UJAM LOFI Multi Effect Audio Plugin

 

Thank you for purchasing (or trying) UFX LOFI – a product designed to provide you with exceptional control and stunning sonic possibilities.

What is UFX?

• For decades, effects plug-ins have been stuck in the past. Designed by sound engineers, for sound engineers, they’re packed with cryptic knobs that often emulate hardware from the middle of the last . We asked… Where’s the fun? Where’s the creativity?
• We’re musicians and producers ourselves, and while there’s obviously a place for surgical tools, we also want inspiration. That’s what we call the UJAM take! Our wildly popular Finisher series went to the extreme: a simple black
• Box that instantly says, “You want to play? Let’s play!” Users and press loved the immediate, powerful results.
• But we also heard you ask for more control. You wanted a bigger part in the creation, not just the surprise. Enter UFX! This is where we blend our signature frustration-free design with professional, powerful audio processing.
• The UFX approach is simple and effective: Pro-Grade Engine: The audio quality is top-notch—even the pickiest sound engineer will approve. UJAM Interface: A clean, intuitive, musician-focused design. Less staring at screens, more making music. Creative Magic: We add the UJAM flavor to ensure every tweak is about exploring and creating, not just problem-solving. UFX speaks to the musician in all of us, inviting you to try, explore, and simply have fun. Your music deserves tools that inspire you!

About UFX LOFI

Aged, Broken, and Beautiful!

• Tired of sterile, perfect-sounding digital effects? We were too! At UJAM we believe that sometimes, the imperfection can be the most inspiring part. That’s why we created UFX LOFI—your fast-track to all the gorgeous, gritty character that comes from worn tape, vintage vinyl, and broken analog gear.
• LOFI is designed to be a creative powerhouse where you can skip the tedious chaining of multiple plug-ins. Instead, you jump straight to the magic! As co-founder Peter Gorges says, “We all have more than enough effects—it’s the creative, inspiring part we take seriously here.”

The Ultimate Imperfection Machine

• UFX LOFI is essential for LOFI , Ambient, and Hip-Hop, but it’s also perfect for adding organic character to any signal.
• Whether it’s giving drums a dirty crunch, warming up a vocal with tape saturation, or adding subtle pitch effects to a synth, LOFI makes beautiful destruction simple.
• It’s designed to work brilliantly on drums, beats, bass, vocals, keys, guitars, and even full mixes!

More, But Less

• LOFI is more than just a core effect; it’s a complete sound-shaping tool. Its frustration-free interface pairs a powerful processing engine with:
• Versatile Controls: Easily dial in your sound with intuitive knobs for Degrade, Slam, Drive, Frequency, Noise, and the dramatic Tape Stop for that instant vintage pull.
• Dedicated Filter Section: Tweak the tone before or after the LOFI engine.
• Finisher Module: The UJAM magic touch for extended creative sound-shaping options. Intelligent Randomization: Hit the dice for instant inspiration and deep sonic exploration. LOFI is here to make your sound imperfectly perfect.
• Go on, start experimenting!

Installation

Installing with the UJAM App
We recommend installing UFX LOFI from the UJAM App – whether you’ve purchased it or are starting a new trial. Sign In then simply click Install or Start Trial and follow the prompts.

Installing without the UJAM App

1. Download the standalone installer from our knowledge base
2. Launch the installer and follow the prompts
3. Launch the UJAM App and sign in, then click the sync icon at the top

Trying, Buying, Authorizing
We only want you to spend money if you’re absolutely happy with UFX LOFI. That’s why, like with other UJAM plug-ins, we provide a free trial to run the plug-in without any limitation. After the trial period expires, you will need to purchase a license if you wish to keep using it. Once you’ve done so, use the UJAM App for automated plug-in authorization. When opening UFX LOFI during the trial period you will see this screen which shows:

• Information about your trial status
• Buttons to Continue Trial (taking you back to the plug-in) or Activate Now (if you own a license)
• A Buy Now button to take you to the UJAM store to purchase a license

How to Authorize

1. Make sure that the product license is in your account (check your licenses at ujam.com/backstage/products).
2. Activate the license in the UJAM App (click the sync icon at the top).
3. Installation and authorization help can be found at support.ujam.com.

