modular synth-maker Qu-Bit Electronix is proud to announce Aurora — a powerful spectral reverb that continues to push the envelope of what is possible in modern synthesis using a potent phase vocoder engine to split the time and frequency domains of incoming audio, allowing for complex spectral manipulations to create beautiful time-stretched tails ad infinitum or smear the frequency domain to conjure up alien timbres that will haunt an ever-expanding space, likely invoking a hunger for exploration like that which was felt when first encountering Eurorack.
An aurora is a natural electrical phenomenon characterized by the appearance of streamers of reddish or greenish light in the sky — especially near the northern or southern magnetic pole — and caused by the interaction of charged particles from the sun with atoms in the upper atmosphere. Aurora also has an atmosphere affecting its character; clearly more than just a filter, it allows Aurora to actually add harmonic content to the spectral field, fashioning a wide range of possible timbres — and all from a single knob!
Alongside Aurora’s front panel-positioned ‘knobular’ functionality is its immediately available ability to reverse and freeze the input signal, a creative combination that effectively enables Aurora to be a highly-playable reverb — one that encourages use outside of the conventional CV/Gate set-and- forget approach.
All such functions become all the more apparent when taking into account Aurora’s foundational feature — namely, its lovely LED (Light-Emitting Diode) UI (User Interface) artwork. As such, each function has a corresponding LED UI effect — from reverb direction to atmosphere position, plus more besides. Better still, Aurora’s seamless visual feedback helps users to focus on the patch without having to second-guess where Aurora is at.
All well and good, clearly, but configurability extends far beyond Aurora’s fanciful front panel. Put it this way: Aurora uses FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation) to determine its spectral resolution, and users are afforded an ability to cycle through four different settings — each changing Aurora’s sound completely into its own unique variation. Various user spectral resolutions range from smooth, blooming, lush timbres to comb filter-like territory, and even extraterrestrial languages yet to be comprehended!
Configurability can also be further found on Aurora’s (included) USB drive, duly representing an exciting addition to Qu-Bit’s hardware design that has hitherto not made another appearance since the Nebulae v2 granular sampler and DSP (Digital Signal Processing) platform. Ultimately, users can change a multitude of internal settings to tailor Aurora to their needs. Needless to say, Qu-Bit is intent on making more settings available. Accessibility and ease of use also lends the USB drive to facilitate firmware updates and alternative firmwares already hinted at.
Officially released on May 24, 2022, Aurora is available to preorder from Qu-Bit Electronix’s growing global network of distributors with an MSRP of $359.00 USD