Nektar Aura Beat Composer

OVERVIEW


RGB pads, step sequencer, repeat engine and plugin control help you create amazing beats.
The Nektar AURA is a powerful beat creation and performance instrument. AURA features 16 hyper-sensitive RGB illuminated pads, an on-board step sequencer, a flexible pad repeat engine and plugin control. It brings an exciting drum-machine-style workflow to any DAW or external MIDI setup. With the included Nektarine 2.0 software, AURA becomes a plugin control powerhouse for VST, VST3 and AU plugins. Work it as a single multi-sound drum plugin or host a comprehensive kit using multiple plugins. Setting up AURA’s pads is fast and intuitive, with real-time auditioning. Nektarine can host up to 16 different instrument plugins at once. Each of AURA’s pads can play its own plugin. Any pad can be rerouted to a new plugin by creating a plugin slot and loading a patch or plugin directly from AURA’s browser. Pad assignments are saved as part of a DAW project/song or a Nektarine Multi-Patch for instant recall. AURA’s Plugin mode provides instant control of hosted instrument plugin parameters. When programming drum sounds, quick access to key parameters such as pitch, decay or level is essential. Nektarine makes short work of this by auto-selecting the relevant parameters for control with AURA’s eight rotary pots, based on the last triggered pad. Nektar plugin maps ensure that even plugins with thousands of parameters have seamless control. Nektarine 2.0 provides four FX insert slots per hosted instrument plugin. This gives up to 64 insert effect plugins per Nektarine instance. Dedicated AURA FX buttons enable selection and control of hosted effects plugins. Each Nektarine instance has another four global send effects slots. Their send levels are controlled for each instrument plugin from AURA’s mixer page. Other mixer page controls are volume, pan and mute/solo for each plugin slot. Nektarine’s Browser is designed to manage thousands of patches. Find features like customizable tags and sorting tools, with full control from AURA. Browser settings are independent for every instrument and effect plugin slot. They are stored with a Nektarine Multi-Patch or even a DAW project/song, along with all other settings. Nektarine can be run in any DAW hosting AAX, AU, VST or VST3 plugins or as a standalone application in Windows and Apple OSX. Pad Repeat Engine AURA’s on-board pad repeat engine is directly accessible. It features a dedicated on/off button and settings menu. It’s a great tool for creating dynamic rolls by using pad pressure to control velocity while changing repeat rates with the RGB LED buttons. The Repeat engine is customizable. Parameters include Repeat Rate, Gate, Accent Interval, Accent Velocity Offset, Swing, Trigger Mode and Clock Source. Hardware Step Sequencer On pressing AURA’s SEQ button, the 16 LED buttons below the pots become the classic 16-step programming interface. 16 patterns (one per pad) with four parts, comprising of up to 16 steps each, add up to a total of 64 steps. This provides flexibility for inspired beat creation. A set of patterns can be saved in one of AURA’s 16 Collections. AURA’s sequencer is all about interaction and performance. Parts may be triggered in any combination at any time. Each pattern, and each part in a pattern, can have a different length. This simplifies the creation of interesting poly-rhythms. Many of the editing features go all the way down to step level and include play rate, velocity, accent, gate and swing. Internal and external clock modes ensure perfect sync. The sequencer may also be used stand-alone for MIDI instruments connected to AURA’s external MIDI Out. DAW Integration The dedicated DAW button assigns AURA’s surface to take control of many popular DAWs. This opens up Nektar DAW integration features such as extended transport control, track selection, project navigation and more. Nektar DAW Integration software is included for Ableton Live Suite, Bitwig, Cubase, Digital Performer, Garageband, Logic, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason, Studio One and Sonar/Cakewalk. Seven transport buttons are fully MIDI assignable, including MMC commands. They can be used to set up transport control for any software not supported by Nektar DAW integration. MIDI Programmability While AURA is designed for control of Nektarine, it can be used as a self-contained, programmable USB MIDI pad controller in Internal mode. It connects with hard- and software via USB or the MIDI output jack. 16 presets store pad and control assignments. They can be used for the 16 pads, 8 pots, 7 switches and 2 foot switch connections.




FEATURES
Step Sequencer

Stores 16 Collections of 16 Patterns each
Each Pattern with up to 4 parts for a total of up to 64 steps
Dedicated programming interface with 16 RGB buttons and parts selection buttons
Real-time performance features (solo, mute, instant start options and more)
Trigger sequencer parts in any combination at any time
Independent settings per part (play rate, step length, velocity, accent, gate, swing and more)
Extensive editing features all the way down to step level
Internal and external clock operation
Latch automation on/off

Pad Repeat Engine

8 adjustable real-time parameters including note length, accent level and interval and repeat rate
Dedicated Repeat rate settings & activation buttons
Display soft button for instant assignment of pressure to velocity
Tap tempo feature
Internal and external clock operation

Nektarine

AAX, AU, VST or VST3 plugin version and stand-alone application for OSX & Windows
Load any VST, VST3 and AU instrument plugins
16 instrument plugin slots
Each instrument slot with choke, volume, pan, mute/solo, sends 1-4 controls
4 effect insert plugin slots per instrument (AU / VST / VST3 FX)
4 send effect plugin slots (AU / VST / VST3 FX)
Store instrument & FX plugin patches + Nektarine Multi-Patches
Browser Settings are remembered per plugin slot
Handles all pad-, plugin- & patch-management with complete control from AURA
Control page editor for customizing Nektar plugin maps or creating new ones from scratch
Full parameter feedback: display updated in real-time
Scale and Chords mode for building tracks
Multi-Patch with Pad settings save as ‘Default’ load as default – all browser settings can be saved with tags for slots tag ‘kick’, slot 1, etc.

Aura Nektar DAW Integration Supports

Ableton Live Suite
Apple Logic + Garageband
Bitwig 8-Track + Studio
Cockos Reaper
MOTU Digital Performer
Presonus Studio One
Reason Studios Reason
Steinberg Cubase + Nuendo

Hardware

16 RGB color illuminated velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads
8 heavy duty potentiometers (360 degrees, endless)
TFT color display with 320×240 px including 4 soft buttons
16 RGB LED buttons
8 Nektarine buttons for direct access to Patches, Mixer, Pad Setup, Plugins and more
6 mode buttons
7 Transport Buttons with LED illumination
Fully MIDI-programmable pads, switches and pots
16 Presets for storing all internal settings (not required when using Nektarine)
Rugged housing with aluminum top

Connections

Panorama T4/T6 MIDI controller
Studio One version 4 or higher
Windows 7, 8, 10 or higher, Mac OS 10.7 or higher

Other

Dimensions: 11.85” (L) x 9” (D) x 1.77” (H)
Weight: 3 lb

System Requirements

AURA: USB class compliant (no driver needed) works with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 or higher. Mac OS X 10.5 or higher, Linux (Ubuntu)
Nektarine and Nektar DAW Integration: Windows 8, 10 or higher. Mac OS X 10.7 or higher

www.music-blvd.com 350USD
(P)