Unusable Engineering ApS
synth

Curves & Membranes

A visual one-oscillator synth built around Bézier and node wave shaping, orbital motion, and a membrane-style filter model.

Bezier SynthAU/VST3Mac/Win

1.5.0 - 2026-10-28

Three Filter Modes

  • Added a three-way switch between Membrane, Filter Bank, and Pressure. Membrane keeps the original filter model and remains the default for older presets.
  • Filter Bank uses 32 parallel frequency bands spaced in exact minor thirds, shaped by the three filter points and their orbits. Membrane and Pressure retain their original frequency spacing.
  • Width and Dip / Peak shape the regions around all three points. Feedback adds per-band resonance, and Drive saturates each band before summing.
  • Pressure opens individual bands in response to their incoming signal level. Sensitivity sets the opening threshold, Recovery sets how quickly bands close, and Drive adds per-band saturation.

Orbital Easing And Twist

  • Added a bipolar Easing slider to every oscillator and filter orbital modulator.
  • Easing changes the pace within each half-turn without changing the orbit shape or total cycle time. Positive values slow the ends and speed up the middle; negative values reverse that motion.
  • The timing is applied before Ellipse and Rotation, including fully flattened paths and ENV half-turns. Centered Easing keeps the original motion.
  • Added a bipolar Twist slider below Easing on all eight orbital modulators. Left morphs toward a horizontal figure-eight; right morphs toward a vertical figure-eight.
  • Twist shapes the path after Easing and before Ellipse and Rotation, with the same cycle and ENV duration. Older presets load with Twist centered.

Four Voice Performance

  • Added polyphonic Portamento and Legato. New voices glide from the nearest held note, or the last played note when no keys are held.
  • Legato limits glide to overlapping notes, with a short chord window for notes played together.
  • Added LP, BP, and HP keyboard tracking in 4 Voice mode, using a smoothed average of the held notes.
  • Mono and 4 Voice retain separate glide, Legato, and keytracking settings. Older presets load with the new four-voice settings at zero or off.

Preset Workflow

  • Added PC Map Current List to generate a MIDI Program Change map from the browser's current filtering and sorting. Program Changes also update the displayed preset name.
  • Preset-browser filtering and sorting are now independent for each plug-in instance.
  • Cmd/Ctrl-clicking Name uses the host track name when available. Existing names get the next free numbered suffix; unsupported hosts leave the name unchanged.
  • Renamed Move Old Presets to MOP and matched browser hover highlighting to Partials & Discrepancies.
  • Optimized preset meta data handling and refresh process after renaming presets.

Editing And Interface

  • Added dimmed detune traces and pitch-noise visualization without moving the editable waveform points.
  • Nodes and handles can be grabbed from their orbit outlines or interiors. Overlapping orbits select the nearest center, and point hit areas are larger.
  • Filter points moved by velocity or keyboard tracking remain grabbable at their recent positions for two seconds, without adding a visible trail. This includes averaged keyboard tracking in 4 Voice mode.
  • Both canvases now scale proportionally when the window is resized, and the filter background grid matches the oscillator grid.
  • Pitch Amount now has a logarithmic-style response for finer control at low modulation depths, without changing saved or automated values.
  • KBD -> RST is now labeled VEL -> POS when No Clk is selected to reflect its function.

Slot Sine And Randomization

  • Added a Sine button between Copy / Paste and the slot randomizer. It restores the selected slot's initial geometry and Bézier blend and resets Detune to zero, retaining its other settings.
  • The slot randomizer now changes waveform geometry, Bézier/Node blend, and Detune together.
  • Sine is a single edit: later randomization and dragging continue from the newly edited geometry.

Whole-Patch Randomization

  • Added a randomize button above INIT for all eight oscillator slots, wave-sequencer settings, and the other sound controls.
  • Half-Oct Offset, Stereo Width, Stereo Tilt, and Output are preserved. The complete randomization can be undone or redone as one action.
  • Moved INIT farther from the window resize handle.

