13 Best FREE Guitar Amp Plugins 2023 (Amp Sims)

Today, we will discuss the 13 Best FREE Guitar Amp Plugins 2023 (Amp Sims).

Nowadays, most guitarists use amp simulators; you only need a good tone, a Laptop/PC, an audio interface, a guitar/bass, and a guitar cable. It sounds very simple, and this technique’s advantages are endless and cover every aspect you can imagine.

Real amps are getting increasingly expensive with time because of the cost of production. Using a guitar plugin may cost you something (but not much compared to the real amp), and in our case, nothing. These free plugins are just as good as those with money; they are either monster of some money plugins or free stand-alone plugins, which tend to be the most experimental, avant-garde ones.

They can come in many forms; they are either just the amp head or bundled with cabinet emulation or a complete signal chain offering guitar effects, mixing tools, and more.

In this article 13 Best FREE Guitar Amp Plugins 2023 (Amp Sims), we will discuss the best of them; we have selected a mix of completely free amplifiers, offering full access to all the parameters you can think of. However, we have also considered the need to work very well together, so using an ounce of creativity, these plugins will help you build a complete signal chain, ready for studio and live.

Let’s follow which are the 13 Best FREE Guitar Amp Plugins 2023 (Amp Sims).

13 Best FREE Guitar Amp Plugins 2023 (Amp Sims)

1. ML Sound Lab Amped Roots

ML Sound Lab Amped Roots brings EVH 5150 EL34 tones closer to you in a free package.

ML Sound Lab Amped Roots was created in collaboration with Youtuber and musician Ryan Bruce ”Fluff” and represents the best amps in his collection. In the free version of the plugin, you get an amp emulating a 5150 El34 100W, encased in a plugin that offers a full signal chain.

The plugin interface is easy to follow and access, and the amp offers controls for one channel. So, you can find Input/Output knobs, tone-shaping controls (Low, Mid, High, and Presence), and Gain and Volume. Also, from the main interface, you can access a tuner, the effects, the cabinet section, and the Midi.

The best part of this plugin is, of course, the fact that it offers free access to a good metal amp integrated into a free ecosystem:

The cabinet section uses 3D technology, which means you can change the position of the microphones around the speaker. It offers four microphones and 3 cabinet options (Freeman M25, Mega Oversize, and Freeman V30).
The plugin comes bundled with 7 effects, which are easy to access and alter. It offers a Noise Gate, Chorus, Compressor, Drive Pedal, Reverb, and Analog Delay.
The amp delivers modern tones quickly, has a Gojira-specific chug, and you don’t necessarily need to use an overdrive pedal before it.
Roots let you control any parameter via MIDI, allowing you to change your tone with devices such as expression pedals, footswitches, real MIDI keyboard knobs, and more.
The Tuner is an important addition to this package, as it helps you not use other plugins in DAW but is also handy when running the plugin in Standalone.

ML Sound Lab Amped Roots has a rich preset section; you can find options from Fluff and factory ones. They are meant to help you discover the plugin, but if you are a Fluff fan, it is nice to discover tones created by him and alter them to suit your style.

As a plugin that also runs Standalone, it can offer much lower latency than you can get in DAW. So, if you want to rehearse, we recommend using it in Standalone.

Roots allows you to add your own IRs, which makes it even more powerful than it is because you won’t have to insert extra plugins into the signal chain in the DAW, which means you won’t consume too many CPU resources.

Although the amp doesn’t necessarily need extra distortion over what it offers, you can add the Drive pedal and set the Noise Gate aggressively to get the right Modern Metal and Djent tones.

ML Sound Lab Amped Roots 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 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 ML Sound Lab Amped Roots User Manual.

You can check ML Sound Lab Amped Roots here.

2. Neural Amp Modeler

Neural Amp Modeler offers an advanced algorithm that can compete with most premium emulators.

