Amp Forge

A free, open-source VST3/VST2 plugin host for guitarists on Windows.
Build a pedalboard in software, assign MIDI footswitches, and perform live — no DAW needed.

⬇ Download v0.3.0 (Windows, portable ZIP)

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Horizontal chain view — stomp, preset, and stomp sections laid out side by side. Toggle between vertical and horizontal via the ↔/↕ button.

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Amp Forge is a standalone guitar multi-effects host. Load any VST3 or VST2 plugin, chain them in whatever order you want, and play through your audio interface with near-zero latency on ASIO. Think of it as a software pedalboard — without the price tag, and without opening a DAW.

The main things that made it worth building:

• Sections split your chain into Stomp (independent bypass per slot) and Preset (exclusive — only one amp/cab active at a time, like switching channels on a real amp). Most generic hosts don't have this.
• Templates let you save complete chain snapshots and switch between them with a single keypress or MIDI footswitch.
• Plugin scanning runs in a subprocess, so a crashing plugin can't take down your session.

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Features

Signal chain

• VST3 and VST2 hosting — scans standard plugin folders on startup, or add your own via Scan Paths
• Drag and drop to reorder effects
• Per-slot bypass and per-slot volume trim
• Per-section bypass and per-section output level

Live performance

• Templates — save and recall named chain configurations (think "verse", "chorus", "lead")
• MIDI control mapping — bind any note, CC, or program change to a bypass toggle or preset switch
• Keyboard shortcuts — same bindings, no MIDI hardware required
• Expression pedal — map a MIDI CC to any plugin parameter

Audio

• ASIO support for ultra-low latency
• Master input gain, output volume, and global mute
• CPU and DSP usage in the header (always visible)

Presets

• Save and load .tfpreset files — full chain snapshots including plugin state

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Getting started

1. Download the latest release and extract the ZIP anywhere
2. Run Amp Forge.exe
3. Open Audio Settings and pick your interface (ASIO strongly recommended)
4. VST3 plugins in standard locations show up automatically in the Library — for other folders, use Scan Paths...
5. Drag a plugin into the Signal Chain and play

Full guide: docs/USER_GUIDE.md

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Build from source

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• Visual Studio 2022 or 2026 with Desktop development with C++
• CMake 3.22+
• Internet on first configure (JUCE 8 fetched automatically via CMake)

ASIO and VST2 SDKs are bundled — nothing extra to download.

Steps

git clone https://github.com/sakku116/ampforge/guitar-multifx-simulator
cd guitar-multifx-simulator

# Visual Studio 2026
cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 18 2026" -A x64

# Visual Studio 2022 — use "Visual Studio 17 2022" instead

cmake --build build --config Release --parallel

Makefile shortcuts if you prefer:

make build    # Debug build
make release  # Release build
make run      # Build + run

Output: build/AmpForge_artefacts/Release/Amp Forge.exe

Amp Forge.exe and AmpForgeScanWorker.exe need to be in the same folder. CMake handles this automatically after each build.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to try
Plugins not showing up	Click Rescan Plugins, or add your plugin folder via Scan Paths...
No audio	Open Audio Settings and check your input/output device selection
High latency	Switch to ASIO and lower the buffer size in Audio Settings
"Couldn't open input device"	Make sure your interface is connected before launching, or open Audio Settings after
Plugin crashes during scan	This is expected — crashes are isolated per-plugin. Check %APPDATA%\AmpForge\host.log for details

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Project layout

src/           C++ source — audio engine, plugin host, UI
docs/          User guide + screenshots
ASIOSDK/       Steinberg ASIO SDK 2.3 (bundled)
vst2sdk/       VST2 interface headers (bundled, MIT clean-room)
CMakeLists.txt Build config
Makefile       Build shortcuts

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License

This project is licensed under AGPLv3 — see LICENSE.

Component	License
Amp Forge	AGPLv3
JUCE 8	AGPLv3 option — juce.com
Steinberg ASIO SDK 2.3	GPL v3 — ASIOSDK/LICENSE.txt
VST2 interface headers	MIT — vst2sdk/LICENSE
Steinberg VST3 SDK	MIT (bundled via JUCE/CMake)

VST2 note: The bundled VST2 headers are a clean-room reimplementation of the binary ABI, not derived from Steinberg's source. Hosting VST2 plugins for interoperability purposes is generally permitted under US DMCA § 1201(f) and EU Software Directive Article 6(2). "VST" is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Steinberg.