Amp Sims reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 171 Reddit reviews across 19 subreddits and 25 posts to rank the best Amp Sims brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/ableton, r/universalaudio, r/GuitarAmps, r/Hardcore, r/audioengineering. Top-rated brands include Neural DSP (4.7/5), ToneX (4.7/5), Fuchs (4.6/5).
Stats
Reviews171
Subreddits19
Posts25
Brands57
Products72
171 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Neural DSP
4.7
(59)
"Helix Native covers everything my Neural plugins (Nolly and Rabea) don't. I use things like feedbacker, octavers and fuzz in front of my Neural plugins, and modulations, delays, reverbs and sustainers after. They really complete eachother."
"Try a better modeller like a neural dsp, tonex, hx stomp, etc."
"Neural DSP’s Tone King Imperial MkII plugin is the gold standard for blackface and tweed tones."
"Neural Amp Modeler. Small in size, few options to screw up the sound with, you can download pretty much any amp you can think of, and it's free."
"Good ones I tried: Neural DSP: Archetype Tim Henson (3rd amp)"
"Kempers and the stock models in the quad cortex. I've owned actual JCM800s and both of those, and they are incredible models."
"Neural DSP Quad Cortex. Is an interface and amp modeler all in one with tons of pedals. You’ll never need to buy anything else."
"NeuralDSP Gojira is based on 5150 I believe. Helix native is awesome and has a million amps but it’s cpu intensive."
"They were totally the best, until I found neural amp modeler."
"Neural dsp. hands down the best amp sims out there"
#2
ToneX
4.7
(6)
"ToneX sims are the only ones that feel real."
"ToneX has the best amp sims. There are some other decent ones out there but nothing at the level of ToneX."
"Tonex for amp sims + other instances of Tonex for dirt in front of a Tonex amp, then FAC apps (chorus, phaser, reverb) and Other Desert Cities delays after."
"It's definitely ToneX now, but the nembrini ones are also pretty good"
"Tonex sounds great."
"Tonex!"
#3
Fuchs
4.6
(5)
"The Fuchs Buxom Betty and Tweed are all great."
"Buxom Betty has beautiful cleans and lovely breakup."
"I love the PT100 and the Fuchs ODS 50."
"I really like the Fuchs Train."
"I like the Buxom Betty. The default settings are pretty gain-y but it cleans up nice."
#4
Simplifier
4.2
(5)
"I just picked one up for $120 and it is sweeeeeet"
"The Simplifier MKII - The original is still good but they made some updates in the mkii that are really nice."
"At some point i would like to get the MKII."
"If you can get an original for cheap you really can't go wrong."
"Maybe the Simplifier amp pedals could work as well?"
#5
Amplitube
4.2
(5)
"Get Amplitube 5 Pro. It's easy to use, insanely versatile, and very generous in price. Also you can download user made presets."
"Best free one I've tried is Amplitube 5 CS. It's pretty flexible."
"I personally like AmpliTube 5 and Helix Native."
"Amplitude came next for me and also very complete set."
"I recommend you instead getting reaper that is free and buying an amp sim like amplitube or BIAS FX"
#6
Neural Amp Modeler
5.0
(4)
"Neural amp modeler. download NAM universal; it uses the same technology as neural amp modeler but comes with a tuner, two capture slots and a cab loader."
"Check out NAM universal by wavemind. It's free and so light it can run on a Raspberry Pi."
"Neural amp modeler associated with tonehunt.org to download head simulations and IRs. And it's free"
"Try neural amp modeler, there’s a bunch of great 800 captures on tonehunt.org"
#7
Overloud
4.0
(5)
"You can check Overloud TH-U for iOS. It has midi support and sounds better then everything I tried before."
"Try th-u. Everyone's always going on about neural this neural that. Yes it's great but you can get amp profiles that sound amazing on th-u rig player."
"Look at Overloud’s TH3."
"I personally use Overloud THU rig player for the amp, with Nembrini effects, chained together in AUM."
"Overloud THU and Tonebridge are a couple other decent AUv3 options."
#8
Bias FX
4.5
(4)
"Bias FX is the best amp sim"
"I recommend you instead getting reaper that is free and buying an amp sim like amplitube or BIAS FX"
"BiasFX 2 is pretty similar to Amplitube layout wise."