Neural Amp Modeler is a relatively new plugin on the market, but since it appeared, it has been directly compared to Kemper, Fractal, ToneX, etc. It is not only able to emulate tones from all amps and cabinets, but it offers a trainer that can capture the sound of real amps, of course, in a free package.

The plugin’s interface is as simple as it can be. It has EQ controls (Bass, Middle, Treble), an Input and an Output, a switch that correlates directly to the Gate knob, which is meant to activate the Noise gate, an EQ switch, and a Normalize. At the bottom, it lets you select the head model you want to emulate and the cabinet.

The best part about it is that it offers the most accurate head and cab tones possible, as well as the ability to capture your favorite amp yourself:

The Gate comes bundled with a switch that activates this feature. When you turn the Gate up, it can give you specific Djent tones.
The EQ section offers fairly simple parameters; the three controls and a switch operate them. Unfortunately, it has no presence or depth section.
Output benefits from a Normalize switch, which maintains the plugin’s signal without a limiter or compressor.
Neural Amp Modeler comes bundled with a super community that posts daily about captured IRs and related models. You’ll need to log into the site, though, as it has no built-in models.

Neural Amp Modeler doesn’t offer a preset section, but it has every parameter easily automatable, letting the DAW save the settings you saved. However, the IR section and models can function as presets, and if you want to categorize Models or IRs, you’ll have to make separate folders yourself.

If you have real amps, we recommend you try the trainer they offer. Its processing power will be useful if you decide to capture an amp yourself, and the models or IRs you capture will be as accurate as possible.

We recommend you join the community created by the manufacturer because there, you will discover a lot of models and IRs, which will help you when you want to discover the plugin.

It doesn’t come bundled with effects, but it works well with any external plugin you want to use. We recommend that you play around with the effects of Guitar Rig or Amplitube; that way, everything will be free.

Neural Amp Modeler 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 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 Neural Amp Modeler User Manual.

You can check Neural Amp Modeler here.

3. Audiority L12X Solid State Amplifier

Audiority L12X Solid State Amplifier delivers the classic tones of a Marshall amp in no time.

The folks at Audiority often offer such free solutions that integrate great into any studio, and more often than not, they strictly emulate a real amp and do it very well. This time the L12X Solid State Amplifier emulates a Marshall Lead 12, which can offer a considerable gain without setting the gain knob too much. It also delivers cool, high-driven tones when it hits the voltage it needs.

In this case, the interface has graphics that represent a real-world situation. The head has classic EQ controls (Bass, Middle, Treble), the Contour knob that has boosted Marshall’s sales over the years, a Gain, a Boost Mod, and a Cab sim switch.

The best part of this plugin is the versatility of the sound it offers, and if you’re a fan of the real amp, you can’t help but be pleased with the plugin’s existence:

Contour knob is meant to give a scoop in the midrange and boost it. It’s a technique often used, especially in old-school death metal like Death Band.
The amp has three options representing a solid-state amplifier, the Standard channel, and two options emulating tube amps, like Clean and Metal.
The L12X Solid State Amplifier also comes bundled with a cabinet simulation, which emulates a Marshall with 4×12 speakers from Celestion, and the folks at Seacow Cabs captured these.
The Boost switch is meant to add a new stage of overdrive, which means metal musicians can get a much more powerful sound.
It also has an oversampling function, giving the amplifier a more defined sound. You must ensure you have a powerful PC; if you still need to, you can only use it when mixing.

The L12X Solid State Amplifier comes with a preset section that is quite rich. Here, you get factory presets that show you clean rock/metal tones and a cool one called ”Slasher”. Also, here you can find Luca’s picks that offer tones toward thrash metal.

If you choose not to use the cabinet simulation it offers, a very good option would be to use the Neural Amp Modeler as an IR loader because it doesn’t add too much latency in the signal chain.

The plugin interface can be scaled very easily, allowing you to add more channels to the screen with the plugin active; using this technique, you can mix guitar channels much more easily.

