manual

curve editor

frequency mapping

The input (bottom / x) and output (left / y) axes range from 20 Hz to 20 kHz; the full range of human hearing that aquirosa operates on. A point at 440 Hz on x and 660 Hz on y sends incoming A4 to E5. The faint diagonal is the identity line which preserves the original sound by mapping input to the same output.

The live input and output spectrum are drawn in the background.

bézier curve

aquirosa draws a bézier curve through the points. It always has one output frequency for one input frequency, although it might be cool to change that... The 20 Hz and 20 kHz endpoints can be moved, which can be interesting for filtering (changing their x position) or more radical effects (like inverting the whole spectrum).

You can hold ⌘/Ctrl while dragging a point vertically to change the Q/bend around it. Drag up for a tighter bend; down for a broader one.

points

temporary points

Hold ⌥/Alt and click/drag in empty graph space to create a temporary point that is audible immediately. Release ⌥/Alt before mouse-up to keep it; release the mouse while still holding it to discard the point. A discarded temporary point does not enter undo history.

point size

Drag a point’s outer rim to change its size. At 1.0 the point only maps frequency. Above 1.0 it adds local spectral decay around the point’s output frequency. Below 1.0 it cuts that output band. The visible rim is the core of the affected band: pulling farther from neutral deepens and widens the effect.

Double-click the rim to reset size to 1.0.

modulation

Create a modulation popup by right-clicking a curve point or a modulatable knob, or selecting a point/knob and pressing M.

A popup stays open as long as its amount is nonzero.

sources

sequence and follower

Sequence adds Steps, a row of editable values, Env, and a die. Drag a step to set it. Drag across multiple steps to set multiple at once. Env sets step value shape, from a pluck that decays at negative values to a upward rise at positive values. Click the die to replace values; ⌥/Alt-click it to randomize the step count as well.

Envelope Follower replaces Rate and Life with Scale, Atk, and Dec. Scale trims the input driving the follower, Atk sets how quickly it rises, and Dec how slowly it falls.

control bar

logo

Click the aquirosa logo to open the main menu.

tuning, key, scale, and attract

Choose a tuning first. None disables Key, Scale, and Attract. Key and Scale choices adapt to the selected tuning family and are remembered by family. A disabled Key select means the selected scale does not use a root (like to a harpsichord).

The search field at the top of the browser matches tuning names, traditions, instruments, and scale names. The search returns not only tuning systems but specific scales as well.

Star a tuning to float it to the top. The browser can create a custom tuning, import .scl or .ascl files, and open the tuning editor to edit existing tunings.

A .kbm file with the same name next to an imported .scl is taken into account for the scale import. Specifically, the degrees mapping, the formal octave (which turns into period), and its reference note are used. A key range is not applied, since aquirosa retunes the whole spectrum rather than a keyboard.

The tuning editor lets you add, drag, and delete degree markers; set cents or ratios; set period and reference pitch; choose fixed-pitch or root-relative key behavior; then save a new Scala file. Double-click a marker to remove it.

The Attract knob attracts post-curve-warp frequencies towards the selected tuning. 0–100% tunes tonal content and 100–200% progressively includes residual texture, with 200% tuning the whole incoming spectrum. In the audio settings you can toggle this behavior to Colored mode, where the attraction does not differentiate between tonal and residual content and determines attraction 0-100%.

built-in tunings

life, purity, energy, and time

engine

Live and Balanced modes do not support larger FFT sizes or Eco resolution (but retain your HQ choice for when you return).

mix

The dry path is delayed to meet the processed path, and the crossfade is energy-balanced so the volume stays constant across its full range.

main menu

welcome

The welcome page is the short, built-in control reference.

presets

Factory presets are read-only. + New saves the current curve as a user preset; the floppy disk overwrites the current user preset if it has changed. Import accepts individual .aquirosapreset files or folders. Star rows to favorite them; right-click user rows to rename or delete them.

Clicking the die creates a random curve. Hold Shift to randomize point modulation, ⌥/Alt to randomize tuning, or both for both changes.

The two locks lock tuning settings and dry/wet mix while switching presets.

experimental: particles

Particles are extra points born from the curve. They fade in and out, move within the graph, and die after a given lifespan. Amount is their displacement depth. At zero amount, no particles are spawned.

experimental: resynth

Resynth uses concatenative synthesis to resynthesize aquirosa's sound post-warp pre-wave knobs.

Every Resynth knob is modulatable.

settings: audio

settings: interface

Night mode, Tooltips, Point values, and Default scale are global preferences. Point values toggles outgoing frequency labels for curve points. Default scale affects new windows; dragging the current window corner only resizes that window.

point values

night mode

spectrum gradients

Select a gradient for the audio spectrum and curve editor. Favorite it, import a Photoshop .grd, or create new ones. Built-in gradients cannot be overwritten; user gradients can be edited and deleted.

gradient editor

Click the gradient to add a stop and drag it to move it. Drag it off the rail, double-click it, or press the trash button to remove it. The selected stop accepts a color swatch, RRGGBB or RRGGBBAA, and a frequency position in the gradient.

system: storage

Open the base directory from this page. It is ~/Library/Application Support/aquirosa on macOS, %APPDATA%\aquirosa on Windows, and ~/.config/aquirosa on Linux. It contains directories for Presets, GradientPresets, Scala, Corpus, and atable_preferences.xml.

Reset each category independently or reset all user data to factory defaults. Reset files are moved to the system trash where the OS allows it.

system: undo history

Every action is recorded in the undo history, summarized in natural language. Click an entry to navigate between states.