Aqeel Aadam has released Sightlines for desktop and iOS users, available with intro pricing:
- Desktop version – $20.00 increasing to $30.00
- iOS version – $7.99 (no intro offer)
In sound design and music production, the space between pure noise and refined melody is where some of the most compelling textures live. Aqeel Aadam’s Sightlines, bridges that gap by offering a unique take on tonal shaping: a playable harmonic filter that transforms any audio signal into a rich, customizable musical source.
At its core, Sightlines is built around a bank of tuned resonant bandpass filters designed to highlight specific, customizable musical frequencies within an audio source. Instead of behaving like a conventional static filter, it functions like an instrument in its own right.
You can feed it anything—unpitched percussion, ambient field recordings, or static noise—and carve out distinct harmonic profiles. Tune it to a fixed frequency to act as a resonant chamber, or send it MIDI signals to turn passive audio into an expressive, playing synth layer.
Sightlines operates on a few core acoustic and electronic principles:
- Harmonic Series Manipulation: The filter banks are structured around natural overtones. By independently customizing, randomizing, or modulating the gain of each band, you can adjust the harmonic balance of a sound. Beyond traditional overtones, Sightlines allows you to stretch and morph the harmonic series itself, giving access to microtonal and inharmonic timbres rarely found in nature.
- Dual Functionality (Instrument & Effect): Sightlines runs as both an Audio Effect and an Audio Unit / VST Instrument. As an effect, it adds motion, spatial depth, and tonal resonances to dry tracks. As an instrument, it can process incoming samples/noise or synthesize sounds directly.
- Complex Modulation: A modulation matrix featuring LFOs, step sequencers, smooth random generators, and performance macros allows nearly every parameter to move dynamically over time.
For producers looking to make atmospheric noise adhere to a track’s key or convert everyday acoustic elements into playable instruments, Sightlines offers an intuitive workflow for modal synthesis and creative filtering.
Features include:
- Resonant Filter Bank: Built with tuned bandpass filters designed to isolate and boost specific musical frequencies.
- Harmonic Series Shaping: Allows independent gain control, randomization, and stretching/morphing of natural overtones.
- Flexible Operating Modes: Works as both an audio effect processor and a standalone/playable synth instrument.
- MIDI Control: Responds to MIDI pitch input, turning incoming audio or noise into playable notes and chords.
- Built-in Modulation Matrix: Features multiple LFOs, step sequencers, performance effects, and smooth random sources for dynamic parameter movement.
- Cross-App Connectivity: Connects with sibling software like Waymaker for direct pitch sequencing without complex DAW MIDI routing.
Sighlines is available to PC, Mac and iOS users (VST3, AU and AUv3).
For more information on Sighlines, click here:
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