We recommend playing with the Contour knob, especially if you are a death metal musician. It would also be useful to use an overdrive pedal before the amp to get that classic Death tone.

Audiority L12X Solid State Amplifier 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 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 Audiority L12X Solid State Amplifier User Manual.

You can check Audiority L12X Solid State Amplifier here.

4. Nembrini Audio Crunck V2

Nembrini Audio Crunck V2 has tones suitable for many genres, from funk to death metal.

Nembrini Audio’s Crunck V2 offers that American 80’s Metal tone but also fits perfectly into modern genres such as Djent, Deathcore, and Metalcore. Of course, it doesn’t stop there; you’ll be able to pull out Funk and Blues tones, too.

Its interface integrates easily with any user. It has basic EQ controls (Bass, Middle, Treble, and Presence), two switches meant to add an extra character to the amp, and a switch that lets you select the cabinet emulation. Of course, in addition to these, you can almost Master, Gain, and Output controls.

The best part about the Crunck V2 is that it not only integrates easily to any genre just a click away, but it also doesn’t induce that much stress on the CPU:

Presence adds an outline in the Mid and High-frequency ranges. It will highlight your sound definition and make the amp fill the room.
The Mode switch is meant to change the presence in the feedback loop, specifically between Mid and High.
The Crunck V2 also comes with a cabinet emulation that has 4×12 speakers and is a Celestion Vintage 30. You can use an external IR loader when you don’t activate it.
Edge switch is the perfect sauce for low-tuned guitars; it adds an edge filter that adds extra definition to low notes.
With the EQ knobs (Bass, Middle, Treble), you can alter the definition you want to give to your tone. A good idea is to cut the bass a little, increase the definition in the mids, and play around with Treble and Pres, depending on the characteristics of your guitar.

Crunck V2 comes bundled with some basic presets that may be useful when discovering the plugin. However, the most interesting part is the functionality of the menu, and the tools you have to save and categorize your presets. It will be useful when you want to mix more guitars and try new possibilities.

When you want to bypass the plugin so that it doesn’t consume too many resources when you mix, we recommend bypassing it from the DAW interface instead of that Power button because it eats up resources that way.

We recommend using an IR loader because the included cabinet doesn’t have as much bass presence, and the amp tends to fill the frequency range nicely with those low, defined notes.

A good idea would be to activate that Edge switch when you want to play modern metal but also increase the highs and presence.

Nembrini Audio Crunck V2 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 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 Nembrini Audio Crunck V2 User Manual.

You can check Nembrini Audio Crunck V2 here.

5. IK Multimedia Amplitube CS

AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop offers only a few options from its full version, yet you can pull out many tones.

Amplitube is one of those companies pushing the digital amp market, offering great solutions for guitarists and bassists who want an ecosystem representing complete signal chain items. AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop is their latest release that offers a few options in terms of amps, effects, and cabinets and is ready to offer tones for all genres.

The interface is relatively restricted as it doesn’t allow you to change many parameters, but the necessary ones, like amp and effects controls, are present. With these, you can change the microphones (a Shure SM57 and a Condenser), their position around the amp, and even the space where the cabinets are placed.

The best part of AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop is the way you can create your tone in a very short time and the sound you can get from it:

It offers around 6 effects that can be used for either guitar amps or bass. You can incorporate These basic effects into your signal chain, such as Overdrive, Reverb, and Compressor, and show what you can do with this plugin.
AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop gives you a tuner, but it doesn’t come with all the features it has. It allows you alter the Hz at which you want to tune your instrument and observe the standard parameters of a tuner. Also, a welcome feature allows transpose the tuning in real-time, which is a nice bonus.
When you want to change the mics’ placement, you can alter their position either using a slider that shows you where you place the mic and gives you 3 options: two mics that you can place around the speaker and also an overhead that gives you a room tone that adds depth to your sound.
The room in which the cabinet is placed can be changed; it gives you 9 options ranging from the best-sounding studio rooms to bathrooms that give you reverb and a cool room effect.
The AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop allows you to use two heads and two cabs in series simultaneously, giving you endless possibilities when it comes to tones.

