AmpForge vs Gjalla

AmpForge is a free, open-source guitar amp simulator plugin that also includes vocal effects. Its pedalboard has 19 internal modules that can be reordered while the plugin is running. The NAM module loads Neural Amp Modeler capture files supplied by the user. Vocal tools include autotune pitch correction and a de-esser for sibilance. AmpForge is available as VST3, LV2, and CLAP plugins, plus a standalone app on supported platforms. It can run in compatible hosts such as Reaper, Carla, and Bitwig. Users can save, update, delete, import, and export custom presets, alongside the included factory presets. Hosts can automate every parameter, including pedal positions. An IR loader is included, but users need to provide cabinet impulse responses and NAM captures. AmpForge supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. The Windows installer offers VST3, CLAP, and LV2, but no standalone executable. The macOS build is not signed or notarized; the README describes a Gatekeeper workaround for installation.

Gjalla is a free, open-source guitar amp simulator for black metal and other raw styles. Sognevo, a one-person project making dark-music audio plugins, provides it for Windows, macOS, and Linux as VST3, CLAP, and, on macOS, AU, plus a standalone application. The processing chain includes input trim, noise gate, pedal, preamp, tone stack, power section, presence, cabinet, frost, and output trim. Its pedal offers 90s distortion, HM-2-style chainsaw, and starved-transistor fuzz voicings. Three analytic cabinets are included; WAV or AIFF impulse responses up to two seconds can be loaded, or the cabinet can be disabled for an external loader. Six factory presets, meters, editable knob values, undo and redo, tooltips, and a resizable interface are provided. Host latency is reported as six samples, stated as 0.13 ms at 48 kHz. There is no packaged release yet, so users must build from source or follow GitHub releases. A build requires Git, CMake 3.22 or later, and a C++20 compiler. Gjalla is GPLv3-or-later and has no telemetry, network access, update checks, or accounts.