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Sonicake Pocket Master Review – This ACTUALLY changes everything!
Introduction
The phrase “game changer” gets used a lot in the world of guitar gear! However, we genuinely think that this is a game changer! What is it? The Sonicake Pocket Master Modeller! A super small and portable modeller capable of some insane things that even bigger modellers can’t do! We recently got one and have been using it for a while now, and we’ve really got to grips with all its features-the good sides and also the bad sides!
We’ll go into more detail about what this is and what it can do, but I would consider this a super affordable and ultra-compact modeller-similar in concept to the Helix, Neural Quad Cortex, and HX Stomp. However, it’s massively more affordable and, if we’re honest, has a lot of options stripped back-but not the essential features you’d expect!
In this review, we’ll go through all the features and specs of the Sonicake Pocket Master, and talk about what it can do: the layout, options, design, and-most importantly-what it sounds like! So let us explain what the Sonicake Pocket Master really is!
Sonicake Pocket Master
The Sonicake Pocket Master is Sonicake’s mini modeller and processing unit. Think Neural Quad Cortex but 1/8 the size! A pocket-sized unit designed to give you professional and customisable sounds and tones-allowing you to build up presets using their in-built amp simulation and built-in IRs, or load in your own .NAM files and custom IRs.
The Pocket Master comes in a plastic housing with very minimal design and screen printing. Weighing in at only 194g, you wouldn’t feel the weight of it in any gig bag or rucksack! The box is simple and only slightly bigger than the unit itself, and contains the unit, the instruction manual, and a useful belt clip which can be screwed onto the unit if you need it.
On the front of the screen, you have a few controls which we will talk about shortly, but the main feature is the 1.77” full-colour display, which shows the Bluetooth status, volume, battery level, and preset name. Preset-wise, you’ll be able to create up to 100 custom presets, each capable of using up to 9 effect slots. You can switch between presets using the footswitches. Speaking of footswitches, why don’t we run through the controls?
- Value/Volume: This is a bass cut (2.6kHz), allowing you to cut the bass frequencies or boost and overdrive them-giving you a fuzz-like tone.
- Left Button: A gain control that works hand in hand with the bass control to shape overdrive and low-end tones from this pedal.
- Right Button: A treble filter with a frequency around Tube Screamer territory, but with the clean signal blended in. However, the two signals are slightly out of phase, so turning the control up adds some pleasant phase distortion.
More on the Sonicake Pocket Master
On the back of the Sonicake Pocket Master, you have 4 inputs. There’s your guitar or bass input, followed by your output, which can be used for headphones or sent directly to a mixing desk. Then there are two USB-C inputs-one for charging only, and another for data transfer. The data line is used for updates and editing, which you can also do via Bluetooth using the Android/iOS application!
Alongside the 20 amp models and 100+ effects, you’ll also find a tuner and a drum machine containing 99 drum patterns from various genres. You can also load up to 5 custom IRs and .nam files (Neural Amp Models)-allowing you to load completely custom amps, cabs, and even effects, expanding the Sonicake Pocket Master even further!
Unlike the Neural Quad Cortex, the Sonicake Pocket Master contains a lithium battery that allows up to 4 hours of continuous use! You can purchase the Sonicake Pocket Master online from around £40. Enough of the features-now it’s time to hear some sounds from the device! Then we can go over our thoughts, because believe us, we have a few!
The Sounds
Getting sounds from the Sonicake Pocket Master was a challenge! Not because it sounds bad, but because there’s just so much in this little box! All the effects and amp sims! We didn’t run through every single effect and amp type (maybe we’ll do that in a future video if you all want it), but we did aim to give you a taste of what you can expect to hear from the Pocket Master. We also demoed it with a pedal in the front end to show how it handles external pedals!
