Guitar amp simulator & effects pedalboard — open source, cross-platform
Real-time guitar effects processor and amp simulator. Standalone app + CLAP/VST3 plugins. Pure C99 DSP engine with skeuomorphic GUI. Circuit-accurate tone stacks modeled from real amplifier schematics.
12 amp models (circuit-modeled from real schematics) | 41 effect pedals | 9 rack processors | 10 mic models | 137 automatable parameters | 32 factory presets
Input → [Gate] → [Pre Pedals] → AMP → CAB → [Mic Sim] → [Rack FX] → Output
↕ (parallel chains with mix)
- Dual amp chains with independent amp/cab/mic per chain
- Pre/post amp pedal placement
- Rack effects after cab (compressors, EQ, tape saturation, limiters)
- Optional microphone simulation with distance/angle/position controls
- Chromatic tuner with MPM pitch detection
All tone stacks modeled from actual circuit schematics using the Yeh/Abel/Smith DAFX transfer function with bilinear transform digitization.
| Model | Inspired By | Tone Stack | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fullerton Clean | Fender Twin Reverb | Fender TMB (AB763) | Clean, chimey American — silver panel era |
| Tweed Blues | Fender Bassman | Fender TMB (5F6-A) | Warm vintage breakup |
| Emerald Ratrod Deluxe | Fender Hot Rod Deluxe | Fender TMB (PR246) | American hotrod — clean to gritty drive, 6L6 punch |
| British Crunch | Marshall Plexi | Marshall TMB (1959) | Classic British crunch |
| Regent 800 | Marshall JCM800 | Marshall TMB (2203) | Single-channel rock aggression |
| Southwest Lead | Mesa Rectifier | Fender TMB (modified) | High-gain American lead |
| Meridian High Gain | Peavey 5150/6505 | Fender TMB (5150 lead) | Scooped, brutal modern metal |
| Essex Chime | Vox AC30 | Vox Cut Control | British chime, Class A jangle |
| Citrus Roar | Orange Rockerverb | Marshall TMB (Rockerverb) | Thick British EL34 warmth |
| Citrus Terror | Orange Tiny Terror | Tilt EQ | Class A lunchbox grit |
| Solar Monolith | Sunn Model T | Fender TMB (Sunn) | Massive doom, crushing fuzz |
| Eclipse Drone | Sunn O))) | Fender TMB (Sunn) | Extreme low-end with feedback sustain |
Each model: cascaded waveshaper preamp (1–4 stages) → circuit-modeled tone stack → power amp compression + sag.
| Category | Pedals |
|---|---|
| Overdrive | Jade Drive, Gold Drive, Blues Grit |
| Distortion | Rodent, Orange Dist, Metal Zone, Amp Box |
| Fuzz | Mammoth Fuzz, Round Fuzz, Wraith Fuzz, Chaos Fuzz |
| Delay | Echo Delay, Carbon Delay, Tape Machine, Memory Echo |
| Reverb | Drip Verb, Hall Verb, Plate Verb, Shimmer Verb, Cloud Verb |
| Modulation | Liquid Chorus, Phase Sweep, Jet Flanger, Pulse Trem, Drift Vibrato |
| Wah/Filter | Howl Wah, Quack Filter, Tone Sculptor, Precision EQ |
| Dynamics | Squeeze Box, Glass Comp, Punch Comp, Noise Gate |
| Pitch | Octave Engine, Pitch Warp |
| Utility | Grit Crush, Ring Tone, Warm Tape |
| Experimental | Loop Station, Infinite Hold, Grain Cloud |
Post-amp/cab rack-mount studio processors:
| Rack Effect | Type | Inspired By |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Squeeze | FET compressor | 1176 |
| Velvet Press | Optical compressor | LA-2A |
| Glue Bus | VCA bus compressor | SSL G-bus |
| Glass EQ | Passive EQ | Pultec EQP-1A |
| Precision EQ | Channel EQ | Neve 1073 |
| Reel Warmth | Tape saturation | Studer/Ampex |
| Valve Color | Tube saturation | Culture Vulture |
| Brick Wall | Brickwall limiter | Modern mastering |
| Room Engine | Room simulation | Early reflections |
10 models (9 + DI bypass) with distance, angle, and cone position controls:
| Mic | Type | Inspired By |
|---|---|---|
| Stage Workhorse | Dynamic | SM57 |
| Roadie Vocal | Dynamic | SM58 |
| Berlin Dynamic | Dynamic | Sennheiser e609 |
| Silver Bullet | Dynamic | EV RE20 |
| Velvet Ribbon | Ribbon | Royer R-121 |
| Heritage Ribbon | Ribbon | Coles 4038 |
| Studio Large | Condenser | Neumann U87 |
| Austrian Pencil | Condenser | AKG C414 |
| Room Pencil | Condenser | AKG C451 |
Default: DI (direct inject, no mic coloration).
