10 Best FREE Bass Amp Plugins 2023 (Best Free Sims)

Are you new to the digital world and want to try a bass plugin? Today we’ll talk about the 10 best free bass amp plugins you can get 2023.

A bass plugin can come in many forms and is more than necessary to transform your raw/D.I. sound into a powerful and full of character. Some plugins are a complete suite of signal chain suitable for bass.

This consists of effects placed before the amplifier (compression, noise gate, distortion, or filters) and effects that complement the bass sound and can be placed after the amplifier (delay, reverb, chorus). These plugins also emulate a real bass head and cabinet, which are essential to bass.

But other bass plugin modes are meant to alter the bass tone. For example, some are bass pedal that acts like guitar head and can either be used in front of a head to add power or plugged directly into an IR loader that simulates a cabinet and gives you the tone you want.

We have prepared in this article bass plugins of all kinds, either plugin that simulates a complete signal chain or plugins that emulate individual parts that can be connected with the complete ones for a more exact amount of control and versatility.

10 Best FREE Bass Amp Plugins For A Great Tone 2023

1. TSE Audio Bass Overdrive

TSE Audio Bass Overdrive is TSE Audio’s answer regarding bass guitar effects on the market, as they are a rarity. This bass overdrive pedal gives you a good tone with a simple interface that can help you get to the sound you want without much effort.

This plugin is a bass effect pedal that simulates SansAmp’s Tech 21 NYC, a DI bass driver with many applications. Either you want to use it as a DI, and you can add this pedal to an all-digital amp, and using it, you’ll be able to add more power to your clean tone, or you can use it on its own and get that distortion that is more than necessary in many musical genres.

The user interface is identical to the original, with an unmistakable design. Well, at the top of it, we have most of the parameters we will need to use it. We can see parameters such as Level, Drive, Low, High, Blend, and Presence, but also a toggle switch representing the quality and resources the plugin will use. It also has an On/Off switch and an input adjustment at the bottom of the TSE BOD.

What is to be appreciated about the TSE BOD is how it is both a DI and a bass overdrive. So the most important part of this plugin is the one where we are shown tone-shaping controls:

Level and Drive are meant to be altered together, and it depends on how you want your tone to be. If you want more distortion, keeping the level in a normal range and increasing the Drive will give you organic, in-your-face distortion. If you want a clean tone, you must do the opposite.
Low And High represent a basic EQ that you can alter the bass tone mids if you know how to play with them. They are very responsive to alterations. Their coolest aspect is that they correlate directly with the Level and Drive level of the plugin, so basically, you are altering the Drive more than the overall sound.
The Blend knob alters how much of the TSE BOD’s tone you inject into the raw bass sound. It’s useful because active basses often have a preamp installed in them, and by using a blend, you’ll get a faster sweet spot.
The Quality toggle switch is an oversampling that this pedal can provide if you have a powerful PC. LO represents a lower amount of oversampling (X2), and HI setting a higher one; also HI setting removes additional aliasing.

TSE BOD gives you an input adjustment tool that refers to the input the pedal receives from your raw bass. When you turn it on, it is set to 1.0, which means no boost (+0dB), but when you increase it to 2.0, it gives you a boost of up to (+6dB).

If you forgot to set the correct gain level in the audio interface and your raw bass tone is clipping, which you don’t want, you can alter the input adjustment tool parameter and correct the mistake. This also applies if you have too little gain level set from the interface, and eventually, we can boost from this tool.

Suppose you have a weaker PC but still want to use that oversampling tool (Quality toggle switch) when mixing. In that case, you can render the track with that setting turned on because the plugin is no longer active this way, and you won’t get those crackle sounds that represent CPU overloading.

This plugin pedal can work in two ways: you want it to react like a DI or use it as a final sound. When you want it to work as a DI, it is necessary not to drastically alter the Drive knob, as this will result in a dirty and hard-to-correct tone from the eventual amp you want to add to the signal chain. Keeping it within the right parameters shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

TSE BOD is supported on PC and Mac, and the plugin formats it is available are VST, VST3, and AU. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check TSE Audio Bass Overdrive here.

