Curves & Membranes 1.4.0 | Expressive MPE & Paraphonic Synth Sounds

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"Curves & Membranes 1.4.0 adds new MPE performance, 4-voice paraphonic synthesis, and velocity-controlled waveform morphing. This no-talking sound demo goes through 10 new presets using those features, from expressive pads and keyboard sounds to rhythmic and more experimental synth patches.

There are 20 new presets in the update in total. The ten in this video are played first dry and then with some Geometry Reverb added.

The three main new performance features are:

Expression / MPE Mode
MPE pressure controls the amplitude envelope and oscillator brightness, CC74 / Slide moves through the Oscillator Preset slots, and pitch bend is expanded to 48 semitones. Preset Slew controls how smoothly CC74 interpolates between waveform geometries.

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Additive Synth Sound Design | 10 New Partials & Discrepancies Presets for the coming update

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"Ten new additive synth presets from the upcoming Partials & Discrepancies 1.3.2 update.

No talking in this one, just sound examples. The patches focus mainly on two new features: X-Voice FM and Velocity Position, with sounds ranging from restrained and cinematic pads to noisier textures, keyboard sounds, and a more percussive patch.

X-Voice FM lets each synth voice FM-modulate the next voice in a circular chain. It can use either the previous voice’s filtered signal or oscillator output as the modulation source, and the FM amount is stored independently in every oscillator slot.

That means the amount of FM can move and slew together with the rest of the patch.

Velocity Position lets note velocity select the position, or an interpolated position, between the active oscillator slots.

So playing dynamics can change much more than volume. Depending on the patch, velocity can move between different partial structures, harmonic relationships, X-Voice FM amounts, or combinations of all three.

The result can be quite expressive with surprisingly little movement from the player.

The update also adds Live View, which follows an active voice in the waveform editor and shows its slewed node geometry, partial settings, and slot position in real time.

There are also new waveform-editing shortcuts, multi-step undo/redo, slot copy/paste keyboard shortcuts, and a fairly substantial round of interface-performance and stability work. (But more on that on the website when the release is here)

Partials & Discrepancies 1.3.2 is expected to be available on September 1, 2026."

Unusable Engineering Experiments | New Synth Modes + 2 Unreleased FX

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A little preview of some things I am currently working on. Everything here is still experimental, so controls, behavior and probably a few ideas may change before release.

The bass drone chord comes from Partials & Discrepancies using an upcoming cross-voice FM mode, where the output of each voice FM-modulates the oscillator of the next voice.

It is also using a new Live View mode that shows the actual partial settings of one active voice as it moves through the slots. When that voice fades out, the display moves on to another active voice.

The live played part is Curves & Membranes played from a ROLI Seaboard Rise 2, using an experimental MPE Expression Mode together with a coming 4-voice paraphonic mode.

The rhythmic melody comes from two unreleased effects:

Residual Breakdown is a transistor fuzz emulation that can move into self-oscillation as the input disappears. The oscillation can be quantized and via the controls, slot-sequenced, which is generating the basic melody here.

Quadrant Modulator is a ring modulator using the Curves & Membranes oscillator design. One instance is using quantized, slot-sequenced ring modulation to keep the result around the key of the track. Another is running host-synced with its slot sequencer clocked to the DAW, creating the changing rhythmic level-cutting effect.

There are no release dates yet, but the current plan is to get these updates and new plugins out sometime in September 2026.

I was actually supposed to spend this time preparing my VAT filings. Procrastinating that has, unfortunately for the tax authorities, been very productive for the plugins.

More info will be available on:
www.unusable.net"

Curves & Membranes 1.3.5 | Node Morphing, Expanded Oscillator Presets & Detune

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A walkthrough of the new features in Curves & Membranes 1.3.5.

The old Wave Bézier Presets have been expanded and renamed Oscillator Presets. The eight slots now store considerably more of the oscillator state, which makes the sequencer capable of much deeper changes and morphing.

