Nightfox Audio

About Nightfox Audio

Nightfox Audio is a Lincoln, Nebraska-based plugin developer founded in 2022 by Philip Zach and Cohagen Wilkinson. The company builds sample-based virtual instruments designed for stacking multiple acoustic and electric sources into hybrid tones. Each plugin lets you layer up to 12 sampled instruments with synth-style modulation and built-in effects. The samples aren't clean DI recordings. They're tracked through amps, tubes, and analog chains at The Grid Studio in downtown Lincoln, giving you tonal character before you touch a knob. Analog Electrics, one of their flagship instruments, stacks 11 electric guitars, basses, and an electric piano across 1,921 samples recorded at multiple velocities. All plugins ship as standalone apps and in AU, AAX, and VST3 formats, so you're not locked into a sampler host.

Hybrid Instrument Design

Nightfox plugins are built for layering. You load multiple sampled sources into a single patch and blend them with independent volume, pan, and envelope controls. Analog Electrics gives you electric guitars, basses, and an electric piano in one instrument. Everything Acoustic does the same with acoustic sources. The modulation section includes LFOs, envelopes, and macro controls that work across all layers at once, so you can shape the entire stack without tweaking each source individually. The workflow is closer to a synthesizer than a traditional sample library. You're not auditioning presets. You're building your own hybrid tones from recorded instruments.

Recorded Sources and Signal Chain

The samples are tracked through analog gear before they reach the plugin. Nightfox records at 3-5 velocity layers per instrument, running signals through tube preamps and guitar amps to capture harmonic saturation and natural compression. That means the tonal shaping starts at the source, not just in post-processing. Brass Stacks includes trumpets, trombones, and saxophones recorded with room mics to preserve ensemble depth. Grand Piano Suite and Uprights and EPs cover acoustic and electric pianos with pedal noise, key-off samples, and sympathetic resonance. The sample sets are large enough to avoid obvious repetition, but the plugins stay light on CPU because the engine streams from disk rather than preloading everything into RAM.

Bundles and Workflow Integration

Nightfox offers individual instruments and bundles. The Nine Instruments Bundle includes Analog Electrics, Everything Acoustic, Brass Stacks, String Central, Grand Piano Suite, Plucks and Mallets, Uprights and EPs, Retro Synthstack, and Pad City. Each plugin includes reverb, delay, chorus, and distortion effects, so you can finish a sound without leaving the interface. MacroMacro and Rendition are utility plugins that extend the modulation and layering capabilities across the lineup. The standalone versions run without a DAW, which is useful for live performance or sound design sessions where you want to sketch ideas before opening a project.

Shop Nightfox Audio at Blackout Audio

Nightfox plugins give you stacked acoustic and electric sources with analog character baked into the samples. The layering engine and modulation tools let you build hybrid tones that sit between traditional sample libraries and synthesizers. Free shipping on orders over $199 across Canada. Browse the full catalog online and reach out to the team with questions about licensing or system requirements.