Guitar Kit 1.3.0 is available, this update is free for owners of our guitar amplifier simulator and includes:
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Added Apple M1 support
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Minimum required macOS is 10.13
Guitar amplifier simulator with cabinet and microphone
HoRNet Guitar Kit: A Comprehensive Guitar Amplifier Simulator with Flexible Customization
HoRNet Guitar Kit is an advanced guitar amplifier simulator designed to offer guitarists a wide array of sounds, complete with cabinet and microphone simulations. It’s an ideal tool for musicians who are looking for a highly customizable and realistic guitar rig setup without the need for physical hardware. With this plugin, you can create everything from classic amp sounds to modern, innovative tones, all within your DAW. Whether you’re in the studio or performing live, HoRNet Guitar Kit offers you a versatile, responsive solution for crafting your ideal guitar tone.
Physical Modeling for Enhanced Customization
What sets HoRNet Guitar Kit apart from traditional guitar amp simulators is its use of physical modeling instead of relying on convolved impulse responses. While many other simulators use pre-recorded snapshots of real-world amps, cabinets, and microphones, which can often feel static and restrictive, HoRNet Guitar Kit offers dynamic and flexible physical models of each of its components. This approach allows you to not only replicate the sound of classic and modern amplifiers but also fine-tune and customize every part of your signal chain to suit your preferences.
Unlike traditional methods that can lock you into a specific sound once an impulse response is loaded, HoRNet Guitar Kit offers more freedom. You can choose the type of tubes used in the amplifier’s power and preamp sections, giving you the ability to tailor the tonal characteristics of your amp to suit your musical style. Want a warmer, vintage sound? Opt for a different tube configuration. Looking for a more modern, high-gain tone? Switch the tubes to something that delivers more edge and aggression. The possibilities are virtually endless.
Additionally, the cabinet and microphone simulations are fully customizable. You can select different speaker types for the cabinet, ranging from classic Celestion-style speakers to more experimental options. This level of control allows you to create a sound that perfectly matches your genre and artistic vision. The microphone section lets you choose from various mic types and adjust the mic placement to capture different tonal flavors. Want the classic sound of a 57 mic positioned off-center, or the warmth of a ribbon mic close to the speaker cone? HoRNet Guitar Kit lets you achieve that and more.
The Guitar Kit’s Three Modules: Amplifier, Cabinet, and Microphone
HoRNet Guitar Kit consists of three main modules: the amplifier, the cabinet, and the microphone. Each of these modules plays a vital role in shaping the overall sound, and each can be activated or deactivated independently. This flexibility is particularly useful when you want to experiment with different combinations or apply specific effects only to certain parts of your signal chain. For example, you can use the cabinet and mic simulations with an external amp model, or use the amp’s built-in cab and mic simulations to create a simpler setup.
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Amplifier Module: The amplifier module is the heart of the plugin. With physical modeling, you can choose the type of amplifier circuit you’d like to simulate. Whether you want to mimic a vintage Marshall stack, a modern Mesa Boogie, or a clean Fender-style amp, the possibilities are virtually limitless. The module includes all the essential controls you’d expect from a real amp, such as gain, EQ, and master volume. However, the real power lies in the fact that you can swap out tubes and alter the behavior of the amplifier, which offers an entirely new level of tone-shaping potential.
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Cabinet Module: The cabinet module offers the option to pick and choose from different speaker types and sizes, ensuring that your sound fits the genre you’re going for. Whether you’re after a large 4×12 stack for heavy rock or a smaller 1×12 setup for smoother tones, HoRNet Guitar Kit has you covered. You can further adjust the cabinet’s mic placement to capture the right amount of low end, midrange punch, and high-end clarity. By customizing the cabinet, you can influence the overall sonic profile, giving you the freedom to achieve the sound that best fits your track.
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Microphone Module: The mic module adds another layer of flexibility, letting you experiment with mic types, placement, and distance from the speaker. Whether you’re going for the tight, focused sound of a dynamic mic or the more open, atmospheric feel of a condenser or ribbon mic, you can achieve it with the Guitar Kit. This feature is especially useful when creating specific textures, as mic positioning can dramatically change how the guitar sits in the mix.
Real-Time Performance with Low Latency
One of the standout features of HoRNet Guitar Kit is its low latency and real-time performance capabilities. Many guitarists who use amp simulators are often concerned about latency, especially during live performances or recording sessions. HoRNet Guitar Kit addresses this by delivering real-time processing without noticeable delay, even when using the “high-quality” mode, which oversamples the processing up to 8x. The plugin is designed to perform efficiently, making it suitable for both studio and live use, where quick response and reliability are essential.
This real-time performance also means that you can use HoRNet Guitar Kit during live gigs without worrying about signal lag. Whether you’re performing in a club or recording a live demo, this simulator offers the convenience and versatility of a physical amplifier rig without the need to lug around heavy equipment.
