Two notes Genome

One of Genome’s amp models: you can tweak the power amp settings, including the valve types and configuration.

Combining Two notes’ highly respected models and dynamic IR‑based cabinets with support for third‑party machine‑learning amp captures, Genome is brimming with potential.

Launched by Two notes in January 2024, Genome is described as a “carrier‑class software ecosystem engineered to deliver the pinnacle in end‑to‑end tone shaping”. What these words boil down to is an amp, cab, pedal and effects modelling plug‑in that features not only Two notes’ modelled amps, effects and cabinets, and their now familiar dynamic impulse response engine, but also a new CODEX “next generation unification engine” that supports third‑party AI models from Neural Amp Modeller, Aida‑X and Guitar ML. Genome is compatible with VST, VST3, AU and AAX hosts and requires, as a minimum, a Windows 10 or macOS 10.15 (Catalina) computer.

Global Terms

Before we dig in to the sound and feel of this software, I need to cover some of the terminology, the main GUI and the global controls that apply whatever signal chains are currently loaded.

Two notes refer to a chain of amps, cabs, pedals and studio effects as a ‘lane’, and a lane can be saved and recalled as a ‘rig’. A lane is made up of blocks called ‘inserts’, that are always present, even if empty, and display the category of the loaded model. Hovering the cursor over an insert displays the model name, and a click opens the model up for editing.

Running horizontally across the top of Genome’s GUI is a two‑level strip of common controls and facilities. A setup menu allows you to sign into your account (unless you activated Genome offline, you need to be signed in to use it), and perform other admin tasks. Next to that sit a stereo/mono input configuration selector, an input level fader and metering, a large‑format tuner, and a well‑featured noise gate. On the right, the output level fader and its metering are joined by a CPU meter.

Above this, a drop‑down menu accesses oversampling options. As usual, increasing the internal sample rate reduces aliasing at the expense of greater CPU usage, but the Ultra and Max settings are intended for offline rendering, delivering a slight improvement in quality at the expense of very high CPU use.

On the lower left, a text box names the loaded rig and has navigation arrows to move up and down the list, or can display the entire list. Rigs are organised in eight banks of 128 (0‑127) for a maximum of 1024 rigs, the first 222 being populated with factory presets. Icons for the save, undo, redo and revert (to saved rig) functions are adjacent to this, and on the far right, a drop‑down Automation menu accesses 10 user‑configurable DAW control automation assignments, which can be stored within a rig. Another 14 hard‑coded DAW assignments cover bypass, input gain, output level, noise gate parameters, and lane level, pan, mute and phase. The final global feature is a tempo display, with options to use the tempo saved in the current rig, tap tempo, or sync to the host DAW.

Parallel Lanes

Genome’s audio input to can be set to stereo, mono L‑R mix, mono L or mono R. This signal feeds a lane that runs left to right and contains 10 inserts, each of which can be loaded with any model, from any category and in any order. To create a parallel path, you can place a split tool (one instance only) before any insert, and a merge tool (with a mixer to control lane levels and pans) after any insert. For example, placing thea split before the first insert and the merge after the last results in two parallel lanes, with 20 inserts available in total. Reordering a lane is easy, as loaded inserts can be dragged to replace empty ones. The split and merge can be moved in a similar way.

As well as a good selection of modelled stompboxes, Genome features a range of more tweakable ‘studio’ effects to help you shape your tone.Some of the terminology in the online user manual is inconsistent, so a little confusing: it variously refers to Genome models as “components”, “component modules”, “models” and “effects”. But In practice, it’s fairly intuitive. A left‑click on an empty insert opens up the Add Effect menu, which lists 11 ‘component’ categories. A right‑click opens the Add Effect menu’s evil twin, Replace Effect, with which you can bypass, delete or replace the loaded ‘effect’. Each inserted ‘effect’ has a ±12dB output level trim control, labelled FX Out.

The list of modelled amps features the same Tube Stage Modelling (TSM) pre and power‑amp models as found in Two notes’ Opus pedal (reviewed in SOS December 2023), plus a TSM power‑amp model that allows external hardware preamps to take advantage of Genome’s power‑stage options. All TSM amps feature Depth and Contour controls, the former adding low‑frequency content to the sound, and the latter changing the level of bass and treble frequencies to shift the overall sound of a model between a mid‑focused and a scooped‑mid tonality. TSM amp power stages can be switched between 6L6, EL34, EL84 or KT88 output valves, single‑ended Class A or push‑pull Class A/B, and triode or pentode mode.

Genome also offers 12 modelled effects pedals. Alongside an MXR Carbon Copy delay, MXR Phase 90, EHX Big Muff Pi, Ibanez TS‑9 Tube Screamer, Klon Centaur, first‑gen Marshall Bluesbreaker, ProCo Rat, BOSS SD‑1 Super Overdrive and DOD Overdrive Preamp 250, you get separate bass‑ and guitar‑oriented seven‑band EQs and a volume pedal with heel/toe scaling. There are also ‘studio’ effects, which tend to be more tweakable: a dual‑channel delay, a decently featured stereo reverb, chorus, vibrato, tremolo, phaser and flanger, an EQ with up to 16 bands and a familiar node‑on‑curve interface, a compressor with gain‑reduction history, an enhancer with separate settings for guitar and bass, an ADT effect, and a harmonic enhancer.

There’s already a hell of a lot included in Genome — but then there’s CODEX....

Clever CODEX

So there’s already a hell of a lot included in Genome — and then there’s CODEX, selected from the amplifier category. Clicking anywhere in the model‑name field of the CODEX GUI brings up a list of 42 pre‑installed NAM‑, Aida‑X‑ and Proteus‑format amplifier captures. If you want to use your own or other third‑party AI model captures, you can drag and drop them into the Captures folder that Genome creates on installation, or load them from another folder. You can scroll sequentially (in alphabetical order) through the list of AI models.