"I’ve only used BiasFX2. So I’m not sure if there’s anything better but it’s been decent for the songs I write."
#9
Line6
4.5
(4)
"Helix has a bit of a learning curve, but the sub is amazing at helping you through it."
"I'll head that way - get an hx stomp and monitors."
"Helix native is also worthwhile if you can't get the program for less. There are lots of good guitar and bass amps, lots of effects and the program is constantly being expanded. The CPU requirement is very low, which is also great."
"Helix Native is pretty great and you get a hefty discount if you purchase a physical Helix unit"
#10
STL
4.0
(4)
"Stl amphub"
"STL amp hub. You pay a subscription fee once a year but you get access to tons of different guitar/bass amps and pedals."
"I’ve been using STL Tones amphub for a few weeks and it’s been great. Super easy to use and lots of amps, pedals, speakers, and mics."
"Good ones I tried: STL: AmpHub"
#11
Line 6
5.0
(3)
"For a model, the helix 2203 is amazing."
"The 2203 they added to the Helix is apparently insanely accurate"
"I have been very impressed with the new 2203 model they added to the helix. I'm usually grabbing that more often now."
#12
Scuffham
4.7
(3)
"I absolutely recommend it for clean tones."
"It's simpler and more straight to the point than all other sims. It sounds absolutely fantastic."
"I use S Gear, it sounds very good and my pedal board sound super natural with it as well"
#13
STL Tone
4.7
(3)
"STL Tone Hub is very dope. I just recorded demos for my band with it and I got some great tones out of it."
"I usually use something from Will Putney or Taylor Young’s STL tones packs."
"STL amphub for 10 per month. multiple amps multiple pedals"
#14
Marshall
4.7
(3)
"Silver Jubilee is my favourite for proper sounding cleans."
"Marshall Plexi with gain 1 just barely above 0 and gain 2 at 0."
"I have found that the Marshall amps have taken a bit more time to dial in than other amps on there."
#15
Native Instruments
4.0
(3)
"GuitarRig is pretty cool."
"For third party plugins I use Native Instruments' Guitar Rig which works for me."
"Started on NI Guitar rig and honestly it’s great and has so many features."
#16
TH3
5.0
(2)
"I love the TH3 plugin. I started using it for noodling around and have managed to craft some awesome tones."
"The Soldano, JCM, and Tweed amp clones are my favourites."
#17
Ampeg
5.0
(2)
"The Ampeg bass amps are great as well."
"Also the ampeg SVTVR bass amp works great for a thicc clean or bluesy guitar."
#18
Vox
5.0
(2)
"The Ruby has all of that in it."
"I love the Lion."
#19
Audiority
5.0
(2)
"Audiority also makes a plugin called the "Green Reaper," which people overlook because it's "just another Tubescreamer," but theirs is FANTASTIC, it has almost 10 different modes to emulate different modded versions of the pedal."
"The audiority heavy pedal (HM2) and dr drive (precision drive) plugins go very well with the neural stuff"
#20
Bogren Digital
4.5
(2)
"I use Bogren Digital's RevC (Mesa Dual Rec) and the BDH (Peavey 5150) for everything else...metalcore, deathcore, melodeath, black metal."
"RevC AmpKnob from Bogren Digital, sounds great and is plug n play."
#21
Audio Assault
4.5
(2)
"Their 5150 clone is my favorite amp sim."
"Audio Assault Beserker. Only $5"
#22
ML Sound Labs
4.5
(2)
"I use the ML Sound Labs Amped ML800 (Marshall JCM800 ripoff) for hardcore stuff."
"This one is pretty damn good and is built in with an IR loader"
#23
IK Multimedia
4.0
(2)
"I find Amplitube to be a good jack of all trades, but master of none type plugin."
"I really like IK multimedia amplitude. The amp sim and cab sim is great and also includes mic position."
#24
Mixwave
4.0
(2)
"Mixwave Milkman Creamer Series
This looks sick."
"Mixwave Milkman Creamer Series
Just try the free demo and see…"
#25
Two Notes
4.0
(2)
"FWIW i'm now using Genome from two-notes.com - it supports all the NAM models but the interface is just leagues better."
"Two-Notes Genome is possibly better (though not free unless you had any 2notes stuff when it came out)"
#26
Suhr
4.0
(2)
"Someone else also mentioned the PT100 so that’s now on the list too."