2. Audio Assault Bass Grinder Free

Audio Assault Bass Grinder Free is “the secret weapon for success.” This plugin is great for aggressive bass tones and comes in two forms.

Bassgrinder is a virtual bass amp that holds two amps and three cabinets. With it, you’ll get aggressive low-end tones that cut through the mix quite easily because it was designed to have little distortion at its core. It can be used from the most aggressive spheres of metal (doom, stoner) to some softer ones that need a bass present but with a little distortion.

The interface of this plugin offers all the settings you need. At the top, we alter the raw bass input and two final tone-shaping effects. So, we can find controls such as (Input, Volume, HP, and LP but also a good Gate, especially in extremely distorted tones) in that section.

In the middle part, with a design that shows us a classic design of an amplifier, we have the usual settings for tone shaping, such as (Gain, Mid, Bass, Treble, Crush, and Depth). At the bottom, we can select the amplifiers and the cabinets (we can also turn off the cabinet section if we want to use an external emulator).

Bassgrinder represents an entire signal chain that you could use in real life, and what makes it most useful is how Audio Assault has thought to give you the parameters by which you can develop the perfect tone:

HP and LP knobs are more than necessary if you want to cut unwanted frequencies out of the tone, so you can do that from the plugin interface without adding an extra EQ in the signal chain. By using them, you’ll be able to make room in the mix for the guitars and the bass to maintain their presence.
The gate is more than useful, especially if you have distorted tones. The knob is quite well-placed and responsive to settings, and you will get rid of unwanted feedback by using it.
The EQ part of the amps gives you full control of the tone. What’s to appreciate, besides the basic EQ controls (Bass, Mid, Treble, and Depth), offers a Crush knob that will bring you even more, distortion presence, even if you use the Gain knob.
The cabinet section offers three options and adds variety to the plugin. Using the presets at the bottom; you can find the right tone much more intuitively.

Bassgrinder comes bundled with two amps (Dragon and Razor), making the plugin more versatile. Dragon is a more compliant amp (although it has a high amount of distortion) and is perfect for Doom or Stoner Metal, while Razor is extremely aggressive and suitable for fast bass lines as it is very present.

We recommend using Bassgrinder with TSE Audio Bass Overdrive because you can obtain a gnarly tone but also with a much larger amount of settings. But be careful how much distortion you give the Bassgrinder from the pedal side, as you risk getting a tone that is hard to hear.

It is important to mention that the plugin does not come with an IR loader, so you cannot use you’re favorite purchased or created captures. However, Audio Assault has also considered this need, allowing you to bypass the plugin’s cabinet section to add your favorite captures with an external IR loader.

Amplifiers have unpleasant noise, but you can fix this problem from its interface. Using the tools provided at the top of the plugin is more than necessary. Besides setting the Gate to a considerable value, you must cut the frequencies, especially the highs. So, HP and LP knobs will be your best friends.

Bassgrinder is supported on PC and Mac, and the plugin formats in which it is available are VST, VST3, and AU. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check Audio Assault Bass Grinder Free here.

3. Lost in 70s Bass Deluxe

Lost in 70s Bass Deluxe emulates a tube amplifier that can deliver a fat, warm, and rich tone.

Bass Deluxe is a digital amp that can allow you to have, next to a functional amp with every possible setting, a miniature DAW, making it the right plugin for your composing sessions and, why not, rehearsal contexts. It has a looper included and a few drum patterns, which is quite unusual for a plugin like this, but we’ll explain in detail why it’s cool to have such features present.

Its interface is quite intimidating at first because the moment you turn it on, it offers a lot of settings that seem hard to follow. At the top, we can activate the pedalboard, presets, and tuner. And on the left of them, we have options for loop functions and drum patterns.

On the practical side of the plugin, we have an amplifier with a design that looks like a real Hartke or Ampeg amp. This section represents two identical channels and controls for Drive, Compressor, Volume, 9-band EQ, Presence, and two switches (Boost and Slow/Fast release for the compressor).

