Aurora

SAN CLEMENTE, CA, USA: ‘Future Coast’ modular synth-maker Qu-Bit Electronix is pleased to announce Aurora, a powerful spectral reverb that pushes the envelope of what is possible in modern synthesis. Aurora uses a powerful 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

It’s fair to say that Qu-hotly Bit’s anticipated Aurora introduces new sonic territory to the modular synthesizer landscape, thanks to the extraordinarily powerful prowess of its time- and frequency domain-splitting phase vocoder engine — easier said than done in today’s ever-widening Eurorack marketplace. A dedicated pitch shifter (warp) is one of Aurora’s additional onboard sound-shaping instruments, and it’s handy for creating lush-sounding shimmer reverbs or harmonic textures to complement a percussive input. Its core engine features multi-delay input reflection (reflect); it is absolutely conceivable to make infinitely lengthy reverbs utilizing even the smallest of sound sources, allowing for tremendous dynamics.

The interaction of charged particles from the sun with atoms in the upper atmosphere causes an aurora, which is marked by the appearance of streamers of reddish or greenish light in the sky, especially near the northern or southern magnetic pole. Aurora’s character is influenced by its environment; definitely more than a filter, it allows Aurora to contribute harmonic content to the spectral field, resulting in a vast diversity of timbres – all with a single knob!

Aurora

Aurora’s front-panel-mounted ‘knobular’ functionality is complemented by its immediate ability to reverse and freeze the input signal, a creative combination that effectively transforms Aurora into a highly-playable reverb that encourages use outside of the traditional CV/Gate set-and-forget approach.

When you consider Aurora’s basic feature, the stunning LED (Light-Emitting Diode) UI (User Interface) artwork, all of these functionalities become much more clear. As a result, each function has its own LED UI effect, ranging from reverb direction to ambient position and beyond. Even better, Aurora’s seamless visual feedback allows users to concentrate on the patch rather than second-guessing where Aurora is.

All well and good, but Aurora’s imaginative front panel is only the beginning of configurability. To put it another way: Aurora’s spectrum resolution is determined via FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation), and users can cycle through four different settings, each of which transforms Aurora’s sound totally into its own unique variety. Various user spectral resolutions range from smooth, blossoming, luscious timbres to comb filter-like regions, and even undiscovered extraterrestrial languages!

Aurora’s (included) USB drive also includes configuration options, making it an interesting addition to Qu-hardware Bit’s design that hasn’t been seen since the Nebulae v2 granular sampler and DSP platform. In the end, users can customize Aurora by changing a variety of internal parameters. Needless to say, Qu-Bit wants to expand the number of options accessible. The USB drive’s accessibility and ease of use make it ideal for firmware updates and alternative firmwares, as previously mentioned.

As a result, Qu-latest Bit’s Eurorack entry unquestionably upholds its illustrious mantra: to push the boundaries of hardware synthesizers. The ‘Future Coast’ modular synth-modules, maker’s such as the aforementioned Nebulae v2 and the Scanned organic wavetable VCO (Voltage-Controlled Oscillator) based on scanned synthesis, have already demonstrated that this philosophy shines through for all to see and hear.

“Our dream was to be able to incorporate techniques like time stretching, spectral warping, and frequency blurring into a reverb-centric workflow; the result wound up being a new type of audio effect altogether — one that continues to surprise and excite us with its versatility,” says Andrew Ikenberry, founder and CEO of Qu-Bit Electronix.

Aurora has progressed significantly since its initial announcement at the 2020 NAMM Show, and all for the better. Qu-Bit has devised and produced a welcome addition for anyone wishing to break the mold and push their sound to the next level — and possibly beyond that — by implementing it with a new look, a powerful sound, and an almost unlimited list of possibilities. After all, as a powerful spectral reverb, it easily pushes the (Eurorack) envelope of what is feasible in current synthesis.

Release date: May 24, 2022, $359.00 USD or directly via its dedicated webpage (which includes more in-depth information) here: https://www.qubitelectronix.com/shop/aurora

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