Add a Retro Tone to Your Instruments

We've seen a revival of retro sound during the last few years with genres such as synth-wave and lo-fi house. A gritty, lo-fi aesthetic and a heavy reliance on textures with background noise characterize them. To implement this type of sound into your tracks, you will need to take a slightly different approach to the mix and use some unique effects. The following tutorial will demonstrate how to add a retro tone to your instruments.

As usual, we prepared a short sequence in our SoundBridge: DAW. It includes most of the significant elements of a full mix, including a piano arp, which we will process. Let's first hear the whole mix and then the piano arp solo.

In order to process our piano, which sounds a bit too clean, we will use an effect called RC-20 by XLN Audio. First, let's place a new instance on the effect rack of the piano arp channel.

Parameters for a Retro Sound

When the RC-20 interface is opened, it consists of a parallel bank of six modules. Each of them provides a unique form of processing. They can be turned on and off separately, and the row of large knobs at the bottom essentially sets the effect amount, with varying functions depending on the module - wet/dry mix, noise level, depth, and so on.

The first effect is "Noise," which offers several different noise types, ranging from vinyl record crackle to cassette, VHS noise, and much more. The second is "Wobble," which modulates the incoming audio's pitch and speed, much like a classic tape recorder. Next to it, we got the "Distort" module, which, as its name suggests, introduces distortion and offers several modes. We can see the "Digital" module, which is essentially a Bit Crusher. To the right is the "Space" module - a reverb/resonator effect. Finally, the last module we see is the "Magnetic." This module simulates all kinds of audio artifacts when recording on magnetic tape. Looking at the bottom of every module control, you will notice a slider named "Flux." It simulates organic and non-linear fluctuations under the hood, all customized specifically for each module.

Now, let's hear how our piano arp sounds with this effect. We'll listen to it solo first and then in context with the other elements of the mix.

If you liked this article on audio processing, here are some more on the same subject:

• Multi-Effect Guitar Processing
• Use a Sonic Enhancer to Master Your Track
• Shift the Frequencies with Ohm Force Hematohm
• Add Extra Low-end with Waves LoAir