A free amp sim that plays any amp — with the amp's own knobs.
Most free sims give you one fixed tone. Captures freeze one setting and bolt a generic tone stack on top. Cathode loads any amp the community designs — and every knob on it is the real circuit, so sweep it and the whole amp moves.
What makes a free amp sim worth keeping
Real knobs, not presets
Sweep the volume while you play and hear the amp change continuously — no stepping between saved settings, no crossfades.
A growing library of shared amps
Player loads anything the community shares — vintage-style tweed builds, high-gain monsters, amps nobody has ever soldered.
Plays nice with NAM
Already deep into captures? Keep them. Cathode exports NAM profiles and treats the capture world as a neighbor, not a rival.
In your DAW or on its own
Track with the VST3/AU plugin — every knob automatable — or open the standalone app and just play. Low latency either way.
How is this different from a capture player?
Capture tools like Neural Amp Modeler are brilliant at what they do: a capture is a very accurate photograph of one amp at one knob setting. If you want that exact sound, use it — we mean that.
Cathode Player is for the moment the photograph isn't enough — when you want to ride the volume knob, hear the tone controls fight each other, feel the amp compress under your pick. A Cathode design isn't a picture of an amp. It behaves like the amp.
Not more accurate — more alive, more control. Questions about formats, latency, or what "free" hides (nothing)? Read the FAQ.
Be first in line.
Player is free at launch. Get the email the moment it ships.