• Overloud, who also produce the well-regarded Breverb reverb plugin, have developed TH3 into one of the very best guitar software platforms available. The emulations of classic gear and effects, including licensed models from Randall, Brunetti, DVmark and THD, are top-line. Definitely worth checking out. BUY NOW via Plugin Boutique.
• Virtual Studio Technology is one of the best examples of the unbelievable advances in technology that have accompanied in the 21st century. In today’s article, we’ve gathered as many as seven (or 10 in fact) of the best Guitar amp VST plugins, which should be on the computer of every guitar sound fanatic!
• Even better, the plugin comes with thousands of samples crosscutting numerous articulations specially recorded for each instrument. Talk about releases, sustains, mutes, legato, hammer-ons, harmonics, effects, and more. The real kicker, however, lies in the smart playback engine that ensures inputs translate to the desired guitar effects.
• The original NI Massive was arguably the best best VST plugin soft synth on the market for many years. With MASSIVE X, it’s newest version, you can expect some improvement on the industry standard. They have over 170 wavetable options available. And the plugin gives you two different oscillators so you can layer your sound within the plugin.

In this list you will find the collection of the best and newest guitar plugins and VSTs. You might discover interesting plugins like Amplitube4, Guitar Rig 5, TH-U and much more. If you are looking to expand the sound quality of your guitar riffs – this list is for you!

Amps and Effects Library: The GTR3 (Guitar Tool Rack) plugin used to have 3 separate plugins for the stompboxes/pedals, amps, and effects units separately, but now they are all integrated into one plugin for convenience. Despite being an older plugin, the GTR3 boasts of 30 amp models, multiple stompboxes, and mics and cabinets. This VST guitar plugin brings together the best of the 1950s: it is tweed, all-tube, with a 5Wamp. This particular module comes with some of the most basic and standard amplifier mods. With this plugin, you can adjust the amount of feedback and grid stopper resistors.

AmpliTube 4 – IK Multimedia – 168,44 $ ( 149,99 € )

AmpliTube4 from IK Multimedia is one of the best guitar plugins out there. You can choose from 5 different rooms like Booth, Big Live Room, Garage, Venue, Studio A and Studio B. Inside you could find 15 models of microphones with 3D sound positions. In addition, there are 5 different models of amplifiers, all of them inspired by the vintage classics of the 70s, 80s, and 90s like Marshall JCM800 and JCM900.

This plugin brings as the highest quality acoustic simulator, where players can choose from and blend 3 acoustic body styles and 3 types of top material to sound like a full range of popular acoustic guitars. As for the effects – you have 4 racks where you can connect in chain a big selection of effects as reverbs, delays, EQs and much more. The highest quality of this plugin is a testimony of years of development made by IK Multimedia in the world of guitar plugins and VSTs.

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/amplitube4/

Pod Farm 2.5 – Line6 – 113,04 $ (Standart ) – 339,13 $ (Platinum)

This Line6 plugin is an incredible tool for any guitarist, with more than 1000 presets, and the possibility of dividing your guitar signal into two, taking into account different chains of amplifiers and effects, which allows you to have a more personalized sound.

Pod Farm 2.5 has a large selection of delays, phasers, reverbs, compressors, plus the ability to use your midi controllers with the plugin, such as a wah or expression pedals. The Pod Farm – is a VST with a powerful and enveloping sound, perfect for rock, metal, pop or any type of music that requires quality guitars.

https://shop.line6.com/software/pod-farm-2-5.html

Guitar Rig 5 – Native Instruments – 226,09 $

This famous plugin, already in its fifth version, is one of the best tools you can find for guitarists. Guitar Rig 5 is quite complete – 17 different amplifiers (from Lead 800 (marshall JCM800) to AC Box (Vox emulated) and much more), 27 recording rooms and 54 effects such as delays, reverbs, choruses, equalizers and compressors, which can be mixed and combined in any way.

