# Fx lock / capture change

**URL:** https://unity.neuraldsp.com/t/fx-lock-capture-change/23331
**Category:** Feature Requests
**Created:** [September 13, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://unity.neuraldsp.com/t/fx-lock-capture-change/23331 "2026-09-13T12:01:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Jossax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/65b543/32.png) [@Jossax](https://unity.neuraldsp.com/u/Jossax)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://unity.neuraldsp.com/t/fx-lock-capture-change/23331/1 "2026-09-13T12:01:29Z")

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**Feature Request: “Amp Capture Only” / “FX Lock” Mode for Near-Gapless Amp Switching**

One feature I would really like to see on the Nano Cortex is a way to change **only the amp/capture** while keeping the rest of the signal chain loaded and running.

I understand that true gapless preset switching can be technically complex, especially if the entire signal chain has to be loaded simultaneously. So I would like to suggest a potentially simpler alternative.

**The idea**

The Nano Cortex could have an **“Amp Capture Only” mode** or an **“FX Lock” mode** allowing the user to switch between different amp captures without reloading the entire preset.

For example, imagine having three sounds:

**Preset A – Clean**

- Compressor
- Drive
- Amp Capture: Fender-style clean
- Delay
- Reverb

**Preset B – Crunch**

- Compressor
- Drive
- Amp Capture: Plexi-style crunch
- Delay
- Reverb

**Preset C – Lead**

- Compressor
- Drive
- Amp Capture: high-gain amp
- Delay
- Reverb

If the FX chain is identical, there is no real reason for the Nano Cortex to completely reload all of these blocks when I only want to change the amplifier.

Instead, the device could keep the existing FX chain running and replace/switch only the **Amp/Capture block**.

**Option 1 – “Amp Capture Only” switching**

A dedicated mode could allow footswitches or MIDI commands to change only the active Amp/Capture.

For example:

- Footswitch 1 → Capture A
- Footswitch 2 → Capture B
- Footswitch 3 → Capture C

The compressor, drives, modulation, delay and reverb would remain exactly as they are.

This would be particularly useful for live guitarists who want:

**Clean → Crunch → Lead**

without an audible interruption.

**Option 2 – “FX Lock”**

An even more flexible solution could be an **FX Lock** function.

Individual blocks could be locked:

🔒 Compressor  
🔒 Overdrive  
🔒 Delay  
🔒 Reverb

while the Amp/Capture block remains unlocked.

When switching between presets, the Nano Cortex would retain the locked blocks and only load/change the unlocked blocks.

This could potentially provide much of the practical benefit of gapless switching without requiring the Nano Cortex to run two complete presets simultaneously.

**Why this would be extremely useful live**

As a guitarist, I often use the same pedal/effects chain with several different amplifier sounds during the same song.

For example:

**Verse:** clean amp capture  
↓  
**Chorus:** edge-of-breakup capture  
↓  
**Solo:** high-gain capture  
↓  
**Outro:** clean capture

The effects don’t necessarily need to change at all.

The important thing is to change the **amp character instantly while maintaining the delay/reverb tails and the rest of the signal chain**.

A solution like this could therefore be more useful in practice than simply implementing full preset-to-preset gapless switching.

**MIDI would make this even more powerful**

Ideally, this mode could also be controlled through MIDI.

For example:

CC xx → Select Amp Capture 1  
CC xx → Select Amp Capture 2  
CC xx → Select Amp Capture 3

or perhaps dedicated MIDI commands for increment/decrement:

CC xx → Next Capture  
CC xx → Previous Capture

This would make the Nano Cortex much more powerful as a compact live rig controlled by an external MIDI foot controller.

**An important detail: effect tails**

Ideally, changing the Amp/Capture would **not reset the downstream effects**.

For example:

**Amp A → Delay → Reverb**

When switching to:

**Amp B → Delay → Reverb**

the delay and reverb should continue processing normally, preserving their tails rather than being restarted or abruptly cut.

This is particularly important for ambient, U2-style, post-rock and delay-heavy live sounds.

**Why I think this could be an interesting alternative to full Gapless Preset Switching**

I realize that true gapless preset switching may require significantly more DSP/RAM resources and potentially a substantial change to the preset architecture.

The proposed solution is different:

**Keep the existing FX chain active → change only the Amp/Capture processing.**

If the architecture allows individual blocks to be swapped independently, this might be considerably easier to implement while solving a very important live-performance problem.

Even if true zero-latency switching isn’t technically possible, reducing the interruption to the smallest possible amount would already be a major improvement.

**In short**

Could Neural DSP consider implementing one of these approaches?

**A. Amp Capture Only Mode**  
→ Change only the Amp/Capture with a footswitch or MIDI command.

**B. FX Lock Mode**  
→ Lock selected FX blocks between presets and reload only the blocks that actually need to change.

Either solution could provide a very practical form of **near-gapless amp switching** without requiring full dual-preset processing.

I think this would be an extremely valuable feature for live Nano Cortex users, especially guitarists who build their rig around several amp captures but use the same effects chain throughout a song.

Thanks for considering it!