Lofi or “Low Fidelity ”, has gained a lot of traction over the last 5 years or so. You hear low-fi influences in nearly all popular genres of music nowadays such as Trap, Hip-hop, pop, R & B, soul and even Rock. Lofi Guitar VST plugins emulating lo-fi sounds are hard to find and we tried really hard to find these best Lofi guitar VST plugins on the market, just for you!
An element of Lo-fi in your audio tracks is required for creating a sense of nostalgia, and longing with soothing low-quality sounds replete with warm textures and sonic atmospheres.
Some producers even resort to using vintage audio samples and drum loops for recreating low-fi sounds. Without further ado, let’s get started fellas.
Table of Contents
5+ Best LoFi Guitar VST Plugins 2023
1) XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color
With a combination of 6 different effect units such as distortion, noise, wobble, digital, space and magnetic, Retro Color is a solid lofi VST that can spruce up your mixes with the quintessential lofi flavour.
Simply combine these 6 effects with some tweakage and you can recreate a signature lofi sound on your guitar track within minutes.
The graphical user interface is intuitive, and easy-to-use for beginner tone crafters and hobbyist guitarists as well as professional studio producers.
What’s more, RC-20 Retro Color is a feature rich VST that is full of potential for crafting unique Lo-fi sounds within your DAW at an affordable price point.
2) LoFi by DopeSonix
If you are big on atmospherics in your mixes and want to sprinkle some of that Lofi richness on your mix, look no further than DopeSonix’s Lofi.
Boasting a staggering 200 Lofi, Ambient and Electronica inspired instruments, LoFi was modelled on some really cool analog Lofi gear.
What’s more, LoFi comes with inbuilt hi pass filter, lo pass filter, pitch, pan,glide and volume controls and a splendid reverb just to add those ethereal reverb tails to your lofi guitar tone.
Not to mention, inbuilt flexible ADSR controls, and mono/poly and legato modes with CPU friendly operation.
3) Lofi Explorer
If you have never used a Lofi VST before and want to get started, then you should definitely take a serious look at the Lofi Explorer bundle.
This compact Lofi plugin suite comprises 3 different Lofi themed plugins namely Lofi Drummer, Traveller and Lofi Explorer.
With a collective 300 solid presets perfect for creating an ambient and chillout soundscape, the Lofi Explorer bundle promises unprecedented aural richness.
What’s more, Lofi Explorer bundle comes with 70+ lofi themed drum kits and samples, 123 lofi themed instruments, and 110 lofi textures and soundscapes that are super CPU friendly and sound majestic.
All in all, Lofi Explorer is one of the best Lofi guitar VST plugins available in both Windows and Mac OS platforms.
4) Lofi Playtime
A popular Lofi VST plugin, Lofi Playtime offers interesting sounds that can be added to your audio tracks such as guitars, Rhodes-style key, pianos, pads and atmospheric soundscapes.
Lofi Playtime takes a unique approach when it comes to time and pitch shifting dynamics.
For instance, you can create idyllic and mellow guitar riffs with a tinge of blues guitar dynamics as well as add textures and dotted delays that sound lush and massive.
What’s more , these sounds often incorporate the signature lofi guitar effects that are audible in many stompboxes nowadays.
5) Audio Damage Rough Rider 3
Rounding off our list of the best lofi guitar VST plugins is Rough Rider 3.
Audio Damage’s Rough Rider 3 is a powerful vintage-style compressor VST that comes with a tinge of lofi.
Rough Rider 3 can come in handy for adding a touch of lofi effects to your guitar recording be it a riff or a lick. It can also be equally significant in sprucing up drums, bass and vocals.
While the interface comprises standard compression parameters such as attack, ratio, release, threshold, distortion), Rough Rider 3 also offers a brand new sidechain control for further compressed sound tweakage.
To top it all off, Rough Rider 3 is available for free!
