Acustica Audio has released AERO 2, a guitar and bass plugin built around a full amplification workflow rather than a single amp or cabinet model. The update brings pedals, amplifiers, cabinets, EQ, modulation, delay, reverb, saturation, distortion, and spatial processing into one signal chain, giving guitarists, bassists, producers, and sound designers a wider way to build tone inside a DAW.
The plugin is currently available for €85 during Acustica’s Guitar Week promotion, down from its regular €189 price until June 15. Existing AERO owners get the AERO 2 upgrade for free, while NOVA family and Acustica synth owners have dedicated crossgrade options.
The headline number is 251 emulations. That includes 53 pedals, 76 amps, and 122 cabinets, with 11 new captures added for AERO 2. Those new captures include four pedals, four amplifiers, and three cabinets, expanding the plugin’s range across clean response, British-style crunch, boutique lead saturation, fuzz, and modern high-gain tones.
AERO 2 Builds Full Guitar And Bass Signal Chains
The main appeal of AERO 2 is that it treats amplification as a connected chain. A stompbox reacts differently depending on what comes after it, an amp changes based on how it is driven, and cabinet choice can alter the entire feel of a part. AERO 2 is built around that relationship, allowing every stage to affect the next rather than feeling like separate modules lined up in a row.
That makes it useful beyond standard guitar tracking. Producers can use it for reamping DI guitars, bass processing, synth saturation, drum texture, sound design, and parallel distortion chains. Since the plugin includes pedals, amps, cabs, EQ, and effects in one environment, it can work as a full tone-building platform rather than another utility amp sim.
The added effects help make that workflow feel complete. Modulation, delay, reverb, and spatial processing give users the tools to finish a tone inside the plugin before sending it into the rest of the mix.
NOVA Instrument Adds Better Gain Behavior
AERO 2 runs on NOVA Instrument, a dedicated version of Acustica’s NOVA architecture built for instrument amplification. The goal is to make saturation, dynamics, and harmonic response change more naturally as gain moves through the chain.
That part matters because amp plugins often fall apart when gain staging feels flat. AERO 2 is designed to let the tone develop through pedals, amps, cabinets, and effects with more interaction between stages. It is also optimized for lower CPU usage, which is useful for producers running larger chains across several guitar, bass, or design tracks.
AERO 2 supports VST3, AAX, and AU formats on Windows and macOS, with sample rates up to 96 kHz. It supports Windows 10 and 11, macOS Catalina through Sonoma, and native Apple Silicon. Intel-based Macs are not supported.
For guitarists and producers already working inside Acustica’s ecosystem, AERO 2 looks like a practical update. It gives users a large library of hardware-inspired tones, a full signal-chain workflow, and a more focused platform for amplification, reamping, and creative distortion inside the box.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
