Essentially, you give it an amp sound, either from your playing or from a recorded track, and using its multitude of variables the sim will attempt to match it, usually to a decent level. However, this is balanced by the inclusion of an Amp Match feature, which we loved. The BIAS AMP 2 doesn’t include any effects other than a basic reverb – they come in a separate package. These are often a barometer of how good an amp sim is, yet here they stood out superbly in our mix. We particularly loved the higher gain tones. If you can’t get a good tone out of this sim, then amp sims probably aren’t for you. Everything, right down to the type of transformer, or the pre-amp tubes, or even how hot you run the tubes, is up for grabs. The premise is that each individual component of an amp’s signal chain can be tweaked, changed or replaced. Now in its second iteration, the Positive Grid BIAS AMP 2 brings more of the features and tools that guitarists love into what we believe is an incredibly useful package. If Positive Grid wasn’t the first to bring amp sims to DAWs, they’re certainly the ones that have made the biggest impression. It packs in an incredible array of amp models and effects, with official models from Fender, Orange, and others to assure you of its quality. It was a hard-fought battle for the top spot of this list, there are so many amazing plugins out there right now, but we’ve decided to go with IK Multimedia’s Amplitube 5 (opens in new tab). Otherwise, keep scrolling to see the best guitar plugins available today. If you’d like to learn more about guitar VSTs, check out the buying advice section at the bottom of this article for more info. There’s never been a better time to go digital, that’s why we put together this list of the best guitar amp and effects plugins to help you improve your productions. With the majority of them, you’ll be able to apply automation to all of the parameters and there are some with feature sets and routing options that just wouldn’t be possible within the constraints of a regular stompbox. Some standalone, some bundled with amp models. There are also loads of great effects you can use too.

When using a guitar plugin alongside an actual amp recording - as is often the case where time is short in the studio - it can actually benefit your recordings, instantly offering you different flavors of tone to thicken up your recorded one. Okay, so a super-experienced guitarist might be able to say ‘that’s not a real amp!’, but your average listener is never going to know the difference.

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