Buy Bad Speaker, get a free gift with purchase:
Lo-fi Distortion. So Bad It’s Good.
- A unique lo-fi speaker distortion plug-in with Softube-quality sound
- Add dirt, grit, and spice to your productions and sound design
- Three distinctive speaker modes: Portable Radio, Cassette Deck, and Hi-fi Speaker
Load up an instant lo-fi vibe or let nostalgic design and uncommon sounds inspire you to creatively break bad. Bad Speaker makes it easy to add spice to your productions with three distinctive speaker flavors. Play with the Portable Radio, Cassette Deck, and Hi-Fi Speaker modes. Experiment with various amounts of gritty distortion with the simple drive control. Or test out different types of sound design. No matter how you use it, Bad Speaker proves why it's so fun to be bad.
The Art of Rock & Roll Science
When it comes to creating equipment that improves workflow and offers the highest quality sound, our reputation is rock solid — and long. Our partnerships with premium brands like Marshall, Tube- Tech, Chandler Limited, and Empirical Labs go back more than twenty years.
Bad Speaker is built on this legacy of creativity, passion, and attention to detail. Because to create tools that innovate, you have to have heart, soul, and Rock & Roll Science.
Three Selectable Speakers
Get the overdriven speaker distortion you would expect from lo-fi speakers without needing to tweak parameters. Bad Speaker offers three selectable speaker modes that take you from toy speaker to high-end monitor.
In Portable Radio you get the worst lo-fi speaker we could find. Have fun driving it hard and watching it crumble. Cassette Deck gives you the ‘80s boombox at its best with a tight bass and a snarly mid-range bite. Hi-Fi Speaker is a great-sounding speaker in a room and a perfect jumping-off point for sonic excursions.
Slide Into Experimentation
Ever notice how constraint can often lead to creativity? Bad Speaker features a streamlined selection of sliders so you can play and stay in your creative flow. Exaggerate the gritty distortion of the speaker modes with the Drive slider. Use the stereo slider to make your track sound wider or bring more power and focus by concentrating your sound in the center. With the Tone slider, you can easily tilt from lighter with more treble to a heavier bass sound.
Tip! Bad Speaker's Extended Features are great for further distortion exploration as you can set the headroom and meter the changes in level.
Bad Speaker for Console 1 & Amp Room
You can add Bad Speaker in the shape and the drive section of Console 1 Mixing System. It's also available for Softube Amp Room, the pro audio guitar and bass platform. Add it as a pre- or post-effect in Amp Room Suite mode or add it anywhere in the signal chain when in Studio mode.
Features
- Unique lo-fi speaker sounds perfect for sound design and experimentation
- From the makers of Tape, Dirty Tape, Wasted Space, Harmonics, and Saturation Knob
- Instantly apply distinctive character and dirt to your tracks
- Three speaker modes: Portable Radio, Cassette Deck, and Hi-fi Speaker
- Easy-to-use with a careful selection of modes and sliders
- Featuring a single Drive slider to exaggerate distortion
- Featuring a width slider to go from mono to stereo
- Get even more control over the dynamics with Softube Extended Features
System Requirements
- macOS Monterey 12, Ventura 13, Sonoma 14
- Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 11
- Softube account
- iLok account
- Computer with AU, VST, VST3 and/or AAX compatible DAW host software
- Internet access (for downloading installers and managing licenses)
Important Note: Spring Reverb is used as the example
Installation Video
Note: Before starting the installation, you are required to create a FREE iLok user ID and install the iLok License Manager.
Please take a look at this Help Centre Guide for more information.
Registration
1. Click 'DOWNLOAD' in your Plugin Boutique Account. This will direct you to the Softube login page.

2. Enter your details > tick the Privacy Policy box > click 'Sign up' to create an account. (If you already have a Softube account, please log in and skip to step 5).

3. Go to your email account > find the Softube registration email > click 'ACTIVATE MY ACCOUNT'. (Your account has now been successfully created)

4. Go back to www.softube.com (you should now be logged in) > click 'MY ACCOUNT'.

5. Click 'REGISTER LICENSE'.

6. Enter the License Code (referred to as serial number on our site) found in your Plugin Boutique User Account > click 'REGISTER LICENSE'.

7. Click 'GO FOR IT!'.

Your product is now registered.
Mac
1. On the My Products page, click 'MAC' > you will be directed to the Mac Installation page.

2. Click 'HERE (highlighted in orange) to start downloading Softube Central.

3. Once it has downloaded, open the Softube Central PKG file > click 'Continue'.

4. Read through the Software License Agreement > click 'Continue'.

5. Click 'Agree'.

6. Click 'Install'.

7. Enter your password > click 'Install Software'.

8. Click 'Close'.

9. Open Softube Central > click 'INSTALL' to install all the necessary iLok licensing components. (This may take a few minutes)

10. Sign in to your Softube account.

11. Your product will now be displayed in Softube Central.

Please note: if it says 'DISCONNECTED' at the top of the window, please go to the settings and click 'RESTART', close Softube Central and then open it again.
Your software is now activated and ready for use within your DAW.

Windows
1. On the My Products page, click 'WINDOWS' > you will be directed to the Windows Installation page.

2. Click 'here' (highlighted in orange) to start downloading Softube Central.

3. Once it has downloaded, open the Softube Central download > click 'Yes'.

4. Read through the Software License Agreement > click 'I Agree'.

5. Softube Central will now open > click 'Install' to download the necessary iLok licensing components.

6. Please wait for the iLok licensing components to download. (This may take up to 5 minutes).

7. Click 'Yes' > the Softube Installer Helper Setup will now run.

8. Click 'Next >'.

9. Read through the License Agreement > click 'I Agree'.

10. Click 'Next >'.

11. Choose the VST file path (we recommend the default location) > click 'Install'.

12. Click 'Finish'.

13. Softube Central has now been successfully installed > click 'START'.

14. Sign in to your Softube account.

15. Click 'INSTALL'.

Your software is now activated and ready for use within your DAW.