Even though AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop doesn’t offer numerous presets, it lets you save and edit them. This is welcome, as the plugin can produce tones that represent a complete rig, and it’s nice to have them all organized.

When placing multiple microphones around the cabinet, ensuring they are in phase is important, as the fined tone can sound strange. The plugin provides a switch to ensure you get the low end.

If you are not happy with the plugin’s effects, we recommend using your own effects as it works ok with other plugins; that way, you can make it an even more powerful plugin.

You can also use this plugin with a real cabinet; you need a Power Amp (it sounds very good; many artists have demonstrated that it is suitable for live situations).

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.

6. Guitar Rig Player

Guitar Rig Player is among the richest free solutions for guitars and basses.

Guitar Rig player is one of the longest-lasting solutions in the world of emulating amps, cabinets, effects, and studio tools designed for guitar and bass. This plugin is widespread in studios but also live contexts. Many musicians like Rammstein pride themselves on using it live, and it does the job very well.

In this situation, Native Instruments offered a sample of each element of this plugin for free. Guitar Rig Player offers an amp with a matched cabinet, 13 effects, and many presets that walk you through its capabilities. The interface is intuitive; you can drag and drop each element into the signal chain and then alter it.

The best part of this plugin is the considerable free tools it offers and the tones you can produce with it:

The Jump amp is one of the most commonly used by musicians using the plugin. It is set up to emulate a British amp (probably Marshall), and alongside it is a 4×12 cabinet set up for rock, jazz, blues, and metal tones.
The effects included in this free version represent everything you could use to enrich your tone. You get Distortion, Chorus/Flanger, Reverb, 2x Delays, 3x EQ, 2x Noise Gate, Limiter, Volume, and a Tube Compressor.
It offers many studio tools for those who want advanced signal processing. So here you can find synth-style modifiers like LFO, Envelope, Step Sequencer, Analog Sequencer, and Input Level Modifier.
On the mixing side, it offers tools for those who want to integrate their guitar tone into the mix in no time. Here, you can find a Crossover Mix, Split, and Container, and the possibility to do Sidechaining with a Tube Compressor.

Guitar Rig Player comes bundled with 50 presets that vary and span the entire palette of genres, some of which are meant to emulate famous tones such as Randy Rhoads Metallica’s tone. In contrast, genres and singing styles categorize others. It’s easy to find yourself in one of them, and altering them is allowed.

As a plugin that offers everything you could want regarding effects, it fits very well with any plugin in this top, so the possibilities are endless.

A good idea would be to use it in a standalone when you want to compose or play. It offers a low latency to have a more realistic experience.

The cabinet section can be turned off, and if you feel the need to use a separate IR, you can simulate the signal chain effect using several plugins simultaneously.

Guitar Rig Player 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 Guitar Rig Player User Manual.

You can check Guitar Rig Player here.

7. LePou HyBrit Head

LePou HyBrit Head emulates a hybrid guitar amp based on two British amps.

LePou has offered many free solutions regarding virtual guitar amps and one of the most famous IR loaders on the market. In this case, HyBrit is a plugin that emulates two British hybrid amps but does not necessarily emulate a real amp, but a combined version of two amps.

The interface is represented by graphics specific to a Marshall amp. It has two channels, PLS and MCJ, a switch that boosts the MCJ channel, EQ controls such as (Bass, Middle, Treble, and the famous Contour Knob of all Marshall amps), and a PLS mix, Power, and Master volume. Also, in its interface, you can set the amp to run in mono or stereo, as well as oversampling.

