★★★★★
We already included Kontact Start at the number 1 spot in this list, but thought it would be a disservice to anyone reading this if we didn’t highlight the “Guitar Rig 5 Player” part of the Start bundle.
Guitar Rig is the leading name in all things guitar amp simulation and guitar FX and preset emulation for as long as we can remember. Guitar Rig 5 Player edition offers a surprisingly large amount of the functionality of the full program as a free download.
While still fairly limited compared to the Pro version, the Native Instruments Factory Selection library makes a powerful tool for guitarists who prefer to tweak their guitar sounds within their DAW. Even non-guitarists will find this plugin useful for making rocking synths and filthy sounding drums.
