I’ve used quite a few guitar amplifiers, modelers, and plugins over the years, and while many of them have sounded fantastic, there’s one thing I’ve often found missing when recording guitars in my studio. And that’s the feel of actually playing through an amplifier.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s no shortage of great guitar plugins out there. Getting a convincing recorded guitar tone has become remarkably easy, even without spending a fortune on equipment. But having something that responds naturally to your playing is another matter entirely.
Recently, I got the opportunity to try out some NAM captures from Rabbit Hole Audio, and to my surprise, this turned out to be one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had recording guitars in my studio.
And that’s quite a statement considering how much gear I’ve had around here.
Before going any further, a little disclosure. The original video was sponsored by Rabbit Hole Audio, and I’ve actually known the people behind the company for many years. I’ve even attended some of Jukkis’ jam sessions back in the day. However, as always, getting paid to produce a video doesn’t change my opinions, and everything discussed here reflects my own experience with the captures.
What Is Neural Amp Modeling?
Interestingly enough, this was my first proper experience with Neural Amp Modeling, or NAM for short. It’s not that I’ve intentionally avoided it, but the opportunity to explore it simply hadn’t come along until now.
For those unfamiliar with the technology, Neural Amp Modeling uses machine learning to capture the sound and response of guitar amplifiers. Rather than relying on traditional amplifier modeling methods, NAM captures the characteristics of a particular amplifier setup and reproduces them through software.
In practice, this means you can load a capture of an amplifier into a compatible NAM player, combine it with a cabinet impulse response, and play through that setup directly from your computer.
And as I discovered, the results can be pretty impressive.
My Recording Setup
For this experiment, I kept things relatively simple. I plugged my Henry’s Snake II guitar straight into my trusty second-generation Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface.
Yes, that old thing.
The Scarlett 2i2 has been around for quite some time, and while there are certainly more sophisticated audio interfaces available these days, it still gets the job done. I figured that if these captures worked well with my old Focusrite, there was no particular reason to believe I’d need something significantly more expensive to enjoy them.
The guitar itself is a Henry’s Snake II in Matte White, featuring an HSS pickup configuration and a boost function. It’s a fantastic-looking instrument that also happens to play and sound great, making it a rather nice choice for exploring different guitar tones.
From the audio interface, the signal went into Gateway, which I used to load both the NAM captures and cabinet impulse responses.
Gateway is a free NAM loader that generally does its job quite well. I say generally because, at least on my computer, it occasionally decides to throw a temper tantrum. Fortunately, there are other NAM loaders available, so you’re not necessarily tied to one particular piece of software.
With everything connected and working, it was time to see what Rabbit Hole Audio had to offer.
Starting With the British Heritage Captures
I started with one of the British Heritage captures, using a 70s Lead-style amplifier sound paired with a 1960-style cabinet loaded with G12-75 speakers.
The first thing I noticed was that the tone sounded excellent. That wasn’t particularly surprising, though, because I’ve known Jukkis from Rabbit Hole Audio for years, and he has always had a great ear for guitar sounds.
What surprised me was something completely different.
The playing dynamics were absolutely fantastic.
I started playing a few simple chords, experimenting with how lightly I could pick the strings before gradually digging in harder. The difference was immediately noticeable, and there were so many subtle shades of tone depending on how I played.
The remarkable thing was that I wasn’t changing anything in the software. I wasn’t adjusting the gain, switching presets, or doing anything particularly clever. All those different shades of distortion and breakup came simply from my picking hand.
And that felt fantastic.
I’ve used plenty of guitar plugins that sound excellent, but many of them haven’t quite managed to reproduce that interaction between the instrument and the amplifier. With these captures, I found myself concentrating much more on how I played rather than what settings I had selected.
I even started experimenting with the boost function on the guitar, which pushed the capture further into overdrive while retaining that same responsiveness.
The more I played, the more impressed I became.
It’s Not Just About the Sound
This is probably the most important observation I made while testing these captures.
There’s a difference between something sounding good and something feeling good to play.
Over the years, I’ve had some excellent amp modelers in my studio, and a few of them have offered fantastic playing dynamics alongside their impressive sounds. However, recording guitars directly into my computer has often felt a little compromised.
The tone itself might have been perfectly usable, or even excellent, but the actual playing experience hasn’t always been quite as enjoyable as playing through a good amplifier.
With the Rabbit Hole Audio NAM captures, that feeling of compromise was considerably smaller.
At one point, I found myself playing the same Cmaj7 chord over and over again, simply because I was enjoying how the capture responded to different picking intensities. I could barely touch the strings and get one character, then gradually pick harder and hear the sound change.
And the funny thing is that I could have happily spent hours doing exactly that.
It might sound a little ridiculous, but there’s something genuinely inspiring about a guitar setup that responds so naturally that you stop thinking about the equipment and simply enjoy playing.
That’s exactly what happened here.
In fact, I became so enthusiastic about the experience that I started wondering whether this might actually change how I record guitars in my studio.
Experimenting With Different Cabinet IRs
After spending quite some time enjoying the first capture, I decided to try some different cabinet impulse responses and microphone positions.
