Ever wanted to turn your DAW into a musical time machine? If you’ve dreamed of crafting dusty, nostalgic tracks that sound like forgotten vinyl nuggets—or the kind of music you like to sample—you’re in luck. Thanks to today’s advanced sampling and processing tools, it’s now possible to create fully digital productions that feel like they’ve been plucked straight from the crates of your local used vinyl emporium.

In recent years, a handful of standout companies have emerged, dedicated to recreating the warm, worn character of vintage instruments. Perfect for making original lofi, Boom Bap Hip-Hop, neo soul, Nu Disco and anything that requires an authentically soulful groove. Here are three of our favourites leading the retro revolution.

1. Teletone Audio

Teletone Audio is a boutique virtual instrument developer based in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded by pianist and composer Jeremy Larson who remains instrumental in the development of the products. The company specialises in crafting sample-based instruments that blend vintage warmth with modern sound design. This approach enables producers to inject a real sense of nostalgia and authenticity into their digital compositions. One of the factors that has contributed to the success of Teletone Audio is it’s use of the most incredible demo’s and promotional videos. For example take the following promotional advert for their Retrograde bass instrument.

Teletone currently offer the following 12 products covering Drums, Bass, Keys, Synths and effects.

• Soulfi: Crisp tight and punchy vintage drum kit
• Electro: A selection of 6 classic vintage drum machines processed through tape and analogue circuitry
• Tympo: 30 Drum kits created from over 50 vintage drums, recorded with multiple round robins and velocity layers.
• Retrograde Bass: Vintage Rickenbacker style bass inspired by 60’s Bass Legend Carol Kaye of Wrecking Crew Fame
• Anamorph: An inspirational selection of textural instrument patches perfect for sonic experimentation.
• Vespertone: Multisampled Wurlitzer, Vibraphone, Celeste and Rhodes instruments that can be blended to create original new vintage sounding tones.
• Golden Age piano: A meticulously sampled Yamaha Grand piano with a rich history, that’s been recorded and processed through analogue equipment to give it that vintage sound. And that’s before you press the “Nostalgia Button”.
• Postcard piano: Postcard Piano creates a mood. Each sample of this piano has been pitch-shifted down a minor third and time-stretched to create a sound that is both nostalgic and modern.
• Le Gibet: Le Gibet is the sound of the city at night. A synth interface that features bespoke analogue synth textures that can also be blended with additional string and key samples.
• Ondine: Over 50 instruments and 25 multis, Ondine spans a wide range of curated synthesized sounds. Perfect for adding interesting textures and inspiring new directions.
• Scarbo: A melancholy selection of emotive synthesized sounds available to tweak using it’s simple, easy to use interface.
• Tone Architect: A multi FX device that includes saturation, compression and tone shaping. The interface encourages the use of your ears to add a nostalgic warmth to your digital recordings.

And the best thing is all these instruments run on the free Kontakt Player. So if you have been searching for realistically aged instrumentation, I would highly recommend you check these exquisitely curated virtual instruments and effects out. They take all the hard work out of creating an authentic vintage vibe as these products come PRE VIBED!.

2. Authentic Soundware

One look at the graphics and design aesthetic and you know you are gonna be taking a trip back in time with Authentic Soundware’s offering. 50s/60’s Exotica is the overriding musical theme with this collection of sounds and samples. Think Space Age Pop, Lounge, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Cha Cha Cha, Big Band, Easy Listening, and beyond.

Founded by veteran media composer and lead developer, Jared Hunter, great detail has gone into the meticulous recording of these products’ sound sources. Vintage recording techniques have been strictly followed and this shows in the resulting instruments and loops.

The current rosta of products comprise of a combination of playable Kontakt instruments, One shot samples, loops and construction kits. So, whether you prefer to be inspired by loops or compose original numbers, you will be covered.

Let’s check out all the Space Age products available in the Authentic Soundware line.

