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.
Best Metal Guitar VST Plugins
- Shreddage 3 Stratus Free
- Strat-A-Various
- AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop
- Haunted Guitar Lite
- Solaris GTR Lite
- Emissary 2.0
- Ample Bass P Lite
- Post-Apocalyptic Guitar
- MONSTER Guitar
- Clean Electric Guitar
- Mercuriall MT-A
- Cute Emily Guitar
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
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
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
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.
