Plug-ins extend a DAW with extra sounds and processors: virtual synthesisers and pianos, samplers, equalisers, compressors, reverbs and lo-fi effects. They follow shared formats so that one product can work in many host programs. Steinberg introduced Virtual Studio Technology, or VST, with Cubase VST in 1996, and added support for virtual instruments with VST 2.0 in 1999. Apple’s Audio Units (AU) format plays a similar role on Apple computers and devices.
Much of the jazz lo-fi sound can be produced with plug-ins alone: electric piano emulations, tape and vinyl simulators, bitcrushers and wobble effects that imitate worn cassettes. Producers often chain a few of these on a single track or group to age an otherwise clean recording.