Augmented Strings

How it works

Samples + synthesis, not one instead of the other

Augmented Strings starts from real string recordings (sessions with 22 musicians as solo, chamber ensemble and orchestra), multisampled across notes, articulations and microphones. Alongside these recordings it adds synthesis engines: virtual analog (classic oscillators), granular (recombined sample fragments), harmonic (additive synthesis, a sum of sine waves), wavetable (waveform scanning).

Two layers, four parts

The sound is organized into two Layers (A and B). Each layer contains up to two parts, each with a Sampler or Synth engine and its own amplitude envelope; each layer has its own filter and two effects. Typically Layer A is acoustic and Layer B synthetic, but any combination is possible.

Morph and macros

The Morph knob gradually shifts the sound from one layer to the other, acting on several parameters at once (volumes, filters, wavetable position, effects). The other macros (Color, Time, Motion and the four effects macros) are 'shortcuts' to groups of parameters. Behind them, a modulation matrix with LFOs, drawable functions, random generators and keyboard controls (velocity, aftertouch, MPE) brings the sound to life over time.

Character and tone

A hybrid sound: the acoustic layer brings realism (bow noise, natural vibrato, the ambience of distant microphones), while the synth layer adds width, sub, digital brightness or granular movement. It can range from a clean, believable string ensemble to unrecognizable textures. The real strings cover double bass, cello, viola and violin as solo, ensemble and orchestra, recorded with close and far microphones: the close ones are defined and 'scratchy' (2–6 kHz), the far ones soft and wide. Strengths: expressive Morph between acoustic and synthetic, powerful modulations, arpeggiator with chords, instant presets; low resource use compared with large orchestral libraries. Limits: it is not a complete orchestral library (few articulations compared with a system with dedicated keyswitches), maximum polyphony of 16 voices, realism drops in very exposed solo passages. Compared with Solina V and Mellotron V it is modern, much more flexible and less 'vintage'.

Architecture

Signal path

• Layer A and Layer B, each with 2 slots: Sampler (strings) or Synth (3-oscillator Analogue with noise, FM and detune; 6-slot Granular; additive Harmonic; Wavetable with FM, phase distortion and wavefolding; the newer versions also add a Simpler engine for impacts and noises).
• Each part → ADSR amplitude envelope with curves, Time Mult and Vel>Time → sum in the layer → layer filter (SEM 12 dB, Multimode 24 dB, Surgeon 64 dB, Comb, Phaser, Formant) → 2 layer insert FX → Volume/Pan → Morph between layers → Main FX (digital, pitch shift or tape Delay → digital or convolution Reverb with 29 spaces) → output.
• Modulation: 2 LFOs, 2 Functions (22 points), 2 Randoms (Turing or Sample and Hold), assignable Vibrato and Tremolo, Keys sources (velocity, aftertouch, mod wheel, keyboard tracking), MPE.
• Arpeggiator with 16 steps and chords per step, Chord Select (11 chords or custom), swing, octaves, hold.
• Macros: Morph (8 destinations), Color, Time, Motion (6 each), FX A, FX B, Delay, Reverb (4 each).
• Polyphony: from mono to 16 voices, mono legato, glide.
• Library: double bass, cello, viola, violin; solo, chamber and orchestra; more than 60 articulations and about 40 processed and extra sounds; close and far microphones. Over 500 factory presets, MPE support and MTS-ESP microtuning.

The controls, one by one

Main Panel — sound macros

Morph (large knob)

Blends Layer A and Layer B; it can control up to 8 parameters across the two layers at once (volumes, filters, wavetable positions, effects). Typically the acoustic sound is on the left and the synthetic one on the right.

Color

Color and harmonic content: acts on engine and filter parameters of each layer (up to 6 destinations). Turning it darkens or brightens the timbre.

Time

Preset timings: acts on the layer envelopes (up to 6 destinations). Toward the left, short attacks and releases; toward the right, long and soft ones.

Motion

Movement: controls up to 6 parameters of the Modulation and Arpeggiator pages (LFO speed and depth, functions, arpeggio).

