Lo-fi plug-ins are popular. Although deliberately imposing the technological failings of old-school recording and playback hardware on your digitally pristine DAW-based productions might seem beyond ironic, the gritty textures and analogue fluctuations of vintage samplers, vinyl and tape were instrumental in shaping the sound of modern music, and have an enduring appeal that seems unlikely to ever abate. Today, such retro styling is most apparent in synthwave, trip-hop, ambient and other lo-fi genres, but even if you’re not working in that realm, a touch of digital distortion or vinyl crackle can prove transformative for any track. Bring it all back with this sublime plugin sextet…

Psychic Modulation EchoMelt

We looked at Psychic Modulation’s weird and wonderful VectoMelt in our recent sound design plugins round-up, and while this one is a go-to for overtly modulated pitching, delay and distortion effects, its conceptual (and literal) predecessor, EchoMelt, offers a cheaper and more direct path to general retro-fication.

Based on the effects section from the also-excellent Phonec synth, EchoMelt incorporates chorusing, pitchshifting dub delay and EQ modules, with a saturation stage at the output. The star of the show, however, is the brilliant Melt section, with which atmospheric ‘VHS-style’ tape degradation effects are dialled in through adjustment of wow and flutter, and a highly customisable tape ‘snagging’ algorithm that affords control over the timing and shape of the snag onset, length and return to normal playback. It’s a unique selling point that really gives this evocative plugin a sound and remit of its own. 

XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color

XLN’s beautifully designed multi-effects plugin comprises six easy-to-use modules built for dirtying up signals of all kinds. The Noise section generates a variety of interesting noise types, from VHS and vinyl to tube and, er, Apollo Lunar Lander, while Distort and Digital provide analogue saturation, sample rate reduction and bit-crushing. The Wobble and Magnetic modules introduce tape-style wow and flutter, and degradation; and Space serves up a basic reverb algorithm. Each module features its own bypass and amount controls, and a randomisation slider (Flux); and the Master strip at the bottom houses in/out gain, filtering, EQ and stereo width controls. The Magnitude slider at the top works like a global depth macro, governing the module amount knobs and Master section parameters – very handy as an automation target.

Versatile and sonically convincing, RC-120 Retro Color is a fine choice for those who like to get creative with their ageing effects.

AudioThing Vinyl Strip

Similar to RC-20 Retro Color in its modular organisation, Vinyl Strip enables not only the titular vinyl effects, but also vintage sampler emulation. Of the six sections, Vinyl is the busiest, with knobs for adjusting the volume and frequency of Dust crackles, setting the Age of your virtual record and more; but the Compressor, Distortion, Reverb and EQ modules also play into the vinyl emulation, recreating the effects of old-school record production and cutting techniques, and hi-fi playback systems. The Sampler section, meanwhile, lets you drop the sample rate and bit depth to get the sound of a vintage Akai or E-MU box.

Vinyl Strip’s vinyl-ising sounds terrific, stepped up a notch by the subsidiary elements around the main Vinyl module. AudioThing’s proprietary randomisation system is onboard, too, and the ability to freely reorder the signal path is another plus.

Mathieu Demange RX950 Classic AD/DA Converter

Virtually recreating the full analogue-to-digital-to-analogue signal path – including 12dB/octave low-pass Butterworth filter – of the venerable 12-bit Akai S950 sampler, RX950 transports any beat, bassline or other sound back to the golden era of hip-hop. The controls are appropriately minimal, comprising Input Gain, Audio Bandwidth (sample rate, from 3-19.2kHz) Filter cutoff, Mono/stereo switch, and, round the back, Brilliance (high-frequency response); but this one really is all about the sublime crunch and character of the converter emulation, which simply requires the plugin to be inserted in order to work its magic. Can’t argue with the price, either.

Klevgrand DAW Cassette

The influence of synthwave on electronic music as a whole has put the palpably lo-fi sound of cassette tape on the production map, and Klevgrand’s self-explanatory effect is one of only a handful of plugins to implement such consumer-grade electromagnetic colouration in virtual form. The main UI facilitates switching between Normal, Chrome and Metal tape types; downgrading of the emulated tape, head and/or motor quality; activation of tape noise; and overdriving of the input stage. Flipping to the back panel reveals controls for tweaking crosstalk, head tilt, and noise colour and level, and a four-band graphic EQ.

Far more than just a nostalgia trip for ’80s kids, DAW Cassette perfectly realises the distortion, wobbling and messed-up frequency response of those old C90s. The vinyl equivalent, DAW LP, is equally worth checking out.

iZotope Vinyl

We don’t normally cover freeware in our plugin round-ups, but this gratis record-and-deck emulator is such a compelling option that we’d be remiss in not including it here. Originally released in 2001, Vinyl was updated last year with a long overdue visual overhaul and the addition of a new Lo-Fi processor for old sampler-style artefacts. That aside, the main reasons to download iZotope’s storied debut plugin remain the same as they’ve always been: the ‘decade’ selector; the adjustable Dust, Scratch, Warp and Wear processors; the Mechanical and Electrical noise level controls; and that wicked Spindown effect. If you haven’t downloaded it already, don’t let us hold you up a moment longer…

UJAM Retro Finisher

A late entry into this category because is it brand new, the Finisher Retro from UJAM is a one stop destination for dialling back your productions into the past. With classic reverbs, delays, flangers, tubes, tape hiss and more, the idea behind the Finisher plugins from UJAM is that they deliberately don’t offer much parameter control but instead offer lots of options. Pull up a preset, try it and if it’s not what you’re looking for, move on to another of the 100 presets.

The Finisher knob controls a generalised “amount” of the effect and usually controls multiple unspecified parameters which change depending on the preset you’re using. Retro Finisher offers combinations of Filter, Distortion, Age, Modulation and Ambience effects controlled by the main Finisher knob and four vari knobs which are all soft macro controls which change function with the preset selected.

Do you use plugin effects to artificially age and mess up your sounds? Let us know your favourites in the comments.