Of course, you’ll get to hear it in a mini mix with a few demo songs as well! The sounds you hear are a mix between a NAM file rig and a rig using everything built-in. For sounds, we’re running the LT Custom Strat for one demo and the Epiphone for another, straight into the front of the Sonicake Pocket Master, with the output going directly to our interface. Everything is being processed in the box!
What are my thoughts?
The Design
Design-wise, it’s a fairly simple-looking unit. The two buttons are soft-touch but feel nice underfoot. The knob has a satisfying click as you rotate it. That’s really all there is to talk about in terms of controls. We did notice that the Pocket Master itself has a sloped “cheese-like” shape, making it easy to see the screen and controls when placed on any surface.
Speaking of the screen-we would have liked it to be slightly larger. The 1-inch screen is fine in preset mode, but as soon as you want to do any kind of editing, it suddenly feels small. Combine this with the minimal controls, and editing can be hard work at times. However, in preset mode, the preset number and name are clear and easily readable, even showing you a small diagram of what effects are on and off.
It’s hard to talk about the Sonicake Pocket Master without talking about the price. When you consider the DSP inside this device, the features it has, and its overall potential, the price is incredible! You can buy these from Amazon for around £40-that’s insane value!
"You really can get some amazing tones, especially when it comes to the cleans!"
The Sounds
To sum it up quickly-it sounds surprisingly good! Sonicake has done a great job with the sounds and amp models. (They do need some adjusting, but we’ll talk about that soon.) You really can get some amazing tones, especially when it comes to the cleans! Using the compressors with a clean amp, you’ll get wild and lush clean sounds-a great platform to build on.
As with all affordable digital gear, if you go to hard on the gain, it can sound “Waspy!” So be careful! I found if you want a higher gain sound, choose a mid gain amp and push the front with a pedal, this gives a more natural feel and sound than a high gain amp that will end up sounding fizzy!
Now, where the Sonicake Pocket Master really stands out is when you load up a .nam capture and a custom IR. It opens up the entire device and takes it from a £50 gimmick to a fully-fledged, usable modeller (except for the battery issue, more on that soon). Loading a .nam file makes the amp tones much more usable and realistic. Pair it with an IR, and it sounds great!
What about the effects? Well, there are hundreds of them-everything from gain to modulation, fuzz, reverb, delay, and even utility effects. We especially like the addition of utility effects! Being able to pitch your guitar down is super helpful in such a compact unit. A few of the effects do sound a bit “fake,” but most are very usable and quite nice. The chorus, in particular, stands out! If you want one pedal to cover a wide range of effects, you could easily use this as a multi-effects unit. With over 100 effects at your feet, you can set up custom presets and save a massive amount of pedalboard space!
In terms of amplifier simulations and cab sims, there are plenty! You’ll find everything from super clean to high gain, letting you dial in almost any sound you want. All the amps and cabs are usable but often require some tweaking to sound “natural.” The EQ slot is super helpful here for fine-tuning and adjusting frequencies to get the tone you’re after.
The Drawbacks
There are a few issues and critiques we have-but let’s start with the smallest (and possibly pettiest): the name. Considering the size and design of the device, “Pocket Master” might not be the most fitting title. They could have leaned into the modeller parody and had some fun with it! That said, this is more of a passing thought than a real problem.
Here’s a small note-and while we understand why it works this way-it’s worth mentioning: If you’re in a preset and make changes, then switch presets using one of the two bottom buttons, it won’t save your changes or warn you. It’ll just switch presets and discard your edits. This might be intentional workflow, but something to keep in mind. It does warn you when you exit edit mode, but if you exit without saving and then change presets, your changes are gone. Worse still, if you’re editing via the app and change presets using the unit’s buttons, it also won’t save!
It really should have some kind of proper power option. The battery is fine, but we’d love to mount this on a board and use it as an amp sim. For that, it really needs a 9V DC input option. Yes, you can use a wall wart and plug in a USB-C cable, but this means you’ll have two power cables coming off your board.
