Aura
An EQ that shows you what’s alive — not just what’s loud. A full channel strip wrapped around an aura that finally tells the truth.
VST3 · Standalone · Windows · No iLok
The warm, sustained core of your sound glows amber. Noise and transients stay dim and cool. The name is the feature.
Ordinary analyzers show energy — they can’t tell a ringing resonance from a rich vocal. Aura’s glow lights up the part that’s musically alive and leaves the noise dim, so you mix by watching it breathe.
Watch the aura breathe
Eight instruments. One signal path.
EQ
Parametric, surgical or musical
Draw bands on a curve that's measured from the real filter — never a display approximation. Bell, shelf, cut, with Q and gain you can trust to the decibel.
Opto
Smooth, program-dependent levelling
The slow, gentle hand of an optical compressor. Glues a source together without grabbing at transients.
FET
Fast, aggressive grab
1176-style attack for punch and attitude. Mid/Side aware, with a sidechain high-pass so low end doesn't pump the whole band.
Resonance
Soothe-style dynamic taming
Finds the frequencies that ring and tames them only while they ring — surgical de-harshing that leaves the rest of the tone intact.
De-Ess
Dynamic sibilance control
Finds sibilance and tames it only while it hisses — dynamic, not a static shelf, so the rest of the vocal stays untouched.
Aura
The amber glow
The signature: the warm, sustained core of your sound glows amber while noise and transients stay dim. Bloom swells the glow on held, in-tune notes — the picture can't lie.
Analog
Saturation across the strip
Warmth and analog colour modelled end-to-end — the heft of hardware without the hiss, the weight, or the faked bolts.
Bus Glue
VCA glue compression
A VCA-style glue compressor — the final dynamics stage that ties the whole strip together.
Seen in the wild
Before you commit
What is Aura?
Aura is a parametric EQ and channel strip plugin from Cryptid Audio, built around an aura that lights up the alive, musical core of your sound. It combines an EQ, two compressors, dynamic resonance taming, and analog saturation in one signal path.
What makes the aura different from a normal spectrum analyzer?
A standard analyzer just plots level versus frequency. Aura's aura glows where your sound is alive — the warm, sustained core lights up amber while noise and transients stay dim and cool — so you can see tone, not just loudness.
What's included in the channel strip?
Eight stages on one signal path: EQ, an Opto compressor, a FET compressor with Mid/Side and a sidechain high-pass filter, soothe-style dynamic resonance taming, a dynamic de-esser, the Aura with its Bloom, analog saturation, and a VCA-style bus-glue compressor — so you can shape a track end to end.
What formats and operating systems are supported?
Aura ships as a VST3 plugin and a Standalone application for Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. You can use it inside any VST3 host or on its own.
Is there a Mac or Audio Unit version?
Not yet. macOS and AU support are on the roadmap but are not available today — Aura is currently Windows-only.
What are the system requirements?
A 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 system, a reasonably modern multi-core CPU, and a 64-bit VST3 host (or just the Standalone). No special hardware or internet connection is required to run it.
Do I need iLok?
No. There is no iLok, no subscription, and no account wall — Aura uses a simple serial/keyfile license that you enter once and can install on all of your own computers.
Is the free trial full-featured?
Yes. The 14-day trial unlocks every feature with no limitations. When it expires, Aura inserts brief periodic silence until you license it, so your projects stay intact.
How do updates work — is this a subscription?
It's a one-time purchase, not a subscription. You get lifetime updates within the v1.x line at no extra cost.
What's the refund policy?
We offer a 30-day, no-questions refund through our checkout provider. Combined with the free trial, you can be sure Aura is right for you before committing.
Will Aura work in FL Studio?
Yes. Aura is tested heavily in FL Studio and works in any VST3-compatible host.
Specifications
- Formats
- VST3 · Standalone
- Platform
- Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
- Mac / AU
- On the roadmap
- Channels
- Mono · Stereo · Mid/Side
- Copy protection
- None — serial only, no iLok
- Tested in
- FL Studio, and any VST3 host
Introductory price
One-time. Lifetime updates within the major version. No subscription, no account, no iLok.
- VST3 + Standalone, Windows
- Every preset and future patch in v1
- Use on all your own machines
- 30-day no-questions refund
Secure checkout · instant download
Hear it on your own mix first.
The trial is the full plugin for 14 days — periodic silence after that until you license it. No account required to start.
Collect the cryptids
Aura is specimen 001 of the Field Guide.
Also out of the woods: Nessie (lo-fi you can put on a lead vocal) and Mothman (space echo + aura reverb). Every specimen credits toward the full Field Guide bundle.