1. Virtual Guitarist Carbon by UJAM (Paid + Free Trial)
The five settings Paranoid, Disturbed, Insane, Rabid and Labotomized really says it all. If you’re looking for a VST with metal guitar sounds using heavy distortion, then you should definitely give Carbon a look.
This plugin gives you lots of control and possibilities to create some pretty outstanding soundscapes. And it’s not just about heavy metal riffs (though you can make plenty of those). The plugin offers a versatile toolset for designing your sound stage and producing for a wide range of genres.
- Disk space requirement: 4.5 GB
2. NI Guitar Rig 6 (Free & Paid Versions)
This guitar VST plugin comes in both a free version and a paid version, with different feature sets. The main difference between the paid and free alternatives is that the number of amplifiers, cabinets and effects available are limited in the latter.
Guitar Rig 6 Pro is part of Native Instruments’ Komplete 13 suite along with a wide variety of other premium plugins, so this is one way of getting the pro version of the plugin.
Staying with the free version, you still have access to a tuner, amp, cabinet, and several pedals/effects (delay, tube screamer, two equalizers, compressor, noise reduction, pro filter, reverb, noise gate, limiter, noise gate, and a volume pedal).
You can easily get started with Guitar 6 without previous experience with VST plugins. It can also be used as a standalone virtual instrument.
- Disk space requirements: 28 GB
3. Ample Sound Guitar M Lite (Free)
While there’s also a paid version of this plugin, Ample Sound’s Guitar M Lite is free to use with no strings attached (pun intended).
Guitar M Lite offers a very competent and authentic emulation of an acoustic guitar. It sounds fantastic and you have to option to add additional effects such as doubling the guitar sound or adding body and width.
If you are looking for a free acoustic guitar VST, then you should definitely check out this one. Ample Sound also offers free percussion and bass VST plugins.
4. Line 6 POD Farm 2.5 (Paid)
Pod Farm 2.5 is a premium virtual instrument from Line 6 that offers more than 1,000 presets, and lets you divide your guitar signal into two.
With this plugin, you will have countless combinations of amplifiers and effects at your disposal, and just as many sounds and possibilities. Everything can be personalized to meet practically any need.
Additionally, this VST guitar plugin comes with a wide variety of effects, including delays, reverbs, compressors, phasers, as well as an option to use any midi controller like an expression pedal (e.g. wah).
Due to the huge variety of options, Pod Farm 2.5 is suitable for rock, pop, metal, or any other type of contemporary music.
- Disk space requirement: 1 GB
5. TSE Audio x50 v2 (Paid + Free Demo)
For those looking for the authentic sound of a 5150 amp, you likely can’t get anything more versatile than the TSE Audio X50 v2 VST plugin.
Although this premium plugin can effortlessly create crisp, bright, and clean tones, its chief strenght is no doubt found in aggressive heavy metal tones.
In the demo/trial version, you get access to an equalizer, reverb, phaser, delay, a variety of cabinets, four distortion pedals, and more. It is easy to use and intuitive for pros and beginners alike.
Note that the demo version is just that, and not suitable for production. It has some functions disabled and adds occasional silence.
6. Ignite Amps AmpHub (Paid + Free Trial)
For those looking for the authentic sound of a 5150 amp, you likely can’t get anything more versatile than the TSE Audio X50 v2 VST plugin.
Although this premium plugin can effortlessly create crisp, bright, and clean tones, its chief strenght is no doubt found in aggressive heavy metal tones.
In the demo/trial version, you get access to an equalizer, reverb, phaser, delay, a variety of cabinets, four distortion pedals, and more. It is easy to use and intuitive for pros and beginners alike.
Note that the demo version is just that, and not suitable for production. It has some functions disabled and adds occasional silence.
7. Audified ampLion Free (Free)
Both the free and paid versions of Audified ampLion are VST plugins as well as standalone apps. The base functionality is to precisely simulate a 5-channel valve guitar amp along with different cabinets and mic positions.
