devices · Nano Cortex · learn · 10 of 10 · 8 min

recording and reamping

The USB channel map, DAW setup, and capturing a dry track you can reamp later.

the one thing

Record the dry DI and the processed stereo pair at the same time. Then you can change your mind about the amp afterwards.

the basics

It’s a USB Audio Class 2.0 interface over USB-C: seven channels, four in and three out, at 24-bit and a fixed 48 kHz. There is no other sample rate. Set your session to 48 k or you’ll resample for no reason.

macOS and iOS are class-compliant with no driver. Windows requires Neural DSP’s Nano Cortex ASIO driver, installed before you connect the device.

Connect directly to a motherboard port. USB hubs are officially discouraged and are the commonest cause of stuttering and dropouts.

the channel map

Three of the four inputs are documented:

Input 1: the dry DI—your unprocessed instrument signal.
Inputs 3 and 4: the processed stereo pair, post-chain.
Outputs 1 and 2: main playback and monitoring.
Output 3: the reamp send, which feeds the Nano’s processing chain.

What USB input channel 2 carries is undocumented. Two independent reads of Neural DSP’s channel-map image disagreed, so we don’t guess.

Using Nano Cortex as an audio interface · Reamping on Nano Cortex

tracking

Create a mono track fed by Input 1 and a stereo track fed by Inputs 3 and 4, then record both at once. You get a usable take and a dry signal you can rebuild later. Do this whenever you record through any modeler.

If the DI comes in very quiet, raise the operating system’s input volume for the device before opening your DAW. There’s no input gain on the modeler itself.

reamping

Route your DI track’s output to Nano Cortex output 3. That feeds the processing chain, and you re-record the result from Inputs 3 and 4 onto a stereo track. Arm the stereo track, disarm the mono one.

NanOS 2.1.0 added two settings specifically for this: Mute Input, which stops the analog direct-monitoring path, and Mute Outputs, which prevents signal doubling. Turn both on while reamping.

Neural DSP publish DAW templates for Ableton, Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, REAPER, Studio One, FL Studio, GarageBand and Cakewalk. One saves 10 minutes of routing.

practical notes

Don’t power from USB and an external supply at the same time. It is a documented cause of glitching. If you use USB for audio, it can’t also be your MIDI path around the TRS MIDI bug.

Neural DSP publish no latency figure. One owner measured 9.1 ms round-trip at 48 kHz with a 64-sample buffer, which is respectable but slower than a dedicated interface. Direct hardware monitoring through the analog path is effectively zero-latency for tracking.