Arturia Augmented Strings Intro is a free virtual instrument plugin in a new Augmented series that creatively combines sampling and synthesis For a number of years, Arturia has been one of the top brands when it comes to vintage instrument and effect emulations. With plugins like Pigments or Efx Fragments they are also constantly exploring new sound exploring concepts.
Today they open another new division in their software portfolio. With the Augmented Series, they introduce sample-based acoustic virtual instruments for the first time. However, it’s more than just simple playback, they have the Arturia touch. Arturia Augmented Strings Intro Arturia Augmented Strings Intro Augmented Strings Intro is the first release of this series and is intended to show the user where the journey will lead in the future. It’s a free download until the end of April. Arturia describes it as a hybrid instrument that creatively combines sampling and synthesis. So the best of both worlds. A sample-based instrument that behaves like a Synthesizer. This first plugin reminds me a lot of the Spitfire Audio LABS series, which follows a similar concept. The core of Augmented Strings Intro consists of 4 layers, each packed with a multi-sampled string sound. They can be very easily morphed together or apart with the big center knob. It’s the main element of the plugin. With one twist from the left to the right, you can explore various sounds smoothly. Then, you can customize your sounds using the seven parameters. Color is a filter, time is an envelope, and motion is an LFO. In addition, there is a delay and reverb with dedicated amount knobs so you can precisely dose the delay and reverb on your sound. So you get controls you know from classic subtractive synthesizers. The instrument includes a wide variety of sampled acoustic strings sounds. Due to the flexible engine, the transition from acoustic to synthetic is fluid and so you can explore hybrid sounds with a turn of the knob. Arturia ships the plugin with 50 ready-to-use presets. First Look/Review I made a first look review video about the new Augmented series including many sound demos. It convinced me in the test. The sound quality is high and I’m really looking forward to the big versions without the “Intro” behind the name. Arturia Augmented Strings Intro is available now as a free download until April 30th, 2022. It runs as a 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin on macOS (Intel + M1) and Windows. |
