OldSkoolVinyl crackle effect · crackle, wear, wow, six eras and a spin-down
The only vinyl plugin you'll ever need to make it sound like a record.
Put any track on an old record in one insert: crackle that rides in the groove and follows the music, a worn stylus, the slow wobble of a turning platter, the sound of six decades from 1930 to modern, and a one-press spin-down that lands in time.
- Use it on 5 computers per copy
- Lifetime updates
- 90-day money-back guarantee
- Download link in minutes
- VST3, AU and AAX, Windows and macOS
Formats and DAWs
Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit): VST3 and AAX
macOS 11 or later: VST3, AU and AAX
Works in any 64-bit DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plug-ins.
Licence
Use it on up to five of your own computers per copy you buy. Yours for good, no subscription. Unlock it with your email and a six-digit code, no dongle and no password. It checks in now and then and works offline in between.
Delivery
Download links by email within about five minutes, and always in your account under Downloads.
Hear the difference
The same track, without and with OldSkool.
Boom bap beat
A clean boom-bap songstarter · Init (a quiet worn surface)
Neo soul, worn copy
A neo-soul band loop · Worn / Lo-Fi Dust
Mono and dated
A hip-hop and soul stack · Subtle / Mono And Dated
Spin down
A soul boom-bap loop · Spin / Half Bar Stop, SPIN DOWN
Every clip is level-matched, so the difference you hear is tone, not volume.
Why OldSkool
Crackle in the groove
The ticks, pops and hiss follow the music's level, so they sit inside the track like a real record, not on top of it, and the ticks still cut through a dense mix.
Any decade in one knob
ERA gives you the band of a 1930s shellac, a 1950s mono LP, a 1960s player or a modern pressing, each from documented playback figures and level-matched.
The spin-down, in time
Hold SPIN DOWN and the record brakes to a stop over 1/4 to 4 bars of your tempo; let go and it spins back up, back in time with the track.
Crackle. Era.
Two big knobs do the work: how much record you hear, and which decade it comes from. WEAR and WOW finish the story.
- VST3 · AU · AAX
- Windows and macOS
- 0 ms latency
- 18 presets
The vinyl crackle effect
- Crackle in the groove. The surface follows the music's level, and the ticks cut through a dense mix.
- Any decade. A 1930s shellac, a 1950s mono LP, a 1960s player or a modern pressing, each level-matched.
- The spin-down, in time. Brake the record over 1/4 to 4 bars, then spin it back up, back in time.
- Blend and play live. A MIX knob that never combs, and zero latency.
- CRACKLE (ticks, pops, hiss and groove dust) and ERA (1930, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, MODERN; 1930 and 1950 in mono).
- WEAR and WOW (up to +-1.5 % speed, once per turn), with 33 / 45 / 78.
- SPIN DOWN with TIME (1/4 to 4 bars with SYNC, or 0.2 to 4 seconds).
- MIX, ENGAGE, and IN and OUT meters.
- 18 factory presets and your own preset files; A/B, undo and redo, MIDI Learn on every control; a window from 75 to 200 %; the full manual.
SPIN DOWN · TIME · SYNC
Stop the record on the beat.
One held key brakes the platter to a stop over a set number of bars, then spins it back up and drops it straight back in time.
What OldSkool does
Every control has one job: the exact old record you hear in your head, faster.
CRACKLE
The record's surface, riding on the music
Ticks, pops and a dark hiss, plus dust in the groove, from 0 to 100 %. The surface follows the music's level, so it sits inside the track; the ticks are sized to be heard over a dense mix, and in quiet passages a soft floor stays, as on a real record.
ERA
Any decade, from 1930 to modern
Six steps, each the playback band its decade's records and players carried: 1930 (100 Hz to 5 kHz, mono), 1950 (50 Hz to 7.5 kHz, mono), 1960, 1970, 1980 and MODERN. Every era is level-matched, so you hear the colour, not a volume change.
WEAR
From a new record to a well-played one
The stylus scrubbing the top octave, 10 to 20 kHz: a gentle roll-off at low settings, up to 12 dB off for the dull, played-to-death copy.
WOW
The slow wobble of a turning platter
A pitch wobble exactly once per turn of the record, up to plus or minus 1.5 % speed. A touch for warmth, more for an off-centre pressing.
33 / 45 / 78
The record's speed
Pick the speed and the wow turns at its rate, 0.556, 0.75 or 1.3 times a second, and the label on screen spins at the same speed.
SPIN DOWN
The turntable stop, on one key
Hold it and the record brakes to a stop, the pitch and the level falling together to true silence. Let go and it spins back up in 0.7 s and lands back in time with the track.
