All user reviews for the Digidesign Lo-Fi

This is a plug-in that will run on any version of Pro Tools. It comes installed with the software itself so there is no reason to purchase it outside of Pro Tools, unless of course you are using a different DAW. As it came pre-installed with the Pro Tools version of LE that I bought, I haven't had any compatibility issues other than the ones that might have arisen when I installed Pro Tools, but since I resolved those quickly I was good to go. There was no need for a manual as this plug-in was pretty easy to use.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

This is a plug-in that has a lot of cool features. It's great for giving whatever track you are using the illusion of having really nasty distortion, or perhaps a bunch of noise or saturation. It's really good for experimental mixing and vocals, stuff that sounds nasty and distorted for aesthetic effect. It's got a way of dropping sample rate too, which is cool if you want to slow the whole thing down. I haven't ever had it bog down on me, it's really just an efficient plug-in.


OVERALL OPINION

I really like throwing this effect onto things that I think are recorded too clean for the mix. Basically it'll dirty up anything it goes on. It's definitely something that needs to be used sparingly, as you won't hear anything at all if you use it on every track. But it is kind of a cool way to make a vocal sound more interesting or blend into a different kind of mix. If you need it to sound like a telephone, a radio, a television set, or somehow just make it sound dirtier, this is usually a good bet. And since it's free with Pro Tools it's obviously worth the price. Highly recommended.

Digidesign's Lo-Fi plug-in is one that is available in any version of Pro Tools. It is a plug-in that is available within Pro Tool's audio suite and isn't in any particular format. You don't need to do anything to install it, as it isn't external outside of Pro Tools. It's easy enough to use, even for beginners. The interface has a series of sliders for changing the sample rate, anti-alias, sample size (bit rate), quantization mode, noise, distortion, and saturation. Pretty much all of the lo-fi plug-ins that I've seen have been different in terms of the parameters that it has to offer, as is the case with this one. In Pro Tools you'll have to select the audio that you'd like to use before previewing or processing with this plug-in. I don't believe that a manual was made, nor is it necessary, but you might be able to find something about it within the Pro Tool's manual itself, although I don't know this for sure.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I'm currently running the Digidesign Lo-Fi plug-in within Pro Tools LE 8 on a Mac Book Pro lap top that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run Pro Tools LE 8 with a Digi 002R audio interface or a Digidesign Micro Box if I'm on the go. I've never had a problem whatsoever running this plug-in, but this isn't the type of plug-in that you'd be able to run on every track even if you wanted to. You need to process individual files with this plug-in, so you can really only do one at a time. This isn't really a big deal either way, as I doubt too many users would be upset about this. I wouldn't sweat anything this plug-in when it comes to performance, but if you have Pro Tools you might as well try for yourself.

OVERALL OPINION

I'm definitely a fan of this Lo-Fi plug-in for Pro Tools for a few different reasons. The first reason is of course that it comes free with Pro Tools, so if you have Pro Tools you've got this plug-in already. The next thing that I like about it is that it's got some unique parameters that allow you to get a number of cool sounds with it that are outside of what you'll normally get with a lo-fi plug-in. I especially like being able to change the sample and bit rate, as you can really turn a perfectly good sounding signal into something awful sounding! There's no need to look outside this plug-in if you've got Pro Tools, at least not without trying this one out first.