- 4 bundled real cab impulse responses (public-domain CC0): 1x12 open, 2x12 closed, 4x12 straight, 4x12 slant
- Load any
.wavimpulse response (import your own or third-party IR packs) - Synthetic IR generation as fallback when no WAV is available
- FFT overlap-add convolution (KissFFT)
- Peak normalization to consistent output level — shapes tone without surprising volume jumps when switching cabs
- Skeuomorphic design — photorealistic amp faceplates, pedal body images, rack-mount units
- Eleven themes — Worn Grime, Hacker Green, Cyberpunk Neon, Studio Pale, Blueprint, Nature Dirt, Vaporwave, Toxic Slime, Blood Moon, Amber CRT, Molten Forge. Toggle with the Theme button or
Ctrl+T - Looper — 9 stereo slots with Record / Overdub / Play / Stop,
Alt+1..9to clear pads,Tabto cycle slots - Interactive overlay knobs with position indicator dots, parameter labels
- Stomp switch — click the footswitch on pedal images to bypass/activate
- LED indicators — green glow active, dim red bypassed
- Section labels — PEDALS, AMP, CABINET, RACK FX above signal chain
- Signal chain visualization — TRS input plug, XLR output connector, realistic cable rendering
- Preset browser — genre-tabbed factory presets, Mystery Rig randomizer, user presets
- Recording — WAV (16/24-bit), MP3 (192/320kbps), FLAC (16/24-bit) with timestamped filenames
- Chromatic tuner — MPM algorithm with time-constant smoothing for stable readings
- Input monitoring — VU meters and tuner work without audio output (LIVE off)
- MIDI CC control with MIDI learn mode
- Scroll-wheel cycling for amp model and cab type, fine-adjust for input gain and master volume faders
- Right-click faders to reset to default (0 dB input gain, 100% master)
- CLAP + VST3 plugins (137 automatable parameters, factory presets, MIDI CC)
- Thread-safe multi-instance — run multiple 0xFX instances in the same DAW session without crashes. Per-instance ImGui contexts, global render mutex, per-thread texture cache.
- Multi-plugin coexistence — 0xFX + 0x808 + 0xSYNTH can all run simultaneously in the same DAW. No SDL2 in plugins — native Win32+WGL (Windows), X11+GLX (Linux).
- Debug audio recorder — captures input+output to WAV for troubleshooting
- Dual amp chains with independent routing and mix
- Preset system —
.0xfxJSON open format, human-readable, session auto-save/restore - 32 factory presets organized by genre: Classic, 80s, 90s, Modern, Heavy, Experimental
Download from Releases.
| Platform | Architecture | Installer | Portable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | x64 | 0xFX-*-windows-x64-setup.exe |
0xFX-*-windows-x64.zip |
| Windows | ARM64 | 0xFX-*-windows-arm64-setup.exe |
0xFX-*-windows-arm64.zip |
| macOS | Universal (Intel + Apple Silicon) | 0xFX-*-macos-universal.dmg |
0xFX-*-macos-universal.zip |
| Linux | x64 | — | 0xFX-*-linux-x64.tar.gz |
| Linux | ARM64 | — | 0xFX-*-linux-arm64.tar.gz |
- Installer (
0xFX-*-setup.exe): Installs standalone + plugins to standard locations, Start Menu + Desktop shortcuts, uninstaller- CLAP:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\CLAP\ - VST3:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\0xFX.vst3\Contents\{arch}\
- CLAP:
- Zip: Manual install — copy plugins to the paths above, run
0xfx_gui.exestandalone - ARM64 builds are native for Surface Pro, Snapdragon laptops, etc. (x64 builds also work via emulation)
- DMG: Drag 0xFX to Applications. Universal binary runs natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4).
- Plugins: Copy
0xFX.clapto~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP/and0xFX.vst3bundle to~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
- tar.gz: Extract, copy plugins to
~/.clap/and~/.vst3/, run./0xfx_gui - AppImage (x64 only):
chmod +x 0xFX-*.AppImage && ./0xFX-*.AppImage - ARM64 builds target Raspberry Pi 4/5, Pine64, ARM Chromebooks, etc.
