Musician, plugin developer and popular YouTube personality Venus Theory has launched a new, free sample library – and potentially a whole new series of quality freebies.
Introducing: Auras – a free Decent Sampler series of instruments
According to Venus Theory, Auras is a promising new series of (seemingly) synth-based virtual instruments made for the Decent Sampler platform.
Decent Sampler is a VST plugin and standalone application that is similar to Native Instruments Kontakt and Sforzando by Plogue. What differs DS from the popular samplers out there is the fact it is free and fully functional for both the developer and the end client.
Also, aside from being a Windows and Mac compatible sampler, the software is available for a considerably larger range of environments like the Linux platform as well as the Apple iOS operating system for mobile devices.
Featuring: A PolyBrute 12, turned into an ambient soundscape machine
Auras Polyscape (labeled auras:polyscape) is a less-than-200MB Decent Sampler player exclusive instrument that is based on a very high-end Arturia PolyBrute 12 analog synthesizer.
Venus Theory’s Polyscape showcases the true powers of the PolyBrute synth by serving you with a variety of quality, audio-manipulated samples in the form of a free playable VST.
The Sampling Process
As it seems, not only that Venus Theory sculpted the sounds and recorded the PolyBrute – he actually went on and fed all of this analogue goodness through an array of analog tube preamps in order to give the sound even more warm, vintage, overdriven coloring.
A cinematic sounding instrument, Auras Polyscape seems like a great fit for atmospheric film scoring – providing you with the ability to sculpt lush, tonally evolving pads, textural ambient soundscapes and rich, analog-y synth-dependent ambiances.
10 provided presets demonstrate the different sound possibilities & combinations and the musical capabilities of this free VST instrument.
The Technical Aspects: Dynamics, Sound Design & Effects
Aside from the Dynamics parameter that is bound to your mod wheel by default, also implemented in Polyscape is an A-B layer system that you can either adjust to your taste, map to your MIDI controller as an expressive CC control or modulate using your DAW’s LFO capabilities (manual automation is of course possible as well).
On a musical level, the A-B layering parameter serves you with two different types of synth-generated tones that you can crossfade between: One which is (generally) warmer and more bass-focused and another which is more organic, resonant, texture-based.
* You can also choose to narrow the dynamic range of the instrument by toggling the dedicated velocity-control button.
Filtering & FX
The first audio effect out of three is a frequency cutoff/resonance filter with supported Envelope functionality that is controlled through ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release). The remaining FX parameters are delay and reverb.
More particularly about the reverb, Venus Theory actually included custom-made IRs (Impulse Responses) that he captured directly from the PolyBrute and incorporated in Polyscape’s Decent Sampler reverb module.
Compatibility & Download
auras:polyscape is available as a free Decent Sampler plugin instrument. DS works with Windows 32-bit & 64-bit as well as macOS, Linux, and iOS. Supported formats are VST, VST3, AAX and AU.
