That's it. I been using the classic brainworkxs Ampeg-SVT for years along with Ownhammer and York Audio irs, and i'd like too try new things to improve my tone. I cover a lot of ground from pop to alternative rock, so anything that could help to get an articulate low end would help.

 

Fortunately, there are many good bass plugins today. If you know what kind of sound you want and use the right IRs for it, the most well-known bass plugins do their job well. I mainly use bass plugins for rock/metal themes and they are all good (obviously not at the same time): NDSP - Parallax, NDSP - Darkglass Ultra, STL Tones - AmpHub (bass section), JST Tones - Bonecrusher (previously Rex Brown), JST - Hellraiser (I like the former better), Line 6 - Helix native (bass section), Aurora DSP - Gorilla & Laney Digbeth (Mammoth is good either), Nembrini Audio - Blackice Beta Gamma & Bass Hammer & Bass Driver, IK Multimedia, Overloud stuff, Ampeg SVT suite, Audified GK, ML Sound Lab - Amped Bass, Bogren stuff is not bad either, and you already know PA. Yes, I listed most of the bass plugins because they are good.

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2025

There is also NAM amps a rigs.

 

Parallax, during NDSP sale. Best 50 usd ever spent for bass needs.

 

Try JST Bassforge Hellraiser with the Celestion bass cab irs first. Back off the drive and you can get a very good tone.

 

Different sims for different needs, but my go-to is Darkglass.

 

A lot of the current stuff is geared towards metal. But I go for pop, alt-rock and vintage. My current fave is Tonex running an Amalgam capture of the Marshall Super Bass "BASS MRSH SB100 1968 ToneX Essential".

 

Soundog, don't let the graphics of the JST Bassforge plugins turn you off from trying them. Start with a clean tone and eq flat, then slowly add a little grit. Then use the amp Eq.

 

Personally best amp sims for guitar and bass are from Nembrini. They just seem the real amps. Or else, for amp profilers, Tonex.

 

Audified GK Amplification 3 Pro can do those tonalities, but with a non-Ampeg take on them. It won't do very modern metal clank/really heavy crunch - but I guess you're not looking for that anyway.

 

one of my friends uses Overloud Mark Studio 2, but there are just so many good ones available just try out a bunch yourself, since tone, sound and responsiveness are the most important and everyone's preferences are different.

 

There are a few plugins that I haven't mentioned because I haven't tried them yet but based on the demo videos, they seem to be very good also. (Not just for metal & rock.)

Softube - Marshall Murder One Lemmy Signature (IMO it sounds authentic and has a great cabinet section.)

Softube - Amp Room Bass Suite

MixWave - Ashdown ABM EVO IV

The good old "shouting master" Glenn also has a bass plugin.

Spectre Digital - Element Bass

It might be also worth checking out Toontrack's EZmix 3 bass packs like the new Bass Amps pack.

 

Last edited: Mar 25, 2025

Thanks guys, you really said most of what can be said about this topic. My two cents, Neural DSP Cory Wong can be a nice bass amp too, it has many bass presets, It can be a cleaner funk oriented alternative to their more metal focussed bass amps.

Yeah I will try them since they're avialable at the sister site.

That's just what i'm looking for, I'm not a high gain guy, and ampeg is fine for some contexts but I think that sometimes is just too fat and warm in way that can be easily overdone in the mix, sometimes I need a lighter bass that can cut thorugh the mix without being bulky.

That one seems specially appealing for my needs, looks like a nice amp for indie, new wave stuff.