Best Pop Guitar VST Plugins: Create Hit Tunes

Last updated on January 6th, 2024

Want to jump straight to the answer? Our choice for the Best Pop Guitar VST is the Fender Collection from Amplitube!

Getting just the right sound on a guitar becomes a detailed process for many guitarists, especially in pop. You want to make sure you have the delays, reverbs, and general effects dialed in just right to match the timing of the song. Goals such as this are super easy to achieve when it comes to digital versions, especially with the best Pop Guitars VSTs. 

Looking for more samples to use in your pop songs? Check out these other pop-based sounds!

Quicklook: Best Pop Guitar VSTs

1. Fender Collection – Amplitube
2. Bias FX 2 – Positive Grid
3. GTR 3 – Waves
4. Bias Amp 2 – Positive Grid
5. Ampire – PreSonus

What To Look For When Choosing the Best Pop Guitar VSTs

Knowing what you are looking for is key when buying guitar related effects and amps. It is no different with a guitar vst. Most of the programs in this list have free trials for you to experiment and find out if they are the right choice for you. Make sure throughout the whole process that you consider these factors as well. 

Pricing

Being able to afford a room full of amps and cabinets is not realistic for most engineers and producers. But for a literal fraction of the cost of one amp, you can have the tones of over a dozen. Some options in this list will also offer different levels of their own products depending on what all you need yourself. 

Compatibility – System Requirements

The requirements on these plugins are pretty basic and can be easily met with almost any computer. Of course, there are requirements for the most recent updates of operating systems, but you can also find some of the best pop guitar VSTs in this list that operate on older versions as well.

DAW Compatibility

When it comes to DAWs, a plugin survives off of versatility. Meaning that companies will do their best to make it work on as many platforms as they can. Luckily, most DAWs work with the same general systems in place making it easy to jump from one DAW to another. 

Frequency of Use

Each of these fantastic pop guitar VSTs can be used in more than one way. They all have amazing capabilities that span beyond more than one genre. You’ll see some of these options in our selections for the Best Metal Guitar VSTs and even in the Best Country Guitar VSTs. 

Skill Level

These amp simulators and VSTs work no different than a regular amp and pedal combination. They are simple to use and there are countless tutorials out there on how to reach certain tones with amps such as these. 

Jump to:

• Fender Collection – Amplitube
• Bias FX 2 – Positive Grid
• GTR 3 – Waves
• Bias Amp 2 – Positive Grid
• Ampire – PreSonus

5 Best Pop Guitar VSTs

1. Fender Collection – Amplitube

Fender amps are perfect no matter what genre or style you are playing. In studios all over the world, you will find Fenders are one of the most commonplace amps you will find. Amplitube has recreated the sounds of some of the most popular amps and cabs from Fender.

For great Pop tones, some of the best choices are the Vibratone, Vibroverb, and Twin Reverb. Fender’s unique effects are built right into the amps themselves, giving an iconic and recognizable sound that many want. 

What is included:

• 14 Amplifiers
• 14 Cabinets
• 9 Stompboxes
• 7 Rack Effects
• 6 Microphones

Best for: Authentic Effects

Price: $99.99

DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, works well with Pro Tools

System Requirements: macOS and Windows

	Mac	Windows
Memory	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended
Operating System	10.10 or later	Windows 7 or later

2. Bias FX 2 – Positive Grid

Pop guitars aren’t known for having so much distortion or overdrive as they are effects. So many pop songs have unique sounds of chorus, reverb, delays, and other effects that don’t get to come out very often. 

Bias FX 2 is full of versatile sounds that can be used to create interesting and prominent sounds that will take your tracks to a whole new level. You also can even use their “Guitar Match” tool to make your guitar sound more like the classics that were used on other Pop tracks. 

What is included:

• Amps
  • Standard – 30
  • Professional – 60
  • Elite – 100
• Effects
  • Standard – 43
  • Professional – 115
  • Elite – 122
• Guitar Match Models
  • Standard – 4
  • Professional – 8
  • Elite – 20

Best for: Diversity in Sounds you can Achieve

Price: 

• Standard – $99
• Pro – $199
• Elite – $299

DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, works well with Soundforge

System Requirements: macOS and Windows

	Mac	Windows
Memory	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended
Operating System	10.11 or later	Windows 8 or later

3. GTR 3 – Waves

Waves is full of plugins and sounds that work on countless styles of music and instruments. Pop guitar is no exception. With the mixture of different amps and effects, you can reach the exact tones you are looking for. 

Take the time to look through the presets and features that are included in the GTR3 bundle to get a taste of what all you can do. Try out different orders and effects chains and you will find the perfect tone. 

What is included:

•  Over 30 Amps
• 30 Cabinets
• 25 Pedals

Best for: Clean Simple Tones

Price: $129.99

DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, works well with Reaper

System Requirements: macOS and Windows

	Mac	Windows
Memory	8 GB RAM	8 GB RAM
Operating System	10.13.6, 10.14.6, 10.15.7, 11.0.1 (Intel only)	Windows 10 (64-bit)

4. Bias Amp 2 – Positive Grid

If you enjoy Bias FX 2, Bias Amp 2 is going to be another wonderful option for you as well. With the amp modeling options, you can have your own custom amps in no time. Sound just like the guitars on your favorite song with these flexible tones.

You have countless ways to combine the tools in this plugin to get the perfect sound for any style. There are top of the line clean tones and amazingly thick reverbs and other effects for you to explore. 

What is included:

•  36 Default Amp Models
• Over 20 Cabinets

Best for: All in One VST

Price: $299

DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, works well with Cakewalk

System Requirements: macOS and Windows

	Mac	Windows
Memory	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended
Operating System	10.10.5 or later	Windows 7 (SP1), 8, and 10

5. Ampire – PreSonus

From the incredible reverbs built right into the amp, to the sparkling tones of their Vox emulator, the Ampire VST is a perfect budget option for any guitarist. These digital emulations of groundbreaking amps are exactly what any guitarist needs in their back pocket. 

You have the option of creating your own cabinet sounds by uploading up to 3 impulse response files to add any additional tones you could be wanting. All of this matched with the awesome stompboxes are more than you could ask for at this price. 

What is included:

• 5 Amps
• 17 Cabinets
• 13 Effects Pedals

Best for: The Lowest Price

Price: $59

DAW Support: All popular DAWs supported, works well with Logic

System Requirements: macOS and Windows

	Mac	Windows
Memory	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended	4 GB RAM 8 GB recommended
Operating System	10.13 or higher	Windows 10

Frequently Asked Questions

Top Tones for the Charts

In modern pop, you do not hear guitar prevalent in the mix. However, those sounds are perfectly mixed into the backgrounds of all of your favorite tracks. And almost every pop star that does any sort of live performance uses a live band with at least one guitarist if not more. In the live environments, you can usually hear the guitar more out front in the mix especially with artists like Rihanna, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, and many more. Listen to those artists and their bands to find just the exact tone you are looking for.

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