Main Panel — effects macros

FX A

Layer A insert parameters (up to 4).

FX B

Layer B insert parameters (up to 4).

Delay

Master delay parameters (first effect in the master chain), including dry/wet.

Reverb

Master reverb parameters (after the delay), including dry/wet.

Advanced — structure and Layers

Navigation

Layers, Modulation, Arpeggiator, Effects, Macros pages; at the bottom, the modulation strip shows sources, MPE and macros in real time and lets you assign them by dragging onto controls (the destinations light up).

Layer A / Layer B — Volume and Pan

Level and stereo position of each layer.

Slots 1 and 2 per layer

Each layer contains two parts, each with a Sampler or Synth engine: up to 4 parts in total (e.g. 2 samples + 2 synths).

Advanced — Sampler engine (strings)

Sample selection

Library of real strings (double bass, cello, viola, violin, solo, chamber ensemble and orchestra) with different articulations, plus processed and extra sounds.

Volume

Sample level.

Coarse

Tuning in semitones: useful for octaving a sample (e.g. +12) or creating fixed intervals between parts.

Fine

Fine tuning in cents: 3–8 cents between two similar parts create a wider ensemble.

Width Close (real samples)

Stereo width of the close microphones.

Mix (real samples)

Balance between close microphones (defined, with bow noise) and room microphones (distant, soft).

Width Far (real samples)

Stereo width of the room microphones.

Random Start (creative and extra)

Randomizes the playback start point: varies the attack from note to note.

Width (creative and extra)

Stereo width of the sample.

Advanced — Synth engine: Analogue

OSC 1, 2, 3

Waveform of each oscillator: sine, triangle, saw, inverse saw, square.

OSC 2 and 3 Level

Levels of oscillators 2 and 3 relative to 1.

Noise

Noise generator: adds 'air' or breath to the acoustic sound.

FM

Frequency modulation from a source oscillator to VCO1 and/or VCO2: metallic harmonics.

Detune

Detuning between unison voices: widens and thickens.

Coarse / Fine

Tuning ±2 octaves in semitones and in cents.

Volume

Engine level.

Advanced — Synth engine: Granular

6-slot window

Six sample slots as starting material.

Start

Point in the sample where the grains start.

Density

Grain generation rate, in Hz or synced (straight, dotted, triplet).

Size

Grain length: time (1 ms–1 s), synced values or ratio relative to Density.

Env Shape

Grain window: from soft to 'clicky'.

Coarse / Fine / Volume

Tuning and level.

Advanced — Synth engine: Harmonic (additive)

FM

Frequency modulation on the fundamental, which propagates to the whole harmonic series.

Section

Window of the harmonic series on which the spectral filters act.

Morph

Crossfade between two factory spectral filters (different from the Morph macro).

Parity

Proportion of odd to even harmonics: all odd = hollow, clarinet/square-like timbre, all even = a more 'octaved' timbre.

Partials

Number of partials: few = soft, many = bright.

Coarse / Fine / Volume

Tuning and level.

Advanced — Synth engine: Wavetable

Position

Scans through the wavetable's waves (2D or 3D view); an excellent destination for LFO and Morph.

FM

Frequency modulation on the wavetable.

Phase Distortion

Warps the waveform over time: a sharper sound.

Wavefolding

Folds back the wave peaks, adding harmonics.

Detune

Detuning between unison voices.

Coarse / Fine / Volume

Tuning and level.

Advanced — Amplitude Envelope (for each of the 4 parts)

Attack / Decay / Sustain / Release

Amplitude envelope of the part (also by dragging the points on the graph); the link joins Decay and Release.

Att Curve / Dec Curve

Curvature of attack and decay: linear, exponential or logarithmic.

Time Mult

Multiplies or reduces the duration of the whole envelope.

Vel>Time

With high velocity the attack gets shorter, with low velocity it gets longer: useful for sounds that come in slowly when played softly.

Advanced — Filter (one per layer)

SEM (12 dB/oct)

Filter inspired by the Oberheim SEM, in lowpass, notch, bandpass or highpass: Cutoff 20 Hz–20 kHz, Resonance, Env Amt.

