M-Vave Blackbox NAM
Research and development towards running open-source Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) on the M-Vave Blackbox guitar pedal, using compatible captures from TONE3000.
Status: research baseline, 11 October 2026. No Blackbox firmware has been built, installed or benchmarked by this project.
The first prototype will process mono guitar input through one A2-Lite model and return mono audio. Model browsing, cabinet IRs, effects and a full replacement UI follow only after the audio engine meets its timing and memory requirements.
Findings that matter
- The FCC filing provides internal photographs of a board marked
PD40 V04, a JieLi-branded IC, a74HC595Dand a display board marked1.54TFT-SPI-ST7789. See the photograph guide. - The official Blackbox V20 update contains the string
AC791N_STORY. This supports investigating JieLi's AC791N / WL82 platform. The exact physical processor variant, available RAM and Blackbox pin assignments remain unverified. - TONE3000 publishes an MIT-licensed embedded A2 runtime with portable C paths and ARM-specific optimized kernels. A PI32v2 port is a candidate, not a demonstrated solution.
- FM-1 firmware projects supply relevant toolchain, container and recovery research. Their board configuration, flash addresses and installers must not be applied to the Blackbox without validation.
- No recovery procedure has been demonstrated on the Blackbox by this project.
Source records, verification dates and qualifications are in the source catalog. The claim register preserves earlier leads and corrects unsupported statements.
Documents
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Project brief | Objective, scope and first prototype acceptance criteria |
| Claims and corrections | Confirmed observations, hypotheses and rejected claims |
| Hardware inventory | Components, photographs, confidence and missing measurements |
| NAM feasibility | Model compatibility, memory, timing and numerical checks |
| Proposed architecture | Audio, controls and desktop model preparation |
| Firmware and tools | V20 observations and reusable FM-1/JieLi tooling |
| Backup and recovery | Work required before any experimental flash write |
| Development roadmap | Deliverables and dependencies |
| Research log | What was checked and what remains open |
| Offline baseline | Independent V20 work and reproduced NAM host test |
| Third-party material | Attribution and source distribution rules |
| Datasheets | Component-specific document links and applicability |
| Photographs | Three attributed detail excerpts and original exhibits |
Reproduce the initial observations
Python 3.9 or newer is sufficient for these read-only utilities:
python3 tools/fetch_sources.py --id S05 --output research/downloads
python3 tools/inspect_firmware.py research/downloads/S05-BlackBox.fwsc
The downloader retrieves selected public source files into an ignored local directory and checks a recorded SHA-256 when available. It neither opens device connections nor installs firmware. Third-party firmware, full photo exhibits and vendor datasheets are referenced at their original locations rather than relicensed by this project.
Contribute
Useful contributions are readable board photographs, complete IC markings, non-invasive USB enumeration, documented flash geometry, and reproducible PI32v2 CPU/RAM measurements. Record the board revision and distinguish a measurement from an inference. See CONTRIBUTING.md.
Original documents and utilities are under the MIT license. Photograph excerpts retain their source owners' rights; see THIRD_PARTY.md. This is an independent project, unaffiliated with M-Vave, Sinco, JieLi, NAM or TONE3000.