Best Guitar Amp Simulator Hardware (Jan 2023 Update)

I imagine a lot of guys are like me. They can't practice at home at gig levels. This Rock Bug lets me do just that. I can practice at gig levels. Plus, I can take it anywhere. That's what I bought it for!!Uncle Dude

The Rock Bug sounded like a very promising addition to my pedal board so I could stop dragging an amp back and forth to gigs. However, it was so noisy that the sound guy had to cut my 10-15kHz by -12db just to make it tolerable.This does not and can not replace an amp. You are better off getting a cheap combo amp with a direct out or invest 10 times more to get a full multi-effects modeling processor.Winzlo-CSa5U

9 effects in line plus the integrated booster, a Z expression pedal that allows you to put a left-right effect and another one in the up-down position. The best amps simulators i've tried. Excellent heavy-solid construction, 4 integrated screens that give you the opportunity to switch on and off the effects selected… balance out output to give you a full wave audio (left and right together). Awesome multi-effect!!!edwardochoa

This Effect Pedal ROCKS!! It is NOT to hard to learn, Its Quite Easy. i LOVE the "Effect Pedal Pictures" on screen, That alone is what sold me! 🙂 You Will Scroll Left & Right To SEE ALL "9" Of the Effect Pedals Your Useing For Any Givin Patch. The 3-Controls & 3-Buttons Under every Screen, is ALL you need to Adjust THAT Single Effect Your Looking At On THAT Screen! Pure Simplicity! This Pedal gives you Awesome Patches to start With! ZOOM Dont Mess Around! They Give you ALL You Need To Start Right Out Of The Box! Plug it in, & Thats IT! Your ROCK"N From The Start!! I Cannot tell you anymore, or i Will Be Banned! =) Keep On Rock'n Everyone!! 🙂world_guitar_quest

I purchased this unit to eliminate numerous stomp boxes and/or a rack with a PSA1. I do many fly out dates and needed a compact all in one pedal FX unit that sounds great through a PA. I found very good sounds within just a few minutes. I don't use many of the FX that are included. I play in an 80s rock tribute and need good drive and clean sounds with delay, reverb, chorus. Two complaints at this time are the pedalboard switches are way too close to the adjustment knobs. If you don't take your time when stepping on the switch, you'll hit those knobs when switching channels. It is such an issue for me that I'm fabricating a knob guard. There is no XLR output. This would be very helpful, but I have a good DI Box that works great allowing me to send an XLR to the sound man and a 1/4" to my in-ears mixer….. My other guitarist has a AxeFX unit. Obviously his is far more capable but for live performances through the PA his doesn't sound $1100 better than this Zoom unit. So for a good live sound on a budget I highly recommend the Zoom….lanesuzza

I bought one for my live rig and one for my home rig. The live rig one works well however the home rig one died. When it works it works well but the lightly used of the two didn't hold up.Joe

I have used countless pedals in my time and I can recommend a few brilliant ones But I have to say this is a revelation!! Its the best most versatile pedal I have ever used and the combinations are exceptional and incredibly authentic. The sampling used to produce the various guitar microphone cabinet simulation are. Truly exceptional and for this kind of money you would never need another guitar pedal and you can eliminate dozens of pedals on your board one good amp and you have almost every combination of different amps and setting you will ever need I have it going through a pre amp and doesnt matter if you run it into an amp or a desk it has every amp etc you could ever wish for at a click INCREDIBLE !! I couldnt recommend this more highly !!!!!gordont5861

If you are looking for a good practice amp modeler that is compact and has quite an array of effects and amps than the Pocket Pod should do the trick. I gig regularly and felt the Pocket Pod would be ideal for gigs where I didn't want to haul my tube amp around. Sound wise I'm not disappointed in hooking my pocket pod up to a sound board. However, where this product ultimately fails is there is NO On/Off switch! To activate the pod you plug your guitar directly into the input jack and it comes on. Once on you pretty much have to leave the guitar plugged in for your entire set or risk getting a loud pop through the PA system. And leaving the pod plugged in makes the pod get very warm and drains your batteries. I have a circuit breaker guitar cable so I can switch guitars without getting the dreaded pop in the PA system. I'm sure the people at Line 6 cut out the On/Off feature to save room. But I've never seen any piece of equipment that can't be turned off with a button. Satisfactory sounds but more headaches than it's worth for gigging musicians.O'neil Blues

