Last Updated on February 7, 2025 by IDS Team
If you’re not familiar with Ugritone metal vsts and why they deserve an article, this small plugin and impulse response designer has been doing one thing really, really damn well since 2017. In fact, we would say it is one of the best specialist plugin hotspots for everything heavy. Yes, that means grunge, death metal, emo, ska punk, and everything in between. If it’s got distortion, they’ve probably explored it somehow—from hair metal and 70s hard rock to designing impulse responses for the iciest cutting-edge black metal sonic atmospheres.
Yet we have some specific reasons for focussing on them today, as this retailer has been hit with a series of ups and downs more intense than te longest guitar solo. Read on for the details on why now is such a great time to get to know them if you haven’t already – or, for our appraisal of what they do best, for those who are already fans.
Is Ugritone Closing Down?
Late in 2024 music fans were hit with the sad news that Ugritone would be not longer. After 6 years, they were finally closing their virtual doors. At least, that’s what we thought when we covered them back in October. Yet fate works in mysterious ways, and the retailer was rescued spontaneously by audiogroup and musicalbits. As a result, Ugritone products are still available, and will remain largely unchanged.
According to the Ugritone website, these two are German companies with a strong industry background and, in the case of Musicalbits, proper connections within metal, involving bands such as Blind Guardian and Hammerfall. So, Ugritone has been saved from the grave by these guys taking over. But what does the future hold?
Ugritone Sale and a Brighter Future
The bad news is that Ugritone have finished their closing sale now – but the good news is their VSTs are still extremely good value for money and we believe that things are only going to continue at this level of quality in future.
Whilst sometimes a change of hands can lead to a downgrade in quality, we’re hoping thar Ugritone, Audiogroup and Musicalbits are actually a perfect trio. So here are a few choice Ugritone products to focus on – with a little about what makes them great, and will continue to do so in future.
Best Ugritone Metal VSTs for Drums: Drum Pack – ALMIGHTY MIDI Pack
They claim on the website that you may never program drums again’ with this pack. And, of course, this might mean theyd on’t leave that much room for adding your own flair. But, for what it is, we can’t say we’ve ever actually encountered anything that does this job better.
The MIDI Groove almighty pack doens’t come with a sampler, but it doesn’t need one. Ultimately, it excels for two reasons. The first: it actually sounds like the genres it claims to sound like, and wow, there really are a lot of these. Advertising everything from crust punk to black metal, you may think that they have spread themselves too thinly but the actual processes that go into creating the groove packs are the real deal.
The second, and an even better feature – the high level of compatibility with all of the most popular drum plugins, including EZdrummer, Addictive Drums, GetGood Drums, and more. What this also means is if you’re not quite satisfied with the admittedly very high quality of these grooves, you do have some freedom. In fact, it’s very easy to augment them with your own drums.
Find it HERE
Runner Up: Drums Against Humanity
We’ve covered drums against humanity on our other section on Ugritone here, but we’re just giving them an honorable mention because they pair brilliantly with a lot of the other entries on this list. The perfect modern metal solution, we like the fact that due to careful modelling of the IRs and the fact that ugritone really put care into the studio development level of the process, these sound organic, raw, and human, whilst still maintaining the slickness of modern metal.
Find it HERE
Best Ugritone Metal Packs Overall: ALMIGHTY TRVE Cab Bundle – 2017-2023 MIDI Collection
Why does this make the cut? One of the things we love the most about Ugritone is that, unlike most other retailers, it doesn’t just have a handful of generic metal packs spanning a couple of subgenres. This manufacturer really goes into the nitty gritty and has crafted specific impulse responses for genres as diverse as black metal, death metal, grunge, and emo. You name it, if it’s a heavy subgenre, they’ve probably designed some IRs for it.
We honestly have never seen this elsewhere, and definitely not all in one place, so we cannot understate how great this is if you’re working in heavy music and you enjoy diversity, blending genres, and so on – especially as so much of modern metal doesn’t fit neatly into one category and the genre loves to keep innovating.
The IRs are really good, too, and the pack has a reasonable cost, with a massive price reduction from over 300 USD to 39.
Of course, you can buy the individual packs separately, but we had to share it in it’s entirety due to this whopping discount. Find it HERE
Best Ugritone Metal VSTs for Guitar: Ampenstein – Dual Rektifier (and the whole Ampenstein series)
We love this amp sim because it’s criminally cheap. You get 8 extreme metal presets as well as an IR loafer, all in this neat 25 USD amp sim, and it doesn’t hold back on the sonic power.
With 10 pedal and 4 FX emulations, it’s also got a pretty wide variety to choose from so you really are getting a lot for the price of a lot less here. But why do we think it stands out above other ugritone presets like the DAIM 100?