Multimode (24 dB/oct)

Arturia analog filter in the same four modes: Cutoff, Resonance, Env Amt.

Surgeon (64 dB/oct)

Extremely steep filter: Cutoff, Spread (width of the zone in notch or bandpass), Env Amt.

Comb

Comb filter: Frequency, Gain, Env Amt, Feedback/Feedforward.

Phaser

Phase-shifted peaks and notches: Cutoff, Feedback, Env Amt, Poles 4/6/8.

Formant

Vocal filter: Freq Shift (shifts the formant region), Q (emphasis), Morph (moves from one vowel to another).

Off

The filter can be turned off.

Modulation — LFO 1 and 2

Unipolar

Positive-only output (offset from the base value).

Polyphonic

One cycle per voice (not available in free mode).

Play Modes: Env / LFO / Key Trig

A single cycle on key press, continuous cycle, or continuous but restarted on every key.

Shape / Rate / Rate Sync

Waveform and speed, in Hz or synced (straight, dotted, triplet).

Fade / Phase / Amp

Fade-in, starting phase and output amplitude.

4 destination slots

Under each LFO, four destinations with amounts.

Modulation — Vibrato and Tremolo

Assignment

Each can be assigned to Layer A, Layer B or neither.

Fade / Rate / Depth / Poly

Fade-in on each voice, speed in Hz, depth and polyphonic mode (each voice with its own cycle).

Modulation — FUN (Function 1 and 2)

Graphic display

Drawable envelope/LFO with up to 22 points: click adds, right-click removes, arrows to curve; Point, Level and Time for fine adjustment; shape presets can be saved.

Drawing tools

Free, Line, Ramp, Sawtooth.

Play Modes

Env (once, with a sustain point settable by double-click), LFO (cycle), Key Trig (restarted cycle).

Scale / Rate / Rate Sync / Bipolar / Polyphonic

Amplitude, free or synced speed, bipolar output, cycle per voice.

Modulation — RND (Random 1 and 2)

Turing mode

'Controlled' random sequence: Length (sequence length), Flip (probability of inverting the peaks).

SnH mode

Sample and Hold: Smooth rounds off the steps.

Rate / Rate Sync / Amp / Polyphonic / Play Modes

Speed, sync, amplitude, per-voice behavior and Env, LFO, Key Trig modes.

Modulation — KEYS and Keyboard Settings

Velocity / Aftertouch / Modulation Wheel / Keyboard

Keyboard sources with customizable curves (up to 4 points) and four destinations each; for example velocity on brightness, aftertouch on vibrato, keyboard tracking on Morph.

Glide (Portamento / Legato)

Glissando time between notes; Legato only on legato notes.

Pitch Bend

Range in semitones.

Velocity > Amp and Curve

Maps velocity to the volume of both layers, optionally with the curve from the Keys page.

Polyphony

Voice limit from mono to 16, plus mono legato.

Voice Steal (Reassign / Rotate)

Reassigns the oldest voice only when needed, or always rotates to the next voice.

Arpeggiator — Step Controls

Step (1–16)

Turns each step on or mutes it without changing the pattern length.

Chord

On the selected steps, plays the held chord or the one set in Chord Select.

Velocity Bars / Gate Bars

Velocity and length of each step.

Randomize / Polyrhythm / Reset

Random variation of velocity or gate, different lengths for the two rows, reset.

Arpeggiator — Playback Controls

Mode

Up, Down, Up/Down Exc, Up/Down In, Random, As played.

Division and Rate Type

Speed in free BPM or synced (straight, dotted, triplet).

Swing

Delays the second sixteenth note of each eighth note.

Octave

Octave range of the arpeggio.

Chord Select and Chord

Chooses one of 11 preset chords or a custom chord, played from a single key; it also works with the arpeggiator off.

Hold

Holds the notes after release, even without the arpeggiator.

Effects — Layer FX (2 per layer)

Multi Filter

Resonant 12, 24 or 36 dB/oct filter in lowpass, bandpass or highpass.