The Control Room function allows you to change between 8 microphones and their position to your liking, creating many unique sounds. This monster plugin made by Native Instruments is a universal tool that will safe many of your tracks and elevate them to another level.

https://www.native-instruments.com/es/products/komplete/guitar/guitar-rig-5-pro/

Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro – Studio Devil – 169,56 $

This interesting VST based on the emulation of valve amplifiers comes with 15 models of pre-amplifiers, full tone controls: gain, bass, midrange, treble and presence and 3 Power Amp models with drive controls. It also has 32 cabinets or speakers created by Studio Devil, parametric equalizer, wah-wah effect in real time through midi, 2 compressors, chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, delay and reverb with 3 modes: Room, Club and Hall.

The Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro – is a fairly new plugin, which comes with a fairly affordable price and quality to spare for anyone interested in guitar production.

http://www.studiodevil.com/products/amp_modeler_pro/

GTR3 – Waves – 145,83 $

The GTR3 was created by the company Waves with the collaboration of PRS Guitars. This plugin captures the essence of the amplifiers like Fender, Marshall, Mesa / Boogie, Vox and more, all emulated and sampled with the best analog algorithms created by Waves. With more than 30 amplifiers and 30 cabinets, the GTR3 – is an ideal VST for anyone looking for a vintage and realistic sound.

https://www.waves.com/bundles/gtr3

Eleven MK II – Avid – 518,89 $ ( Full License )

Avid Eleven MK II is a plugin with a wide variety of amplifiers, cabinets and effects, and a very realistic sound, which will elevate your production to another level. It was created using innovative modeling techniques to create a sound that is very close to analog amplifiers. Brings 33 models of amplifiers, 15 cabinets and 10 different microphones to choose from. This VST allows you to explore the sounds recreated from the classics such as Fender, Vox, Marshall, Mesa Boogie and Soldano, in addition to being able to combine any cabinet and head for customization to your liking. The only drawback of this incredible plugin is its limited use and compatibility only with the Protools DAWS.

https://shop.avid.com/ccrz__ProductDetails?viewState=DetailView&cartID=&sku=AR-DG-ELEVNII-00&&store=shop

TH-U – OverLoud – 304,1 $

The TH-U, with its library of 239 models, is the world’s largest selection in a single plugin. Around 89 guitar amps, 4 bass guitar amplifiers, 50 guitar cabinets and 2 bass guitar cabinets, 77 pedals and effect racks, 18 microphone models and more than 1000 presets, plus their collaboration with a good number of amplifier brands such as Randall, DVmark, Brunetti and THD make this plugin an incredible tool difficult to match. Highly recommended for any music producer looking for a wide variety of sounds and possibilities.

https://overloud.com/products/th-u-full

VST Plugins are the studio world equivalent of guitar effects pedals. If you’ve set up your own home studio or you’ve spent any time recording in a professional studio, the recorded material can be processed in two ways, hardware or digital.

Hardware processing takes the form of the commonly seen rack mounted units in high end studios such as compressors, reverbs and limiters. Your signal is run via these analoge units and they impart their own sound and effects on the audio.

Digital processing takes place in the DAW of the computer, and is often referred to as “in the box” processing. This is done with a set of software items called VST Plugins.

VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology. VST is a software interface that facilitates digital synthesizers and effects to be used in a digital recording environment.

In this article we will look at some of the best VST plugins for processing electric guitar that you can use in your own productions. Some of these are effects and some are instrument emulation based.

Best Free Guitar Effects Vst Plugins

Once you’ve recorded your track, you can use VST plugins to craft the sound to the finished product. It doesn’t matter if you’re working in a full professional studio, or at home on a laptop. Great plugins can help you get a polished sound no matter where you record.

/free-guitar-strumming-vst.html. Contents

FabFilter Pro-Q

Pro-Q by FabFilter is an EQ plugin which on the surface is quite easy to not get overly excited about. After all, who gets excited about EQ? But, let’s look at why this is so exciting. Pro-Q allows the user to EQ in every way imaginable.

From regular EQ to linear phase. It has zero latency and allows you to even cut and boost frequencies only on the mid/side bands. For those new to EQ’s, mid/side processing is processing only the wider stereo image and not what you hear up the center. This is very useful for wide stereo instruments like drum overheads and hard panned guitars. Vst plugin prodigious synthesizer.

