Audio Nebula has announced the release of version 1.0 of the Aurora FM, a 4-part multi-timbral FM synthesizer instrument for Windows.
Aurora FM is single-screen, high performance semi-modular synth featuring 6 operators, 42 algorithms, 65 waveform variations, 40 voices, modulation inspired by synths such as the Alesis Ion and Waldorf Q, effects (overdrive, chorus, delay, and reverb), and performance features.
Changes in Aurora FM v1.0
- 4-part multi-timbral, with per-part channel, key range, voice count, level (moddable), and mute.
- 1x-4x oversampling (per-part).
- 65 different operator waveforms (13 base waveforms x 5 variants, plus polarity) (up from previous 8 total waveforms), and waveform depth (moddable).
- 42 algorithms (up from 32), now sorted logically by ascending number of carriers.
- New modulation destinations (Operator 1-6 Waveform Depth, Part Level, Reverb Send Amount), modulation sources (Note On/Off/Both Random, Key Exp, Vel On/Off/Both), and 3 modulation polarities.
- Totally new bank/patch/part management integrating patch banks (new), patches, parts, and Yamaha SysEx, with concurrent state for all in-flight edits, and drag and drop bank/patch management. Now you can easily arrange your patches into subdirectories or bank files, for better organization or convenient sharing.
- Massive performance improvements, with new AVX and AVX2+FMA operating modes, in addition to the original SSE2-only support, and other meticulous performance improvements throughout.
- Increase to 40 voices, up from 30.
- 9 envelope slopes, up from 3.
- Increase to 4 unison voices, up from 3.
- Changes to the mod matrix to support the new mod destinations. There are 11 mod routing slots for any destination, and you can stack multiple sources to the same destination.
- Reverb effect has been slightly improved and is now patch-based and independently fed by the Parts (per-part reverb send level, pre/post fader, moddable).
- Ping-pong mode added to delay.
- More flexible portamento, with option of Rate (time per octave), fixed Time, or tempo-Sync time.
- Improved appearances and a new “Winter Ions” theme with a different, “frostier” color palette.
- Greatly improved the ability to select an envelope point if several points are overlapping or close together.
- More functional and consistent use of modifier keys for controls.
- Improved randomization.
- Slightly improved Yamaha sysex translation.
- Better resiliency to corrupted / invalid sysex and patches.
- Bug fixes, sonic improvements, and important accessibility additions for the visually impaired.
Available as a 32/64-bit VST instrument for Windows, Aurora FM is priced $32 CAD. You can download a free demo version with 6 voices, no patch saving/loading/restoration, and 3 automatable parameters.
More information: Audio Nebula
