You’ve been woodshedding for weeks, and you’ve perfected that elusive hard-to-play guitar solo. Now it’s time to fire up your DAW and capture the magic. So crank up a British stack and let ‘er rip! Or maybe a vintage Blackface would do the trick? Or possibly one of those rare boutique combos like Stevie Ray Vaughan used to play. HEY — WAKE UP! Dream time’s over. If you’re like most people, you don’t have many vintage and priceless amps lying around. Don’t feel bad. Fortune has smiled on us because guitar amplifier modeling plug-ins are tailor-made for situations like these.
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Amp modeling plug-ins put a massive array of vintage and modern guitar amplifiers at your disposal, along with enough effects to make The Edge jealous. Most also give you control over the model and placement of your virtual microphone, so you can really dial in your tone before you hit the record button. With one of these plug-ins in your arsenal, you’ll be prepared for any recording situation that comes your way. And best of all, you can tweak your virtual amplifiers even after you’re done recording. Talk about flexibility! Here are some of Sweetwater’s picks for the best guitar plug-ins.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
IK Multimedia AmpliTube MAX Bundle
IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube first appeared in 2002 and is still going strong. Guitarists love it for its dynamic, amp-like response and realistic-sounding cab room simulations. The MAX bundle includes spot-on models of 80 amps, 92 cabinets, 29 speakers, 19 microphones, and 24 rack effects. You can also download additional models from the AmpliTube Custom Shop. These aren’t generic models, either — the amps and effects in AmpliTube are based on top-selling gear from Mesa/Boogie, Fender, Ampeg, Orange, Soldano, Carvin, Engl, Wampler Pedals, T-Rex, Seymour Duncan, Morley, ZVex, Dr. Z Amplification, Fulltone, Groove Tubes, and more.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Waves GTR3
Waves is a leader in audio plug-ins, so it’s no surprise that their amp modeling plug-in offers exceptionally high quality. To fulfill their vision, Waves collaborated with none other than guitar guru Paul Reed Smith, who brought his favorite boutique and vintage amps to Waves headquarters and offered continuous input and insight during the modeling process. In fact, when Waves came to Sweetwater to demonstrate the original GTR, they actually brought Paul with them! The newest iteration of this plug-in, GTR3, provides you with more than 30 amplifiers (including nine high-gain models), 30 cabinets, 25 stompboxes, and six top studio mics from Neumann, Brauner, AEA, Sennheiser, RCA, and more.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Avid Eleven MK II
In 2008, Avid (then called Digidesign) came to Sweetwater to demonstrate their Eleven plug-in, and we were all tremendously impressed by its realistic amplifier models — especially the high-gain models. Now at version 2, Eleven is still the amp modeling software of choice for Pro Tools users. Eleven MK II comes loaded with 33 amps and 15 speaker cabinets to mix and match — an infinitely useful array that incorporates clean vintage Fenders, classic Marshalls, scorching Mesa/Boogies and Soldanos, and glassy Voxes and Bogners. You also have access to a virtual locker of world-class microphones, including a Shure SM57, Neumann U 87, and Royer R-121.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Toontrack EZbass
Toontrack has become a leader in helping musicians and producers put together backing tracks quickly with the “EZ” line of software instruments, and the trend continues with the EZbass virtual bass software instrument. At its core, EZbass is similar to Toontrack’s acclaimed EZdrummer and EZkeys software instruments. Using a core library of high-quality sampled bass guitar sounds and musically intuitive arrangement tools that make it easy to create music in any key, EZbass allows any computer-based producer to add session-quality bass parts to their projects. And thanks to the premium sound quality and professionally played MIDI parts that give you a huge range of grooves to explore, there’s no reason that your EZbass tracks can’t make it to your final mix.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Positive Grid BIAS Amp 2 Pro and BIAS FX 2 Pro
The extensive customization of Positive Grid’s BIAS plug-ins makes them perfect for tweakheads. BIAS Amp 2 Pro provides you with complete control over its 36 authentic amplifier models. Each amp’s virtual tubes, preamp, transformer, tone stacks, cabinet, and microphone are all swappable and interchangeable, which makes crafting unique guitar tones easy. You can also use the built-in impulse response loader to import external guitar-cab IRs. Positive Grid meticulously modeled every aspect of the amps, component by component — it’s some of the most accurate modeling you’ll find. And, if you want stompboxes to go along with your amp models, BIAS FX 2 Pro fully integrates 115 effects, 14 virtual rack processors, and 60 amp models into BIAS Amp 2 Pro. FYI: Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders is a huge fan of Positive Grid’s BIAS plug-ins.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
