Luanco Chorus · complete manual

Luanco Chorus 2.0 manual

Supported systems: macOS 15 or later on Apple Silicon, iPadOS 26.2 or later (iPad only). A compatible AUv3 Music Effects host application (software) with audio input routing is required. No external hardware or pairing is required. The container app does not process audio on its own.

Luanco Chorus is an AUv3 audio effect for compatible iPad and Mac hosts. It divides incoming stereo audio into up to four bands. Each band selects Chorus, direct Texture or Texture → Chorus, with independent motion, playback, interaction and MIDI controls. This manual describes the upcoming 2.0 release, which supersedes the unreleased 1.8 build. Final build validation and release availability remain pending. This manual describes the independent Chorus AU. Where Workhorse offers extra routing, it is marked Workhorse only.

Screenshots show the earlier 7 October 2026 native Mac preview, with capture and binary provenance. Final release screenshots and physical-iPad host evidence are pending.

All defaults below are the initial AU parameter values, before a factory preset or host project changes them. Most percentages represent internal 0–1 values; Velocity, Aftertouch and Envelope Amount are bipolar −1 to +1. Speed is a scalar multiplier, not a percentage. A hidden control keeps its value; automation or modulation may still make that value audible.

Getting started

1. Install the separate iPad or Mac app and open its container once if your system needs to register the AUv3 extension.
2. Load Luanco: Chorus in a compatible AUv3 Music Effects host and route audio into it. Host names and slots vary; if the host lists Music Effects as MIDI-controlled effects, use that slot and its audio routing. The host supplies the audio; the container app is not a standalone audio processor.
3. Play the track and adjust the independent global Dry and Wet levels if needed. Start with the Subtle Width factory preset for a restrained comparison.
4. Use the host's plug-in bypass to compare with the original at matched listening level. Save the host project to recall parameters and automation.

The native iPad and Mac apps are separate purchases. Host menus and sidechain routing differ by host. If the AU is absent, restart the host after installation, confirm its AUv3 Music Effects support, and check that the correct platform app is installed.

Workspace and signal flow

The same workspace is used by the independent Mac and iPad AU editors and by Workhorse attached or floating editors. The left strip contains the product icon, whole-insert Off/On, Settings and quality. The central area places presets above the spectrum, frequency-band tabs below it, then the selected band's Activity plot. The right rail keeps Dry/Wet, MIDI Channel, global Tone and concise section summaries available. Click a section to open its parameter popover; the rail, rather than a sticky Sections menu, is the navigation.

Processing, Chorus, Texture, Motion, Rhythm, Dynamics, Feedback, Freeze, Interaction, MIDI Expression and Spectral operate on the selected band. Tone affects the combined wet output; crossovers appear when multiple bands are active. Opening Motion, Texture, Dynamics, Freeze, Interaction or Spectral selects the matching Activity view. Tone EQ and the editable Rhythm Curve belong to their rail popovers. Child controls hide when the selected path or enable state makes them inapplicable, while their values remain saved. Off/On and information actions remain available for disabled sections.

The signal path is input → band split → selected path (Chorus, Texture or Texture → Chorus) with its feedback/interaction → per-band Spectral → Band Mix → recombination → global wet Tone → independent Dry + Wet levels. Dry preserves the original full-range input. Band Mix blends each band's unprocessed input into its processed return and is separate from global Wet. Interaction Capture Blend can replace newly recorded texture input; Dynamics Sidechain Source only controls the detector.

Whole-insert Off/On uses the independent AU bypass or Workhorse FX-chain bypass and is distinct from the saved Chorus Active parameter and per-band Enabled. A single active band stays Enabled; add another band before bypassing one band independently. Switching Off retains settings. Both global levels at zero silence output after smoothing; when Wet is zero, processing can stop after transitions and tails while source history remains ready for capture.

