Does This FREE Metal Amp Sim Plugin Deliver BONE-CRUSHING Tones?? | Ignite Emissary and NadIR Review

Are you looking to get a solid metal tone for no cost? By doing so, you can use something called an “amp sim”, which is a digital imitation of a real amplifier. Today, we’re looking at the Ignite Emissary amp sim, which is modeled after a hardware amplifier by Ignite Amps. We’ll see if the Ignite Emissary and NadIR plugins are worth your time, hard drive space, and we’re going to see if they’re worth using for an original song. Now it’s time to get metal \m/

Ignite Emissary

One of the first things I noticed about the Ignite Emissary amp sim was its display, which is super realistic looking. You can interact with the front and the back by clicking on a little arrow near the bottom right corner. The front side has a plethora of tone options, including 7 presets:

1. Default
2. Lead Chug
3. Lead Modern
4. Lead Tight
5. Lead Fat
6. Clean Cranked
7. Clean Bright

The back side doesn’t have as much to interact with. However, I noticed that you could change and tweak the power tubes, which is pretty nice. Most of the knobs are not really functional and are more aesthetic. While not practical, I admire the visual realism of the display. You can even see through the grate to the front side of the amp. It's like having the amp physically in the room with you!

The only issue I've had with the Ignite Emissary was the size of its display. I have to struggle to read some of the important information on the amp sim due to the small size of some of the text. This could simply be because the DAW (digital audio workstation) I'm using just does not allow me to adjust the size of the plugin's display. It could also just be something I haven't figured out how to adjust. Even though this amp appeals to the high gain metal player, the STL Tones website describes this as a versatile amp that can achieve anything from “pristine cleans” to “bone-crushing” high gain metal tones. If you haven't already, I encourage you to check out the video and hear the tones in action. In the video, I cycle through each preset and demonstrate what the plugins sound like in an original instrumental mini song I wrote.

NadIR

Just like we have an amp simulator, the NadIR is a cabinet simulator. A cabinet is typically the last link in the audio chain. Cabinets take the audio signal from the amplifier and bring it to the listeners’ ears. The purpose of the NadIR is to adjust and filter your tones to get more desirable sounds. The STL Tones website and Ignite Amps website emphasize putting the power in the players' hands by having them adjust their tones for themselves, instead of outsourcing that task to a professional. This is especially useful to home studio musicians and guitarists looking to save space by using their computers to replace hardware amplifiers and cabinets in their signal chains. The NadIR comes with 10 presets:

1. 57 Pure
2. 57 Smooth
3. 57 Pair
4. 57 Phase Shift
5. 441 Bright
6. 441 Modern
7. German Pair
8. Fredman Classic
9. Fredman Round
10. Roomy

Impressions and Final Thoughts

Overall, the Ignite Emissary is very fun to play around with and discover what kinds of metal tones you can get from it. The amp sim pairs well with the NadIR plugin, which is an extremely useful tool for getting a more defined sound. For the free price, you can’t go wrong in checking this out and seeing what kinds of sounds you can get from it. In my opinion, this plugin combination lives up to the description of being versatile since you can get a pretty broad range of sounds from it.

How do you think this plugin bundle sounds? Do you think it delivers the “bone-crushing” tones as advertised? I think it does--especially on the "Lead Chug" setting. Take a listen HERE in my video review and let me know what you think!

Relevant Links

Ignite Amps: Ignite Emissary, NadIR, AND TS-999 SubScreamer


STL Tones Bundle for Both Plugins--Ignite Emissary AND NadIR