This is one of the convenient things about working with NAM captures and IRs. You can experiment with different amplifier and cabinet combinations without having to move microphones around or connect another amplifier.
Changing the microphone position had a noticeable effect on the tone. Some positions sounded a little rounder, while others had a more open character. I particularly liked one of the more open-sounding combinations, which worked nicely with the guitar I was using.
It’s worth experimenting with these combinations because the cabinet IR can have a significant impact on the final sound. Even when keeping the amplifier capture exactly the same, switching the cabinet or microphone position can give you a noticeably different result.
Of course, this isn’t anything particularly new if you’ve been using guitar plugins or impulse responses for a while, but it’s still one of the things I enjoy about recording guitars digitally.
Different Amplifiers, Different Feel
Next, I started exploring some of the other amplifier captures from Rabbit Hole Audio.
I tried a variety of sounds, including Almost Clean, Past Breakup, Warm Crunch, and Tight Crunch, along with some more aggressive amplifier tones.
Naturally, each capture had its own sonic character, but what caught my attention was how differently they responded to my playing.
Switching between the amplifier captures changed more than just the amount of distortion or the overall EQ. The actual playing experience changed as well.
Some captures had a clearer, less distorted response, while others reacted very differently when I started picking harder. The more aggressive tones were particularly enjoyable with the guitar’s boost engaged, but even the less distorted captures offered plenty of interesting dynamics.
This is something that’s rather difficult to demonstrate in a video. You can certainly hear the differences between the sounds, but you can’t really experience how they respond underneath the player’s fingers.
And that responsiveness was easily the thing that impressed me most.
Does It Feel Like Playing a Real Amplifier?
Now, I’m not going to claim that these NAM captures feel exactly like standing in front of a real guitar amplifier and a loud speaker cabinet.
Because they don’t.
There’s obviously more going on when you’re playing through an actual amplifier, especially when you have a speaker cabinet moving air in the room.
However, when it comes to the way the sound responds to picking dynamics and changes in playing intensity, this is probably the closest I’ve personally experienced with this kind of software setup.
And that’s not something I say lightly.
I’ve used some very impressive guitar modelers over the years, including systems with excellent tone and touch sensitivity. But there’s something about this particular combination of NAM captures and cabinet impulse responses that feels incredibly natural to play.
The best way I can describe it is that the whole system feels more alive.
Instead of constantly adjusting settings to get the sound I want, I can concentrate on how I’m actually playing the guitar. Picking lightly produces a different character than digging into the strings, and those changes happen naturally.
It’s the sort of responsiveness that makes playing through an amplifier enjoyable in the first place.
And having that available in my studio through a relatively simple software setup is pretty remarkable.
Great Guitar Tones Without Expensive Hardware
Another thing that surprised me was just how little equipment I needed to get this experience.
Remember, I was playing through an old second-generation Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, using a free NAM loader and the Rabbit Hole Audio captures.
That’s hardly an extravagant recording setup.
Yet the playing experience was among the most enjoyable I’ve had in my studio.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that your audio interface or the rest of your recording setup doesn’t matter. You still need to get things working properly, and a good recording workflow makes a difference.
But it’s encouraging to know that getting excellent guitar tones and satisfying playing dynamics doesn’t necessarily require investing in an expensive new amplifier or modeler.
Sometimes a guitar, a basic audio interface, and the right software are more than enough.
Final Thoughts on Rabbit Hole Audio NAM Captures
Going into this experiment, I expected Rabbit Hole Audio’s NAM captures to sound good. Knowing the people involved, I would’ve been surprised if they didn’t.
What I wasn’t expecting was how much I would enjoy playing through them.
The tones are excellent, and experimenting with different amplifiers, cabinets, and microphone positions is great fun. But what really impressed me was the way these captures respond to playing dynamics.
There were so many different shades of tone available simply by changing how hard I picked the strings, and switching between different amplifier captures genuinely changed the playing experience.
For someone who spends a considerable amount of time recording guitars, that’s a pretty big deal.
I’m not going to claim that Neural Amp Modeling suddenly makes every other amplifier or modeler obsolete. There are plenty of excellent options out there, and I’ve certainly enjoyed using many of them.
But these captures reminded me of something important.
Recording guitars should be fun.
And while I’ve always enjoyed working in my studio, the actual playing experience has sometimes felt a little compromised compared to using a good amplifier.
With this setup, I found myself enjoying the process in a way I hadn’t experienced for quite some time.
I could easily spend hours playing around with different captures, experimenting with my picking dynamics, and exploring different guitar sounds.
Not because I needed to record something, but simply because I wanted to keep playing.
And ultimately, that’s probably the best compliment I can give Rabbit Hole Audio.
If you’re interested in trying their NAM captures yourself, you can check out their collection through my affiliate link below. Using the link won’t cost you anything extra, but I’ll earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, which helps support CatPick Studios and keeps the lights on around here.
►►Get Rabbit Hole Audio Products Here: https://www.creem.io/affiliate?code=AFF2GNQMB3JD