Best Plugins for LoFi Producers

Best Plugins LoFi Hip Hop

We talkin’ bout, “LoFi Plugins?”

The emergence of lofi music in recent years has considerably been due to how easy and accessible it has become to create. While you will need various pieces of hardware such as samplers, an MPC (music production centre) and an emulation keyboard to produce tracks, gear is just one half of the production equation. The second half is software.

Some lofi music producers just use their computer to create beats and melodies. For beginners, all you need is Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). This is simply a piece of audio editing software that serves as the bases for creating tracks. Garage Band, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, and Logic Pro are amongst the most well known DAWs. However to truly make unique lofi music, there is a variety of plugins available.

Plugins allow lofi music producers the opportunity to add effects, equalization, instruments and more.

If you’re just starting out as a lofi music producer or looking to expand your music-making skills, we’ve picked out six of the best plugins to use for lofi music creation.

XLN Audio – Retro Color 20 (RC-20)

Similar to Tape Face, the XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color plugin provides vintage texture. Inspired by classic gear, it offers plenty of versatility.

Containing six FX modules (noise, wobble, distort, digital, space, and magnetic), they allow you to replicate retro sounds and more. Whereas the Flux Engine module provides subtle instability and fluctuations to all the effects, giving you those slight audio imperfections. The Magnitude slider collects all the modules and serves as the master module

The RC-20 Retro Color includes various presets, making it easy for you quickly jump in.

Ultimately, the depth the XLN Audio RC-20 Retro offers is superb. It allows you to add range of textures to your sound; from retro analog to modern digitalization.

Best Plugins LoFi Hip Hop

Izotope – Vinyl

Lofi music is known for its old-school character, and with Izotope’s Vinyl plugin you get just that.

Its simple user-interface allows you to easily simulate the dust, scratches, and warp of a worn record. While a range of record players from various decades serve as emulation filters.

Amongst its features are Mechanical Noise which adds turntable noise and rumble. Of if you’re wanting to emulate the sound of a record slowing down, there’s Spin Down that can effect the playback speed and frequency.

For lofi music producers, the main feature of Vinyl is the lofi mode, providing the signature tone of 80s hip-hop resampling within seconds.

As a free download, Izotope Vinyl is a great entry point for lofi music production and editing, allowing you to easily tweak and modify your sounds.

Best Plugins LoFi Hip Hop

Izotope – TRASH 3

For those of us in the studio, Izotope’s Trash 2 has been a game-changer in how we approach distortion. Enter Trash 3—this upgrade isn’t just about more options; it’s about better ones. With over 100 distortion algorithms and the ability to manipulate up to six frequencies independently, Trash 3 lets us sculpt sound with unprecedented precision.

Trash 3 keeps what we loved about Trash 2—its robust multi-band, dual-stage, and wave-shaping distortions. But it adds more nuanced post-filtering capabilities, allowing for finer edits and more dynamic mixes. The increase from 20 to 30 filter types, along with sophisticated new oscillators, means more control and customization, tailoring every nuance of the audio.

For those of us using distortion as an essential tool for texture and tone, the expanded set of Impulse Responses in Trash 3 offers a broader palette for our experiments. Whether you’re tweaking a drum loop or overlaying a complex lead line, these tools are designed to be as intuitive as they are powerful.

Trash 3 isn’t just another plugin—it’s a sonic workshop where every track can be transformed into exactly what you envision. If you’ve ever found yourself limited by the capabilities of Trash 2, this new version promises to match your ambitions every step of the way.

Best Plugins LoFi Hip Hop

Kiive Audio – Tape Face

One of the key characteristics of lofi music is its nostalgic tone. Kiive Audio’s Tape Face is an analog emulation VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugin and includes three modules.

The input/output module offers tape saturation, or if you’re looking to add more distortion, you can maximize the input all the way! The Meter / IPS section allows you to change the VU meter style from input signal, gain reduction and the output signal.

Then there is the Tape Bias / Low Boost module, which offers three options. You can adjust tape bias from normal to +3, while the noise knob allows you to adjust noise and hum volume found in analog tape machines. Finally, the low boost button offers a low frequency EQ curve making up any lost low end sounds while pushing the input.

Overall, Tape Face is a versatile, offering a warm saturation sound to your lofi tracks.

Best Plugins LoFi Hip Hop

Baby Audio – Super VHS

As its title suggests, Baby Audio’s Super VHS Lo-Fi plugin is inspired by the 1980’s. If you’re looking for that worn-out tape effect, providing lofi authenticity, then this is going to be an essential plugin.

It features six controlled effects. ‘Static’ generates internal synthesizer noise via a pink noise oscillator mixed with a digital saw wave. ‘Heat’ offers tape saturation, while ‘Shape’ allows you to adjust the sample rate and is inspired by 1980’s 8-bit samplers. If you’re looking for “detuned” chords and wide tuning, then you can play around with ‘Magic’. You can also fluent the pitch (via ‘Drift’) and add a grainy reverb effect through ‘Wash’.

The six effects work alongside hidden high shelf filter curve, limiter and bitcrusher effects to create a versatile signal chain.

By combining and tweaking the range of options the Baby Audio Super VHS Lo-Fi has, you can easily create dusty and saturated 80’s sounds.

Best Plugins LoFi Hip Hop

Waves Audio – J37 Tape Saturation

Next up is the J37 Tape plugin, a collaboration between Waves and the world-famous Abbey Road Studios. The tape emulation plugin is modelled off the Studer J37 multitrack tape machine, offering reliable vintage character such as tape hiss and delay effect.

By combing the three oxide tape formulae’s (the early 1970’s 815, the mid-1960’s 811, and the early 1960’s 888) at either 15ips (inches per second) or 7.5ips with the Wow and Flutter (Rate and Depth), Noise Level and Saturation adjustable controls makes the J37 a versatile plugin.

On top of that, you have an authentic tape delay providing three different delay types; Sync, LP and HP filter controls. These presets turn out to be a valuable asset of the J37 plugin.

If you’re looking for that 1960’s or 1970’s flavoring on your lofi melodies and beats, then the J37 Tape plugin is essential.

Best Plugins LoFi Hip Hop

Conclusion

While having too many plugins can be overwhelming, we’ve tried to narrow down our list to the essentials. By utilizing the plugins we’ve talked about, you’ll be up and running with that perfect lofi sound in no time. Remember at the end of the day, it is not the plugins, hardware, DAW, or VSTs, it is the producer and their creativity!