The best feature that this plugin offers is that you won’t be able to get the tone that has with another plugin because the mix between the amps is uncommon:

HyBrit has two different channels that are meant to emulate the real thing. The PLS channel mixes two tweaked channels, Normal and Treble, and the MCJ also represents a tweaked real amp.
The PLS Mix knob represents the processing between the Normal and Treble channels of the PLS channel, and with it, you can emphasize the characteristics to your liking.
The Contour knob adds a mid scoop to the signal; with it, you can add that secret sauce of a British Marshall amp.
The MCJ boost gives you more channel power; you’ll notice that it also gives you less treble, so you’ll have to play with treble to match the Power and bring it up to normal levels.
When you want a much better definition of the algorithm that HyBrit has, it is advisable to use the Quality switch on high; it doesn’t add too much latency in the signal, but if you use more than 6 amp channels on high quality, you might have to increase the latency.

HyBrit Head has no preset section and no cabinet emulation. On the plus side, it is not an astronomical resource-consuming plugin, but it also has all parameters automatable, which means you can save presets to your DAW directly.

If you need a good IR loader, we recommend using LeCab2 also from LePou because, besides being free, it doesn’t consume many resources.

If you want to achieve that British amp roar, it would be a good idea to use the Contour knob and play with the amp’s Mids; setting the contour to 11 o’clock and the Mids to 2 o’clock will give you a present tone and rich in frequencies.

If the pedals you use in parallel with the HyBrit can only run in stereo, or want to record the amp in stereo, you can easily do it using the Routing switch.

LePou HyBrit Head 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 any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check LePou HyBrit Head here.

8. PA FREE bx_rockrack V3 Player

PA FREE bx_rockrack V3 Player offers 26 presets of 8 powerful amplifiers in one plugin.

The folks at Brainworx are among the best regarding accurate amp emulation, and they’ve offered access to plugins that emulate real amps in collaboration with the manufacturers themselves. bx_rockrack V3 Player is a free sample of all of these, and you can find amps like Marshall, Engl, and Mesa Boogie.

This plugin doesn’t give you control over any parameters in the interface; it gives you 26 presets already created, each specific to all genres and amps, and you can only control the Master Output it has.

The best part of this plugin is that you can use good-quality tones with a wide range of styles in a package that doesn’t require any knowledge of tone crafting:

It has an ENGL 530 preamp included and gives you four presets around it. Two of them are Jazz and offer a clean and a crunch, and two give you strictly the channels of the real amp, offering the lead channel and a clean channel.
The Rockrack V3 also has a Marshall JCM 800 2210, with two channels: a clean, very cool for Jazz but also metal, and a crunch channel, the amp’s lead channel.
It also includes a Mesa Boogie 50W Rect-O-Verb; it is meant to provide high gain tones, but it doesn’t have that much power for metal, and if you feel more gain, you can add a distortion pedal in the pre to make it good for metal.
Brainworx has an amplifier designed by Dirk Ulrich and Igor Nembrini, which is meant to deliver distorted tones, only good for metal. It’s called the Metal BX 666, and the moment you turn it on, you’re in for some growling metal mayhem without doing anything else.

Of course, being a plugin that doesn’t let you alter any parameters, it doesn’t let you save your settings. But it does offer 26 presets representing the 8 amps, providing cabinet tones and amps for all styles.

If you feel like changing tone characteristics, we recommend using a separate EQ; that way, you can cut or add frequencies from the overall sound.

If you want to add pre or post-effects, it would be best to look for presets that do not include effects. That way, you can add a distortion in pre and a reverb or delay in post.

PA FREE bx_rockrack V3 Player 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 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 PA FREE bx_rockrack V3 Player User Manual.

You can check PA FREE bx_rockrack V3 Player here.

9. Ignite Amps Emissary V2

This new version of the Ignite Amps Emissary has been recreated from the ground up and delivers brutal tones without compromise.

It comes with two channels: one that offers clean, clean tones that can also have a bit of distortion bite and a brutal lead channel that is meant to cut through any mix. The folks at StlTones say they’ve considered every aspect of the circuit and improved CPU resource consumption.

