Linux
Guitar amp simulator for Linux: FK Rig
FK Rig is a native guitar and bass amp simulator for Linux: VST3 for Reaper, Bitwig, Ardour and FK Audio Suite, plus a standalone app for PipeWire and JACK. Free Lite version.
Guitarists on Linux have long had to choose: a few open-source amp sims, or Windows plugins running through a bridge. FK Rig is a complete guitar and bass rig made for Linux - stomp boxes, amp, cabinet and microphone - as a native VST3 plugin and a standalone application. The same plugin runs on Windows.
Native, not bridged
- VST3 for Reaper, Bitwig Studio, Ardour, Carla, FK Audio Suite and every other VST3 host
- Standalone AppImage for JACK and PipeWire: start it, choose input and output, play
- No Wine, no yabridge, no account, no online check - the license key is checked offline
Amps calculated from their circuits
FK Rig does not play back captures. It calculates the circuit: tube stages at their real operating points, the actual tone stack, power amp, output transformer and speaker. The controls interact as on the real amp, and rolling back your guitar's volume cleans the sound up. Five complete rigs at once use about a third of one CPU core on a Ryzen 5 4600H laptop.
Set up in five minutes
- Download the Linux files from the FK Rig page: the VST3 archive and the standalone AppImage.
- Install the plugin: unpack the archive and run
./install.sh- it copies FK Rig to~/.vst3../uninstall.shremoves it again. - Or play standalone: make the AppImage executable (
chmod +x) and start it. Choose your interface's input under Options. - In your DAW: rescan plugins, put FK Rig on a mono audio track with your guitar input and switch on monitoring.
- Latency: 128 or 64 samples buffer. With PipeWire, for example
pw-metadata -n settings 0 clock.force-quantum 128.
Lite is free, Pro is in early access
FK Rig Lite brings two amps, three cabinets and gate, compressor and overdrive - free, also for commercial recordings. FK Rig Pro unlocks 24 amps, 22 vintage pedals, 12 cabinets and the Amp and Effect Builder. During early access Pro costs 9.90 USD (plus VAT), later 25 USD.
No DAW yet? FK Audio Suite is a free DAW for Linux and Windows and comes with FK Rig Lite.
Frequent questions
Do I need Wine or yabridge?
No. FK Rig is built for Linux: a native VST3 plugin and a native standalone application. Wine and bridges are not involved.
Which distributions work?
64-bit Linux with glibc 2.35 or newer, for example Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Linux Mint 21 or Fedora 36 and everything newer. The CPU needs AVX2.
PipeWire or JACK?
Both. The standalone application talks to JACK, and PipeWire provides JACK to it. Inside a DAW FK Rig uses whatever the DAW uses.
How do I get low latency?
Set a buffer of 128 or 64 samples in your DAW or in PipeWire (quantum) and use your interface's direct input. On a current laptop that is about 3 to 6 ms.
Is it free?
FK Rig Lite is free, also for commercial work. Pro unlocks all amps, pedals and cabinets as a one-time purchase, see the early-access price.