MIDI Timing And Slot Recording

  • Notes and controllers are now applied at their sample positions within the audio buffer. Short notes contained within one buffer are rendered instead of collapsing before audio is generated.
  • Slot recording no longer waits for the interface's slot-data lock. Recorded changes are included when saving, and late recording updates cannot overwrite a newly loaded slot bank.

Preset And Automation Compatibility

  • New parameters are appended after the existing parameter list, preserving earlier automation indices.
  • Presets without the new settings use Membrane mode, centered orbital easing and twist, and disabled four-voice glide and keytracking.

1.4.3 - 2026-10-11

Preset system

  • Reduced sudden CPU spikes due to preset analysis rescans running scheduled - rescans are only triggered by refresh icon clicks now.

1.4.2 - 2026-10-08

Patch Browser

  • Added the extended preset browser with metadata, filtering, sorting, and preset banks.
  • Added preset metadata with automatic categorization based on the settings in each patch.
  • Presets can be filtered by Type, Character, Motion, and Performance.
  • Added ability to generate a zipped preset archieve from any filtered preset list.
  • Added a preset counter indicating the number of presets in the current view.

Oscillator Preset/Slot Sequencer

  • Fixed a bug with the node and handle live recording so that it works correctly.

Interface

  • Added a resize icon and per-instance window-size recall.

1.4.1 - 2026-09-03

MPE Control

  • Added last-note priority for CC74 in mono mode, reducing glitches during polyphonic playing.

Slot Editing

  • Fixed visual waveform glitching when editing detune, half-octave offset, or LFO controls while slot slew was active.

1.4.0 - 2026-09-01

Expression Mode

  • Added pressure-driven expression envelope control based on Partials & Discrepancies MPE Mode 2 (red unusable mode).
  • Added 48-semitone pitch-bend range in Expression Mode.
  • Added smoothed, exponential aftertouch control of oscillator brightness.
  • CC74 controls slot geometry using the same mapping as CC4.
  • Expression Mode temporarily disables clock and keyboard stepping, restoring their previous settings when switched off.

Four Voice Mode

  • Added four-voice oscillator playback with round-robin allocation and voice stealing.
  • The membrane and filter sections are still monophonic, so the mode is paraphonic in that sense.
  • Expression + Four Voice Mode provides independent MPE pressure envelopes, pitch bend, and CC74 geometry for each voice.
  • Added velocity-controlled per-voice geometry outside Expression Mode.
  • Added dimmed waveform overlays showing each active voice and its current level.
  • Disabled filter keyboard-follow and controller responses that do not apply in Four Voice Mode.
  • Increased polyphonic headroom before the filter while restoring level afterward.
  • Reduced unnecessary DSP by skipping inactive polyphonic and redundant monophonic processing.

Velocity Slot Morphing

  • NO CLK + KBD RST enables velocity -> slot control.
  • Preset Slew controls how widely velocity interpolates between slot geometries.
  • Supports both monophonic playing and independent geometry for each active voice in Four Voice Mode.

Waveform Editing

  • Added Shift-drag axis locking for nodes and handles.
  • The initial movement chooses horizontal or vertical locking.
  • Added Option/Alt-drag to scale the complete waveform vertically around the centerline.
  • Scaling preserves horizontal positions and relative amplitudes.
  • Crossing the centerline produces an inverted version of the waveform.
  • Upward scaling stops before the highest node exceeds the canvas.
  • Sequenced scaling records the current gesture into every slot passed during the drag.
  • Smoothed manual Bézier/node morph changes.
  • Improved anti-aliasing for sharp node waveforms, LFO modulation, and detuned high notes.

Slot Copy And Paste

  • Copy and Paste now include all point positions, Bézier/node morph, clip/fold, detune, half-octave offset, and pitch-LFO settings.
  • Copy and Paste target the currently displayed velocity or CC4 slot.

Shortcuts And History

  • Added slot Copy and Paste using Cmd/Ctrl+C and Cmd/Ctrl+V.
  • Added multi-step Undo using Cmd/Ctrl+Z.
  • Added Redo using Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z.

Interface And Performance

  • Reduced WebView telemetry, snapshot, and animation work.
  • Reduced unnecessary redraws while editing and sequencing.