Bass Deluxe offers a lot of solutions that apply very well in whatever context you propose to use it, so let’s show you what it is capable of:

The looper has some very useful functions when composing parts. As well as giving you drum patterns (from Jazz to Rock or Funk), it lets you mix the volume of the drums with the bass tone and set their BPM.
Its cabinet section includes an impressive collection of cabinet sizes (1×15, 4×10, 8×10), so you can find the right option easily. The larger the cabinet size, the more headroom you’ll have, making it possible to alter tones in more detail.
A pedalboard can be activated at the top of the plugin and contains six effects (Reverb, Chorus or Vibrato, Tremolo, Compressor, Delay, and a Tone Drive made especially for this plugin.) Using this FX chain, you won’t need external effect plugins that can complement your overall tones.
The tuner is a great addition to any such plugin and is present in this one. Unfortunately, it doesn’t let you change the Hz of the note (which doesn’t make it that useful), but more than that, it’s not accurate, so you may want to use another plugin for that.
Plugin’s amplifier has two identical channels that can be easily changed. They have an EQ that gives you control of all frequencies in the spectrum. Also, the Presence applies to both channels, which is quite annoying; it would be nicer if they separated.

When you click on the ”Show Presets” button at the top of the plugin, a preset tab opens at the bottom with a real footswitch design. This section has three banks of presets, each with ten separate slots, which can be altered using switches you would normally have to press with your foot. This wide range of preset slots allows you to save tones more easily.

Although designed to sound more funk and jazz, the amp can also be used in rock and metal, place a distortion pedal in front of it, and you will discover how versatile it is.

Drum Volume is independent of the Main Out, so it’s important to note that it can give an unwanted clip in the overall sound of the plugin; it’s best to follow the meter from the left side, so you can make the plugin sound correct and within parameters.

Effects can be either in front of the amp or in its send. It is best to use reverb, chorus effects after the amp, and compression and drive effects on the left side, that way, you will place the effects correctly in the signal chain, resulting in a much cooler tone.

Lost in 70s Bass Deluxe is supported on PC and Mac, and the plugin formats it is available are VST3 and AU. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check Lost in 70s Bass Deluxe here.

4. NaLex Bass Amp

NaLex Bass Amp is a virtual bass guitar tube amp that accurately emulates an Ampeg SVT-CL.

This virtual bass amp is ready to deliver authentic Ampeg tones in seconds. Besides having all the controls that the real amp has, it is a plugin that doesn’t consume so many of your CPU resources, making it extremely powerful.

Its interface is easy to follow and has a real Ampeg design. In it, we can find an input trimmer, two switches (ultra low and ultra high) just like in the original, Gain and Master Knob, but also EQ effects like (Bass, Midrange, Frequency, and Treble). Also, at the bottom of it, we can find a small knob that refers to stereo, and using it, we can switch the amp from mono to stereo.

Besides the fact that NaLex offers a similar tone to the Ampeg SVT-CL, it also has accurate controls as the original:

An input trimmer is more than necessary because when you slap or have parts with a lot of Attack on the strings, it provides a -15dB and solves the problem of a clipped unwanted distortion sound.
The Ultra Low and High switches boost your frequencies, giving a much more prominent tone in either bass or treble.
When you set the Midrange, this amp offers not only a Midrange Knob but also a Frequency Knob, which correlates with the Midrange knob and functions as a five-position switch, so you can more easily change that frequency range.
The Mono/Stereo switch is very useful when you want to add extra effects in the post amp, and those only work in stereo (yes, there are many situations where you may encounter this, which is unpleasant).

NaLex Bass Amp offers six preset slots, but it depends on the DAW you use it in. But even if it didn’t, you could still create your own presets in the DAW, and when you activated the plugin, they could be saved.

It is important to mention that this plugin does not emulate a bass cabinet, so you will need an external IR loader and impulses to make the amp sound.

