Best Steel Guitar VST Plugins
How to choose the best steel guitar VST plugin which is most suitable for your composing? In this article, I am guiding you to choose it by analyzing the characteristics of them. Here is the best steel guitar VST plugin list which I ranked according to their main characters. I will try my best to update this article every month when the arrival of competitive new products.
- 1. Ample Guitar - SJ
- 2. Native Instruments - Picked Acoustic
- 3. Orange Tree Samples - Evolution Steel Strings
- 4. Indiginus - Renegade Acoustic Guitar
- 5. Ample Guitar M III
- 6. Vir2 - Acou6tics
- 7. Ample Guitar T III
- 8. MusicLab RealGuitar 5
- 9. Ample Guitar L III
- 10. Indiginus Delta Blues Acoustic Slide Guitar
Please refer to the following table which contains important things that we should consider a steel guitar VST plugin. I explained each character one by one after the table. I am a sound engineer and please note that all of these rankings, scoring, and reviewing are done according to my own 10 year working experiences in the music composing field.
| Rank | Name | Sustain quality (%) | Sound quality (%) | Fingering quality (%) | Sound Naturality (%) | Blend/Mix Quality (%) | File Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ample Guitar - SJ | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 96 | 8.6 GB | $169 |
| 2 | Native Instruments - Picked Acoustic | 100 | 100 | 97 | 99 | 97 | 8.4 GB | $99 |
| 3 | Orange Tree - Evolution Steel Strings | 96 | 95 | 88 | 86 | 92 | 7.18 GB | $179 |
| 4 | Indiginus - Renegade Acoustic Guitar | 95 | 98 | 89 | 84 | 94 | 3.4 GB | $69 |
| 5 | Ample Guitar M III | 91 | 93 | 81 | 94 | 91 | 5.83 GB | $169 |
| 6 | Vir2 - Acou6tics | 86 | 85 | 86 | 93 | 82 | 11.49 GB (all collection) | $399.95 |
| 7 | Ample Guitar T III | 88 | 90 | 80 | 94 | 89 | 5.21 GB | $169 |
| 8 | MusicLab RealGuitar 5 | 84 | 86 | 82 | 82 | 84 | 1.3 GB | $199 |
| 9 | Ample Guitar L III | 86 | 90 | 84 | 86 | 90 | 3.97 GB | $169 |
| 10 | Indiginus Delta Blues Acoustic Slide Guitar | 82 | 80 | 73 | 70 | 80 | 274 MB | $30 |
what is Sustain quality of steel guitar?
Sustain quality holds the feeling of steel guitar sound. It is a reverb effect of the guitar. In a real box steel guitar, sustain depends on the size, quality, and the shape of the box. In most new steel guitar VST plugins and DAWs, there is an option to control the sustain. If your music or song has a lot of guitar solo parts or bits, you need to consider a lot about sustain quality.
what is Sound quality of steel guitar?
In this character, I measure how much clear that the listener can hear the sound. Sound quality means, clear level of the sound. Here, especially we need to consider high octave notes and low octave notes. In a good steel guitar VST plugin, both high and low octave should be able to listen clearly and separately without any clash sounds.
what is Fingering Quality of steel guitar?
Fingering is a very popular style in steel guitar playing. There should be no clash or disturb sounds in notes when playing continuously. It should be able to hear clearly and separately. Furthermore, if the guitar is playing in the background (like a song), each note should be able to hear clearly and separately.
what is Sound naturality of steel guitar?
In this character, I measure how much steel guitar VST plugin can come close to the real sound of a real steel guitar. This can measure by comparing the VST steel guitar sound with a real steel guitar. There are a lot of things that we need to consider to measure the sound naturality of a steel guitar such as pick sound, slides, and fret noises. You can compare the scoring of sound naturality of the best 10 VST guitars by referring to the above table.
what is Blend / Mix quality of steel guitar?
By looking at this measurement, you can choose the best steel guitar plugin which can blend with other instruments. It means that how much the steel guitar sound can hear separately and clearly when it playing with other instruments especially in songs. This is a very important character because mix quality is a major factor that affects the quality of a music track.
