devices · Nano Cortex · learn · 04 of 10 · 7 min

the signal chain

Eight fixed blocks, what goes where, and where mono becomes stereo.

the one thing

The order never changes. Modulation, delay and reverb each have one slot, and there is only ever one capture.

the order is fixed

Input Gate, two pre-effect slots, the Neural Capture, the IR Loader, then three post-effect slots. That order never changes, and there is no effects loop.

The slot rules are strict, and hitting one can feel like a bug. Select a block below to see what can load there.

signal chain

Guitar in
1L / 2R

Mono until the IR Loader, stereo after it. Nothing in this chain can be reordered.

Slot 4mono

Neural Capture

Your amp. It holds one capture at a time, and that is a hard limit.

There are no amp models here, only captures. Only one can be active per preset, so you cannot stack a captured drive pedal into a captured amp. Reviewers cite this restriction when withholding a perfect score.

Nano Cortex FAQ · Guitar.com review · Guitar.com, NanOS 2.0

Not a loadable slot

This slot holds a Neural Capture, chosen by turning Footswitch I. There is no list of devices because there are no amp models—only captures.

five slot rules

Five rules answer nearly every “why can’t I…” question:

Modulation only in Post-FX 1. Delay only in Post-FX 2. Reverb only in Post-FX 3. You cannot put chorus after delay, or run two delays.
Drives, wahs, filters and mono compressors are pre-slot only. Transpose is legal only in Pre-FX 1.
EQ is the only category legal in any slot, pre or post.
One capture per preset—you cannot stack a captured pedal into a captured amp. Use the built-in overdrives in a pre slot instead.
Mono in, stereo out. Stereo begins at the IR Loader, so the stereo (ST) effect variants only exist in the post slots.

low- and high-cut without a second cab

If a capture already contains a mic’d cabinet, turning on the IR Loader for its low- and high-cut stacks a second speaker on top.

Put a Low-High Cut EQ in a post slot instead. It is simpler than capturing a flat IR for the job, and it sounds better.

tutorials from before NanOS 2.0.0

Before NanOS 2.0.0 in April 2025, these slots were hard-wired to specific devices. The chain was Adaptive Gate, Transpose, capture, IR, a DC-2W chorus, an analog delay and Mind Hall reverb.

A tutorial recorded before that date describes a different pedal. If a video doesn’t mention loading devices into slots, it predates the feature.