Parametric EQ

5 bands: low and high shelving and three parametric bands with Q.

Compressor / Distortion / Bitcrusher

Dynamics, saturation, sample-rate reduction (up to 80×) and bit reduction (from 16 to 1.5).

Stereo Chorus / Juno 6 Chorus / Stereo Pan / Phaser / BL20 Flanger

Modulations: chorus with up to 3 voices, chorus modeled on the Juno-6, autopan, phaser, flanger.

Reverb / Digital Delay / Pitch Shift Delay / Tape Delay

Space and delays for each individual layer (the Pitch Shift Delay transposes the repeats).

Effects — Main FX

Delay (Digital, Pitch Shift, Tape)

Time and Time Sync, HP Freq and LP Freq on the delayed signal only, Feedback, Stereo, PingPong, Volume; the Pitch Shift adds Pitch-Shift and Offset between channels.

Reverb (Digital or Convolution)

Common: Input HP, Input LP, Decay, Size. Digital: Damping and Pre-Delay. Convolution: Input Gain and Room Type with 29 spaces (churches, halls, imaginary spaces).

Macros page

Sound (Color, Morph, Time, Motion)

Up to 6 destinations per macro (8 for Morph), each with On/Off, Amount and Curve. The sound macros can in turn be modulated by velocity, aftertouch, mod wheel and keyboard tracking.

Effects (FX A, FX B, Delay, Reverb)

Up to 4 destinations per macro with On/Off, Amount and Curve.

Sound design tips

• Divide the layer roles: the acoustic layer for realism and attack, the synth layer for sub (below 100 Hz), stereo width or brightness. If both do everything, the sound gets confused.
• Close/far microphones: for a modern pop mix the Close prevails (definition, 2–5 kHz); for soundtracks and ambient, raise the Far. A wide Width Far and a narrower Width Close give natural depth.
• Real ranges: write the parts within the instruments' ranges (double bass about E1–G3, cello C2–A5, viola C3–E6, violin G3–A7): outside the range the samples lose credibility.
• Attack and Time: legato strings want 80–250 ms of attack; for ostinatos and staccatos, almost zero attack and 100–200 ms release. Vel>Time makes softly played notes come in gently: great for crescendos.
• Dynamics: assign the mod wheel or aftertouch to volume and brightness (filter or Color) and draw the expression curves: real strings live on crescendos and diminuendos, not on fixed velocity.
• Frequencies in the mix: high-pass at 40–60 Hz even on string basses, cut 2–3 dB at 250–400 Hz when ensemble and pads add up, watch 2–4 kHz (harsh bow noise) when it is in the foreground; a bit of air at 10–12 kHz with Far microphones.
• Morph as a gesture: automate the Morph slowly over 8–16 bars to go from natural strings to synthetic textures; linking it to keyboard tracking makes the high register more synthetic and the low more acoustic (or vice versa).
• 16-voice polyphony: full chords with pedal and long releases eat up voices; with many notes, shorten the releases or use Rotate mode with caution.
• Reverb: the master reverb is handy but flattens everything; for realistic strings use Pre-Delay 20–40 ms and decay 2–3 s, for ambient use a large Size and long decays only on the synth layer.
• Common mistakes: too many effects on both layers, excessive detune on the synth layer (long notes beat), arpeggiator with full chords in the low register.

Presets to recreate

In genres and records

• Soundtracks, trailers and video game music: the main territory; realistic strings fused with synthesis for tension and width.
• Ambient, neoclassical, modern classical: slow, granular, intimate pads.
• Pop, cinematic pop, ballads: chorus strings without complex orchestration.
• Electronic (melodic techno, progressive house, downtempo, IDM): arpeggiated rhythmic strings and morphed pads.
• Hip hop, orchestral trap and drill: staccato string ostinatos and dark pizzicatos.
• Synthwave and retrowave: hybrid strings with wavetable and Juno chorus.
• Post-rock and cinematic indie: crescendos and drones.
• R&B and neo-soul: soft, filtered string pads.