Want a plug in system for computer.....help please.

Interfaces don't get any simpler than an Apogee Jam or an I/K iRig Pro. Guitar in one end, computer the other. There are many plugins to choose from, but I'm partial to the NeuralDSP archetype series. The Plini and Nolly ones for example, but they all sound great.
 
I personally use a Presonus Audiobox which is a few years old and running strong. I’ve heard good things about Focusrite interfaces.

Interfaces have come a long way and even a cheap one will give you a lot of mileage. The only thing you need to think of is how many input channels you need - I.e. are you only going to be playing a guitar or would you need a guitar and a mic for vocals.

For software, almost all of the companies making plugins offer trial versions. Most of them are full featured time limited versions. Some of the ones that come to mind are
S-gear (I use it and am partial to it)
NeuralDSP
Helix Native (the computerized version of Helix)
Amplitude
Bias

If you want to do more than just play (record etc) you will need a DAW (Digital audio workstation). Most interfaces come packaged with licenses for a barebones version of DAW. The DAW allows you to record, mix, arrange if you want to. I personally use Ableton Live Lite which came free with a piece of gear I purchased. A DAW might be required for a software plugin that doesn’t have a standalone application - although the ones that I know of all have standalone apps in case all you want to do is play guitar.

A guitar going into the interface with the audio going into the plugin (standalone or within a DAW) playing through speakers is all there is to it to begin with.

I have a pretty effective basic setup for home playing on an old iMac - so if you have any questions feel free to ask.
 
The absolute simplest is an instrument USB cable. I got one with a copy of some guitar game someone gave me one Christmas. I can't think of the game, maybe Rocksmith? but the cable is just a 1/4" on one end and USB on the other. Recognized by the Mac right away. I've run a couple of software only things on my laptop, thrown the cable in my laptop bag, and with my guitar I'm good.
 
If you just want to play your guitar, then you don't need a DAW solution. Any plugin audio host (Gig Performer, Mainstage, etc.) will do the trick.
I find hundreds of free effect plug-ins @ KVRaudio.
 
For plugin I'd say S-Gear, Mercuriall sounds great too but amp for amp is expensive and the UIs are not unified, a bit of a mess of product line. Scuffham has recently posted also some preset packs that are amazing, for free.
 
Sleestak said:
For the plugin approach, check out Gig Performer https://gigperformer.com
It's a VST host program, and I know a lot of players who are using it as a big part of the rig. I sometimes run it alongside my AxeFX III for processing loops and other stuff in a live setting.
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Wow. Was unaware of this ...went to the web site and whose name should be first prominently scrolled in the endorsers ..the estimable @simeon
 
If you want to use plugins, need low latency. Check out the Motu M2 just picked one up, great reviews, something like 2ms round trip and also has 0 latency monitoring on the front end.
 
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