What it is

I have always loved one-oscillator mono synths. When they are done right, the simplicity that makes it possible to see the sound and that one big sweet spot are enough to give the player an expressive voice. Curves & Membranes was built with that mindset, but with a rather different engine under the hood: a repeating single-cycle Bézier waveform, plus a filter model based on vibrating membranes. I wanted the sound and the visual to be the same: you shape the waveform and filter and drag the nodes to change the sound in real time. The modulation is graphic too, so what you see, do, and hear is all connected.

You shape the waveform by moving handles and nodes, blend between Bézier curves and vector segments, and choose None, Clip, or Fold for the parts that extend beyond the waveform boundary. Eight slots hold different oscillator states, and the sequencer can step or morph between them. Each point also has its own orbit. In 1.5.0, easing lets the motion speed up and slow down during each half-turn, including when the orbit is flattened into a one-dimensional path. Twist bends the orbit into a horizontal or vertical figure-eight before ellipse and rotation shape it further. The filter now has three modes using the same 32-band display: the original Membrane model, Filter Bank with modal-style feedback and per-band drive, and Pressure, where the incoming signal opens individual bands.

It works well for bass lines with movement, expressive leads, string quartet sounds, and long evolving drones. With four-voice paraphony, the oscillators can play different notes and waveforms through one shared filter, with polyphonic glide and MPE expression available. Filter Bank lets you pick out groups of harmonics and drive the bands separately. Its bands are spaced in minor thirds, repeating at each octave, and feedback brings out their resonances. Pressure follows the energy within the bands, so its movement also depends on the waveform you feed into it. The synth has grown quite a bit since the first release, but the slots and visible orbits are still how you build that movement. There are no hidden modulation paths or matrices.

Highlights

Bézier single-cycle oscillator

Build wave shape from handles and node movement instead of fixed oscillator tables.

Oscillator Preset Bank + Slew

Store 8 oscillator states and morph between them with continuous slew. Randomize a slot's geometry, Bézier/Node blend, and detune, or return it to a sine.

Wave Sequencing Clock

Run preset stepping from internal or host clock, with order control and keyboard-triggered stepping options.

Orbital modulators per point

Animate each point with rate, ellipse, rotation, bipolar easing, and figure-eight twist. Run continuously or use keyed, envelope-like half-turns.

Membrane, Filter Bank, and Pressure

Choose the original membrane model, a resonant 32-band filter bank with drive, or signal-driven bands with sensitivity and recovery.

Four voices, one shared filter

Play paraphonic chords with independent oscillator geometry, MPE expression, polyphonic glide, and held-note averaged filter keytracking.

Full walkthrough

A complete 16-minute walkthrough of Curves & Membranes covering oscillator shaping, orbital modulation, membrane filter behavior, and workflow.

A demonstration of the new filter modes, expanded orbital modulation, and other additions in Curves & Membranes v1.5.0.

Filter walkthrough

A complete 6-minute walkthrough of the Curves & Membranes filter, with a focus on membrane vibrations and their effect on the overall character of the synth.

New functions

A walkthrough of the expanded oscillator presets, Bézier-to-Node interpolation, auxiliary oscillator, slewed overflow modes, and new workflow features in v1.3.5.

A walkthrough of the Curves & Membranes node mode added in v1.0.3, explaining how the new oscillator mode works.

A walkthrough of the Curves & Membranes velocity-to-radius mode added in v1.0.3, showing how velocity can drive the oscillator radius behavior.

Reference

Quick user guide

This guide covers Curves & Membranes 1.5.0. The waveform and filter points can be edited directly, with their movement set by slots and orbital modulators. The sections below follow the instrument's controls, including the three filter modes, orbital easing and twist, and four-voice glide and keytracking.

01

Signal and voice modes

Curves and Membranes oscillator register, pitch, and voice controls

The oscillator creates a repeating single-cycle shape and sends it into one shared 32-band filter section. The default mode is monophonic; 4 Voice adds independent oscillator voices while keeping the filter section paraphonic. Membrane, Filter Bank, and Pressure are available in either voice mode.