Quick Start
Before we look at things in more depth, let’s take a quick look at how to create and tweak UFX LOFI since that may be all you need for now. This super-short section will show you how to get started in a few minutes.

Opening the Plug-in
After installing UFX LOFI, you’ll find it in the Effect plug-in menu of your VST, AU or AAX-compatible digital audio workstation (DAW). Here you can select it as an insert on a track.

Exploring Global Presets
When you start using UFX LOFI in your DAW, take some time to browse through the global presets at the top bar. These presets, grouped into categories provide a variety of styles to suit different production needs. Pick a preset from the menu or step through the list by simply clicking the left/right arrows. This works best when you send a basic audio signal like a short loop to the plug-in (of course you can also play something live). Try using the Preset Lock feature to lock the Mix slider at a certain value (e.g. ~50%). This gives you consistent control when browsing presets. Once you’ve found a preset you like, use the Mix slider to get more or less of the selected effect. [see the list of presets]

Creating Your Sound
Before you start the sound design, try deactivating Shaper and Finisher and set the Mix slider to at least 50% so you can clearly hear the effect.

1. Choose a Mode from its drop-down menu.
2. Adjust the controls in the Filter section: Cutoff, Reso, Slope.
3. Adjust the controls in the Modulation section: Rate, Depth, Shape.
4. Enable Shaper and/or Finisher and try different options from their lists.

That’s the easiest way to get started, but keep reading for more detailed information.

Managing the Plug-In

Presets
UFX LOFI has a large number of Factory Presets divided into descriptive categories.

Loading Presets
The Preset Menu at the top of the plug-in window lets you easily select a preset directly or step through the included presets.
You can either:

• Click the arrow buttons to the right of the preset name to step through the list
• Click the current preset name to open the dropdown menu

If you’re new to UFX LOFI, we recommend you set up a loop and just go through the Presets to get an impression of what it can do

Saving Presets
Once you have made changes to a Preset, you can save it in different ways:

• Overwrite a Preset using ‘Save’ – when you want it to recall the new settings.
• Create a new Preset with ‘Save As’ – creates a new preset leaving the original

Note

• You cannot overwrite Factory Presets. Please use the ‘Save As…’ command to create a new version of that Preset and save it to the User Library.
• Either way, when saving a Preset, you can select a preset category for organization purposes. Once saved, you’ll find your new Preset in the ‘User’ folder, organized into whichever category you’ve selected.

Resizable Interface
The user interface is resizable to fit optimally on different sized screens. To resize the window, do one of the following:

• Click the rectangle shaped icon next to the notification bell in the top right corner.
• Drag the three stripes in the bottom right corner of the user interface.

Update Notifications
The little Bell icon in the upper right informs you of available updates. When an update is waiting, the icon will show a dot and a dialog will open with more info.
Note: We do our best to ensure that updates do not break any existing projects, but it’s good practice to have a roll back plan just in case. Use the Uninstall feature in the UJAM App, then run the older standalone installer.

Plug-in Information
Clicking on the circled “i” in the top right banner of the user interface opens the About page where you can find the installed version # and other detailed information about your plug-in.

