Free Amp Simulator Plugins

SoftAmp PSA

SoftAmp PSA is a free amp simulator VST plugin developed by AXP. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

SoftAmp PSA is a virtual-analog guitar pre-amp supplemented with noise gate and compressor, all modeled after famous guitar gear that needs no introduction.

At its core there are 5 distortion stages. First three are based on op-amps with zener diodes in the feedback chain, while the last two are just op-amps being overdriven into saturation. They are followed by tonestack, speaker simulator and an output level control. Each overdrive stage has a distinct frequency shaping quality according to their names. See the EQ plot in the bottom right corner for details.

All stages are modeled as nonlinear filters with their outputs depending on both the frequency and the amplitude of the input signal. It gives the most accurate digital representation, compared to cascaded filter/static waveshaper approach.

In addition to the basic controls, there are two more knobs that control the speaker simulator parameters – Shape and Rolloff. With both knobs at 0, the speaker simulator is completely bypassed (for example, to be used with external impulse loader).

Giving even finer control over the gain structure, there are two more buttons – Asymmetric and Soft-Clip. The former applies to the zener diode stages and replaces the default 4.7v/4.7v zener pair with intentionally unbalanced 3.3v/4.7v pair to saturate the signal with even harmonics. The more the first three stages are overdriven, the more pronounced is the effect. See the clipping LED indicators to have a feel of which stage gets the most saturation from the signal. The Soft-Clip function applies to the two overdriven op-amps and changes their open-loop gain from 1 million to just 200. This effectively makes the transition from linear to saturated region much more softer, making the distortion less harsh and also helping the fading notes sound smoother.

The PSI Denoiser noise gate has a handy “Learn” function. Don’t play anything on your guitar and hit the Learn button. As soon as the LED goes off, the gate threshold would be automatically set to your noise level. The noise gate is applied directly to the input signal.

The Squeezo Range compressor is applied to the signal right before entering the PSA pre-amp. It’s a very nonlinear, but musical sounding device. It acts as both upward and downward compressor depending on the gain and bias setting. In the original device those controls were not available for user adjustment.

For further details please see the included manual.

http://www.soft-amp.com/

SoftAmp GT

SoftAmp GT is a free amp simulator VST plugin developed by AXP. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

SoftAmp GT is a virtual emulation of a well-known analog guitar amplifier simulator stomp-box. The prototype is a solid state circuit that uses op-amps to saturate the signal and moderate filtering to shape the tone throughout the signal path. The speaker simulation is achieved by a steep low-pass filter as well as some middle-frequency manipulation to resemble different microphone positions. All controls of the original device are faithfully reproduced in this plug-in in addition to some unique ones described below.

AMP – general amplifier family:

Tweed – classic American clean-sound amps.

British – crunch and moderate gain.

California – modern hi-gain amp with a deep low-end.

MOD – gain structure of the amplifier:

Clean.

Hi-gain.

Hot wired (same as hi-gain but with a high-freq boost).

MIC – virtual microphone position:

Classic – far from the speaker.

Center – the most bright setting.

Off-axis – slightly offset microphone that provides smoothed high-freq response.

The original stomp-box was somewhat criticized for having a symmetrical hard-clipping saturation and there were a lot of attempts to modify the circuit to provide smoother tube-like sound by the community. Variations included using different op-amps and using a bipolar transistor to introduce the asymmetrical clipping. This plug-in takes this concept further by introducing a special control:

CLIP – clipping mode:

Normal – standard hard-clipping modeled after the TLC2262 op-amp.

Soft – abstract symmetric soft-clipping stage.

Triode – virtual 12AU7 triode stage.

The most interesting is the Triode setting. It effectively replaces every op-amp in the circuit with a triode stage accurately modeled using the same engine used in the SoftAmp 3OD plug-in. It will perform asymmetric soft-cliping with dynamic behaviour that depends on the tube overdrive level that will produce a moderate amount of even harmonics. The overall difference is subtle, but it’s there. A good test would be listening to the effect applied to the sinusoidal input.

Another option is a very efficient 16x oversampling that has a non-obvious side-effect in addition to its main purpose (getting rid of the aliasing caused by the highly nonlinear distortion). Since the filters in this plug-in are digitized using the bilinear transform they exhibit a degrading matching with the analog prototypes with the frequencies approaching the Nyquist limit. Oversampling effectively shifts this frequency out of the sonic range thus greatly improving the filters’ performance at the sampling rates below or equal to 48000Hz.