32' / 16' / 8' / 4' / 2' / 1' select the oscillator register.

Half-Oct Offset adds a slot-specific pitch offset from -6 to +6 semitones.

Detune adds a second copy of the waveform at an adjustable detuning. The value belongs to the active slot.

4 Voice enables four round-robin oscillator voices with voice stealing. All voices pass through the same filter section in the selected mode.

Portamento, Legato, and LP, BP, and HP keyboard tracking have separate mono and 4 Voice settings. Older presets start with four-voice glide and tracking at zero and Legato off.

MTS-ESP applies tuning from a compatible tuning source in both voice modes.

02

Waveform editor

Bézier and node waveform editor with clip and fold modes

Five movable points define the single-cycle waveform. Bézier mode treats the outer points as curve handles around the midpoint; Node mode joins the same geometry as straight segments. The blend control continuously interpolates between the two models.

Bézier / Node morphs between curved and straight-segment interpretations of the saved geometry.

Node Mode jumps the blend between the two endpoints.

None uses the unrestricted waveform shape.

Clip clips excursions at the waveform boundary.

Fold folds excursions back from the boundary.

Background traces show guidance geometry and the dimmed waveforms currently used by active voices. Their intensity follows voice level.

Detune adds a dimmed, offset waveform trace. Pitch-noise modulation also animates the waveform display without moving the editable nodes or handles.

A point can also be grabbed from its orbit outline or interior. Where orbits overlap, the nearest center selects the point.

Shift-drag point
Lock movement to the first detected horizontal or vertical axis. Release Shift for free movement.
Option/Alt-drag point
Scale every vertical point value around the center line while preserving horizontal positions and relative levels. Crossing zero inverts the shape.
Double-click point
Move that point to the center line without changing its horizontal position.
Drag during sequencing
Write the held geometry change into every slot passed during the gesture.
03

Slots and slot editing

Oscillator slot editing area with eight slots and copy, paste, and random controls

Eight slots store independent oscillator states. A slot contains the complete point geometry, Bézier/Node blend, overflow mode, detune, half-octave offset, and the pitch LFO or noise settings.

A slot button selects that slot for editing and immediate audition.

Copy / Paste copies or pastes the complete slot state, including all non-waveform values stored in the slot.

Sine restores the selected slot's initial sine geometry, returns the blend to Bézier, and resets Detune to zero. The sine-wave symbol sits between Copy / Paste and Random. The slot's other settings are retained.

Random generates new waveform geometry, a Bézier/Node blend, and a Detune value for the selected editing slot. The slot's other settings are retained.

A white outline shows that a slot is locked for editing. Clock, keyboard stepping, CC4, and velocity positioning cannot move away from it until the lock is cleared.

Holding an edit while a sequence runs writes the changed parameter into every slot passed during the gesture. Releasing the control ends the write gesture.

Shift-click slot
Enable or disable the slot.
Double-click slot
Enable or disable the slot.
Cmd/Ctrl-click slot
Lock and audition the slot without slew. Repeat to unlock it; Cmd/Ctrl-click another slot to move the lock.
Cmd/Ctrl+C / Cmd/Ctrl+V
Copy or paste the selected slot.
04

Slot sequencer and positioning

Slot direction, clock, keyboard stepping, rate, and slew controls

The slot sequencer moves through enabled slots and interpolates all values stored in them. Clocked movement, keyed stepping, CC4, and velocity positioning share the same active-slot path.

Normal / Reverse / Pendulum / Skips / Mylife / Random define the order used when advancing through enabled slots.

No Clk disables continuous stepping and enables manual, keyed, CC4, or velocity-based positioning.

Int runs the sequence from the internal rate.

Host runs from musical divisions of the DAW clock.

KBD -> RST returns to the first enabled slot on note-on when Int or Host clock is selected.

VEL -> POS replaces KBD -> RST when No Clk is selected. Note velocity chooses a position across the enabled slots.

KBD -> NEXT advances to the next slot on note-on.

