Introducing Ataraxic Iteritas Alia and Cursus Iteritas Alia
Last week, we chatted about Incus Iteritas Alia, the all-new percussion and instrument voice for the Alia platform. That wasn’t the only addition to the Alia platform, though: we also released Cursus Iteritas Alia and Ataraxic Iteritas Alia, marking the return of some old favorites to the new oscillator platform. Today, we’ll go over what they do, their new features, and listen to some example patches.
Cursus Iteritas Alia: the softer side of Alia
Cursus Iteritas was originally launched in 2017 as a gentler alternative to the existing Iteritas oscillators. Now available on the Alia platform, we’ve carefully recreated its original tones with some added features. Cursus is a dynamically generated wavetable oscillator that has spectral controls over its three algorithms. It also includes an oversampling filter and a wavefolder so you can still take things into a harsh territory if your patch needs it.
Like Ataraxic, Cursus is a freerunning oscillator, similar to traditional analog oscillator modules you may know. This means that to create a full voice with it, you can use a VCA and an envelope generator to control its dynamics. However, its parameters make it easy to do all your timbral shaping in the module itself, no filters needed – run some LFOs and envelopes into its CV jacks to change the harmonic structure of your sound from a pure sine to complex and otherworldly.
Subs (not the sandwich, but we like those too)
We added a second audio output to both Ataraxic and Cursus that creates a saw for adding beef (or your preferred vegan meat alternative) to a patch. Since Cursus tends to stay on the mellow side of things, using an audio mixer to add a saw wave to its output is a great way to beef up a sound if you want to take things in a harsher direction. Just like a traditional suboscillator, the sub out follows the same tuning and pitch CV as the main oscillator, so it’s easy to keep it in tune with your melodies and basses. Take a listen to what it can do:
Ataraxic Iteritas Alia: digital mayhem for lovers of saws and squares
Ataraxic Iteritas was the final addition to the original Iteritas series before Alia came along, and we’re thrilled to bring it back to Alia. It’s a proudly digital oscillator that pays homage to our first-ever module, the Ataraxic Translatron. Originally based on the sounds of retro video games, Ataraxic Iteritas Alia takes things even further with a slew of waveshaping parameters, three algorithms, randomized pitch fluctuation, and a comb filter. It has a totally unique sound and is a thrill to experiment with. Along with being a killer choice for hardsync sounds and bass effects, it’s a wonderful tool for creating textures in the subsonic realm.
Hold it
A new addition to both Ataraxic and Cursus is the Hold button. While pressed, this freezes all incoming CV – your timbre won’t change while it’s pressed, so it’s a great performance tool and a fun way to mix up a jam.
Overlays, free firmware, or paneled modules: the choice is yours
Ataraxic Iteritas Alia and Cursus Iteritas Alia (as well as Incus Iteritas Alia) are available now as paneled modules from our webshop and your favorite retailers. As with all of our platforms, though, you can swap the firmware on any Alia completely free at the Customer Portal – that means if you already own an Alia you can try out all three new oscillators right away. If you’d like a way to reference the different parameters and panels easily, we sell packs of overlays that drop onto your Alia, too!
