NAMM 2026: Synergy Amps, which has long looked at the amplifier world in alternative ways, has debuted its new machine-learning power amp technology for “a no-compromise amplifier solution.”
The tech is debuting in two new products, both of which offer the travel-friendly sizing while being powered by machine learning that tracks your cab's behavior to react as a tube amp would. Packing impulse responses too, no cab is needed to enjoy its magic.
As amp modeling rigs become increasingly dominant features in the contemporary gear landscape, every firm has been trying to get the perfect blend of modern, digital innovation with the authentic feel and sound of tube amps.
Neural DSP has invented a special amp capturing machine, TINA, to do so, and Vox’s new Valvetronix amps prove that hybrid, best-of-both combo amps can also be a viable solution. Now, Synergy has offered its own answer to the conundrum.
In short, the new tech is designed to “combine the convenience, light weight, and power of class D, with the tone and feel of tubes,” and Synergy has partnered with some big names to bring it to life.
It's teamed up with Brian Wampler, of Wampler pedals, for the Wampler Pedalhead – a pedalboard-friendly 240W (60 tube watt equivalent) stereo power amp with IR loader, MIDI, and six power amp models.
Beyond that, there’s the Dave Friedman IR-Load, which saw SatchVai Band’s other guitarist, Pete Thorn, involved. It’s an all-in-one 360W (90 tube watt equivalent), stereo power amp/load box/attenuator/IR loader/MIDI.
So what makes the tech so special? As Synergy explains, tube amps boast touch sensitivity and harmonic complexity thanks to two factors: the nonlinear behavior of their vacuum tubes and the real-time interaction between the amp and its speaker cabinet.
Class D amps, meanwhile, have improved the portability and efficiency of amps, but Synergy argues that their inherent low-impedance output stage makes mimicking a tube amp properly rather difficult.
“Synergy’s invention takes a fundamentally different approach,” it says, “combining high-efficiency, low-impedance Class D output stages, advanced digital signal processing, and a proprietary, patent-protected Machine-Learning system that continuously measures voltage and current in real-time at the speaker output.”
What that means is when you plug into a cab, the tech quickly learns its impedance through “controlled sweeps.” Monitoring continues in real-time, adapting as it does to mimic tube amp behaviors, including sag, compression, frequency-dependent damping, and harmonic richness.
The Wampler Pedalhead is big for a pedal, but small for something that is ostensibly a tube amp in a box, with simple controls.
There's a Master Volume alongside knobs for the DI Level, Presence, and Depth, providing a solution when a cab proper isn't available. Its IR loader can be bypassed via a mini-switch, and there's a switch for Mode/Store, but it doesn't create amp tones in itself; rather, it gives your rig tube amp-like realism while other gear handles the rest.
The Friedman IR-Load, available in head and rack-mounted formats, does likewise. There are stereo controls for Reactance, IR Level, Depth, and Presence for each side, as well as IR bypass mini-switches, an Amp In dial with a -10dB and +4dB mini-switch, and a headphone port and volume control.
The products will be officially showcased at NAMM tomorrow (Jan 22), and at the time of writing, there are no prices listed.
However, what's clear is that this is a fresh way of looking at the tube amp tones versus modeler portability problem, and it looks like it can live in rigs alongside amp modelers of all kinds. It's not gunning to replace them; it wants to make them sound better than ever before.
Keep your eyes on Synergy Amps for more.
