Contents:
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Guitar Amp Simulators
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Effects
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Visualization Tools and Meters
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Recording Programs
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Quick Start Guide
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Plugin Recommendations For Beginners
I will continue to update this list, so check back often. And if anyone has any good ones that aren't in this list, then let me know and I'll add them in.
Guitar Amp Simulators
NOTE: DIG2.0 and Boogex are really all you need from this group of guitar amp simulators. These two combined with the effects plugins below will give very usable guitar sounds, and all for FREE! 
AcmeBarGig DIG 2.0: This is a really good one and it is by far the best free plugin for heavy distortion that I've seen. Thanks to OldG for finding this one!
Highly Recommended!
AcmeBarGig | Affordable High Quality VST Plugins
Voxengo Boogex: The clean and semi-distorted tones are really good, but the high gain tones leave a lot to be desired (he's working on that for the commercial release).
Highly Recommended!
Voxengo - Boogex
Free Amp and Helian: Distortions are terrible, but the other effects aren't too bad.
Fretted Synth
SimulAnalog: More free guitar amp simulators.
SimulAnalog Guitar Suite
Amplitube Uno:
http://www.betterguitar.com/Equipmen...liTubeUno.html
TubeBaby:
TubeBaby - a VST tube amp simulation
Effects
Since this list is getting quite large, I have organized them in the order that I find the most useful and get used most often in my own projects (with the most useful at the top). Some of the more obscure effects (such as tape modeling, wave shaping, etc) are at the bottom of the list.
Buzzroom BuzMaxi3 Limiter & BuzzComp Compressor: The BuzMaxi3 is a very neutral sounding limiter even when hit pretty hard. Put this on your master channel as the last thing in the chain and you'll be guaranteed not to have any accidental clipping.
BUZMAXI3 is a MUST HAVE
buzzroom - Limiter
buzzroom - Compressors
AiXcoustic Creations Electri-Q: I use this EQ all the time. It's is extremely versicle since it has 64 bands of parametric EQ (yes, you heard that right...
64 bands!!).
Highly Recommended!
AiXcoustic Creations: Electri-Q (posihfopit)
Bootsy: One of the best freeware EQ's I have ever heard and the other effects are amazing as well, which include a reverb, compressor, and more...
Highly Recommended!
Bootsy's freeware VST effect plug-ins
Melda Production: WOW!!! One of the best freeware packages I have ever seen. Best freeware compressors, phasor, and tremolo I've seen. Plus a hand full of other awesome effects.
Highly Recommended!
MeldaProduction Free VST plug-ins, effects, virtual instruments
Kjaerhus Audio Classic Series: Incredible effects! These hold their own against "commercial" plugins... And are even better some of them.
Highly Recommended!
Kjaerhus Audio - Professional Audio Plugins
Digital Fish Phones: Fantastic compressors, de-essers, noise gate, etc.
Highly Recommended!
digitalfishphones.com - free audio vst plugins
Antress Modern Plugins: A huge variety of effects that model analog equipment (compressors, EQ's, reverbs, tape compression, etc.).
Highly Recommended!
Plugin List
DOWNLOAD (Download the "Full Package" for all of the plugins)
Tritone Digital: Tritone Digital makes some of the best sounding plugins available, and the
ColorTone-Free and
PhaseTone are freebies.
Highly Recommended!
TriTone Digital - For The Love of Tone!
Voxengo: Voxengo also makes some of the best commercial plugins available, but the freebies are a little more obscure and IMO aren't as useful as some of the other freebies.
Voxengo - Free VST's
Jeroen Breebaart: Also a good variety of effects. (Compressor, Limiter, Tape Simulator, Reverb, Stereo Enhancer, and more!)
Jeroen Breebaart | Free VST plugins
SSL (Solid State Logic) LMC-1: SSL is a company who makes very high end mixing consoles ($100,000+) that are in a lot of pro recording studios.
Solid State Logic
Uncut Pluings: Other EQ Plugins: 31-band/15 band Graphic EQ's and 5 band/3 band Parametric EQ's.
VST EFFECTS
PARIS EQ: Ported from the what used to be a $4,000 recording system (including hardware) called PARIS before it was discontinued. And the EQ from PARIS is now available for free.
KVR: Matt Craig ParisEQ - Virtual Effect (screenshot of the plugin, but the download link doesn't work anymore)
Deepsound Music - Ressources musique et audio (<-- use this for downloading)
Mangus Ambience: Good reverb.
Magnus' plugins
GlaceVerb: Another good reverb.
DASAMPLE - Sounds for professionals
SIR (Super Impulse Response): Very good reverb sounds. It is an impulse reverb, and it is very CPU intensive, so you won't be able to use this plugin for "live effects" or in a program that does not have automatic latency compensation without some "tweaking". You will know if your program does or not the moment you press play, because this plugin will delay that track by a very noticable amount and make it out of time with the rest of your tracks. Fixing this is kind of a pain, so unless your program has automatic latency compensation, then I'd suggest using Ambience, Glaceverb, or the OldSkoolVerb from Voxengo.
http://www.knufinke.de/sir/index_en.html
**
NOTE: ** You will need to download impulse files and open them inside SIR before you can use this plugin.
See
explanation of impulse reverbs below.
Slim Slow Slider: I highly recommend the CatDelay!
Slim Slow Slider : Produits Slim Slow Slider - AudioFanzine
AG Works Chorus: A very versitle chorus plugin.
[ag-works] Audio Plugins - Chorus CH-2
MDA: A whole lot of effects....
http://mda.smartelectronix.com/effects.htm
Visualization Tools and Meters
Roger Nichols Free Inspector: Spectral display, various types of meters including a volume, peak, and panning meters, it also has a large warning indicator so you can clearly see when you are in the red. It counts the number of clips, consecutive clips, displays how much head room you have, and more...
MUST HAVE!
Inspector
Voxengo SPAN: Spectrum analyzer
MUST HAVE!
Voxengo
Recording Programs
Kristal Audio: A free 16-track recording program that also has live VST monitoring.... So you can plug your guitar into your computer, load some of these effects onto a track and hear the effects while you are playing guitar just like an effects pedal or processor. (As explained in the
Kristal Audio Tutorial).
KRISTAL Audio Engine