We don’t know if the oversampling function (x8) they added in the plugin is a basic plugin setting or if there is a setting you can make (we couldn’t find it, so most likely, it comes bundled). Still, if the plugin uses too many CPU resources, committing the track after you have recorded is recommended.

If you need more distortion in your sound, TSE Audio Bass Overdrive complements this plugin very well, and both are free, so worth a try.

NaLex Bass Amp is supported on PC and Mac, and the plugin formats in which it is available are VST3 and AU. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check NaLex Bass Amp here.

5. Ignite Amps SHB-1

Ignite Amps SHB-1 was designed for the moshpit, so make sure you use it as such.

The SHB-1 was designed after the actual Ignite Amps amplifier for Subhuman’s bassist (Federico Fulceri). As the name of this amp suggests, this is the tool you need if you want the perfect bass tone for metal and beyond. The amp can also provide tones suitable for jazz, but the most important thing is that the analog circuitry of the actual amp has been modeled in this plugin to achieve the original sound, which is cool to know.

The interface of this plugin offers a design that looks cool in any studio. It is split in two; the front side of the plugin offers all the important parameters the plugin has. We have four switches, three tone-shaping switches (Deep, Bright, and Shape) and one that can switch the amp from Mono to Stereo. Also, we find control knobs such as (Gain, Bass, Treble, Mid, Balance, and Volume) here.

On the back side (which can be accessed using those arrows on the right side of the plugin), it gives us input and output control and oversampling controls (2x, 4x, 8x), which makes the plugin also offers adaptability at any level of complexity.

The SHB-1 is one of the most powerful plugins presented today; it emulates the 12AX7 / ECC83 coupling, which makes the sound rich in tone:

This plugin offers up to 8x oversampling power, which is more than necessary to deliver better-quality bass in your mix.
The deep switch offers a special boost in the bass, but it might be too much for some tastes. Bright switch boosts the highs, and you’ll get a cool surprise if you want to pair them both.
On the back of the plugin, we get Input and Output controls, which represent the bass tone going into the amp, as well as the final sound of the plugin. The Input knob can also function as a decibel attenuator, so you’ll need this one more than likely.
A mono and stereo switch is necessary when pairing the plugin with other effects or IR loaders, as they add versatility and are included here.
The shape gives you a scoop on the mids, which is sometimes needed in the perfect bass tone, be careful not to cut the frequencies altogether, though clarity of bass tone is still needed in the mix.

Although the plugin can select high processing power, and you will be tempted to use an 8x switch, be careful. You should monitor PC performance, especially in real-time playing, as your PC might need to be more powerful.

You will need an external IR loader to use this plugin, as it cannot emulate a cabinet nor give you any possibilities.

The SHB-1 has fully automatable controls, which is cool when you want to do DAW automation on certain parts of the track in the mix or, why not, create special effects.

Ignite Amps SHB-1 is supported on PC and Mac, and the plugin formats in which it is available are VST3 and AU. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check Ignite Amps SHB-1 here.

6. Bassprofessor MarkII

Bassprofessor MarkII is a sound-shaping tool for bass that can also be called an enhancer and can be used to turn a DI into a full and powerful sound.

If you are used to this kind of plugins, you know that such a tool works very well with drums/guitars because it is meant to provide power. BassProfessor can deliver power differently from what an amplifier or compressor could do because the built-in sections combine several elements that, if used together, can add presence and boost the low end to your overall sound.

The interface of this plugin is intimidating at first glance because it doesn’t look like an amplifier or offer graphics in that direction; it seems like a tool you might not want to use. Although the opposite is true, this plugin is useful when processing your bass sound; it has some interesting controls.

On the left side of it, we have two Profess/Dirt sliders; below them, we have an Input Trim, Transients, and a Mono/Stereo Switch. And on the left side, we have two sliders representing LF Cut and Output (which represents the final output of the plugin).