The interface has an inspiring design makes you play brutal death metal just by looking at that bright red. The amp is split into two channels, each with its own EQ, but also with extra features like LO Mids and Hi Mids of the Lead channel and extra switches like Shape and Deep in the Lead channel. Each channel has a separate Master volume, and Depth and Presence are common.

The best part of this version is the new tone you can pull out; it’s brought in nowadays by the new algorithm implemented, but also the fact that it now consumes fewer resources:

Emissary V2 has an oversampling function, varying between 2x, 4x, and 8x. It adds a much more defined depth to the tone it outputs as you make the algorithm consume more CPU resources.
The Bright switches on both channels give a treble boost; on the clean channel, it adds a glassy, tube-like tone texture that is super cool to experiment with, and on the lead channel, it can be used for low-tuned guitars but also those that want to be thrashy.
Deep Switch adds a bass boost in the Lead channel and is suitable for those with 7-string guitars as it adds extra definition to the low notes.
The Shape Switch is meant to help you tweak the mids, works much the same as the Marshall Contour knob, and helps you get a deeper tone.
With Depth and Presence, you can add extra oomph or room-wide definition. A useful setting would be either 11 o’clock or 2 o’clock.

Emissary V2 comes bundled with a presets section but only gives you a few presets to test and understand the plugin. However, it allows you to save, edit, and arrange the presets.

The plugin doesn’t have a cabinet emulation, but when you download it, they urge you to use their new NadIR IR loader capable of running two cabinets simultaneously and say it offers 0 latency.

The possibility of lifetime tones with this amp is more than possible; it can run in mono/stereo, so don’t worry about compatibility.

A good effects idea would be to use the Emissary V2 with plugins from this list, such as Guitar Rig or Amplitube.

Ignite Amps Emissary 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 any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check Ignite Amps Emissary here.

10. Black Rooster Audio Cypress TT-15

Black Rooster Audio Cypress TT-15 emulates a low-wattage amplifier and offers only six controls.

It offers a whole palette of tones, from a very clean, crunch tone suitable for those who want to have that bite in their tones to distorted lead tones, suitable for solos and rock/metal rhythm parts.

The plugin’s interface offers six controls, three switches for Power, Output, and Cabinet, and the other three knobs refer to Gain, Tone, and Volume. It also has an LED that turns on only when the volume level crosses the 0dBFS threshold.

The most important thing about this plugin is that it emulates every component in the real amp’s circuitry, and the tone is very well modeled:

Gain sets the amount of distortion you want in your sound. The low setting gives clean tones, and when you set it loud, it gives heavy distortion.
Output switch switches between two types of power (7 and 15 watts). These two settings refer to the type of compression it applies, low or aggressive.
Tone refers to the EQ meant to roll off the highs. Setting it to a minimum provides dark tones; you can turn it clockwise if you want bright tones.
Volume refers to the output level, and when you set it to high levels, the power amp will be driven into a soft overdrive region.
The plugin interface can be resized in several sizes, and the knobs can be set between 3 modes (Circular, Relative Circular, and Linear), and these refer to how you increase or change the knob value with the mouse.

The Cypress TT-15 offers only a few presets (around 5), and these offer only a few basic settings. Unfortunately, the plugin does not have a preset section integrated into its interface, and these can be found in the preset tab of your DAW. Of course, Cypress TT-15 has all parameters auto-savable, meaning you can save your settings and, more importantly, change values directly from the mix.

It has auto oversampling that adjusts to your CPU resources and uses a low latency phase linear that automatically adjusts to the sample rate in the session for a more transparent sound.

If you have changed the behavior knob by mistake, we recommend setting it to Host Setting to return to the initial mode.

If you need more distortion, a good idea would be to try adding Amplitube and Guitar Rig to the signal chain. They have overdrives that are only good for this amp.

Black Rooster Audio Cypress TT-15 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 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 Black Rooster Audio Cypress TT-15 User Manual.

