Last Updated on December 17, 2020 by
Free Bass Amp Simulators are really hard to find. There are some, but most of them are terrible.
The bass guitar VST happens to be one of my favorite plugins. In fact, I would argue that a lot of bass guitars you hear in pop music today, have some sort of bass guitar VST blended in the mix. Today we are going to be taking an in-depth look at the current best bass guitar VSTs available. Synthesized bass is common in pop, electronic, and rap music. On the other hand, guitar bass are faithful real-instrument emulators for those who want to easily have access to realistic bass sounds. Given the success of bass plug-ins, it shouldn’t be surprising that the market is swarmed with bass VST plugins. From my experience learning bass and my love of amps sims. I have taken the time to construct this roundup post of the best amps simulators that are more tailored towards the bass players in 2019. Plugin: (A programme application that can open within a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to enhance audio-related functionality.). The best bass library I've tried. It's not only the instant, sheer playability, but also the fact that it has various nuances, slides, which I love using, as well as a rather customisable sound. I've used it in all sorts of projects, from ads to computer games, and it always supports the gig fully!
Bass Line 3 $95/£91. Roland’s iconic TB-303 is available once again in hardware thanks to Roland’s TB-03 reissue, but there’s still a place for Audiorealism’s Bass Line VST. 5 Best Double Bass VST Plugins EVER! Bass instruments come in all shapes and forms, but the “mother of all basses” is the classic double bass, also called upright bass, and often referred to as jazz bass. The original NI Massive was arguably the best best VST plugin soft synth on the market for many years. With MASSIVE X, it’s newest version, you can expect some improvement on the industry standard. They have over 170 wavetable options available. And the plugin gives you two different oscillators so you can layer your sound within the plugin.
So, in order to save you some time, since I already did some research on the topic, I’m going to share the ones I found that I think are worth trying.
I will also be including a Cabinet simulator at the end which will enhance the sound you can get quite a bit, especially for the plugins that only work as a preamp.
Free Cabinet: NadIR by Ignite Amps
Modelled after the Gallien-Krueger MB150 amp, the GK Amplification 2 LE can be used as a standalone application or as a VST/AAX/AU plugin.
It is the light version of the GK Amplification 2 Pro, which means that it only includes a single amp model with a single speaker and mic option compared to the full version which has more.
GK Amplification 2 LE includes all the functions and all controls of the original amp.
The great thing is that it can be used for recording in the studio or at home, for band practice, or even live performances since the delay isn’t noticeable.
It is available both for Windows and Mac OS.
Here’s the link to the official website.
Related: If you’re in need of better-sounding Bass VST plugins, then check out this post I wrote about the best Premium ones.
The SHB-1 is based on the real SHB-1 Extreme Bass Head which is a custom-built amp designed for the bass player of the band “Subhuman”.
Just like the previous amp on this list, the SHB-1 can be used for practice, recording and also for live performances.
This amp sim can do anything, from thick bass tones, to very tight funky sounds, all the way to heavy metal distorted sounds.
It works both on Windows and Mac OS.
You can download it here.
Related: Here’s a list of the best FREE Guitar VST Plugins that sound great!
The TSE B.O.D. is a digital replica of the SansAmp Bass Driver DI pedal, which is a very popular bass preamp DI box with distortion, presence, and EQ controls.
This is a very simple plugin which works great and doesn’t really use much CPU power.
The free plugin is available in VST, AU, and AAX formats, with support for both 64 and 32 bit.
You can download it here.
Amplitube is a standalone program, which means that you can run it on its own without the need of a DAW.
It’s also available, however, as a plugin for VST/AU/AXX format.
It is primarily a Guitar amp simulation program, since most amps and effects you get are geared towards guitar sounds, however it also comes with a bass amp simulation which sounds quite good.
One of the features of the Custom Shop is the ability for you to “try before you buy” individual pieces of gear. You can demo fully working gear for a period of 72 hours.
You basically get a Free version of AmpliTube 4 with 24 models including a digital chromatic tuner, 9 stomps, 4 amps, 5 cabs, 3 mics, 2 rack effects.