Also, in the middle part of this plugin, we can see the plugin’s core and how we can understand the parameters it uses and alters. Here, we find a meter representing a 7-Band Leveler, and at the bottom of it, we see the controls of this EQ and give us parameters such as (Sub Bass, Lo Bass, Hi Bass, Fullness, Artic., Presence, and Treble).

BassPofessor is special because it offers a quality 7-Band Leveler with out-of-the-ordinary parameters. Still, in addition to this section, Sonic Anomaly has added some interesting controls that complement the plugin:

Profess fader is a slider that controls how much EQ is processed from that 7-Band Leveler and gives you output control of the effect.
Dirt adds tube-like distortion, and this tool makes the sound bigger and louder. It works like Profess fader, but it boosts the overtones by adding distortion.
Adding Fullness EQ control to your sound can add a dirty sound if you use it too drastically. It can be a tool that grinds the pitch of the note you play.
Bassprofessor also benefits from an Input Trimmer, which gives you settings such as (0db, +6db, and -6db). It works well in conjunction with the Transients tool, which can be found at the bottom of the Transients tool.

The plugin does not offer a presets section and does not let you save the settings you make directly from its interface. What’s cool about it is that it meshes very well with the DAW and lets the DAW save presets before it, which is perhaps handier if you know how to categorize presets so you don’t lose them.

Unfortunately, Bassprofessor adds latency, more precisely 64 samples which doesn’t make it very useful when you want to play live and hear your bass using it. It is best to make use of it when mixing the bass sound.

Using Transients and Input Trim, you can solve the problem of a distorted raw bass sound problem, but you can also amplify a low-power sound you have just recorded.

If you use the Artic. slider, you will be surprised. It accentuates articulation and gives your singing style a more detailed presence and clarity. It works very well with the Dirt slider, and if you adjust it to the ok parameters, you will have a strong and clear sound in the bass mix.

Bassprofessor MarkII is supported on PC and the plugin formats in which it is available as VST. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check Bassprofessor MarkII here.

7. AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop

Even though AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop only offers some of the features and options that the full version offers, it has a good bass amp and cabinet with a cool tone.

Amplitube has offered competitive quality solutions over the years, emulating almost everything possible in the guitar and bass (from effects, amps, and cabinets to room mics and placement). Well, they have always offered a free version that offers the full quality of some of their options. In our case, this version comes bundled with a solid-state bass pre-amp with a punchy tone that is ready for any genre.

The plugin’s interface is quite limited, but it gives us the necessary settings to understand its capabilities. In our case, the plugin lets us select the bass head from its main interface, modify two microphones (a Condenser and a Shure SM57 emulator), alter their position, and change the room where they are placed; also, options for tuning our instrument.

Besides the fact that the head sounds great and can be used in many different ways, Amplitube 5 Custom Shop also offers a few extra settings that let you find your perfect tone in less time:

It gives you access to a good quality tuner but limited access. It lets you change the Hz of the note and follow the normal parameters. It also lets you transpose the guitar’s tuning, which is appreciated.
You can select the room where you place the cabinet, and they give you nine options. From rooms in a well-soundproofed studio to a bathroom (which offers a great reverb).
Changing the placement of the microphones it’s simple; you can do this by using the slider and placing them in the position you want. It gives us three options (overhead and two microphones placed on the speaker) but also lets us change their angle. Ik Multimedia is the first company to include this option in the world of emulation, and it is definitely among the best.
Amplitube 5 Custom Shop has six guitar effects that can also be used for bass. They sound great; it’s cool that they also gave us access to these basic pedals because this way, we see how capable the plugin is of emulating any parameter in any situation.
It’s possible to run two heads in a series cabinet or two heads in two cabinets simultaneously, but even though it only has a bass head and a 1×15 cabinet, you can also put in a guitar amp to add distortion.

Amplitube 5 Custom Shop doesn’t offer presets as the full version does. Still, it gives you the option to save the settings you make and lets you organize them, as well as some presets they’ve already created, but with some limitations, those remain useful too.

