10 Best Bass Amp VST Plugins 2024

Bass guitar plays a key role in any mix. The challenge is usually getting it to sit just right in the mix, a problem that begins with the exact equipment and mic positions used to record it in the first place.

Bass amp VST plugins can streamline your workflow considerably. In addition to providing a ton of customization options and different tonal possibilities, some make your bass sounds near mix ready out of the gate.

In this guide, we look at the best bass amp VST plugins. Use these to achieve killer bass tones on your next recording project.

Amp Room by Softube – Best Overall

Softube’s Amp Room was designed as a pro audio guitar and bass workstation, especially for producers. The idea is to give you access to the best high-end solutions possible without you having to go out to buy mics, amps, cabs, and an acoustically treated room.

Amp Room lets you load your favorite studio FX from Softube, Tube-Tech, and Trident, as well as amps and cabs from Marshall, and more. If you’re already heavily invested into Softube plugins (and who could blame, you?) there’s a good reason to take advantage of this entry.

Amp Room also lets you mix and match modules. Complex patch creation has been made easy; a feature producers will love. Bassists who enjoy tweaking endlessly to find new, powerful tones will love this feature too.

Softube has used their best analog modeling technology in creating Amp Room. The experience can be likened to gaining access to classic EQs, compressors, Marshall amps and cabs, pedals, and even mics.

If the built-in features aren’t quite enough, new expansions and plugins are being added frequently (like the Marshall Cabinet Collection). Other Softube amplifier plugins (like Eden WT800 and Marshall Plexi Super Lead 1959) can also be loaded into the Amp Room virtual work environment.

Freely combine amps, cabs, pedals, mics (with a mix slider for multiple positions), studio FX, and utility modules for adjusting gain, volume, pan, filtering, muting, phase align between parallel signal paths, or frequency split signals in a path.

Buying Amp Room is a bit of a commitment. You’re not just getting a bass workstation – you’re getting an entire guitar and bass ecosystem in which various expansions and plugins can be integrated.

If you’re looking for a simple, singular amp cab for your bass guitars, this isn’t it. But if your job description includes molding guitar and bass tones to the nth degree, this is a solution well worth considering.

Altogether, Amp Room is the pro audio guitar platform with record ready sound built on detailed component modeling, with a continuously growing ecosystem, compatibility with Softube plugins, American Class A as a compressor and equalizer, the ability to build patches, and a great deal more.

Amp Room is a one stop shop for guitar, bass, keys, vocals, and more. It has an easy-to-use interface, and it sounds great. This is our best overall pick for producers.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

BIAS Amp 2 Elite by Positive Grid – Best Premium Option

Positive Grid calls BIAS Amp 2 Elite a “virtual amp designer.” It’s been built to give you the authentic feel and tone of tube amps, while empowering you with the ability to mix and match components as you see fit. There’s also a powerful Amp Match feature, which lets you access your favorite tones by your favorite players.

BIAS Amp 2, specifically, comes with a couple of new amp packs, one specifically that bassists will find useful. The first is the Blues pack, which offers up clean and mid-gain amps, and the second pack is the one in question – the Bass pack features amps and cabs specifically for bass guitars.

As with Amp Room, BIAS Amp 2 Elite is its own ecosystem, with a ton of new features, including built-in reverbs, new tubes and amp packs, new transformer with “dynamic tone control,” new speaker IRs from Celestion, a new speaker cabinet module, RTA EQ, 100 new custom amps on ToneCloud, BIAS FX integration, and more.

The video below delivers a playthrough of the new Bass pack. I find the tones rich, deep, and warm. The workstation comes with a ton of tone shaping options, so you aren’t stuck with one sound either.

BIAS Amp 2 is a fully fledged amp customization module. To that extent, it is sophisticated. Not so complicated that you can’t figure it out for yourself – you can twist the dials and see how your instrument responds. That said, it could be too much power if a simple amp / cab sim is what you’re looking for.

Otherwise, it’s well worth checking out. You can hear the tones and see many of the features in action in the video below.

With this much power on display, we had no choice but to make this our best premium pick.

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Peridot Pro by Audified – Best Budget Option

Audified’s Peridot Pro is a crunchy bass tone virtual pedal that offers up tones ideally suited to hard rock genres.

