Arturia Augmented STRINGS 2.0.0 Mac

Arturia Augmented STRINGS is a software instrument that fuses detailed string samples with multiple synthesis engines inside a dual-layer architecture. Version 2.0.0 expands the real-time control over those layers, letting a mix engineer or producer push a string part from a believable chamber ensemble into something abstract without loading another plugin.

Crossfade a viola section into a wavetable pad

• Dual layers, dual sources. Each of the two layers pulls from two sound sources, making it straightforward to crossfade between a sampled viola section and a wavetable pad, or to stack a granular texture under a spiccato articulation.
• More than 60 articulations. The sample pool covers solo and ensemble performances with articulations ranging from sustained bowing to short, percussive strokes. The selection spans authentic, abstract, and evocative string material.
• Four synthesis types. When a sampled articulation isn't enough, the synthesis side offers four distinct engines to generate tones that still react to string-like envelopes.
• Morph with custom destinations. A single Macro knob can be assigned to up to eight user-defined parameters, letting you pull a sound from a dry, close-miked quartet into a washed-out, modulated texture in one motion. Additional Macros handle other real-time changes without diving into menus.
• Built-in effects. A dedicated effects section sits at the output, so the hybrid patches don't need extra send channels just to place them in a room.

Start natural and morph toward synth without leaving the plugin

The instrument runs standalone or inside a DAW through VST, AAX, and Audio Unit formats. Because it covers the ground between a straight string library and a synthesizer, a composer can start a cue with a natural ensemble and gradually introduce the synthetic elements as a scene shifts, all within a single instance.

One automation lane moves a cue from warm cello to cold tension

Media composers working to picture tend to latch onto the Morph control hardest — a cue that needs to move from a warm, roomy cello line into something cold and processed can do it in one automation lane instead of crossfading between two separate tracks. Sound designers get comparable mileage out of the four synthesis engines, particularly when layering a granular cloud beneath a sul ponticello sample to build tension beds for game audio. Keyboard players who just want a string patch that sits in a pop mix without sounding like a general MIDI bank also find the macro setup practical; the main controls are large enough to grab during a take, and the ensemble articulations respond to velocity in ways that keep the part human.

Build a dusk drone that dissolves into processed unease

A producer opens a session for a short film cue — a drone shot moving over a marsh at dusk. The track needs something organic at the top that slowly gives way to unease.

1. A fresh instance of Augmented STRINGS loads with a chamber ensemble patch in Layer A and a muted wavetable pad in Layer B, both routed to a small hall reverb from the built-in effects section.
2. The part gets played in with a MIDI controller, using a light touch for the first pass. The close and room microphone faders sit at roughly equal level to keep the strings present but not clinical.
3. Once the notes are in, the Morph knob gets assigned to three destinations: the blend between layers, the filter cutoff on the wavetable engine, and the send level to a shimmer reverb. An automation lane draws a slow ramp from fully Layer A at bar one to a 70/30 split by bar seventeen.
4. During playback the shift happens gradually — the sampled strings recede into the wet signal while the synthetic layer rises, its filter opening just enough to introduce a glassy harmonic edge without losing the fundamental pitch. No other track or plugin is touched.

• macOS 11 or later
• Apple Silicon and Intel native support
• Compatible host for VST, AAX, or Audio Unit formats