Bands and spectrum

The spectrum shows input and combined wet audio in Hz/dBFS, with colored frequency regions and draggable crossover boundaries. Band tabs sit directly below it. The Activity plot beneath the tabs follows the selected band, using the shared Activity mode selector. Analysis history is sampled at 20 Hz and pauses when the editor or plots are hidden.

Select a band by its tab or by tapping its spectrum region. The Audition Off/On control plays that band's input before chorus, so you can locate the material around a crossover. Audition is temporary, ends on band or structure changes, and is not a preset setting. Drag a crossover handle or use its dial. The band menu offers Split Band and Join into adjacent Band. Splitting copies the source band's settings and rhythm curve into the new slot but leaves manual Freeze capture Off; joining preserves the chosen destination band's identity and curve. A maximum of four bands is available.

Crossover Slope offers 12, 24, or 48 dB/octave, initially 24 dB/octave. Crossover 1–3 accept 20–20,000 Hz and initially hold 200, 1,000, and 5,000 Hz; only boundaries between active bands appear. The editor orders them, keeps at least 1 Hz between adjacent boundaries, and limits the top to the current sample rate's usable range. Band 1–4 Position is the stored topology: 0 means inactive, 1–4 is frequency order. Initially Band 1 is position 1 and the others are inactive. The split/join controls manage this order; ordinary editing does not require changing it directly.

Global Dry/Wet and setup

Dry and Wet each span 0–100%, initially 50%. Their gains are independent and can sum above unity. Band Mix remains a separate blend inside the processed return. The old global Wet automation address now displays Wet. Presets without Dry derive it as 100% minus their old Mix; an explicitly saved Dry wins. This conversion does not promise identical multiband or Ultra audio to older routing.

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Chorus controls

The inventory contains 79 per-band controls, 3 global Tone controls and 13 other global controls. Each band has 24 voice/dynamics/feedback, 30 motion/texture/interaction and 25 MIDI fields. Rate, Depth, and Width for Band 1 retain their original global AU addresses for project and automation compatibility; in the editor they control Band 1. Processing dependencies explain when a control can be heard or shown. The examples are starting points, not prescribed settings.

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Motion

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Freeze and fragments

Freeze captures up to 4,000 ms of recent band input and repeats it through the selected path. Set Keep/Add and Capture Length before manual capture or a MIDI note. Length changes affect the next capture, without resizing a held loop. Keep admits no fresh audio. Add permanently overdubs the selected Capture Blend and feedback at a controlled level. With existing history, capture uses valid recorded audio up to Capture Length. If Freeze begins before any history exists, live playback continues until the selected length has been recorded.

Reverse is the probability that each newly launched fragment reverses its direction: 0% follows Speed; 100% reverses every fragment. Scatter changes starts across the four-second source history. Grain Length spans 5–1,000 ms but available history and playback speed can shorten it. Two overlapping heads share stereo positions. Live playback crossfades back into valid recorded audio at boundaries; frozen playback wraps through the held capture.

Freeze audio is temporary and is never stored in presets or projects. Manual Freeze reloads Off; a MIDI Freeze trigger can reload armed and capture when its selected note arrives. Releasing the capture returns to live audio. Input silence can produce a silent capture; stopped Tape at Speed zero also fades to silence.

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Processing paths and texture playback

Chorus uses the moving voice bank without texture playback. Texture plays two overlapping stereo fragments directly, skipping chorus voices, Barberpole taps and the separate feedback pitch shifter. Texture → Chorus feeds fragments into the voice bank. All paths can use per-band Spectral and the global wet Tone. Chorus-only controls hide in direct Texture.

Tape changes pitch with Speed; Preserve Pitch moves grain starts at that speed while each grain retains independently chosen Grain Pitch. Negative Speed moves backward. At zero, Tape fades to silence and Preserve Pitch repeats a stationary texture. Very short Preserve Pitch grains introduce granular coloration. Repeat and Random Seed affect newly launched fragments without overwriting captured audio.

