OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Lofi Effect
Muffled Tone, Tape Wobble and Vinyl Crackle to Make a Song Lo-Fi
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How the Lofi Effect works
Apply a lofi effect to any song, beat or voice recording and make it sound like a worn cassette or an old record. Roll off the highs, add the slow wobble of a stretched tape, sprinkle in vinyl crackle and hiss, and optionally crush the bit depth, all in your browser.
What the lofi effect does
Lo-fi music gets its warm, nostalgic sound from the flaws of old playback gear. This tool recreates the main ones in a single pass: a low-pass filter for the dull top end, a high-pass at 90 Hz for thin small-speaker bass, a slowly varying delay for pitch wobble, and a noise layer for surface noise.
Lofi effect controls
Tone sets where the highs are cut; 3000 to 5000 Hz is the classic muffled sound. Wow and flutter drives two oscillators, a slow 0.5 Hz drift and a fast 7 Hz shimmer, which bend the pitch the way an uneven tape motor does. Crackle adds random clicks and pops, and hiss adds a steady noise floor. Bit depth rounds every sample to fewer levels for a gritty, sampler-style texture.
Tips
For a chillhop beat try tone 4000, wow 40, crackle 30 and hiss 15. Slowing a song slightly with the pitch shifter first and adding a touch of reverb afterwards completes the slowed lo-fi style.
FAQ
Is the crackle the same every time?
No. Crackle and hiss are generated randomly each time you render, so two exports of the same file will have slightly different pops. The overall amount follows the slider, so the character stays.
Why does the song sound slightly out of tune?
That is the wow and flutter at work, bending the pitch up and down like a warped tape. Lower the wow slider or set it to zero if you only want the tone, crackle and hiss without any pitch wobble.
What does the bit depth option do?
It reduces the number of volume steps each sample can use. Twelve bits is subtle grit, ten is noticeable, and eight gives the rough sound of early samplers and games. Off keeps full quality.
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