Aura Atmospheric Drone Builder by Vir2 Instruments Kontakt instrument interface

Aura: Atmospheric Drone Builder for Kontakt by Vir2 Instruments

Rated 4.9/5 on Plugin Boutique (8 ratings)

Aura: Atmospheric Drone Builder is a Kontakt instrument from Vir2 Instruments for creating drones, pads and atmospheres. It combines four sound engines, an X/Y performance pad and 24 effects, and it can also play your own WAV or AIFF samples.

REQUIRESKontaktHost player sold separately

KontaktWindowsmacOS64-bit

AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique

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01Overview

Aura is built around the idea of soundscaping: layering sounds into evolving textures that move over time. Vir2 Instruments describes it as a tool for sound design, with four engines that blend into a single sound. A central X/Y pad lets you shape that blend in real time, and the pad's movement can be recorded for automation. The library includes 414 drones, pads and atmospheres, plus 102 presets to start from.

Best for

Ambient drone design
Cinematic pad textures
Live X/Y performance
Sample-based atmospheres
Evolving soundscapes

Developer: Vir2 Instruments
Category: Kontakt Instruments
Requires: Kontakt
Store: Plugin Boutique

02Key features

What you get

414 drones, pads and atmospheres in the library
Four separate sound engines blended by one pad
Real-time scoring with a central X/Y pad
Pad movement can be recorded for automation
Control the X/Y pad with a mouse or MIDI controller
Load any WAV or AIFF sample into an engine
Adjust sample start, loop points and keyboard mapping
24 effects, with four modulatable effect slots
102 presets as starting points
Works with the free Kontakt Player

03In depth

Four Engines and the X/Y Performance Pad

Aura's four sound engines are blended through a central X/Y pad. Moving the pad changes the balance between engines, so a patch can continue to shift while you play it. Vir2 Instruments says you can record the pad movement to automate it, and you can control the pad with a mouse or an external MIDI controller.

This makes Aura suited to live scoring of evolving textures, where the motion of the sound is part of the performance rather than a fixed loop.

Using Your Own Samples in Aura

Aura is not limited to its built-in library. Any WAV or AIFF file can be loaded into one of the four engines. Once loaded, you can adjust the sample start point, loop points and keyboard mapping.

This lets you build drones from field recordings, instruments or other material you already own, and process them with the same engines and effect chain as the factory sounds.

The effects are a separate layer of control. Four effect slots can each be modulated, so the effect parameters can move independently of the source sound.

04Specs