It comes with five amp models, five cab impulses, ToneSpot, blend, boost, and gate.

This plugin strikes the balance between quality and simplicity, with just enough tools to make it versatile and powerful, while keeping it simple to use.

There is another plugin like this on the list (Audified’s Sphene Pro), but Peridot Pro should be more usable across a wider variety of genres. That, and its affordability, makes it a shoo-in for our best budget option.

To my ears, it sounds great. Check it out in the video below.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

Eden WT800 by Softube

Well regarded as a “World Tour” amp and used by the likes of Mike Gordon (Phish) and Mike Rutherford (Genesis), Eden WT800 comes equipped with a variety of great tools, like a sophisticated five-band EQ, compression, bi-amping, and even an “Enhance” knob for mid-frequency scooping.

It’s versatile enough to handle most styles and genres, including pop, R&B, metal, jazz, hip-hop, and classic dirty vintage sounds too.

Endorsed and authenticated via Eden, this plugin comes with the 1×15 and 4×10 cabs, and four high-end classic mics chosen and positioned by producer and bassist Troy Antunes, who has worked with the likes of Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams.

There’s also a three-channel mixer section for blending the direct signal with the two cabs.

Altogether, you’ve got a bass amp that can handle everything from vintage to modern with faithful modeling, a five-band EQ, “Enhance” knob, built-in compressor, two cab models, bi-amping (select a cutoff frequency and send low and high frequencies to different cabs), and four classic mics per cab.

The Eden WT800 plugin sounds great. This is an excellent plugin to have in your collection, for a variety of applications, whether it’s rich and warm tones (with the 1×15), or biting, throaty tones (with the 4×10).

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Marshall Murder One Lemmy Signature by Softube

As vocalist, bassist, and songwriter of the legendary Motörhead, Lemmy left an indelible mark on heavy metal and punk rock.

Marshall Murder One Lemmy Signature features the authentic rock and roll and punk rock sounds of Lemmy himself, with a precise model of his favorite Marshall Super Bass 100W, also known as Murder One.

For this occasion, his rare cab setup was also captured by producer Cameron Webb, and there are two versions of the plugin included in this pack – Marshall Murder One Lemmy Signature, and Marshall Murder One Lemmy Signature for Amp Room.

The Marshall Super Bass 100W isn’t exactly an easy amp to find. Plenty of bassists and guitarists have made it their go-to because of its sweetness and loudness. Murder One comes infinitely close to the original, and for that reason alone, could be worth adding to your VST arsenal.

If you aren’t the type to spend a lot of time dialing in tones, then you’ll be glad to know Murder One comes with multiple presets created by Cameron Webb.

Within Amp Room, you can control the amp head and cab section as separate modules. This gives you the ability to combine it with pedals or effects in any way you please.

All in all, you’re getting a precise model of the Marshall Super Bass 100W with two channels, three-band EQ, three 12AX7 preamp tubes, dual cabs (MF280L 4×12 and 1979L 4×15), mic setup consisting of the SM7B, MD421, SM57, and D12 VR, guitar and bass presets, and modular Amp Room functionality.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

GK Amplification 3 Pro by Audified

In this instance, bassists can probably guess what “GK” stands for… that’s right, the illustrious Gallien-Krueger!

Audified’s GK Amplification 3 is the latest iteration on a fan favorite, with three modeled amps, a smart gate, compressor, and new UI.

The amps include the MB150 (versatile combo, complete with EQ and voicing filters), 2001RB (two channels, bi-amp tech, EQ, and voicing controls), and the 800RB (transistor style amp with tone-shaping, voicing filters, and variable crossover frequency).

There are also three matching cabs with woofer and tweeter options. There’s an A-B control so you can easily compare and audition different amp and cab combinations too.

There are nine industry standard mics, with the ability to change the angle, position, and distances of the mics, along with additional shaping controls.

There’s also an intuitive Learn function that sets the perfect threshold in seconds. This amp is perfect for in-studio and live use.