Basically, AmpLion Free will turn your computer into a basic guitar stack with excellent sound quality. Its standalone mode is a nice addition to be used for live performances, rehearsals, and experimenting.
AmpLion Free includes:
- A 5-channel valve guitar amp
- 2 cabinets with mic positioning
- Intelligent metronome
- Audio player
- Standalone and plug-in mode (VST/AU/AAX)
AmpLion Pro, the paid version, comes with several additional amp models, many rack and pedal effects, a dozen different cabinets and more. But for a free product, AmpLion Free is still very competent.
8. Positive Grid Bias FX 2 (Paid)
Positive Grid’s Bias FX 2 is probably versatile enough to be the only guitar plugin you will ever need. Depending on your license tier, it contains 30–100 amps as well as tons of effects and presets. In addition, there are several guitar models to experiment with to find the ultimate sound.
Positive Grid has partnered with Celestion for cabinet simulations, and you can move your virtual mics around them however you like. Bias FX also comes with a looper/backing track player.
In short, this one should definitely be on your shortlist when evaluating the best guitar amp and effects plugins.
9. AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop (Free)
This free virtual instrument has a lot of features, including no less than five amps with matching cabinets as well as 10 pedal effects. Other than being an excellent VST plugin, it also doubles as a standalone program.
You are free to use AmpliTube 5 as much as you want, but there’s also paid options that let you extend the feature set by another 400 virtual gear elements from leading manufacturers.
10. Shattered Glass Audio Ace (Free)
This free VST guitar plugin is a true-to-life simulation of a vintage and tweed-enhanced, 1950s 5W tube amp. The unnamed amp in question is likely the Fender Champ, which has lately been reissued as a 1×8″ combo.
What you get here is all the basic settings of the amp and an option to adjust the amount of feedback and grid stopper resistors. However, you can turn off these features if you want the original amp sound.
As you’d expect, Shattered Glass’ Ace Vintage VST tube amp plugin is not intended for heavy metal, but rather those looking for a warm, clean, and bright tone.
11. Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro (Paid)
The Studio Devil is an interesting VST plugin that comes equipped with more than 15 different preamps that cover an extensive range of tones and playing styles.
Features include full tone control and three amp models (tube class AB, tube class A, and solid-state MOSFET). Additionally, It comes with 32 cabinets designed by Studio Devil. In terms of effects, there are two compressors, chorus, phaser, tremolo, delay, reverb and real-time wah-wah via midi.
To our knowledge, there is no trial or freemium version of the plugin, but head over to Studio Devil’s site to listen to samples.
12. Overloud TH-U (Paid + Free Trial)
Overloud’s TH-U guitar plugin offers a library with 241 models, allegedly making it the most extensive selection in the world in a single plugin.
It comes loaded with 89 guitar amps and 50 cabinets as well as four bass amps and two bass cabinets. In addition to that, you get 79 pedal and rack effects, and 18 mic models with up to four usable per cabinet. To save you some time (or more likely a lot of it), more than 1000 presets covering different styles are included.
Overload collaborates with multiple notable amplifier manufacturers, including DVmark, Brunetti, THD, and Randall.
13. SimulAnalog Guitar Suite (Free)
This VST plugin is freeware and contains a number of classic amps and pedals:
- Fender Twin 1969 amplifier
- Marshall JCM900 Dual Reverb amplifier
- Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal
- Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive pedal
- Tube Screamer Overdrive pedal
- Oberheim PS-1 Phaser pedal
- Univox Univibe Modulation pedal
The downside of this software is that it’s rather old and only runs on 32-bit, meaning that you may have compatibility issues on a 64-bit system.
14. Waves GTR3 (Paid)
Originally the result of a collaboration between Waves and PRS Guitars, the GTR3 plugin offers all the essentials that you need to emulate the sound from Vox, Fender, Marshall, and Mesa/Boogie amps (and others).