• Space Age Vibraphone: No mid-century studio orchestra would be complete without a vibraphone. This library includes unique features inspired by the music of legendary composers and arrangers such as Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, Quincy Jones, and many others.
• Jazz Anthology: Drums: Recorded at NYC’s Sear recording studio using their extensive selection of mics this is one of the most detailed and authentic sounding vintage fully playable jazz kits out there.
• Space Age Voices: brings the authentic sound of a midcentury studio vocal ensemble to your DAW. Three elite NYC session singers perform stylistically-specific articulations and techniques that deliver vintage personality and charm that is out of this world!
• The Commodore: Detroit soul and Memphis R&B are the inspiration for this virtual retro guitar instrument. You get 5 playable patches covering everything soulful from Motown to Disco.
• Space Age Rhythm: This kit includes everything you need to create convincing rhythm sections. We’re talking Space Age Pop, Lounge, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Cha Cha Cha, Big Band, Easy Listening, and beyond.
• Space Age Pop: This collection includes 10 construction kits meticulously arranged and orchestrated in the authentic style of various space age sub-genres. The library also includes over 600 out-of-this-world one-shot samples
• Classic Jazz Drums: Kontakt: A stripped-back version of the Jazz Anthology Drums, This kit offers a realistic playable vintage sounding drum kit recorded using a mono Neumann tube 47 overhead and a RCA room mic
• Classic Jazz Drums: Wav Loops: This massive collection contains over 900 authentic-sounding jazz drum loops at 15 different tempos, as well as bonus One Shots!
• Sketch Pad: is a free MIDI recorder that runs inside of Kontakt.
• Jazz Drums: Intro Pack: This intro pack contains a selection of loops and one-shots from our Jazz Drums product line.

Check out the following video demo of Space Age Vocals to get a taste of the flavours on offer.

3. The Phono Loop

The phono loop product line is primarily concerned with one thing – The unique characteristics of tape. All the products feature instruments sampled through a variety of tape sources. These range from clean well-maintained devices to dirty tape recorders that sound as though they have been rescued from the local tip.

The resulting tape processing creates a warm, nostalgic effect that takes the instruments about as far away from the digital clarity of modern DAWs as you can get. For most instruments, you get to select the tape deck that the sampled sounds are coming from. You can then go further by adjusting various parameters such as the infamous lofi wow and flutter effects.

Phono Loops current line includes 11 instruments as well as various bundles. And with some of the instruments starting at under £10 these instruments are some of the most affordable on this list.

Here is a breakdown of all the Phono Loop products.

• The MKL: This is a multisampled electro-mechanical keyboard classic from the ’70s. It features 16 dynamic layers, and a set of 60 additional sound design sources created by mangling the original material using Eurorack modules and tape loops, embellished with resonators and physical modelling synthesis. This is far from your average Fender Rhodes VST.
• Tapes.01: focuses on synth sounds and sound synthesis in general. The sound sources were created using various hardware and software synthesizers and effects – from digital FM and physical modelling synths to both analog and digital Eurorack modules and synths. While it naturally excels in creating lofi, warm and (often unpredictable) evolving sounds, it’s also great for creating modern and cinematic stuff or even better – a mixture of both.
• Cassette Mallets 02: contains three instruments, each one covering a different sound territory. You get a Glockenspiel, a 2 octave xylophone as well as a mix of the same xylophone, but recorded using three mallets attached to an old bed mattress spring with a copper wire to create a random, ‘granular’ pattern.
• Cassette Keys 02: contains two instruments, both inspired by classic FM keys from the 80s, but expanded with other synthesis techniques plus even a little sampling to achieve interesting transient sounds.
• Cassette Toy Piano: is a collection of 5 instruments based on a children toy piano. The tones produced make it perfect for either dreamlike lullabies or disturbing horror music.
• Cassette Plucks: contains two different plucked instruments, each with an East Asian vibe – both designed from the ground up.
• Cassette Vibraphone: is a multisampled Vibraphone that has been recorded with real round-robin samples – every note in every dynamic layer was recorded 4 times producing a highly realistic emulation.
• Texture Mozaik: is an instrument inspired by the sound design techniques used by some of the film and experimental composers from between 50s to 70s. Containing over 120 gloomy, dirty sounds inspired by the sounds of the past when recording on tapes, cutting them, then gluing and looping, passing through spring reverbs, etc. was on the agenda.
• Cassette Piano 02: is a completely new set of samples of an old upright piano recorded in a ballet training room (in both stereo and mono, with mics at the back of the piano) which resulted in a surprisingly organic and tasty sound featuring all kinds of little imperfections.
• Cassette Mallets.01: is a collection of 3 bell/mallet instruments recorded on a cassette with an old & wonky recorder.
• Cassette Keys 01: is a unique mixture of physical modelling and fm synths recorded on a cassette with an old & wonky cassette recorder.

To hear these sounds for yourself, check out this walkthrough of the Cassette series of VSTs

And if you are looking for vintage-sounding loops, samples, one-shots and beats, we have a fantastic selection available at Routenote Create.