The About Page gives you access to various types of important information:

• Acknowledgements – The people behind UFX LOFI
• Visit Product Site – product information on our website
• Contact Support – Start a support ticket – we’re here to help!
• Read User Manual – Opens the User Guide (hey… you did this!)
• License Agreement – Opens the End User License Agreement (EULA)

Reference

Presets
Factory Presets are organized into the following groups:

Name	Description
Introduction	Ideal settings for each mode, good starters for making your own!
Modes Basics	Presets with audible filter sweep created either by env or modulation
Drums & Beats	Created for anything rhythmic
Modes Subtle	Sound aging or typical decade-old effects
Bass	Effects that focus on the low end
Keys & Guitar	For acoustic & electric guitars, acoustic & electric pianos, etc.
Synth	Effects tailored for synth tracks
Vocals	Make vocals more interesting or change their characteristic
Age	Presets focusing on a filter-processed ambience
Crush	Extreme bit crushing and degradation
Creative FX	Presets that turn the signal into something different

Modes

• UFX LOFI includes 20 different Modes.
•  When going through the Modes, we recommend you set the Mix slider to at least 50% and click the lock so you can properly hear the effect while stepping through them.

Selecting a Mode
UFX LOFI lets you select Modes in two different ways:

1.  Click on the Mode title to open the List View then click any Mode name to select that Mode.
2. Click on the arrows below the selected Mode title to step back and forth through the list of Modes.

Note: When switching Modes, the other settings remain unchanged. To change knob settings along with Modes, step through the Presets.

Mode Reference

Name	Description
Down Sample	Sample rate reduction
Big Crush 1	Bit depth reduction (tending to gate low levels)
Big Crush 2	Bit depth reduction (tending to sustain low levels)
Harsh degradation	Irregular bit depth reduction
Aliasing	Accentuates the inharmonic high frequencies that come with sample rate reduction
Wow	Random pitch modulation, like a bad cassette tape
Flutter	Faster/irregular pitch modulation
Tape Saturation	Overdriven tape recorder
Vinyl	Exaggerated frequency response and non-linearity of vinyl record (plus some crackle)
Transformer	Saturation, mostly of loud low frequencies
Dropouts	Short random silences
Stutter	Random repeats of snippets of audio
Jitter	Random time shifts making a unique “noisy” type of distortion
Random Pitch	Digital pitch shifting
Granular Glitch	Digital rearranging
Broken Speaker	Unpredictable distortion like rubbing/rattling of an old speaker cone
Cheap Filter	Resonant filter from an old digital synthesizer
Muffle	Like being outside a club
Cheap Compressor	Exaggerates all the side effects of compression without any of the benefits
Slowed down	Formant shifting to sound bigger/deeper

Shape
The Shape section controls the frequency content of the processed audio.

Name	Description
Degrade	The main parameter adjusting the depth of the selected mode
Slam	Compression to accentuate transients which can get lost by heavy processing
Drive	Added dirt and distortion for when the selected mode is not dirty enough

Tweak
The Tweak section affects the quality of the audio in both frequency range and noise.

Name	Description
Frequency	adjusts the frequency range of the selected mode – usually affecting sample rate and/or filter cutoff
Noise	Amount of added background noise – each mode has its own special type of noise
Noise Gate	mute the background noise when the input signal is silent

Highlighter
Highpass or lowpass the wet signal to accentuate the wanted range.

Tape Stop
Stop (and restart) the sound like holding the rim of a reel-to-reel tape or a spinning record.

Mix Slider & Lock
The Mix control allows you to adjust the balance between the original and processed audio signals. Moving the slider to the left allows more of the original, unprocessed signal to come through, reducing the prominence of the filtered effect. Moving the slider to the right increases the amount of the processed signal in your output, thereby enhancing the filter effect. Closing the lock will leave the Mix slider unaffected when changing Presets. This is handy when you’ve already decided on a Mix setting and just want to try Presets, for example if you have LOFI on an Aux Bus and want the Mix to stay at 100%. FX Input Mix
This knob allows you to send any mix of original and processed signal into the FX section, basically turning LOFI into a full-on multi effect.

Surprise
Hit the Surprise button with the dice icon to create a new Surprise variation like a true Armégerizer. The Surprise function can give you anything between super-subtle variations and a complete change of everything. You can adjust the variation amount of each Surprise step using the knob labeled Small/Big. 

Every time you click Surprise, a completely new mix of settings is generated as a start for you to create your individual reverb sound effect, which you can save as a preset. Almost everything is affected by the randomization – every control and button except Mix.

