The Leads, Vol. 1. 66 NAMs.
Silver Zephyr
Singing leads and a clear edge, with clean and crunch sounds alongside them. From my 1984 Mark IIC+.
Explore Silver ZephyrI'm Steven Converse, a solo artist with guitar at the heart of my music. Conversant Soundworks is where I share carefully crafted free software, faithful NAMs of the signal chains I use, and time with other players finding their own sound.
These tools grew out of specific needs in my own music. I use RigSculpt every day in my recordings and live streams. Thousands of players have downloaded my tools and sounds, and their experience helps shape what comes next.
RigSculpt
The sounds I use, with the freedom to make them yours.
- A complete studio rig, ready when you are.
- Design an Artificer amp as you listen.
- Explore your NAMs and IRs by sound.
- Made for my own playing. Shared freely.
RigSculpt is the instrument I wanted for my own playing and recording. Original Artificer amps and effects, neural amp models (NAMs), cabinets and performance tools come together in a rig shaped by my taste as a guitarist. The sounds, how they respond and how the whole rig works together all reflect the musical ideas I keep pursuing.
Play an Artificer amp from its front panel, explore its circuit while you listen, or arrange your own signal path. The included presets are sounds I use myself. They give you a way into the rig, with room to shape it around your own playing.
NAM is where the project began, and improving that experience remains part of the work. The separate Workshop measures your NAMs and IRs so you can explore your collection by sound. RigSculpt uses those measurements to find stereo NAM partners and adapt effects to the amps in your rig. I've put the same care into browsing NAMs, cabinet impulse responses and reverb IRs, so the sounds you already have are easier to find and use. Both programs are free.
Hear how I use it in videos and live streams
New here? Start with the pictured guideThe Artificer pictures below show RigSculpt 1.04. It is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Start with a sound you want to play.
Load one of the included presets or bring your own NAMs and cabinet IRs. Shape the input, choose your cabs, and add effects around the amp.
Use two amp paths for a stereo rig, then save the sounds you want to return to.
Start with a NAMGo inside Lancer.
Play this house amp from its front panel, then open the Designer to explore the circuit behind the sound. Topside, Underside and Rear give you different views of the same amp.
In the Designer, select a component, board or supported rear control to find its editor. Change parts while you listen, compare your designs, then return to Play.
Lancer is one starting point. Choose another house amp, change its appearance, or build a variation around your own playing.
Explore the DesignerFind what works around the amp.
Choose cabinets, EQ, drive, modulation, delay and reverb. In Chain View, Flex lets you change their order, split the signal or use an effect more than once.
Presets, snapshots, trails, the looper and MIDI controls help you take those sounds into a performance.
Find your way around the rigSee what is in a NAM.
The Workshop's Inspect view brings measurements and a written description together. Compare a NAM's frequency balance, distortion and response, then find related sounds in your library.
This example is one of the included NAMs, measured in the Amp Bench. The five benches cover amp, pedal and full-rig NAMs, cabinet IRs and reverb IRs.
Measurements can travel with your files. Artificer uses them to describe your library, pair amps with Synergize and adapt its rig-aware effects.
Explore a NAM in the WorkshopWhat players have told me
“This is so cool.”
“As someone who's spent years building and curating a large NAM/IR library, I'm genuinely impressed, not only by the sound, but by the philosophy behind the software. It feels like a thoughtfully designed ecosystem rather than just another plugin.”
“There are so many incredibly useful and well thought out features in it... I'm most impressed by the way it can quickly build stereo amp rigs that have balanced tone on each side.”
“I have been using RigSculpt Workshop to analyze my 10,000+ nam files. The program is very well laid out and designed!”
“RigSculpt is AMAZING! I'm still futzing around trying to work things out but I'm blown away by the quality of the tones (including FX).”
“This is exactly the sort of thing I feel like has been missing from this part of the world.”
“Almost zero noise, very clear sound. This is an exciting moment in digital modelers.”
NAMs from amps I've played.
These NAMs put the amp sounds and signal chains I use in my own music at your disposal. I dial them by ear, then work carefully to preserve their sound and response at the recorded settings.
These optional premium packs explore different characters in more depth. They contain amp-only NAMs: choose your own cabinet IR. They work in compatible NAM players, including Artificer.
The Chug, Vol. 1. 54 NAMs.
Onyx Tempest
Thick, tight rhythm sounds with the attack for modern high gain. From my 2001 Mark IV Rev B.
Explore Onyx Tempest
The Roar, Vol. 1. 48 NAMs.
Crimson Pyre
A darker voice with thick mids and saturated leads. From a Friedman BE-100 Deluxe.
