I had been waiting for the Amp Academy Stomp for months. In Europe—especially in Germany—it was almost impossible to get. So when it finally arrived, I was more than excited. And the first impression didn’t disappoint: the packaging is surprisingly high-quality, well-designed, and securely arranged. What’s in the Box? A Lot More Than Expected The included accessories are impressive: Power supply Instrument cable Two MIDI adapters USB-C to USB-A cable Bluetooth dongle for mobile control Plus: a dual footswitch expansion pedal A very generous package for this price range. Build Quality & First Impressions Boot-up is nearly instant. The three onboard footswitches feel solid, and the housing is powder-coated aluminum with a subtle texture that only appears under direct light. Clean, modern, and robust. Switching between presets is fast and seamless—perfect for live situations. IR & NAM Support – The Real Gamechanger Once connected to the PC, the next surprise: support for Impulse Responses and NAM (Neural Amp Modeling) profiles. Since NAM is open source, there are countless profiles available online. As a bassist, this was huge for me: I loaded official Darkglass NAM files into the unit, and they sounded absolutely phenomenal. The accuracy and punch were exactly what I was looking for. Combined with IRs, this gave me an incredibly versatile and professional bass sound. I even used the Amp Academy live only two days after unboxing it—and both our FOH engineer and the audience were very impressed. Software, App Control & Firmware The mobile app works great via the Bluetooth dongle. Initially, I couldn’t access the settings because the device shipped with firmware 1.0. After updating to version 1.3 (about 15 minutes), everything worked flawlessly. Only downside: The desktop editor is Windows/macOS only—not available for Linux. Sound, Presets & Flexibility The device includes a wide selection of amps, cabs, and effects—including several designed for bass. Factory bass presets are limited, but with IRs and NAM profiles (especially the Darkglass ones), creating powerful tones is incredibly easy. Compared to Kemper or Quad Cortex? Considering the massive price difference, the Amp Academy comes surprisingly close in many areas. Creating Profiles & Editing on the Unit On-device editing is the one area that could be better. The process isn’t very intuitive at first, and the manual is extremely basic. A more complete guide would help a lot. Once you figure out the structure, it makes sense—but the first steps require some trial and error or YouTube tutorials. The good news: nothing gets overwritten unless you save, so experimenting is totally safe. The Expansion Pedal – A Live Performer’s Friend The dual footswitch is a fantastic bonus. I use it for the tuner: One tap → instant mute + tuner display Next tap → unmute and back to playing Rock-solid performance on stage. Conclusion The Nu-X Amp Academy Stomp offers impressive sound quality, massive flexibility, and shockingly good value for money. A killer device for its price — highly recommended.