The main additions are:
Bézier to Node morphing stored independently in every slot
None, Clip and Fold modes stored per slot and affected by Preset Slew
a new detuned auxiliary oscillator, with Detune stored per slot
LFO and noise modulation settings stored in the oscillator slots
interpolation of all of these settings through Preset Slew
Copy and Paste for oscillator slots
double-clicking nodes or handles to return them to the vertical center
improved CC4 / foot-controller handling

This means a single sequence can now move between Bézier and Node geometry, introduce or remove folding, change detune, and alter LFO modulation while the waveform itself is also changing.

There are some sound examples through-out the video, and some more focussed ones in the middle of the video, followed by the new workflow features and the updated CC4 / foot-control behavior.

A fair amount of oscillator-core optimization also went into making the additional processing possible while keeping CPU use under control.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:11 Background
01:04 Changes and new capabilities
04:28 Sound examples
05:25 New workflow features
06:06 CC4 / foot-control improvements
07:11 Summing it up

Curves & Membranes 1.3.5 is a free update for existing owners.

More information:
www.unusable.net"

Partials & Discrepancies | Laid-Back Jam with MPE + Unusable Engineering FX

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A slow, fairly minimal jam that appeared at the end of a testing session while I was working on improvements across the Unusable Engineering full suite.

There are only three sounds.

The pulse / heartbeat-like rhythm comes from Logic’s Drum Synth, processed with Spectral Pressure Chamber and a static Frequency Guillotine setting used mainly for EQ shaping and stereo spread.

The main keyboard sound is Partials & Discrepancies. It is a four-slot patch built from very few partials, but with constant movement between the slot states. That runs through a stereo tremolo sequence in Binaural Modulator, subtle stepped movement from Frequency Guillotine, a slowly modulated Geometry Delay, and a similarly slow-moving Geometry Reverb.

The high drone comes from Curves & Membranes, using two currently unreleased features and some portamento movement. It runs through a slewing Frequency Guillotine sequence, a deeper modulated Geometry Delay, and another slow Geometry Reverb setting.

Partials & Discrepancies is being played from both a Moog Muse over regular MIDI and a ROLI Seaboard Rise 2 using MPE at the same time.

I have started liking this combination quite a lot. The regular keyboard gives you the predictable part of the performance, while the MPE controller can add pressure, slide, and more expressive movement on top of it without having to commit the whole patch to one playing style.

Truth be told, most of my testing sessions ends with something like this. It is a nice way to clear the head.

More information:
www.unusable.net"

Unusable Engineering Slot Sequencers | How They Work

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A walkthrough of the shared slot sequencer system added to all Unusable Engineering effects in version 1.3.0.

Depending on the plugin, the sequencer has four or eight slots. Each slot stores a different set of effect parameters, and the plugin can step or slew between those settings manually, using an internal clock, or in sync with the host.

This video covers:
editing and selecting slots
manual movement between settings
internal and host-clock stepping
Slew in free and clocked modes
copying and pasting slots
randomization
enabling and disabling slots
differences between individual plugins
and a bit of the philosophy behind it"

"Curves & Membranes has also gained a new oscillator mode called Node Mode.

The normal oscillator uses Bézier handles to shape its single-cycle waveform. In Node Mode those handles are replaced by vector points, which changes how the synth sounds and allows much deeper wave folding.

It gives the synth a noticeably more modern and aggressive side while still using the same one-oscillator architecture. Curves & Membranes also got a new Vel->Radius option, where incoming velocity can multiply the radius of its orbital modulators by up to 5x. That makes harder notes introduce more movement rather than just changing level or filter response.

There is also now a preset browser across the full lineup, along with some starting-point presets, version checking and a few smaller workflow and stability improvements.

The updates are free for existing owners and available through the account page: https://www.unusable.net/account/

The two freebies (Binaural Modulator and Cavitation Fractures) have also gotten updated with slot-sequencer, preset-system and some bug fixes.
Product pages and press images are here:
https://www.unusable.net/
https://www.unusable.net/press/

Partials & Discrepancies 1.0.5 | New One Revolution Setting Explained

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A short video showing the new One Revolution setting in Partials & Discrepancies 1.0.5.