Its great i love how it has all kinds of sffects and i can use both my guitar and phone as i play along. Great for portable playing so i dont have to bring the big head amp everywhere i want to take my guitar. Also the battery life is amazing if there's a new version of this i would so buy it.Hector

I've been looking awhile for a Zoom G3x, with the The Shadows patches because they are very good. Its a well made metal bodied unit , pretty easy to use when you study the manual . It can connect to your laptop or PC using USB type B to Type A cable. which enables you to update the firmware, and play your backing tracks. If you download Edit and Share from Zoom ,this enables you to alter, swap and change patch positions. Very handy having a volume pedal, which can be set ,for various effects. I'm very pleased with the Zoom it was a good price ,and sounds fantastic. I recommend it.opaline_04

As a "weekend warrior" gigging musician, I needed a new pedal board to replace my old XTLive POD that finally died after 12 years (also a MF purchase!). Checking reviews, I felt pretty confident ordering it and this thing exceeds my expectations! The phrase "so easy a caveman can do it" comes to mind. I literally received it, set up a bank of effects and played a gig within two hours! My picky soundman even told me at the end of the night "don't ever get rid of that pedal-board, it's your new secret sauce". Already tweaking and adding more patches – thanks MF and ZOOM for such a great product and such an easy purchasing process!Muzik Man

I bought this as an additional pre-amp to others I own in the Joyo line – I wasn't disappointed. Correctly connected (I've found recording guitars direct into my Zoom HD with pre-amps like these works much better if you use an active DI box to convert the signal to balanced and then use a line input rather than the dedicated guitar input) this little amp will shimmer and shine! How close it is to an actual Night Train I couldn't say, but what I can say is this gives a full rich tone with lots of gain options. Full marks to Joyo again, who in my experience make high quality products at an affordable price, meaning people like me can afford to have a good few pedals on hand, rather than breaking the bank on one. Joyo rule!tonym6912

Although this pedal is mainly designed as an amp simulator (direct to PA/mixing desk etc.) it's equally good in front of an actual guitar amplifier. It will lend your amp some of the character of a Night Train. The strength of this pedal is its overdrive. It's got a rich, pleasant "crunch" overdrive, with plenty of touch sensitivity (i.e. responds to how hard you pick). It's well suited to classic rock: I'd say it competes well with pedals that cost a lot more. In terms of build, it's very small (you might not appreciate from the pictures how tiny it is), and sturdily constructed from metal with a thick plastic cover for the controls, which is a nice touch. Overall, at the price this is a surprisingly useful, versatile and great sounding overdrive pedal. I'm really enjoying it.240gldotorg

I bought a Takamine EG523CDX-12 HB, and the TK-40 electronics were too hot to plug directly into my Behringer mixer. So I bought the module primarily for the pre-amp, and it does that admirably. I get a sweet sound through the XLR, rather than the muddy mess I got plugging directly. The pre-amp is passive and doesn't drain the battery. Good inexpensive solution, the sound of the 12 string is very smooth and sweet. But then there's that foot switch. I got lost for well over an hour being a feedback tube monster through the amp. The drivers are very nostalgic and very tuby. A lot of fun for the price. Not sure if I'll ever incorporate it into an act, though it is possible, but it's great fun adding it to the FX of the mixer and amp. I don't think that I'd add it to a multiple pedal lineup, as today's pedals weren't designed for tube amps. But as a base for a straight old style rock sound, it offers a lot for the price in a simple package.Fringewood

This thing sounds terrific but has one major design flaw. For the money? A bargain. I wanted a modular cab simulator to quickly dial in big amp sounds in a small work area. It sounds awesome in and of itself, BUT: you can't turn off the speaker simulation. What this means is that you can't insert an effects loop the way you could in a real preamp before the speaker. Your effects all have to go in front of the GDI21 or after the speaker simulation – NOT in between the way you would with an amp with an effects loop. I suppose it would be a lot cheaper to add a button that turns off the speaker simulation than to install a physical effects send and return jack in a unit like this. It may be a good candidate to try modding! For practical use as is: this is an amp simulator that can be recorded or used as an heavy 2nd virtual speaker for a live setup with a line splitter. I haven't tried recording with it yet, but it sounds pretty sublime through my studio headphones and monitors. You just have to be aware that it has a very different sound if you try to affect it, as all your modulation, time-based effects, etc. will also process the sound of the simulated speaker and mic placement.Eddie

