Arturia Augmented PERSIA v2

Augmented PERSIA

Acoustic instruments reinvented

Augmented PERSIA fuses the distinctive character of traditional Persian and Middle Eastern instruments with modern synthesis, giving composers, producers and sound explorers an immediate way to shape expressive, cinematic, and boundary-pushing soundscapes.

Deep-rooted timbres, in modern form

Explore a rich musical tradition, reimagined through expressive sampling and modern synthesis

Whether you’re a composer, producer or sound designer, discover a palette of authentic, contemplative sounds both of this world, and beyond it.

Distinctive Persian & Middle Eastern palette

A curated collection of deeply-sampled traditional instruments — Oud, Tar, Saz, Ney, Alto Kamancheh, and Shah Kaman — each bringing its own time-honoured feel and resonance.

Instant inspiration for contemporary composition

Explore over 200 mix-ready presets built for modern composition — from evocative, earthy drones and plucked organic textures to luminous sequences and abstract atmospheres.

Expressive morphing control

Move effortlessly between acoustic realism and synthetic transformation with Morph, macros, and dynamic modulation controls that make every sound feel alive.

Instrument families

Drawn from long-standing musical traditions and captured in expressive detail

Discover the Oud, Tar, Saz, Ney, Alto Kamancheh, and Shah Kaman across a range of authentic and processed articulations.

String articulations

The Oud delivers warm, honeyed melodies, the Tar adds a taut, nasal bite, and the Saz brings bright, wiry energy — while the Alto Kamancheh and Shah Kaman offer expressive bowed depth, from reedy ornamental trills to sweeping, cello-like sustains.

Wind & other articulations

The Ney brings breath and tone as one — from dusky, hollow sustains in its lower register to a keening, voice-like expression in its upper range, ideal for meditative passages and dramatic, emotionally charged phrases.

Experimental & processed

These traditional instruments are also reimagined through modern processing, effects, and additional samples - extending the palette into abstract, atmospheric layers for cinematic scoring and sound design.

Main features

Augmented PERSIA blends meticulous sampling with innovative multilayered synthesis for a sound that transcends traditional musical boundaries.

• Morph between acoustic & synthetic sounds: Effortlessly blend real instrumental recordings with futuristic synth layers for evolving hybrid sounds.
• Hybrid engine combining sampling & synthesis: Enjoy detailed acoustic samples alongside Virtual Analog, Granular, Wavetable, and Harmonic engines.
• Intuitive modulation & macro controls: Shape any sound in seconds with assignable macros, drag-and-drop modulation, and a clear, streamlined interface.
• MPE support for enhanced expression: Unlock nuanced polyphonic control for more dynamic, lifelike performances and tactile sound design.
• Quality, cinematic-ready presets: Instantly access an inspiring library of mix-ready sounds, from classic tones to experimental textures.
• Built-in arpeggiator & sequencer: Add rhythmic movement and depth with a versatile arpeggiator and chance-based sequencing.

Capturing magic

To recreate the exceptional depth and tone of these instruments, we recorded meticulously detailed samples in a state-of-the-art facility in the Netherlands, renowned for its acoustic profile.

Augmented PERSIA's source material was developed in partnership with Evolution Series, bringing together specialist knowledge and beautifully recorded performances from a selection of the most important instruments in the historical Persian and broader Middle Eastern tradition.

Augmented PERSIA has been made possible with the expertise and sounds of Evolution Series. A dedicated team of developers who capture the most expressive performances to deliver completely authentic libraries.

Dynamic presets for every purpose

Move effortlessly between the contemplative depth and resonance of Persian classical music and contemporary synth textures and effects.

Augmented PERSIA includes 200 expertly-crafted presets spanning intimate melodic voices, evolving drones, pulsing rhythmic patterns, cinematic underscores, and abstract atmospheres.

Real

Augmented Saz

Gustavo Bravetti

An authentic Saz which captures the real tone of the instrument.

Burning Kamanches

Lily Jordy

A fiery kamanche duo that disintegrates into a granular soundscape in Layer B.

Sand Rising

Joe Sheldrick

Atmospheric ambient string plucks. Morph transforms the sound into Lofi synth pads.

Cinematic

Arrakis Sand Dune

Joe Sheldrick

A haunting and expressive cinematic pad. Minor pitch modulations are linked to aftertouch which adds to the expressiveness.

Lone Star

Lily Jordy

Comb-filtered, string-based atmosphere. Play low drone notes for spectacular effects!

Long Walk

Quentin Feuillard

Cinematic ambience that morphs into a more tension pad and harmony.

Electronic

Oak Forest

Sounds of Quince

A rhythmic plucked sequence layered with organic textures from traditional instruments, creating a natural, earthy motion.

Echoes of Arbela

Gustavo Bravetti

Evolving atmosphere alternating Alto Kamanche and Oud tremolo samples, creating an ever-moving cinematic soundscape.

Persian Scholastic

Luka Beatovic

A rich layer of synthesis and stringed instruments. This pad evolves as you play.

Hear it in action

Into The Sun

Andrew Beaton

An epic modern cinematic journey inspired by the music of Dune.

Mystique Sands

Joe Sheldrick

A progressive downtempo track which explores Augmented Persia's blend of synthesis and real instruments, with a trip hop inspired beat underneath.

Shur

Richard Veenstra

An adventurous piece with a more traditional cinematic approach. A composition style often heard in movie or game soundtracks.

