Build a virtual rig for half the price with up to 50% off BIAS software at Positive Grid

Positive Grid BIAS deal
(Image credit: Positive Grid)

We've all seen it before. 'Up to 50% off' often means that the stuff nobody wants is half price but everything else is close to full retail. Especially the gear we're really gassing for. Refreshingly, Positive Grid has taken a more, ahem, positive step with its early Black Friday plugins sale. Almost everything is half price and anything that's not still gets a genuinely massive discount.

Much of the modelling software out there attempts to deliver tones that are as close as possible to, let's say, a Fender Twin, a Marshall stack or Vox AC30. Or classic pedals such as an Ibanez Tube Screamer or an Arbiter Fuzz Face. Positive Grid's BIAS software does this too but there's more, much more.

It recognises the one need that all guitarists crave, the desire to master self-expression. As a result, its BIAS software has been developed to be almost infinitely tweakable, enabling you, the artist, to discover your own tone rather than just emulate somebody else's.

Below we've picked our favourite software from this not-to-be-missed promotion. As Black Friday approaches we'll continue to bring you the latest deals on all the best kit, so if you want to save a fortune keep checking our Black Friday music deals page. Don't miss out!

BIAS Amp 2 Elite: was $299, now $149

BIAS Amp 2 Elite: was $299, now $149
Already know the amp tone you're looking for? BIAS Amp 2 can match the sound of any miked amp or audio file, so if you have an example of what you're after you've already nailed it. But, where's the fun in just copying something else when you can make that tone your own? Swap out tubes, customise preamps, change those transformers, A/B open-backed cabs vs closed and experiment with multiple mics in every position possible. Then upload your masterpiece to ToneCloud or download other guitarist's creations. The possibilities are endless.

BIAS FX 2 Elite: was $299, now $149

BIAS FX 2 Elite: was $299, now $149
BIAS FX 2 enables you to create and endlessly tweak your entire dream rig using an extremely intuitive signal path GUI. Yes, you could buy the Standard or Pro packages but at this price the Elite version makes much more sense. You get 100 amps, 122 effects, 20 Guitar Match models, 18 HD rack units, and the three new fuzz, time and harmonizer modellers. Significantly, Positive Grid has also thrown in all three modules of its BIAS Pedal software, which has a $297 value (currently discounted to $147).

BIAS Pedal: 
Was $99 per module, now $49 ($147 for all three)

BIAS Pedal:
Was $99 per module, now $49 ($147 for all three)
If you've already invested in a BIAS FX 2 Standard or Pro version then this is an obvious add-on that, at this price, it's silly to overlook. Essentially, BIAS Pedal enables you to build your own custom pedals and add them to BIAS FX's pedalboard, but there's so much more to it than that. Three modules are available – distortion, delay and modulation – and you can change everything from the colour of the pedal box through to circuit board components.

BIAS Platinum Collection: $799 per module, now $469

BIAS Platinum Collection: $799 per module, now $469
Here's the BIAS Platinum Collection at a $330 saving. Not quite 50%, but still a healthy amount off. In terms of value, you get pretty much everything – BIAS FX 2, BIAS AMP2, Metal Signature Pack, Bass Expansion Pack, Acoustic Expansion Pack, BIAS Pedal Distortion, BIAS Pedal Delay, BIAS Pedal Modulation, Pro Series Compressor, Pro Series EQ, Celestion Classic Pack. It's a complete guitar studio.

Metal Signature and Bass Expansion packs: 
Were $79 each, now $39 each

Metal Signature and Bass Expansion packs:
Were $79 each, now $39 each
You can never have enough bass, right? Or quality metal tones. These BIAS FX expansion packs are too cheap to ignore right now. The Metal pack adds six new pedal tones from artists Keith Merrow and Jeff Loomis, everything from drive to delay. It also includes a similar number of amp tones. The Bass Expansion pack fleshes out BIAS FX with half a dozen stomp box effects, including absolute must-haves such as octave, chorus and envelope. This is a very inexpensive way to invest in some indispensable sounds.

BIAS falls under three product categories. BIAS Amp 2 is a truly advanced amp modelling environment that enables you to build custom guitar or bass amps to your specifications. BIAS FX 2 does a similar job for effects, but you can also build amps here too for an entire rig. BIAS Pedal, as the name suggests, adds pedal effects modelling capabilities to BIAS FX 2.

All three allow you to build up a detailed signal path from a wide selection of core tones and effects – familiar amps, delays, reverbs, EQ and so on – before changing individual elements, often at a component level. If you've been searching in vain for your tone, trust us, you'll find it here.

If we have a criticism of BIAS software, it's that Positive Grid markets three levels from penny-plain Standard packages to 'wowser, that's a lot of features' Elite versions. While the basic packages do deliver, if you want your socks blown off you have to go Elite. Which, of course, you can now afford to do.

Simon Fellows

When Simon's childhood classical guitar teacher boasted he 'enjoyed a challenge', the poor man had no idea how much he'd underestimated the scale of the task ahead. Despite Simon's lack of talent, the experience did spark a lifelong passion for music. His classical guitar was discarded for an electric, then a room full of electrics before Simon discovered the joys of keys. Against all odds, Simon somehow managed to blag a career as a fashion journalist, but he's now more suitably employed writing for MusicRadar and Guitar World. When not writing or playing, he can be found terrifying himself on his mountain bike.

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