Explore Crimson Pyre
The Sag, Vol. 1. 37 NAMs.
Ashen Tempest
A brighter, looser response that gives under your pick. From my 1990 Mark IV Rev A.
Explore Ashen TempestThere's more to a NAM than the amp.
Making a NAM can look as simple as connecting an amp and pressing record. But a NAM learns the response of the whole recording chain: the reamp path, the amp at its chosen settings, and the equipment recording its output. A model can match that recording closely while still missing something of the experience of plugging straight into the amp.
Getting those two experiences close has taken me a lot of time, trial and error, repeated listening and measurements, and investment in different gear. Even the speaker load matters. A cabinet shapes the sound you hear, but its speakers also place an electrical load on the amp that changes with frequency. That affects the amp's response before a microphone or cabinet IR enters the picture. Load boxes differ in how they reproduce that behavior. I've measured and heard differences that changed which equipment I use.
For my newer packs, I compare a guitar loop played straight into the amp with the same loop sent through the full recording and reamp path. I adjust the level in small steps and repeat the comparison. This null test is one part of checking that the recording reflects the sound I played through, before asking NAM to learn it. Input calibration and Workshop measurements travel with the finished files.
I'm proud of how close these NAMs get to playing directly through the amps at the recorded settings. I want that care to be something you can hear and feel when you play.
Players have told me they notice the thought behind both the NAMs and RigSculpt. That matters to me. I make these sounds and tools for my own playing too, so every small detail has a reason to matter.
Silver Zephyr, Onyx Tempest and Crimson Pyre use the null-test process described here. Ashen Tempest predates it and uses carefully matched levels. Each listing explains its method and settings. Your input calibration and chosen cabinet IR also shape the result.
Let's talk about your playing.
I regularly go live on YouTube to play through RigSculpt, answer questions and talk through what I'm working on.
You can hear the tones I choose, see how I use the tools and decide whether they fit your own musical ideas. Those conversations help me see beyond my own habits. If you're figuring out a sound or workflow, come ask.
Visit my YouTube channelFind your way around RigSculptFollow the pictured guide from your first sound into the rest of the rig.Watch and join the conversationLive streams, replays and videos from my own playing life.
Watch the earlier RigSculpt walkthrough
This one-take walkthrough predates 0.92. The interface has changed; use the field guide for the current controls.
Spend some time on your music.
I take on a small number of sessions through Ko-fi. Availability rotates around my own music and other responsibilities.
See which sessions are openA close listen and honest feedback
Send a track or your playing. I'll listen closely and write candid notes for your goals. The lessons that stayed with me, including those with Nick Johnston, were personal and artist-first. That's the spirit I bring here.
Guitar lessons
Room to go back and forth and work on what matters to you. I suggest starting with an asynchronous session so we can get to know your playing and decide whether the approach fits.
Dial in your own NAMs
Work with me remotely to choose sounds on my amps and make NAMs from them. The packs reflect my taste. A session gives us time to work toward yours.
A place to listen to each other.
I'm putting together a music community built around mentorship and listening to one another.
I want a place where you can share unfinished work, ask a real question and get a thoughtful response. A place where helping someone else grow is part of being there.
It isn't open yet. For now, the live streams and personal sessions are ways to connect. You're welcome to tell me what you would want from a community like this.
Tell me what would help you
Why I keep working on this.
RigSculpt began with a tool I wanted for my own playing: a particular way to find, shape and work with guitar sounds. I enjoy discovering sounds, and I know how easily that search can take up time I meant to spend playing. Music already has to find room around work, family and everyday life. RigSculpt has helped me play more and get more from the library of sounds I already have.
I'm building it for the long run. I use it every day, and maintaining and improving it is part of investing in my own musical life. Listening closely, refining how controls respond and testing features together are part of making a rig I can depend on and keep growing with. Each feature has to help with something musical I want to hear, feel or do.
Sharing RigSculpt has also brought a commitment to the people using it. Hundreds of hours have gone into development, answering emails, working through problems and responding to feedback. I've brought it to platforms I don't use in my everyday music and bought devices to test on, because I want other musicians to have a reliable experience too. Knowing that something so personal has become useful in their music is deeply rewarding.
How I make the software
I use AI tools for much of RigSculpt's coding and graphic design. That assistance is substantial, and I want people to understand how the software is made. It's part of how I can keep improving RigSculpt at this pace alongside a day job, family responsibilities and my own music. I don't claim the implementation as independent engineering work. What I bring is the musical direction and hundreds of hours of playing, listening, testing and refining how everything works together.
