It’s always exciting when new guitar software comes out, but that’s usually about once a year. However, IK Multimedia released the AmpliTube Custom Shop as part of AmpliTube 3.5, allowing you to purchase new amps and effects anytime you want.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]When you enter the Custom Shop, you are immediately reminded of Apple’s Mac App Store. That’s a good thing for IK. As far as I know, IK is the first company to take the Mac Store concept and apply it to its own products.

You have a few options when you open the app. You can add credits to your account (credits are used to purchase products), look at the gear you already purchase, and manage your account.Everything you need to do can be done from within the application — very smart move.

When you are ready to browse the available gear, the side menu gives you several options to find exactly what you’re looking. You can browse by Brand, Stomp, Amp, Cab, Mic and Rack. Each category is broken down further to narrow your search.

Not only can you buy gear, but the IK store allows you to try before you buy. This is a brilliant idea. Now I can demo an amp or cabinet before giving up the cash to buy it.

I tried out the Soldano amp for my metal sounds. The integration between AmpliTube 3 and the Custom Shop really shines through here. You just click on the “Try” button and the amp goes right into AmpliTube and is ready to use.

You are given a two day trial period for each piece of gear you want to purchase and you can buy at any time. Just go to the Custom Shop and click buy. Doesn’t get any easier than that.

I am not a very patient person, especially when it comes to guitar software. I want it, when I want it. The Custom Shop gives me the ability to do just that.

If I can’t create the tone I want, I have the option to try out different effects, amps and cabs until I get exactly what I’m looking. That is what I want from my software.

IK is offering a basic version of AmpliTube 3.5 free and it includes the plug-in and standalone version. The software gives you 24 gear models consisting of 9 stomp boxes, 4 amplifiers, 5 cabinets, 3 microphones, 2 rack effects and a digital tuner.

The new version of AmpliTube features 64-bit plug-in compatibility, an improved preset browser with full graphical display of the rig, 4,000 new “patch” slots that store controller information with the presets, improved integration with IK’s range of controllers (like the StealthPedal and StompIO) with full programmability directly from AmpliTube, improved MIDI control, “sequences” for organizing live playing presets and much more.

Having the Custom Shop is one of the best things to happen for guitarists since amp modeling was first introduced.