You can check Black Rooster Audio Cypress TT-15 here.

11. Nick Crow 8505 Lead

Nick Crow 8505 Lead delivers tones suitable for genres such as rock and metal.

The Nick Crow 8505 Lead emulates the classic Peavey 6505, a tube amplifier. It is often used in the rock scene, having been heard on numerous records and live situations; it copes great in a live context.

The plugin’s interface’s controls are quite accurate if we talk about what the real amp offers, but it offers parameters that only concern one channel. So, you have a Gain knob, EQ controls (Low, Mid, High), a Sweep Knob, a Power Amp knob, and at the end, Volume, which is the final output of the plugin.

The best part of the Nick Crow 8505 Lead is the accuracy that the emulation of the original head provides, but also the tones it has:

It has a switch called HQ, which is meant to provide oversampling. It doesn’t consume too many processing resources, so that anyone can use it.
When it comes to gain, it has two stages that you can control. The Gain knob is meant to set the amount desired by the Pre Amp section, and the Power Amp knob defines the gain applied by the Power Amp.
Volume is intended to set the final volume of the amplifier. A good idea would be to set it around 11-12, and if you need more output, do it from the final channel fader.
In addition to the normal EQ controls, it has a Sweep knob that acts as a Mid-High and somewhat represents the transition between the mids and highs and how they correlate.

Unfortunately, the Nick Crow 8505 Lead doesn’t come with presets, but it has all the parameters automable, which means you can save presets in your DAW.

The plugin does not come bundled with a cabinet emulation section, so you must use an IR loader with your own IRs.

Those coming from the death-metal sphere may need more power. We recommend using a Distortion or Overdrive before the amp. If the amount of distortion gives an unpleasant noise, a good idea would be to use a Noise Gate pedal before the distortion pedal.

Nick Crow 8505 Lead is supported on PC, and the plugin formats in which it is available are 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 Nick Crow 8505 Lead here.

12. Ignite Amps SHB-1

Ignite Amps SHB-1 has a large level of control, providing tones for genres from jazz to extreme metal.

The folks at Ignite Amps are often mentioned regarding their free guitar plugins on the market, which have been used for numerous digital records. The SHB-1 is designed to model Federico Fulceri’s true head, has sounds suitable for metal, jazz, and blues, and the circuitry that the SHB-1 models is as analog as it gets.

The plugin’s interface gives instant access to all amp parameters; on the front of the head, you can play with 4 switches, 3 of which refer to tone-shaping parameters (Deep, Shape, and Bright), but also one that helps you move the amp output from mono/stereo.

Sure, here you can also find controls such as (Bass, Gain, Treble, Balance, Mid, and Volume), and on the rear of the amp are oversampling switches (8x, 4x, 2x) and output and input controls.

The most important part of the SHB-1 is the specific analog tone you can get and also the fact that it collaborates easily with any external plugin:

Shape control allows you to scoop the mids, and with this, you can provide a cool bass feature (a common technique). But be careful how hard you cut the mids because they are important to the bass frequency range.
Output and Input controls represent the signal that the amplifier receives, but also the final signal of the amplifier. For example, you can use the Input as an attenuator (which is sometimes necessary, especially when working with digital amps).
When you want a much better quality of the plugin processing, you can use the oversampling power (up to 8x); this way, your bass tracks have more definition.
The stereo and mono switch can be used in several cases, either when you want to pair the plugin with external pedals or when you want to pair it with IR loaders.
If you want to give a special boost in the bass frequencies, you can use the Deep Switch for a slightly more bassy tone, but when you pair it with the Bright Switch, which boosts the highs, you will get a special tone.

Unfortunately, the plugin does not offer cabinet emulation, but it can be used with the cabinet section of other plugins in the list, or you can pair it with an IR loader.

We recommend using the SHB-1 control automation function, which responds very well with any DAW, so you can mix more easily or create special effects.