Pro-Q even runs with a spectrum analyzer behind it so you can see the visualisation of your EQ changes in real time as you make them.

One feature that is very useful for people new to mixing is the EQ Match option. This allows you to match the EQ of another source, either another instance of the plugin in the project or from an audio file you choose. If you’re trying to get your guitar EQ like your favourite track, look no further.

Pro-Q is also very CPU light to run meaning even a project with many instances of the same plugin won’t struggle to keep up.

Get Fab Filter Pro-Q: https://www.fabfilter.com/products/pro-q-3-equalizer-plug-in

Slate Digital Virtual Mix Rack

The Virtual Mix Rack from Slate Digital is not just a single plug in, but a collection of high end processors ready to turn your computer into a complete audio workstation. The plugin takes the form of a modular rack style system where you can put up to 6 modules of your choice from the available collection.

Included we have compressors, EQ’s, mixing desk emulations, compressors, preamps, gates and channel strips. This is a lot of plugins, and I can hear you thinking, I bet that this costs a lot. Slate offer an amazing subscription package from as little as $15USD per month you can have access to everything here.

The Slate Digital plugins are modeled meticulously on real, analogue studio gear. This allows you to make your mixes sound like they are done on a $45,000USD SSL Mixing Desk. It’s pro studio results at a bedroom studio price.

This plugin set is great for guitar players who record at home. It will allow you to get that big studio shine on your guitar tracks even if they are humbly recorded in your bedroom. Just because you have a small set up it doesn’t mean you have to compromise on tone.

Get Slate Virtual Mix Rack: https://slatedigital.com/

If you go into a large, professional studio you will see lots of analog rack gear for processing sound. Many plugins, such as Slate’s Virtual Mix Rack can recreate these legendary rack units in the digital world for you to use anywhere.

iZotope Ozone

Ozone is a one stop shop for mastering your mixes. It’s an intelligent piece of software that has AI assisted machine learning. It can listen to your track and suggest mastering settings based on the overall track dynamics and style which is perfect for anyone learning how to master music.

I’d never suggest letting the AI do the work for you, but using it as a starting point to tweak from is a great learning tool. It’s like learning from an experienced engineer.

Inside Ozone you have compressors, limiters, EQs, tape simulators and maximizers along with their new low end focus and master rebalance tools that allow you to really shape the final master of your track.

Ozone allows you to upload reference tracks as MP3s where it will analyze the frequency spectrum across the whole song and you can EQ match your song to any reference track of your choosing.

While Ozone is designed as a mastering plugin for use on completed mixes, it can be a really powerful tool for shaping your guitar tone. The compression and EQ algorithms in Ozone are extremely powerful and would allow you to fine tune your tone from every angle.

Buy iZotope Ozone: https://www.izotope.com/en/products/ozone/features.html

Waves SSL-E Channel

The SSL mixing desk is seen in the biggest and best studios around the world. They cost multiple tens of thousands of dollars with prices starting at around $45,000USD and going up depending on the size of the desk. These are the toys of the professional mixers and artists at the top of their game.

What hope do us home studio hobbyists have of getting that polished studio sound? Not much right? Wrong.

Waves SSL-E Channel is a clinical reproduction of the real deal. Known for its smooth top end and its ability to add punch to a mix the SSL-E Channel will transport your home studio straight into LA’s top studio rooms.

It has a built in compressor and limiter as well as a gate section for cleaning up those mics with spill from other sources. The compressor section can be placed pre or post EQ just like the real desk.

It even comes bundled with a huge range of pre-sets from SSL user Chris Lord-Alge who has mixed countless hit rock records from Nickelback to Shinedown. See how he uses the plugin and what settings he uses to achieve his huge sounds.

The Waves offering of this console is a standalone plugin, similar to the one found inside of the Slate bundle. As a guitar shaping tool, a console emulation plugin can be priceless. Many home focused guitar recording preamps and interfaces don’t have the same sonic characteristics as an analogue mixing desk, but that doesn’t mean you should miss out.