While it doesn’t appear to have the best reputation, as some demos feature a very “farty” tone, it is possible to dial in some smooth, punchy GK tones too. Either way, it’s a good thing to look out for.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

Cerberus Bass Amplifikation by Kuassa

Kuassa’s Cerberus Bass Amplifikation is a no-fuss three-headed bass amp plugin, and when they say “three-headed,” they’re not just being clever!

That’s because Cerberus Bass Amplifikation comes with three amps – Valve, FET, and Drive – for achieving a variety of tones, from mellow and soulful to aggressive and powerful.

It also comes with plenty of tone shaping options, including a compressor, contour, parametric EQ, 10-band graphic EQ, limiter, dual 3D mic placement, and impulse loader – all from a single screen!

Cerberus comes in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats, making it compatible with a vast array of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs).

Altogether, you’ve got a simple and convenient bass module with just enough customization and parameters to be dangerous. Best of all, it’s quite affordable.

This amp can give you punch, crunch, spank, thump, and more.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

Sphene Pro by Audified

Audified’s Sphene Pro is a high-gain bass workstation, ideally suited to metal and heavier genres. This simple module was designed specifically for bass with smart tone shaping and proprietary tonal aesthetics based on 20 years of modeling experience.

Sphene Pro comes with five amp models, five cab impulses, TuneSpot technology (EQ shaping), blend (drive section), boost (signal push with a more focused tone), and gate.

The signal flow is as follows: input select, input knob, blend send, boost, amp, blend return, gate, ToneSpot, cab, level, and output knob.

Given its pedal-like design, this is a simple, no-fuss, no-nonsense solution for heavy bass tones. Yet, it comes with enough technology that you wouldn’t necessarily need anything else (like IRs) to make it work for you.

To hear how it sounds, check it out in the video below. To me, it sounds plenty gnarly, but as they say, tone is individual.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

Celestion Speaker Shaper by Softube

Impulse Response (IR) loaders certainly have their place. Many guitarists and producers love being able to utilize amp sims alongside their favorite IRs.

Softube’s Celestion Speaker Shaper wants to change all that. This is a versatile speaker cab designer for guitar, bass, and other applications, and it comes with two versions – Celestion Speaker Shaper native plugin, and Celestion Speaker Shaper for Amp Room.

In case you didn’t already know, the name Celestion is practically legendary in the guitar community. With over 100 years of history, they were a huge part of the British invasion, and their influence can still be felt everywhere today (I love Vintage 30s and Greenbacks myself…).

This module lets you configure two cabs In parallel and independently, and the possibilities are near limitless.

Celestion Speaker Shaper comes with 11 of the most popular guitar and bass models – Vintage 30, Classic Lead 80, Celestion Blue, G12M Greenback, G12T-75, G12K-100, G12M-65 Creamback, G12M Heritage, PULSE12, BL10-100X, and BN10-200K.

The speakers can be scaled and aged. You can even change the magnet material and specify its behavior – Ferrite M and H, AlNiCo, and Neodymium.

It also features eight mic settings – Dyn 57, Dyn 7B, Dyn 421, Dyn 112, Cond 87, Cond C414, Cond 47, and Rib 121 (if you know your mics, it should be easy to tell which these have been modeled after!).

Want effects? They’ve got them – speaker distortion, EQ, room sounds, and more.

Whether as a native plugin or as an Amp Room module, Celestion Speaker Shaper could forever change the way you dial in your cabs.

Altogether, you’ve got yourself a powerful speaker cab designer for guitars, bass, synths, and more, created in collaboration with Celestion (officially licensed), 11 speaker models for guitar and bass, a wide array of tone shaping parameters, the ability to use existing setups or create your own, and two plugin versions.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

MCabinet by MeldaProduction

MeldaProduction’s MCabinet is a cab sim tailor made for guitar and bass. As with Celestion Speaker Shaper, it works as an IR loader replacement.

MCabinet will start you off with a profile of thousands of IRs with four resonators, two wideners, post processing options, and a dynamic equalizer. MCabinet also lets you load and create IRs.

Besides work with guitar and bass, you can use MCabinet to tweak any sound.

MCabinet also comes with a stylable, resizable, GPU accelerated UI, visualization engine with classic meters and time graphs, modulators, multiparameters, M/S, single channel, up to eight channel surround processing, and automatic gain compensation (AGC).