This update is a small, but useful. The main new feature is the One Revolution behavior in the slot sequencer when running in clocked modes.

If both KBD Reset and KBD Next are turned on in a clocked mode, the sequencer will now do one full revolution on key down and then stop at the last step.

That opens up some nice behavior depending on the rate:

at higher rates, you can get more static sounds with quite wild transients
at slower rates, it works really nicely for sounds like pads that settle into place over time

This video goes through how it works and shows a few improvised examples.

Version 1.0.5 also includes slightly smoother node dragging.

More info:
www.unusable.net"

Harmonic Dissector 1.2.0 | New Motion Features and Sound Examples

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A no-talking sound example video of the updated Harmonic Dissector 1.2.0.

The main addition in this update is motion. The sound engine itself is unchanged, but the plugin now has a new bottom section with a 4-slot slewed preset system, clocked stepping, slot on/off control, copy/paste between slots, and randomization for both filter sections.

This video shows the updated functions in use with a static Partials & Discrepancies patch, plus examples with Curves & Membranes and an emulated Rhodes. Some of the examples also use Geometry Delay and Geometry Reverb.

What I like about this update is that it opens the plugin up quite a lot without changing what it fundamentally is. Even just moving panning or level between slots can get you into tremolo and auto-pan territory, and because there are two parallel filter sections, it can go much further than that. Of course it also works well for stepping or sweeping filter movement.

A small tip if you want some extra fun: run the LFOs at audio rate and modulate the depth of FM and BandWidth per step.

Update notes
added randomization of both sections
added the 4-slot slewed preset system from the Geometry series
added clocked stepping via internal or host clock
added slot on/off by double-click or shift-click
added copy/paste to make it easier to align the 4 slots
added value labels for LFO rates
brightened the interface and increased contrast for better usability on lower-contrast screens

More info:
www.unusable.net"

Partials & Discrepancies 1.0.4 | Foot Control Slot Sweeps + Red MPE Mode

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A no-talking Partials & Discrepancies 1.0.4 demo focused mainly on foot-controlled slot sweeps.

This patch is played on Arturia PolyBrute 12 in MPE mode, with CC4 / foot control used to sweep through the slot states in real time. I am trying to show how the synth can be played more more expressively with pressure controlled swells and with the slot motion under direct foot control rather than just running as a sequence.

It uses the new red Unusable MPE mode, added in version 1.0.4. In this mode, Slide / CC74 opens the filter, while Pressure controls level behavior for more expressive swells. (the PB12 don't have slide, so it is only pressure used in this video). The screen notes explain what is happening as the patch moves.

This update also includes improvements to MPE voice visuals, smoother Resonance and Res Warp, Versioned Save in the preset browser, better editor responsiveness, and a few other fixes. Release notes in the news section of the website.

More info:
www.unusable.net"

Partials & Discrepancies | MPE Demo with Full Bundle v2

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A no-talking Partials & Discrepancies sound example video focused on MPE playing and pairings with effects from the Full Bundle v2.

This video uses the new "red Unusable" MPE mode and explores a range of sounds, from dirtier and more broken textures to more cinematic and laid-back ones, plus a few more straight sounds and some small tricks along the way. The screen notes explain what is happening as the patches move.

The MPE playing here is done with three different controllers: ROLI Seaboard Rise 2, Expressive E Osmose, and Arturia PolyBrute. The idea is not just to show the synth on its own, but to show how Partials & Discrepancies behaves when played expressively and paired with effects from the full Unusable Engineering range.

So this is less a walkthrough and more a practical look at what the synth can do with MPE and the full bundle around it.

More info:
www.unusable.net

Partials & Discrepancies | Understanding Discrepancies

video upload by Unusable Engineering

"A closer look at the Discrepancies side of Partials & Discrepancies.

This is a more ad-lib walkthrough focused on what the discrepancy system actually is, what it does to a patch, and how it can be used either to add a bit of life and variation or to push things much further into chaos.