Most ideas begin with something I want to hear, feel or do in my own music. A feature earns its place when it serves that purpose and I'm comfortable relying on it for recording or performance. I've spent weeks on ideas that I ultimately left out because they didn't get there. I care about those decisions because this is the rig I use myself, and I stand behind what I share with other players.
The included NAMs come from sounds I've personally dialed on my own amps and signal chains. I've invested substantial time and money in that equipment and in refining the reamp process, with careful listening behind the sounds I share. Those sounds, the workflow and the decisions about what belongs in RigSculpt reflect my taste as a musician. I remain committed to maintaining it for myself and the people who find it useful.
Credits, freeware and support
Steve Atkinson's original Neural Amp Modeler plugin and NAM core, both © Steve Atkinson and available under the MIT license, provided the foundation for parts of RigSculpt's NAM side. Carmelo Di Lio's open NAM-Oversampler work as The Tone Scientist was a starting point for the oversampling. I've substantially adapted and developed that work for RigSculpt. I'm grateful to Steve and Carmelo for those contributions; their credits and license notices remain in the software.
The Artificer amps draw inspiration from real amplifiers, with their sounds and responses shaped around what I want for my own playing. The effects draw on my favorite versions of the classics, adapted to the musical purposes I want them to serve.
RigSculpt is freeware, including for use in your commercial music. I keep my own source code private so I can sustain the project, choose its direction and stay focused on the people it is meant to serve. Open-source components retain their own licenses and acknowledgments.
Premium NAM packs and optional support help sustain the work. Neither is required to use the software. I'm grateful to the people who have chosen to contribute; their support tells me the time and care behind it matter to them. If you would like to support the technology RigSculpt builds on, please consider supporting Steve Atkinson.
Listen to the music.
Enigma, featuring Nick Johnston, from my album Palette. Making music is why I care about the tools in the first place.
Get RigSculpt.
RigSculpt Artificer is the rig you play through, with original Artificer amps and effects, NAMs, cabs and performance tools ready to explore.
Add RigSculpt Workshop to measure and organize your own library. Both programs are free. Start with an included preset and make it yours.
RigSculpt 1.04 is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. Choose the Artificer package for your system, and add Workshop for your library. The Mac and Linux Artificer packages include a standalone app; the Windows bundle contains the VST3 plug-in.
Check your platform and requirements
Windows
VST3 plug-in + Workshop available
Artificer: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, in a VST3-compatible DAW. An AVX-capable processor is required; the installer checks compatibility.
Workshop: a separate desktop application, available now for analyzing and organizing your library.
Install RigSculpt Artificer 1.04 (VST).exe for the plug-in. Workshop has its own installer.
macOS
Plug-ins + both apps available
Artificer: macOS 12 or later, Intel or Apple Silicon. Use the VST3 or AU plug-in in a compatible DAW, or play through the standalone app without a DAW. 0.98 was the last release for macOS 11.
Workshop: an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) on macOS 14 or newer. 8 GB of unified memory is a sensible minimum; 16 GB is recommended for large libraries.
The Mac packages are code-signed and notarized by Apple. RigSculpt Artificer 1.04.pkg includes the VST3 and AU plug-ins and the standalone app. Workshop has its own disk image.
Linux
Plug-ins + standalone + Workshop available
Artificer: 64-bit x86 Linux with an AVX-capable processor and glibc 2.31 or newer (Ubuntu 20.04 or later, for example), on X11 or XWayland. Use the VST3 or CLAP plug-in in a compatible DAW, or the standalone app with ALSA, JACK or PulseAudio.
Workshop: a separate desktop application for analyzing and organizing your library, with its own runtime included.
0.99.2 is the first public Linux release. Initial testing has been with one Linux user. On Linux both can use a graphics card through Vulkan: RigSculpt's NAM GPU settings and Workshop's Analysis on the graphics card use it when the system has a Vulkan driver for it and the card has passed a check against the processor; otherwise both run on the processor. Please tell me about any desktop, audio-device or DAW problem you find.
AAX/Pro Tools is not supported. A DAW is optional when you use an available standalone app.
Updating an existing installation
Close Artificer and every DAW process before installing. Keep copies of important presets and projects, and read the 1.04 release notes.
Your saved files and presets remain yours. The engine behind the Artificer amps is still being refined, so its sound may develop even when a preset keeps its recorded values.
Why it's free. I make RigSculpt for my own music, and it has proved useful to other musicians too. I value the time, listening and refinement that go into it, and I've chosen to share the result freely. No account is required to use the software. Premium NAM packs and financial support are optional.