldy
(Edit: And, I'm a NAM fan.)Last edited by GuyBoden; Yesterday at 05:49 AM. Reason: (Edit: And, I'm a NAM fan.)
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Yes I get that. I should have said the tech jargon is lost on me! Originally Posted by GuyBoden
It's about flogging a dead horse.
(Edit: And, I'm a NAM fan.)
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NAM Originally Posted by garybaldy
"Neural Amp Modeler is an open-source project that uses deep learning to create models of guitar amplifiers and pedals with state-of-the-art accuracy. NAM powers the next generation of digital audio effects."
Neural Amp Modeler | Highly-accurate free and open-source amp modeling plugin
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