“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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00:00 [Guitar playing]
00:18 What's up? Paul here from Guitar World and today we're going to be checking out a powerhouse
00:22 modeling guitar and bass processor that will knock your socks off, not just for its sound,
00:28 but how incredibly affordable it is. The Nu-X MG400. 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,
00:46 the MG300 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 box
01:07 amp modeling algorithm, or TSACHD, which stands for true simulation of an analog circuit,
01:14 and core image post effects, which basically translates to you're going to feel the
01:21 difference 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,
01:37 I was completely floored by the sound and playability, let alone how easy it is to tweak its tone.
01:42 [Guitar playing]
01:45 The MG400 builds upon the MG300's intuitive interface and features,
01:50 and is poised to become 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,
02:04 a multitude of effects. What's great is Nu-X's proprietary white box amp modeling algorithm
02:09 replicates the sound, feel, and playability of these amps, and Nu-X is consistent in firmware
02:15 updates, 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.
02:24 The MG400 includes an impulse response library of 512 samples each,
02:30 and you can also load third-party IR files using Nu-X's Quicktone edit software.
02:35 What's included is 25 guitar cabinet IRs that combine four different classic microphones
02:41 with three positions of mic placement. Also included are eight bass cabinet IRs and three
02:46 acoustic guitar IRs. Looking at the eye-catching 2.8-inch color LCD screen, you can see you have
02:52 10 independent and flexible effects and signal blocks that you can move freely on the MG400
02:59 and/or on the Quicktone editing software if you use your computer.
03:04 Over to the left is the color LCD screen where you see your patch,
03:07 and you can begin to edit from there. On top, of course, is the location of your patch.
03:12 You can see up on top here where your expression pedal is set at. If I hit the pedal button,
03:18 you'll notice I can assign the expression pedal for different functions. Right now it's a wah,
03:25 but watch. I can use it for effects, amp, mod, delay, reverb. Next to it, you'll see how the
03:36 CTL 1 and CTL foot switches are set up. One is tap, and the other allows you to scroll sequentially
03:43 through the preset scenes. To the right, you'll see which scene you're on, and you'll see hitting
03:49 the CTL 1, which is the tap button, changes the BPM reflected by the icon there.
03:58 On the bottom are the 10 signal blocks that comprise of amp, effects, and EQ,
04:06 and you'll see your signal chain flows from left to right. 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,
04:20 and in this case, it's the amp. Use the control button to edit pages of that parameter. You'll
04:27 see on this one, it has two from the underscore lines. Now, use the 1, 2, and 3 knobs to change
04:38 settings and/or use the rotary select knob to scroll through the amp models. Be careful when
04:44 you're editing, just say on the amp, when you're using just these controls, you're tempted to go
04:48 to the left and right arrow buttons, and if you do that, it'll just move the cursor to the next
04:54 signal block, and then you're on to a different editing screen. What's cool is if you wish to add
04:59 a block that's not in the patch, simply move the arrow, then hit select control to turn it on and
05:05 make it active. So in this case, I've activated a CE-1 chorus, but if I don't want that, and say I
05:13 want a phaser, I can simply just turn the rotary knob until I get a phaser. In this case, I have
05:21 the phase 90 over here. Now, if I wish to move it in my signal block, all I gotta do is long press
05:27 the select knob till it turns red, then use the left and right arrows to move it where I want it
05:34 in the chain, and hit select again till it turns green.
05:59 And then of course, if I long press it and move it back to where it was
06:04 behind the amp, it sounds so much different.
06:08 But I like the way it sounds when I move it over there. Right there.
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.
06:58 What's so great is just how nuanced all the sounds are. So even when you fire this up and
07:03 you have this preset here, this is sort of like that Wagner high gain sound. It's so
07:09 different when I go to the next preset, which is more of a British sound. Take a quick listen.
07:22 So,
07:45 even some of the cleans are really nice. In this case, this is a very affected sound.
07:55 So,
08:20 here's a great heavier sounding preset and, of course,
08:23 the Nu-X noise gate block is just incredible. Take a listen.
08:30 So,
08:40 less buttons, controls, and switches means you'll need to know how they are assigned to
08:57 edit your settings, but don't worry, it's super easy. First up, you'll see the up and down foot
09:02 switches that take you through the presets. I love the bigger covered orange knob that Nu-X
09:08 included so your foot doesn't hit knobs as you're reaching over with your foot to bank up. You'll
09:14 see the overall master volume knob, which you'll want to set up for a comfortable volume. Keep in
09:19 mind a lot of the presets vary in volume as you scroll through. One of the features I love is
09:25 its scene functionality, where you can use scenes to engage disengage blocks with either
09:30 control foot switch. Here, you can assign control one or control two to activate the scene
09:37 functionality or use one control to engage each scene sequentially and use the other control as
09:43 a tap switch. There are many versatile possibilities. 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 off.
09:56 Right now, it's just with a heavy reverb and then if I go to the second scene, indicated by the color,
10:02 this is more of a modulated, but with this one also has a delay on the control one
10:07 and you can turn on and off. Take a listen.
10:10 So,
10:19 so,
10:30 so,
10:37 so,
10:46 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. You'll notice each
11:12 scene can engage disengage signal blocks freely and it retains the delay reverb trails when you
11:17 disengage them. If that's not enough, the MG400 includes a jam button for drum accompaniment and
11:22 a looper. The MG400 has Nu-X phrase loop synchronization with rhythm, so you can play a
11:38 rhythm, record your phrase loop, and the MG400 will beat match the phrase to fit the current rhythm BPM.
11:46 So,
11:54 you can choose either stereo, mono looping, stereo is 30 seconds, mono is 60 seconds,
12:01 and there are two recording modes. Normal recording works as a typical looper and then
12:06 there's auto recording, which will stand by until you press the control loop foot switch
12:11 and once you hit the strings it will start to record your phrase.
12:14 Once you download the Quick Tone Editor from the MG400 product page, you'll find it to be a
12:22 helpful and easy to use interface for tweaking parameters, dragging block order, set up scenes,
12:28 saving patches, loading patches, exporting patches, load IR, setting up USB routing and control
12:34 settings, and I can't forget that its USB audio capabilities allow you to record tracks, re-amp,
12:40 and even do live streaming. The Nu-X MG400 is a powerful guitar and bass modeler that offers so
12:47 much functionality and stellar tones at a price that fits working musicians and casual players
12:53 budgets. Plus, its compact design allows you to take it anywhere from the studio to the stage.
12:59 You'll find, like me, its model sounds are seriously on par with many renowned
13:05 modeling processors. I totally dig this. Definitely check it out.
13:10 [Music]
13:35 [Music]