As a mixing engineer, nothing is more frustrating than receiving a DI guitar track recorded with a cheap amp sim that sounds like angry bees in a tin can. Toneforge solves this problem because the plugins are designed by Joey Sturgis—a man who has mixed some of the biggest rock and metal records of the last two decades.
is a popular series of virtual guitar rig plugins developed by Joey Sturgis Tones (JST) , designed to provide "guitar tone simplified". Unlike traditional amp simulators that require extensive tweaking, Toneforge plugins offer an all-in-one signal chain—including pedals, amplifiers, cabinets, and post-processing tools—tailored for professional, mix-ready results. Core Philosophy: Guitar Tone Simplified
In the modern era of music production, the line between hardware and software has blurred into near invisibility. Gone are the days when you needed a wall of tube amplifiers, a room full of microphones, and a patient neighbor to record a professional-sounding guitar track. Today, the power lies in your laptop. But with hundreds of amp simulators on the market—from industry giants like Neural DSP and Amplitube to stock Logic Pro plugins—why has the become a cult favorite among session players and bedroom producers alike?
The result was the Toneforge series from —a lineup of plugins that changed the "all-in-one" amp sim landscape forever. 1. The "Mix-Ready" Philosophy
This is the "secret sauce" of Toneforge VST. You are not just buying an amp simulator; you are buying a .
, the producer behind some of the most iconic metalcore albums of the era (including Asking Alexandria and The Devil Wears Prada), who decided to distill his entire production workflow into a single VST.
This article dives deep into the world of Toneforge VST, exploring its origins, the science behind its sound, the specific plugins within the suite, and how you can use it to transform your productions.