NAM 109 - Enhance Guitar Tones with NAM Plugin in Reaper

In this section of the tutorial, we will initiate Neural Amp Modeler as a plugin within the Reaper DAW. This process will elevate the overall quality and character of the guitar sound.

What is Plugin in Reaper

In Reaper, a plugin is a software component integrated into the digital audio workstation (DAW) to add audio effects, virtual instruments, or processing capabilities. There are two main types of plugins:

1. Audio Effects Plugins (FX Plugins):

These plugins are applied to audio tracks to modify or enhance the sound. Examples include equalizers, compressors, reverb, delay, and guitar amp simulation such as Neural Amp Modeler. Audio effects plugins can shape the tonal characteristics and spatial qualities of the audio.

2. Virtual Instruments Plugins:

These plugins provide virtual instruments that can be played and recorded within Reaper. Virtual instrument plugins include drum machines, synthesizers, and more. They allow users to create melodies, chords, and rhythmic elements directly in the DAW.

Reaper supports various plugin file formats, including VST (Virtual Studio Technology), AU (Audio Units), and JSFX (Reaper's built-in plugin format), etc. Users can install third-party plugins in Reaper. In the previous tutorial, we downloaded the installation package of Neural Amp Modeler and installed Neural Amp Modeler on our computers. During this procedure, we have installed both the standalone version and the plugin version of the Neural Amp Modeler.

If you have not installed NAM on your computer yet, please do so now. If you are not sure how to do this, please check the following tutorial for more details.

Configure Neural Amp Modeler in Standalone Mode

Add NAM as FX plugin in Reaper

1. Open Reaper Project:

Launch Reaper on your computer and open the project we created for NAM in the previous section of this tutorial.

2. Select a Track:

Click on the track we created in the previous section of this tutorial. We will add a FX plugins in this track. ↓

Select-Track-in-Reaper

 

3. Open the FX Browser:

In the track control panel, find the "FX" button. Click on it to open the FX browser. This is shown in the following image. ↓

Open-FX-Browser-in-Reaper

The "FX Browser" will be displayed after you click "FX" button.↓

Add-FX-Box-in-Reaper

4. Find and Select NAM in FX Browser:

As the following short video indicates, we'll locate the NAM plugin in the FX browser. (Please note that the following video is set to play repeatedly. Therefore, there's no need to worry if it seems to be playing too fast for you.)

First, ensure that "All Plugins" is selected in the lower left box. Then, type "Neural Amp Modeler" in the filter bar. Once you see "Neural Amp Modeler" displayed in the lower right box, click "Add" button and the Neural Amp Modeler's main interface will appear.

 Find and Select NAM in FX Browser

 After completing the above steps, the Neural Amp Modeler interface will appear, as depicted in the following image.

Ensure that the checkbox next to NAM's plugin name is checked. Activating this checkbox is crucial for the proper functioning of the Neural Amp Modeler plugin. If left unchecked, the Neural Amp Modeler plugin will not operate as intended.

Neural-Amp-Modeler-Plugin-in-Reaper-DAW

5. Load NAM Model and IR:

Moving forward, the operation of NAM will be the same as using NAM in Standalone mode. To make NAM function properly, we must load the NAM model and, if necessary, the Impulse Response (IR).

Load-Neural-Amp-Modeler-Models-and-IR-in-Reaper

After loading NAM modeles and IR, try playing your guitar and you'll notice difference in your tone compared to before. This indicates that Neural Amp Modeler is operating correctly within your Reaper DAW.

If you're not sure how to download NAM Models from the ToneHunt website, feel free to check out my previous tutorial here. It should guide you through the process with ease. The rest of this article will be filled with operations I already explained in the following linked tutorial. If not read yet, I strongly recommend doing so to understand the rest of this article easily.

Play Guitar Through Neural Amp Modeler in Standalone Mode

Until now, what NAM can do for us as a plugin in DAW is the same as what NAM does in standalone mode. You might be wondering, where is the improvement to our guitar tone I promised earlier?

From now on, let me illustrate why using NAM as a plugin can offer us far more.

Stacking NAM Plugins:

Guitar players often place a boost pedal before the amp to enhance the overall volume and drive of the guitar signal going into the amplifier. We can achieve this by stacking two NAM plugins in DAW. In this case, one NAM plugin functions as a boost pedal, while the other serves as the guitar amp.

