NEW Beta] Funky Moose Amp – The Ultimate Clean Analog Bass Amp (Free VST/AU/Standalone) 🫎🎸

[basslastiger]

Hey fellow low-enders!

After countless hours of development, DSP tuning, and tweaking the UI, I’m incredibly excited to share the very first public beta of my new labor of love: the Funky Moose Amp!

Why build another bass amp plugin? I noticed that most amp sims heavily focus on massive rock/metal distortion or that classic woolly Ampeg wall-of-sound. I really wanted a plugin specifically tailored to be fast, punchy, and unbelievably clean – exactly the kind of tight, articulate tone you need for modern funk, soul, R&B, and aggressive slap lines.

The core goal was ultra-transparent gain staging. No nasty digital clipping, just pure, round analog headroom that lets the natural tone of your bass breathe.

What’s inside?

Amp Section: Extremely clean core tone featuring highly musical EQ controls (perfect for scooping the mids for slap or bumping them for fingerstyle).
Studio Compressor: A flexible VCA-style comp with Auto-Makeup, fast attack times, and a "Punch" switch to let your initial transients cut right through the mix.
Octaver & Envelope Filter: Inspired by classic analog pedals—synth and P-Funk vibes guaranteed!
Modulation (Chorus/Phaser): For those wide, lush 80s & 90s stereo bass sounds.
Master Section: Built-in Tuner, a Mono-Maker (to keep your sub-frequencies tight and focused below a set frequency), and a Smart Gate.
Cab Sim: Toggleable 4x10 or 1x15 impulse responses that deliver massive low end with zero mud. Plus, switchable Tube Saturation if you need a little hair on the note.
I need your help! (V1.0.0 Beta 4) The plugin runs as VST3 and AU in your DAW, and also comes as a Standalone app for practice sessions (Windows & Mac, natively compiled for Apple Silicon).

Since this is a beta, I would absolutely love your feedback! I’m particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on three things:

Input Levels: How does the plugin react to your specific basses (active vs. passive, hot humbuckers vs. vintage single coils)? Are the Gain and Compressor reacting the way you’d expect?
Performance: How is your CPU handling the oversampling in your specific DAW?
The Tone: Are you happy with the "clean" headroom?
Download (Free): You can grab the latest Beta 4 right here on GitHub: Release FunkyMoose Amp v1.0.0-beta.4 · blubass/FunkyMooseAmp

Just download the zip file for your OS, install it, and check out the new Factory Presets (like "King Slap", "Synthish", or "Birdland's Pleasure").

Please drop your thoughts, bug reports, or feature requests right here in this thread. I'll be actively monitoring and updating based on what you guys think.

Keep the low end grooving! Uwe

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[Crowzilla]

I think you forgot to post a link to it?!

I Googled the name and found your download link. I downloaded the Windows Vst3 version. In Reaper it did not load any of the controls, just the moose's head, fhe control area was left blank. The presets worked and the sound on my cheap 100 euro (single coil) bass was good and very clear. The effects were, in the presets, quite strong in flavour, but nice nonetheless.

(I know that you said this is not your typical metal bass monster sim, but I would gladly use it in a metal mix. I think some Black Sabbath lines or Iron Maiden's Steve Harris stuff would sound really good through the Moose, then again I'm a guitarist, so what do I know?)

Cheers!

[basslastiger]

Thank you so much!!I am working right now on it, within an hour or so-these errors should be banned...Thank you for your nice feedback!!

[basslastiger]

...here`s the download link...: https://github.com/blubass/FunkyMooseAmp/releases

[basslastiger]

i decided to stop it in the moment-I first will fix some bugs -then i open up for testing again-much less hustle for everybody!!!Meanwhile thank you so much!!Stay Funky!!

[CapnLockheed]

Cool!! Let us know when you've got it more fully baked!! I like the concept. The need exists. In addition to the funk-n-slap school I could see this being a good match for acoustic & standup bass....who knows maybe even in some guitar situations?

Cheers.....CL

[metalifuxx]

Glad i’m not the only one who thought a decent quality cleaner bass amp sim didn’t really exist. I’m so tired of firing up a bass amp plugin and the first note you hit on the default preset is that “gurrring” clankity clank sound, or the other end of the spectrum where it’s clean but the initial note attack is completely gone on the first transient/harmonic and it’s all mushy rumble like there is some sort of baked in compression that can’t be turned off no matter how you set the knobs/controls.

[basslastiger]

...I continued...feel free to test, und I would be pleased for your thoughts...https://github.com/blubass/FunkyMooseAmp

[pough]

I downloaded the ZIP for Windows and it includes a .exp and .lib file that I'm not sure what to do with. If I understand the installation instructions correctly, I would be putting them into the root of my VST3 folder. I don't really want to put things there that should probably go somewhere else.

It seems to work without them.

[pough]

For clean bass tones I'm still using the ancient Studio Devil plugins. I would have switched to Muramasa's Bassment but it takes 2-4 times as much CPU as any other bass amp sim I've tried.

[basslastiger]

I downloaded the ZIP for Windows and it includes a .exp and .lib file that I'm not sure what to do with. If I understand the installation instructions correctly, I would be putting them into the root of my VST3 folder. I don't really want to put things there that should probably go somewhere else.

It seems to work without them.

Hey!!Good catch, thank you.

Those .exp and .lib files are not presets and they’re not needed by users. They are just leftover build artifacts from the Windows build. The VST3 should work without them.

So yes, please only install the .vst3 into your VST3 folder. I’ll clean up the ZIP for the next upload.

[metalifuxx]

For clean bass tones I'm still using the ancient Studio Devil plugins. I would have switched to Muramasa's Bassment but it takes 2-4 times as much CPU as any other bass amp sim I've tried.

You should check out the Aguilar Bass amp suite, pricey but it does clean bass tones so well, and it feels right under the fingers. Many cleaner bass ampsims lose the punchy feel and response and it often sounds/feels like there is too much compression built in that kills the initial attack transient and then you get an over exaggerated woofiness and muddled tone on the release.

[pough]

If I open the UI and increase the size, it's not sticky. Closing the UI and re-opening it brings it back to its default size. (Windows 10, tested in Waveform 13.5 and Reaper 7.69)

If you're taking requests, I always want a crossover on the chorus. Every good bass chorus pedal has a crossover. I can't think of a single bass amp sim that does.

[basslastiger]

Hey Pough!
Thanks for the feedback!
I’ve fixed the UI resize issue so the editor size should now be remembered when closing and reopening the plugin.
I also added a chorus crossover. The chorus now splits the signal so the low end stays dry/stable, while the chorus is applied above the crossover frequency. There’s a new “XOVER” control in the chorus section, defaulting to 180 Hz, with a range from 80-800 Hz.
This will be included in the next build/release. Thanks again for the great suggestion!