A familiar architecture taken in a different direction
Currents & Nostalgia takes the subtractive synthesizers of the late 1970s and early 1980s as its starting point. It keeps the recognisable signal path and deliberate boundaries of those instruments, then develops them through an original oscillator model and two slot systems that can move complete groups of settings together.
It is intended to feel familiar without recreating a particular vintage synthesizer. Its sound has a nostalgic character, but more for an instrument that might have existed than one that actually did.
The instrument is built around a circuit model of a saw-core oscillator designed by Rasmus Nyåker for an earlier hardware project. Component tolerances in the circuit produce slight differences between oscillators. The software model makes those variations natural and controllable.
“Currents” refers to the electrical currents charging the capacitors in that circuit, the process at the centre of its sound.
“I wanted to build something that feels like a classic synth from a parallel timeline. Something with a basic sound that makes me want to play, and enough room to keep discovering things. Ideally, you sit down to try it for five minutes and lose yourself playing.” Rasmus Nyåker, creator of Currents & Nostalgia
Whole sections of the synth can move together
The instrument combines two circuit-modelled oscillators, a saturating waveform mixer, low-pass and high-pass filters, and a small set of hardwired modulation sources. Its main system for creating movement is not a conventional modulation matrix, but two independent banks of parameter slots.
One bank stores the oscillator and waveform-mixer settings. The other stores the filter settings. Each bank has up to eight slots, and every slot is a complete state for that section of the instrument. Several parameters can therefore step or sweep together as one change, without giving every control its own sequence.
The slots can step or slew between settings, respond to incoming notes, follow the host clock or use one of several less predictable stepping modes. Their rates extend into the audio range. Individual parameters can be locked when they should not take part in the movement, and the oscillator and filter systems can run at different speeds and follow different patterns.
350 factory presets
Currents & Nostalgia includes 350 factory presets. They range from basses, leads, pads and other recognisable synthesizer sounds to patches that make heavier use of the two slot systems and the differences between voices.
Availability
Currents & Nostalgia is available for €89 including Danish VAT. The final price varies according to applicable local taxes. It requires macOS 12 or later in AU or VST3 format, or Windows 10/11 in VST3 format. There is no demo version available, but purchases include a 30-day, no-questions-asked refund policy.
Review licenses are available from [email protected].
Product page and user guide: https://www.unusable.net/synthesizers/currents-and-nostalgia/
Product videos and sound examples: https://www.youtube.com/@UnusableEngineering
Older releases
Previous product launches and notable updates from the Unusable Engineering lineup.
Curves & Membranes v1.5.0
Version 1.5.0 expands the synth with two new filter modes. Filter Bank uses 32 bands spaced in minor thirds, with per-band feedback and drive, while Pressure opens each band in response to the incoming signal with controls for sensitivity, recovery and drive. The original Membrane mode remains available.
The orbital modulators now include Easing and Twist. Easing changes the speed through different parts of an orbit while keeping its overall cycle time; Twist turns the circular path into a horizontal or vertical figure-eight. Both work with ellipse, rotation and the envelope-style half-turns.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/synthesizers/curves-and-membranes/
Partials & Discrepancies v1.5.0
The visual additive polysynth receives its largest update since launch, adding new sound-generation and performance tools without changing the central slot-based workflow.
The update adds oscillator detune and smear, ring modulation, a new self-oscillating filter, polyphonic glide, a redesigned interface and 42 new factory presets.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/synthesizers/partials-and-discrepancies/
The broader lineup
The catalog spans three synthesizers, fourteen effects and three bundles. The products share direct single-surface interfaces, visual feedback and slot-based movement, while their underlying engines range from circuit and physical modelling to geometry, fluid dynamics, neural simulation and spectral processing.
Guides, compatibility and press assets
Every plugin page includes a user guide and the current changelog. The full lineup is available as VST3 for Windows 10/11 and as VST3 and AU for macOS 12 or later. Current versions have also been tested and work on macOS 10.15.
Downloadable press images, interface screenshots, studio photos and brand assets are available below.
What Makes The Line Distinct
- Unusual internal engines: many plugins are built around simulation-based or non-standard systems where behavior is the key feature.
- Direct interfaces: no extra pages or hidden layers. What you see is what you get.
- Limited by choice: these are focused tools, not stretched to cover every possible use case.
- Built for exploration: immediate controls and visual feedback leave room for happy accidents.
Pricing
- All individually sold effect plugins — 29 EUR each (23.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- Binaural Modulator — free
- Cavitation Fractures — free
- Geometry Reverb — free for paying customers via the account page
- 69 EUR for Curves & Membranes (55.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- 79 EUR for Partials & Discrepancies (63.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- 89 EUR for Currents & Nostalgia (71.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- 79 EUR for Emulated Effects Pack (63.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- 99 EUR for Scientist Suite (79.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- 179 EUR for Full Suite v2 (143.20 EUR excluding VAT)
VAT-inclusive prices use the 25% Danish rate as a reference. Stripe calculates final VAT from the billing address, so EU and UK totals may differ.
Bundles and pricing
Bundles
- Emulated Effects Pack — 79 EUR (63.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- Scientist Suite — 99 EUR (79.20 EUR excluding VAT)
- Full Suite v2 — 179 EUR (143.20 EUR excluding VAT)
Unusable Engineering keeps pricing fair and stable.
