“Introduces several highly requested features”: Neural DSP answers players’ prayers with new Nano Cortex update

(Image credit: Neural DSP)

Neural DSP has announced that, at long last, it has answered players’ prayers by bringing tap tempo controls to its Nano Cortex.

The function arrives as part of a new free NanOS 2.1.0 update, which “introduces several highly requested features” to the amp modeler.

On the pedal itself, the feature is unlocked when in Tap Tempo mode, with Footswitches I and II used for setting tempos and exiting the mode. Over on its sister iOS/Android app, which helps counter the pedal’s lack of screen, the tempo menu now features a tap pad. Alternatively, players can type in their preferred BPM and benefit from the ability to select between global or preset-specific tempos.

Additionally, the Nano Cortex can now receive MIDI CC messages for bypassing individual device slots, controlling the expression pedal position, tap tempo, and engaging/disengaging the tuner.

Also included are tweaks to the incoming MIDI CC feature, an “Impulse Response loader bypass for a specific output” and MIDI Thru. All these changes, Neural DSP says, are made to “enhance the usability and performance” of the diminutive but versatile pedal. As expected, the update also kills off a few bugs and performance issues.

Launched in 2024, the younger sibling to the Quad Cortex takes the flagship modeler’s essence and shrinks its size and price. It utilizes the firm’s Neural Capture technology, meaning it can steal the tonal soul of your favorite tube amps and pedals for a near-pocket-sized gig rig, with fewer processing cores without compromising on performance.

However, its appeal was limited by the absence of several key features. A huge free firmware update in April saw the Cortex challenging Kemper and TONEX with 47 new effects and improved control over the signal chain at the top of some in-depth tweaks.

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However, the update was, frustratingly for some, bereft of a tap tempo. Three months later, this latest update helps bolster its position in a market that sees fierce competition from other smaller-sized amp modelers.

(Image credit: Olly Curtis / Future)Head to Neural DSP to learn more about the update.

Meanwhile, diehard amp enthusiast John Mayer was spotted playing a Quad Cortex at Coachella, and Mooer has added fresh competition with an AI-equipped modeler that, like the Nano Cortex, can profile a player’s gear.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He’s also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.