ZOOM NEURIG learns how an amp's knobs behave, not just one setting
NEURIG's DNA Engine learns every knob of the amps it models, while ZOOM's four-switch floor unit loads NAM A2 Lite captures and runs on battery.
A static capture freezes an amp at one setting, and ZOOM is pitching its new floor unit against exactly that. The ZOOM NEURIG amp and effects modeler pedal uses a DNA Engine that assigns neural processing to each circuit block of a modelled amp and learns how the sound shifts as every knob moves.
DNA stands for Dynamic Neural Archive, and ZOOM ships 30 of those models, covering amps and stomp pedals. They sit next to 22 conventional amp models, 22 multi-layer cab IRs built from three recordings at different volumes, and 139 effects across drive, modulation, delay and reverb. Up to 14 blocks run at once, in series, parallel or split paths, on 32-bit float processing.
NEURIG also reads NAM A2 Lite files natively, and the SessionZ Pedal app connects to the TONE3000 community library, where ZOOM counts more than 700,000 NAM captures and IRs free to pull in. Third-party IRs load too, up to 50 at 2048 samples. ZOOM also plans a hardware capture mode via the send/return loop, with TONE3000's servers doing the analysis, plus a store for extra DNA models; both are marked as coming later.
On the floor it behaves more like a switcher board than a preset box. A RIG maps up to 14 effect settings and their on/off states across four footswitches, so clean, rhythm and two lead sounds sit one stomp apart, with delay and reverb tails carrying over. There are 200 RIG slots and 75 factory RIGs. Two 2-inch touchscreens handle editing alongside physical knobs, all in a slim aluminium die-cast body measuring 236.4 x 120.6 x 54.2 mm (W x D x H) and weighing 850 g.
The board-side kit is thorough: +4 dBu send/return for four-cable setups, stereo outs, headphones, 3.5mm TRS MIDI in and out, an expression or footswitch input, a 45-second looper, a tuner and a USB-C audio interface at 48 kHz. Wi-Fi handles firmware and the cloud features, and Bluetooth streams backing tracks with footswitch transport control. A built-in lithium-ion battery gives around 4.5 hours, or it runs from USB power.
ZOOM lists it as an upcoming release on the official NEURIG page.
Video: ZOOMcorporation, “ZOOM NEURIG Amp & Effects Neural Modeler | Ben Weinman”
