instrument + effect
simpleSPU is a sampler instrument and an audio effect modelled on the PlayStation's sound chip. It plays samples back the way the console did, with 4-bit ADPCM, Gaussian interpolation and the chip's own reverb, for the sound of late-90s game soundtracks.
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Buy for £19.99Buy for £29.99Includes 14-day free trial (all features enabled, no card needed) · VST3 & AU · macOS, Windows & Linux
Hear a song made with it 1:57screenshots
These are screenshots of the plugin itself. The mascot is drawn live from a 3D model and reacts to what you play. There's a light theme and a dark theme.
two plugins
The instrument
A sampler with around 100 presets: pads, strings, choirs, bells, keys, leads, basses, drum kits and atmospheres. Play it from any MIDI track.
The effect
Runs drums, vocals, guitars or a full mix through the same engine. Its presets go from subtle, like Console Room and Warm Grit, to heavy, like 2-bit Destroyer.
how it works
Samples are stored in the console's own compressed format, which gives them a slightly noisy character.
Notes are pitched with the chip's four-point Gaussian interpolation, which rounds off the high end.
Nine reverb types, from Room and Hall to Space Echo, built from the chip's published settings and run at half the sample rate, as on the hardware.
The engine runs at 44.1 kHz internally, so presets sound the same in 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz projects. Every control can be automated.
The Crush knob lowers the bit depth and sample rate further if you want a rougher sound. Each preset is set up at 50%.
Every sample is either made by us or comes from openly licensed recordings.
pricing
trial
£0
14 days, starting the first time you open either plugin.
licence
£29.99
£19.99
£29.99
Launch price, until the end of November. One-time purchase. No subscription.
You can buy during the trial or after it ends. Your projects open the same either way.
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Each installer includes both plugins and the 14-day trial: VST3 on every platform, AU on macOS, and a standalone app on Linux.
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Buy for £19.99Buy for £29.99faq
Yes. simpleSPU runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. VST3 on each, plus AU on Mac.
It lasts 14 days from the first time you open either plugin, with everything switched on. When it ends, the instrument goes quiet and the effect passes audio through unchanged, so your projects still open. Enter a licence key and it carries on.
Yes. One licence covers simpleSPU and simpleSPU FX, and they share one trial too. It's £19.99 at launch, then £29.99.
No. simpleSPU is an original PS1-style instrument and effect, inspired by PlayStation-era console music. It is not affiliated with Sony or PlayStation.
No. Every sample is either synthesised by us or made from openly licensed recordings. The console character comes from modelling how the sound chip stored and played samples: 4-bit ADPCM, low sample rates, Gaussian interpolation and a half-rate reverb.
Hosts that load VST3 plugins, or AU on macOS, such as Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, REAPER and Bitwig Studio.
No. simpleSPU is its own synth and effect plugin. The SoundFont player is simpleSF2, a separate simpleSoundbank product.
She's simpleSPU's mascot. She appears in the plugin too, and reacts to what you play.
Low sample rates, a soft top end, one big reverb and no more than 24 notes at once. Our guide How to make PS1-style music in your DAW covers it step by step, with or without simpleSPU.
Purchases are handled securely by Lemon Squeezy. For refunds or activation help, email support@simplesoundbank.com.
Lofi song demo
Made with simpleSPU and simpleSPU FX