Let's take the best steel guitar VST plugins one by one in to action ...
1. Ample Guitar - SJ
This is rank number one which brings the sound of Gibson SJ-200 vintage custom shop acoustic guitar. This is the best steel guitar VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin has two sample libraries for thumb pick and strum. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that this plugin is most suitable for classic, slow rock, and pop music. Talking about the customization and controls, Ample SJ guitar has options to choose and control sustain, hammer on and pull off the legato slide, slide in and out, palm mute, pop, natural harmonic, pinch harmonic 10 articulations, Legato at random length & pitch & poly. This VST plugin has a remarkable sound quality and sound naturality which is almost close to a real steel guitar. This plugin requires 10 GB hard disk space to install. Also, please note that this plugin is only supported for 64 bit operating systems and also need a processor of i5 or higher to run. Here I add an official soundtrack of Ample SJ from Soundcloud by AmpleSound channel. Take your time to listen to it. You will feel the excellence of it by yourself.
2. Native Instruments - Picked Acoustic
This is rank number two which offers the sound of vintage steel-string acoustic played with fingers and plectrum by a studio session pro. This is the second-best steel guitar VST plugin and the latest production by Native Instruments which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that this plugin is most suitable for classic, pop, slow rock, and ballad music. Talking about the customization and controls, this plugin has options to adjust the stereo width, add doubling, and add high-end studio effects. The file size is 8.4 GB and you must have Kontakt version 6.1 or higher to run this plugin. The interesting thing is that this plugin includes 194 patterns. You have to choose any of them according to your taste. The most highlighted feature of this plugin that I can notice is the fingering quality. Here I add an official introduction video of Picked Acoustic from YouTube by Native Instruments channel. Take your time to watch it.
3. Orange Tree Samples - Evolution Steel Strings
This is rank number three which brings the sound of an iconic, Martin D16R steel-string acoustic guitar recorded in stereo with top-notch mics. This is the third-best steel guitar VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that this plugin is most suitable for classic, pop, and slow rock music. Talking about the customization and controls, This plugin has options to control sustain, plam mute, mute, harmonics, and velocity levels. The file size is 6.5 GB but it needs 7.18 GB for installation. The official web site of Orange Tree is mentioned that they have recorded these samples using stereo micing for a more natural tone with minimal buzzing. Here I add an official introduction video of Evolution Steel String from YouTube by Orange Tree Samples channel. Take your time to watch it.
4. Indiginus - Renegade Acoustic Guitar
This is rank number four which features the sound of Martin D-18 guitar. This is the fourth-best steel guitar VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin includes picked samples, finger-picked samples, and 12-string mode. By listening to the sound of this guitar, my opinion is, this plugin is more suitable for jazz, country, and folk music. Looking at the customization and controls this plugin includes options to control slides, mutes, and harmonic layers that can be triggered by the velocity of the key pressing or key-switches. Furthermore, articulations include hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, mutes, and trills. The file size is only 3.4 GB which is really lightweight compared to other professional plugins. Renegade guitar has an option not only to play parts but also chord and strumming engines with customizable chord fingerings and patterns. Here I add an official soundtrack of Renegade Acoustic guitar from Soundcloud by Indiginus channel. Take your time to listen to it and measure the quality of this plugin.
5. Ample Guitar M III
This is rank number five which features the sound of Martin D-41 acoustic guitar. This is the fifth-best steel guitar VST plugin which I found at the moment when I am writing this article. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that this plugin is most suitable for soft music such as classic and ballad. The file size is 5.83 GB. This guitar plugin has two sample libraries for strum and finger. Ample M III guitar has options to choose and control sustain, hammer on and pull off the legato slide, slide in and out, palm mute, pop, natural harmonic, pinch harmonic 10 articulations, Legato at random length & pitch & poly. This VST plugin has a remarkable sound depth. Here I add a soundtrack of Ample Guitar M III from Soundcloud by AmpleSound channel. Take your time to listen and feel the beauty of this plugin.