The Waves SSL-E Channel will put your guitar tone in the biggest studios from around the world.

Buy Waves SSL-E: https://www.waves.com/plugins/ssl-e-channel

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5

Imagine having a huge selection of the worlds most desired guitar amps, pedals, cabinets and microphones in your studio, except you don’t need the space to store it all, or the budget! NI’s Guitar Rig is the answer to the guitarists gear problems.

This VST amp simulator is jam packed with guitar amps from all the biggest companies in the world. They aren’t named exactly the same as the real deal for copyright reasons, but you won’t have to work hard to figure out what they are meant to be.

We’ve got a Marshall Plexi, a Peavey 5150, a Soldano SLO100, a Fender Tweed, a Vox AC30, a Roland JC-120, a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, a Fender Twin Reverb and that’s only the start. You will find something here to cover all your tonal needs. Once you’ve picked an amp you can select from a range of matched or custom cabinets and blend and pan signals from 16 industry standard microphones.

Need some pedals? No problem. There are over 50 meticulously modeled stomp boxes and rack mount units included from overdrive and fuzz units to spacious reverbs, synths, filters and anything else you can possibly imagine.

It’s also got a tuner, metronome and a built in tape deck where you can record ideas and also import MP3s to slow down for learning purposes. Guitar Rig 5 is a comprehensive guitar players toolkit.

Best Guitar Effects Vst Plugins

Get Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/guitar/guitar-rig-5-pro/

Digital modelling has now allowed some of the worlds most desired and expensive guitar amplifiers to be recreated and used by musicians all over the world. You don’t need to own the real deal anymore. You can get any tone you can dream of.

IK Multimedia Amplitube

Amplitube from IK Multimedia is a digital amp emulation plugin that claims to offer hyper realistic tone. IK have meticulously modelled some of the worlds best known and loved amps and their Amplitube plugin pack is expandable with many optional extras.

IK have created what they call the Cab Room. This includes the most advanced models of well known cabinets and speakers, placed in a digital room that sounds the real deal. In this room, you can switch cabinets, individual speakers and microphones. You can also dual mic cabs and set the mics at exactly the position you want them to be.

There are a number of room types available, each with their own characteristics. You get a Big Live Room which is airy and spacious, a Booth which is dry, a venue, a garage and other studio emulation rooms. There is enough here to satisfy even the most fussy cab recorder.

Being able to change individual speakers in a cabinet allows for realistic flexibility as many guitar players mix and match speakers in real studio applications.

The amps on hand include classics such as the Marshall Plexi, Silver Jubilee, JCM 800, JCM 900 and JMP Rackmount Preamp. With Amplitube custom shop you get access to amps from Fender, Mesa Boogie, Peavey, Ampeg, Jet City, Orange, Trace Elliot and so many more. There are even artist packs that include amp models from Jimi Hendrix, Brian May and Dimebag Darrell.

The Brian May rig is particularly interesting for any Queen lovers. The AC30s in this pack are spec’d to Brian’s real rig and were co-designed by his guitar tech. This is a very detailed re-creation which shows you how much time they put into making these amps sound great.

You also get more effects and stomp box models than I could possibly list here. This could be the one stop shop for all guitarists. Go look for yourself, you’ll love it!

Buy Amplitube: https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/amplitube4/

Starting Your VST Plugin Library

This article covers just a small snippet of what is available in the VST plugin world. If you can imagine it, then it probably exists as a plugin. Everything from signal processors like compressors and EQ’s, through to digital recreations of legendary guitar and bass amps.

You can even get plugins that make your laptop sound like a high end mixing console. There is no limit. Aside from the great ones listed here, have a think about what tools you’d like in your studio and make a list.

Many companies offer trial version so you can test them out in your own mixes before you commit to buying. There are also a large volume of websites offering free, open source VST plugins that their own users have coded. Check some of these out and if you like what it’s doing, look at how to get hold of a professional version of the same plugin for the best results.