Legato transitions do not trigger keyboard stepping or key resets. Turn Legato off to advance through slots while playing overlapping notes.

CC4 sweeps continuously across enabled slots when No Clk and No KBD Step are selected.

Preset Slew sets transition time for manual or keyboard stepping. During clocked sequencing it becomes a percentage of each step. For CC4, velocity positioning, and EXP-mode CC74, it sets the interpolation width between slots: zero steps between them, while maximum blends throughout the interval.

05

Velocity control

Velocity mode and velocity to orbital radius controls

Velocity can shape amplitude, filter movement, slot position, and orbital depth. The available behavior depends on the selected voice and clock modes.

Vel Mode increases the dynamic range of note level and, in mono mode, moves the LP, BP, and HP actuators to brighten harder notes.

No Clk + VEL -> POS maps note velocity across the enabled slots. In 4 Voice mode, each new voice keeps the geometry selected by its own velocity.

Vel -> Radius scales the radius of every oscillator and filter orbit from note velocity. Soft notes reduce motion; harder notes expand it.

4 Voice keeps velocity-based oscillator-slot selection per voice. Velocity-driven filter movement remains disabled.

06

EXP mode and MPE

Curves and Membranes performance controls and amplifier envelope

Clicking the Unusable symbol enables EXP mode. It replaces clock and keyboard slot stepping with expression control, uses a 48-semitone pitch-bend range, and makes pressure part of the amplifier response.

Unusable symbol toggles EXP mode. Clock and KBD stepping are temporarily disabled; their previous settings return when EXP mode is turned off.

Pressure adds a smoothed pressure-controlled layer to the amplifier envelope. With Attack, Decay, and Sustain at minimum, pressure directly controls level and Release remains available.

Pressure opens the shared membrane response in mono EXP mode without changing orbital radius.

Pitch bend uses a fixed +/-48 semitone range in EXP mode.

CC74/Slide uses the CC4 slot-position mapping and Preset Slew interpolation width. Mono EXP follows CC74 from the last-priority playing note's channel. In EXP + 4 Voice mode, each MPE channel controls its own voice geometry.

EXP + 4 Voice gives each voice independent pressure, pitch bend, and CC74 geometry while the membrane filter remains shared.

07

Pitch modulation and amplifier

Pitch LFO, amplifier envelope, and portamento controls

The pitch modulator adds periodic or random pitch movement. Portamento sets glide between notes, and the amplifier envelope shapes their level before they reach the shared filter.

LFO / Noise selects periodic pitch modulation or a smoothed random source. Mode, amount, and rate/color are stored in every slot.

Pitch Amount sets pitch-modulation depth from 0 to 3 semitones. Its logarithmic-style taper gives finer adjustment near zero; saved values and host automation retain their existing meaning. The mod wheel scales the available depth.

Rate / Color sets LFO speed or the character of the noise source.

Portamento sets glide time. In 4 Voice mode, a new note glides from the nearest held note, or the last played note when no keys are held.

Legato limits glide to overlapping notes and suppresses key resets during legato transitions. In 4 Voice mode, a short chord window lets notes played together start at their own pitches.

Mono and 4 Voice keep independent Portamento and Legato values. Switching voice mode recalls its corresponding settings.

Attack / Decay / Sustain / Release shape oscillator level before the filter.

KBD RST forces the envelope to restart from zero on note-on.

08

Filter modes and output

Thirty-two membrane lanes with low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass actuator points

The right-hand canvas represents 32 frequency bands. Three movable points and their orbits shape the response in every mode. All oscillator voices feed this shared filter section.

Membrane / Filter Bank / Pressure select the processing model. Older presets default to Membrane.

LP / BP / HP points drag horizontally to change frequency and vertically to change that point's contribution. At the bottom, a point contributes no level. Other points can still open overlapping bands.

Orbit outlines and interiors can also be dragged. Overlaps select the point with the nearest center. The display and its grid scale proportionally with the oscillator canvas.

When velocity or keyboard tracking moves a filter point, its recent positions remain grabbable for two seconds. This invisible area lets you catch the point where it was before the next note moved it. Grabbing there starts from its current position. Keyboard-tracking trails also work in 4 Voice mode.