Took a chance and pulled the trigger on this little number for use in my home studio. I wanted something simpler than the pile of multi-effect units i have to reprogram every time i want to put down some tracks. This unit has excellent hi-gain amp emulations and take effects well (compressor, modulation, and echo IN; reverb OUT in the chain), and plugs directly into my tape deck, no muss, no fuss. as I use it for recording purposes, i can't attest to its utility and durability on live gigs: the plastic case might not be up to getting bashed around. For a few bucks more, I can't see how the makers can't put the guts in a tough cast aluminum casing.wrightj2p3g

If you're playing at a small to mid venue and amps are causing too much noise this will help with stage volume. If you're a single guitarist and need to fill the sound space that two guitars can do you can run in stereo with this pedal as well.Todd

Fantastic and realistic modelling in a compact format. Some people have mentioned the presets based approach as fiddly but it's very intuitive. To get the best range out of the natural drive sounds, I recommend adding a transparent boost like a TC spark directly before in the chain It's pricy but worth every penny and allows use of FRFR cab or direct to PA approach.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

I've been looking awhile for a Zoom G3x, with the The Shadows patches because they are very good. Its a well made metal bodied unit , pretty easy to use when you study the manual . It can connect to your laptop or PC using USB type B to Type A cable. which enables you to update the firmware, and play your backing tracks. If you download Edit and Share from Zoom ,this enables you to alter, swap and change patch positions. Very handy having a volume pedal, which can be set ,for various effects. I'm very pleased with the Zoom it was a good price ,and sounds fantastic. I recommend it.opaline_04

As a "weekend warrior" gigging musician, I needed a new pedal board to replace my old XTLive POD that finally died after 12 years (also a MF purchase!). Checking reviews, I felt pretty confident ordering it and this thing exceeds my expectations! The phrase "so easy a caveman can do it" comes to mind. I literally received it, set up a bank of effects and played a gig within two hours! My picky soundman even told me at the end of the night "don't ever get rid of that pedal-board, it's your new secret sauce". Already tweaking and adding more patches – thanks MF and ZOOM for such a great product and such an easy purchasing process!Muzik Man

Recently bought this thing after saving up for months. I pretty much ripped it out of the box, plugged it in, powered it on, went through the very quick and simple setup process, and in minutes it was ready for use. I’ve now had it for a few days and already it has made my life a ton easier. Being a musician that goes on the road a lot, carrying around an amp can be a huge hassle. The Kemper eliminates that hassle, while also maintaining an amazing tone. A few things to keep in mind, though:

1. It doesn’t create an EXACT carbon copy of your amp, but it comes EXTREMELY close, so close in fact that I, having played guitar for around 7 years, can barely tell the difference, and the very microscopic differences there are, are nothing that can’t be ironed out with small tweaking to the EQ, specifically the high end

2. The volume may vary depending on how the venue has their sound system set up, so that’s something to be mindful of. You may switch on and blow eardrums at some places, or you may switch on and barely hear anything in other places, so be mindful of that.

3. You will have an amazing tone, so just be mindful of that as well. Even the stock profiles sound great, but the Kemper is taken to a whole new level once you start using your own profiles, as well as commercially sold profiles, such as the ones from Tone Junkie.

The built in Performance mode also allows for a seamless switch between up to five different rigs at the click of a button, which would be impossible to do using only analog gear.

The Kemper can be a pretty big learning curve, though, especially for people like me, who have used analog gear for years, and were even leery of making the switch to digital at first. But after the initial learning curve and getting familiar with it, I promise you will be glad you made the switch.Brandon Johnson

