Impact Soundworks Unleashes Shreddage 3 Hydra – Virtual Metal Guitar

Impact Soundworks Unleashes Shreddage 3 Hydra – Virtual Metal Guitar

Impact Soundworks released today SHREDDAGE 3 HYDRA, a virtual 8-string electric guitar ideal for rock & metal producers. It features a wealth of articulations, tones, and playing styles, covering sounds ranging from crystal-clear clean tones to screaming leads and brutal palm mute ‘chugs’. Powered by the cross-platform KONTAKT PLAYER plugin and fully NKS compatible, the instrument works in virtually any DAW and requires no other effects or plugins to use. Shreddage 3 Hydra is available now for $149 from Impact Soundworks.

Shreddage 3 Hydra Content

• 8 strings, low string drop-tuned to E
• Two pickup positions (neck+bridge)
• Over 40,000 pristine 24-bit samples
• Sustains, powerchords, palm mutes
• Staccatos, hammer-on/pull-off legato
• Harmonics, pinch harmonics, tapping
• Tremolo, slides, fingered vibrato
• Unpitched & pitched releases, FX
• Rakes, muted chokes, DI line noise

Drawing on their decade of experience developing the widely-used and highly-acclaimed Shreddage series of virtual guitars and basses, Impact Soundworks spent nearly two years recording, editing, and programming Shreddage 3 Hydra.

Shreddage 3 Hydra Features

• Cutting edge virtual guitarist engine
• Beautiful, expanded UI for easier editing
• Easy tone and noise settings
• Multiple fret & string voicing algorithms
• New POLY INPUT feature for realistic chords
• New STRUMMING tab for custom rhythm parts
• CONSOLE: Modular rack & mixer w/ 30+ FX
• Includes TACT 2.0 for articulation mapping
• 55 production-ready CONSOLE tone snapshots

The guitar recorded in Shreddage 3 Hydra features a ‘fanned fret’ (multiscale) design and two Fishman Fluence Tosin Abasi Signature pickups, the combination of which offers incredibly clear, long-sustaining and low-noise tone. Though excellent for rock and metal music, particularly progressive and heavy subgenres, Hydra’s clean, clear sound is highly versatile and can be used as-is with minimal processing.

With over 40,000 samples recorded at pristine 24-bit depth, Shreddage 3 Hydra includes 16 playing techniques with extensive variations for every note. These range from sustains that ring out for over 40 seconds, to palm mutes recorded up to 40 times per fret, to multiple types of legato transitions, to the highly-useful ‘tapping’ playing style prevalent in progressive metal music.

The instrument includes 55 production-ready snapshots out of the box, with effects that can be easily edited in the included Console FX rack and mixer. Novice users can easily create great-sounding riffs with minimal editing, while advanced users will appreciate extensive under-the-hood controls and settings allowing them to completely customize the instrument to their personal workflow.

Shreddage 3 Hydra is available now via download for $149. Owners of existing Shreddage 3 instruments qualify for a discounted crossgrade price. Audio and video demos, specifications, and more product information is available at the Impact Soundworks website: