Lo-fi hip-hop is a genre of music that is characterized by its warm, mellow sound and its use of vintage and lo-fidelity samples. Electric pianos are a popular instrument in lo-fi hip-hop, as they can provide a rich and atmospheric sound that is perfect for the genre. In this post I’ll discuss the 5 best electric piano VST’s for Lo-fi Hip-Hop.
Watch my latest video to hear 5 of the best VSTs for Lo-fi Hip-Hop.
If you are looking for the best electric piano virtual instruments for producing lo-fi hip-hop, here are a few of my recommendations:
1. Lounge Lizard.
Lounge Lizard is a great sounding electric piano with both tine-based and reed-based presets. The tine-based are mainly Rhodes pianos and the reed-based are Wurlitzers.
What I like about Lounge Lizard is you can actually vary the amount of tine that you are hearing with the tine bar dial. So, if you want a super bright sound, you can boost up the tine volume. But if you want it nice and mellow and warm, then then you can reduce the tine volume. You can customise the sound or choose from the vast array of presets. For lo-fi I think the darker or warmer sounds work nicely. Ultimately, what you get is a really nice, realistic sounding electric piano. However, If you want to make it more lo-fi then you’ll have to add your own effects.
2. Vespertone Rhodes
When you buy Vespertone, you get the four basic patches, which are the Celeste, Rhodes Piano, Vibraphone and Wurlitzer.
Compared to Lounge Lizard, Vespertone has quite a unique sound. There’s lots of scope for creating that lo-fi, degraded tape sound with wow and flutter. In addition you’ve got controls labelled body, soul and spirit. You can get some really interesting sounds just by turning these dials. And you can get a great lo-fi sound with the age, nostalgia and the wow control.
3. Vespertone Wurlitzer
What I like about Vespertone Wurlitzer is you haven’t got the really bright, tine sound that you get from the Rhodes piano. So if you want something more mellow, the Vespertone Wurlitzer is great for that. There’s an age and the wow control, similar to the Vespertone Rhodes. There is also a different selection of microphones to blend as required. Again, you can easily create fantastic Lo-fi sounds with this instrument.
4. Electra 88 by Universal Audio
Electra 88 is a very customisable instrument. You can choose different effects pedals which are modelled on existing vintage hardware. There’s a good selection of the different studio gear that you might use with an electric piano including the Universal Audio 1176 compressor. There’s also a great modulation effect for an instant lo-fi tape sound.
So, it’s a very powerful electric piano and it has a really great set of presets for lofi. I like the mellow category with presets ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Warm woozies’ which work really well.
The other thing I like about this piano, it’s very sensitive to the way that you play it so you can play very softly you don’t get the harsh brightness of the electric piano, but if you dig in, then you can really pull out some of the grittier, brighter tones.
5. Arcade Iconic EP
Iconic EP is an instrument from Output Arcade. I had to spend some time getting the sound that I wanted, but when I did, I found that it was a very useful instrument. My advice would be to turn down the warble control and add some reverb with the Wet control. You can also push the tone control up, for a warmer, more saturated sound. Although it’s quite a noisy instrument you can switch on the low pass filter which to reduce the noise.
Tips for using electric piano virtual instruments in lo-fi hip-hop
Here are a few tips for using electric piano virtual instruments in lo-fi hip-hop:
- Use lo-fi effects. Lo-fi effects such as vinyl crackle, tape saturation, and reverb can help to give your electric piano sound a more lo-fi character.
- Experiment with different presets. Most electric piano virtual instruments come with a variety of presets. Experiment with different presets to find a sound that you like.
- Layer sounds. Layering different electric piano sounds can help to create a more complex and interesting sound. For example, you could layer a mellow electric piano sound with a brighter, more percussive sound.
- Automate your sound. Automating the parameters of your electric piano virtual instrument can help to create a more dynamic and interesting sound. For example, you could automate the volume, filter, or reverb settings.
Conclusion
In my opinion the Iconic EP by Arcade was the best VST for my latest Lo-fi Hip-Hop track. However, I think all of the instruments that I tested have their uses. It’s all about choosing the right instrument for the right track, and having lots of different options certainly helped in this situation.
If you like the Iconic EP and you’d like to subscribe to Arcade then here is the link: https://fbuy.io/arcade/jonchapman
It is my personal link, so if you use that, it really helps me out.
Arcade has a 30 day free trial and you have access to thousands of different sounds, samples and instruments.
I hope this blog post has helped you to learn more about the best electric piano virtual instruments for producing lo-fi hip-hop. Have fun experimenting with different instruments and effects to find a sound that you like.
Lounge Lizard: https://www.applied-acoustics.com/lou…
Vespertone Rhodes & Wurlitzer: https://teletoneaudio.com/products/ve…
UAD Electra 88: https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/in…
Output Arcade: https://fbuy.io/arcade/jonchapman
More from the blog: https://www.thehomerecordingstudio.com/blog-home/