NoAMPthe No Amp NAM Loader · look ma, NoAMP!

Windows 64-bitVST3 + standaloneoffline license

Your whole rig in one window — everything but the amp. NoAMP loads NAM captures (and cab IRs) into a full pedalboard: tuner, compressor, wah, chorus, phaser, delay, spring reverb, looper. Simple knobs (NORM) or every screw exposed (NERD) on each module.

Quick start

1. Install. Close your DAW. Copy NoAMP.vst3 (and any Modules\ VST3s you want) into C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3. Put NoAMP.exe anywhere and double-click it to play without a DAW — first run, pick your audio device and input. Rescan plugins in your DAW.
2. Get amps — the whole point. NoAMP plays .nam files: amp captures made with Neural Amp Modeler, the open-source project by Steven Atkinson. Thousands are free: tone3000.com (huge library — filter by amp type and gain) and tonehunt.org (community captures). Make a folder like Documents\NAMs and download a few.
3. Load an amp. Click Choose .nam on amp slot A and pick a capture. The ◀ ▶ arrows step through every .nam in that folder — audition a whole pack hands-free (they're MIDI-learnable). Load a second capture on slot B and pan the pair wide if you want a doubled rig.
4. Load dirt the same way. Each amp's Color slot takes a drive/fuzz/boost capture IN FRONT of that amp — click its Choose .nam, pick an overdrive or fuzz capture from the same sites (tone3000 has categories for pedals too). Color + amp captures stack exactly like a pedal into an amp.
5. Optional cab. Click IR and load a cabinet impulse response (.wav) — many capture packs include them. Skip it if your capture is a full-rig (amp+cab) capture.
6. License. Click the amber LICENSE banner in the header → Load license file... → pick your noamp.illsea-license (from your purchase or free trial at illsea.com). It sticks forever, fully offline. Unlicensed, NoAMP still plays 10 minutes of full audio per session.

The signal chain

TUNER › SQUATCH › WAH › CHORUS › HAZE › YOUR .NAM A ‖ YOUR .NAM B › ELECTRONICS › LAYERZ › SPRING › LOOPER › OUT

Every module has its own page: tuner, compressor, wah, chorus, phaser, delay, reverb, looper.

The header

NORM vs NERD

Every module has two faces; the little mode button shows the one you're ON — NORM = the simple view, NERD = every screw exposed. Click to flip. ELECTRONICS in NORM is just four knobs (Grit = transformer iron + supply sag, Air = presence + sheen + glow, Depth, Shush = noise filter); NERD opens the discrete six, amp coupling, gate Key-HPF, Couple Bite and the Raw Lvls switch.

Capture leveling (why nothing clips)

Every capture you load is leveled to a common loudness AND capped so its peaks stay clear of the output limiter; dual-amp patches auto-duck −3 dB per amp so their sum stays clean. Prefer raw, untouched capture levels? Flip ELECTRONICS to NERD and hit Raw Lvls — global, remembered, never changed by presets. Fair warning: raw capture levels vary wildly (up to ~29 dB between files).

Private FX — they're exclusive

Checking an effect (Verb/Dly/Cho/Phs/Wah) private on an amp CLAIMS it: that amp gets the effect and the other path loses it entirely — one engine runs, so private costs no extra CPU. Claim the same effect on both amps and each gets its own.

Loading + clearing

Any Choose .nam button (amp or Color) and the IR button become a menu once something is loaded: Load new... replaces it, Clear fully unloads it.

Memory

The standalone reopens at the exact window size + position you left it. Every file chooser (NAM, IR, skin, preset) starts in the folder it last loaded from. Your MIDI map persists machine-wide.

MIDI

Right-click ANY knob, fader, module switch, preset ◀ ▶, Freeze, or SYNC → MIDI Learn, then move a controller — the next CC binds. Clear mapping / Clear ALL mappings undo it. Where learn works (and the Ableton way): see tips. If your MIDI stomp device randomly stops responding until you replug it, that's Windows putting USB to sleep — fix in tips.

Specs, tersely