Over the past few years, Neural DSP have established themselves as a premiere amp sim developer. Their popular Archetype series features signature plugins by renowned modern guitarists, including Plini, Tosin Abasi, Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood, and Cory Wong.
Today, the series gets a new addition with Archetype: Gojira — a Grammy-nominated metal band from France, led by guitarist/vocalist Joe Duplantier. He’s known for his unique and crushing tones, faithfully captured and summed into a single plugin from Neural DSP.
Archetype: Gojira
Archetype: Gojira sets out to cover as vast a ground as the bands’ incredible compositions. The amp/effects sim is flexible enough to cover everything from mellow ambient sounds to the most punishing high-gain tones. Plus, it comes with a couple new formulas from Neural that recreate Duplantier’s infamous pitch-shifting techniques.
- Related: Top 5 Metal Amp Sims
Pitch Effects
The Pitch Effects section of Archetype: Gojira contains two new algorithms fresh to Neural DSP plugins.
- Wow: A MIDI-programmable pitch shifter pedal with 3 different modes, providing ultimate control over the additional octave and pitch sweep.
- Oct: A polyphonic octaver pedal capable of adding two independent octaves. One -1 octave, and the other -2 octaves below your dry signal.
Pre-Effects
Four effects emulations run in front of the amp for further manipulation of your guitar tone. These include an Overdrive pedal (OD), Distortion (DRT), Phaser (PHSR), and a Chorus (CHR).
There’s enough flexibility between the pitch and pre-effects to create some pretty outlandish sounds, à la Gojira. But the real core of the plugin is, of course, the Amps section!
- Realted: Neural DSP Archetype Plini Review
Amps
At the heart of Archetype: Gojira are 3 amplifiers modeled with Joe Duplantier to capture every nuanced component of Gojira’s versatile and monstrous sound.
- Clean: A squeaky clean model of a vintage tube amplifier sits at the front of the amp section. Lower the gain for clean tones or crank it for natural tube saturation.
- Rust: Technically it’s a ‘crunch’ channel, but calling it that would be an understatement. It can get really hairy, as we’d expect from something with Gojira’s name on it.
- Hot: This one sets out to capture the clear, defined, high-gain tone Gojira is known for. It’s Joe Duplantier’s bread and butter, and it’s modeled here in an affordable, easy-to-use plugin.
Other effects included are a graphic EQ, as well as Delay and Reverb. And like all of the Archetype plugins, Gojira comes with Neural’s Cabsim section featuring hundreds of custom IRs by Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood.
Archetype: Gojira is a welcome addition to any guitarist’s arsenal.