Aalto

Size 2600 aalto

Aalto is a semi-modular software synthesizer with an innovative, patchable UI, distinctive sounds, and a charming personality.

Download the plugin

When you first install the plugin, it will run in demo mode. This means that a gentle reminder sound plays every minute or so, and saving patches is disabled. When you register the plugin, these restrictions are removed.

To update your plugin, just download and run the latest installer above. The latest version will always be right here and updating won't affect your registration.

Aalto1.6

Buy a license: € 86,00


The purchase price includes a license for both Mac OS and Windows.

Your purchase will create a license key that you can get from the "My licenses" page after logging in. To register your plugin, just copy the key and then click in the plugin’s registration area.


About the sound

Aalto’s sound engine lets you create sounds that have been difficult or impossible to make with softsynths before now. The heart of Aalto is a complex oscillator inspired by Don Buchla's designs, with FM, timbre and waveshape controls that enable a wide range of expressive sounds. These sounds are uniquely malleable and alive, in part because they are made with dynamic calculation, not static wavetables.

Aalto is designed as much for sequencing patterns as for playing individual notes. Each voice has a separate, built-in sequencer with a patchable, independently controllable rate and offset. This topology makes it easy to build complex, evolving textures.

Each voice also includes a lowpass gate module with a vactrol emulation in the control path. The vactrol equation slows down the response to incoming control signals through a complex nonlinear filter. You can turn the vactrol response down to instantaneous, or up to a pronounced ring.

Following the lowpass gate is a patchable waveguide / delay module with a waveshaper and a peaking EQ built into the feedback loop. Because it has such short and controllable delay times, unlike a typical analog delay, it can be used as an additional oscillator.

Aalto’s filter is a state-variable topology with mixable simultaneous outputs, a more resonant take on the Oberheim SEM filter.

Subjectively speaking, Aalto can make a wide range of sounds, from lush to edgy, including some very complicated ones, without sounding too thick in a mix. Aalto’s sounds are not hyped or compressed, they are wide-range, open and natural. We hope our approach will appeal to experienced sound designers who have their own favorite EQs and limiters. And for those just getting into synthesis, Aalto is an accurate and honest tool for learning. We have tried to make Aalto a deep instrument that will reward lasting engagement.

Have a listen

Read the friendly manual

Aalto’s manual has over 50 pages full of Aalto lore, tips and tricks, and a complete introduction to patching synthesis! Click to download: AaltoManual.pdf

System requirements

Mac versions require OS 10.9 or higher and a 64-bit VST or AU host application. Windows versions require Windows 7, 8 or 10. If you have any concerns about compatibility, please try the demo on your system.

More info

For info on fulfillment, licensing, transfers, and returns, please visit our policies page.