Archetype: Misha Mansoor X
The ultimate toolkit for modern metal guitar, as innovative and uncompromising as Misha himself.
Overview
Few guitarists embody modern metal music quite like Misha Mansoor. As a founding force behind Periphery, his vision and creativity have shaped the sound of an entire generation. His influence extends far beyond riffs and solos, redefining how heavy music is written, produced, and performed.
Misha is as much an innovator as he is a player. By pushing the boundaries of amp design and creating groundbreaking pedals, he has always pursued tools that unlock new possibilities. That same drive has guided every detail of this plugin.
Archetype: Misha Mansoor X is more than an expansion of his iconic tones. It is an exploration of the unexpected, featuring experimental effects, unique amps, and a toolkit designed for players who share his restless curiosity.
We proudly present to you, Archetype: Misha Mansoor X.
Special FX
Laser
Laser pushes your guitar into new territory by transforming your signal into “laser-like” sounds. Beyond that, it unlocks a wide range of experimental textures powered by two proprietary algorithms:
Ring Modulator: Produces dissonant overtones that blend with your original signal, creating unpredictable metallic textures.
Pitch Shifter: Can run as one or two pitch shifters, opening up everything from warped harmonies to stacked intervals.
Choose from 19 Laser Presets, each triggering a different sound character. Use an expression pedal in Pedal Mode to sweep the ring mod frequency or pitch shift in real time, or switch to Envelope Mode and let your playing dynamics drive the effect.
It’s perfect for breakdowns, transitions, and experimental sections, and becomes even more powerful when combined with other effects.
Glitch
Every great rig has a wild card. The Glitch pedal is Misha’s. Built on granular processing, it chops your signal into tiny audio grains and reshuffles them into unpredictable new patterns. By changing the length, density, and pitch of these patterns, your playing is reshaped into glitch, stutter, and texturizer effects that range from chaotic to surprisingly musical, especially on clean tones.
Tempo Sync: Keeps stutter effects and glitches locked to the beat for rhythmic consistency.
Four unique modes: Pitch Delay, Sequence, Interfere, and Texturizer, covering a broad palette of granular effects.
Chaos macro: Randomizes multiple internal parameters simultaneously. At low settings, the effect remains structured and rhythmic, delivering predictable stutters and textures. Crank it up, and it generates experimental, evolving, and unpredictable granular sounds.
With multiple modes and controls for grain length, density, pitch, and chaos, the Glitch pedal offers a level of chaos and creativity no traditional effect delivers. It’s a tool for turning riffs, leads, and transitions into something entirely unexpected.
Pre Effects
Horizon Devices® Compressor®
The Compressor has become one of Horizon Devices®’ most acclaimed pedals and is Misha’s always-on essential both live and in the studio. We have meticulously and faithfully recreated every detail of the Compressor in Archetype: Misha Mansoor X, ensuring it works exactly like its hardware counterpart.
It captures the same “set it and forget it” magic while adding the flexibility only software can provide. Turn it on, and even at default settings it tightens your tone and adds enough extra push to drive an amp or serve as a booster. Simple, versatile, and effective.
Tape Echo
This vintage-style delay brings the warmth and character of classic tape echoes to the front of your signal. Because it sits before the amp, every repeat is shaped by your gain and effects, giving you echoes that are raw and punchy.
Keep it tight for quick slapbacks that add instant energy. Stretch it out for spacious repeats that melt into your tone. Push it all the way to a fully wet signal with short times and no feedback, and it becomes a gritty lo-fi texture that completely reshapes your sound.
Dual Octaver
The Dual Octaver adds depth to your tone with the ability to shift your signal down, up, or both at once. Its precise tracking keeps every note clear and defined, even in the lowest registers.
Blend in just a touch for subtle thickness, or turn it up for huge, synth-like layers that transform single notes into massive harmonies.
Horizon Devices® Precision Drive®
The Precision Drive® redefined what a modern overdrive could be. Designed by Misha, it delivers the tightness and clarity high-gain players demand and has become the benchmark overdrive for modern metal.
