AmpForge 0.5.0

AmpForge 0.5.0

This release fixes the three UI problems reported since 0.4.0, and adds a test
suite so DSP changes get checked on every push.

Fixed

• Wrong sample rate shown (#1) — the status panel, and the EQ pedal's
  response curve, read the UI's own sample rate, which DPF only fills in when
  the host announces a change. A project running at 48 kHz could therefore
  display (and draw the EQ at) the 44.1 kHz default. The DSP now publishes its
  real rate as a read-only parameter and the UI reads that instead. This was
  display only — the audio was never resampled.
• Scrollbars did nothing (#3) — on a window short enough to need them, the
  rack and palette scrollbars were drawn but never hit-tested. Both can now be
  dragged, clicking the empty track pages to that spot and keeps dragging, and
  the thumb is grabbed where you pressed it rather than jumping under the
  cursor. The bars share their geometry with the drawing code, so they can't
  drift apart again.
• Typing values into knobs (#4) — double-clicking any knob now opens the
  exact-value editor (it was previously reachable only by clicking the knob's
  value chip), Return confirms it even in hosts that deliver the key only as a
  text event, and typing over the shown value replaces it instead of appending
  to it — so typing 2.5 into a knob showing 1.0 now gives 2.5, not 1.025.

Also in this release

• A dependency-free CTest suite for the header-only DSP in core/ (biquad,
  effect chain, blocks, pitch detector), run on Linux, macOS and Windows CI on
  every push. The Windows job runs the cross-compiled test binary under Wine.
• LV2 is included and unchanged. The LV2 loading issue (#2) could not be
  reproduced on clean Ardour 8.4 and 9.0 installs, and the reporter confirmed
  it no longer happens on their system.

Downloads

• Linux — AmpForge-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz, built inside the Ubuntu
  22.04 container (glibc 2.35) so it also loads in flatpak/snap sandboxes.
  Extract it and run ./install.sh.
• Windows — AmpForge-0.5.0-Setup.exe.
• macOS — AmpForge-0.5.0-macos.zip, unsigned as before; see the README
  for the one-line quarantine step.

AmpForge v0.4.0

New: EQ, Doubler, Harmonizer, and Exciter

Four new pedals join the chain:

• EQ — a general-purpose 3-band parametric with adjustable center
  frequencies, distinct from Amp's own fixed tone stack.
• Doubler — automatic double-tracking (ADT), the classic way to
  thicken a lead vocal (or guitar) without actually recording it twice.
• Harmonizer — adds a second voice a fixed interval above or below
  the input, the "instant harmony" effect.
• Exciter — a harmonic top-end brightener for extra presence and air.

Amp also gains a Presence knob — a boost-only high-shelf above
Treble, modeling the "bite" real amps add there.

Reworked factory presets

The old 10-preset lineup (several close variations on similar amp
tones, plus two tribute presets named after real songs) is now just 3,
deliberately spread across the clean-to-heavy range instead of
overlapping each other: Pristine Clean, Rock Crunch, Heavy
Distortion.

Bug fixes

• Delay/Reverb/Chorus/Doubler/Harmonizer/Autotune could play back
  stale, long-past audio the instant they were re-enabled (via a
  preset switch, or by hand) — their internal buffers now clear on
  re-enable instead of sitting frozen the whole time they're off.
• Dragging a pedal to reorder the rack could, on some hosts, leave two
  pedals sharing the same Position value and scramble the signal chain
  order — parameter edits sent during a drag are now properly
  bracketed the way every other parameter change already was.

macOS is now a first-class release

AmpForge now builds and ships for macOS too
(AmpForge-<version>-macos.zip — VST3/CLAP/LV2, plus a standalone
app), built and published automatically by CI right alongside Linux
and Windows. It isn't code-signed or notarized yet, so first launch
needs one xattr command to get past Gatekeeper — see the README's
Download section.

