Demonstration of the NUX MG-400
“Since releasing the MG-300, people have been blown away by the sound and playability, not to mention the ease-of-use tone tweaking and intuitive interface,” says Guitar World Tech Editor Paul Riario. “And now, the MG-400 builds upon the MG-300 features, becoming arguably the best value modeler for your money.”
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MusicTranscript
00:00 [Guitar playing]
00:17 What's up?
00:18 Paul here from Guitar World, and today we're going to be checking out a powerhouse modeling
00:23 guitar and bass processor that will knock your socks off, not just for its sound, but
00:28 how incredibly affordable it is.
00:30 The Nu-X MG400.
00:33 Let's check it out.
00:34 [Guitar playing]
00:40 The Nu-X MG400 is the next step up from the popular MG300, or as Nu-X puts it, the MG300
00:47 little brother, MG400 big brother, with their flagship model still being the MG30.
00:53 [Guitar playing]
01:00 The MG400's sonic engine houses two powerful DSP chips for Nu-X's high definition white
01:06 box amp modeling algorithm, or TSACHD, which stands for true simulation of an analog circuit,
01:15 and core image post effects, which basically translates to you're going to feel the difference
01:21 in playability and experience realistic amp and cab sounds from the MG400.
01:26 [Guitar playing]
01:33 Since releasing the MG300, and if you've ever played it and own it, like me, I was
01:37 completely floored by the sound and playability, let alone how easy it is to tweak its tone.
01:43 [Guitar playing]
01:45 The MG400 builds upon the MG300's intuitive interface and features, and is poised to become
01:51 one of the best modelers for its price.
01:54 [Guitar playing]
01:58 The MG400 comes loaded with 25 amps, one bass amp and one acoustic amp, and of course, a
02:04 multitude of effects.
02:05 What's great is Nu-X's proprietary white box amp modeling algorithm replicates the
02:10 sound, feel, and playability of these amps, and Nu-X is consistent in firmware updates,
02:16 so you can pretty much bank on Nu-amp and cab sims at some point.
02:20 Just keep an eye on Nu-X's online page and Facebook page and groups.
02:25 The MG400 includes an impulse response library of 512 samples each, and you can also load
02:30 third party IR files using Nu-X's Quick Tone edit software.
02:35 Nu-X included is 25 guitar cabinet IRs that combine four different classic microphones
02:41 with three positions of mic placement.
02:43 Also included are 8 bass cabinet IRs and 3 acoustic guitar IRs.
02:48 Looking at the eye-catching 2.8-inch color LCD screen, you can see you have 10 independent
02:53 and flexible effects and signal blocks that you can move freely on the MG400 and/or on
03:00 the Quick Tone editing software if you use your computer.
03:04 Over to the left is the color LCD screen where you see your patch, and you can begin to edit
03:08 from there.
03:09 On top, of course, is the location of your patch.
03:11 You can see up on top here where your expression pedal is set at.
03:16 If I hit the pedal button, you'll notice I can assign the expression pedal for different
03:21 functions.
03:22 Right now it's a wah, but watch.
03:35 Next to it you'll see how the control 1 and control foot switches are set up.
03:40 One is tap, and the other allows you to scroll sequentially through the preset scenes.
03:45 To the right you'll see which scene you're on, and you'll see hitting the control 1,
03:51 which is the tap button, changes the BPM reflected by the icon there.
04:01 On the bottom are the 10 signal blocks that comprise of amp, effects, and EQ, and you'll
04:07 see your signal chain flows from left to right.
04:11 To edit, simply hit the edit/exit button.
04:15 Brings up another screen, and wherever the arrow cursor is, is what you're editing, and
04:20 in this case, it's the amp.
04:22 Use the control button to edit pages of that parameter.
04:27 You'll see on this one, it has two from the underscore lines.
04:32 Now use the 1, 2, and 3 knobs to change settings, and/or use the rotary select knob to scroll
04:41 through the amp models.
04:43 Be careful when you're editing, just say on the amp, when you're using just these controls,
04:47 you're tempted to go to the left and right arrow buttons, and if you do that, it'll just
04:52 move the cursor to the next signal block, and then you're onto a different editing screen.
04:58 What's cool is if you wish to add a block that's not in the patch, simply move the arrow,
05:03 then hit select/control to turn it on and make it active.
05:07 So in this case, I've activated a CE-1 chorus, but if I don't want that, and say I want a
05:13 phaser, I can simply just turn the rotary knob until I get a phaser.
05:20 In this case, I have the phase 90 over here.
