10 Best FREE Metal Guitar VST Plugins For 2024!

Here are the best free metal guitar VST plugins for producers looking to create Heavy Metal tracks. This list includes free Metal Guitar plugins for Windows and Mac.

In this roundup of metal guitar VST plugins, I’ve included feature lists, images, and videos to see how each plugin works.

I have tested hundreds of free VST plugins, and these are some of the top free metal guitar plugins online.

Related: Drum VST Plugin

Instructions: Click the links below to visit each Metal Guitar VST. Look around each website for the download link or button. Do not install any suspicious software.

1. Shreddage 3 Stratus Free

The Shreddage 3 Stratus Free offers an ultimate electric guitar sample library for the Kontakt Player. It includes a variety of sampled sustain, palm mute, and choke articulations.

You can easily play within a three-octave range with up to 24 samples per note. There are also plenty of performance options available. The plugin comes with the added features of Tact 2.0, a console mixer, and a modular FX rack.

The Shreddage 3 Stratus Free offers authentic and realistic sounds and deep customization for power users.

Features

24-bit recordings
Classic 6-string guitar sounds
All crucial articulations
Realistic performances
Poly input feature for realistic chords

Shreddage 3 Stratus Free | Windows / Mac

Best Free Metal Guitar VST Plugins

2. Strat-A-Various

The Strat-A-Various plugin is a great tool for music creators who wish to craft clean or intense overdrive guitar sounds.

Features

Clean or heavy overdrive guitar sounds
A full set of 16 presets
User-friendly design for easy navigation
High-quality sound effects

Strat-A-Various | Windows

3. AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop

AmpliTube Custom Shop | Metal Guitar VST Plugins

The AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop is a unique digital platform that provides you the freedom to personalize your virtual music gear collection according to your needs.

With over 400 gear models to choose from, you can demo and add only the equipment you need, making it a flexible option for music creators.

When you start, they equip you with 42 essential pedals, amps, speakers, cabinets, mics, and rack FX. They give these to you for free, letting you use them standalone or as a plugin in your favorite music software.

Features

Includes authorized models of legendary guitar brands
400 individual models of gear from top manufacturers

AmpliTube 5 | Windows / Mac

4. Haunted Guitar Lite

The Haunted Guitar Lite is a free guitar plugin that has been designed with a multi-sampled Fender Stratocaster Plus Deluxe Electric Guitar.

Modules have been added to the program for distortion, delay, and reverb, each complete with its own set of controls and parameters.

8 Presets
It contains a total of 224 Samples
Features ADSR
Includes HP / LP Filter
Comes equipped with LFO Modulation
Filters can be altered with the Filter type selector
Voice mode option
Built-in vintage reverb module
Includes built-in distortion and delay modules

Download Now | Windows / Mac

5. Solaris GTR Lite

The Solaris GTR Lite is a user-friendly virtual instrument that offers premium electric guitar sounds for producing music across a wide selection of genres.

This plugin can be used for creating Lo-Fi, Ambient, Chillout, Downtempo, Relaxing, and Meditation music, as well as Hip Hop, Trap, and other popular EDM styles.

The Solaris GTR Lite provides a range of easy controls that let you modify the ADSR envelope, filter cutoff, LFO modulation, volume, pan & tune.

For added creativity, it is equipped with built-in effects such as reverb, chorus, delay, and distortion.

Features

Offers 6 Multi-Sampled Presets
LFO modulation controls provided
Includes Lowpass/highpass filter cutoff
Easy-to-use ADSR envelope controls
Built-in Chorus, Delay, Reverb, and Distortion
100% royalty-free sounds

View Website | Windows / Mac

6. Emissary 2.0

Ignite - Emissary Bundle — Ignite – Emissary Bundle | Free VST Plugins for Metal Guitars

The Emissary replicates the original Emissary tube amplifier for authentic sound. It’s perfect for musicians of various genres wanting anything from soft, clean tones to harder, ear-crushing distortions.

With this plugin, you’ll also get an extensive range of tonal possibilities. They made sure to account for every component in the signal path of the original amplifier’s circuit while optimizing CPU performance and real-time playability.

Replicates the sound of the Emissary tube amplifier
Provides a wide tonal range
Optimized for CPU performance and real-time playability
Includes the NadIR dual Impulse Response convolver for cabinet simulation
ZERO latency
Equipped with built-in filters and delay controls for easy tone shaping

Emissary | OS Windows / Mac

7. Ample Bass P Lite

The Ample Bass P Lite II (ABPL) offers a great experience for music creators searching for that Fender Precision Bass sound. This free lite version of ABP is an efficient and dynamic tool with cutting-edge features that improve its performance.