If you’d then like to add more effects you can simply purchase them directly from the app itself.
Here’s the official Website.
If you’re also interested in Free Drum VST Plugins, make sure to read this article I wrote on that topic!
This must be one of the simplest plugins out there.
It comes with two amplifiers and three cabinets, nothing more.
It’s incredibly easy to use thanks to the simplicity of the controls.
Available in VST/AU/RTAS/AAX for Windows and Mac OS.
You can download it here.
Related: I love free plugins, so I put together a list of the best Free Synth VST Plugins out there which you can check out here,
This Bass Preamp is an analog tube bass preamp effect plug-in which is really simple to use, sounds great and you get the cab-emulation built into it which is great since you can activate and de-activate it whenever you want.
If you don’t want to use the built in cab emulation simply add the one I recommend at the end of this list.
You can download it here.
Here’s a list of two affordable and high-quality audio interfaces which will allow you to get a better bass sound.
NadIR is a zero latency, dual Impulse Response convolver, designed to be used as a cabinet simulator for guitar and bass (pre)amplifiers.
In this video you hear how the guitar tone changes drastically. Same thing happens to the bass tones.
It has been designed to perform extreme quality convolution in real time, while being light on the CPU and easy to use, providing advanced built-in filters and delay controls to let guitarists and bassists shape their tone with ease, without the need to be professional audio engineers.
NadIR is meant to be used as a cabinet simulator for live playing and jamming, tracking or mixing inside hosts capable of VST or AU Plug-Ins support.
Here’s a link to the official Website.
Well, even though you could just go by ear and learn by simply listening to what’s happening, which definitely isn’t bad, there’s a way to fast-track your progress and learn how to properly mix a bass guitar in no time.
There are a couple courses out there which teach you this, but this one I found is excellent and super affordable, so make sure to give it a try.
Finding free bass amp VST’s is already hard, but finding good ones is REALLY hard.
The two I liked the most are GK Amplification 2 LE and Ignite Amps SHB-1 simply because of their overall sound quality.
Adding the NadIR free cabinet to the chain can also do wonders for your tone. Just try them all out, since they are free, and see which ones you like the most.
Have a wonderful day!
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Do you need to add a killer bass track to your new song but don’t have a bass guitar?
Or maybe you do play bass but don’t want to go through the headache of recording your own guitar?
These are just a few examples of where bass guitar software can come in handy. With high quality bass sounds at your fingertips, you can easily transform any song from mediocre into a sonic masterpiece.
The problem is that there are so many bass plugins out there and most sound very digital or are aimed more at electronic music. Replicating a real bass guitar is a tricky thing but luckily there are some great solutions.
Let’s take a look at my favorite options out there and help you find the best bass guitar VST plugins.
Short on time? IK Multimedia's MODO Bass is my number 1 choice for best bass guitar VST for its amazingly natural sound and tweaking options.
After being in development for 8 years in collaboration with one of Europe’s oldest universities, MODO Bass is at the very top of the list when it comes to a virtual instrument for electric bass.
Virtual instruments are usually sample-based which means that when you trigger the sound it will play the sample. The problem with this is that the sounds tend to lack that “human” touch, and they can start to sound artificial.
IK Multimedia alleviates this problem all together by creating a brand new technology that models the entire process of playing a bass and the sound that comes out. MODO Bass utilizes modal synthesis technology to model each string as a nonlinear resonator.
Once you select from one of the 14 different bass guitar models, you start by selecting your play style. With finger style you can select which fingers you play with and how much force each will use. Select slap style and every stroke will sound different - just like a real bassist.
If you select pick style you can even select the thickness of the pick and whether you will use downpicking or alternate strokes. You can even apply muting to the strings and have complete control over every aspect of it.
In addition to all this you can specify where on the strings you play. Just like on a real bass, playing near the bridge provides a more pronounced upper frequency tone, and playing closer to the neck results in a more round tone.
Next up you will select your strings.
