Audulus 3 Update (Sneak Preview)

audulus-3-software-synthesizer-reviewThe developers of Audulus – a multi-platform software modular synthesizer – shared this sneak preview of an update that’s coming out later this month.

The update includes hundreds of new modules, including some never-before-seen sequencers and effects. The new Audulus module library is also designed to be much easier to understand; inputs and outputs have been standardized to work well with modulation and audio outputs, so there’s no more guesswork about what type of signal goes where.

Audulus also now comes with a growing library of presets, as well as a preset module that allows you to save your own favorite settings. You’ll now be able to pull up a patch and start playing without having to know anything about modular synthesis.

Here’s a video preview:

The new module library also includes several new effects for guitar – the most exciting being the Icebox Audio Freezer effect, which gives and enveloped control over infinitely sustaining delay repeats.

Along with the new modules are coming a string of new tutorial videos are in the works that are designed to get you up to speed with Audulus in less than an hour.

The Audulus iOS user interface has also been totally updated to make searching for and creating modules faster. You can now also add your own modules in the library with just a push of a button.

Finally, hidden beneath all these new additions is a powerful new synthesis engine that has been redesigned to run analog-modelling patches more efficiently, so now you can build larger patches than ever before.

Pricing and Availability

Audulus is available for iOS, Linux, Mac & Windows. The update is expected to be available in mid Sept 2016 as a free upgrade for existing Audulus users.

31 thoughts on “Audulus 3 Update (Sneak Preview)”

  2. Mark,

    Perhaps a silly question, however is the source code available for Audulus? Let us assume I wanted to build dedicated hardware, the CPU, knobs and screen…..would you be amenable to providing the code or not.

    And I absolutely understand if you that is not your wish, this to me would be an incredible hardware synth!

    Cheers

    1. Hey Sphere6!

      The source code will not be available, unfortunately, but we are working on ways to do just what you’re describing – I’m not sure on all the details, but I know the C++ code that Audulus is written in is prime for translating to digital hardware.

      I don’t know where Taylor and Nico from Macromachines are at with that, but I know they’ve talked extensively on how to get Audulus into hardware.

      We all have hardware modulars over here, so we’re just as eager as you to get connected to the physical world. What I’d suggest is getting Audulus now and learning it and making some modules that you’d like to translate to real hardware – then you’ll be prepared for the “Audulus Module” or whatever we end up doing when it eventually comes out.

  3. Interesting. When you state “we”, are you actively working on a hardware version of Audulus? Or working with others such as Macromachines to accomplish this task?

    Any clarification would help. I suppose we needn’t have this discussion on such an open forum yet would you be open to creating a hardware division of sorts for Audulus?

    1. Nico of Macromachines works part-time for Audulus. He’s done some graphic design (a new start up animation) as well as designing some killer patches. He’s the most avid proponent of the Audulus hardware port – if you’ve checked out the Omnimod lately, you’ll see that he’s really well positioned to help us make the hardware version a reality. That said, we’re always open to more proposals from people, especially if they think they can make it happen on a faster time table than we’re on at the moment. If you or anyone else who reads this are one of those people, we can continue the conversation over email at mark at audulus dot com. 🙂

    1. Yes, an update to the AU will be following shortly the iOS update is out and stable! 🙂 I’m excited for the update myself because that means I can use all these fat z-1 analog-modelling oscillators in Ableton

  5. What is the sample rate of the iOS and OSX versions? Any oversampling? Also is there any easy way to use the iOS to physically control a VST instance running on OSX or a way to transfer created patches from iOS to OSX?

    Beautiful interface BTW.

    1. Glad you like the interface! That’s largely thanks to Hannes Pasqualini of PaperNoize – he did the Mutable Instruments panels.

      The iOS sample rate is 44.1k and the computer version runs at whatever sample rate you have your computer or host set to. We’re looking into letting the user change the sampling rate of particular areas (lower sample rate for control signals, upsampling for filters and distortion), so know that although it’s not in yet, it’s on our radar. The CPU savings from a lower control rate will also be a huge jump, especially in patches like you see in the video above, where that sequencer is has hundreds of expressions to evaluate.

