NUX Amp Academy

The NUX Amp Academy is a digital stomp-box amp modeler from NUX aimed at players who use pedals instead of amps. RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as a platform for the "amp-less approach," where the guitar signal goes through a pedalboard and straight to the PA or an interface, with no amplifier on stage¹. It covers preamp, cab sim, overdrive, equalizer, DI and booster duties in one box¹.

The circuit is built on NUX's TSAC-2K White-box Amp Modeling algorithm, which RockBoard's PedalPedia says "delivers the sound and feel of world-class tube amplifiers in a super-portable stomp-box enclosure," with what RockBoard's PedalPedia calls huge headroom and dynamic range as a pedal-friendly platform¹.

Amp models and IRs

With the latest V4 firmware, the Amp Academy offers 18 amps, with 3 options for each slot². The A/B footswitch switches from a clean amp style to a crunch amp style immediately, so you can set up two characters of amp and jump between them mid-song².

On the cab side, the pedal has 1024-sample IR resolution with third-party IR loader capacity². The IR lineup breaks down as follows:

• 6 IR slots, alongside the amp slots²
• 12 Choptones custom IRs²
• 16 user slots at 32-bit/48kHz²

That user-slot count means you can load your own captures of cabinets alongside the stock Choptones IRs, which matters if you already have favorite IR files from other gear².

Controls and footswitches

The core control is the A/B footswitch for the clean/crunch amp switch². On the Amp Academy Stomp, the footswitch system is more elaborate. In PRESET mode the footswitches read A (step down), B and C (step up): A steps down through presets, C steps up, SCENE selects scenes 1 to 3, and STOMP selects stomps 1 to 3³. You can save custom block engagements across 3 scenes².

Two quick shortcuts sit on the Stomp's footswitches:

1. Hold footswitch A to open the tuner. It runs chromatically with an A4 = 440 Hz reference; press footswitch C to return to the preset³.
2. Hold footswitch B to open the LOOP page, where you set REC MODE (N.R. / A.R.), POSITION (PRE / POST) and LEVEL³.

A dual footswitch (NUX NMP-2 or NMP-2 LITE) can be connected to the EXP/CTRL FS jack via a TRS cable, with functions assigned to RING (Switch A) and TIP (Switch B). Each switch can step through presets using P UP / P DN, or toggle an effect block such as AMP or CMP³.

The IR OUT switch and using it with a real amp

The IR OUT switch decides whether the cab simulation reaches the 1/4-inch output. Toggle it to the DOWN position to bypass the IR signal when using your board with a guitar amp, and to the UP position to engage the IR signal². In practice, DOWN is for running into a real amp and cabinet, and UP is for going direct to a PA or interface where you need a simulated speaker.

Power and connections

The Amp Academy runs on 9V DC with a negative tip (center negative) and draws 300mA¹². NUX lists an optional ACD-006A adapter².

MIDI control is available: you can assign the MIDI signal with the Amp Academy through the editor, and MIDI is implemented through the USB port².

Firmware and editor

The Amp Academy's firmware is at V4.0.2 for macOS and Windows². The related Amp Academy Stomp, which shares the platform, has its own firmware line: V2.0.5, dated 2026/09/14³. Drivers for the Stomp include the NUX ASIO Driver V3.29.0 (Win7) and V5.72.0 (Win10 and above), and the Stomp uses an aluminum extrusion chassis³.

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