6. Vir2 - Acou6tics
This is rank number six which is designed as a guitar collection. According to the standard measurements of characters, this plugin holds the sixth position in the list of best steel guitar VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. Acou6tics plugin has options to choose and control sustain, muted, legato, slides, release, chucka-chuckas, harmonics, and fx. This plugin includes 6 different types of string sounds which are steel-string, 12-string, nylon string, ukulele, mandolin, and guitarlele. Due to that, my opinion is, this plugin can use for any type of music according to the taste of the composer. The file size is 11.49 GB. Vir2 official web site is mentioned that these plugins are included 3000 and 7000 samples per instrument. Here I add an official soundtrack of Acou6tics guitar from Soundcloud by Vir2 instruments channel. Take your time to listen and feel the depth of the sound.
7. Ample Guitar T III
This is rank number seven which brings the sound of Taylor 714CE acoustic guitar sound. According to the standard measurements of characters, this plugin holds the seventh position in the list of best steel guitar VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. This plugin has two sample libraries for pick and strum. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that Ample T III guitar is most suitable for classical and pop music. The downloadable file size is 5.21 GB. Talking about the customization and controls, Ample T III guitar has options to choose and control sustain, hammer-on & pull-off, legato slide, slide in and out, palm mute, pop, natural harmonic, pinch harmonic 10 articulations, legato at random length & pitch & poly. The special of this plugin that I can feel the most is sound naturality due to the noises such as fret noises. Here I add an official soundtrack of Ample T III Guitar from Soundcloud by AmpleSound channel. Take your time to listen and feel the unique color of the sound.
8. MusicLab RealGuitar 5
This is rank number eight contains two types of guitars which are classic and steel string. According to the measurements, this plugin holds the eight position in the list of best steel guitar VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that these two guitar plugins are most suitable for jazz, country, and folk music. The downloadable file size is 1.3 GB. The important thing is that this plugin includes a huge rhythm library consisting of 1250 patterns. The official website of MusicLab is mentioned that they have recorded high-quality samples of each fret of all acoustic guitar strings and guitar-specific sounds and noises with dynamics and nuances an experienced performer can get from the instrument. Here I add an official introduction video of Real Guitar 5 from YouTube by Musiclab channel. Take your time to watch it.
9. Ample Guitar L III
This is rank number nine which brings the sound of Alhambra Luthier classic guitar sound. This plugin has a very unique sound. Also, it has two sample libraries for pick and finger. According to the measurements, this plugin holds position number nine in the list of best steel guitar VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that this VST instrument is most suitable for classic, pop, and Spanish music. Talking about the customization and controls, Ample L III guitar has options to choose and control sustain, hammer-on & pull-off, legato slide, slide in and out, palm mute, pop, natural harmonic, pinch harmonic 10 articulations, legato at random length & pitch & poly. If you are looking for a guitar which has a sound range between steel guitar and a nylon classic guitar, I think this is the best option for you. Here I add a soundtrack of Ample L III guitar from Soundcloud by AmpleSound channel. Take your time to listen to it feel the uniqueness.
10. Indiginus Delta Blues Acoustic Slide Guitar
This is rank number ten which has a very unique sound. According to the measurements, this plugin holds position number ten in the list of best steel guitar VST plugins at the moment when I am writing this article. According to the feeling of the sound, my opinion is that this plugin is most suitable for blues, folk, and country music. Talking about the customization and controls, this plugin has options for auto-vibrato, 12-string mode, round-robin, and amp. Also, slides, mutes, and harmonic layers can be triggered by the velocity of the key pressing or key-switches. The most amazing thing and the most special reason that I need to highlight in this plugin is all these features are included in the size of just 274 MB (download file size). You can run this plugin with a minimum of hardware requirements such as 2 GB of RAM. (Minimum hardware requirements are not mentioned on the official website.) Here I add a soundtrack of Indiginus Delta Blues Acoustic Slide Guitar from Soundcloud by Indiginus channel. Take your time to listen to it.