I bought the 600w version after a ton of research and inner debate. I had solid state rack stuff in the early 90's and hated it. It always had something missing from the tone, it seemed shallow and fake. I turned into a die hard tube guy after that. I pledged never to buy any computer amp ever again. I dismissed the Kemper at first. But once I saw some videos and heard some profiles, I was a little interested. I couldn't get past buying a computer and having 1000's of tones at the turn of a knob. Once I heard it live, thru a cabinet in a rehearsal space, I was floored and very surprised. My friend went from a 68 Marshall to a 6505 to a Fender Twin Reverb with a turn of a knob in seconds. I've owned very expensive tube amps with very distinct tone signatures I thought could not be replicated. I was 100% wrong. I profiled my Engl head and did a blind test to see if I could tell the difference in tone once I shaped it up. I honestly couIdn't tell the difference. When I guessed, I picked the Kemper 4 out of 5 times. I went to the rig exchange and found a profile that was reasonably close to a 59 plexi. I tweaked it for 10 minutes. Within that 10 minutes, I saved thousands on a new tube amp. The Kemper is a perfect fit for the skeptic. There's a million forums and tutorials out there so you'll never feel lost. Once you learn the menus and how to dial in a tone or profile an amp, you're hooked. This is the most versitle amp I've ever owned. I am completely satisified.Rob

Like the title says, you can find 1000's of these for sale used and there's good reason for that. It doesn't sound like tube at all. I think it's good for the studio where I've used one. But live? If you're fine with a solid state head, then fine. The modeling really isn't any better than higher end Line 6 modeling. This past labor day, Great White was playing a festival near by. They had a total of 8 Marshall 4×12's on stage with 4 DSL 100 heads. Not one of them was powered on. So I looked around for what they were going to use, I saw 2 Kemper Profiler heads. 1 for each guitarist. The sound was absolutely terrible. Neither amp sounded anything close to a Marshall or like tube for that matter. You could hear the cab emulation a mile away. At this price point go another direction. Unless your application is purely studio.guylemieux

This is a high quality, well built product. It really does sound very smooth and responsive like a real amp. I own the original reactive load and wanted to upgrade to a plug and play option for practice that I could also take to shows and guarantee quality through the sound guy. I loaded it up with Ownhammer IRs (even though the Suhr IRs are great) and hook up a drum sample pedal to practice and write music. I love the dual outs (one with after the preloaded IR and one unfiltered so I can use a different IR in my DAW). I apply a little eq thru a plugins and no one – not a single sole – could actually tell the difference on recordings. It sounds professional and my family and ears never felt better. PSA – Find a few good IRs you really love and dont change them. You will get better, CONSISTENT results that way. Option paralysis is real.drewmac3

Recently downsized my Fractal (Axe-fx) live rig into this little unit. I've had it now for about a month and i'm really happy with it. It does everything i hoped it would and the tones i'm able to pull are great. The built in presets are a really great place to start and you can dial in your 'sound' even more with the many effects available. The touchscreen is an awesome feature but i'm really happy with the computer editing capabilities, as that's what i'm used to. The build quality is actually really strong and the built in exp pedal is super solid too. And it's small, like.. smaller than my keyboard! Perfect for carrying around to shows! I was also able to get this really cheap compared to it's competition. There's even an Ampero gig bag that you can purchase separately that is fantastic. Cheers!Barak B.

I have been VERY impressed with the Hotone Ampero so far. I have no idea how they were able to create such an amazing product for such an unbelievable price. It's like a Helix LT shrunken down for about 1/5 of the price and it has the same dual DSP SHARC chips as Helix! The unboxing is similar to an Apple product. Build quality seems very solid. There are tons of AMPS, EFFECTS, and CAB Sims in here! And so far, they all sound great. I've only been through a small % of all this stuff. But I can't wait to see what I can do with it. P.S. I had a great experience with Sam Ash! I was able to negotiate a better deal which made things even better! When's the last time you negotiated a price drop while in your Amazon shopping cart screen?!?!? 😉Dolf M

I usually use mics, but this unit sounds good run directly into the mixing board thanks to the better than average amp/cab emulators. The overdrive/distortion and chorus algorithms are particularly noteworthy, and the reverb and delays are also more than adequate. Definitely one of the best overall multi-effects pedals I've used, especially in a direct to board capacity. The interface is easy enough to operate, the menus intuitive and , again, the sound is really good. -Better than most, actually.DAVID