LP Kbd / BP Kbd / HP Kbd set independent keyboard tracking for each point in all three filter modes. Mono follows the active note; 4 Voice follows a smoothed average of held notes and retains the last average during release tails.

Mono and 4 Voice store separate keytracking amounts. Older presets keep their original mono amounts and load with all three four-voice amounts at zero.

Stereo Width / Stereo Tilt set the spread of alternating bands across the stereo field and how that spread is weighted toward low or high frequencies.

Output sets the final level. In 4 voice mode it is followed by a safety limiter. Lower values drive the limiter less.

09

Membrane

Membrane filter response with the Membrane model selected

Membrane is the original filter model. The three points excite a coupled, moving membrane response across the 32 lanes.

Width sets how broadly the points affect neighboring membrane lanes.

Tension sets the coupling between neighboring membranes.

Damping controls how quickly membrane motion settles.

Emphasis increases resonant focus.

10

Filter Bank

Thirty-two-band filter response with the Filter Bank model selected

Filter Bank uses 32 parallel frequency bands. The three points shape the low, middle, and high regions, with a local dip or peak around each point. Raising a point increases its contribution; lowering it to the bottom closes that point's contribution.

The band centers are spaced in exact minor thirds: three semitones between neighboring bands, with four steps making an octave. At normal sample rates, they run from 50 Hz to about 10.76 kHz. Membrane and Pressure keep their original spacing. Moving a point or its orbit still affects the same membrane positions.

Width sets the spread around all three points. Narrow settings focus on fewer bands; wider settings affect a broader region.

Feedback returns part of each band's filtered signal to that band, increasing resonance. The control reaches 97%.

Dip / Peak reduces the response around each point below center and boosts it above center. Overlapping regions can form dips between the surrounding bands. The amount follows each point's vertical level.

Drive saturates each band separately before the bands are summed. Zero bypasses the saturation; the upper range pushes quieter bands harder.

Width is shared across modes. Switching from Membrane to Filter Bank changes Tension to Feedback and Emphasis to Dip / Peak. Damping becomes Drive with reversed travel. The filter points, keyboard tracking, and orbits remain active.

11

Pressure

Signal-responsive filter bands with the Pressure model selected

Pressure opens and closes each of the 32 bands according to the signal level inside it. The three points set the regions available to open, while their orbits move those regions across the spectrum.

Width sets the spread of the regions around all three points.

Sensitivity sets how easily a band opens. Higher values lower the threshold so quieter energy can pass.

Recovery sets how quickly a band closes as its energy falls, from 20 to 2000 ms. Short settings follow level changes closely; longer settings hold the opening for longer.

Drive saturates each open band before summing. Zero bypasses the saturation.

Pressure responds to the audio signal, not MPE pressure or aftertouch. Its Sensitivity, Recovery, and Drive settings are separate from the other filter modes.

12

Orbital modulators

Oscillator and filter orbital modulation controls

Every oscillator point and filter actuator has its own two-dimensional orbit. The path is visible directly around the point it moves.

Radius sets the amount of two-dimensional movement.

Rate sets free-running speed and direction.

Ellipse changes the path from circular to progressively flatter movement.

Rotation rotates the ellipse and therefore the balance between horizontal and vertical movement.

Easing changes the speed within each 180-degree half-turn. Positive values slow the start and end and speed up the middle; negative values speed up the ends and slow the middle. Center gives the original even phase movement.

Easing repeats twice per full revolution and keeps the same cycle time. It is applied before Ellipse and Rotation, so the timing remains attached to the original circle even on a fully flattened path.

Twist morphs the orbit toward a figure-eight. Left creates a horizontal figure-eight; right creates a vertical one. Center keeps the original circular path. Ellipse can flatten the twisted path and Rotation changes its orientation.

Twist is applied after Easing and before Ellipse and Rotation. It keeps the same full-cycle or ENV duration, and the visible orbit follows the new path. Older presets load with Twist centered.