In Archetype: Misha Mansoor X, every detail of the Precision Drive® has been faithfully recreated, delivering the same punch, clarity, and feel as its hardware counterpart.
Chaos
Chaos is Misha’s custom-built distortion, modeled after a DIY pedal inspired by the infamous Swedish “chainsaw” sound. It delivers a raw, buzzy grind that can be blended with your dry signal for everything from subtle edge to full-on destruction.
With a single control, it keeps things simple, but the results are anything but. Pair it with a high-gain amp for brutal riffs and searing leads, or run it straight into a cab for 80s-inspired tones.
Amps
Clean
Inspired by a modern American classic, the Clean amp delivers full-bodied cleans with massive headroom. It responds beautifully to dynamics, making it a perfect platform for pedals or expressive clean playing. Push it harder, and it breaks up into a thick harmonically rich overdrive with the kind of character that moves from glassy cleans to classic rock crunch with ease.
Engage the Boost switch to boost the amp’s input, resulting in increased distortion. The Voice switch toggles between two distinct EQ voicings, adding even more versatility.
Fittingly, its design reflects Misha’s love of luxury watches, with a geometric motif and dial styling inspired by classic timepieces. Precise, elegant, and timeless, just like the tones it delivers.
Rhythm
The Rhythm Amp is a unique and fierce blend of two legendary high-gain amps. Purpose-built for tight, percussive riffing, it delivers crushing low end, aggressive mids, and a razor-sharp attack that keeps even the most complex chugs and chords clear under extreme saturation. This is an amp designed not just to be loud, but to cut through any mix with clarity and authority.
Toggle the Voice switch to access two distinct EQ voicings, expanding the amp’s range of voicings.
Its design reflects Misha’s love of supercars, complete with a turbo-inspired centerpiece that captures the power under the hood.
Lead
Inspired by custom-modded British classics and purpose-built for expressive solos and singing lead lines. A redesigned tone stack and added gain stage give it a rich voice with endless sustain and a smooth yet biting edge.
It brings lead tones to life with both power and personality. The Voice switch toggles between two EQ voicings, adding extra bite when you need to cut through the mix.
Its design reflects Misha’s taste for sleek and minimalistic products. Understated on the surface but powerful and refined in performance.
Cabsim
The cabinet you play through is a huge part of your tone, and this section gives you complete control over it. Each amp comes with a matching cab, but you can freely mix and match them to unlock even more tonal possibilities.
The Clean Cab is a 1x12 loaded with an Eminence GA® speaker, known for its balance, sparkle, and depth. The Rhythm Cab is a 4x12 fitted with Vintage 30®s, delivering crushing low end and aggressive mids. The Lead Cab is a classic 4x12 with G12M Greenbacks®, offering midrange punch and a smooth top end that helps solos cut through with clarity and power.
Each cab includes 126 impulse responses (IRs) captured by Adam “Nolly” Getgood, for a total of 378 IRs. Seven virtual microphones can be dragged and placed anywhere around the speakers for endless tonal options. Run it in mono, or switch to stereo to add a second mic with full control over panning and level.
This module also serves as a standard IR loader.
Room Mics
The Room Send controls in the cabsim module introduce a subtle room reverb effect, adding natural depth to your sound.
EQ
The onboard 9-band graphic equalizer, featuring high and low-pass filters, allows for total control over frequency response. Each amp has its own dedicated EQ.
Post FX
Modulator
This isn’t your typical modulation pedal. Inspired by a legendary classic and enhanced with an expression pedal, it blends lush chorus and sweeping flanger textures into one versatile unit, and then takes things much further.
Pedal mode lets you use an expression pedal to control speed, depth, and mix in a single sweep, opening up movement and transitions that feel alive and dynamic. Switch to Auto mode, and a semi-random LFO takes over like a “virtual foot”, sweeping the effect in sync with the tempo. With dedicated controls for speed and randomness, you control how fast it moves and how unpredictable it becomes.