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Fragment timing

Free launches continuously at Grain Length. Host retriggers at the selected beat division using host tempo and beat position, including triplets. Source Transient retriggers from attacks in Interaction Source; Sensitivity and Minimum Retrigger prevent densely spaced attacks from relaunching constantly. Fragment timing and the Rhythm curve have independent clocks and divisions.

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Interaction

Choose Main Input, an active Chorus band or Host Sidechain in the independent AU. Workhorse also offers available Layer 1–15. This source is independent of Dynamics Sidechain Source. Capture Blend feeds newly recorded history; envelope motion needs a texture path; Ring Modulation changes the wet signal; Cross Feedback mixes the partner into the return before one bounded local Feedback gain. Spectral stays outside the feedback loop. Missing sources contribute silence, so route audio explicitly before increasing Capture Blend or Ring.

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Spectral

Spectral adds moving frequency notches and frequency-dependent detuning after the selected wet path and before global wet Tone. Amount blends the transformation; Depth controls its strength, and Speed moves the notches and detuned regions. Higher Amount and Depth produce stronger changes in tone and tuning. It adds approximately 21–23 ms of wet-path latency while enabled, including when Spectral Amount is 0%. The dry path stays immediate; Eco and Ultra use the same Spectral timing. If phase or transient alignment matters, compare with Spectral Off, not merely Amount at zero.

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Dynamics and sidechain

Dynamics is Off, Gate, or Duck. Gate opens the selected target when the detector is above Threshold; Duck reduces it while the detector is loud. Target can be Depth, Mix, or Both. Sidechain Source chooses what controls the detector; it does not replace the audio being chorused. Input listens to the effect input. Host Sidechain requires a host route. Workhorse only: Layer 1–15 can trigger dynamics from another available layer before that layer's effects. Follow Band filters the chosen detector to the selected band's frequency range; Full uses its complete range.

Dynamics-dependent controls appear only when Mode is Gate or Duck. Their stored values remain available to automation and return when the mode changes.

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Feedback and tone

Feedback returns wet audio through the selected path. Direct Texture skips the separate feedback pitch shifter; use Grain Pitch to tune its fragments. Chorus and Texture → Chorus can use Feedback Pitch and Shifted Return. Feedback Pitch and Shifted Return affect the returned signal, not the initial dry input. Shifted audio may leave the original band's frequency region. The feedback controls are hidden when Feedback is zero and has no active modulation target; Pitch is hidden when Shifted Return is likewise inactive. Automation or modulation can make a hidden stored value relevant again.

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Global wet Tone

Low Cut, High Cut and Cut Slope operate once on the recombined wet return, across all bands. They never filter global Dry. Their global EQ response is edited in the Tone right-rail popover.

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MIDI performance

Route MIDI to the Chorus effect in a compatible host. MIDI Channel applies to the whole Chorus instance: All accepts channels 1–16, or select one channel. Changing it clears held-note and pressure state. The four bands keep independent MIDI mappings. All MIDI performance switches start Off, so existing presets play their saved sound until you enable a control.

Note-triggered Freeze: choose MIDI Note in the Freeze panel's Trigger selector, then choose Freeze Note (0–127) or press Learn and play the key you want. Learn waits for the first Note On matching the selected Chorus MIDI Channel; its button changes to Cancel while waiting. It stops waiting if you cancel, choose a note manually, switch bands or MIDI channel, disable the band, close the Freeze popover, change Trigger, replace the editor's state or leave the editor. Keep/Add and Capture Length remain visible in Manual mode even while Freeze is Off, so you can prepare a capture before switching it On. In MIDI Note mode, only the chosen note operates the selected band's capture; other notes can still play expression and feedback pitch. Gate captures on the note-on and releases on its note-off. Latch alternates capture and release on successive presses. Keep repeats the held input; Add layers more input. Capture Length changes the next capture, and Freeze Release crossfades back to live input. Select Manual to use the Freeze Off/On strip instead. All Notes Off, changing the trigger note, bypass or project reload clears the temporary capture; the recorded audio is never stored.