Presets for Quick Access
HoRNet Guitar Kit includes twelve factory presets that showcase its versatility. These presets cover a wide range of iconic guitar sounds, from classic clean tones to heavy, high-gain distortion. The presets are designed to give you a great starting point and demonstrate the plugin’s flexibility in capturing a variety of guitar styles. Additionally, you can load these presets directly from your DAW’s preset browser (for VST and AU hosts only), allowing you to quickly jump between different sounds during a recording or performance session.
Conclusion: A Guitar Amp Sim with Unlimited Potential
HoRNet Guitar Kit is not just another guitar amplifier plugin; it’s a highly customizable, real-time, physical model-based tool that opens up endless possibilities for guitarists. Whether you’re crafting the perfect guitar tone for a studio recording or looking for a versatile rig that works well on stage, Guitar Kit provides you with the freedom to create and shape your sound. With its intuitive controls, low latency performance, and in-depth customization options, it’s a powerful solution for any guitarist looking to enhance their sound and workflow. Try HoRNet Guitar Kit today and discover a new world of guitar tones.
Demo
The demo is fully functional except for the fact that every now and then it will silence out, you cannot save parameter values with your session and the plugin will not respond to automation coming from the host.
Features
- Each module can be turned on or off individually.
- Amplifier simulation made by three tube stage (high gain, preamp, power amp).
- Tubes can be chosen between 6 different models for preamp and 6 models for power amp.
- Tone stack section can be chosen between three models or turned off.
- Amp module can work in standard (4x oversampling) or high quality mode (8x oversampling).
- Cabinet can be chosen between open or closed.
- Speaker model can be chosen between4 different models.
- Cabinet resonance is modeled on the specific speaker chosen.
- Microphone model can be chosen between 4 different models.
- Microphone distance from speaker can be freely adjusted.
- Microphone position on the speaker axis can be freely adjusted.
- Frequency response based on microphone position ant type is faithfully modeled.
- Mac OS X (>=10.7) and Windows support.
- 64-bit compatibility both on Mac and Windows.
- App, Audio Units, VST, VST3, RTAS and AAX format.
- Apple Silicon native support (except for AAX)
Copy protection
The HoRNet Guitar Kit has no copy protection, I don’t believe in copy protection, they are always cracked and they are annoying for the users, we all know you are not going to give away the plugin on the internet…
So simply download the plugin and enjoy your recordings!
I lost touch with my Hornet plugins when I bought a subscription to UAD Spark and started working at 96k 32Bit. UAD became my go to for things like LA2A and their Ruby pedal and VST is one of the first things I’ve found that FEELS like I’m playing through an amplifier. And I say ONE OF THE FIRST because the other authentic FEELING amplifier emulation is this plugin. For a guitarist FEEL is a crucial factor. Often we tweak using our ears only to lose the vibe. Two dimensional flat lifeless guitar simulations like the NI’s guitar rig or the Line 6 series just don’t cut it for me. While I’m no Clapton or Hendrix, the way my sound changes with dynamics hugely influences the way I play. With guitar, expression is King. In my opinion electronic music isn’t killed by putting the groove on a grid, it falls flat on dynamics. So this plugin and the attention to detail and subtlety of the way things break up when you apply just a little more pressure on the string, make it stand out way above the rest. And if you own UAD Spark or any of the other UAD plugins, think of Hornet’s emulation as an amplifier that comes with an in house studio electronics engineer with a bucket full of valves that you can wheel into your virtual room. Now all I need is a version in a low latency pedal 🙂
If this plugin had as much options and models as the likes of Guitar Rig and Amplitube then it would be king. That said, for a little plugin you cant do allot of tweaking and get some really warm sounding tones. In fact, I am impressed with Hornet in general. Fantastic prices for plugins that are certainly not lacking in quality when compared to the other big names out there..
I've only played around with crunchy hard rock higher gain tones, and I gotta say, it sounds good and feels good. There's plenty of sound to be had from the cab and mic choices, or use your own impulse responses.
This amp is great for single coil telecaster and for humbuckers. Nice cleans and gritty cleans, and can get some warm classic tones, as well. One thing I really like is that it is simple to tweak, so I am not spending an hour playing with knobs, but get my ideas recorded straight away. I own most of the expensive amp sims, and frankly, I am totally impressed by the sound of this inexpensive amp kit!
I really like the flexibility of Guitar Kit. It sounds very analog. Like a real amp you have to take your time and work with it to get your sound. I really like the fact that you have all the different elements to work with rather than a cookie cutter emulation. You can actually create "your" sound or sounds. The different tonestacks, preamp tubes and cabinets, along with the different mics is such a brilliant way of doing this sim.
Nice preamp with many different tube combinations.
Speaker simulation is very subtle, not bad but personally I preffer to turn it off and combine the GuitarKit preamp with Audified MultiCabinet or AmpliTube (where I turn the preamp off).
It sounds better than GuitarRig or Brainworx Megadual to my ears.