AXP has released Flextron, a virtual-analog guitar amp effect plug-in for Windows, made for the KVR Audio Developer Challenge 2014.
It’s based on a concept of the hybrid guitar distortion pedal I’ve built for myself a while ago. The prototype pedal in its turn was based on two commercial tube emulation technologies – Flexwave by Crate and Cooltron by VOX.
This combination was discovered by accident when I was repairing my bandmate’s VOX Bulldog distortion pedal. I didn’t like the Bulldog that much, however I got interested in its low-voltage tube design so I assembled a copy on a test bench. On its own it has provided very little overdrive, just as expected, but when combined with the Crate Flexwave preamp (my favorite solid-state distortion) it has completed its already great tone, giving it more fullness and presence. I’ve used this arrangement for rehearsals and some gigs and got complemented for the tone.
Flextron goes a step further and accurately models a range of Crate solid-state amps powered by the Flexwave circuit. Every stage of the preamp signal path is carefully analyzed and modeled with the same attention to details as my previous SoftDrive GV and SoftAmp FM25 plugins.
Flextron for Windows (VST) is a free download.