Like the other amp sims the company has, it’s part of a partnership with VTarAmps by Vadim Taranov and neural modelling. However, what makes it stand out is it’s the only one in the range that combines the classic modern metal sounds with the innovative noise suppression technology from VTarAmps. This is similar to a gate, but tighter and works over the whole of the sound, meaning that even in the most thorny, complex riffs your playing remains tight and crisp. No matter how much sound you are drowning in you will find this feature a lifesaver for modern metal. It pairs perfectly with the other choices on the amp sim for the best cuttin edge crisp modern sound.
Other pedals include chorus, tremolo, and comp, but we seriously cannot get over how good the selection of pedals is here with this one, especially the humorously named chug-a-tron, which does exactly what it’s name suggests.
Find it HERE
Ugritone Metal VSTs for Producers – VERBCORE
As it’s name might suggest, VERBCORE series is at first simply a metal specific reverb that works stunningly with the rest of Ugritone’s products – and otehr VSTs too.
The company doesn’t have a whole host of FX plugins – it’s lacking a compressor or EQ, and it has chosen to stay with the bread and butter of raw, real, guitar and drums, as opposed to bringing in more complex new digital tech. However, there is much more to VERBCORE than meets the eye.
Wit many metal reverbs simply boasting about how the bring the right texture and atmosphere to your track, this one offers something a little bit different. Yes, these things are important, but VERBCORE excels with the creative side of reverb and the raw IR modelling and sculpting that is often the very important next step up for a beginner producer once they have begun to feel satisfied with their tracks. It features things such as backwards reverb, gated reverb, blooms, and the ability to manipulate your own IR files and even, yes, DRAW your own reverb on the 1989Verb, for under 50 USD.
This is just one of the kinds of things which has made Ugritone so beloved over the years as it is consistently helping musicians discover new capabilities and take their tracks from good to great.
Find it HERE
Best Underrated Ugritone Products – TRVE CAB Impulse Response Loader
You might think that an impulse response loader is a bit dull to nominate the winner for an underrated product category. But nothing could be further than the truth. Whilst included in the ALMIGHTY pack that we mention above, this one deserves a proper mention because it’s so versatile and because of the real subtle but noticeable differences that it can make to your music.
The best part is it’s not just limited to Ugritone products. It’s a surprise that other manufacturers aven’t made something so metal specific and adaptable, but Ugritone seem to think of things that the average VST company doesn’t. It’s this level of consideration for how musicians actually use their products that have earned them a whole article, and this high quality IR loader is just one reason why, so try it out with your own custom IRs as well as the stellar presets it comes with.
This is just one reason why Ugritone does nuance so well. This means everything from subgenre specific packs to an IR loader that they have crafted lovingly with extremely low latency and the ability to load up to 8 IRs simultaneously. Perfect for when you are working with larger amounts of guitar tracks than the average pop producer would need. It also comes with panning and filters for ultimate control over your sound.
Find it HERE
What’s With Ugritone, Audiogroup and Musicalbits?
So just as we round up the article, you may be wondering whether musicalbits and audiogroup are metal friendly. Or, has Ugritone fallen into the hands of generic manufacturers who might change the character that made it work so well? And, are we going to see a downhill slide in the near future.
We’re pleased to say that both have some serious industry prowess, but for musicalbits in particular the founders are both metalheads. So it’s safe to say that they really know what they’re doing. In fact, it appears that they reached out for this specific reason, not wanting such a hub for metal innovation to never see the light of day again.
More polarising is the fact that musicalbits works with Ai, but we honestly think that they do this in a creative way that doesn’t use technology to replace music but rather to enhance it. For a full look at what they do, you can check out their website here, but we personally have great expectations for Ugritone’s new direction.
Final Thoughts
Rarely if ever has there been a retailer that has focussed so solidly, and so specifically, on a very defined set of musical needs, but Ugritone metal vsts are the high quality result. Yes, here we are. the company promised – and delivered on – great results for musicians in heavier genres for years. They gave us fast and fat drum sounds, high-quality distorted guitars, and more. It offered packs that didn’t just work for subgenres but which also had genuine thought and creative integrity behind them. In this way, its closing was a massive loss and it’s resurrection at the hands of Musicalbits and Audiogroup no less of a great move in the opposite direction.
Both it’s new owners know their stuff and have the credibility behind them to appreciate what makes Ugritone unique, so we have high hopes that it won’t change in any way in terms of quality, dedication, and sonic value any time soon.
For now though, let’s just celebrate the fact that we’re not going to lose such an iconic and specialist retailer – so if you want more brilliant discounts and to join the hype around this happy development, head straight on over to their website to check out what they have in store.
And, if you love quality VSTs that go beyond your DAW basics and actually promise realistic and inventiv results, we have loads of articles breaking this down in our software section here.
Likewise, if you’re a metal fan, we have a bunch of other specialist articles on the tools and techniques you may need to produce , even from your bedroom, such as this one and this one. Stay tuned.