At the time of writing, CODEX doesn’t support sub‑folders in the Captures folder so, if you value your sanity, I recommend keeping your AI model downloads organised by type in another folder. Also worth mentioning is that a consequence of CODEX being in the Amplifier category is that all CODEX inserts are labelled as amps — even if they’re pedals or studio effects! These aren’t insurmountable problems, though, and could no doubt be addressed in a future update.

Once an AI‑captured model is loaded, you can warm or brighten the input signal, apply gain to it, and/or run it through a bypassable tone stack. Fender and Mesa Boogie‑style tone stack models are the only two currently available, but more are planned. The Pre/Post control on the right of the tone stack switches CODEX’s internal signal routing between Input Signal/Tonestack/Gain/Input Voicing/Model/Output/EQ/Enhancer (Pre), and the more traditional Input Signal/Gain/Input Voicing/Model/Tonestack/Output/EQ/Enhancer (Post). The modelled input signal then enters CODEX’s five‑band graphic EQ, which is topped and tailed by low‑ and high‑pass filters (2‑10 kHz and 10‑500 Hz, respectively). The centre frequencies have presets optimised for guitar and for bass, and a custom option is provided for those whose instruments require more tailored control.

What really sets Genome apart from the crowd is the CODEX engine, which allows Genome to host and manipulate third‑party AI‑based amp captures.

The equalised signal feeds the enhancer, which is a kind of three‑band dynamics processor in which applying compression to individual bands can help you sculpt the final tonal profile. Its three EQ bands (Thickness, Body and Brilliance — in other words, low, mid and high) control the amount of frequency processing, while a dry/wet blend control determines the overall amount of ‘enhancement’ being applied. Finally, there’s a master output level knob. After you’ve adjusted a model, you can save the settings as a CODEX preset. (An important point is that all the Two notes models — not just the CODEX ones — have this facility, so you can amass presets of your favourite settings within every Two notes model).

Dyn IR & IR Loader

No Two notes review would be complete without mentioning their DynIR cabinet emulations and Torpedo Wall Of Sound (WOS) plug‑in. The WOS plug‑in has two components: a DynIR Manager/Loader and the Torpedo Post Effects. The latter gives you a combined EQ, exciter, compressor and reverb that you can use anywhere in a lane, and there are 13 (10 guitar and three bass) DynIR cabinet emulations that can be configured very precisely. As well as loading a DynIR model, WOS allows you to change the two selected mics. In addition, you can change the mics’ distances from the virtual cab, their positions on the horizontal axis, their phase relationship, the amount of distortion, and their absolute and relative volumes.

Two notes’ proven DynIR cabinet emulations are included, and allow you to select the mic types, distances and positions.

All this can be saved as a DynIR preset, and DynIR presets created in earlier versions of WOS are supported (though only the first two of a possible six cabinets will be loaded). Adding icing to this cake, the TSM power amp can be inserted in a mode that replicates precisely the behaviour of the power amplifier section of the legacy WOS plug‑in. Genome’s IR loader allows you to load two third‑party IRs, and to change their phase relationship, amount of distortion, and absolute and relative volume levels.

The Bottom Line

So, that’s what you get, but just how good is Genome? Two notes’ traditionally modelled amps, pedals and studio effects compare extremely well with the best competition in terms of sound quality. These amps may lack the range of adjustment options that help me coax very convincing emulations out of similar models in Bias Amp 2 (my go‑to in this area) but they sound every bit as good, and the effects models hold their own very well against the equivalents in Bias FX2. The DynIR cabinets are extremely good too, again bearing comparison with the best. But if you’ve used Two notes products recently, you’ll know all this already.

What sets Genome apart from the crowd is its support for AI machine‑learning amp/cab/effects captures. As in so many sectors, AI technology is disrupting the software amp‑modelling market.

What sets Genome apart from the crowd is its support for AI machine‑learning amp/cab/effects captures. As in so many sectors, AI technology is disrupting the software amp‑modelling market. Its impact is due not only to the accuracy of the models this approach can deliver (generally, I’ve found that when it comes to recreating an amp sound, a good AI capture will walk all over an equivalent model created in more traditional ways) but also to the open‑source development ethos of platforms such as NAM, Aida‑X and Guitar ML (Proteus). In that respect, it’s somewhat reminiscent of what happened when sampled instruments or impulse response capture software first started to emerge.

Choice, though, can a double‑edged sword. On the one hand, you’ll almost certainly find something you want if you spend time searching and auditioning the different options. On the other, you might have to work pretty hard to find the best versions, as there are literally thousands of free models available on the Internet, ranging from full rigs to the individual elements in the signal chain. It’s great, then, that Genome comes with a curated collection of 42 AI models. These all deliver superb facsimiles, including several of my favourite amps and pedals, and their performance more than justifies the excitement currently raging around AI modelling. It can also shows those of you who haven’t yet got into this technology just how good AI models can be. By way of example, there are both traditional and AI models of a Klon Centaur in Genome, and the AI version sounds much more detailed to my ears. Similarly, there’s a modelled Fender amp called Foundry and an AI‑modelled version of the same amp. While the AI model does sound very like the Foundry, there’s just more detail in the sound. It’s a little more open: more alive, more accurate.

While it’s great that Genome supports all this, though, it also goes a very helpful step further. Some of the more traditional models sound as great as they ever did — we shouldn’t write these off just because there’s a new tech in town — and the DynIR approach delivers some very convincing cabinets. The freedom that Genome’s CODEX engine gives us to combine and manipulate elements created using all these different technologies in a single signal chain, inside a single plug‑in — one that, importantly, isn’t tied to any hardware — is Genome’s trump card.