Filter
The Filter section incorporates more than three dozen options, allowing you to manipulate the frequencies of your processed audio signal. Click on the filter title to open the drop-down menu or use the arrows to step through the list. You can also bypass this section by clicking on the ‘on/off‘ switch. In general each filter works by allowing certain frequencies to ‘pass’ through while reducing or ‘attenuating’ others based on the specific characteristics of the filter. These alterations can be used for a variety of purposes, such as cleaning up or adjusting the tone or ‘color’ of the output signal.

Finisher

• UJAM’s innovative multi-effect Finisher concept is your invitation to explore a whole new world of sound. Seamlessly integrated into our Virtual Instruments and effects, or available as separate plug-ins within the Finisher series, it promises an endless playground of auditory experimentation. It’s a powerful orchestration of various effect processors and your secret weapon for creative sound design. The selection process is simple: either click on the current Finisher mode name to reveal a comprehensive list, or click the arrows to step through the options.
• You can also bypass this section by clicking on the ‘on/off‘ switch. The beauty of the Finisher Mode is its ability to automate, allowing you to switch modes mid-track for an even more dynamic sound. Just a word of advice: some algorithms might cause brief glitches when switched, so plan for a short pause if required. The Finisher effects are also incredibly exhilarating to control live, enabling you to create mesmerizing sounds with the amount knob.

Filter Options

Name	Description
Tilt	Attenuate or accentuate lower or higher frequencies
High Cut	Cuts high frequencies
High Boost	Increases high frequencies
Low Boost	Increases low frequencies
Mid Boost	Increases mid frequencies
Mid Cut	Reduces mid frequencies
Filter Sweep	Modulated lowpass
Ent Filter	Wah effect responds to audio level
Lowpass	High frequency cut
Lowpass Rest	High frequency cut with resonance
Brick wall	Lowpass
Bandpass	Low and High frequency cut
Bandpass Roes	Low and High frequency cut with resonance
High pass	Low frequency cut
High pass Roes	Low frequency cut with resonance
Notch	Selectable mid cut
Notch Reso	Selectable mid cut with resonance
Manual Phaser	Phasing
Manual Phaser Rest	Phasing with resonance
Comb	Comb filter
Rest Comb	Comb filter with resonance
Envy Comb Up	Envelope with Comb swept up
Envy Comb Down	Envelope with Comb swept down
Radio	Mimics sound of a small radio
Telephone	Mimics sound of a phone
Megaphone	Mimics sound of a megaphone
Tube	Vacuum tube distortion
Fuzz	Guitar pedal distortion
Amp	Guitar amplifier distortion
Saturate	Overdrive

Lo-Fi	Reduced fidelity
Bit Crush	Reduced bit rate
Filt Crush	Bit rate and high frequency reduction
Filt Dist	Distortion with Lowpass Filter
Resonators	Frequency resonance
Inharmonic	Inverts frequency spectrum
Ring Mod	Ring modulator
Rumble	Increased low frequencies
Sizzle	High frequency exciter
Pan	Placement in the stereo field
Width	Variable adjustment from mono (centered) to stereo

