There are two tried-and-tested ways to make a name for yourself in the soft synth business. You can produce a spot-on emulation of a classic hardware instrument, or do something bold and innovative that differentiates yourself from the rest of the market.
With the launch of Zone, it looks like newcomer Audiaire is plumping for the second option. This boasts some familiar-looking features, but also comes with a parameter sequencer that enables pretty much every control to be assigned to and modified by its own independent sequencer lane. You can have unlimited lanes, each one running at its own rate and with a different number of steps, so all kinds of rhythmic machinations should be possible.
Behind this sequencer you’ll find a feature-laden synth engine. You get 151 wavetable oscillators plus user import, 20 insert FX, multiple filters, a mod matrix and more. There’s also a 32-step sequencer.
You can find out more and download a demo on the Audiaire website. Zone is currently available at the introductory price of £99/$139 and comes in VST/AU/AAX formats for PC and Mac.