Speaking of power, we find it strange that there are two USB-C ports. It just seems like wasted space. Why not have one port for both data and charging? In fact, while using the data port, it does charge-so the charging port is kind of redundant. What we’d prefer instead is an expression pedal or tap tempo input. That would have pushed the Pocket Master to the next level.
"Need a few basic tones for your band? It’ll absolutely do the job. But as your primary amp or modeller? I wouldn't be 100% comfortable."
Final Thoughts
Perfect for home jamming, warm-ups, or even simple rehearsals (or maybe a gig) as a backup amp. What will I be using this for? I’ll be using it as a backup rig-setting up a few presets that mimic my main setup so that if something goes wrong at a gig, I’ve at least got a usable amp ready to go. I’ll probably set up three presets: a basic tone, a basic tone with delay, and a lead tone. That way, the Sonicake Pocket Master is ready for anything. Honestly, I’m even thinking about doing a .nam capture of my RD Amp, so I can carry my own custom amp tone in my pocket!
But do I think you could use this like a Neural Quad Cortex, Helix, or even a ToneX? Honestly, no. I think it has maybe one or two too few FX slots. If it had more slots, it would open up so many more possibilities. Combine that with the lack of standard pedalboard power options, and it falls a little short as a main rig. Need a few basic tones for your band? It’ll absolutely do the job. But as your primary amp or modeller? I wouldn’t be 100% comfortable.
More Final Pocket Master Thoughts!
If you’ve read our other articles, you’ll know we’re not usually big fans of gear that relies on apps. But for this review, we’ll put that aside. As far as apps go, this one is wonderful! It’s super easy to adjust settings, drag and drop blocks to change your signal chain, and save or organise presets. Huge credit to Sonicake for how quickly the app connects-turn on Bluetooth and it appears and connects almost instantly! It’s a good thing the app is this polished, because editing patches using the two buttons and single knob can be frustrating. Want to quickly tweak something? Good luck. It’s faster to grab your phone, launch the app, and adjust there than it is to navigate on the device. A second control knob would have made a world of difference here.
I think the most exciting feature of this device is the potential. We’ve all seen how far digital modellers have come-and even budget models now offer features that rival top-tier gear. For example, most modern modellers allow amp captures or profiling. Imagine if Sonicake added that in a future update to the Pocket Master! We already have .namfile support-who knows what’s next? Hopefully, they continue to update the device and add more effects, amps, and functionality!
The biggest question I had was “how does the Sonicake Pocket Master stack up against the Nano Cortex”. Well, I finally answered this question! I recently reviewed the Nano Cortex (Full Review Here) and honestly the Nano Cortex smokes the pocket Master, which is to be expected! However, Effect chain, number of blocks and sounds are very similar! You can modify the Pocket Master to sounds amazing as we have heard! If you wanted something high end, Professional and ready for gigging then the Nano Cortex is the way to go. But if you want something for home use and to mess around with, maybe even a backup option, then the pocket master is perfect!
Conclusion
So that’s our full review of the exciting Sonicake Pocket Master! Yes-it was a long one, both video and article-but there’s a lot to talk about with this tiny powerhouse. Do we love it? Absolutely. Should you get one? At this price, yes. Is it a full rig replacement? Not quite-at least, not yet. With a few software updates, though, we could definitely see it becoming a viable live rig option. Is it a replacement for something like the Neural Quad Cortex? No, but it’s also 1/10th the price and 1/8th the size.
What makes it really exciting is its potential-especially when paired with .nam captures and custom IRs. We’re even thinking of testing it with an external MIDI footswitch to see just how far we can push it in a rehearsal or even live context!
Do you own a Sonicake Pocket Master? What do you think of it? Head over to our Instagram and let us know! Should we dive into more Sonicake gear? They’re clearly onto something, and we’re curious to see where they go next. Honestly, we can’t think of anything else like this on the market-so compact, so affordable, and so feature-packed. You could easily grab two and run a home Wet/Dry setup without breaking the bank!
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