Anukari (3D physics synth and FX-processor)
Posted: May 03, 2025 3:01 am
If you’re into sound design or like (or require) unusual sounds to work with, or if you’re interested in very innovative and creative synth development, you must have a look at the new Anukari 3D Physics Synthesizer, a commercial beta of which is currently available (for $70 instead of $140, which will be the regular price when the software is officialy released) for Windows and MacOS.
In the words of the developer: “Anukari’s 3D physics simulation operates using similar principles to a physics engine for a video game, except that instead of running at video frame rate (e.g. 60 Hz), it runs the simulation at audio sample rate (e.g. 48,000 Hz). Hundreds of point masses in the 3D world can be connected to one another with springs, and a variety of other components can be connected to the masses to introduce vibration (mallets, bows, plectrums, etc) or to modulate their parameters (LFOs, envelopes, etc). Virtual 3D microphones are used to pick up the simulated vibrations and turn them into sounds.
Anukari provides polyphony by running up to 16 independent copies of the physics world in parallel. When a MIDI note is pressed, one of the physics worlds is selected, and Anukari applies “time dilation” to the world, speeding or slowing time to produce the correct pitch based on the MIDI note. Midi Polyphonic Expression (MPE) is fully supported, with the pitch axis mapping smoothly to each world’s time dilation factor to provide real-time pitch bending.
The physics world is displayed via fully customizable 3D graphics. Users can select from 10 built-in skyboxes and 8 skins for the physics objects, and users with 3D modeling experience can create completely new skyboxes and skins using free 3D tools like Blender. Everything can be changed, including animations.”
A license for Anukari gives you a stand-alone version of the synth, a plug-in version (VST3, AAX and AU), plus a plug-in of an effects processor build on the Anukari concept.
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In the words of the developer: “Anukari’s 3D physics simulation operates using similar principles to a physics engine for a video game, except that instead of running at video frame rate (e.g. 60 Hz), it runs the simulation at audio sample rate (e.g. 48,000 Hz). Hundreds of point masses in the 3D world can be connected to one another with springs, and a variety of other components can be connected to the masses to introduce vibration (mallets, bows, plectrums, etc) or to modulate their parameters (LFOs, envelopes, etc). Virtual 3D microphones are used to pick up the simulated vibrations and turn them into sounds.
Anukari provides polyphony by running up to 16 independent copies of the physics world in parallel. When a MIDI note is pressed, one of the physics worlds is selected, and Anukari applies “time dilation” to the world, speeding or slowing time to produce the correct pitch based on the MIDI note. Midi Polyphonic Expression (MPE) is fully supported, with the pitch axis mapping smoothly to each world’s time dilation factor to provide real-time pitch bending.
The physics world is displayed via fully customizable 3D graphics. Users can select from 10 built-in skyboxes and 8 skins for the physics objects, and users with 3D modeling experience can create completely new skyboxes and skins using free 3D tools like Blender. Everything can be changed, including animations.”
A license for Anukari gives you a stand-alone version of the synth, a plug-in version (VST3, AAX and AU), plus a plug-in of an effects processor build on the Anukari concept.
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