Not only does this 5 watt lil' monster have enough power to rattle the windows, it also has class! At only 9 lbs. the Bugera T5 Infinium has enough "UMFF" to push your favorite 4X12" cabinet into the stratosphere! It's better having this reverb built into this lil' madman than not having any at all. Just like 9/10 of the other amp heads in its class. The 1 channel, "all tube" head has warm cleans. Push in the PHAT switch and crank the volume and gain and you get saturated distortion that will blow you away! All of that in a 9 lb metal cage like package for only $200! You won't find another 5 W head with all of that for this price. I love my T5 Infinium from Bugera!brmul-8207

What it's not: Not a $1k boutique tube amp. Not a mid-size club amp (unless you have great monitors and a good sound guy). What it is: A well designed, very affordable little monster that will give enough stage volume at 5W for rehearsals in a full rock band or small club, and will also allow you to drive the output stage at that 1W or 1/2W setting for recording at home. The amp sounds best at 5W and driven into either a 4ohm cabinet or two 8ohm cabs. If you use it to drive an 8ohm cab, you are getting only 70% of its potential. I only use el84 based amps. i love their dark, throaty sound, and while this amp doesn't have the punch or snap I get from my 15W custom built el 84 amps, it sounds great for rehearsal or recording. I am a little bit worried about long-term build quality. The input jack is plastic. I have a hard time seeing that surviving a year of rehearsals without breaking. This is a great supplemental amp for rehearsals and recording. Very smartly designed. Good feature set. And if you like the el84 style sound, it delivers it above expectations at this price range. I'm thinking of getting a second one.klktrk

In these days of small solid state, practice amps, this little amp gives you tube tone and more at a very affordable price. A 12ax7 preamp tube and an EL84 power tube provide the tone along with built in reverb, 2 band EQ, gain and a "phat" overdrive switch for added crunch. The three stage attenuator is a nice touch. The stock Bugera tubes are OK but I switched them out with Tung-Sols which provided a rich creamy overdrive more to my liking. Great sound when plugged into my Orange 8" or 12" cab plus headphone jack for late night playing. Great amp for the price!Isom

I just completed my Mod 102 kit. An excellent experience! I was delighted with the quality of components, clarity of instructions, and, perhaps most importantly, the sound of the amp. It is very loud – currently running into my Fender Twin Reverb cab (2×12) and very sweet! I will be running it into a new 1×12 cab with a new Celestion G12 M Heritage 'Greenback' when I get a case for the speaker (on order). My only criticism (and something to look out for) is that the chassis is very nicely painted in gray gunmetal paint. Even following the directions to file all the holes, it is very hard to get a good ground connection at every point a terminal strip connects. I worried about this, and about 1/3rd of the way through the build, took an ohm meter to check all the connections, and as I had suspected, some of the connections were not great (9-10 ohms or so!) So I removed the terminal strips (with the components I had already soldered still attached) and scraped away the paint under the tabs of the strips to ensure a good connection. Re-testing showed virtually zero resistance. I'd strongly recommend scraping the paint away at all holes under the chassis before getting started on the build. Even better, suggest that Amplified Parts leave the inside chassis unpainted (at least around the important holes). Aside that one criticism, I am delighted with the kit and with Amplified Parts. Everything was delivered promptly and they are a class outift. I'll probably try some of their other kits soon.vpmerlyn

I spent three evenings building the MOD102. The instructions are very easy to understand and the amp has a great Fender sound. I had one grounding issue that was easily fixed with a little help from tech support, which was excellent. If you're good at following step by step instructions and can solder well this is a fun little amp to build. Only small issue is the labels. They could stand an improvement.Brandon

I just finished this amp build and it sounds fantastic! I also just finished a Marshall 18 Watt clone and I have to say that the Mod102+ holds its own very nicely alongside the Marshall. In fact, I will probably use the Mod102+ for recording because it sounds amazing at lower volumes (the Marshall is loud AF). Honestly, if I were only going to build one of them today, it would be the Mod. I'm blown away by the tone! Great kit with excellent instructions. Great bang for the buck. The parts all seem to be top quality. I love the old style cloth solid core wire, too. I find it much easier to work with than modern stranded wire. The labels are a bit lame but I covered them with packing tape as suggested before cutting them out and they look fine. If you're thinking about building an amp, build this one.danjbeckett