Finisher Options

Category	Name	Description
AMBIENCE	Short and Bright	A short reverb with open high frequencies
	Short and Dark	A short reverb with dampened high frequencies
	Wide Hall	Hall reverb with wide stereo field
	Large Chamber	A big chamber reverb
	Extra Wide	Wide stereo reverb with pre-delay
	Nice Standard	Studio-type reverb
	Nervous	Distorted reverb
	Creamy Dreamy	Rich reverb with reflections
	Tyrell Hall	Large stone reflective hall
	Space Infinite	Long/wide reverb
	Ten Mile Desert	Long reverb
	Reverse	Backwards reverb
BASIC	Tremolo	Creates a pulsating or “trembling” sound that adds texture, movement and dynamics
	Auto Pan	Add a sense of motion to a sustained or repeated sound with this speedy auto-panning effect.
	Slicer 1/8	Modulates and chops the signal into 8th notes using a beat cutter and auto-filters
	Slicer 1/16	Modulates and chops the signal into 16th notes using a beat cutter and auto-filters
	Gate	Speed Grater, similar to “Gate 1/12”
	Gate 1/4	Speed Grater with 4th note gate length
	Gate 1/8	Speed Grater with 8th note gate length
	Gate 1/12	Speed Gaiter with a 12th note gate length
	Gate 1/16	Speed Garter with 16th note gate length
	Gate 1/32	Speed Gather with 32nd note gate length
	Saw Grater	Similar to “Gate 1/12” but with Sawtooth oscillator
	Vibrato	A regular, pulsating change of pitch
	Chorus	Thickens the sound and makes it richer
	Flanged	Flanged effect based on a modulated delay line

	Phaser	Creates a swirling or whooshing Phaser effect
	Phaser	Another Phaser effect with incorporated feedback
	Warm Drive	A soft saturation distortion
BEYOND	Time Warp	A sequenced ring modulator
	Time Is Fleeting	Allows you to scratch your brass signal by means of a cut up tape delay
	Sea Of Resonances	Freezes your signal into a cloud of sound with various, slowly moving resonances
	Synthesize	Abstract blips of digital synthesis
	Drones	Spooky atmosphere
	Flutizer	A bunch of ambient flutes
	Electro Cluster	Purposefully cold sounding delays and re-sequences
	Evolving Freeze	Turns your signal into an ever-evolving pad
	Raindrops	Random pitches
	Voodoo Glitch craft	Random sample/hold
	Clap peddy Go	Rhythmic phasing
	Voodoo Poisoned	Resonant ring modulation
CHARACTER	Filter Alterations	Rhythmic filter
	Bit Crush	Resonant bit crushing
	Toe in the Mud	Reduces definition
	Evil Drones	Distance effect
	High Tones	Eliminates low frequencies
	Neo Super LOFi	Sample rate reduction
	Neo Space Station	Resonant feedback
	Neo Hot Bath	Bit rate reduction
DELAY	Delay 1/2	Delay set to a half note value
	Delay 1/4	Delay set to a quarter note value
	Delay 1/8D	Delay set to a dotted 8th note value
	Delay 1/8	Delay set to an 8th note value
	Delay 1/16	Delay set to a 16th note value
	Ping Pong 1/4D	Stereo Ping pong Delay set to a quarter dotted value
	Ping Pong 1/8D	Stereo Ping pong Delay set to a dotted 8th note value
	Ping Pong 1/8T	Stereo Ping pong Delay set to a 8th triplet value

	Multi Tap 1/8D	Multi Tap Delay set to a dotted 8th note value
	The Shining	Highpass
	The Syncopator	Slap delay
GLITCH	Big Groover	Sequenced sample rate reduction
	Second Shadow	Adds echoes of chopped up re-sequencing of the original signal
	R2 Flange2	Turns your signal into a particularly cute robot
	Retro Gamer	Makes your signal small and decorates it with various game boyish artifacts
	Percussive Resonances	A stepped and auto-panned bandpass filter
	Hardcastle Cutter	A multi-faceted stuttering effect
	Filter Bros	Random chopped rhythm
	Pitch Screamer	Highpass resonance
	Ever Rising	Moving high frequency
MOVE	HPF Motions	A stepped high-pass filter sequence
	Rever sinator	Reverses the signal in a short time slice
	Reversinator Long	Reverses the signal in a long time slice
	Percus sionizer	A combination of sequenced equalizers and pitch shifters
	Industrial Delay	A time-synced, ever-changing delay that randomly changes playback direction
	Pan Sequencer	A more sophisticated version of an ‘auto pan’ effect
	Terminator Bend	Applies the infamous half-tone pitch drop to the signal, made famous by a well-known movie
	Tape Stopper	The traditional tape stop effect
	Poly Mod	Adds various types of modulation and filtering, which are offset in a polyrhythmic way
	Drama Swell	In case your brass swells are not dramatic enough
	Long Term Modulator	Sequenced automation of EQ, filters, chorus, delay
	Ducker Straight	Straight volume ducking
	Ducker Complex	Ducking via filtering, delay, panning and automation
	Drive the Sequence	Heavy limiting