In addition to 30 different amplifiers, it also ships with 30 cabinets and 25 stomp boxes. There is no free version, but on the other hand, GTR3 is quite reasonably priced compared to the competition.
15. Sonivox Bright Electric Guitar (Paid)
Bright Electric Guitar from Sonivox may not be a plugin for everyone, but if you are looking for professional Strat, then this VST guitar plugin could be right up your alley.
This one comes with a wide variety of strum patterns and chord types recorded by Boston guitarist Jud Crane. It features everything from individual tones (including mutes) at different velocities to triads and bar chords.
16. Impact Soundworks Shreddage 3 (Paid)
While the name might indicate a focus on heavy metal, there is a lot to the Shreddage 3 series from Impact Soundwords.
This lineup of VST plugin is divided into a number of different product based on specific guitar. There are 6-string, 7-string and 8-string guitars for seriously aggressive metal sounds, but also an archtop for jazz, funk and blues, as well as couple of different basses.
For creating a metal sounds, however, this plugin may be one of the best on the market.
17. Orange Tree Samples Evolution Rock Standard (Paid)
Orange Tree has been known to create some of the most realistic tones out there on the VST guitar plugin market. Evolution Rock Standard has everything you need to recreate a vast variety of Les Paul sounds.
You can easily emulate natural articulation effects like string slaps, palm mutes, and divebombs. Another interesting feature is adjustable pick positions using Orange Tree’s proprietary modeling technology.
18. AmpleSound Ample Guitar G M Lite II (Free)
AmpleSounds has made a name for itself for heavy rock and metal guitar sounds. However, this free VST offers an authentic reproduction of the Martin D-41 acoustic guitar.
It features 848 MB of high-quality samples and includes true-to-life articulations such as sustain, hammer-on/pull-off, and palm mute.
If you like this free plugin, be sure to also have a look at AmpleSounds’ wide assortment of other premium plugins.
19. Vir2 Instruments Acou6tics
Acoustic guitars are not easy to emulate, but this VST guitar plugin delivered by Vir2 sounds pretty amazing (though the price is also pretty steep).
It comes loaded with six different acoustic instruments including a steel-string guitar, a twelve-string ditto, nylon-stringed, ukulele, mandolin, and guitalele – all of which are provided with precise articulations.
The Vir2 Acou6tics VST also offers a comprehensive library of chord samples that, with some work, can help you achieve a very crisp and realistic sound.
VST plugins can be installed in several different ways depending on your operating system and the type of file you obtain from the plugin creator.
If you are running Windows, you will likely come across either an .exe (installable executable) file or a .dll. Installation files can be installed simply by double-clicking and running the installer, whereas .dll files can be dragged into your usual VST Plugins folder.
MacOS works a little differently – you’ll either be running a .dmg file to automatically install the plugin or manually copy over the .au folder into your audio units directory (usually located in “/Library/Audio/Plugins/Components”).
Some plugins may require a serial number or activation by logging in to a service such as iLok or via the plugin itself upon first loading the plugin
Uninstalling a plugin is usually pretty straightforward and the opposite of what you did to install it. On either operating system, if you dragged a file into your plugins folder, then you should just be able to delete it. If you ran an installer, then you can simply use the uninstallation tool to remove it from your system (or drag the application to the trash on macOS).
Installing plugins can be a bit fiddly, so it’s not uncommon for them to not appear in your plugins list or just not work at all.
If you don’t see the plugin after installation, check your DAW’s settings and see if there’s an option to refresh the plugin list. If you still don’t see it, make sure you’ve specified the correct directory for the plugin. When in doubt, reinstall the plugin and make sure to tell the installer your usual plugin folder when prompted.
VSTs will normally work on Windows. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for macOS. While macOS will support VSTs, you’re going to need to make sure you download the macOS-specific version of the plugin.
Like its much more advanced counterpart Logic Pro, Garageband does support loading external plugins (VST or AU), which is great for beginners getting into the world of music production on macOS.
Follow the steps above and make sure to download the macOS version of the plugin, and you should be good to go.