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Full Changelog: v0.3.0...v0.4.0

AmpForge v0.3.0

New: two vocal effects

AmpForge started as a guitar-only plugin, but the same reorderable pedal
chain works just as well for vocals — turn off Amp/Cabinet/NAM and turn
these on:

• Autotune — classic "hard-tune" pitch correction (the T-Pain-style
  robotic snap, not a subtle/transparent correction). Pick a Key and
  Scale (Chromatic/Major/Minor), and Retune Speed controls
  whether it eases into the corrected note or snaps to it instantly.
• De-esser — tames harsh "s"/"sh" sibilance without dulling the rest
  of the voice, using a split-band design that only reduces the sibilant
  frequency band instead of the whole signal.

Delay and Reverb (already generic effects) round out a vocal chain
alongside them.

Windows is now a first-class release

The Windows installer (AmpForge-Setup.exe, VST3/CLAP/LV2) is now built
and published automatically by CI on every tagged release, right
alongside the Linux tarball — no more manual, occasionally-stale Windows
builds.

UI

The pedal palette (the picker list on the left) now groups pedals into
GUITAR / VOCAL sections, shows each pedal's actual icon instead
of a plain dot, and scrolls on its own now that there are 15 pedal types
to fit.

Docs

The README has a new "The pedals" section explaining what every
knob on every pedal actually does.

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Full Changelog: v0.2.1...v0.3.0

AmpForge v0.2.1

Full Changelog: v0.2.0...v0.2.1

AmpForge v0.2.0

Linux

Download AmpForge-0.2.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz below, extract it, and run
./install.sh - installs VST3/CLAP/LV2 and the standalone binary into
your home directory (~/.vst3, ~/.clap, ~/.lv2, ~/.local/bin), no
root/sudo needed. ./install.sh --uninstall removes them again. Prefer
building from source instead? See the README.

Windows

Download AmpForge-0.2.0-Setup.exe below and run it (as administrator)
to install VST3/CLAP/LV2 to the standard locations your DAW/host
already scans. Pick which formats to install, and uninstall cleanly
later from Add/Remove Programs. (No standalone .exe yet - see Project
status in the README.)

What's new since v0.1.0

• Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) support - a new pedal that loads a
  .nam capture file (original and A2 architectures) into its own
  block, mixable alongside the modeled Amp/Cabinet chain rather than a
  replacement for it. Independent In/Mix/Out trim knobs, and the
  status sidebar shows the loaded capture's filename and architecture
  (WaveNet, LSTM, ...).
• Portable Docker build + Linux CI - installer/linux/Dockerfile
  pins the build to Ubuntu 22.04's glibc baseline so the released
  binaries stay loadable on older distros and flatpak/snap sandboxes,
  and GitHub Actions now builds, packages, and (on a tag push)
  publishes the Linux release automatically.
• Fixed a crash risk in Delay/Chorus/Reverb: a cross-thread race
  when the host's sample rate changes mid-session (e.g. switching
  audio interfaces while the plugin is running) could trip a
  std::vector out-of-bounds abort. Fixed with the same double-buffer
  hot-swap pattern the Cabinet and NAM blocks already use.

Features (full list)

13 reorderable modules (Noise Gate, Compressor, Wah, Screamer,
Distortion, Amp with 4 voicings, Cabinet IR convolution, NAM capture
loading, Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Delay, Reverb), tempo-synced
Delay/Tremolo/Chorus, a built-in tuner, A/B compare, 7 factory presets
plus save/export/import of custom presets, and a CPU load meter.

AmpForge v0.1.0

First tagged release.

Linux

Download AmpForge-0.1.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz below, extract it, and run
./install.sh - installs VST3/CLAP/LV2 and the standalone binary into
your home directory (~/.vst3, ~/.clap, ~/.lv2, ~/.local/bin), no
root/sudo needed. ./install.sh --uninstall removes them again. Prefer
building from source instead? See the README.

Windows

Download AmpForge-Setup.exe below and run it (as administrator) to
install VST3/CLAP/LV2 to the standard locations your DAW/host already
scans. Pick which formats to install, and uninstall cleanly later from
Add/Remove Programs.

Features

12 reorderable modules (Noise Gate, Compressor, Wah, Screamer,
Distortion, Amp with 4 voicings, Cabinet IR convolution, Chorus,
Phaser, Tremolo, Delay, Reverb), tempo-synced Delay/Tremolo/Chorus, a
built-in tuner, A/B compare, 7 factory presets plus save/export/import
of custom presets, and a CPU load meter.