There’s also a safety limiter, MIDI controllers with MIDI learn, 64-bit processing and an unlimited sampling rate, global parameter management and online preset exchange, free for life updates, and more.

Overall, MCabinet puts a lot of tonal power at your fingertips.

Learn more: Plugin Boutique

What Should I Look For In A Bass Amp VST Plugin?

If you’ve made it this far, there’s a good chance you’re starting to get a sense of which bass amp VST plugin might be right for you.

But it’s altogether too easy to become paralyzed by too many options.

If that’s the predicament you find yourself in, it’s possible there are some factors you haven’t considered yet. These may seem like small things, but sometimes it’s the small things that will help you land on the right product.

In this section, we’ll be exploring three main criteria:

• Sound quality
• Features
• Budget

Here’s what you should know about each:

Sound Quality

We all know that virtual amps and cabs don’t necessarily sound as good as the real thing. But thanks to deep customization capabilities, presets, and instant feedback, dialing in your ideal tones is typically a lot easier than putting an amp and cab in a room, turning the dials, choosing mics, and finding the ideal positions for them.

To that extent, it’s well worth studying the sound coming from each of the products mentioned here. Check out the video demos and reviews, as well as audio clips, where available.

If you have confidence in the plugin, it’s going to make all the difference to your projects. So, what matters most, first, is that you can see yourself making great music using the plugin.

Additionally, while you might require more “specialized” tones, like dirty heavy metal tones or clean and crisp jazz tones, it’s always good to have at least one plugin that’s a good all-rounder. This ensures that you’re ready for any type of project you might be taking on.

Once you’ve got your “general” bases covered, it’s a good time to investigate solutions that deliver more targeted tones.

Features

When it comes to bass amps, some of the most common features include amps, cabs, effects, and microphones and mic positions. There are always more things you could add, of course, but there’s not a whole more you could add that would make a big difference for your bass recording workflow.

Broadly, there are four types of VST plugins represented here – guitar and bass workstations, guitar amp suites, virtual pedals, and cabinet shapers. Understanding the difference between these can speed up the decision-making process considerably.

Amp Room and BIAS Amp would both be examples of guitar and bass workstations, where you can configure parameters and settings, both macro (amp type) and micro (tube type and configuration), etc. This level of customization is only available in these closed ecosystems.

A guitar amp suite is perfectly represented by plugins like Cerberus Bass Amplifikation, Eden WT800, and GK Amplification. Each of these are a little more limited in their scope. Not quite one trick ponies, but besides what they do well, you shouldn’t expect too much. They are simple to operate and make mincemeat of the tone dialing process.

There are two virtual pedals in this guide, namely Audified’s Peridot Pro and Sphene Pro. These are very simple in practice and easy to operate but have just enough power to be versatile.

Speaker shapers include Celestion Speaker Shaper and MCabinet. Generally, you’d want to use these in tandem with amp sims, because they act a bit like IR loaders, except with more customization. You can also use them, though, to shape the sound of a direct in recording or a take you captured you aren’t totally happy with.

The number of features available will depend a lot on the plugin type you’ve selected, so that’s worth considering too.

If you don’t need comprehensive guitar and bass workstations, then Amp Room and BIAS Amp are probably a little much.

Aside from that, take some time and explore each of the options for yourself. You’re sure to find the right fit for you if you take the time to do your homework. There’s nothing wrong with taking your time.

Budget

Premium bass amp VST plugins cost from about $30 to $300. This should not break the bank, obviously, but if you plan to buy multiple plugins, you’d do well to remember that the cost can add up fast.

Find the right plugin for your projects and purchase it. But we don’t suggest going into debt for the purchase. If you’re thinking about buying a more expensive option, then don’t rush the purchase and save up for it.

Top Bass Amp VST Plugins, Final Thoughts

With the right solutions in hand, you should have everything you need to start capturing some incredible sounding bass on your projects without all the fuss.

There are many bass VST plugins to choose from – not as many as guitar, but enough to keep things interesting. From metal to jazz, there are solutions befitting any style or genre.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed your plugin(s), be sure to spend some time familiarizing yourself with it. The better you understand it, the more likely you are to be able to do great things with it.