Unusable Engineering Releases Currents & Nostalgia

Unusable Engineering has introduced its third synthesizer, Currents & Nostalgia, which they describe as a virtual analog instrument built around an original oscillator design, an inspiring core sound, and two slot systems for musical movement.

Rasmus Nyåker, creator of Currents & Nostalgia, told us, "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,"

Here's more details direct from the company...

Currents & Nostalgia began with an ambition: a synthesizer whose basic sound makes you want to keep playing. The kind of sound that suggests a melody, then another part, until an arrangement starts taking shape in your head.

Its familiar subtractive signal path centres on oscillators modelled on a saw-core circuit designed by its creator, Rasmus Nyåker, for an earlier hardware project. Five hardware prototypes revealed audible differences caused by component tolerances, and those variations helped shape the software instrument. The name's "Currents" refers to the electrical currents charging the capacitors in that circuit, the process at the heart of its sound. And once you hear its sound, the "Nostalgia" becomes obvious.

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.

Movement comes from two independent slot systems: one for the oscillators and waveform mixer, and another for the filters. Each holds up to eight full sets of parameter settings. Complete groups of parameters can change together, stepping or sweeping between slots without programming a separate sequence for every control. The slots can respond to how you play, follow clocked patterns, or move through unpredictable sequences. Their speed extends into audio rates. Parameter locks let you hold individual settings still while the others move, making it easier to keep certain parameters out of the motion for manual tweaking. A patch can shift character with each new note, evolve through sustained playing, or use rapid changes as part of the sound itself. The oscillator and filter slots can follow different patterns and run at different speeds.

Currents & Nostalgia includes 350 presets, covering a broad range of classic synthesizer sounds alongside a vast range of more experimental patches. They offer starting points for players looking for a sound that fits a song, and for explorers curious about where the instrument might lead.

 It is available for macOS 12 or later in AU and VST3 formats, and for Windows 10/11 in VST3 format.

Pricing and Availability:
Currents & Nostalgia is priced at €89 including Danish VAT. The final price varies according to applicable local taxes. 

Purchases include a 30-day, no-questions-asked refund policy. 

More information:

• Currents & Nostalgia