Essential free plugins for bedroom guitarists

Our handy guide to the free plugins that are worth every non-existent penny with links to download them

There is only one thing better than getting new gear in life, and that’s getting free gear. That’s why we’re bringing you our list of essential free plugins for bedroom guitarists. Relinquishing your GAS has never been easier.

For many, hearing the word ‘free’ brings with it the connotation that, whatever it is, it’s only free because it’s rubbish. It doesn’t charge because it wouldn’t dare. But, in the plugin world especially, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I’m a Reaper user because it’s free, while my core plugins – Neural DSP amp sims, GGD drums, and Submission Audio’s Djinn Bass 2 – are all premium, paid-for products. But sitting alongside that arsenal is a whole other batch of free plugins which have become a crucial part of my creative process.

So, if you fancy some new, free gear, check out the our list below. For good measure, we’ve included plugins that are directly related to guitar, and other plugins – including VST instruments – that I can’t get enough of.

And a special shout out to the MMA member’s community for offering their suggestions, too.

Amped Roots 2.0

For those who can't afford to shell out on high-end amp sims, ML Sound Lab's Amped Roots 2.0 is a great solution. Offering four amp captures from YouTuber/guitarist Ryan "Fluff" Bruce's collection, there's plenty of drive and grit to keep you entertained. There are no clean amps, but as a good, if not a slightly creepy friend, once told me: Where we're going, we don't need cleans.

There are two EVH amps, including a 5150, a Mesa Boogie, and a Friedman with tweakable, in-built IRs and the ability to load in your own. Beyond that, there are a host of pedals – noise gate, compressor, drive, chorus, delay, and reverb – thrown in for good measure, meaning this can very much be a one-stop suite for many players.

Or, if you've never used an amp sim, this is a great place to start because it's user-friendly and there's no financial risk.

Check ML Sound Lab to get yours.

neurontube: debut

Similar to Amped Roots 2.0, Audio Singularity has created an all-inclusive amp and pedalboard suite with nuerontube, but this time it’s modelling a Soldano SLO100 tube amp. That means players can expect “the insane roar of American high gain, British clean bliss, and edge-of-breakup tones,” which are supplemented by three cab sims of Marshall and Laney builds.

There are also five virtual stompboxes to virtually stomp on. Experiment with a compressor, overdrive/fuzz, chorus, delay, and a reverb with a handy pre/post switch. There's plenty to muck about with, without having to dip into your pigg bank.

The neurontube tangie, meanwhile, does very much the same but with an Orange amp model at its core.

Head to Audio Singularity for all the details.

TSE Audio – TSE808

Let's not beat around the bush. This is a free-to-download copy of Ibanez's infamous "Green Scream" TS808 tube screamer, adored by everyone from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kirk Hammett, and John Mayer to that guy down the pub who tells everyone that tone is in the pedals, not the hands. Its controls mimic the Ibanez, with Drive, Tone, and Volume dials, and it's great for giving your tone a massive kick up the arse, and/or tightening your attack.

Check out John Browne's guide to dialling in metal tones for tips how to use an overdrive/boost pedal, and head to TSE Audio to bag your own digital screamer.

Audiority – Dr Drive

Speaking of overdrives, Audiority’s Dr Drive represents a more future-minded alternative, designed for modern metal guitarists. Modelled of Misha Mansoor's Horizon Devices Precision Overdrive, many users have seen it as good enough to rival the real thing. And it's free, and digital, primed for use on DAWs.

With controls for Attack, Level, Bright, and Drive, it's like-for-like from the pedal proper, with one friend telling me “I've used the real pedal almost exclusively in my signal chain for the past 5 years and Dr Drive is near identical.” 

That makes it a handy weapon to put at the start of your virtual signal on future demos. 

See Audiority for more.

Slate – Fresh Air

This swish-looking plugin is designed to breathe fresh air into your mixes via some choice EQ tweaks. “Add the smoothest high end you’ve ever heard without even a hint of harshness,” its makers say.

A dynamic high-frequency processor that operates with just two knobs – Mid-Air and High-Air – the plugin is a powerful tool for boosting the upper mids/highs of an instrument without making it sound ear-gratingly harsh. It’s especially handy for super low-tuned guitars, helping them gain a bit more clarity and balance without the negative side effects that can have.

Visit Slate Digital to check it out. 

Valhalla – Super Massive

A plugin that is becoming a cult favourite secret weapon in the thall and metalcore community's, Valhalla's Super Massive is a delay reverb plugin that well and truly lives up to its name.

There are 21 “out-of-this-world” modes to play with, with varying parameters for its attack, delay, and density, and it's very easy to use. The plugin is self-documenting, meaning that when you hover over a control, a little guide to what it does pops up, to save you blinding twisting things and hoping for the best. 

Most of the time, the presets will only need minor tweaking anyway. Sagittarius is a personal favourite.

Check out Valhalla to get yours.

Spitfire Audio – BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover

A free plugin that samples the BBC's symphony orchestra that’s primed for adding some cinematic grandeur to your songs? Yes please. There is a bigger paid-for version, but ...Discover offers a huge amount for absolutely nothing. Horns, violins of various types including long and pizzicato, celli and a host of brass and woodwind sounds make up its 33-strong collection of instruments. Connor Caminski swears by the full paid-for version and it’s insane amount of instrument articulations.

It's a really handy tool for sprinkling a little extra sauce into your music, and by far the best quality orchestra plugin that isn't locked behind a paywall.

Visit Spitfire Audio to get conducting.

Freakshow Industries – Backmask & Dumpster Fire

I came across this company when looking, very specifically, for a reverse delay. Backmask – which you can choose to ‘steal’ if you don’t want to pay its meagre $20 asking price – proved everything I needed. With a host of, admittedly slightly confusing, controls, it doesn’t take long (via trial and error) to make hellish soundscapes.

As its oddball creators say, “Backmask uses government-approved paradox processing technologies to expose the hidden terrors of music,” and boy does it. You can hear Backmask in my band’s track, Phantom Force, with the drum fills reversed in the bridge for a weird, ghostly effect.

Dumpster Fire, meanwhile, turns everything to shit, and it’s great. It’s a pitch shifter seemingly forged in Dante’s Inferno, where just the slightest turn of its dial wraps your guitars beyond recognition. It’s dark, unsettling, and a hell of a lot of fun for making nightmarish atmospheres with. 

Head to Freakshow Industries for more.

Special mentions

Xfer Records' OTT compressor is an aggressive multi-band compressor originally aimed at dubstep and electronic artists but has found its place in the metal world with good reason.

TAL's Reverb-4 and Chorus plugins are free and have some wicked presets X check out the Dark Big reverb, which I use all the time.

Melda Production's 37-strong bundle of free plugins, given away to tempt you into buying the plugins proper, intends to be an extension to a DAW's suite of built-in plugins. There are pitch shifters, compressors, reverbs, vibrators, flangers, and pretty much everything you can think of. There's even a metronome. 

You can also get hold of free trails of products from some of our sponsors. Toontrack’s EZ Drummer has a 10 day trail, and you get 14 days to explore Two Notes’ Genome comprehensive tone hub, which we feel can go toe-to-toe with Neural DSP on every count.

Modern Metal Academy free trial

And if you love free stuff, we’re now offering a 14 day free trial of Modern Metal Academy Masters, otherwise £29.99 per month/£299.99 per year.

Our premium package for levelling up your guitar playing in double-quick time. It includes access to all lessons and learning pathways, our members-only community, and the chance to compete in weekly challenges, with some very tasty gear hauls given out to the best entries.  There's also our brand-new video tab player, the opportunity to learn from one-on-one sessions, and plenty more.