Asha's Dream

Lily Jordy

This piece explores the ambient side, while still capturing the cinematic tones of the instrument.

As Time Passed

Andrew Beaton

An adventurous cinematic piece. Something you may hear in modern action movies.

Under The Moon

Raven Bush

An inquisitive piece that captures the essence of the Middle Eastern instruments included in Augmented Persia.

Artist Corner

"Such an inspiring instrument" — Mezigue

"The Augmented PERSIA offers a wide range of sounds organized in 4 synths / samples sources. Both the source layering and the control sections allow infinite possibilities to shape your sound. I personally liked diving in the pad section and would gladly use it to design specific ambiances, shape drones or risers." — Sami Galbi — Producer, composer

"Augmented Persia is certainly one of the coolest and most unique VSTs dedicated to Middle Eastern sounds. The seamless blend between the sample and the synth realms is beyond fantastic and the engine and effects are truly inspiring! This is now a staple amongst my production escapades and Soundtrack / Score compositions. Arturia knocked it out of the park once more! " — El Nabulsi — Producer, composer (Sherine, Tamer Hosny, Enya, Elissa)

"I love modulating multiple LFOs in morph mode and shaping the effects in Augmented PERSIA. It lets me move seamlessly between synthesis and sampling while keeping a strong sense of progression. The result is a deep, evolving sound — perfect for scoring, ambient, and drone music." — Hyas — Producer

"PERSIA became one of my go to VSTs for ambient and cinematic use. Its evolving synthesis engine allows me to effortlessly create the craziest drones, textures and fat sounding pads." — LUCASV — Producer, composer (Kid Cudi, Miki, Mahmood)

"Really nice plug, a truly beautiful sound library, crazy modern modulations inside. It’s super inspiring to work with. I’m definitely going to use Arturia Augmented PERSIA on the series I’m currently working on." — GGGG — Producer, composer

Press Clippings

"Augmented PERSIA expertly blends traditional Persian instruments with a modern hybrid synthesis workflow, delivering a unique tonal palette that is sure to add depth, character, and expressive detail to any track." — WORSHIP MUSICIAN

"What this delivers is a fascinating blend of sounds that moves seamlessly between the old and the new, offering the player distinctly authentic sounds of the region, but with the ability to make something unique and entirely out of this world. Whether you're looking for something that conjures instant images of an ancient part of the world, or a distinctly off-world experience through the blending of electronic synthesis, Augmented PERSIA is another fine addition to a range of instruments that I can't seem to keep my hands off!" — Gearnews

The features you need

In-App Tutorials

Integrated in-app tutorials guide you through every aspect of the instrument, from individual parameters to tips from our sound designers, so you can focus on the creative stuff. It shouldn't be this easy, but it is!

ASC

Arturia Software Center lets you download, organize, and update all of your Arturia software titles in one place, as well as manage all of your licenses across multiple devices. Keep it simple.

DAW ready

Our virtual instruments and plugins are designed to fit right into your setup without hassle. Whatever your style, you can explore sound while enjoying full compatibility with major DAWS, on both Windows and MacOS.

Preset Browser

Instantly find the sound that’s in your head with intelligent & streamlined preset browsing. Search with keywords, explore by instrument type, musical style, and more - you can even save your favorites to quickly recall later.

Resizable GUI

Whether you want the full visual immersion of our classic instrument emulations, or to save precious screen real estate, the interfaces for all of your Arturia virtual instruments can be resized to a scale that suits you.

Perfect integration

Instruments come seamlessly mapped for the Arturia KeyLab range - but they’ll place nice with other MIDI controllers too. Instant sound tweaking macros, easy DAW integration, and standalone operation.

Product summary

• Virtual Instruments playable in a DAW (Live, FL Studio, Logic,...) or standalone with a MIDI keyboard.
• Dynamic hybrid Persian / Middle Eastern instrument
• 2 Layers within each preset; each layer contains 2 customizable sound sources
• Detailed traditional instrument sample library with expressive multisample articulations
• Plucked Strings: Oud / Tar / Saz
• Bowed Strings: Alto Kamancheh / Shah Kaman
• Wind: Ney
• Authentic articulations plus processed and additional sample content
• Flexible synth engines — Virtual analog with our award winning TAE® technology
• Granular engine producing Warp, glitch and stretch sounds
• Harmonic engine based on additive synthesis
• Wavetable engine for more abrasive digital sounds
• Simpler (impacts, noise, and more)
• Morph control blends between Layers A and B, with endless modulation possibilities
• 7 macros: Time, Color, Motion, FX A, FX B, Reverb, Delay
• 2 LFOs, 2 Function Generators, 2 Random sources, 4 Keyboard mod sources, plus vibrato and tremolo with synced tempo
• Intuitive modulation system with drag-and-drop assignment, and unified multi-tab UI
• 2 FX slots per layer with 16 FX including ParamEQ, Bitcrusher, BL-20 Flanger, and more
• Built-in 16-step arpeggiator with Chance lane and Auto Regen for evolving patterns
• MPE compatibility
• MTS-ESP ODDSOUND microtuning compatibility
• Over 200 factory presets included

System requirements

Windows

• Win 10+ (64bit)
• 4 GB RAM
• 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost)
• 4 GB free hard disk space
• OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
• ARM processors not supported on Windows

Apple

• Mac OS 11+
• 4 GB RAM
• 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
• 4 GB free hard disk space
• OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU

Required configuration: Works in Standalone, VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS (64-bit DAWs only).