SoftAmp GT also allows you to disable the embedded speaker simulation, so you can use your favourite speaker simulator plug-in with good impulses.

The last feature is the mono/stereo switch. It allows you to cut the CPU consumption in half when you don’t need both channels.

The GUI includes transfer function scopes for the three main clipping stages (there are more, but they are mostly operating in the linear range). There’s also a bode plot for pre- and post-filters, including the speaker simulation frequency response.

There are a number of presets that provide you a good starting point to experiment with this plug-in.

The sound sample provided on this page is based on the raw guitar samples of unknown origin. I would immediately remove them at the request of the owner if it happens to violate his copyright.

This plug-in is licensed for an unlimited usage by everyone, including commercial applications. You are NOT allowed to modify or sell it, in either stand-alone or bundled form. I encourage further distribution by sharing a link to this page.

I will provide support for this plug-in in a ‘best effort’ format. Please use the discussion page here or e-mail me directly with bug reports, suggestions and general feedback.

http://www.soft-amp.com/

SoftAmp FM25

SoftAmp FM25 is a free amp simulator VST plugin developed by AXP. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

SoftAmp FM25 is a virtual-analog model of the Fender Frontman 25R combo amp. The Frontman is a versatile solid-state practice amplifier for electric guitar. It’s equipped with 10″ speaker, has 2 channels that share a 3-band equalizer, and a spring reverb. The current issue sports a classic “Blackface” look.

“Huh, a solid state Fender practice amp model. Now that is an interesting choice” – was the initial response from one of the beta testers. The reason for that choice is simple: Frontman 25R was the first guitar amp I’ve ever owned. To my best knowledge its digital model did not exist, so I decided to fill the gap. And after all, who needs yet another incarnation of say, JCM800?:)

This VST model is a tribute to the original design and faithfully models all its essential features. It is mainly intended for quick and simple recording of draft tracks as well as for some live jamming whenever you don’t feel like setting up a more sophisticated amp simulator.

This one runs straight out of the box, looks exactly like a guitar amp and has everything you need to start playing – clean and distorted channels with speaker simulation and a reverb.

As usual, it’s got all the conveniences associated with AXP plug-ins, like a stereo processing capability, high quality anti-aliasing oversampling and switchable speaker simulation.

All controls are carefully mapped to produce linear sound pressure level changes, i.e. they are linearized in dB scale.

In addition, there’s a special switch added late in the beta test cycle – the “AXP Mod”. It does two things:

Replaces all gain stages with vacuum triodes (each based on the SoftAmp 3OD algorithm).

Alters the tone stack’s middle control frequency response.

Yes, you’ve read it right, with a flip of a switch a solid-state amp becomes a tube one and the real fun begins.

VST is a registered trademark of Steinberg, GmbH.

“Fender”, “Frontman”, and “Blackface” are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

AXP is not affiliated with or endorsed by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

AXP SoftAmp FM25 (c) 2014 Alexander Petrov-Savchenko.

http://www.soft-amp.com/

SoftAmp 3OD

SoftAmp 3OD is a free amp simulator VST plugin developed by AXP. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

AXP SoftAmp 3OD
Vacuum Triode Stage simulator.

A single triode stage circuit typical for guitar preamps is captured in this plugin. The model engine is based on a system of non-linear ODEs. Some smart calculation techniques are used to reduce the computational load.

This effect could be used to apply mild tube overdrive to add some presence to your tracks, or you could chain a couple of instances together for a full-blown high-gain overdrive. You may want to throw in some EQ as well to better shape the signal and use a poweramp/speaker simulator afterwards.

The plugin UI has a real-time transfer characteristic plot display. It provides an overview of the things going on inside the tube. It also has a peak-detecting algorithm that will flash a line when the level exceeds 0dB. You can monitor stereo channels separately or at once by clicking the corresponding buttons under the plot display.

16x switchable oversampling is also implemented to reduce the aliasing effects. Please note that for the most time the aliasing is low enough to switch off the oversampling. When oversampling is enabled, the plot display will not be of much use, because of the phase smearing introduced by the oversampling filters. Still good enough for monitoring the in/out levels.

