Lo-Fi & Tape Degradation
Lo-fi is layered imperfection. Each layer simulates a physical medium. Add them one at a time to hear what each contributes.
Imperfection as Character
Clean digital audio is mathematically perfect, every sample exactly where it should be. Tape, vinyl, and radio each add specific imperfections that we now associate with warmth and nostalgia. These aren't random; each medium degrades sound in a characteristic, reproducible way.
Layered Degradation
Tape adds wow and flutter (slow and fast pitch wobble), soft saturation from magnetic compression, and a constant noise floor (hiss). Vinyl adds crackle from dust and scratches plus bandwidth limiting. Radio adds extreme bandwidth limiting (300–3000 Hz telephone bandwidth), bit reduction, and static.
Try it: start with all layers off ("Clean"). Enable Tape first and push the Wow slider up to hear the pitch wobble. Then add Vinyl for crackle. Finally add Radio for the full lo-fi stack.