The plugin offers a lot of processing power, which can be quite costly on the resources of some older PCs. We recommend using the oversampling function when mixing and giving the DAW a high latency because you might get crackling noises if you are tempted to use it while playing.

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.

13. AXP Flextron DC14

AXP Flextron DC14 is an analog amp emulator based on a hybrid distortion pedal.

AXP designed the Flextron after the distortion pedal it built for itself. It combines two commercial tube technologies from VOX Coltron and Flexwave from Crate; this combination is a bit unusual in the plugins market.

The plugin represents 3 channels of preamp and tube saturation stages. They can be accessed very easily using the three buttons for Clean, Drive, and Lead, and each of them controls 3 amps (90s, 2000 mk 1, and 2000 mk 2). You can alter the tone using Low, Mid, High, Shape, and Gain, and it offers the possibility to change the Tubes, Reverb, Speaker, and put a Limiter on the output.

The best part of the Flextron is the approach it has and also the multitude of parameters let you alter:

It has an oversampling function and offers up to 16x. It can use much processing power, but unfortunately, it might be stressful for some CPUs.
The cabinet section offers two options (in a 1×12 and a 4×12 cabinet), each with an Ambience control intended to work for those who play, especially with headphones.
Flextron offers meters that allow you to view the EQ curve you apply to the tone and the amp bias in real-time.
The plugin offers the option to limit output, which adds a much-needed feature for those who want to keep their output within ideal parameters.
The reverb works as a stereo dual-mode reverb, and the options are Hall and Spring; these are convection-based and algorithmic and can be controlled via the Amount knob.

Flextron offers a pretty rich range of presets; it lets you get to know the plugin and offers tones for most genres. Unfortunately, this section is not integrated into the plugin but uses the presets section in the DAW. However, you can easily save any setting; if you want, you can automate any parameter in the DAW.

We recommend using the x16 oversampling option only when you want to mix your track and have increased the latency in the DAW. Another option would be to render the track with that oversampling and set the plugin to Bypass.

It’s a plugin that offers a large palette of tones suitable for many genres, and if you feel the need to add more effects or more distortion, we recommend using the options in Guitar Rig or Amplitube.

AXP Flextron DC14 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 any purchases makes this one a great deal and worthwhile trying out.

You can check AXP Flextron DC14 here.

Conclusion

They were 13 Best FREE Guitar Amp Plugins 2023 (Amp Sims). They were often used in the guitar world because of the experimental sound they offered, but mostly the convenience they had. These plugins represent a complete signal chain, and if you want to add an element from one and another element from another, it is certainly possible, and we encourage you to do so.

We recommend trying either PA FREE bx_rockrack V3 Player alone, as it has some of the best amp emulators on the list, but it doesn’t offer any input from your side regarding tone-shaping. It remains, however, a good option whether you want to listen to your tracks quickly or use them.

However, the recommendation is to use any head from this top with Guitar Rig Player and Amplitube CS effects. Those effects and the amps will deliver plenty of tones if you want to use them with the other heads on the list.

A good option for metal is to combine them with the Ignite Amps Emissary V2; this one is a tone monster with two channels and delivers the most aggressive on the list. However, the Nick Crow 8505 Lead is no slouch either; it emulates a 6505 very well and has aggressive and tight tones, but the nasty part is that it doesn’t emulate guitar cabinets either, but you can use Guitar Rig or Amplitube for that.

For softer genres, such as blues, jazz, and metal, the AXP Flextron DC14 is a good amp; it relies on an unusual combination of two-tube technologies, making it among the most distinctive of the top.

And if you want the most advanced plugin, which allows you to use a technology that competes with the most expensive digital amps on the market, Neural Amp Modeler. It can sound like anything if you have the right models and IRs. We’re curious to see its direction; we’re sure it will change the market slightly.

We hope this article has helped you find the right solution for your needs, and if you want to follow other topics, we invite you to follow the section below.

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