Company background
I started building these plugins to make music software feel rewarding.
A lot of software is impressive in ways I can respect, but not always enjoyable to use. Once things turn into multiple pages, hidden functions, and huge option sets, I often end up stepping through presets instead of learning and interacting with the tool. It becomes less about playing and more about producing. I've always enjoyed the most to play instruments and effects, to kind of write the music together with the machines.
What I missed was the feeling I got from simple hardware in the studio: a clear purpose, a clear surface, visual feedback, and a sense that it reacts to both intensity and sound changes in ways that turns the playing into a dialogue with the device.
That is where Unusable Engineering comes from. These are simple and straight forward tools with unusual internal behavior, direct controls, and limitations chosen on purpose. The point is not to cover every possible task. It is to make tools that are quick to grasp, inspiring to use, somewhat surprising and capable of leading somewhere interesting.
Unusable Engineering build plugins by exploring ideas, combining stuff that are not usually combined and by trying to utilize the best parts of the software paradigm to make inspiring tools. I believe that copying hardware into a software interface gives you the worst of two worlds - it will never have the tactile feel of the original, and the device will be limited by physical restrictions in a setting where those are not needed. I still love to emulate a good circuit, but when I bring it to the software realm, my goal is to push it to do stuff that are not possible in the hardware.
The core however is joy. I build stuff that brings me joy - that makes it fun to make music with the computer. Giving you creative sparring and happy accidents.
Press facts
- Company: Unusable Engineering ApS
- Founder: Rasmus Nyåker
- Press contact: [email protected]
- Support: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.unusable.net/
- Platforms: Windows 10/11 and macOS 12+
- Formats: VST3 on Windows and macOS; AU on macOS
- Products: 3 synthesizers, 14 effects and 3 bundles
- Review licenses: Available on request
- Location: Denmark
Current lineup
Synthesizers
- Currents & Nostalgia: Six-voice virtual analog synth built around circuit-modelled oscillators and two independent eight-slot systems.
Product page and user guide: https://www.unusable.net/synthesizers/currents-and-nostalgia/
Videos and sound examples: https://www.youtube.com/@UnusableEngineering - Partials & Discrepancies: Additive polysynth with slot-based motion and voice-level discrepancy.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/synthesizers/partials-and-discrepancies/
Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/qRixRjx-pQU
Sound example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7tKCp3qiuo - Curves & Membranes: Single-oscillator mono synth using Bézier waveshapes and membrane filters.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/synthesizers/curves-and-membranes/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgsCDjBzLlk
Effects
- Residual Breakdown: Transistor-inspired fuzz with self-oscillation, pitch quantization, side-chain-controlled mix and an eight-slot sequencer.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/residual-breakdown/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23eKQMisDtQ - Quadrant Modulator: Four-quadrant multiplier with a drawable oscillator, pitch following, one-shot shaping and an eight-slot sequencer.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/quadrant-modulator/
Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/uNMlndy2M9E
Sound examples: https://youtu.be/ucppkRqpAHA - Binaural Modulator: Spatial modulation effect for auto-pan, movement, and stranger stereo behavior.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/binaural-modulator/
Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/gcSHuv84tYw - Geometry Delay: Spatial multi-tap delay with room-shaped timing and Doppler-style motion.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/geometry-delay/
Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/XttQBS7u-qI - Geometry Reverb: Hall reverb with room-based abstraction and 3D orbital modulation.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/geometry-reverb/
Walkthrough: https://youtu.be/FFA8FlT4bmI - Synaptic Resonance: Audio-driven neural simulation filterbank and vocoder.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/synaptic-resonance/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3iVAKzbGLI
Sound example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix7s8ming7o - Grain Discharge: Granular processor driven by fluid-like cavitation behavior.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/grain-discharge/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJDcE7kFzg0 - Spectral Pressure Chamber: Thermodynamic simulation driving multiband compression and saturation.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/spectral-pressure-chamber/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX9XrffwO_o - Cavitation Fractures: Distortion effect driven by fluid dynamic simulation.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/cavitation-fractures/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaddU29F_Mk - Entropy Encoder: Realtime emulation of a bad MP3 codec with a synced random option.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/entropy-encoder/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB66cV84d14 - Ensemble Diffuser: Circuit emulation of a 3-voice vibrato, chorus, and 8-stage phaser based on two rare classics.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/ensemble-diffuser/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHI53wAHoeg - Frequency Guillotine: Modular-style filterbank reimagined for movement and performance inside the DAW.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/frequency-guillotine/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48GIa24OH8o - Harmonic Dissector: Dual parallel resonant filter with four slewed slots, clocked stepping, and per-section motion.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/harmonic-dissector/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l3tE2yEfqE - Tension Reactor: Physically modelled spring reverb with circuit emulation based on a strange 70s classic.
Product page: https://www.unusable.net/effects/tension-reactor/
Walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mheUr3PRNw
Press assets note
This press page includes downloadable and reusable assets for editorial coverage, including logo files, transparent logo variants, product screenshots, lineup images, and demo and video links.
For review access, additional materials, or product-specific questions, contact:
Rasmus Nyåker
[email protected]