First the number of strings and the tuning, and then what gauge they are, the age of the strings, scale length, action, and much more.
They really have thought of everything here and every attribute contributes to the final sound in an organic and realistic way.
The electronics section is where you will select the best pickup from the 24 different models and configure the wiring of the bass. You can experiment with up to 2 pickups on each bass, their position, and frequency response parameters.
Switch the electronics from passive to active and you’ll get access to a whole new EQ parameter so you can fine tune your tone.
They didn’t stop just there though.
You’ll have complete control over the signal chain and get to add in any of the 7 stomp box effects including Octaver, Distortion, Chorus, Compressor, Delay, Envelope Filter and Graphic EQ.
Using IK’s advanced non-linear modeling technology, the pedalboard not only provides ultra accurate modeling of the desired effect, but also models the interactions of the effects pedal with the others giving you a realism not found in any other software package.
Lastly, choose your amp and you’ll of course get access to all of the functions you’ll need like EQ, gain structure, and tons of other fine-tuning options.
Overall, MODO Bass is an outstanding plugin and probably the best out there for what it does. The sounds and subtle nuances are so realistic you’ll be convinced that you recorded a real bass.
If you can't record your own bass and if you are looking for a virtually modeled bass guitar that sounds very realistic with control over pretty much every aspect imaginable, this definitely gets my vote for best bass guitar VST.
Having first appeared in 2010, Trilian is still one of the most well known and highly regarded bass VST’s available.
It comes with a massive 34 GB library filled with electronic, acoustic guitars, synthesized, and experimental bass sounds.
Selecting your bass is easy - just go to the browser and sort by category, type, model, or technique. On the main page you’ll find the most useful settings for the bass like compressor settings, EQ, and mix settings.
If you crave more control you can go into a deeper edit menu to control modulation, soundsource, filter, envelope, LFO’s, and you can even add a 2nd layer to create a more complex sound if needed.
On the FX page you get access to over 30 original effects like gates, phasers, compressors, delays, and reverbs. Each one is in rack form so you can easily adjust all the settings with the knobs in the interface.
The arpeggiator is the last section where you get 32 total steps, and you’ll have access to a variety of modes, triggers, and clock signatures. You can also drag MIDI files into the program to have them played back using whichever instrument you want.
Where Trilian really shines is with its acoustic and synth bass sounds. It’s one of the very few plugins on the market that allows you to play a very realistic sounding double bass, and it’s certainly the best.
Although the program has aged quite a bit, the sounds have definitely stood the test of time and continue to shine.
Scarbee Bass is a virtual instrument that is powered by Kontakt, a VST plugin.
Kontakt 5 Player is free and luckily the Scarbee Bass plugins can be used by it, although you will have to purchase each individual bass guitar model you want for between $69 and $99.
These models include the Rickenbacker Bass, Jay-Bass, Pre-Bass, Pre-Bass Amped, MM-Bass, and MM-Bass amped.
Although it’s not necessary, you can upgrade to the full version of Kontakt which will allow you to arrange, edit, loop, slice, and time-stretch samples using seven playback modes. Plus, it will give you access to 84 different effects and 43 GB of high-quality samples to use in your mix.
Thomas Hansen Skarbye is a sampling expert who has developed a large majority of the instrument packages available over Native Instruments.
Let’s take the Scarbee Jay-Bass package for example which is an authentic rendition of the legendary Fender Jazz Bass.
It recreates all the sonic intricacies of the Jazz Bass in both slapped and fingered playing styles, delivering a huge variety of tones suitable for almost every genre. All four strings of the original instrument have been sampled in nine different velocities, resulting in over 4,000 individual studio-grade samples.
The sounds were recorded through a DI to retain the distinctive original character of the instrument, using round-wound strings for a bright and punchy sound.
There are also profiles for various genres, including EQ and effects controls, which allow musicians and producers the ability to further customize the sound and behavior of Jay-Bass to fit the musical context.
