Blackstar ID:X Floor units get NAM A2 Lite in a free update

Blackstar has added Neural Amp Modelling support to its ID:X Floor amp modellers. The free firmware update brings NAM A2 Lite to the whole range, so existing owners get access to a large library of captured amps without buying new hardware.

What NAM does

NAM is an open-source technology developed by Steve Atkinson. Deep learning captures a real device, such as an old vintage tube amp or a distortion pedal, and turns the capture into a model that a modeller can play back.

Tone3000 worked with Atkinson on the NAM A2 release, which launched in summer 2026. The source says the full A2 version could run on a $3 chip. A2 Lite has a smaller computational footprint. That is what lets it run on affordable modellers such as the ID:X Floor and Blackstar's Beam Mini.

How Blackstar delivers it

The release extends Blackstar's partnership with Tone3000. In Blackstar's Architect software, players can search Tone3000's library of NAM models, which users upload, and send the ones they pick to the pedal. Captures sit alongside Blackstar's own next-gen amp models and effects.

Storage on the unit is capped. An ID:X can hold up to 24 NAM models and 100 presets.

Blackstar sees the update as a gain for current users. In its words, they get "a major expansion of their sonic possibilities without purchasing any additional hardware". It also points to the Beam Mini, which introduced NAM A2 technology for the company before this release.

What the pedals already offered

The ID:X Floor series puts the sounds of the ID:X guitar amps into a pedal with an amp-style control layout. That means fewer menus to dive through. The ID:X Floor 3 already ships with 12 amp models, three bass amp models and two acoustic voices. It also has an acoustic simulator and 35 onboard effects. NAM support now sits on top of that set.

Source: MusicRadar