This product Is free to download from STL Tones & Ignite Amps – All thoughts and opinion’s within this review are my own and do not reflect those of the developer or others.

INTRO

It would surprise some to know that Ignite Amps hand build their own original designed Amplifier. The real Emissary was designed for Ryan Huthnance (The Seer / Gaped / Chrome Bison / Emissary Studios) built to be a versatile workhorse for both the stage and the studio, with no compromise. This led to the birth of the plugin also known affectionately as The Emissary.

The same meticulous details and care that went into building the actual amp were put into the creation of the plugin as well. Ignite Amps truly have a passion for amplifiers as well as plugins, and this passion has only become stronger as they have teamed up with STL Tones to bring their technology forward and lay the framework for newer and better plugins. With this collaboration came a complete overhaul of Emissary’s code from the ground up, and an overhaul of NadIR to give you the STL Ignite Emissary Plugin Bundle. Let’s dive in and check it out.

Experience

Right from the start I can tell this is straight to business, no pedals, no effects, Just an amp head, and of course, the included NadIR as part of the bundle, which we will talk about in a bit. The amp aesthetic is the same as the real counterpart, and apart from the new logo next to the pilot light, is pretty close to the original Emissary plugin. A change I will point out that came with V2 is, Emissary now has a preset menu, which is very convenient.

If I switch to the back panel using the arrow at the bottom right of the head, I can change the power tube types, as well as adjusting the tube biasing. I preferred the 6L6’s so I didn’t change it, it but I did increase the tube bias just a little bit to add a little more bite. Optionally I can bypass the power amp and use something like the TPA-1, also from ignite, but I chose to the internal power-amp for now.

This amp has a few options to shape and sculpt tones. In the master section it has Depth and presence are always nice to see for fine tuning low and high-end response, and a clean and Lead channel master volume, always nice to have independent control over the channel volume.

Lead channel

On the lead channel, it has treble and bass controls, as well as lo-mid and hi-mid control which adds a lot of versatility for shaping this channel and getting a great tone. The bright switch can be used to add more attack, and the deep switch is great for fattening up the low end response. Set the shape switch in the up position, if you want to add even more attack in the high-mids, or depending on where the hi-mid control is set, it can make the tone sound more harsh (in a good way) to suit your needs. With the shape switch in the down position the tone becomes slightly scooped and smoother. The lo-mid and Hi-mid controls are great for fine tuning the mids of the your tone. Use the lo-mid control to scoop out the mids more or add more mid presence when needed. Use the Hi-mid control to add some high mid harshness for a little flavor, or use it to tone it down if your finding your hi-mids to be a bit harsh.

With the gain turned down, this amp can do rock tones. Set the gain to zero and then bring the gain up until it gets a decent crunch. Dialing in my tone stack, and setting the switches where they sound best. I found with the gain turned down, I needed to add some bass and push the lo-mids as well to give it a bit more low end and mid presence. At this setting it takes overdrive pedals well and gives a nice boosted lead tone for rock, or by adding more gain, a tight metal tone. For Doom replace the overdrive with a fuzz.

Clean channel

Over to the clean channel, it has gain control, bass, middle and treble controls, a bright switch, and can also utilize the depth and presence controls in the master section. This channel will go from shimmering cleans to light breakup, and with the help of a boost a nice crunch, or throw some fuzz in front to add some filth and get a stoner rock tone. For a clean-ish tones, I liked the tone-stack set between 2 and 3 o’clock, and the gain just past noon, with the bright switch up, and I used my guitar volume to clean it up even more when needed. For a more spanky clean tone, I rolled the bass back past noon and set the gain to about 10 or 11 o’clock.

One thing to keep in mind when adjusting the tone-stack on both channels is that changing one of the controls effects the tonal response of the other controls.

The NadIr impulse loader

Let’s talk about the impulse loader. If you’ve never heard of NadIR either you’re very new to plugins, or you’ve been living under a rock. It has been the go to IR loader for a lot of people for a long time. It’s still my go to Impulse loader to this day, when I’m not testing and blending multiple IR’s in Libra. The updated version of NadIR, included with the Emissary bundle, complements the amp perfectly. It has all the controls you need to get a great cab voicing, and a handful of IR’s to get started. I preferred to use other impulses that suited my taste but the included ones are good to jump in and start playing. The updated GUI looks great and it’s very easy to use and dial in the cab voice so you can focus on getting the amp dialed in without any fuss.

UPS/DOWNS

It comes bundled with the IR loader so you don’t have to worry about a cabinet. Both channels sound very good, and are very versatile to work with. The GUI is very easy to Navigate for both plugins. It’s free which is amazing for what it offers.

Once you get past the amp and the IR loader it does feel a bit featureless, and you can at times hear a little bit of the digital fizz, but bare in mind again it’s free.

One suggestion to STL and Ignite would be to perhaps refresh a few of their previous free overdrive pedals, to be included with the Emissary bundle. I know the bundle has been out for a while, but it would be cool to see a refresh, they are still very usable boosts, and I think a lot of newer users miss out because they don’t even know they even exists.

Conclusion

The Emissary from Ignite Amps, is an amp simulation that includes 2 versatile channels, a fairly versatile power-amp and comes with a very well equipped Impulse response loader. Yes it doesn’t have a tuner, it doesn’t include any boost pedals, a delay or reverb, but at the low, low price of free, does it need to. There are plenty of free effects to pair with it out there, and Ignite has several free boost pedals to choose from, as well as many other free products to use. You don’t have anything to lose by giving it a try, so go download it today, and see what it can do for you, IT’S FREE!

---

See more – release videos from STL Tones, Ignite Amps & Abel Hernandez