Melda MGuitarArchitect

With up to four parallel chains available, you’re free to design pretty much any amp and effects chain imaginable.

Melda’s MGuitarArchitect is available separately or as part of the company’s various bundles, and includes all the company’s existing MTurboAmp and MCabinet devices (those who already have these plug‑ins can upgrade at a discounted price). As with other Melda plug‑ins, it’s available for both macOS and Windows, and supports AAX, AU and VST (2 and 3) plug‑in hosts. As well as boasting impressively flexible routing options, it comes with a large selection of amps, miked cabinets, studio processors and effects pedal emulations.

Of course, the world isn’t short of guitar amp emulations, so what makes this one worth investigating? Well, what’s most different about this one is its Chain section: the input signal can feed up to four 16‑slot signal chains, which are arranged as four vertical columns of cells, and the fourth of these can be used for side‑chaining. Clicking on an unoccupied space gives you the option to populate it with an amp and/or overdrive plus stompbox effects, studio effects or utility effects, all of which are organised by category. You could, in theory, run anything up to 64 effects in various series/parallel combinations across the four chains.

Overview

There are dozens of amp and cabinet models to choose from, and a very generous selection of stompbox simulations too, each equipped with a sensible set of controls that allows plenty of scope for tweaking without getting lost down the rabbit hole. While some of the hardware amp inspirations (such as the MCM800) are easy to guess at, I found most of the other names somewhat cryptic, but once you figure things out you’ll find that all the main bases are covered, from super‑clean to uber‑filth. Each module comes with its own presets that make patch creation pretty easy, and user presets can be saved for the whole effect or for each chain individually. Furthermore, a selection of other Melda Productions effects plug‑ins that you already own (eg. if you get this as part of a bundle) can be called up and deployed inside the plug‑in, which is a nice touch.

While there’s no drag and drop, it’s pretty easy to search for and load amp models and effects into your chain.

One of the modules included in MGuitarArchitect is MConvolutionEZ, a treatment based on impulse responses or IRs to add spatial and microphone characteristics based on a range of classic models. Should you feel the need for even more scope, the third‑party Neural Amp Modeller (available as a free amp profiler plug‑in from Steven Atkinson) may also be used to load new amp models; there are three Neural amp models available directly from within MGuitarArchitect.

When you call up an amp or pedal, or select one already deployed by clicking on it, you see a photo‑realistic control panel with presets listed on the left. The utility modules such as Vol/Pan show a more simplified interface. Some modules, such as those using convolution, have the option to open up additional advanced settings. You also get an accurate tuner with a polyphonic readout and an auto input gain setting. Global settings include various options for conserving CPU overhead or using oversampling.

By default, adding a module results in it taking its input from the previous module in the same column. However, right‑clicking on a block opens its settings window, in which you can set up various parameters such as side‑chaining and feedback, and change the default routing to pick up its input from a block above in another row. For example, you could have an amp emulation in row one and split its output to feed four different cabinets or four different effects chains. It’s perhaps not as intuitive as being able to drag patch cables, which some plug‑ins allow, but it works well enough.

You can even create a modular effects matrix and then drop it into one of the slots, as though it were a single effect.

As you have so many modules from which to choose, figuring out what combination gives you the desired end result can take a bit of time, but the excellent range of presets provide great ‘jumping off’ points. There are all the tools needed to create metal guitar, classic rock and blues sounds as well as contemporary pop, but thanks to the flexible routing and generous library of stompbox emulations, those into more experimental sound design won’t be disappointed. You can even create a modular effects matrix and then drop it into one of the slots, as though it were a single effect. Overdrive‑type stomp effects tend to be listed along with the amplifier types; speaking of which, you can browse by Low, Medium, High and Ultra gain amplifier types. A lot of the amplifiers seem to tend towards high‑gain sounds but there’s still plenty of choice if you want something more restrained.

The included speaker cabinet emulation is based on existing Melda Productions technology and, in conjunction with the responsive amp models, it’s capable of creating both the right sound and the right playing feel. Unlike straightforward IRs, there’s a lot of scope for adjustment here, and this has a significant impact on the overall tonality. When it comes to effects, the large library of stomp pedal emulations cover all the familiar ground. There’s not much in the way of really oddball effects, but you do get a broad selection, including a neat rotary speaker effect, a frequency shifter and a pitch‑shifter/harmoniser. Of course, the ability to create parallel effect chains means there’s still plenty of scope for creating complex effects of your own — and to help you in your multi‑effects quest, there are various utility modules such as Crossovers, a Looper and so on.

As well as the built‑in effects, MGuitarArchitect allows you to load, internally, any other Melda plug‑ins you own — pictured here is MTurboReverb.

Verdict

MGuitarArchitect is nothing if not comprehensive and, importantly, the combination of amp and cabinet models delivers a touch‑responsive playing feel combined with the ability to cover pretty much any guitar tone you might wish to recreate. Those looking for something beyond the conventional can also look forward to long and rewarding adventures when exploring the potential of the chains and their routing possibilities.