CLK replaces free rate with a host-synchronized division. The rate display uses dot for dotted divisions and tri for triplets.

KBD RST restarts the orbit when a new note is played.

ENV with KBD RST active, changes the orbit into an envelope-like half revolution. Easing shapes the pace at both ends of that travel without changing its total duration.

Random randomizes the controls for that individual orbital modulator.

13

Presets, naming, and shortcuts

Preset navigation, name, and save controls

The preset name display opens the browser. Preset names come from filenames. The browser provides banks, favorites, automatic tags, filtering, and sorting. Its filtering and sorting belong to the individual plug-in instance.

Name generates a preset name.

Save writes the complete synth state to the current preset filename.

Factory / User / Starting Points / Favorites filter the preset browser.

Type / Character / Motion / Performance filter by patch attributes, including voice mode, expression, Legato, velocity behavior, and orbital motion.

META opens bank assignment and tag overrides for a preset. Reset To Automatic restores the inferred tags; Apply saves the metadata changes.

Name A-Z opens the sort menu. Choose name order, recently or oldest saved, or Type Then Name. The button shows the current order, and preset arrows follow the filtered and sorted list.

Versioned Save writes the next free numerical suffix when the current preset has changed.

Folder opens the preset directory for external renaming or deletion.

Refresh updates the preset list and automatic analysis after changes made outside the plug-in.

Export Listed Presets exports the filtered list as a ZIP archive.

MOP moves old presets into the current preset folder. It appears when old presets are found and is unavailable when the fallback write path is in use.

Shift-click preset arrow
Move ten presets.
Cmd/Ctrl-click preset arrow
Move to the first or last preset.
Cmd/Ctrl-click Name
Use the host track name when supplied. If that preset name already exists, use the next free suffix such as 001 or 002. Unsupported hosts leave the name unchanged. Click Save to write the patch.
Cmd/Ctrl+Z
Undo the previous edit gesture.
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z
Redo the previous edit gesture.
Double-click control
Reset it to the initial-patch value.
Cmd/Ctrl-click or Option/Alt-click control
Reset it to the initial-patch value.
Option/Alt-wheel
Fine adjustment.
Shift-wheel
Coarse adjustment.
14

Randomize and INIT

Filter orbital controls and the full-patch randomize and INIT buttons

The randomize symbol above INIT changes the whole patch. The smaller randomize symbols beside the oscillator slots and within the orbital controls have a more limited scope.

The symbol above INIT randomizes all eight oscillator slots, the wave-sequencer settings, and the other sound controls. Half-Oct Offset in each slot, Stereo Width, Stereo Tilt, and Output keep their current values.

The randomize symbol beside Sine changes the selected slot's waveform geometry, Bézier/Node blend, and Detune. Sine restores its initial geometry and Bézier blend with Detune at zero. Each orbital randomize symbol changes that modulator's controls, including Easing and Twist.

INIT returns the synth to its initial patch.

Whole-patch randomization is one undo action. Cmd/Ctrl+Z restores the patch from before the click; Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Z reapplies the same randomized patch.

15

MIDI Program Change map

Preset browser with the Program Change map and Versioned Save controls

A Program Change map assigns presets to incoming MIDI program numbers. The browser can generate it from the visible presets in their current order.

PC Map Current List maps up to 128 presets from the current filtering and sorting. The number on the button shows how many entries will be mapped.

The generated map replaces ProgramChangeMap.txt in the preset folder. It is shared by instances using that folder, while each instance's browser filtering and sorting remain independent.

The first listed preset maps to MIDI Program Change 0, often displayed as program 1 by controllers. Following entries use successive program numbers. INIT is not included.

A mapped Program Change loads the complete patch and updates the preset name display, including when the editor is reopened.

Questions no-one asked:

What is Curves & Membranes?

It is a synth where you draw the oscillator waveform and move points on the filter to change its response. You can save eight oscillator states and step or morph between them, while orbital modulators move individual points. It starts as a mono instrument, with optional four-voice paraphony and MPE. Version 1.5.0 adds Filter Bank and Pressure alongside the original membrane filter, plus orbital easing and twist, and four-voice glide and keytracking.

