“There’s rumble under my flute.”
Low Cut clears the low rumble from under the flute.
More about Low Cut
Handling noise, mic pops, traffic and air conditioning all live down there.
Range 20–600 HzStarts at 80 Hz
Set it just below your lowest note.
The controls
Here’s a little info on how to use our controls. Tap a on the plugin to see what each one does, and to hear it.
Start with Soundcheck
Most of the time, it’s all you need. Press Soundcheck, play a phrase or two, and Afflato listens, then sets every control for your flute.
- PressSoundcheck, top left.
- PlayA phrase or two, live or from a recording.
- PickNatural, Clean or Breathy.
More about Soundcheck
It needs about eight seconds of notes and finishes on its own. Press it again to finish sooner, once it has heard three.
When it’s done, the screen says Set for your flute and shows what it heard: the key and a drone that suits it, the A your flute is tuned to, the range you played, and your tone. If it offers a second key, click it to move the drone there.
Undo brings back your settings from before; Done keeps the new ones. If it can’t hear a flute, check that the track is playing through Afflato and try again.
Want something different?
Find what’s bothering you. Each fix is one control, and you can hear it right here.
Clean takes away what shouldn’t be there.
“Wind and room noise creep in under my low notes.”
Follow moves the low cut with you, an octave under each note you play.
More about Follow
So noise never reaches the low end, however the melody moves.
On or offStarts off
“My high notes hurt.”
Tame softens piercing high notes, only at the moments they turn harsh.
More about Tame
Everything else keeps its brightness.
Range 0–100%Starts at 30%
The short line in the pad shows how much it’s taking. Raise it if high passages make you wince.
Shape works on the tone itself.
“There’s too much air in my sound.”
Breath turns the air in your sound up or down, apart from the note.
More about Breath
Less for a rounder, cleaner tone; more for something close and breathy. The note stays as bright as it was.
Range −24 to +12 dBStarts at −3 dB
A little breath sounds alive. Take it down until the air stops drawing your attention, and stop there.
“My flute sounds thin.”
Body adds weight to whatever note you’re playing.
More about Body
Warmth that moves with you, not a boost at one fixed spot.
Range −12 to +12 dBStarts at +2 dB
“It sounds a little dull.”
Air adds an open, high shimmer above the breath, like a light polish.
More about Air
Range −12 to +12 dBStarts at +2 dB
Space puts your flute in a room.
“It sounds dry, like I’m playing in a closet.”
Space sets how much of the room you hear around the flute.
More about Space
Up to halfway, your flute stays at full level and the room is added; past halfway, the room takes over.
Range 0–100%Starts at 20%
“I want a bigger room. Or a smaller one.”
Size goes from a small room to an enormous hall.
More about Size
Bigger rooms ring longer and darker, with a little more movement.
Range 0–100%Starts at 50%
“The room blurs my fast notes.”
Duck pulls the room back while you play and lets it bloom in the gaps.
More about Duck
So a big space never smears your notes.
Range 0–100%Starts at 30%
For fast playing in a big room, raise Duck before you lower Space.
Drone adds a bed of sound underneath.
“I want something underneath me.”
Drone adds a long, slowly shifting wash made only from your notes.
More about Drone
Not your breath: think of the hum of a tanpura or a shruti box.
Range 0–100%Starts at 0%
“The drone isn’t in my key.”
Key tunes the drone to your music.
More about Key
A home note with its fifth, its fourth or octaves, at the A your flute is tuned to. Soundcheck sets both; Free lets the drone follow your notes instead.
Click the key to choose another, or drag across it. Tuning moves ±50 cents around A = 440 Hz (432 Hz is about −32); double-click it for 440.
Free, or C to BWith its fifth, fourth or octaves
“I want to play over a note I’m holding.”
Freeze holds the drone exactly as it is, so you can play over it.
More about Freeze
Let go and it follows you again. In the clip, Freeze goes on six seconds in: listen to the end, where it keeps ringing.
On or offStarts off
Output adds the final touches.
“It feels narrow.”
Width sets how wide the flute sounds across your speakers or headphones.
More about Width
From one point in the middle to wider than the room. It still holds up on a phone speaker.
Range 0–200%Starts at 100%, as recorded
“It’s too loud, or it distorts.”
Level sets the final volume coming out.
More about Level
The In and Out meters turn red at 0 dB, the point where the sound would clip. Turn Level down until they stay out of the red.
Range −24 to +12 dBStarts at 0 dB
Hands on
- Dragup or down on any pad or slider.
- Shiftwhile you drag, scroll or use the arrows, for fine moves.
- Double-clickto go back to where it started.
- Automateany control in your music app; the window follows.
The screen
Shows the note you’re playing, live.
More about the screen
Its name, how far off it is in cents, and its pitch in hertz. Below, each harmonic is a line as tall as it is loud, and the breath is the fine grain between them.
Dark or cream
The sun and moon at the top right switch the plugin between its two finishes.
More about the finishes
The screen stays dark in both, so the note is always easy to read.
Concert Flute · StudioBansuri · Temple HallQuena · Mountain AirNative Flute · CanyonDrone BedDry & Clean
Presets
Starting points for different flutes and moods.
More about presets
Step through them with the arrows, or click the name for the list. Save your own with the disk, and star the ones you love.
They leave your tuning and the drone’s key alone.