TIME and SYNC
Stops that land on the beat
With SYNC on, the stop takes 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2 or 4 bars of your session's tempo; off, it takes 0.2 to 4 seconds. Automate SPIN DOWN for a drop, or map it to a pad and play it live.
MIX
All record, or just a hint
The record against your dry signal. 100 % for the full old-record sound, 50 % to keep the track's clarity under the vintage colour; the two stay aligned, so a blend never combs.
Level-matched
Judge the sound, not the volume
Every era and every preset is levelled to the dry track, so switching never tricks your ears into hearing louder as better.
18 sourced presets
Start from settings that work
Six eras, subtle settings for a mix, worn lo-fi copies, off-centre and 45 and 78 wobbles, and three spin-down stops, each built from a documented setting.
A face that moves
See the record play
The label turns at the deck's speed and slows with SPIN DOWN, a warm sheen on the grooves follows the music, and a spark flies at the stylus for every tick and pop.
Inside the plugin
The OldSkool window: two big knobs, WEAR and WOW, and the deck's speed and spin-down.
Every feature
Everything in OldSkool, down to the smallest switch.
37 features
The record
-
CRACKLE
Ticks, pops, hiss and groove dust that follow the music
-
ERA
1930, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980 or MODERN; the first two in mono
-
WEAR
The stylus scrubbing the highs, new to well played
-
WOW
A pitch wobble once per turn, up to +-1.5 % speed
-
33 / 45 / 78
The record's speed sets how fast the wow turns
Spin-down
-
SPIN DOWN
Hold to brake the record to a stop; let go to spin back up
-
TIME
1/4 to 4 bars, or 0.2 to 4 seconds
-
SYNC
Stops in bars of your session's tempo
-
Back in time
After the spin-up the track is exactly where it would be
Mix and output
-
MIX
The record against your dry signal, kept aligned
-
Level-matched
Every era and preset sits at the level of the dry track
-
Mono eras
1930 and 1950 fold to mono, as the records of the time did
Workflow and control
-
A/B compare and A>B
Two complete settings, switch in one click
-
Undo and redo
Step back and forward, or press Ctrl+Z
-
MIDI Learn
Take complete control of your workflow: right-click any control, move a knob
-
Host automation
Automate every control from your DAW
-
ENGAGE
Click-free bypass, to hear the before and after
-
IN and OUT meters
See the level going in and coming out at a glance
-
Tooltips
Every control explains itself as you point at it
-
Resizable window
75 to 200 %, and the size you pick is remembered
Presets
-
18 factory presets
Starting points built from real settings producers use
-
Previous and next arrows
Audition presets one click at a time
-
Save your own
Keep your settings as .oldskoolpreset preset files
-
Open presets folder
Back up or share your presets in one click
-
Reset to default
Back to a clean start in one step
Performance
-
Zero latency
Track and perform through it live
-
Repeatable
The same settings render the same crackle every time
-
Mono or stereo
On a single track, a bus or the whole mix
-
Moving face
The label turns and sparks fly with the crackle, under 1 % of a core
Licence and compatibility
-
VST3 and AAX, Windows 7 SP1 or later
Loads in any 64-bit Windows DAW with VST3 or AAX
-
VST3, AU and AAX, macOS 10.13 or later
Loads in any Mac DAW with VST3, AU or AAX, Intel or ARM
-
5 computers per copy
Studio, laptop and more on one licence
-
Email and code unlock
No dongle, no password, no extra app
-
Works offline
No internet needed between check-ins
-
Check for updates
From the plugin's menu; nothing installs without asking
-
Lifetime updates
Every future update included
-
Platinum priority support
Questions answered by the people who build it
How OldSkool compares
A whole vinyl record in one insert, with the controls most leave out.
| OldSkool | Typical vinyl plugins | |
|---|---|---|
| Crackle | Rides in the groove and follows the music | A noise layer sitting on top of the track |
| Blend | MIX from 0 to 100 %, kept aligned | Often no mix control |
| Decades | Six eras with documented bands, level-matched | A year control, or none |
| Wobble | Once per turn at 33, 45 or 78 | A generic wobble |
| Spin-down | Synced to bars, lands back in time | A fixed-length stop, or a second plugin |
| Controls | Four knobs on one page | A dozen controls to learn |
| Latency | 0 ms | Often some |
| Try-and-compare | A/B, A>B, undo and redo | Often missing |
| Hardware control | MIDI Learn on every control | Often host automation only |
| Licence | 5 computers per copy, no dongle, works offline | Often fewer activations, or a dongle |
| Updates | Lifetime updates included | Often paid upgrades |
"Typical" describes what we commonly see in this category; it does not describe any particular product. OldSkool facts are from the plugin and its manual, October 2026.