PreSonus Ampire
Powered by State Space Modeling technology, the PreSonus Ampire amp and pedalboard plug-in aims to give you not only the tone but also the feel of playing through a real tube amplifier. State Space Modeling essentially models each individual component in an amplifier’s circuits (like resistors, capacitors, and so on), analyzes the sonic relationship between each component, and replicates how they interact with each other as each component’s state varies. It’s a dynamic method of modeling that makes for an incredibly responsive playing experience. PreSonus Ampire is included with your copy of Studio One 4 Professional DAW software and is also available separately for purchase in VST, AU, and AAX plug-in formats for use with other DAWs.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Line 6 Helix Native
Line 6 and guitar-amp modeling go back a long time, and the Helix Native plug-in packs their cutting-edge modeling technology into a software solution. Utilizing their acclaimed HX modeling process, Helix Native accurately portrays the tones and responses of classic tube amplifiers and speaker cabinets, effects processors, and even studio microphones. It’s a comprehensive solution for generating any guitar tone you need right within your production software — and if you also have a Helix floor processor, you can swap your own custom tone presets between your hardware and your software. In other words, if you want to use the exact same guitar tones onstage as you do in your mixes, the Helix Native plug-in combined with a Helix floor processor makes it possible.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Waves CLA Guitars
Designed in collaboration with world-famous engineer Chris Lord-Alge, the CLA Guitars plug-in offers a unique workflow that’s focused on your sonic goals. Instead of giving you a slew of amp and effects models to pore through, CLA Guitars offers three core guitar-amp modes — Clean, Crunch, and Heavy (there’s a bypass option, too). CLA Guitars utilizes a variety of processing techniques Chris Lord-Alge has used to generate the iconic studio guitar tones players have been chasing for decades. And while the CLA Guitars workflow and ample selection of presets encourage following your ears instead of amp specs, it offers enough tweakability to generate your own custom guitar tones.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Native Instruments Guitar Rig 5
Guitar Rig (found in the Komplete 12 software suite) has earned a reputation for accurate amplifier and effects modeling, big tonal versatility, and for offering a ton of options for signal routing, virtual microphone placement, and post-effects processing. Guitar Rig 5 continues the trend, offering more sonic options than ever — in total, you’ll find 17 amp models, 27 emulated speaker cabinets, and 54 effects. You’ll also find all the practice-friendly tools that players appreciate about Guitar Rig, including a built-in looper for audio files, a recorder for capturing riffs and song ideas, a tuner, and support for external control surfaces. Guitar Rig 5 is available as part of the Native Instruments Komplete 12 software suite.
Best Plug-ins for Guitar:
Universal Audio UAD Powered Plug-ins
If you have Universal Audio UAD-2 DSP Accelerator hardware, like an Apollo audio interface or Satellite DSP accelerator, then you can tap into that vast processing power to generate realistic guitar tones while leaving your computer’s CPU free for other processing tasks. With a UAD Custom plug-in bundle, you can choose from a wide range of guitar, bass, and effects modeling plug-ins, such as the Fender ’55 Tweed Deluxe, the Diezel VH4 amplifier, the Ampeg SVT-VR bass amplifier, and many other spot-on re-creations of iconic guitar and bass gear.
Guitar amplifier software is a home recordist’s dream come true. With one of these powerful plug-ins in your toolbox, you have access to a plethora of virtual guitar amplifiers, cabinets, stompboxes, and microphones that would cost a small fortune in the “real world.” No matter where you are, you can inject your recordings with endless sonic textures that sound like they were captured in a professional studio. Of course, these plug-ins work great onstage, too! Why limit yourself to just a few amplifier tones when you can have them all? Call your Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700. Your next guitar recording will be your best ever!
