NMD: Sonicake Pocket Master

[Blrfl]

Did some tinkering with NAM this morning. On the whole? Qualified meh.

I'd tried NAM briefly when it first appeared and hadn't done anything with it since. I started on the computer with Reaper, the the VST that NAM distributes and a half-dozen of the most-downloaded full-rig profiles on Tone3000, with emphasis on things I've heard in person. None of that blew me away, so I decided to rule out bad captures by profiling a Helix preset I use pretty much every day that sounds like this on the hardware and Helix Native. Reverb was shut off, figuring I'd use the one built into the Pocket Master. Even on NAM's player, the result didn't really blow my skirt up and loading it onto the Pocket Master made it sound worse.

Here's where it gets qualified. Some reading revealed that NAM tends to perform better if it's profiling just the amp and the cabinet is being handled by a separate IR. That lines up with my observations of the Tone3000 profiles: the simpler the transformation, the better NAM does capturing it. So the JC120 sounds better to me than the '62 Bluesbreaker.

I did pretty much the opposite of that and kind of had to because the Pocket Master loses its IR block when running a NAM capture. To give NAM itself itself a fairer shake, I'll probably repeat this experiment another time without a cabinet in the Helix preset and the same one tacked on behind NAM.

For now, the component models built into the Pocket Master are better.

 

[fattybrisket]

I bought one with 3 purposes in mind:
1) cheap IR loader to use after my Joyo American Sound

2) to use nam to get a hands-on sense for the sounds of different amps

3) a super easy / handy low volume practice option through an active speaker

It’s been great on all counts. The tiny size and rechargeable battery make it a no-brainer to grab for practice. Now I am thinking about a 2nd one so I can do nam amps with a separate ir.

 

[Dontownatele]

That lines up with my observations of the Tone3000 profiles: the simpler the transformation, the better NAM does capturing it. So the JC120 sounds better to me than the '62 Bluesbreaker.

Ended up thinking volume really needed to be boosted but they worked halfway decent.

Didn’t like the super reverb but liked the Princeton for fender cleans. Didn’t like much of the Marshall stuff for dirt but the Mark V rhythm seemed workable.

Fender 1970s Princeton Reverb with SM57 NAM Profile · TONE3000

Check out aviavi123's neural full rig / combo capture for guitar, bass and recording: 1973 or 1974 Fender Princeton Reverb mic'd with an SM57 off center of cone, original 10" speaker, volume about 3.5. No need for an IR, since this capture includes the speaker. · Fender Princeton Reverb, 1970's...

www.tone3000.com

Boogie Mark V - Rhythm, Lead and Clean NAM Profile · TONE3000

Check out matty's neural full rig / combo capture for guitar, bass and recording: Modern - Thrash Metal - Hard Rock My favorite settings (NAM): Bass4.5 - Middle1.3- Treble4.5 Bass2.7 - Middle2.5- Treble4.6 Bass2.7 - Middle2.5- Treble6.0 Bass2.7 - Middle6.0- Treble2.7/4.0 · Boogie Mark V ·...

www.tone3000.com

I know nothing about what the NAM sounds like through a proper player.

 

[Boreas]

I am noticing the unit to be fairly noisy with my Tele with SCs. Noise gate can clear it up, but the signal gets trashed. Gonna try HBs tonorrow.

 

[Boreas]

Anybody have trouble with presets being lost after saving?? I overwrote the 01 position with a preset I called "Neil" (Young), emulating his tweed setup/tone. Worked fine for a day or so. Last nite I played with the unit (NOT using the app) and it suddenly was gone - reverting back to the original Pocket Master preset! I hadn't done any factory resets or anything - mostly was fiddling around with the noise gate. It almost seemed like the unit got overwhelmed and reset itself!

I installed the most recent firmware when I first got the unit, so I can't say if this was an issue with the OEM firmware. I am going to try a note to Sonicake to see what they say.

 

[Blrfl]

Anybody have trouble with presets being lost after saving?? I overwrote the 01 position with a preset I called "Neil" (Young), emulating his tweed setup/tone. Worked fine for a day or so. Last nite I played with the unit (NOT using the app) and it suddenly was gone - reverting back to the original Pocket Master preset!

There's a quirky Hotone/Sonicake (and probably Valeton, but I don't own any of their stuff) thing that that isn't covered in the manual. There are two banks of presets, F for factory and P for program/personal/whatever.

The "easy" mistake is having dialed over into the F bank, where F01 will always be the PoketMastr preset because that bank is read-only.

The "hard" mistake is having edited a preset in the F bank and going to save it without checking the position setting. The default location will be the same-numbered slot in the P bank. So if you edit F01 and then save it without checking its position, it will end up clobbering P01.

Don't know if either of those apply to anything you were doing. Mine hasn't vapor-locked like yours did, either.

 

[Dontownatele]

Mind did a weird thing where everything started spazing and loading a new preset would suggest it was changed and needed to be saved.

A quick power cycle resolved the issue but if I encountered the bug so can one of you.