How is it different from a typical mono synth?

Instead of starting from fixed waves and standard LFO-only movement, it combines Bézier and node-based shape editing, sequenced wave morphing, and orbital modulation per control point. Three movable filter points work across 32 spectral lanes, with a choice of membrane motion, resonant filter-bank shaping, or signal-driven Pressure.

What changes between the three filter modes?

Membrane keeps the original tension, damping, and emphasis response. Filter Bank shapes 32 parallel bands spaced in minor thirds, with Width, Feedback, Dip / Peak, and per-band Drive. Pressure lets the incoming level open each band independently, with Sensitivity and Recovery controlling its response. All three use the same filter canvas, movable points, orbits, and keyboard tracking. Older presets continue to use Membrane mode.

Why keep the modulation tied to the geometry?

I think creativity sparks within constraints. With Curves & Membranes, I wanted to keep the relationship between what you see, move, and hear, even as the synth became more capable. The waveform slots and orbits give you a limited set of ways to make it move, and I like finding things to do within that. I want to build instruments that you play and interact with, and learn to use on their own merits.

Who is it for?

It was originally designed to be simple and intuitive to use. The goal was a synth that could produce interesting timbre movement, but that was simple enough that presets were not needed. Kind of like the Minimoog in that sense.

Is there microtonal support?

Yes. Angine de Poitrine and Aphex Twin aficionados rejoice: Curves & Membranes supports MTS-ESP for all those times when 12 chromatic keys are not enough. This was added in version 1.1.0.

Why not make it polyphonic?

The visual tie has always been a core part of the design. The goal was to keep the interface simple and direct, so that you can see what is happening in the waveform and filter at all times. Polyphony would have made that more complex, and it would have also made the filter model more complicated. Instead, I added 4 voice paraphony in version 1.4.0, which is a decent compromise, though still losing some of the visual simplicity.

What can the Wave Preset Bank and Orbitals do musically?

The Wave Preset Bank can morph or sequence through saved oscillator states for note-by-note timbral variation, making sounds drift out of tune, or become rich and complex, while Orbitals add smooth geometric movement or envelope-like one-shot motion using ENV mode.

How does the sound behave?

Using the original Bézier mode and membrane filter, it has a rather smooth response. As you move into node mode, the sharper waveform edges bring out more high harmonics. I like letting it morph between these states to make sounds with both rhythmic and melodic movement. The Filter Bank can bring out narrow groups of harmonics, and its feedback and drive can get considerably rougher. Pressure changes its response with the level in each band.

Compatibility

macOS 12+, Windows 10/11
macOS: AU/VST3, Windows: VST3

These plugins use detailed real-time processing and are happiest on reasonably recent CPUs, especially when several instances are running at once.

The science-native interface simulations are beautiful to watch and interact with, but in larger sessions, closing plugin windows you are not actively editing can free up resources for other hungry plugins. Audio processing continues normally.

Sound demo and Patch Ideas

A no-talking walkthrough of different sounds and patch ideas, focused mainly on leads and basses, with a few effect-type sounds as well. The on-screen notes show what is happening in the patches and how different parts of the synth are being used.

A Patch-Making Session, where I start from the INIT setting and making a quite motion rich bass sound. The Frequency Guillotine filterbank is added late in the process for extra movement.

Preset system

A shared walkthrough of the Unusable preset system, with practical tips for saving, naming, organizing, and moving between ideas.

Bundle option

Also available in bundle form

If this plugin fits your workflow, there is a good chance one of the bundles will fit even better and reduce total spend.

Scientist Suite

The science-metaphor lineup: Curves & Membranes, Quadrant Modulator, Spectral Pressure Chamber, Cavitation Fractures, Grain Discharge, and Synaptic Resonance.

€99.00€185.00incl. 25% Danish VAT€79.20 excl. VAT

Includes 6 products.

Full Suite v2

All unusable tools in one package, built to surprise, inspire, and keep the creative process moving.

€179.00€496.00incl. 25% Danish VAT€143.20 excl. VAT

Includes 16 products.