Cross The Bridge Guitar Amp Suite User Guide

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            Welcome to the Cross The Bridge Guitar Amp Suite, a powerful and versatile collection of 10 vintage-inspired designed to bring classic tones to your digital audio workstation. This suite brings you a variety of amplifiers, offering a wide range of tones from smooth, subtle overdrive to punchy mid-gain warmth. Perfect for musicians who want rich, dynamic tones that can fit a variety of playing styles and genres.

Each amplifier in the plugin is crafted with low to mid-gain characteristics, providing smooth, organic tones for rhythm and lead playing. For those moments when you need extra power or high-gain distortion, the included Esteiomaster Booster allows you to push some of the amplifiers into high-gain territory, Unlocking a more aggressive and powerful distortion.

Whether you're recording at home, practicing, or performing live, the Cross The Bridge Guitar Amp Suite gives you great tools to achieve timeless guitar tones with ease and flexibility.

 

Interface Overview:

1 – Amp Area: amplifier and Esteiomaster Booster operation area.

2 - Amp Selection Menu: here you select the amplifier model that will appear in the Amp Area. 

3 - Master Control Panel: this section contains global controls for all amplifiers, just like a mixer. These include:

ON/OFF Switch: mutes the sound of the VST (note that this will not stop CPU usage, it only serves to bypass the sound);

Highpass: filters frequencies between 20Hz and 200Hz from the sound;

Lowpass: fiilters frequencies between 9000Hz and 3500Hz from the sound;

Output: The output boosts the sound by up to 7 dB.

Room Size and Room Mix: simulate the natural reverb of a room. 'Room Size' controls the room's dimensions, and 'Room Mix' adjusts the amount of this reverb in the sound;

VU: displays the audio signal level in real time, providing a visual representation of the signal's volume and helping you monitor the output to avoid unwanted clipping or distortion.

Amplifier Settings

All amplifiers in the Cross The Bridge Guitar Amp Suite feature a natural level of saturation (clipping) that depends on the volume level at which they are set. Even when the gain/drive knob is at its minimum, the amplifiers may still exhibit some subtle saturation, depending on the operating volume. Some amplifiers display more saturation, while others show less, adding variation in tone and dynamics. Lyrical Luxe, for example, has a nice crunch sound when the volume is turned up to maximum and the gain is set to minimum.

To ensure that the output volume remains at a manageable level, the Master knob on most of the amplifiers, or the Output control on the Master Control Panel, can be used to prevent excessively high volume levels.

All amplifiers have a switch to turn off their cabinet, allowing the user to use different impulse responses (note: an impulse response loader is not included in this VST).

The plugin is designed with relatively low CPU usage and loads quickly, ensuring a smooth and efficient experience during both recording and live performances.

Following this, each amplifier has its own unique characteristics and tonal palette. Below, you'll find descriptions of all 10 amplifiers and the booster included in the suite.

 

 

 

Esteiomaster Booster:

A small box that comes with all amplifiers and is capable of producing overdrive or even a heavy distortion, depending on the amplifier you're using. A good and simple boost for mid and high frequencies.

Badboy:

A chessy little amp that distorts easily, going from clean to crunch. Great for blues, classic rock, and funk.

Belina:

 

A cool crunchy amplifier for classic rock'n'roll.

Big Tripper:

 

A surf music amplifier that, at high volumes, produces a slightly raspy tone reminiscent of the early days of rock.

Blindsnow:

 

An amplifier with a considerable level of gain and a reduced response in the midhigh frequencies, great for stoner rock.

Caravan:

 

Although it has only a volume knob and produces little sound in frequencies above 2000Hz, this amp delivers a beautiful jazzy clean tone and a delicate, introspective overdrive at high volumes.

Fuss60: 

 

This psychedelic machine is capable of producing a beautiful overdrive on channel 1 and a strange fuzz on the Fuss60 channel. I suggest using a medium level on the preamp knob when switching to the Fuss60 channel to make the sound less 'muddy' or confusing. The Fuss60 channel also features an octaver effect that can add a unique charm to your solos.

Jazzybox:

small amp for jazzy sounds and chord melodies. It produces a classy overdrive when the Esteiomaster Booster is engaged.

Jester: 

With a slightly fuzzy sound, this is a great amplifier for classic hard rock.

Lyrical Luxe:

The most versatile amplifier on the list. With a good response in the mid frequencies, it offers a classy clean tone, a biting crunch, and even reaches moderate gain levels for classic heavy metal.

RoughRiff:

A basic amp for garage rock. Excellent for playing power chords with a crunchy tone.

 

Pickup Gain Consideration

This plugin was primarily developed and voiced using guitars equipped with low-output pickups. Because of this, guitars with higher-output pickups (such as hot humbuckers or active pickups) will naturally drive the amplifiers harder, resulting in earlier saturation and reduced clean headroom.

If you are using high-output pickups and aiming for cleaner tones, it is recommended to:

• Lower your guitar’s volume knob;

• Reduce the input level before the plugin;

• Use the Master or Output controls to better balance gain staging.

This behavior is intentional and reflects the response of many vintage-style amplifiers when driven by stronger signals.

 

 

FAQ

 

Q: Is the plugin really free?

A: The plugin is 100% free, and you don't need my permission to use it in any kind of project. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you could credit the use of this VST in your projects, and if possible, send it to my email (dodinho@gmail.com). I would love to share your work on my website and social media!

Q: Can I use third-party impulse responses with the VST?

A: Yes, you can use third-party impulse responses by disabling the cabinet section in the amplifier settings. You can download free plugins like FenrIR, LeCab2, or IRDust to load Irs

Q: What is an IR?

A: An IR (Impulse Response) is a digital file that simulates the sound characteristics of an amplifier's cabinet, microphone, and room. It allows you to recreate the tone of a real guitar setup without the need for physical equipment.

Q: Can I create individual presets for each amplifier?

A: Unfortunately, no. A preset will alter all amplifiers at once. What you can do, for example, is create presets where all amplifiers are set to clean, crunch, or high-gain sounds. I plan to fix this in a future version of the plugin.

 

Support

You can send any questions, suggestions, samples of your sounds with the VST, or anything else related to the plugin to marcododinvst@gmail.com.