 

[Boreas]

There's a quirky Hotone/Sonicake (and probably Valeton, but I don't own any of their stuff) thing that that isn't covered in the manual. There are two banks of presets, F for factory and P for program/personal/whatever.

The "easy" mistake is having dialed over into the F bank, where F01 will always be the PoketMastr preset because that bank is read-only.

The "hard" mistake is having edited a preset in the F bank and going to save it without checking the position setting. The default location will be the same-numbered slot in the P bank. So if you edit F01 and then save it without checking its position, it will end up clobbering P01.

Don't know if either of those apply to anything you were doing. Mine hasn't vapor-locked like yours did, either.

I just noticed the two banks today on my own. I suspect that somehow I got the two banks confused. I have also been flip-flopping between making adjustments on the pedal and my fone app. Could be a Bluetooth artifact as well.

Using the menu driven pedal controls aren't very easy. If I couldn't use the app, I would probably send it back. Or throw it on my pile-o-trash.

 

[Boreas]

Mind did a weird thing where everything started spazing and loading a new preset would suggest it was changed and needed to be saved.

A quick power cycle resolved the issue but if I encountered the bug so can one of you.

I think the logic gets confused easily. There are probably too many functions on that little knob. Modeling amps tend to use those type of selectors and they can be problematic - especially as they wear. Oh well, you can't demand much from a $65 supercomputer.

I started exporting/saving some of my presets so that I can reload them if lost.

 

[Alamo]

The backplate (which is metal, checked with a magnet)
has a small hole for resetting, I suppose.
haven't tried it, but keep that in mind before tossing to the landfill.

 

[Dontownatele]

Having more fun with high gain sounds. EVH III nam sounds pretty decent.

Cant find a fender clean I like. The Princeton one is close but too boxy to be right. Like too much clean boost up front.

 

[Dontownatele]

Using the menu driven pedal controls aren't very easy. If I couldn't use the app, I would probably send it back. Or throw it on my pile-o-trash.

yep same I’m only adjusting from the app. Found playing with nam’s if you load user bank into a preset, you can upload a NAM from the computer to that bank and after the file uploads it automatically loads the new file on the sonicake to demo in your preset.

Saved heaps of time for fiddling with tons of nams quickly

 

[Dontownatele]

Tweaked a bit more. Found a dual rectifier clean that does a decent tube 4x12 clean if you know what I mean. Doesn’t sounded bloated nor shrill.

This clean and the mark v rhythm and evh 3 lead may be all I need.

$65. Wow. Would I like a nano cortex more? Serious question I’m new to profiling.

 

[Boreas]

FWIW, I did get a reply from Sonicake.

" Preset 01 is divided into F01 and P01. Group F is the factory preset and cannot be saved. It can only be saved to group P. Please pay attention to distinguish and see if F01 is selected."

 

[Alamo]

FWIW, I did get a reply from Sonicake.

" Preset 01 is divided into F01 and P01. Group F is the factory preset and cannot be saved. It can only be saved to group P. Please pay attention to distinguish and see if F01 is selected."

Where do you select group F01 or P01 ?

 

[Blrfl]

Using the menu driven pedal controls aren't very easy.

That's a trade-off at this physical size and price. Heck, its footprint is smaller than the display on a Helix. I'm surprised that they went this way instead of the Boss/Fender/NUX-style headphone lump with no display, which would have pushed the price down even further. On the plus side, this thing will work long after you no longer have a phone that can run the app.

Anyway, I've gone the opposite direction of you and @Dontownatele: The app is getting used less in favor of the controls on the unit unless I want to pull in an IR or NAM capture. To each his own, I guess.

I started exporting/saving some of my presets so that I can reload them if lost.

That's good practice for pretty much everything where that's an option. Most times when I reach for the backups, it's to recover from my own error rather than a device failure.

Where do you select group F01 or P01 ?

Keep turning the dial. After F50, it wraps around to P01 and after P50 it goes to F01. (There's something about a round room and a corner here, but I can't find it. )

 

[Dontownatele]

Les Paul into clean and dirty dual rectifier was exactly what it was supposed to be.

Finding you really don’t want to mess with the NAM from everything at 50%. Use preset volume and EQ for volume leveling.

This thing is fun. Wish it could hold more nams.

 

[Boreas]

Les Paul into clean and dirty dual rectifier was exactly what it was supposed to be.

Finding you really don’t want to mess with the NAM from everything at 50%. Use preset volume and EQ for volume leveling.

This thing is fun. Wish it could hold more nams.

It overwhelms me as-is! But I rarely use pedals.

 

[Blrfl]

It overwhelms me as-is! But I rarely use pedals.

$65 and you get to try out a whole bunch of them.

 

[Boreas]

Another odd thing I noticed today with my Android app - it doesn't display the BATTERY capacity. Seems kind of important if you are away from the the pedal and can't see it.

Also, I think I mentioned it before - don't keep anything plugged into the IN socket or it will run down the battery like many other pedals. The OUT seems fine.