Neural DSP Archetype: Nolly X Can Do More Than You Think

When you see Neural DSP's Archetype: Nolly X, you can't escape Adam "Nolly" Getgood, best known for his work with progressive metal band Periphery.

Not my cup of tea at all, but it's hard to argue with Nolly's obsession with V30s and getting great guitar tones.

As such, Neural DSP's Archetype: Nolly X is pretty much associated with modern metal, progressive tones, and everything you'd expect to hear from bands like Periphery.

And as usual, you might assume that it's not a particularly good choice for black metal or other extreme music.

That assumption couldn't be further from the truth.

What Is Neural DSP Archetype: Nolly X?

Archetype: Nolly X is an amp simulator developed by Neural DSP in collaboration with Adam "Nolly" Getgood.

It's built around four amplifier models, a selection of speaker cabinets, effects, and tone-shaping tools inspired by Nolly's own equipment and recording preferences.

While it's primarily associated with polished modern metal production, there's a surprising amount of versatility underneath all that.

You get:

• Four amplifier models covering clean, crunch, rhythm, and lead tones
• Four virtual speaker cabinets with multiple speaker options
• A selection of microphones and cabinet impulse responses
• Overdrive, compression, delay, and reverb effects
• A nine-band graphic EQ with the additional "Nolly's Mod" option
• Transpose, Doubler, and other useful features

It's a well-thought-out collection of tools that can cover considerably more ground than the marketing might suggest.

What Amps Are in Archetype: Nolly X?

This is where things get interesting.

Nolly X includes four amplifier models, each with a different purpose.

Amp 1 – Clean

The first amplifier is designed for clean guitar tones.

It's useful for everything from clear, articulate picking to atmospheric passages with plenty of reverb and delay.

For black metal, this is particularly useful if you're writing music that moves between distorted guitars and haunting clean sections.

Amp 2 – Crunch

The second amplifier delivers British-style crunch.

Think aggressive midrange, clear pick attack, and the kind of response that works well for traditional heavy metal, thrash, and rawer guitar tones.

Not everything needs to sound like a heavily saturated modern high-gain amplifier.

Sometimes a more traditional crunch sound is exactly what a riff needs.

Amp 3 – Rhythm

This is where we start getting into the heavier stuff.

The third amplifier is designed for powerful high-gain rhythm guitar tones.

It's tight, aggressive, and capable of handling the kind of fast picking and palm-muted riffs that metal guitarists love.

But there's no rule saying you have to use it for modern progressive metal.

With the right gain settings, EQ, and cabinet choices, it can work extremely well for black metal and death metal.

Amp 4 – Lead

The fourth amplifier offers another high-gain character, suitable for lead guitars and heavy rhythm playing.

Having two different high-gain amplifiers is useful because they don't necessarily respond the same way.

Different amplifiers emphasize different frequencies, saturation characteristics, and pick attack.

That gives you options when trying to find a guitar tone that actually suits your music.

What real amplifiers are these based on?

The Nolly X amplifiers are commonly associated with modified versions of amps such as the Bogner Shiva, Marshall JCM800, Peavey 5150, and Victory Kraken.

However, Neural DSP officially identifies them by their Clean, Crunch, Rhythm, and Lead roles rather than publishing those exact commercial models as confirmed specifications.

The important thing is how they sound and respond, not necessarily the name on the original amplifier.

From Modern Metal to Blackened Fury

Honestly, I didn't care about Nolly X when it originally came out.

I didn't buy it until it had already been updated, and I started making presets for Chernobyl Audio.

At first, I was simply creating products for people who had requested them.

But the more I experimented with Nolly X, the more I realized that this thing had serious potential for black metal guitar tones.

Even though it was engineered around Nolly's preferences, it could still produce the icy rawness, aggression, and atmosphere that black metal needs.

And that's something I think people overlook with amp simulator plugins.

Just because a plugin is marketed toward one genre doesn't mean it's limited to that genre.

It's still an amplifier.

You can turn the knobs, change the cabinets, adjust the gain, and create something completely different from what the presets or promotional demos might suggest.

How to Get Black Metal Guitar Tones with Nolly X

The biggest mistake you can make is assuming that black metal requires a specific amplifier or plugin.

It doesn't.

What matters is how you dial in the tone and how that tone works in your music.

Here are a few things I'd recommend experimenting with in Nolly X.

1. Don't Automatically Max Out the Gain

Black metal guitar tones need aggression, but that doesn't mean they need ridiculous amounts of distortion.

Too much gain can smear fast tremolo-picked riffs and make the guitars lose definition.

Try backing off the gain and listening to how the notes respond.

Sometimes a slightly cleaner amplifier setting sounds considerably more aggressive once you start recording multiple guitar tracks.

2. Experiment with the Cabinets

The cabinet section is one of Nolly X's strongest features.

Different speakers and microphone combinations can dramatically change the character of the guitar tone.

If the sound is too polished, try changing the speaker or microphone placement before reaching for another EQ.

You might be surprised how much difference that makes.

3. Don't Be Afraid of Midrange

There's a persistent idea that extreme metal guitars need to have all the mids scooped out.

That's not necessarily true.

Midrange is a huge part of what makes distorted guitars audible, especially when you've got blast beats, bass guitar, vocals, and layers of other instruments competing for space.

The trick is finding the right balance for the music you're making.

4. Listen in the Context of a Mix

This is probably the most important part.

A guitar tone that sounds incredible by itself might not work particularly well in a complete song.

When I'm creating presets, I'm not just thinking about how impressive they sound when somebody plays a few riffs.

I'm thinking about how they'll behave in an actual metal production.

That's a very different approach from endlessly tweaking an amp simulator while playing guitar in isolation.

Legendary Black Metal Tones for Archetype: Nolly X

All of this experimenting eventually led me to create my Legendary Black Metal Tones preset pack.

The idea was simple.

Take the versatility of Nolly X and use it to recreate the character of some of the most recognizable guitar tones in black metal history.

The pack includes presets inspired by bands such as:

• Bathory
• Venom
• Emperor
• Immortal
• Mayhem
• Marduk

These aren't meant to be generic modern metal tones with different preset names.

The goal was to capture the aggression, atmosphere, and character that made those sounds memorable in the first place.

And I knew I needed to do a good job, because black metal fans aren't exactly shy about telling you when something sounds wrong!

If you already own Nolly X and want to explore its darker side, check out my Legendary Black Metal Tones Preset Pack for Archetype: Nolly X.

Is Archetype: Nolly X Good for Black Metal?

Absolutely.

It's a versatile amp simulator with multiple amplifier models, cabinet options, and enough tone-shaping flexibility to cover a wide range of extreme-metal sounds.

The fact that it's associated with modern progressive metal doesn't change that.

You can create raw black metal, atmospheric black metal, melodic black metal, and much more.

And you don't necessarily need to buy another plugin to do it.

Why You Should Give Nolly X Another Look

Like I was saying earlier, most amp simulator plugins are limited more by how people choose to use them than by what they're actually capable of doing.

Nolly X is a perfect example.

Yes, you can get polished, modern progressive metal guitar tones.

But you can also get aggressive, raw, icy, and downright nasty black metal sounds.

I've spent plenty of time experimenting with the plugin and building presets around exactly those kinds of tones.

If you already own Nolly X, you might have considerably more versatility at your fingertips than you realize.

And if you'd rather skip the experimentation and get straight into recording, my Legendary Black Metal Tones presets are ready to go.

The plugin doesn't decide what kind of metal you make. You do.