The model has 3 core controls to configure the circuit:

3 different triode models: 12AX7, 12AU7, 12AT7.

3 different plate voltages: 150v, 250v, 350v.

3 different cathode capacitors: 0.47uF, 1uF, 22uF.

The gain/level controls are combined into a single knob that is operated with left and right mouse buttons.

The “Normalize Output” control enables the normalization of peak-to-peak output voltage swing across all triode configurations, particularly different plate voltages. By default it’s turned off to reflect the natural triode stage behavior, which could be regarded as a normalized small-signal gain.

Please note that output signal is not clipped at 0dB to let you overdrive chained stages using more that one plugin instance connected in series. Make sure to watch the output level or use a hard limiter somewhere in your signal chain.

Clicking on the SoftAmp logo in the plugin will bring up the “About” window with a version number and contact details.

Thanks to everyone who has voted for SoftAmp 3OD in the Developer Challenge and used it in their work.

Change history:

1.0.6 (15-Sep-2013):

64-bit version.

Fixed memory leak on UI close.

Size optimization.

Different stability improvements.

Added more presets.

1.0.5 (20-Dec-2012):

Fixed a bug with UI not opening if another instance of the plugin is closed.

1.0.4 (10-Dec-2012):

Significantly reduced the amount of “clicks” during the parameter change. More user feedback is appreciated.

Reworked GUI code to fix some drawing problems. The plugin scanning/loading should be come much smoother across different hosts. Thanks to Martin LeFever for reporting this one and helping to narrow-down the issue.

1.0.3 (5-Dec-2012):

“Normalize” feature wasn’t working as intended. Fixed, added description.

1.0.2 (16-Nov-2012):

Prevented possible floating-point underflow.

1.0.1 (10-Nov-2012):

Fixed dependency on MS CRT library.

Changed signal phase to allow external dry/wet mixing.

Fixed UI buttons half-lit at startup.

Optimized CPU load (should no longer cause audio dropouts during parameter change) and model accuracy.

Slightly reduced audible clicks during triode mode/plate voltage change.

1.0.0 (20-Oct-2012):

Initial release for DC-12.

Installation:

Unzip the archive and put the “AXP SoftAmp 3OD.dll” or “AXP SoftAmp 3OD x64.dll” to
your VST folder. Make sure to select the one appropriate for your system (Win32 or x64).

Notes:

This plug-in requires the Windows Imaging Component library. It’s included in all Windows versions starting with Windows XP SP3. If you are using Windows XP SP2, you can get it as a stand-alone library here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=32

It is my hobby to develop the VST audio effect models. I’m not getting paid for it and I use my own limited spare time to do this work. If you like my projects and would want to encourage the future work please consider doing anything from the following list:
– Tell your friends about my site and my plug-ins
– Send me audio samples you’ve made with my plug-ins
– Drop me a line or two with any comments and suggestions
– Make a small donation through my web site.

License:
This software is licensed for an unlimited usage by everyone, including personal,
commercial and scientific applications. You are NOT allowed to modify it (including both the binary code and the copyright information) or sell it, in either stand-alone or
bundled form. The plug-in is provided “as is” without a warranty of any kind. In no event I shall be liable for any damage associated with the usage of this software. I encourage further distribution by sharing a link to the effect web page.

Please send your questions and suggestions to my e-mail or post them on the site.

VST is a registered trademark of Steinberg, GmbH.

AXP SoftAmp 3OD (c) 2012-2013 Alexander Petrov-Savchenko.

http://www.soft-amp.com/

SHB-1

SHB-1 is a free amp simulator VST, Audio Unit plugin developed by Ignite Amps. Compatible OS(s): Windows 64b, macOS.

SHB-1 is based on the real SHB-1 “Extreme Bass Head”, built by Ignite Amps for Federico Fulceri, bass player of the Italian thrashers Subhuman, featuring 6 triode stages and a 1300W Class D power-amp.

Every single component in the signal path of the real analog circuit has been taken into account and modeled in the best possible way to match the original sound, keeping an eye on CPU performance and real-time playability at the same time.

SHB-1 is meant to be used as a bass amplifier for live playing and jamming, tracking or mixing inside hosts capable of VST or AU plug-ins support.

Main Features:

Dynamic 12AX7 / ECC83 coupled triode stages analog modeling.

Mono / Stereo processing support.

