# Neural DSP Users: What’s Your Favorite Plugin?



## Deadpool_25 (Jul 13, 2020)

Which do you have and which is your favorite and why?

I have Archetypes: Cory Wong, Plini, and Nolly.

My favorite is Plini. Especially now that I figured out some noob setup basics. 

The three amp models are, I believe, Fender (maybe with some Dumble elements), Friedman BE/HBE, and 5150. Those are the three basic models that make up my perfect trifecta.

Also the delay and reverb are absolutely stellar imo.


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## viifox (Jul 13, 2020)

For the djenty type shit, the Omega is tough to beat!

And i absolutely love the cleans, as well as the included reverb and delay on the Plini. Just outstanding! But i couldn't get a long with anything else with it when it came to heavy rhythm/deftones type stuff. I bet it's great for leads though!

I still need to try the Nolly. Sounds awesome from the demos.


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## Steinmetzify (Jul 13, 2020)

I’ve demo’d a bunch of them, bought Nameless as what I wanted was a modded Marshall variant just for brootz that I don’t have covered elsewhere. 

Reading OP’s post, I’ll grab Plini next.


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## Boofchuck (Jul 13, 2020)

I have Parallax, Nolly, Nameless, and Omega. I feel like my bases are pretty well covered haha. 

If I could only choose one it would be Nolly hands down for it's versatility, sound and feel.


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## Avedas (Jul 13, 2020)

I only bought Parallax. Out of the guitar ones, Nolly sounded the best but they're all kinda similar.


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## t1337Dude (Jul 14, 2020)

I have the NTS, Abasi, Granophyre, and the Nolly. Wanted the Plini for the cleans but it didn't come on sale. Started working on a demo track and spent a few hours tone-shopping through the different programs and found they all have their strengths. NTS and Granophyre for example are some of the best chunky-sounding metal tones I've heard, but they're very barebones in terms of pedals and FX, so I used those for backing and rhythm guitars. The Nolly on the otherhand has those extra pedals and FX, and messing around with them for awhile let me hit a really "fancy" sounding lead tone. The Abasi's high-gain amp has a really cool 'fuzz' sound going on which works well with extreme metal, and the cleans on it give a very good ambience. I feel pretty hooked up from that sale, and pretty lucky because I only discovered the products a couple weeks before these sales rolled out.


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## bracky (Jul 14, 2020)

I have nameless, omega and Plini. If I could only have one it would be Plini.


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## sakeido (Jul 14, 2020)

Cali

Best hot rod Marshall VST, although Nameless is damn close.


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## Thaeon (Jul 14, 2020)

I have Nolly and Abasi. Cory Wong will probably be next. Then Granophyre.


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## Backsnack (Jul 14, 2020)

Arcehtype Nolly and Omega Granophyre cover just about everything for me. I also have Plini, but I'm debating on selling it since there's a lot of overlap with Nolly.

Nolly just slays because it's the only one that allows you to mix and match the amps and cabs. The variety of tones is endless and I'd challenge anyone playing almost any style to not be able to find a desired sound.

I don't need Archetype Wong because I already have Blue Cat Axiom which has amazing clean and crunch tones. The included Late Replies delay workstation can get some really cool ambient tones and it's like an instrument unto itself.


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## Backsnack (Jul 14, 2020)

Avedas said:


> I only bought Parallax. Out of the guitar ones, Nolly sounded the best but they're all kinda similar.


There's a silly amount of overlap between most of the Archetypes. Just pick one you like best and be done with it. Although I'll tell everyone that Nolly is the clear best choice.


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## Wolfhorsky (Jul 15, 2020)

Nolly for me. I also have and like Plini, but Nolly is bettre for me.


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## Blytheryn (Jul 15, 2020)

I have the Nameless and the Cali. Cali is getting a little more use because I’m writing more black metal than before, but for anything else? Nameless.

But then again I haven’t played a guitar with a clean tone since like 2011.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jul 15, 2020)

I have Nameless, Omega and Nolly. I use the 5150 model in Nolly and Omega the overwhelming majority of the time when I'm messing around with them.
Omega is probably my favorite by far. The growl and snarl it has just speaks to me.


