UJAM offers the Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE 2 plugin for free until May 4, 2025.
According to the developers, UJAM Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE 2 is a virtual guitarist that turns “single note inputs into dynamic rhythm guitar tracks.”
If you can’t play the guitar and need some decent rhythm tracks, this is the plugin you’ve been waiting for. With “player mode” selected, Sparkle 2 plays the guitar for you!
Check out this demo by Orpheus Audio Academy to see how it works:
Boasting over 30 different styles and 350 musical phrases, you can craft a wide variety of picking patterns, strumming, and strokes to fit your tune.
It reminds me of E-jay and other game-like music-making software in the early 2000s.
If the thought of having a robot guitar bandmate makes you cringe, Sparkle 2 can also be used as an effect in “instrument mode,” if my understanding is correct.
The plugin lets you control the guitar tone by dialing in a blend of bridge and neck pickups with additional characters like “fat”, “soft”, “bite,” and “twang”.
It also has a stomp box function where you can select between a bunch of effects like octa fuzz or room reverbs and a final “finisher” module that gives you anything from bit crushing to subtle atmospheric reflections.
It also features an amp emulation with different characters. Say you want more twang for a funky project or fat crunchiness for metal riffing, the “amp” switch will get you in the right ballpark.
There’s a “drive” button to dial in saturation, a “width” knob to create a stereo spread, and a “focus” button to dial in a presence boost for your sound.
The lower panel of the plugin has a keyboard layout which serves as the control panel for the playing style. You can choose between open chords or palm muting, and pick slides and arrange them into your project.
Operating this panel changes the UI into an instruction table, giving you a clear idea of your options and how to use them. Not needing to open a different file and dive into a manual is a nice and helpful feature.
UJAM Sparkle 2 is available as VST2, VST3, AU 2, and AAX for macOS and Windows and requires 8 GB of free disk space.
Download: Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE 2 (FREE until May 4)
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