What you get
Vox Samples
90-day money back · Thank you
Specs and system requirements
- Formats
- VST3 and AAX on Windows; VST3, AU and AAX on macOS
- Operating system
- Windows 7 SP1 or later, 64-bit; macOS 10.13 or later, universal (Intel and ARM)
- Host
- Any 64-bit DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plug-ins
- Channels
- Mono or stereo
- Sample rates
- Whatever your session runs at
- Latency
- 0 samples
- Crackle
- Ticks, pops, hiss and groove dust, 0 to 100 %, following the music's level
- Era
- 1930 100 Hz-5 kHz mono; 1950 50 Hz-7.5 kHz mono; 1960 50 Hz-10 kHz; 1970 28 Hz-20 kHz; 1980 20 Hz-20 kHz; MODERN 20 Hz-22 kHz
- Wow
- Once per turn at 33 1/3, 45 or 78 rpm (0.556, 0.75, 1.3 Hz), up to +-1.5 % speed
- Spin down
- 1/4 to 4 bars of the host's tempo, or 0.2 to 4 s; spins back up in 0.7 s
- Presets
- 18 factory presets; your own as .oldskoolpreset files
- Tail
- None: the effect stops with the audio. While it runs, a soft surface floor stays through silence
- Window
- 960 x 600 at 100 %, resizable from 75 to 200 %
- MIDI
- MIDI Learn from any controller routed to the track
- Licence
- 5 computers per copy you buy. Unlock with your email and a code we email you. Checks in now and then and works offline in between.
- Internet
- Needed once to unlock, then for the occasional check-in
90Day money-back guarantee
Our guarantee
-
90-day money-back guarantee
Not for you? Email contact@voxsamples.com within 90 days for a full refund.
-
5 computers per copy
Use it on up to five of your own computers per copy you buy, and move it yourself from the plugin's Licence menu.
-
Lifetime updates
Every future update and upgrade of OldSkool, included.
-
Platinum priority support
A real person at contact@voxsamples.com, first in line.
Questions
Will the crackle bury my track?
No. The surface follows the music's level and sits well under it (the hiss about 32 dB under at the default), while the ticks still cut through. Keep CRACKLE low for a mix, or lower MIX.
Can it do the turntable stop?
Yes. Hold SPIN DOWN and the record brakes to a stop over the TIME you set, in bars of your tempo or in seconds. Let go and it spins back up and lands back in time. Automate it or map it to a pad.
Can I make it sound like a specific decade?
Yes. ERA gives the playback band of 1930, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980 or a modern pressing; 1930 and 1950 are mono, as records were then. 33, 45 or 78 sets the speed of the wobble.
Why is there crackle when the track is silent?
A record crackles between songs too. In silence a soft surface floor stays, quiet at the default. Turn CRACKLE to 0 for none.
Can I use it live?
Yes. It adds no latency, so you can play through it in real time.
Does it work in my DAW?
Any 64-bit DAW that loads VST3, AU or AAX plug-ins, on Windows 7 SP1 or later or macOS 10.13 or later. There is no standalone app.
How many computers can I use it on?
Up to five of your own for each copy you buy. To move it, deactivate it in the plugin on the old computer and unlock it on the new one.
Does it need the internet?
Once, to unlock it with the code we email you. After that it checks in now and then and works offline in between.
Is there a manual?
Yes. The full manual explains every control, every preset and the menus, with tips. It opens from the help key (?) in the plugin's top bar, and lives at https://voxsamples.com/oldskool-vinyl-crackle-effect-manual.
What if it's not for me?
Request a refund from your account within 90 days.
Founder's Story
"When COVID hit, I finally had time to dive into music production—only to discover I was missing the right tools. The plugins I tried were clunky, overloaded with unnecessary features, and killed my vibe with endless tweaking. I knew there had to be a better way.
So, with my engineering background, I started making free and simple audio plugins for my producer friends. They loved them! That’s when I set out on a mission to create plugins that save you time, streamline your workflow, and keep your creativity flowing."
- Ryan Svensson (Founder & CEO)
Every record you've loved. One insert.
Crackle that rides in the groove, six eras, wear, wow and a spin-down that lands in time, at zero latency.
$43.18 AUDRegular price $143.98 AUD70% off
- 90-day money back
- Five computers
- Lifetime updates
Pairs with
OldSkool Vinyl Crackle Effect
$43.18 AUDRegular price $143.98 AUD70% off