Shreddage 3 Stratus — Free Download

Purpose and Core Sound

Shreddage 3 Stratus is a sample-based virtual guitar designed for Kontakt Player or Kontakt, aiming to deliver realistic guitar performances within a DAW. It captures a classic American electric guitar sound suited for rock, blues, metal, pop, soul, and funk. The instrument includes three distinct pickup positions that can be blended, offering tonal variety from bright single-coil sounds to thicker humbucker tones.

The library features pristine 24-bit recordings of sustains, palm mutes, power chords, harmonics, slides, and various vibrato styles. It also includes release noises, rakes, and muted chokes to add realism. With multiple fret and string voicing algorithms, it emulates how a real guitarist would play, giving parts a more natural feel.

Key Capabilities and Engine

The Shreddage 3 engine is built specifically for virtual guitar performance. It includes a new poly input feature for realistic chords and multiple voicing algorithms that automatically choose the best fret positions. These algorithms can be adjusted via menus or keyswitches, allowing for quick changes during playback.

A much-requested strumming engine is included, suitable for both slow and fast rhythm parts. It simplifies creating strummed patterns, which are common in many genres. This engine is customizable, giving you control over how chords are strummed to fit the musical context.

Console and Effects Rack

The Console is a modular mixer and effects rack that provides full control over the guitar tone. It includes over 30 effects modules, such as EQs, compressors, spatial effects, modulation, amps, distortion pedals, reverbs, and more. This replaces a fixed signal chain with a flexible, pedalboard-style setup.

It also comes with over 30 custom cabinet impulse responses recorded for this instrument, featuring dynamic and condenser mics in multiple positions, plus a ribbon mic for certain models. You can save and load custom FX chains or presets, and even share them across different Shreddage 3 products. The Console also lets you blend between pickups, with custom inserts on each if needed.

Workflow, TACT, and Practical Use

Total Articulation Control Technology (TACT) 2.0 allows you to customize how all articulations are mapped and triggered. This is useful for matching your preferred performance style in your DAW, whether you play parts live or program them in the piano roll. You can set up keyswitches or velocity layers to suit your workflow.

In practice, Shreddage 3 Stratus is best used for writing realistic guitar parts in genres like rock, metal, and blues. The strumming engine is great for rhythm tracks, while the detailed articulations handle lead lines and riffs. With 39 production-ready tone snapshots, you can quickly dial in a suitable sound and then tweak it using the Console’s effects.

Key features

• Three pickups with custom blending
• Over 30 articulations including sustains, mutes, harmonics, slides, and vibrato
• Strumming engine for realistic rhythm parts
• Modular Console with 30+ effects modules and custom cabinet IRs
• TACT 2.0 for remapping articulations
• Multiple fret and string voicing algorithms
• 39 production-ready tone snapshots

Best for

Best for music producers and composers using Kontakt who need a versatile virtual guitar for rock, blues, metal, pop, soul, and funk tracks. It excels at writing rhythm parts with its strumming engine and offers deep tone shaping via the effects rack, making it suitable for both songwriting and detailed production work.