Shreddage 3 Hydra is the culmination of everything we at Impact Soundworks have learned in 10 years of creating virtual guitars. This is our vision of what a no-compromises, maximum-quality 8-string guitar should be. Our internal bar of quality was so high that we recorded the entire sample set three times in our pursuit of the perfect performances and tone.

Now it’s finally done, and you can enjoy the ultimate rock and metal virtual guitar in your music.

We selected an “Iron Label” RGIF8 drop-tuned to low E for our guitar, and equipped it with Fishman Fluence Tosin Abasi Signature pickups. These pickups put Shreddage 3 Hydra in its own class, even compared to our other instruments. They not only have distinct and useful tones (neck & bridge positions), but their clarity and low noise floor is unmatched. Some open-string sustain notes ring out for over 40 seconds!

Thanks to exhaustive sampling of all useful articulations, dynamics, RR variations, and layers, Hydra gives you all the tools you need to create absolutely incredible guitar tracks. With the right writing (see our ‘Masterclass’ series on YouTube, below) you can make rhythm parts, chords, and leads that will drop jaws with their sound and realism.

Naturally this is a killer guitar for rock and metal music, particularly heavy subgenres and progressive variations. But as you can hear in our walkthrough video and demos, the clean tone possibilities are just as impressive. The clarity and sustain in the pickups make Hydra a great choice for any kind of ‘gaze’ style music too.