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New Nova platform with five free virtual instruments but, bigger things are on the way.

The LA-based music software company behind the plugins Cube and Beam, Lunacy, has announced the launch of Nova, a cloud-based virtual instrument platform.

All of Nova’s instruments can be played in both your browser and your DAW via the free Nova host plugin, which gives you access to a growing library of instruments that currently includes ten titles – five of which are available for free. The plugin is available in AU/VST3/AAX formats for macOS and Windows.

Among the free instruments are Woodland Piano, a characterful sampled upright piano with a granular delay onboard and Chiptuner, a single-oscillator chiptune synth that delivers classic video game nostalgia in spades.

Also available for free is Good Vibes, a sampled vibraphone with four velocity layers and multiple effects, and Zephyr Strings, a string arp instrument based on recordings of the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra. Finally, Silhouettes is an ambient instrument with five presets and an XY-pad interface that’s ideal for atmospheric pads and eerie drones.

Alongside these free instruments, Nova’s marketplace features five paid titles that are a little more versatile than the freebies. These include Gleam, a modal resonator synth developed by Rainbow Circuit, Drift Cassette, a dual-deck tape-emulating multisampler, and Growl, a monophonic FM bass synth built for aggressive low-end tones. All five are currently available in a $99 bundle or can be purchased individually for between $19 and $35, and you can test them out for free in your browser.

The plan is to develop a platform for prompt-based plugin development and customization, synchronized across your browser and your DAW. Using Nova’s builder, creators will be able to design, edit, share and sell virtual instruments and effects without any programming experience, all with the aim of making plugin creation more accessible. Lunacy says the builder is currently in early access with a small group of developers, but hasn’t yet shared a date for an official release.

“Imagine if you could build any musical instrument you can imagine,” Lunacy CEO Casey Kolb said in a press release. “Soon, NOVA will let you. Once it is fully launched later this year, you’ll be able to dream up any sonic idea or playground, then turn that into a music tool, and then share it with the world with a single link.”

“Say someone makes a step sequencer and shares it. You open it and wish you could add a custom shimmer reverb to the end of the signal chain. You can add that, then you can share your new version with a friend, and that friend expands it further. The tools are never fixed; they are always evolving.”

While these capabilities are still a little way off, we’re curious to see how Nova develops. As it stands, the Nova plugin is worth downloading for the five free instruments alone, and we’re told that the library will continue to grow as time goes on.

Find out more on Lunacy website.

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Japanese synth brand Sonicware has launched a new desktop module version of its ELZ_1 synth, ELZ_1 core.

Sonicware’s ELZ_1 core puts a powerful, multi-synthesis engine in a compact desktop box.

The new module is based on the same digital synthesis engine as Sonicware ELZ_1 play, but trims down that instrument’s already somewhat compact form factor to fit into a pint-sized hardware box, ditching the original’s button keyboard in the process.

The ELZ_1 engine has three oscillators, each of which can make use of 18 different synthesis approaches ranging from wavetable synthesis through virtual analogue, FM, physical modelling and more. The instrument’s selection of stock wavetables include 16 officially licensed from Waldorf’s classic PPG and Microwave synths and it can also import wavetables created in Xfer Serum.

Beyond the oscillators, the ELZ_1 features nine varieties of filter and EQ, four types of envelope generator and 49 effect types, the latter of which can be used across four effect slots covering both inserts and sends. The synth also has a 128-step sequencer and 12-mode arpeggiator.

The new ELZ_1 core hardware is designed to be used alongside your existing MIDI controller, sequencer or DAW. It can connect to external gear via its MIDI input and output ports. There are also USB-C and USB-A ports, the first of which can be used for MIDI and audio streaming, the latter as a MIDI host that can also provide bus power.

The new synth has a 2.4-inch colour LCD screen that displays the redesigned Edit UI, which can be manipulated using a bank of five rotaries. Three of these can also be used as macro controls, configurable to adjust up-to three parameters simultaneously across the ELZ_1’s oscillators, synth engine and effects.

Alongside the launch of ELZ_1 core, Sonicware has updated the firmware for all versions of the synth adding a new system of preset tagging and favourites.

If you’re tempted by the look of the ELZ_1 core, you probably don’t want to hang around. Like the ELZ_1 play before it, the synth is being sold in limited, made-to-order batches. According to Sonicware, this decision comes down to the impact of, “Rising component costs and ongoing supply instability, [meaning that] it has be1come difficult for us to secure the quantities required for mass production.”

ELZ_1 core is available to order for £449/ €539/$499, with the first batch of 50 due to ship mid-October. Visit the Sonicware site for more information.

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Universal Audio launches major update to the free Luna DAW that the company is calling its “biggest software release to date”

Universal Audio has announced the launch of Luna 3.0, a major update to the company’s DAW that introduces a raft of enhancements and new features, including AI-powered stem separation, lyric transcription and chord extraction, alongside Luna Play, a simplified recording mode designed to help you get ideas down fast.

Originally released in 2020 as a low-latency recording environment for owners of UA hardware, Luna was made available free to all Mac users in 2023 before a Windows version was launched in 2024. The software has a number of UA’s analogue emulations embedded into its mixing workflow, integrating the sound of classic channel strips, mixing consoles and tape machines directly into the recording environment.

The new Luna 3.0 is available in both free and paid tiers; the paid-for version has now been renamed Luna Studio (formerly known as Luna Pro) and includes some of the more advanced features unveiled in the update. Luna Free has also received a significant overhaul, though – let’s dig into what’s new.

Available across both tiers, Luna Play is a new recording mode within the software that strips back the complexity of a regular DAW to offer a simpler and more streamlined workflow. Described as something like a “voice memo app” designed for “easy, immediate and focused creativity”, Play can automatically detect the instrument you’re recording and the tempo you’re playing, set appropriate levels and suggest presets from UA plugins – all you have to do is play. (Check out the video below for a demo.)

Luna Play is also equipped with the new stem separation functionality that you’ll find in both Luna Free and Luna Studio. The free tier gets 4-track separation covering Drums, Vocals, Bass and Other, while the paid-for version gives you two extra tracks: Guitar and Piano.

Also new in Luna Free are welcome improvements to a number of the DAW’s more bread-and-butter features. You get an overhauled Piano Roll that provides a dedicated MIDI editing workspace alongside the main timeline, Folder Tracks that organise tracks and route audio to folders, an Adaptive Grid on the timeline that adjusts to your zoom level, and more nice-to-haves like a Strip Silence tool, automation for clip gain and the click track, alongside rulers for chords, keys and time signatures.

Another addition is Record FX, a workflow previously only available to Apollo owners that allows you to record directly through native plugins. Overall, that’s an impressive amount of firepower for a free piece of software, especially considering that Luna Free was already one of the more capable free DAWs available to budget-conscious music-makers.

The updates exclusive to Luna Studio include audio-to-MIDI functionality and new AI-powered lyric transcription and chord extraction tools developed by Moises. The paid-for version now comes with several plugins you won’t find in Luna Free: Topline Vocal Tune, UA’s simplified vocal pitch correction plugin, along with two third-party instruments, Celemony Tonalic Essential and Dreamtonics Synthesizer V 2 Core. Luna Studio is priced at $199.

Universal Audio has also unveiled a new subscription plan, UAD Spark Studio, priced at $149.99/year. A subscription will give you access to Luna Studio and a collection of 70 native UAD plugins, including some of the company’s most popular analogue emulations – covering classic compressors, channel trips, preamps, EQs, tape machines, delays, reverbs and amps – and seven instrument plugins.

Visit the Universal Audio website to find out more.

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