	Ring the Phone	Phasing highpass
	Double Timer	Rhythmic highpass
	Strobe Light	Sawtooth tremolo
	Moving Cloud	Pulsating moving filter
	Fragments	Rhythmic transients
	Old Cassette	Distortion, wow & flutter, keep a pencil handy!
PITCH	Glitch Grooves	Pulsating glitches
	Pitchman	Twisted tuning
	Swamp Creature	Phasing highpass
	Flux Cutter	Sample and hold
	Vor lon Scale	Ring modulation
	Voodoo Tormentor	Pitched up with feedback
	Voodoo Bullet Time	Pitched up with phase
	Neo Infinity	Infinite feedback
TONE	Fat and Dirty	Saturation
	Way Too Old	Lowpass
	Schizophrenic	Clipping
	Munch Filter	Lowpass with sweeping filter
	Historic	Just mids
	Dam peresque	Resonance
	Pimp My Brahms	Adds a lower octave
	Take The Fifth	Adds a 5th above

Checking and Setting Levels
The Input Level Meter and Slider in the bottom left corner of the plug-in allows you to attenuate or amplify the level of the signal you send into UFX LOFI, and the Output Level and slider on the right side does the same for the signal coming out of UFX.

A few tips:

• Signals are usually at an optimal level if they are around 0.0dB. Adjust if needed.
• Optimal input levels are important particularly for Modes that use any kind of dynamic treatment.
• Optimal output levels are particularly important to avoid clipping and if you use subsequent processing in the same track.

Note that while you drag a slider, the resulting change will be displayed in dB.
UFX LOFI is optimized to alter the signal’s level as little as possible from input to output, but depending on the frequency content of the input signal and the processing applied this is sometimes unavoidable.

Using Input Level to Optimize Effects
Many effects, particularly dynamic filters, use the input signal level to control movements in the effect. If the input signal level is too high, you will hardly hear any effect. If you need to lower the Input Level a lot, compensate with Output Level. Of course… YOU knew this!

Automating Controls
UFX LOFI can be fully automated and MIDI-controlled and you will quickly realize how useful this is and how significantly it can improve your productions. For example, you can create stunning introduction or riser effects by slowly increasing the Finisher Knob. Build cool sequences by switching the Mode every few beats or add emphasis on specific beats by fading in the effect only on certain words or chords.

Automatable Parameters

The displayed parameters can be automated via DAW Automation and – with the exception of Mode – using MIDI Control Change events. (When automating the Mode, you will notice that between certain effects there are noticeable morph fades. These are due to temporary level jumps between the complex effect configurations and they can protect your speakers and ears. No reason to worry!)

DAW Automation
To control a parameter using the automation of your DAW, find where you activate automation (usually a menu in the track inspector or hotkey “a”) and choose the parameter.

Assigning Knobs to MIDI Controllers

• It’s great fun to modulate the UFX controls with your favorite MIDI controller. However, this requires a little bit of work on your end, because all DAWs handle MIDI controllers differently for effects. There is no ‘MIDI Learn’ functionality in most of them.
• Below is an example screenshot from Logic Pro – here you press B for the Smart Control view, then you can assign every UFX control to a Smart Control internally using the Learn function, and do the same for assignment of your MIDI Controller to Logic.

Documents / Resources

UJAM LOFI Multi Effect Audio Plugin [pdf] User Guide LOFI Multi Effect Audio Plugin, LOFI, Multi Effect Audio Plugin, Effect Audio Plugin, Audio Plugin, Plugin

References

• User Manual