Since a 1×15 cabinet can’t have the power of a larger one, you can override the cabinet part of the plugin and add an IR loader with your favorite cabinet captures to your daw signal chain. This way, the plugin becomes even more powerful.

It is very important to have the microphones in phase because you may have unwanted sound if they are not properly aligned. The plugin lets you adjust these settings, which you can find when you are in the cabinet window and looking at the microphones section. By activating the button to the left of them, you will see if the sound is delivered correctly, and if not, adjust it.

If you want more distortion but can’t do it using the present options, you can run the bass head present in the plugin in tandem with a guitar head; this way, you can create a much more prominent and distortion-quality tone.

AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop is supported on PC and Mac, and the plugin formats in which it is available are Standalone, VST, VST3, and AU. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

For more information on system requirements and instructions on using, you can check out the AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop User Manual.

You can check AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop here.

8. ClBass F

ClBass F looks far too basic for what it is capable of. It has plenty of great effects and power stages.

This plugin is a bass amp that emulates a guitar amp but is redesigned for bass. It has a fat and clear sound and plenty of effects that you can adjust to your liking. Also, its effects are based on legendary audio engineer Will Pirkle which adds a special touch, and the interesting part is that the plugin is free.

Its interface is quite easy to follow. In the main part, we have the amplifier with its settings; on the left side, we have the channel selector; on the right, we have the routing and quality switch. Also, at the bottom, we can activate the effects and the cabs, power amp stages, and gains.

The most interesting part of this plugin is that although it has two heads, classic and modern, it offers a lot of well-designed parameters that work very well with the plugin:

Both amps benefit from 4 channels. Those channels refer to the amount of gain it has. So we can find settings like Low Gain (LG), Medium Gain (MG), High Gain (HG), and Extreme Gain (XG).
The CLBass F benefits from a Contour knob found in old-school amplifiers and has been a big hit. This one set at noon has no effect, but if you turn it clockwise, it scoops the mids, and if you turn it counterclockwise, it acts as an HP.
All the effects in this plugin are designed after Will Pirkle, who has, over the years, released many solutions to the market. In this case, we have Chorus, Flanger, Tremolo, Compression, Reverb, and Delay effects. These are very sensitive to settings, and the amount of control is detailed.
In the cabinet section, we have nine cabs and also it offers settings for Delay (which is pretty accurate, you don’t see that kind of settings much these days), and on the left side, we have two volume knobs that adjust the volume from left or right.
It also offers power stage settings, and this mode can be turned on or off. In this section, we can set Width Parameters and Tremolo Parameters. It also offers some LFO Waveforms options.

CLBass F does not have a presets section, which is quite a pain because it is hard to remember your favorite sound with so many settings. But it is compatible with DAW automation, which allows the DAW to save and have a preset bank specific to save your favorite settings.

You can use the Stereo or Mono switch to route the effects differently because sometimes you want to pan them differently when you shape them; that way, you have two tones.

If you need more (or less) power, you can use the Quality Switch on the main plugin side to alter the plugin’s power (Full or ECO). This is appreciated because when you have a session full of plugins, you can reduce CPU usage this way.

The plugin has two heads included (the basic one and a modern one). So if you want a more modern tone, select from the bottom of the Modern Tab plugin, and a new amp opens up.

ClBass F is supported on PC and the plugin formats in which it is available as VST. You can find it for 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check ClBass F here.

9. Viper ITB Vee Bass Amp

Viper ITB Vee Bass Amp is a bass amp emulator with many hidden features that you rarely find on the market but which serve in an ingenious and useful way.

Vee Bass Amp is meant to simulate a tube preamp amp but also with a cabinet emulation when you choose to use the plugin. An interesting part is that it also has an ambiance emulation, which can easily be accessed. It also has some hidden features you can’t access but have been cleverly placed to work well with the plugin.

The plugin’s interface is simple to follow, and thanks to the simple graphics, this plugin will only consume so many CPU resources. On the left of the plugin, we have a Drive knob that controls the tube preamp part. And below it, we have two switches for Cabinet and Ambience simulators.

