Ultra Audio Ultra 1.1.6 on Mac

Ultra Audio Ultra is for the producer who wants a synth that behaves like an instrument, not a utility. It sits on a track or a bus, and it earns its place when you need evolving pads, sharp leads or bass that moves with your playing.

On a track, Ultra behaves like a classic synth: pick a preset, tweak the filter, play. The real fun starts when you assign different wavetables to note pitch or aftertouch. That means a soft touch can bring in a brighter waveform, and a hard press can push it further. On a bus, it works as a sound design tool — extract loops from a waveform, load different waves into the left and right channels, and the UltraWave engine blends them smoothly. It supports any DAW that takes VST3 or AU, so it slots into Logic, Ableton or whatever you run. There's also an online preset library if you want a quick start.

Importing a field recording into the wavetable

I usually start a session with Ultra by importing a WAV file I recorded earlier. A field recording of traffic, a snippet of a friend's guitar loop — anything with character. I load it into the custom wavetable section, and Ultra extracts a loop from the waveform. That loop becomes the core of my patch. Then I assign a different wavetable to the right channel: a clean sine wave from the factory set. The left channel keeps the gritty recording. The UltraWave engine crossfades between them as I play, so the sound shifts from clean to textured depending on velocity.

Next comes the multisampling. I set note ranges so low keys use a dark, subby wavetable and high keys use a brighter, harmonic one. Aftertouch tweaks the blend further. Hold a chord and press harder — the waveform opens up. It is not a gimmick; it is how you get a pad that breathes without automating a filter.

For a lead, I import pitch and volume data from a vocal sample. Ultra uses that data to shape the synth sound, so the patch follows the contour of the original audio. It turns a simple saw wavetable into something that feels played, not programmed.

Versus other Mac audio apps

vs. Xfer Serum (via Wine or Bootcamp)

Serum is the standard for wavetable synthesis, but getting it on macOS means running a Windows layer. Ultra is native — VST3 and AU, both architectures, no translation. Serum also does not support aftertouch-to-wavetable mapping as directly as Ultra does. For live playing, Ultra feels more connected to the keyboard.

vs. Native Instruments Massive

Massive is a solid wavetable synth with a famous filter section. But its wavetable import is limited compared to Ultra. In Ultra, you load a stereo WAV and can assign different waveforms to left and right channels, then blend them. Massive does not do stereo wavetables. For sound designers who work with field recordings or stereo sources, Ultra gives more control.

vs. u-he Hive

Hive is clean and modern, with a great interface. It also supports wavetable import. But Hive lacks the UltraWave engine for smooth, real-time morphing between tables. Ultra's engine is built for that fluid transition, and the aftertouch routing is not something Hive offers. If your playing style uses pressure sensitivity, Ultra responds where Hive stays static.

None of these replace each other — they all have strengths. But for a synth that treats wavetables as playable, responsive material, Ultra has its own corner.

• macOS OS X 10.11 or later
• Intel or Apple Silicon Mac
• VST3 or AU compatible DAW

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