All platforms require CMake 3.16+ and Python 3 (for asset generation). The build auto-generates src/gui/embedded_assets.c from the PNG assets in resources/.
Targets: 0xfx_gui (standalone) · 0xfx_clap (CLAP plugin) · 0xfx_vst3 (VST3) · fx_api_test (tests)
# Prerequisites (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt install libsdl2-dev libgl-dev g++ cmake python3
# Build
git clone https://github.com/averagenative/0xFX.git && cd 0xFX
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)
# Run
./build/0xfx_gui
# Install plugins (optional)
mkdir -p ~/.clap ~/.vst3
cp build/0xFX.clap ~/.clap/
cp -r build/0xFX.vst3.bundle ~/.vst3/0xFX.vst3# Prerequisites
brew install sdl2 cmake python3
# Build
git clone https://github.com/averagenative/0xFX.git && cd 0xFX
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j$(sysctl -n hw.ncpu)
# Run
./build/0xfx_gui
# Install plugins (optional)
mkdir -p ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3
cp build/0xFX.clap ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP/
cp -r build/0xFX.vst3.bundle ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/0xFX.vst3# Prerequisites (on Linux)
sudo apt install mingw-w64 cmake python3
# x64 build
cmake -B build_win -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/mingw-w64.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build_win -j$(nproc)
# ARM64 build (requires llvm-mingw — https://github.com/mstorsjo/llvm-mingw/releases)
LLVM_MINGW_PREFIX=/path/to/llvm-mingw \
cmake -B build_win_arm64 -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/llvm-mingw-arm64.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build_win_arm64 -j$(nproc)# Prerequisites: Visual Studio 2019+, CMake, Python 3, SDL2 (via vcpkg or manual)
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --config Release# Prerequisites
sudo apt install gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu g++-aarch64-linux-gnu
sudo dpkg --add-architecture arm64
sudo apt install libgl-dev:arm64 libx11-dev:arm64 libasound2-dev:arm64
# Build
cmake -B build_linux_arm64 -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/aarch64-linux-gnu.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build_linux_arm64 -j$(nproc)Visual assets (PNGs) are committed to resources/. The build auto-generates src/gui/embedded_assets.c (~95MB, gitignored) from them via Python3. CMake runs this automatically when PNGs change. To regenerate manually:
python3 tools/generate_embedded_assets.py # regenerate embedded_assets.c
python3 tools/generate_embedded_assets.py --dry-run # list assets without writingIf Python3 is not available, the build will use a pre-existing embedded_assets.c if one exists.
./scripts/packaging/package_release.sh 1.1.0
# Outputs: linux-x64 tar.gz + AppImage, windows-x64 zip + NSIS installer
# ARM64 installers (after building ARM64 targets above)
makensis scripts/packaging/0xfx_installer.nsi # Windows x64 installer
makensis scripts/packaging/0xfx_installer_arm64.nsi # Windows ARM64 installer
# macOS (run on Mac)
./scripts/packaging/package_macos.sh 1.1.0 # Universal .dmg + .zipFor smoke-testing the Windows artifact without dual-booting:
# one-time — creates ~/.local/share/0xfx-wine-test
./scripts/wine/setup.sh
# install the newest release/0xFX-*-windows-x64-setup.exe
./scripts/wine/install-0xfx.sh
# launch the installed standalone
./scripts/wine/launch-0xfx.sh
# optional — drop Reaper in the same prefix to test VST3/CLAP loading
./scripts/wine/install-reaper.sh
WINEPREFIX=~/.local/share/0xfx-wine-test wine \
"$HOME/.local/share/0xfx-wine-test/drive_c/Program Files/REAPER (x64)/reaper.exe"Audio under Wine is not representative — use this to verify the GUI renders, presets load, and plugins are discovered. Do real audio testing on native Windows. Full docs, caveats, and the ship-blocking test matrix live in scripts/wine/README.md.
Layer 4: Host Wrappers — Standalone (SDL2) | CLAP | VST3
Layer 3: GUI — C++ / Dear ImGui / OpenGL 3.3
Layer 2: Audio I/O — miniaudio (duplex) + MIDI input
Layer 1: DSP Engine — pure C99, zero deps, RT-safe
GUI and plugins interact exclusively through the public API (fx_engine.h). No internal struct access. Engine is real-time safe: no allocation in the audio callback.
All names are original. References to commercial products in documentation are for technical description only. 0xFX is not affiliated with any amp or pedal manufacturer.
MIT