Color Your Instruments with Lo-Fi Sound

People are nostalgic about when music was recorded and played over tape mediums like cassettes and reel-to-reel tape machines. These kinds of devices and mediums bring some genuinely unique characteristics. The sound of magnetic tape isn't just about the warmth, Saturation, and subtlety of professional reel-to-reel machines. Instead, there's also the lo-fi and nostalgic side of it, where defects of the medium become effects. The following tutorial will show you how to bring back that old "tape" "-like feeling to your sound.  

Let's Start

As usual, we have previously made a project in our SoundBridge: DAW, which contains some base elements like acoustic guitar riff, drum groove, and a piano sequence suitable to color with that tape/lo-fi sound. Let us first hear it one by one unprocessed.  

~Guitar Riff - Unprocessed

~Drum Groove - Unprocessed

~El. Piano Sequence - Unprocessed  

Utilizing SketchCassette by Aberrant DSP

So, for this tutorial, we have selected a plugin with all the features mentioned above, SketchCassette by Aberrant DSP. Therefore, let's have a closer look at its interface.  

The User Interface

Firstly, we can see that its name justifies the look of the interface; it looks like a sketch on paper. In the top left corner, we can see a representation of the actual cassette. Moreover, above the picture of the cassette, we can select three different modes of the cassette (Type 1, Type 2, and Metal). There is a Bypass mode, as well. Furthermore, it is possible to set the actual condition of the cassette, ranging from New, overused, and up to Worn.

Moving forward, you can find the effects and metering at the right part of the interface. The main products are Wow and Flutter, which are probably the most known when discussing Reel-to-Reel tape sound. Consequently, you can set the Mix, Rate, and LFO waveform. Below, we can see more parameters for control. The first in line is Hiss, which introduces the noise that cassettes and reel-to-reel machines produce. Consequently, the next in line is Saturation, followed by Dropouts.

Moreover, as the name suggests, dropouts are breaks or stops caused by the tape and recording damage. You can increase its intensity. The last effect is the NR Comp, a compression you can add to the overall sound.  

Audio Examples

So, after briefly introducing the SketchCassette interface and its parameters, we can move to some practical audio examples. First, we will hear the Guitar mentioned above: Riff Drum Groove and El. The piano sequence is processed with SketchCassette solo and combined in a full mix.

~Guitar Riff - Processed With SketchCassette

~Drum Groove - Processed With SketchCassette

~El. Piano Sequence - Processed With SketchCassette

~Full Mix - Processed With SketchCassette