      We’re also working on ways to expand the interconnectivity of the app – MIDI out can finally start to be worked on, and I know people have asked for OSC control. Developing Audulus as a floating tentacled telekinetic brain for your DAW is something we’re very interested in doing.

      As for transferring patches, you can use iCloud and your patches will stay in sync automatically – you can start a patch on the bus ride home and then pull it up on your laptop at home without having to send it or sync it – that all happens in the background.

      We’re working on greater ways to share patches with other users – like, say, you can subscribe to a user, and you’ll get a notification when they post a new patch, or just automatically download it for you – in other words, we have very big plans for the future!

      1. So MIDI out is NOT going to be in this new rev? That’s really the only thing that I’ve been hoping for, as I’d like to use the patching to create midi control structures for other synths and external gear. It’s an amazing app though. Especially on iOS. Endless time sink! 🙂

        1. No it’s not – basically, the thing that’s been stopping the MIDI out is the synth engine rework – if Taylor had added the MIDI ability before the rebuilding, he would have had to redo it again in a different way after he rebuilt the engine. So in an effort not to do the same thing twice, the order got switched and MIDI out was pushed further down the line. It’s definitely going to be a game changer when we do add it though! I created that Chladni Sequencer in the video so I could use it with my modular to create generative music, so I’m ready for it to happen myself! 🙂

          1. Hey Mark, thanks for the response. While it’s a bummer, it’s hard to complain too much when you look at this monster Taylor and you guys have done. Stunning what good software can make the iPad do.

            1. Thanks DruMunkey! I get surprised all the time with Audulus – more and more features that are waiting to just be discovered using the nodes that are already there. For example: the new preset function is built with the nodes that already exist within Audulus – it could’ve been built in Audulus 1 if someone had just had the idea for it. I put it together but Nico from Macromachines gave me the idea for it – check it out when the update drops.

      1. Awesome! As someone who lives and breathes in the iPad world of audio, that is truly great news. I will watch closely for all upcoming updates.

  7. I never ever heared one audulus sound, i like… The need is “less cables”. Here I need a lot of tiny modules to do things. I think it’s better to connect “bigger” modules. Looks like the “reactor”problem, I think. Tiny modules many cables. Not user friendly. I remember the nord modular very well, and it sounds amazing and fat whith a few connections. Audulus doesn’t. Who want connect hundreds of cables for a sequencer with unexpected output? The did a really great technical job… But I think it’s not really useful for musicians. Better Name for this is Nerdulus. Sorry!

    1. Hey Chris! I’m sorry but I have to disagree – I included several patches in the update that are keyboard input->envelope->oscillator->filter->output, and they sound fat as hell.

      You seem to also be mistaken how the Chladni Sequencer works – it’s not random, but semi-random, and its behavior is predictable to a certain extent.

      It sounds like your definition of what makes a musician is very narrow, as I know many musicians who not only love Audulus, but love the ability to make large patches and create their own custom effects, oscillators, and filters.

      A part of the compositional process with Audulus can be in making something like the Chladni Sequencer – if you’ve never laid out your own circuit board, or designed a new instrument, it would make sense that you’re not familiar with the joy of discovery and invention that you come across with a program like Audulus.

      However, what this update does is give people what they’ve wanted for a while – presets and ready-to-go modules and whole synths that you can just plug ‘n’ play. Give Audulus a try when the new update drops and get back to me with your thoughts – you can download the trial on our website.

      Thanks for your honesty!

  8. Just curious, why no Android? Even a less featured version would be nice. I want to put this thing on a tablet, but there’s no way in hell I’m buying anything Apple.