I'm using the phantom block with my takamine gn93ce and a zedi 10fx mixer… woah it's shaping the and warming the tone beautifully! Thank you AMS… you make the buying process so simple and cost effective I can't afford not to buy my gear with you!!Amy B

overall I really like this amp. the dirty channel has a good crunch. Not a very tainted sound, which I like a lot. Clean channel is not real chimy like some, but nice and clean. the face plate is also black, unlike the 30 watt which is easier to see. The issue is the channel switching. While some amps are known for a load pop, this is quite the opposite, and I am guessing the pop is what they were trying to avoid. this one actually drops in volume and then comes back up between channels. Deal breaker. I can't use this live if it cuts out. Really wanted to have this kicking around for a second amp. But I will be returning this.brian

First one arrived and the overdrive channel sounded awful. Made arrangements to return it and the process went quick, I had a new one a week after sending the bad one back. The second one turned out as advertised. You can dial in a wide range of tones and has that beautiful tube sound. The reverb is just a tad weak but still ok. Also, effects pedals sound great. It?s an awesome buy.Leo

I had a 50 watt 6L6 guitar head and sold it only to regret it later. I saw this one on sale and I took a chance. Glad I did. Disclaimer: I only use it for a pedal platform, although I have tried the gain channel. It's "ok" (not great) but to use the amp that way you'll really have to work with the both channels to achieve unity volume. As a clean channel pedal platform it's great. Like others have said the reverb is lacking but I usually just leave it on 10:00 for ambience. This amp is LOUD and can easily hang with a large band if needed. As far as reliability, time will tell, but it seems well made IMO.john

It arrived a few days ago from MF. I want to highlight what I like about it without repeating the contents of its manual. Bottom line, for my usage replacing a Fender black panel Deluxe, a spring reverb, and a Tube Screamer, it is excellent. I am using the Vibro King amp model for most of my tweaking, but I also set up the Twin Reverb (super clean), Super Reverb, and Marshall JCM800 (crunch even with the guitar volume relatively low). The Twin model would not distort without a boost included in the "scene" even with my guitar and the model volumes at 10. That was the one anomaly from my expectations. I like the Vibro King model, amplified by my QSC CP8 (on the floor, on its side, backside EQ set to floor monitor), and do not prefer my now sold Tone Master Deluxe. The first thing I did was download the 2022-10-31 Firmware update and install it. Instructions to put the pedal in "DFU" mode to accept the update were missing. A YouTube video found via Google explained to hold both foot switches while powering up. Next, I installed the main NuX App for my Mac. I disabled the third "scene" such that the "scene foot switch" becomes a "scene" toggle (one cleaner, one with the Tube Screamer engaged, both with spring reverb). I then went through the amp models I planned to use (two "scenes" each, which must be done individually) and set all the controls to 12 o'clock. I tweaked the amp, spring reverb, and Tube Screamer to taste. I now have three ways to boost for an overdriven solo starting with the Vibro King as my clean base: turn up the guitar, foot switch to the Tube Screamer "scene", or foot switch to the JCM800 amp model. I explain all this detail because it took about an hour and without this work the pedal is disappointing. The software was almost easy enough to use without the nonexistent manuals (to do it again it would take much less time). Once done, everything can be adjusted via the knobs and optionally saved with the left foot switch. No menus to navigate at a gig. You can see in the pictures that it is quite small (Tube Screamer for reference), weighs exactly 1 lb. (less than that Tube Screamer), and draws only 3 watts. Leaving it run over night only gets it to room temperature. My old HX Stomp would have been hot to the touch and required a 20-watt power supply. Is it a Universal Audio quality Twin Reverb, Super Reverb, JCM800, or Vibro King modeler? Impossible for me to know. But for what I want, a classic black panel 60s Fender amp tone, spring reverb, and foot switchable Tube Screamer, it is a complete solution in a small package. No aspect of IO is missing (XLR, USB-C, ¼", 3.5mm, MIDI over USB). It also has an effects loop, graphic EQ, all the usual reverb types, 1024 IR loader, a selection of boost/overdrive/compression pedal models, and a noise gate which I've not tried. If one of the amp models is acceptably flat response you could use its 1024 IR loader, reverb collection, and compressor collection for your acoustic guitar too. Wow! What's missing? For my usage a master volume not associated or saved with an amp model "scene" would be nice. It does make a click when switching amp models or "scenes". Sometimes when switching amp models there is a noticeable delay.Jon