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## Vyn (Jul 16, 2020)

I've got all of them. Depends on what tone I'm going for as to what I reach for:

Nolly - That standard 5150 tone that just works.
Nameless/Cali - both are similar to one another, that hot-roded Marshall tone. If you asked me to pick between the two I'd struggle.
NTS - the tight, dry tech-death tones I grew up with (The Faceless) as well as every other tight tech-death band (heck Toby from Archspire has presets on this) are really easy to get.
Omega - Slipknot in a plugin
Cory Wong: Cleans and funk for days however also really cool for doing ambient/shimmer stuff.

I don't really use Abasi or Plini, however Abasi had some sick ambient presets on it. I'd use it more if I had 8s I reckon (not saying that the other plugins can't handle 8s, it's just Abasi has sick tones out of the box). Plini is good however I find myself reaching more for Wong when it comes to cleans.


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## Kaura (Jul 16, 2020)

I have Nameless, NTS, Plini and Nolly. 

For cleans, blues crunch and leads I love Plini. For heavier crunch and hi-gain stuff I prefer Nolly, especially when using single-coils. Made a couple of killer presets with my Fender Mustang the other day.


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## Nik_Left_RG (Jul 17, 2020)

I have the Nolly and its pretty good. Spent a lot lot A/Bing it with the Plini and preferred the Nolly over the Plini. Tried the NTS/Cali /Omega stuff and I still prefer the Nolly over all of them.. Downloaded a bunch of presets from the NDSP forums and they are fun to play around with but I have a couple of cleans, leads and rhythms tones and that's about all I need. 

Will definitely get the Plini when its on sale. The effects on that one is stellar.


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## t1337Dude (Jul 17, 2020)

TENSECONDSONGS for 30% discount right now for all plugins but Wong. No idea when it expires but it's working at the moment as I post.


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## Thrashman (Jul 17, 2020)

Nolly and Plini are my two favourites. The Plini has the most amazing cleans and crunch/lead tones I've ever heard from a plugin and the Nolly just crushes for anything rock/metal.


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## Flappydoodle (Jul 17, 2020)

Nolly, easily

The 5150 model is great. The only plugin which really captures the proper amp sound IMO. There’s something in the low end which TSE, STL Will Putney etc never managed to capture. 

There’s a nice clean amp. And enough effects (delay, reverb) for most people. Also, all 4 cabs are totally usable with the 5150 and offer different flavours and versatility.


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## Masoo2 (Jul 18, 2020)

Nolly and Plini are the only two I've actually liked, Nameless/NTS/Omega just didn't do it for me at ALL

Cory Wong is cool though and once I pick up that new Squier Offset Tele I'll probably get it, I've always dug his work in Vulfpeck


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## FearComplex (Jul 18, 2020)

In order:

1. Nameless
By some distance my favourite, this model sounds ALIVE and exciting. Treble and presence settings around 9 o clock and 10 o clock as the amp is so bright. Palm mutes are juiced and percussive. The pedals kill the character of it and introduce that fake sounding unnatural 'chirp' so remain bypassed and not all missed. Probably the best sim I've ever used.

2. Granophyre 
Super THICK sounding with outstanding note definition even at high gain settings where other amps become a blurred mess and fall apart. Smooth brutality this one.

3. Cali
Super tight and offers a wide range of tones. Really cool vibe and the most fun to sit and tweak. 

Can't say I was as wowed by any of the others. The Nolly has that massive and clean 5150 low end but mid range and pick attack are vanilla.


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## rexbinary (Jul 20, 2020)

I've never used or owned any plugins before. So with all this Neural talk lately I started trials on most of the ones Neural offers. I ended up buying the Cali. It has a preset named Lynch's Nipple. I was sold right there.

Ha, actually I really like most all the sounds of that plugin I could find. It has a really nice feel to it. None of the others have really jumped out at me like the Cali so far, but I'm not done checking them all out yet.


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## Vegetta (Jul 20, 2020)

I quite liked the Nolly and the Plini. if their new hardware modeller sounds that good I will buy it for sure.


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## blacai (Jul 20, 2020)

I have NTS and nameless. Gave a try to the trials the rest...but I mainly play the NTS for some more fuzzy and sludge tones.