You can improve your sample utilization with the Each Cycle & Rhombic Sampling structure.

Its Capo feature allows you to transpose without needing to modify your MIDI.

The ABPL has a Tab Player that can comfortably load, display, and playback any specific track inside a tablature file.

Each Cycle & Rhombic Sampling structure for precise sound reproduction
Auto Buzz system for live performance simulation
Ability to export tablature as an audio file when used in DAWs

Find Out More | Windows / Mac

8. Post-Apocalyptic Guitar ( Kontakt )

The Post-Apocalyptic Guitar is a unique sample library perfect for music creators who are into post-rock sounds.

It includes two core types of phrase-based patches labeled Yin and Yang.

Yin sounds are light, airy, and celestial, while Yang brings more intensity with a harder, darker, distorted, and percussive approach.

All of these sounds sync with your desired tempo and can be combined in many different ways.

Features

Emotional Post-Rock Guitar
Features 4-5 Layered Phrases
Control over Live Phrase and Pitch
Offers 12 real-time triggerable FX
Kontakt Full Retail is Required
It comes with 404 Samples in total
1 GB Installed
24 Bit / 44.1 KHz Stereo
Sample Resolution: 44.1Khz / 24Bit Stereo
Formats Supported: Kontakt

Download Now | Windows / Mac

9. MONSTER Guitar

This free virtual guitar provides diverse presets, including electric and acoustic options, making it versatile across multiple music genres, such as reggae, Metal, pop, and rock.

It’s important to acknowledge that compared to alternatives such as AmpleSound or Shreddage, this VST was not designed to deliver intricate and ultra-realistic sounds.

However, Monster Guitar finds its value in being a useful tool in music production. In its current 2nd version, there are 14 presets under three categories: Chord Mode, Lead Mode, and Notes Mode.

Offers diverse presets, including electric and acoustic versions
Suitable for multiple music genres, from Reggae to Pop to Rock
Contains 14 presets
Presets are categorized under Chord Mode, Lead Mode, and Notes Mode
Supports major plugin formats: Windows 64bit DAW, Mac VST, and Mac Audio Unit (AU)

Learn More | Windows / Mac

10. Sample Science Clean Electric Guitar

The Sample Science Clean Electric Guitar offers musicians a unique plugin that’s perfect for use with virtual guitar amps and effect racks.

Two electric guitars have been expertly sampled and finely tuned to deliver a pure, clean sound.

With Sample Science Clean Electric Guitar, you have access to two different clean electric guitar sounds.

This plugin also includes a range of effects like Distortion, Chorus, Delay, and Reverb for you to experiment with.

Two unique, clean electric guitar sounds
An array of effects: Distortion, Chorus, Delay, and Reverb
Includes a Multi-LFO
Highpass/lowpass filter for additional sound shaping
Glide and Amplitude range controls
Three voice modes: polyphonic, legato, and mono

Learn More | PC / Mac

11. Mercuriall MT-A

Mercuriall MT-A offers a free plugin model of the renowned distortion pedal – Boss MT-2.

Playable on both mono and stereo tracks, the MT-A features an intuitive array of controls, including Dist, High, Low, and Middle frequencies.

These allow you to adjust the tonality at high and low frequencies and even boost or reduce certain frequencies set by the “Mid freq” knob.

The MT-A plugin also comes with a useful Input Gain control, which helps regulate the signal strength at the plugin’s entry.

Its Quality switch gives the option to switch between 2x and 4x oversampling.

Modeled on Boss MT-2 distortion pedal
Mono/Stereo option for different tracks
Input Gain control and Quality switch
EQ section for tone control on high, low, and middle frequencies

Learn More | Windows / Mac

12. Cute Emily Guitar

The Cute Emily Guitar is a sample of an Epiphone SG model electric guitar.

Download Here | Windows / Mac

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Metal Guitar VST plugins?

Metal Guitar VST plugins are software that emulates the sounds of electric guitars common in metal music. They’re used to digitally recreate the dark, high-gain tones and soaring leads of heavy metal guitars.

How do I install Metal Guitar VST plugins?

While the process may vary slightly from one VST plugin to another, generally, you download the plugin file, extract it if needed, and then place it in the designated plugins folder of your DAW. You should scan for new plugins in your DAW or restart it to see the recently installed plugin.

Do I need specific hardware to use VST plugins?

VST plugins are software and typically don’t require special hardware. However, you will need a computer with a sound card and sufficient processing power to run the plugin smoothly. It would be best if you also had a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that supports VST to operate the plugins.

We hope you found this list of free Metal Guitar VST plugins helpful.