To showcase the process described above, I'll use a NAM model simulating the renowned Xotic EP Booster pedal serving as the boost. Additionally, another NAM model simulating a Fender Bassman Guitar Amp will be added after the EP Booster. Together, they can provide us with very versatile sonic opportunities, including warm clean tones, and smooth overdriven sounds.

1. Download the NAM models from ToneHunt

First let's download the NAM models to be used in this project. The following shows the details of these two NAM models. They can be freelly downloaded from www.ToneHunt.com

Xotic EP Booster NAM Model

Download Url: https://tonehunt.org/GPSO/86ae1336-a85f-48b3-a01d-2c684e2f5e51

1965 Fender Bassman Amp NAM Model

Download Url: https://tonehunt.org/Ideofunk/5a03798c-1d25-4c9c-b0bd-5d49d7997502

2. Add two NAM plugins to one track in Reaper

In the earlier part of this tutorial, I showed you how to add a NAM plugin to a track. By now, your track should already have one NAM plugin added. To add another NAM plugin to your track, simply follow the same steps as before. Your FX window should look like the image below, with two activated NAM plugins.

Two-NAM-Plugins-in-FX-Window-Reaper

3. Load the Downloaded Boost NAM Model to the First NAM Plugin

As shown in the following image, please choose the first NAM plugin as the one to load the boost NAM model. You can accomplish this by clicking on the upper NAM plugin in the FX list and load the downloaded Xotic EP Booster NAM model to it.

 Load the Downloaded Boost NAM Model to the First NAM Plugin

Please note that the boost NAM plugin does not require IR (Impulse Response). In this scenario, the boost NAM plugin is simulating a guitar pedal, which does not require a speaker cabinet. Therefore, IR is not necessary in this case. (Feel free to play around with adding IRs to NAM pedals as you like. Many fantastic guitar tones result from experiments or accidents, which often go against conventional practices. That's the beauty of art, isn't it?)

4. Load the Downloaded Amp NAM model to the Second NAM Plugin

As shown in the image below, choose the second NAM plugin to load both the Amp NAM model and IR. Just click on the lower NAM plugin in the FX list, and then load the downloaded Fender Bassman NAM model and IR into it. The creator of these Bassman models has included a few IRs in the NAM model folder you've just downloaded. Feel free to experiment with these IRs—I think they complement the Bassman amp models quite nicely."

Load-Neural-Amp-Modeler-Plugin-with-Fendaer-Bassman-Amp-NAM-Models-in-Reaper-DAW

Now, your Boost pedal and Amp are ready to go. Give your guitar a strum and listen to the tone. Feel free to explore the various models you've downloaded and experiment with the diverse sounds that NAM produces. Combining a lower gain on the Boost with a similarly lower gain Amp setting can yield a warm, clean tone. If you decide to crank up the gain or the output on the Boost, you'll notice the guitar tone gradually breaking up in a pleasing manner.

FX Chain

When stacking two NAM plugins, we've actually created an FX chain for the audio track. This is like the process of connecting guitar effect pedals to create a signal chain. In Reaper, the FX chain begins at the top of the plugin list and flows down until the end of the list, as illustrated in the image below.

FX-Chain-in-Reaper-DAW

Please note that an FX chain can comprise either multiple FX plugins or a single FX plugin. Additionally, an FX chain can involve more complexity than a simple serial connection of plugins. Advanced operations, such as connecting FX plugins in parallel within an FX chain, will be covered in later tutorials in this series.

Disable FX

When working with Reaper, there are instances where we'd like to disable the FX on a track. You can achieve this by clicking on the button labeled with a small "On/Off" symbol, as depicted in the image below. When you click on the FX switch button, it will turn red indicating the FX plugins on this track are disabled. Click on it again, it will return green indicating the FX plugins are enabled.

FX-Disable-Switch-in-Reaper.png

Improve your knowledge about Reaper

This tutorial primarily focuses on the practical application of Neural Amp Modeler. As a result, the instructions regarding the use of Reaper may not be extensively detailed. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of Reaper, I strongly recommend exploring the official Reaper website at www.reaper.fm for in-depth resources and guidance.

Navigate to the official Reaper website's homepage and click on "Video". This will take you to a page with numerous free video tutorials for beginners.

Find Reaper-Video-Tutorial

As your familiarity with Reaper grows, integrating NAM in Reaper becomes significantly more straightforward. Moreover, this will empower you to unlock a broader range of capabilities with Neural Amp Modeler.

This marks the completion of this tutorial section. In the upcoming section, we will enhance your guitar tone further by adding additional effects to Neural Amp Modeler and make your guitar tone more refined and polished.