Country isn’t the first genre that comes to mind when it comes to amp sims and for most country guitarists, amp sims aren’t exactly a go-to. The clean tone side of the amp sim industry took more time to develop proper authenticity, warmth and presence so it’s not a wonder why country, blues and jazz players took their time to come around. For years, the only plugin that could do clean tones with real life was Scuffham S-Gear but there was literally no selection for realistic tones for anything outside of metal and rock.
The stigma that amp sims cannot do clean tones does come from some substance but the new generation of amp sims has changed the game. These days, guitarists searching for plugins and impulse responses to nail down killer tones for blues, jazz, modern / traditional country, southern rock and other relatable genres have a lot to choose from.
From delicious twang to the smoothest jazz, we chose our favorites currently available!
- Endless tone possibilities for an endless amount of genres / styles
- Better suited for intermediate or experienced plugin users
BRAINWORX FUCHS OVERDRIVE SUPREME 50
- Fully-licensed by boutique amp builder; Fuchs Audio
- Fuchs’ homage to the Dumble Overdrive Special
BRAINWORX FUCHS TRAIN II
- Fully-licensed by the original builder; Fuchs Audio
- Fuchs’ own Trainwreck-style amp
- The most authentic and realistic Fender Bassman plugin on the market
- Looks, sounds and plays with tons of warmth and character
- Based on the famous Soldano X88R
- Requires the Ignite TPA-1 power amp plugin (also free) and an IR loader
KUASSA AMPLIFIKATION MATCHLOCK
- Includes three Fender amps with two channels per amp
- One of the best clean-focused amp sims on the market
- Jam packed full of some of the best gear ever made for any style of guitar or bass
- FREE updates that add even more gear to the already loaded list
- The best plugin dedicated to the Soldano SLO100
- The clean / crunch channel is a haven of clean tones to rock rhythms
NEURAL DSP ARCHETYPE CORY WONG
- Includes three very unique and original amps plus a nice selection of pedals
- Everything needed to create incredible cleans, driven cleans and low to medium gain rock
- OD1 might be high gain but the Clean and OD2 channels are ideal for many different genres
- One of the most versatile and high quality single-amp plugins made to date
- Fender, Vox, Brunetti, DV and a lot more
- Tons of pedals and other components for almost any style of playing.
- Long praised and well loved for it’s warm vintage tones
- Amps based on products from Fender, Marshall, Soldano and more
- Windows-only and an older plugin but it can really produce some great tones
- Based on a small Fender combo amp
- A wonderful take on a Fender Twin
- Provides some of the most authentic Fender tones on the market and does so at a low price
- The all access pack includes very nice VOX, Fender and Marshall options + a ton more
- Great for literally any genre or style of electric guitar
STL TONES TONALITY HOWARD BENSON
- 5 amps of pure vintage heaven from Bogner, Fender, Marshall, Wizard and more
- Currently the only amp sim that models a Wizard amp
