Shattered Glass Audio has announced the release of Ace, a freeware virtual tube guitar amplifier in VST/AU plugin format for Windows and Mac based digital audio workstations.
Ace is a faithful digital emulation of a legendary 1950s, American, all tube, tweed, 5W amp. We have added to the model two of the most common amplifier mods: adjustment of the amount of feedback and addition of grid stopper resistors, both of which can be turned off for the original amp sound.
The plugin is an emulation of a Fender amplifier, with nice creamy clean tones suitable for use in indie rock, pop and similar music genres which don’t utilize high gain guitar tones. There are plenty of great sounding freeware guitar amplifiers out there (take a look at the list of my personal favorites), however most of them were created for use in rock and metal.
Ace offers a nice alternative to high gain guitar amp emulations and it’s also relatively quite easy on the CPU, which is definitely a nice bonus. The plugin features a built-in cabinet simulation and two different circuit models (one of which emulates additional grid stopper resistors). This is a must-try for guitar players on a budget!
Several users have reported that the plugin has compatibility issues with the ACE modular synthesizer by U-He. Since the two plugins share the same name, it’s impossible to have them both installed in the same folder. The developer of the Ace guitar amplifier has announced that the issue will be resolved soon, so this plugin will most probably be getting a new name in the next couple of days.
Video Demo
Check out the Ace demo video:
Download
Ace is available for free download via Shattered Glass Audio (1.1 MB download size, EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU plugin format for Windows & Mac).
9 Comments
D. Smolken
onLooks like my kind of amp. Few knobs, supports stereo without needing to run two instances, doesn’t need an external cab plugin.
Are there any bass amps like this – free, simple and not metal?
David
onYea, I like amps like these too. Guitar Amp 2 and Bass Grinder Free have free bass amp setups. I also prefer these simple more balanced setups. Otherwise I am constantly tweaking levels. Some other good, simple non-metal amp setups are Kuassa Amplifikation Lite (The CM edition is way better), California Sun, Doctor Crunch and SoftAmp FM25. But you must compare them, and see what works best with your source.
D. Smolken
onThanks. The one thing I’m missing is a non-metal version of Bass Grinder Free, or a bass version of Amplifikation Lite. Guitar Amp 2 looks quite promising in that regard, will have to test it. Whenever I need an old school bass guitar through amp sound I usually end up using FA3.
Jon
onTry Ignite Amps SHB-1 with Nadir and look up some good bass cab impulses. The impulse makes a huge difference.
Bedroom Producers Blog
onI sometimes use this TSE freebie on bass guitars: http://www.tseaudio.com/software/tseBOD
You can really shape the sound with it and it also responds rather well to different playing styles.
Jon
onOk, try this plugin with Distorque RangeBastard driving it, sounds delicious.
Bedroom Producers Blog
onOh those sound like a great combo, I’ll try that. Thanks for the tip!
Shatterd Glass Audio
onThe issue with name collision between SGA’s Ace and u-he’s ACE is resolved.
Bedroom Producers Blog
onCool, thanks for the update!