"The Buxom Betty and the Suhr SE100/PT100 are good options and they have a fair number of Impulse Responses to choose from built-in."
#27
Universal Audio
4.0
(2)
"I have almost all of the amps sims from UA (except the ENGLs… not my style of music)."
"I used to play UA‘s Fender '55 Tweed Deluxe and the Marshall amps by Softube."
#28
Boss
3.5
(2)
"Would the Boss IR-2 not be right up your street? Certainly streamlined, would be very familiar sound wise"
"I might just look into getting the IR-2"
#29
Black Rooster Audio
5.0
(1)
"Black Rooster - Cypress is fantastic for JCM 800/Overdriven Orange type stuff"
#30
Nembrini
5.0
(1)
"Nembrini has the most dynamic and responsive auv3 effects I’ve found."
#31
Tone King
5.0
(1)
"Yeah I have tone king which is by far my favourite amp sim I’ve tried."
#32
Presonus
4.0
(1)
"I personally use ampire by presonus but almost every artist I know uses neuraldsp with gojira archtype"
#33
ML Sound Lab
4.0
(1)
"Good ones I tried: ML Sound Lab: Amped ML800"
#34
ML Studios
4.0
(1)
"I really like the ML Studios 800 sim on the low input setting and pairing it with a plugin like the Nembrini Audio Big Stuff"
#35
GeLabs
4.0
(1)
"GeLabs is pretty damn good. Think it's capable of doing amp tone capture kinda like a kemper"
#36
Tone Stack Pro
4.0
(1)
"I use Tone Stack Pro with the full unlock IAP and it’s pretty sweet."
#37
Ignite Emissary
4.0
(1)
"If you want a more traditional “amp sim” then try the Ignite Emissary one."
#38
Bias FX 2
4.0
(1)
"Bias FX 2 does both things. It's not quite as good in sound and handling as Neural DSP, but it's still really good."
#39
Logic
4.0
(1)
"I have used the twin reverb clone in logic and GarageBand for years."
#40
Mercuriall
4.0
(1)
"I do like mercuriall ss-11x though, especially for its price (~20usd on sale)."
#41
Ignite Amps
4.0
(1)
"Ignite Amps NadIR 2 and pair that one up with a preamp in front"
#42
Softube
4.0
(1)
"I used to play UA‘s Fender '55 Tweed Deluxe and the Marshall amps by Softube."
#43
Headrush
4.0
(1)
"Simpler options to use and came across Headrush-MX5 And Zoom G6. Both have a touchscreen."
#44
Lost in 70's
4.0
(1)
"Lost in 70's bass deluxe vst is very good."
#45
TSE
4.0
(1)
"TSE BOD V3 is just about idiot-proof."
#46
Revalver
4.0
(1)
"I own revalver, which has a lot of headrush models in it too, and sound wise they're fine."
#47
Deathwestern
4.0
(1)
"Deathwestern plugin (from Sam Pura) and it’s a great sounding 5150"
#48
Tonocracy
4.0
(1)
"Tonocracy is great and free"
#49
ToneX by IK Multimedia
4.0
(1)
"I’ve been happy recently with TONEX by IKMultimedia."
#50
Kemper
4.0
(1)
"If you want hardware that just works, and sounds great, maybe a Kemper."
#51
Dumble Tribute
4.0
(1)
"Had no idea they had a dumble tribute. Will definitely check that out."
#52
Neve
4.0
(1)
"Instead of a guitar amp plugin I put sth. like the Neve or API preamp in the unison slot."
#53
API
4.0
(1)
"Instead of a guitar amp plugin I put sth. like the Neve or API preamp in the unison slot."
#54
NUX
3.0
(1)
"NUX amp academy, but I dont think that has all the features you are after."
#55
Tone Stack
3.0
(1)
"Tone Stack comes has interesting tones but it's cheaper than Overloud and Tone X, which I have more authentic amplifier and pedal tones."
#56
Nembrini Audio
3.0
(1)
"Be sure to check Nembrini Audio on the Apple store"
#57
Fender
3.0
(1)
"The Fender Tweed amp sim is loved by many, I just don't like the lack of headroom and when it breaks up, it sounds like a tweed and that is not a good sound to my ears."
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