Faceman

Name: Faceman
Price: 137 USD
Author: Nembrini Audio

by Nembrini Audio · Amp Sim · Vintage clean amp sim

Not rated yet

A two-channel amp plugin from Nembrini Audio modeled on a 1967 blackface Fender Bassman with a 1x15 JBL D130F cabinet.

It has Bass Instrument and Normal channels, six cabinets and an IR loader, and is on sale for $24.99 (regular $137).

Best for: Guitars, Bass. Genres: Rock & Indie, Pop, Jazz, Acoustic & Classical, R&B & Soul.

Keywords: bass, electric guitar, vintage, clean, hardware emulation, 60s, impulse-response based, crunchy, classic, 50s, AUv3/iOS, dirty, fat, mixing.

What it does

Faceman (Faceman 2-Channel Head Guitar Amplifier) models a 1967 blackface Fender Bassman head played through a 1x15 cabinet with a JBL D130F speaker. The developer pitches its range as "sparkle clean to rich and fat overdrive."

Two channels: Bass Instrument, voiced for bass, and Normal, for guitar or bass. Each has its own gain, EQ and master volume, and the two sound quite different.
Cabinets: six guitar cabinets to choose from.
Microphones: four mic models with on/off-axis switching and continuous position and distance knobs.
Mixer: solo, mute, pan and faders to blend the microphones with room ambience.
IR loader: load up to three third-party impulse responses and blend them with volume, pan, phase, solo and mute, with a browser for finding IR files.
Noise control: a noise gate and a Cleaner circuit that cuts rumble and harshness.

The current version is 1.0.7. It was on sale when checked.

Source: Nembrini Audio product page

When to use it

Faceman is a one-amp plugin: a single Bassman, for warm cleans and edge-of-breakup crunch at a sale price. Compared with AmpliTube 5 MAX or Paradise Guitar Studio it covers far less ground, with no pedals or effects beyond the gate, but it costs a fraction of their price and puts all its detail into one classic American voice. Unlike Neural Amp Modeler, it needs no third-party captures, since the amp, cabinets and mics are built in. Next to the developer's Hivolt 103 it gives a rounder, Fender-style clean rather than a British one. Its Bass Instrument channel also makes it a fair choice for vintage bass tones.

Best for: clean and lightly driven guitar, pedal-platform tones, and vintage bass.
Genres: blues, indie, soul, country, classic rock.
Look elsewhere if: you need high gain, built-in effects or many amps; AmpliTube 5 MAX or Guitar Rig 7 Pro cover those.
Tip: there is no channel linking, so a KVR reviewer runs two instances in parallel, one per channel, to blend them.

What producers say

The few user opinions are very positive about the vintage tone, with the missing channel link the main gripe.

KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 1 review (2022, version 1.0): it praised the crunch at low volume and an "authentically sounding vintage tube amp tone", and found it pairs well with drive pedals, but missed channel linking.
Loopy Pro forum users (iOS and desktop) called it "very direct and dirty" with "no sheen", liked its full cleans, and found it a good match for fuzz pedals.

Where to buy

Nembrini Audio: $137

Tutorials and reviews

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