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## youngthrasher9 (Jul 21, 2020)

I’ve played through all of them fairly extensively except for the Corey Wong, and I really am not sure. 

The Nameless kills, and it’s the one I own. That being said, I think I actually like the Plini more for versatility. 

The thing that I discovered, is that with simple parametric EQ before any of these plugins, you can get the same Fortin magic from the nameless (maybe less low mid girth depending). Just cut heavily at 300hz, and boost around 1500hz, tweaking output to taste.


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## bmaccombs (Feb 26, 2022)

im diggin the gojira one for sure


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## Aewrik (Feb 27, 2022)

If you've somehow missed it, NDSP is running a 40% sale on plugins for existing customers


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## Deadpool_25 (Feb 27, 2022)

Aewrik said:


> If you've somehow missed it, NDSP is running a 40% sale on plugins for existing customers


I may or may not have added a couple plugins the last week. For no reason other than I felt like it. /shrug


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## Alberto7 (Feb 27, 2022)

Meh the discount was finally an excuse to get the Petrucci. I got the trial when it first came out and I loved the sound, but i kept having latency issues the whole time... I only noticed after my trial had ended that I had "Windows Audio" selected as my input device instead of ASIO...  Took advantage of the sale just now. No latency issues, and sounds killer.

I have a bunch of their plugins, but between Petrucci and Nameless, I don't really need much else. Nolly maybe, for the 5150 and the Marshall.

I also have Plini, Abasi, and Gojira, but those are really fading into the background now. They aren't bad by any means, but what they offer isn't up my alley as much.


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## laxu (Feb 28, 2022)

Aewrik said:


> If you've somehow missed it, NDSP is running a 40% sale on plugins for existing customers


Which is honestly a bit weak considering their Black Friday sales are 50% off...

So far my favorites have been the Soldano SLO and Petrucci plugins. Some of the Petrucci effects are not that great but the amp/cab sim section is very good. Haven't bothered buying either plugin as I have Helix Native and a Fractal FM3.


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## Emperoff (Feb 28, 2022)

Plini is still my favourite, but I really liked Petrucci's. If I only were to get one, that would probably be my choice, since it's the one with the most features. I didn't like the "lead" (white) amp much, but the black and clean ones are pretty good.

Honestly, NDSP Plugins are worth it only if you try them all and get the one that suits your needs better. If you're the "completionist" kinda dude, you better save a bit and spend that money on an FM3, which will be way cheaper in the long run.


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## Deadpool_25 (Feb 28, 2022)

FWIW, Keyan Houshmand (YouTuber) recently put out a 3-song single called Gradient and used all NDSP plugins (Nolly, Plini, Cali, Parallax).


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## SamSam (Mar 1, 2022)

Nameless, Cali and Gojira are my favourites guitar wise. I have omega and nolly as well. Both great, gojira has
Topped Nolly due to novelty as it's my latest.

Both the bass sims are awesome.


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## Flappydoodle (Mar 2, 2022)

SamSam said:


> Nameless, Cali and Gojira are my favourites guitar wise. I have omega and nolly as well. Both great, gojira has
> Topped Nolly due to novelty as it's my latest.
> 
> Both the bass sims are awesome.


Gojira (black amp) has this super mid grindy sound that I can’t dial out. It’s satisfying at first, but kinda grates on my ears eventually.


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## Alberto7 (Mar 2, 2022)

Flappydoodle said:


> Gojira (black amp) has this super mid grindy sound that I can’t dial out. It’s satisfying at first, but kinda grates on my ears eventually.


That's exactly why I don't use it as much anymore. It sounds ginormous and has a stupid amount of gain, which was cool for a while. Sometimes it still is if I'm feeling like it. But more often than not it just hurts my ears.

The clean amp is surprisingly nice though. Very smooth top end and a satisfying low end.

Something else I actually reaaally like about the Gojira is the OD pedal. It pairs very nicely with the Nameless plugin in my DAW. It's somehow not as harsh sounding as the Grind or even the Hexdrive, but still keeps everything really tight.


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## Partario (Mar 3, 2022)

Parallax for me. I tried the free trials of the guitar amps, but I still like my TSE X50 and Sigma for guitar. 

