Completed & Live

G-Core (GuitarCore): A Browser-Based 7-Layer Amp & Effects Simulator

An electric guitar simulator and DSP unit built to the standards of professional guitar processors (Neural DSP, Helix), running in the browser with zero latency — no installation or plugins required.

Pick Entry Screen

An interactive interface: clicking the orange guitar pick, with its realistic neon glow and press animation, starts the audio context and loads the cabinet IRs (Impulse Responses) in the background with zero latency.

Advanced Web Audio DSP

Wide 512-sample RMS acoustic VU bars for low and mid frequencies such as guitar strings, leak-free hardware-level disconnection (disconnect fix) and bypass protection.

7-Layer Dynamic Signal Chain (Helix & Neural DSP Standards)

1. Input Stage

A high-precision chromatic tuner, a semitone-step pitch shifter (Transpose) for simulating alternate tunings, and a Noise Gate circuit that cuts the noise floor.

2. Pre-Amp Pedals (Stompboxes)

A dynamic Wah-Wah/Envelope filter, a professional Compressor with attack/release controls and an asymmetric Overdrive based on classic Tube Screamer analog modeling.

3. Boutique Amp (Amp Stage)

Clean, Crunch and Lead preamp channels, an asymmetric tanh saturation waveshaper, an interactive 3-band EQ and a 2x/4x oversampling engine that prevents aliasing.

4. FX Loop (Modulation)

Post-amp stereo depth with an LFO-modulated stereo Chorus and a Tremolo pedal with depth/rate controls.

5. Cabinet (Dual-IR & 2D Mic)

A Dual-IR loader that can blend Marshall 1960 and Mesa Boogie 4x12 cabinet responses, plus a 2D positioning panel that dynamically simulates the off-axis angle and distance of SM57 and R121 microphones.

6. Rack Effects (Post-FX)

A stereo Space Delay with ping-pong mode and an algorithmic studio Reverb unit with Room, Hall and Plate modes.

7. Output Stage (Master Wall)

A studio-grade master brickwall Limiter that acts as a safety wall, protecting ears and speakers from transient peaks.

Dynamic Ordering (Re-orderable Grid)

In GuitarCore, the Web Audio API signal path is not static. When the pedal order is changed in the interface, the audio engine instantly disconnects every node and reconnects them in the new order with zero latency. Moving modulation pedals before or after the amp can therefore be heard in real time.

Development Path and Version Milestones

Version 1.0 (Alpha)

Core Amp and Bypass Fixes

Fixing low-frequency loss in bypass (Highpass leakage) and audio dropouts on cabinet bypass with an asymmetric tanh waveshaper.

Version 2.0

Move to 7 Layers and Studio Modules

Integrating the chromatic tuner, pitch shifter, chorus, tremolo, ping-pong delay and limiter modules by restructuring them into a 7-layer dynamic architecture.

Version 2.5 (Current)

Studio Interface & Acoustic VU Fixes

Removing the slide-out settings panel in favor of a clean studio screen (Flat Layout). Completing the 512-sample RMS VU meters, the Auto-Resume audio engine and the leak-free hardware disconnection system.

Engineering Revisions (Technical Solutions)

Guitar Audio Leak Fix (Monitor Fix)

The audio leak that occurred even when live monitoring was muted was fixed 100% by physically disconnecting the outputAnalyser node at the hardware level.

VU Acoustic Bar RMS Calculation

To stop the VU bars from freezing on the zero-crossing phase, the sample buffer was increased from 32 to 512 (11.6 ms). The full low- and mid-frequency envelope is now captured live and responsively.

Auto-Resume Audio Engine

To keep browser security policies from suspending the AudioContext, a resume trigger was integrated that automatically wakes the engine whenever the volume is adjusted or a channel is opened.

Uninterrupted Test Signal (Beep Bypass)

A bypass circuit was built that routes the test beep tone straight to the main output, so the hardware output can be tested even when the signal chain is fully off or muted.

Final Resolution

GuitarCore Manifest

GuitarCore is a piece of software craft that proves world-class guitar tones are possible from nothing more than a web browser — no external hardware or heavy VST plugins required. By pushing the Web Audio API to its limits, it unites analog elegance with digital automation.