In the middle, we have controls for the EQ section, and each of the four sections has an EQ Gain and EQ Freq; the way they have designed this section, you will have total control. And on the right side of it, we have a knob that represents the Master of the plugin and serves as an output control.

The most interesting part of the Vee Bass Amp is that it can be easily molded to your preferences, thanks to the large amount of control in the EQ section and the placement of hidden features:

The cabinet section is designed to attenuate some frequencies that may cause problems because the bass can do that too. This attenuation of poor-quality resonances correlates coolly with the level control, and together, they make the bass easier to maintain when mixing.
Vee Bass Amp has a ”studio ambiance emulator,” which adds a cool touch and a realistic sound by blending ”wall reflection” into the raw signal.
The Drive control is a gain knob that injects a cool overdrive. The more you set its amount, the more distorted or clean sound you get.
The Low and High Self-controls are independent of the Low and High Mid bands. The signal is set in two streams after the EQ section.

The plugin does not offer a preset section, but if your DAW is 32-Bit, it can control any parameter of the plugin and, of course, save presets for it.

Using VeeBassAmp as an RMS lets the transients pass transparently and levels the track’s dynamics.

The preamp colors the sound by adding tube harmonics throughout the EQ spectrum. It can be saturated when you crank it up and fed a hot signal.

The EQ section can also be a parallel EQ often used in the analog world. The EQ becomes less aggressive and allows cutting or boosting EQ bands that interact separately.

Viper ITB Vee Bass Amp is supported on PC and the plugin formats in which it is available as VST. You can find it for 32-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check Viper ITB Vee Bass Amp here.

10. AcmeBarGig BIG

AcmeBarGig BIG offers a lot of control parameters, and on top of that, it is an effects suite.

BIG is a plugin that emulates a bass amp and effects. This plugin is ready to give you some control parameters atypical of what we can find on the market (even when it comes to plugins to buy). Its dual technology allows you to shape the cabinet and head sections in the most detailed and unique way possible.

The interface is complex and hard to follow because it offers too much. It offers in the first part of the plugin the Gut Options, Cabinet Shaper, and Presets settings, and the right part of the plugin, we have two Gain settings as well as Bass Mid Treble Pres/Tone and a Master. At the bottom of it, we see that it gives us the parameters needed to alter the settings of a Compressor and a Noise Gate.

This is a plugin that offers two technologies that let you shape in detail the cabinet and head section, making the plugin one of the most powerful on the market:

Cabinet shaper lets you emulate virtually any cabinet possible and find your tone more easily. This section can be turned off and use external IRs.
Gut refers to a technology that alters how the circuit operates to change its functionality. It has filters and crossovers that can be adjusted to change the amplifier’s functions dramatically.
It has twin 12AX7 tubes that can be individually bypassed for infinite tones.
Whisper is a clean amp that offers a powerful EQ section, making the plugin much more versatile.

BIG is also ready to offer you a presets section; you won’t have to worry about losing your favorite tone. In this way, you can have clean, distorted tones that are much easier to access, all at your pleasure.

If you have problems with Hiss in the sound, the plugin benefits from a Tone/Hiss control section that helps you to attenuate Post Gain and Post Compressor.

Being a complex technology plugin, BIG consumes a lot of resources. So if you don’t have a powerful PC, you’ll have to increase the latency in the DAW or commit track after setting your tone to your liking.

AcmeBarGig BIG is supported on PC, and the plugin formats in which it is available as VST. You can find it for 32-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check AcmeBarGig BIG here.

Extra:

1. DamyFx Doctor BASS

DamyFx Doctor BASS is a plugin that seems like it should be overlooked, but it shouldn’t. The plugin offers a lot of possibilities and, on top of that, a decent sound without consuming too many resources.

Doctor Bass is a tube amp and cabinet simulator inspired by an American model (we don’t know which one). It offers warm, easily altered tones and holds four model speakers.

