Guitarix is a free virtual guitar amplifier that processes sound through the JACK Audio Connection Kit. It takes mono input from a sound card through a main amp and rack section, which can be routed separately to create stereo output via JACK. The rack contains more than 25 built-in effect modules, including noise gate, flanger, phaser, and auto-wah. Users can add LADSPA and LV2 plugins; Guitarix is also available as an LV2 plugin suite for loading amps and plugins in a DAW. The project names Ardour and says Guitarix can connect to Rackarrack or another JACK-aware host. It can process synths and other sound generators as well as guitar signals. The maker says a properly set-up Linux system processes the signal in no more than 10 ms. Guitarix is a standalone app with an IR loader, licensed under GNU GPL version 2. It is available in most current Linux distributions; source can also be built for BSD and MacOSX. The listed platforms are Linux and macOS.
Who it is for
Guitarix suits Linux users who want a JACK-based virtual amp and rack effects, either as a standalone app or through its LV2 plugin suite. It can also suit people processing synths or other sound generators.
What is good
- Includes more than 25 effect modules.
- Accepts LADSPA and LV2 plugins.
- Can process synths and other sound generators.
- Licensed under GNU GPL version 2.
What to know first
- Uses the JACK Audio Connection Kit.
- Development-repository installation is not recommended for productive systems.
- The listed platforms are Linux and macOS.
Verdict
Guitarix offers a standalone JACK-based amp with built-in effects and support for LADSPA and LV2 plugins. Users considering a development-repository build should note that the project advises against using it on productive systems.
Guitarix plans and pricing
All plansCompared on guitar amp software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Plugin formats
- VST3, LV2
- Standalone app
- Yes
- IR loader
- Yes
- Supported platforms
- Linux, macOS