05:23 Now if I wish to move it in my signal block, all I gotta do is long press the select knob
05:28 till it turns red, then use the left and right arrows to move it where I want it in the chain,
05:35 and hit select again till it turns green.
05:37 [music]
05:59 And then of course, if I long press it and move it back to where it was, behind the amp,
06:07 it sounds so much different.
06:09 [music]
06:15 But, I like the way it sounds when I move it over there.
06:23 [music]
06:29 Over here is the mode button that sets up how you wish to configure the MG-400 output.
06:34 Also pressing the edit/exit and save simultaneously will bring up the system menu.
06:41 There's also a built-in tuner on the MG-400, but you'll see I'm also using the Cherub
06:45 FlowTune Clip Tuner that features a compensated tuning mode, but let's get on with the MG-400.
06:52 You'll notice the presets were made by well-known influencers and musicians from around the world.
06:57 What's so great is just how nuanced all the sounds are.
07:01 So even when you fire this up and you have this preset here, this is sort of like that
07:05 Wagner high gain sound.
07:08 It's so different when I go to the next preset, which is more of a British sound.
07:13 Take a quick listen.
07:14 [music]
07:28 [music]
07:45 Even some of the cleans are really nice.
07:47 In this case, this is a very affected sound.
07:50 [music]
08:19 Here's a great heavier sounding preset, and of course, the Nu-X Noise Gate block is just incredible.
08:26 Take a listen.
08:27 [music]
08:52 Pressing the X buttons, controls, and switches means you'll need to know how they are assigned
08:57 to edit your settings, but don't worry, it's super easy.
09:00 First up, you'll see the up and down foot switches that take you through the presets.
09:04 I love the bigger covered orange knob that Nu-X included so your foot doesn't hit knobs
09:09 as you're reaching over with your foot to bank up.
09:13 You'll see the overall master volume knob, which you'll want to set up for a comfortable
09:18 volume.
09:19 And a lot of the presets vary in volume as you scroll through.
09:24 One of the features I love is its scene functionality, where you can use scenes to engage/disengage
09:29 blocks with either control foot switch.
09:32 Here you can assign control one or control two to activate the scene functionality, or
09:38 use one control to engage each scene sequentially and use the other control as a tap switch.
09:44 There are many versatile possibilities.
09:46 Here's a great example of how to use the scenes.
09:48 This one is set up for the control one, is set up to turn the delay signal block on and
09:55 off.
09:56 Right now it's just with a heavy reverb.
09:58 And then if I go to the second scene, indicated by the color, this is more of a modulated,
10:04 but with this one also has a delay on the control one, and you can turn on and off.
10:09 Take a listen.
10:10 [music]
10:17 [music]
10:24 [music]
10:31 [music]
11:00 Each preset has three scenes, which are snapshots within a preset, and it's an important function
11:05 for live gigs where you can tap into a rhythm or lead tones or affected tones.
11:11 You'll notice each scene can engage/disengage signal blocks freely, and it retains the delay
11:15 reverb trails when you disengage them.
11:18 If that's not enough, the MG400 includes a jam button for drum accompaniment and a
11:22 looper.
11:23 [music]
11:30 The MG400 has Nu-X phrase loop synchronization with rhythm, so you can play a rhythm, record
11:38 your phrase loop, and the MG400 will beat match the phrase to fit the current rhythm
11:42 BPM.
11:43 [music]
11:48 [music]
11:55 You can choose either stereo/mono looping.
11:58 Stereo is 30 seconds, mono is 60 seconds, and there are two recording modes.
12:03 Normal recording works as a typical looper, and then there's auto recording, which will
12:07 stand by until you press the control loop foot switch, and once you hit the strings,
12:12 it will start to record your phrase loop.
12:14 [music]
12:17 Once you download the Quick Tone Editor from the MG400 product page, you'll find it to
12:21 be a helpful and easy to use interface for tweaking parameters, dragging block order,
12:26 set up scenes, saving patches, loading patches, exporting patches, load IR, setting up USB
12:32 routing and control settings.
12:34 And I can't forget that its USB audio capabilities allow you to record tracks, re-amp, and even
12:40 do live streaming.
12:42 The new XMG400 is a powerful guitar and bass modeler that offers so much functionality
12:48 and stellar tones at a price that fits working musicians' and casual players' budgets.
12:53 Plus, its compact design allows you to take it anywhere from the studio to the stage.
12:58 You'll find, like me, its modeled sounds are seriously on par with many renowned modeling
13:04 processors.
13:05 I totally dig this.
13:07 Definitely check it out.
13:08 [music]
13:33 [music]