Its interface is easy to follow, although it could look better in terms of design; DamyFx probably decided that Doctor Bass needs to consume fewer CPU resources, resulting in this simple design. It has on top plugin controls like (Gain, Middle, Low, High, Power, Counter, and Master), and at the bottom, we can select the preset and cabinet model.

The most important feature of this plugin is that it consumes few resources, but the sound remains quite qualitative:

It has four speaker models (2x-4×10, 8×10, and 1×15), and they emulate famous cabinets from the bass world.
The EQ controls (Bass, Middle, High) react very well to the settings, and the smallest values you enter significantly impact the sound.
When using the plugin standalone, you can scale its interface, which is useful for those who don’t want to take up a lot of screen space.
Gain offers a decent amount of power but also a distortion. But Doctor Bass needs a distortion effect to take it to extremes.

Doctor Bass can select between presets using the arrows (left and right) and scroll through a menu that displays all the presets. These can be easily saved from the plugin’s interface, which is a touch that offers significant impact.

DamyFx Doctor BASS is supported on PC, and the plugin formats in which it is available are VST. You can find it for 32-bit only. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check DamyFx Doctor BASS here.

2. The Growler

The Growler is your friend when you need a thick bass tone.

The Growler is an all-in-one suite that offers a wide range of bass tones. It has nine bass cabinets of all kinds, and whether you want a natural or distorted tone, this is the winner.

Its interface is simple: Input, Output, Gate, Mix, Bass and Treble, Growl Hot, and an IR section. That way, you either want to use the pedal and send it into an amp or use the plugin to emulate that.

The plugin offers a wide range of sounds, thanks to the controls it uses, but also the cabinet emulation:

Growl adds low-end distortion and thickness. If you turn it off, it reduces low-end distortion, and you get a DI sound.
Hot adds top-end distortion and is your friend when you want a more aggressive sound. If you don’t use it, you’ll get distortion only at a low level, but you can still add distortion if you use the Input Knob.
Bass and Treble is a dual-band shelf EQ with superpower because it acts like a 3-Band EQ. If you want a more prominent midrange, you can pull back the bass and the treble and play with the Output setting, and if you don’t want midrange, you have to do the opposite.
In the cabinet section, they offer nine bass IR’s sound directly from the plugin, each with a different tone. And if you want to use your own IR, you can turn off this section and use an external IR loader where you can insert your impulse responses.
If you want to increase or decrease the overall distortion, you can use the Input knob, which injects gain into the circuit. But be careful because if you use high gain levels, the sound will need a noise gate, and this plugin allows you to clean up the signal using the gate.

It can be used in many ways, which adds a touch of versatility. With the Growler, you get either a pedal that adds distortion to the signal chain or a full suite by injecting its signal into a cabinet. You can use this plugin in conjunction with most of the plugins on this list in various ways, so you get a complete signal chain for free.

The Growler is supported on PC and Mac, and the plugin formats in which it is available are VST3 and AU. You can find it for 32-bit and 64-bit. Considering that this plugin is free of any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check The Growler here.

Conclusion

They were the 10 Best FREE Bass Amp Plugins You Can Get 2023. These free plugins are a complete suite when you want to find the right bass tone for your taste, whether you use all-in-one plugins or combine them.

During testing, we noticed that some of them worked well together, and we could get much deeper tones. TSE Audio Bass Overdrive and The Growler are the plugins that work well with everything on the list. They complement the sound by adding distortion, making the bass more prominent.

A great combination will be TSE Audio Bass Overdrive with NaLex Bass Amp or Audio Assault Bass Grinder Free if you want to make your bass tone nice or aggressive.

We also liked plugins that are an all-in-one suite, like Lost in 70s Bass Deluxe, which offers great control and has a looper included, which is useful when composing/recording.

AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop, even if it offers a small demo of what it is capable of, remains a valid option (beware, because it is so cool, it will make you buy the full version), but also AcmeBarGig BIG with its technologies that offer endless possibilities.

We hope this article has helped you find the tools you need to get the bass tone you want, and we invite you to try them all because they are very good and free.