There’s a unique scripting feature inside of Kontakt that allows for many subtle nuances to come through. Things like harmonics, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and fret noises are automatically triggered and add a distinctly human element to the playing.
The Rickenbacker Bass is one of my favorites, and it sounds incredible. It’s the first Scarbee bass to be played with a pick and it captures all the crisp and defined midrange of the iconic Rickenbacker 4003 guitar which has been captured on many top-selling rock albums.
A Kontakt effects chain then adds a Jump amplifier from Guitar Rig, a tape saturator, EQ, and compressor for an unrivaled tone.
If you know exactly what kind of electric bass you want in your mix and don’t need all the frills and hundreds of other options, Scarbee bass plugins will be the best bass guitar VST option for you.
Just like Scarbee Bass above, the Ilya Efimov bass plugins require Kontakt in order to be used, although you will need the full version to support these bass sounds.
The company was founded in 2010 by Ilya Efimov - a well known composer, songwriter, producer, and jazz pianist from Russia. While he continues to work on major motion picture films, Ilya is currently focused on sample library creation.
For around $100 for each instrument, you can purchase a Rock Bass, Modern Bass, Classic Bass, Fretless Bass, and Retro Bass.
If we take for example the Classic Bass, it is modeled after the Fender Precision Bass Guitar`72 release. They recorded 12 dynamic layers for each fret on each string with various playing techniques and articulations.
With fingered, slap, palm-mute and additional articulations, you can quickly edit your MIDI notes or play in real time while a sophisticated algorithm runs in the background to add in the subtle nuances in playing.
For the convenience of composer and arrangers, several Legato modes, Open String mode, Chord Detection mode and an X-note mode have been added.
The bass sounds here are very natural. The only downside is the required purchase of the full Kontakt software which can be a little expensive, but if you already have it then the Ilya Efimov bass plugins are well worth a look.
Ample Bass is an AU, VST, AAX or RTAS host application that also comes with a stand-alone plugin. Free filter sweep vst.
Just like Scarbee and Ilya Efimov basses listed above, you will buy each individual bass instrument you want to use, and they run from between $119 and $169 each.
Some of the options available are Metal Ray5, Bass Upright II, Bass Acoustic II, Bass Yinyang II, Bass J II, Bass P II, along with some extension libraries for things like funk variations or picking style instead of the default fingerstyle.
I’m absolutely in love with all the bass sounds here, especially the upright, acoustic, and Yinyang basses.
Articulations are numerous here and include things like sustain, palm mute, natural harmonics, hammer-ons, pull-offs, legato slides, pops, slaps, taps, dead notes, and many others.
The string roll editor shows all your fingering, articulation, expression, and playing noise. Here you can easily adjust things like velocity, vibrato, legato, and so on.
One nifty feature is the random riff generator which will create a brand new lick for you based on analyzing different musical scores. The results here are very convincing and don’t just sound like a random mashup of notes.
Using the tab player you can load in many formats of guitar and bass tabulature which will then be played back using your bass sound. It supports all the fingering, looping, chords, articulations and other markers in the loaded tablature.
All in all it’s a fantastic bass VST and you don’t need any other expensive software just to run it which is a huge plus.
As you can see, each of these plugins brings their own special sauce to the table and they all have great sounds.
Which one is best for you though?
If you are looking for the newest, absolute best, most well-rounded bass guitar software with endless tweaking options, IK Multimedia MODO Bass is for you. It will produce the most natural and realistic sounding tones, and you’ll be able to dig deep into the guts of the guitar to fine tune it to your exact specifications.
If you want a huge time-tested library filled to the bring with great electric, acoustic, and synth bass sounds, Trilian is worth a look.
When you know exactly what kind of bass you want in your mix and don’t need tons of options for tweaking the sound, definitely check out Ilya Efimov, Scarbee, and Ample Bass. Take a listen through the bass sample sounds online and see if one speaks to you.
Ample Bass has a leg up on the others I think for the fact that it has acoustic bass, double bass, standalone software, and a tab player, but if you find a bass sound you like in the other packages you really can’t go wrong.
Good luck!