Your iPhone Is Now a NAM Rig (And It Sounds Ridiculous)

Let's get something straight: five years ago, if you told a guitarist they could load neural amp captures onto their phone, plug in a USB audio interface, and gig with it, they would have laughed you out of the room. Then they would've gone back to hauling a 60-pound amp head up three flights of stairs.

Well, guess who's laughing now.

ToneRig just dropped on the App Store, and it turns your iPhone or iPad into a full-blown NAM capture rig. We're talking amp captures, cabinet IRs, a complete pedalboard with effects, parallel signal chains, MIDI control, a looper, and even AUv3 hosting. On your phone. For free (with a $9.99 Pro unlock if you want the full experience).

This isn't a gimmick. This is genuinely nuts.

What Is ToneRig?

ToneRig is an iOS app built by developer Josh Aquino that runs Neural Amp Modeler captures natively on your iPhone or iPad. You connect a class-compliant USB audio interface (the kind you probably already own), plug in your guitar, and you're playing through NAM captures with low latency and a full effects chain.

And yes, it supports NAM A2 captures. The latest architecture from TONE3000. The one that's been blowing minds with how close it gets to the real thing. That runs on your phone now.

The app launched in early July 2026 and the developer has been shipping updates at a pace that puts most major companies to shame. Version 1.3.6 (the latest at the time of writing) added a 60-second stereo looper, a bass synth, savable presets for NAM capture and cab IR blocks, and a redesigned chorus effect. That's after adding convolution reverb, parallel signal chains, MIDI Learn, Global EQ, and AUv3 hosting in the weeks prior.

Users on the App Store are giving it a 4.9 out of 5. One reviewer called it "the GOAT" for mobile guitar apps. Another said it "kicks a dedicated pedal in the rear." We're inclined to agree.

Why This Matters for Every Guitarist

Think about what this actually means for your workflow.

You're at a buddy's house and someone pulls out an acoustic. You want to jam but didn't bring your rig. Pull out your phone, connect your pocket-sized audio interface, load up one of Six String Lab's NAM captures, and you're playing through a cranked Plexi in seconds.

You're on the road and want to practice with your actual tones. Not some tinny built-in speaker sim. Your real captures, your real IR cabs, your real effects chain. All on the device that's already in your pocket.

You're recording a quick demo idea in GarageBand on your iPad and you want to use proper amp tones. ToneRig runs as an AUv3 plugin inside GarageBand and Logic Pro. Load your NAM captures right into your session.

This is the kind of thing that makes you rethink what "portable" means.

What You Get for Free (Yes, Actually Free)

The free version of ToneRig is surprisingly generous. You get full-quality, low-latency monitoring, a complete pedalboard with EQ, reverb, delay, reverse delay, chorus, tremolo, octave, wah, and compression. You can load your own .nam capture files and WAV impulse responses. There's a built-in tuner, input/output meters, a real-time latency estimate, and a digital metronome with tap tempo.

That alone would be worth paying for. The fact that it's free is kind of absurd.

What ToneRig Pro Unlocks

For $9.99 (one-time, no subscription), you unlock preset saving across multiple banks, parallel signal chains with Y split and crossover routing, MIDI footswitch mapping, unlimited downloads from the TONE3000 library, third-party AUv3 effects hosting, and iCloud backup for your presets and captures.

Ten bucks. That's less than a set of strings. For a full amp modeling rig on your phone. Let that sink in.

The NAM Ecosystem Is Exploding

ToneRig isn't happening in a vacuum. The entire NAM ecosystem has been on an absolute tear in 2026.

NAM A2, the next-generation capture architecture developed by TONE3000 in partnership with NAM creator Steve Atkinson, launched in June 2026. It beats NeuralDSP, ToneX, and Line 6 in both quantitative and blind listening tests. It's fully open source, runs on hardware as small as a $3 chip, and sounds better than anything that came before it.

HeadRush rolled out native NAM support across their Prime, Core, and Flex Prime floorboards. Hardware makers like Dimehead and Sonulab are building dedicated NAM pedals. And now ToneRig brings the whole thing to your phone.

If you've been sitting on the sidelines wondering whether NAM captures are worth getting into, the answer is a very loud yes. The train is leaving the station and it's picking up speed.

How to Build Your Phone Rig

Setting up ToneRig is dead simple:

1. Get a USB audio interface. Any class-compliant interface works. Something like an iRig or Focusrite iTrack is perfect. If you already have a desktop interface with a USB-C connection, that probably works too.

2. Download ToneRig. It's free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Requires iOS 17 or later.

3. Load your captures. You can import .nam files from your Files app, or browse and download captures directly from the TONE3000 library. If you want killer tones right out of the gate, grab some free NAM capture packs from Six String Lab and load those up.

4. Add your effects. Build out your signal chain with the built-in effects, reorder blocks however you want, and dial in your sound.

5. Play. That's it. Plug in headphones or connect to monitors and go.

But Does It Actually Sound Good?

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer: NAM A2 captures are the most accurate neural amp models ever created. They beat the big commercial platforms in blind tests. ToneRig runs those captures at your audio interface's native sample rate with a small buffer, so latency is minimal and the sound quality is as good as the capture itself.

The built-in effects are solid too. The convolution reverb uses real room impulse responses. The delays are clean and musical. The new looper is actually useful for practice and songwriting. This isn't a toy.

Obviously, you're not going to replace a Fractal Axe-FX III or a Kemper on a professional tour with an iPhone app. Nobody's claiming that. But for practice, demos, traveling, casual jams, and honestly even small gigs with in-ear monitors? This thing holds its own in a way that would have been unthinkable two years ago.

What This Means for Capture Players

If you're already deep into the NAM capture world, ToneRig is a no-brainer addition to your setup. Your existing .nam files work perfectly. Your cab IRs transfer right over. It's the same tones you know and love, just available everywhere you go.

If you're on Tonex, Kemper, HeadRush, or NeuralDSP, this is one more reason to check out what NAM captures have to offer. The ecosystem is growing faster than any other platform right now, the quality is world-class, and the price of entry just dropped to "you already own the hardware."

Grab a free pack from Six String Lab, load it into ToneRig, and see what all the fuss is about. We've got NAM captures covering everything from pristine cleans to face-melting high gain, and they all work beautifully on your phone.

The Future Is in Your Pocket

We've been saying for a while now that amp modeling technology is moving faster than anyone expected. NAM A2 changed the game. Hardware pedals are adopting it. Desktop plugins are running it. And now your phone can handle it.

The gap between "professional studio tone" and "what you can get for ten bucks on your iPhone" has never been smaller. And it's shrinking every week.

Go download ToneRig. Load up some Six String Lab captures. And try to wipe that grin off your face when you realize you're playing through a cranked vintage amp on the same device you use to check your email.

The future of guitar tone is in your pocket. And honestly? It sounds pretty incredible.