Selectable oversampling rate (up to 8x).

Global input / output level controls.

Double precision (64-bit) floating point mathematical model.

Fully automatable controls.

http://www.igniteamps.com/

Pedals

Pedals is a free multi fx and overdrive and saturation and amp simulator and delay and echo and flanger and phaser and pitch shifter and reverb and eq and filter VST plugin developed by ToneBytes. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

Pedals is a VST effect plug-in designed for processing electric guitar and bass. It is also possible to process other audio sources for a variety of artistic techniques.

The Pedals GUI simulates real devices for sound processing: guitar pedals, amplifiers, speakers, etc. There are a total of 20 models of pedals, 2 amps, 7 speakers models and 3 rack units. These devices are not a copy of the real-life models, each with their own sound, but their working principles are identical.

The user can select a combination of effects and can even create extra mood by choosing floor material under the pedals: house parquet, metal garage floor or studio carpet.

There is a built-in preset manager to save the settings and access them or share them with other users. VST automation and full MIDI Learning are supported.

http://tonebytes.com/

NA Crunck V2 Guitar Amplifier

NA Crunck V2 Guitar Amplifier is a free amp simulator VST, VST3, Audio Unit, AAX plugin developed by Nembrini Audio. Compatible OS(s): Windows 64b, macOS.

The Crunck V2 Guitar Amplifier is one channel free plugin designed for a wide range of music genre.

It’s a version 2 of the first plugin designed by Igor Nembrini in the beginning of his career in DSP development more than ten years ago.

Thanks to the Crunck V1 Igor was hired by one of most important company in audio DSP development, Brainworx and for them he develop the most famous guitar and bass amp plugins on the market.

Just move the Gain knob from 0 to 10, and as you do you’ll find a variety of Crunck V2 Guitar Amplifier tones, from metal to fusion, rock to blues.

In the Crunck V2 Guitar Amplifier plugin you can choose to use the build in cabinet a 4×12 loaded with Vintage 30 speakers or bypass the cabinet section.

{See video at top of page}

https://soundcloud.com/nembriniaudio/sets/na-crunck-v2-guitar-amplifier

https://www.nembriniaudio.com/

Modern Plugins

Modern Plugins is a free multi fx and de esser and expander and compressor and eq and exciter and enhancer and reverb and limiter and amp simulator VST plugin developed by Antress. Compatible OS(s): Windows.

The Antress Modern Plugins consists of several free VST effect plug-ins for Windows.

v4.85 includes:

Modern Analoguer.

Modern Amplifier.

Modern BlackDragon.

Modern Compressor.

Modern Deathcore.

Modern DeepPurple.

Modern DeEsser.

Modern Equalizer.

Modern Exciter.

Modern Expander.

Modern FireChainer.

Modern FlashVerb.

Modern Limiter.

Modern LostAngel.

Modern Premier.

Modern SeventhSign.

Modern Spacer.

Modern Splitter.

Modern Vacuumer.

https://antress.blogspot.co.uk/

MG2Amp

MG2Amp is a free amp simulator VST, VST3 plugin developed by EXE Consulting. Compatible OS(s): Windows 64b.

64-bit medium-gain guitar amp simulator for Windows. Please see YouTube channel for EXE Consulting for introductory video. Please see SoundCloud for EXE Consulting for songs that employ this amp simulator. VST2/VST3 again.

V0030 adds R122 MKII microphone and GuitaRF filter (GRF) plus re-recordings of all cabs (Session 2). V0030 includes fix of James tonestack echo problem.

Fixed audio problem, hopefully (23 August 2017).

http://www.execonsultingtx.com

LG2Amp

LG2Amp is a free amp simulator VST, VST3 plugin developed by EXE Consulting. Compatible OS(s): Windows 64b.

64-bit low-gain guitar amp simulator (also suitable for voice, acoustic guitar, piano, etc. with cabs off and Hi-Fi tonestacks). Please see YouTube channel for EXE Consulting for introductory video. Please see SoundCloud for EXE Consulting for songs that employ this amp simulator. VST2/VST3 again.

V0030 adds R122 MKII microphone and GuitaRF filter (GRF) plus re-recordings of all cabs (Session 2). V0030 includes fix of James tonestack echo problem.

Hopefully fixed channel crash problem (26 August 2017).

http://www.execonsultingtx.com