With its super-wide stereo imaging, the Modulator transforms your sound in ways no ordinary chorus or flanger can.
Stereo Delay
Anyone who has listened to Periphery knows how important delay is to Misha’s sound. Those shimmering echoes and spacious layers are part of what defines his music, so when building this plugin we knew the delay had to be uncompromising.
Inspired by one of the most iconic studio units ever made, it can deliver crystal-clear repeats that stay out of the way of your dry signal, or evolve into spacious, modulated echoes for atmosphere. With tempo sync and detailed EQ shaping, the repeats sit naturally in any mix without clutter.
Its secret weapon is the built-in Ducker: the delay automatically lowers in volume while you play, then swells back up in the gaps. This keeps your playing clear and focused while still surrounding it with ambience. It’s just as useful for tight riffs as it is for soaring leads or atmospheric layers.
Selectable Stereo, Inverted Phase, and Ping-pong modes let you shape how the echoes move through the stereo field, while filters and modulation give you detailed control over their character.
Reverb
Misha’s music has always leaned on reverb to create space. To capture that, we created a 2-in-1 pedal: a faithful recreation of his favorite boutique unit, plus a custom Shimmer Mode for when you want something more ethereal.
Normal mode delivers that lush vintage-digital character Misha swears by, while Shimmer lifts the sound with pitch-shifted harmonics that sparkle on top of the reverb tail. With simple controls, it’s easy to dial in anything from subtle ambience to expansive soundscapes in seconds.
Global features
Global Lock
A highly requested addition. Global Lock lets you lock the settings of all top bar controls (Input, Gate, Transpose, Doubler, and Output) so they stay consistent while you cycle through presets.
Transpose & Doubler
Transpose: Pitch your guitar up or down by a constant interval (+12/-12 semitones) to quickly change tunings without retuning your instrument.
Doubler: Projects your signal into a simulated stereo field, creating the sound of a double-tracked recording.
Tuner
Now features an additional live tuner displayed at the bottom of the UI.
Metronome
Perfectly supplements your practice with controls for time signature, accent sounds, and note values (available only in Standalone mode).
16:10 aspect ratio
New interface layout optimized for modern displays.
Presets
Featuring 34 presets by Misha himself, plus 338 more from acclaimed artists, producers, and the team at Neural DSP.
Every preset is fully tweakable, so you can move quickly and make it your own.
Preset Explorer
Archetype: Misha Mansoor X introduces a new Preset Explorer, designed to make browsing and managing presets faster and more intuitive.
All preset folders are neatly organized in the left panel, with quick access to recent presets. Use the search bar to find exactly what you need, add tags for easier organization, and mark your go-to sounds as favorites.
Standalone
No DAW? No problem! Run the Archetype: Misha Mansoor X as a standalone app with no additional software required.
Getting started with guitar plugins
Guitar plugins are software versions of amps, cabinets, and effects that run on your computer. Instead of using physical gear, you plug your guitar into your computer through an audio interface and get professional tones instantly. The majority of the modern music you listen to is recorded using guitar plugins.
Archetype: Misha Mansoor X works both as a standalone app and inside recording software (a DAW).
Download a 14-day free trial of Archetype: Misha Mansoor X
For more information, read our guide on downloading, installing, and activating plugins.
Connect your guitar to your computer through an audio interface
If you don’t have an audio interface, read our guide on choosing an audio interface for guitar and connecting a guitar to a computer.
Launch the plugin and start playing
Open the standalone app to just play, or load it inside a supported DAW to record. Make sure your audio settings are set up correctly.
System requirements
Archetype: Misha Mansoor X comes in 64-bit VST2 / VST3 / AU / AAX / Standalone.
Latest OS Compatibility for Windows & Mac, including Native Apple Silicon.
For more information about system requirements visit our support page.
Free iLok License Manager and iLok account needed.
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