Free, open-source, lightweight guitar effects processor for Windows.
Plug in your guitar, choose your effects, and play. No installation required.
- 14 effects across 8 slots - Noise Gate, Diode Drive, Distortion (4 modes), Amp Sim (3 engines), Analog Delay, Spring Reverb, Plate Reverb, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Vibrato, 3-Band EQ
- 3 amp sim engines - Silver (lightweight, clean to crunch), Gold (full preamp + power amp circuit model), Platinum (5-stage tube preamp, push-pull power amp, transformer, sag)
- 14 cabinet IRs - Studio 57 to Vox Chime, plus No Cabinet and custom IR loading
- Real-time processing - Low-latency audio via ASIO (WASAPI fallback)
- Reorderable signal chain - Move effects into any order, or reset to default
- Built-in tuner - Pitch detection with analog VU-meter display
- Preset system - Save, load, and quick-switch between 4 preset slots
- Portable - Single folder, no installer, no registry. Unzip and run.
- Zero dependencies - Statically linked, no runtime redistributables needed
- Download the latest release
.zip - Extract anywhere
- Run
OpenRiffBox.exe - Click Settings to select your audio interface
- Enable effects from the chain list on the left
- Play!
Requirements: Windows 10/11 x64. An audio interface with ASIO drivers recommended (WASAPI works for casual use).
Default effect order (user-reorderable):
I -> Diode Drive -> Distortion -> Amp Sim -> Noise Gate -> Delay -> Reverb -> Modulation -> EQ -> O
Each effect can be independently bypassed. The chain includes an always-on input DC blocker and output soft limiter.
Effects with multiple engines (Amp Sim, Reverb, Modulation) use tabbed selectors - switch between engines without losing your settings.
| Slot | Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Diode Drive | TS808-style circuit model | Op-amp + diode clipping, mid-focused overdrive |
| Distortion | 4 modes | Overdrive, Tube Drive, Distortion, Metal (3-stage cascaded) |
| Amp Sim | Silver | 3-band EQ, preamp boost, power amp, 14 cabinet IRs |
| Gold | Multi-stage preamp, circuit-modeled tone stack, push-pull power amp with NFB, power supply sag | |
| Platinum | 5-stage tube preamp cascade, phase splitter, push-pull power amp, output transformer, thermal noise | |
| Noise Gate | Full gate | Threshold, attack, hold, release, range, sidechain HPF, hysteresis |
| Delay | BBD analog delay | Feedback saturation, clock-tracking filters, triple LFO modulation |
| Reverb | Spring | Allpass chirp chain, FDN tank, 3 spring types |
| Plate | Cross-coupled tank, multi-tap stereo output, 3 plate types | |
| Modulation | Chorus | Triangle LFO, 180-deg stereo, BBD color filter |
| Flanger | Comb filter feedback with +/- polarity, soft saturation | |
| Phaser | 4/8/12-stage allpass cascade, 100-4000 Hz sweep | |
| Vibrato | Sine LFO, 100% wet pitch modulation | |
| EQ | 3-band semi-parametric | Low shelf, sweepable mid, high shelf, output trim |
See docs/effects.md for detailed parameter documentation and tips.
- Visual Studio Build Tools (MSVC x64/x86 + Windows SDK)
- CMake 3.22+
- JUCE 8 (included as git submodule)
git clone --recursive https://github.com/dlujic/openriffbox.git
cd openriffbox
cmake -B build -G "Visual Studio 18 2026" -A x64
cmake --build build --config ReleaseOutput: build/OpenRiffBox_artefacts/Release/Standalone/OpenRiffBox.exe
- Framework: JUCE 8 (C++17)
- Build: CMake + MSVC, static CRT (
/MT) - Audio: ASIO primary, WASAPI/DirectSound fallback
- DSP: 4x oversampled nonlinear processing, circuit-modeled effects, IR convolution cabinets
- UI: Custom JUCE components, vintage amp aesthetic
openriffbox/
+-- src/
| +-- dsp/ # Effect processors (no UI dependencies)
| +-- ui/ # JUCE UI components
| +-- preset/ # Preset management
+-- presets/ # Factory and user presets (JSON)
+-- resources/
| +-- fonts/ # Inter font family
| +-- irs/ # Cabinet impulse responses
+-- docs/ # Documentation and roadmap
GPLv3 - free as in freedom.