    1. Hey Ned! Ah, Android – Well, basically, we only have one programmer – Taylor Holliday, the creator of Audulus. To create a version for Android, we’d have to pause updating Audulus for iOS, leaving people who already bought it hanging. It’s not as simple as just porting it over, and Taylor would also have to invest time in just getting to know the Android platform – basically, it’s very expensive to make it happen on a new platform and there’s no guarantee that sales would justify it. Until we sell more and get enough incoming going to hire a second programmer, Taylor’s going to concentrate on making the versions that exist already better – hope you understand!

  9. Hi mark,

    I think it’s great that you’re on here supporting the punters with answers. kudos!

    I want to get into audulus, but to be honest, it looks so intimidating – sort of the reason I never bought a modular. How easy/hard is it to get stuck into as a fresh level 1 n00b?

    I would love to experiment with it, but am worried id purchase, be overwhelmed and turn to other things to create with and potentially forget about it. Has it got a long and steep learning curve or can someone dive right in with general synth knowledge?

    Thanks in advance

    1. Hey Charlie – if you understand how to use modular synths generally, it will be simple to start using Audulus, especially with the new library. I’ve developed a tutorial series that will get people going in Audulus in under an hour, but that’s if you really want to know how the nodes work and make your own modules. If you just want to use the modules, you’ll be able to watch one short video and that will show you everything you need to know to start connecting them.

      If you’re totally new to modular synthesis as a concept, I would suggest following along with the videos one by one, which will explain creating a synthesizer from scratch. I think what will help the most is that the inputs and outputs have all been defined into ranges that work well with modulating the knobs. Basically, when you create a knob, its default range of values is 0 to 1. You can edit the knob and change those values to whatever range you want, but then if you want to modulate the knob with a 0 to 1 LFO, you’d have to do math to translate that signal into the range you want to modulate. This update solves the problem by standardizing all knobs on modules to a 0 to 1 range, and the knobs themselves are translated into whatever range they need to be INSIDE the module.

      This might be hard to visualize, but basically, if you wanted a 0 to 1 LFO to modulate a filter, you used to have to do math to translate it into the range you wanted. Now, you can plug the LFO directly onto the knob, or to get it to swing in a small range, you just tie it through another module that shrinks the range of the LFO and then translates it up or down. No more complicated math, or guessing what each knob’s range is.

      In short, Audulus is an amazing synth platform as is – there are so many reasons for getting it – but for “lvl 1 n00bs” it’s actually perfect! I played for YEARS with Reason never understanding what signal flow was, or what each letter meant, or why the squiggly shape sounded different than the sharp pointy shape. If you, as a synthesis newbie, use Audulus, it will prepare you to get more out of the other synthesizers you already have!

    1. We’d love to offer a single universal license for all platforms, but the App Store rules disallows it. That said, email me at mark at audulus dot com and let’s talk more about it.

  11. Hello! are there any plans to add a sample player (with long samples playback, for example a full song) on independent audio outputs? so we can integrate a backingtrack / clicktrack or cue configuration or a multiout drum machine/sampler in our Audulus patches?

    Thanks!

    1. Yep, there will be a sampler player/recorder that will also act as data storage!

      Also, you can make a click track as-is – you’d use a clock’s gate to trigger an envelope with a fast attack and a fast decay/release and set it to whatever pitch you want. If you wanted it to change on different subdivisions to a different pitch, you’d do that with counting/switching modules around it. If you want to know more about how to do that, post a help topic on the forum at http://www.forum.audulus.com and we’ll talk about it over there! 🙂

      There is also a drum machine in the new update, as well as some new physical modelling drums/chimes too. You’ll be able to cue them with the mixer module, which also has send and returns.

    1. Yeah, unfortunately the new version requires a little more processing power than the iPad 3 can provide – come back around when you upgrade! Hit me up at mark at audulus dot com and I’ll see if I can work out something that will tide you over in the meantime!

  13. Hi, Marc! I tried the free-standalone version of Audulus and I totally loved it.

    I really want to purchase Audulus, but the thing is I’m still using OSX 10.10., Ableton live 8 and I got all my stuff into VST format. Would it work for me?

    Thanks in advance and congrats for your awesome synth!

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