Amped vs Soundshed Guitar

Amped is a guitar amp simulation product line for playing through amp sims on a Windows or macOS computer, as a standalone program or plugin. Its modeling approach combines analog component emulation with amp learning, and the interface is arranged around amp controls and a pedalboard. Amped Roots 2.0 has four amp simulations: 5034 Fluff, 5151 Fluff, Freeman Fluff, and Mega Fluff; the 5034 Fluff is included in the free plan. Roots 2.0 also includes a noise gate, compressor, drive pedal, chorus, analog delay, and reverb. Each amp has a selected cabinet, with an IR loader and an option to bypass the cabinet section for external cabinet simulation. Amped includes a guitar tuner, and the Roots standalone program can be controlled by MIDI. Plugin formats include VST3, AU, and AAX, with AAX support limited to Mac. The free plan costs nothing; the Amped Roots 2.0 Full License is listed at €5,999 as a one-time purchase. Purchasing requires installing the plugin's free trial and using its computer-specific Request Key at checkout.

Soundshed Guitar is a free guitar and bass multi-effects app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It runs standalone or in a DAW through VST3, AU, or CLAP. Neural Amp Modeler A2 supplies amp tones, with Tone3000 available inside the app. Effects can be arranged in any order, split into parallel paths, connected through graph-based routing, and combined with other plugins. Impulse-response cabinet simulation lets users load and blend their own cabinets. Community presets and tone packs can be browsed, complete setups imported, and preset assets transferred between systems or collaborators. Built-in tools include a tuner, metronome, jam backing tracks, quick riff capture, and a Practice Tool. Version 1.6.0 adds nine effects, fifteen drive pedal models, gapless preset switching, signal-chain undo, and A/B comparison. Minimums include Windows 10/11 x64 with AVX2, macOS 11+, 4GB RAM, and 500MB disk space. Listed audio rates are 44.1–96kHz with latency under 10ms at 48kHz.