Parallax saves CPU on my bass chain by replacing a bunch of plugins. Djinn Bass into Parallax sounds so insane, I have to take it down a bit with pre and post eq.


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## Elric (Mar 3, 2022)

Nolly feels the most complete for my tastes. They need to combine them all into a single framework, IMHO. It sucks having them all separated out with different capabilities.


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## Gmork (Mar 3, 2022)

I have the omega, nameless and nts, while the omega grano is my fav by far i still have fallen out of love with amp sims. Feel like every single one ive ever tried seemed like it was missing a lot of the natural lowend of the real deal


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## Emperoff (Mar 3, 2022)

Elric said:


> Nolly feels the most complete for my tastes. They need to combine them all into a single framework, IMHO. It sucks having them all separated out with different capabilities.



The main reason why I only use Plini. I'm not paying Helix Stomp money for a bunch of plugins and a clumsy workflow.


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## aWoodenShip (Mar 3, 2022)

Gmork said:


> I have the omega, nameless and nts, while the omega grano is my fav by far i still have fallen out of love with amp sims. Feel like every single one ive ever tried seemed like it was missing a lot of the natural lowend of the real deal


Omega is my favorite as well, but sometimes I agree that sims are missing something. I'm curious if you've tried Petrucci since it has that room setting and liked that more?


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## Gmork (Mar 4, 2022)

aWoodenShip said:


> Omega is my favorite as well, but sometimes I agree that sims are missing something. I'm curious if you've tried Petrucci since it has that room setting and liked that more?


Nope, ive only tried the ones i listed, id be lying if i said i havent been curious about these newer ones though! But im dont with spending $100+ when i can get the same results with even free plugins, or even BETTER results using my pedals or amps lol. 
The HUGE plus fie me is that u can always tweak your tone later wuth plugins which definitely IS a HUGE plus!


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## Emperoff (Mar 4, 2022)

Gmork said:


> Nope, ive only tried the ones i listed, id be lying if i said i havent been curious about these newer ones though! But im dont with spending $100+ when i can get the same results with even free plugins, or even BETTER results using my pedals or amps lol.
> The HUGE plus fie me is that u can always tweak your tone later wuth plugins which definitely IS a HUGE plus!



I'm done buying plugins for good. Terrible investments in the long run! Since people know they get discounted several times a year it's almost impossible to sell them for a decent amount.

No such problem with hardware.


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## Elric (Mar 4, 2022)

Emperoff said:


> I'm done buying plugins for good. Terrible investments in the long run! Since people know they get discounted several times a year it's almost impossible to sell them for a decent amount.
> 
> No such problem with hardware.


Yeah, I empathize a little and have gone back and forth... On one hand they feel like a bargain compared to hardware if you wait for sales. On the other hand I have bought numerous plugins on impulse because it seemed to be a deal only to find it not very useful after the novelty has worn off and unlike hardware you cannot recover those funds. I know some licenses are transferable but am not going to deal with it, it does not feel worth the effort.


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## Alberto7 (Mar 4, 2022)

Elric said:


> Yeah, I empathize a little and have gone back and forth... On one hand they feel like a bargain compared to hardware if you wait for sales. On the other hand I have bought numerous plugins on impulse because it seemed to be a deal only to find it not very useful after the novelty has worn off and unlike hardware you cannot recover those funds. I know some licenses are transferable but am not going to deal with it, it does not feel worth the effort.


Yeah, i was thinking about this some time ago. I have plugins I genuinely don't need and/or kinda regret buying on impulse. I've no clue how it works to transfer a license and truth is, I kinda don't wanna bother also.
I know 15 days seems like a long time to try something, but there are periods of 15 days where, for one reason or another, (mostly work and/or prioritizing spending time with loved ones) I just can't get enough playtime in to make my mind up about it.

I'd sell Abasi, Gojira (even if I do like the OD pedal), Plini, and the Amped ML5 plugin I got.

It's a MUCH smaller short term investment and a much lower entry barrier, which is nice, but then it just feels like you're stuck with it forever.

Then again, I justify that as being the cost of my hobby; I know there's money in it I'll never recoup. Just gotta make sure not to let it get out of control.


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