A lot of the amps that they capture the essence of are unattainable to most, as many are so expensive in real life. Most guitar-specific plugins are designed to emulate the tonal characteristics of a range of iconic amplifiers. You can also hook up a pair of studio monitors to most standard audio interfaces. With an audio interface, you can easily plug in your guitar with a standard jack-to-jack cable and set its input level.

You’ll also require an audio interface a device that connects to your computer via USB or Thunderbolt. You’ll find that most guitar plugins are compatible with these popular software titles as they can support 3rd-party products. DAWs are able to host plugins, of which can be applied to virtual channel strips. Plugins can only be used if you have DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) recording software, like Logic, Cubase or Pro Tools. One of the best things about VST plugins is that they cost just a mere fraction of the prices of their real-life counterparts, which has made recording far more accessible. This technology has grown exponentially, with a VST plugin available for almost any musician’s needs.Īnything from simulations of legendary microphones to treasured SSL preamps are available, and the ability to harness the sounds of desirable musical equipment has never been simpler. VST stands for ‘Virtual Studio Technology’ and refers to audio plugins that use digital signal processing to simulate hardware. Guitar plugins are often classed as ‘VST’ plugins. Let’s take a closer look at how these work and identify some of the key players. Instead of the handful of passable-sounding guitar plugins that were available in the mid-2000s, today there’s loads of different amp and effects plugins out there that are tailored just for us.

That’s because plugins aren’t limited to just imitating traditional studio outboard like compressors, equalisers or reverbs they can emulate guitar amps too.

And as guitarists, we’ve therefore never been more fortunate. Although not entirely phased out, the emergence of software plugins caused a steady decline in the need for studio outboard, as they could emulate real-life equipment in near-authentic detail.įor the last two decades, plugins have allowed musicians to easily record and produce music from just their laptops, usually with excellent results. When the recording industry transitioned from analogue tape mediums to digital software platforms at the turn of the millennia, physical hardware became less essential for music production.

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