At the core of it, each voice gets its own randomized offset values for around 40 different parameters. Some of those have their own dedicated discrepancy controls, while others are grouped under broader macro-style controls. The result is that each voice can behave slightly differently, from small differences in tuning, filter, or position, up to much more obvious divergence.

The dice control generates a new set of random offsets, but those values are otherwise static and stay saved with the patch until you throw the dice again.

This video is really about understanding what the discrepancy system is, what happens when you push it, and how it can make patches feel more alive, more unstable, or just a bit less perfectly digital in a very digital synth.

More info:
www.unusable.net"

Unusable Engineering Releases Partials & Discrepancies Additive Soft Synth & Effects

video uploads by Unusable Engineering

Playlist:

1. Partials & Discrepancies | Full Walkthrough of an Additive Synth
2. Partials & Discrepancies | Sound Examples
3. Geometry Delay | Full Walkthrough of a Multi-Tap Delay
4. Geometry Reverb | Walkthrough of a Geometry-Based Reverb
5. Binaural Modulator | Full Walkthrough of a Spatial Modulation Effect
6. Partials & Discrepancies | Extremely Long and Incredibly Offhand


via Unusable Engineering

Today marks the release of our second synth, a multi-tap delay, a reverb and a free spatial modulator for both Mac and Windows as AU/VST3.

Partials & Discrepancies is an 8 voice additive poly-synth. The goal was to make additive synthesis accessible through a much simpler abstraction model than what you usually get, and include lots of sonic motion capabilities within a simple interface without modulation matrixes or multi page layouts. As always, we want to build instruments and effects that makes it fun to make music and that won’t slow down the creativity. Partials & Discrepancies is available for 79 euros incl. VAT. Discounts and cross-grade offers may be available on the account page for earlier costumers.

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Curves & Membranes - Software Bézier Monosynth w. Orbital Modulators & Membrane Filter

video uploads by Unusable Engineering

Note this is the first post to feature Unusable Engineering. You'll find additional plugins by them below.

Playlist:

1. Curves & Membranes - Software Bézier Monosynth w. Orbital Modulators & Membrane Filter - Walk Through
2. Curves & Membranes - Sound Demo and Patch Ideas - No Talking
3. Curves & Membranes | Synthesizer Patch Creation & Sound Design Walkthrough
4. Curves & Membranes v1.1.0 | New Features and Sound Examples
5. Curves & Membranes Filter Walkthrough | Understanding the Membranes
6. Unusable Engineering Jam | Curves & Membranes in a Different Context
7. Unusable Engineering Update | Curves & Membranes Features and Grain Discharge
8. Unusable Engineering Breakfast Jam | Curves & Membranes + Full Bundle

"Curves & Membranes is a focused mono synth built around a shapeable Bézier oscillator, two visual modulation systems, and a membrane-based filter. In this full walkthrough I go through the core ideas behind the instrument, how the oscillator works, how the preset morphing and orbital modulators create movement, and how the membrane filter shapes the sound.

The goal with Curves & Membranes was not to make a do-everything synth, but to build something more specific: a synth where sound, shape, and motion are tightly connected, and where the structure stays easy to understand while still allowing a lot of character and timbral movement.


More info: https://www.unusable.net/"

And a playlist of addtional plug-ins by Unusable Engineering:



Playlist:

1. Synaptic Resonance | Neural Vocoder Walkthrough

Synaptic Resonance is a neural vocoder-style effect where incoming audio, or an optional sidechain, excites a two-dimensional neural simulation. That simulation is then read back somewhere else and used to animate a bank of forty steep resonant band-pass filters.

In this walkthrough I go through the basic idea behind the plugin, show how the Stim Plane and Read Plane shape the behavior, and explain how the neural controls affect the way the model reacts, spreads, remembers, recovers, and settles.

The core idea is fairly simple: the input excites the model, and the output is affected by reading the model. That is what gives the plugin its character. It can behave like a vocoder, a resonant filter instrument, or something more unstable and alive depending on how it is set up.

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