Velocity and Aftertouch: switch MIDI Expression On inside its panel to show both mappings together. Each has its own Target, bipolar Amount, Attack and Release, so both can run at once. Targets are Depth, Mix, Reverse, Scatter, Spectral, Feedback, Speed, Grain Size and Pitch. Reverse, Scatter, Speed, Grain Size and Pitch require Texture or Texture → Chorus; Depth also shapes Spectral in direct Texture. Inapplicable targets retain saved settings and return when their path is restored. Modulation is added to the saved value and clamped to the target's range. Channel aftertouch uses pressure shared by the chosen MIDI channel; Poly aftertouch follows the latest held note's pressure for the whole band, rather than isolating audio per note.

Note-controlled feedback: raise Feedback and Shifted Return, then enable MIDI Feedback Pitch. The latest held note sets a relative interval from Reference Note, plus Transpose, within the existing −12 to +24 semitone pitch range. Releasing the latest note returns to an earlier held note; releasing all notes restores the saved Feedback Pitch. Glide smooths these changes. This shifts the recirculating return; it does not tune the incoming audio to a MIDI note.

Rhythm: switch Rhythm On in its right-rail popover, choose Host or MIDI Clock, and choose Transport or Note Gate as the start condition. Host requires beat timing and running transport. MIDI Clock requires incoming ticks; Transport also needs MIDI Start or Continue. Note Gate additionally requires a held note. The pattern waits without its clock or trigger. Division sets eight grid divisions of 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 or 1/32 notes per loop. Edit freely placed points between the guides; the starting eight-point curve uses Step transitions. Drag points, add points in empty space, or choose a smooth outgoing curve for each point. At least two points remain and the last segment wraps to the first. The curve changes one selected target, scaled by Depth and smoothed by Smooth. Off or stopped playback removes its live offset while retaining the curve.

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Reading Activity

The selected band's Activity selector offers only views applicable to its current path and controls. The stored selection remains available when that path becomes active again; otherwise an applicable view is shown. The central Activity view shows actual per-band telemetry, not four repeated copies of one history. Native UI history is sampled at 20 Hz and pauses offscreen. Tone EQ and Rhythm Curve remain editable in their rail popovers.

• Motion: six left-channel voice-delay lanes in milliseconds; unavailable in direct Texture.
• Texture: head positions, phases, signed Speed and Pitch; unavailable in Chorus-only playback.
• Spectral: processor weighting at 100 Hz, 300 Hz, 1 kHz, 3 kHz, 8 kHz and 16 kHz, not an isolated measured audio-frequency response.
• Dynamics: gain, feedback gain, detector, effective Depth/Band Mix and base Feedback.
• Freeze: held/releasing state, capture readiness, length, position and blend.
• Interaction: envelope, source availability, capture/ring/feedback blend and return.
• Rhythm: raw/smoothed curve, phase, division, clock-ready and trigger-ready states.

Presets, automation and projects

The Factory list contains all 26 supplied Chorus presets. A factory preset replaces Chorus settings in the current instance. Custom presets live in this product's local library; use Save for a new name, save under an existing name and confirm replacement to update it, Import to read its JSON file, Export to share one, or Delete to remove a user preset after confirmation. Factory presets cannot be deleted. A preset that requires unavailable Workhorse routing is disabled and marked “Workhorse only.”

All 26 native factory parameter readbacks and rhythm curves include complete resolved settings and provenance from the same 2.0 source snapshot.

The website’s six new extreme listening examples are modified demonstrations, not unchanged factory presets. Each inherits unlisted values and curves from its named factory preset; complete resolved settings, source snapshot, native readbacks, MIDI events and audio provenance accompany the listening examples.

AU hosts can automate exposed parameters and recall them with a project. Project state and user presets retain hidden sound settings, MIDI mappings and per-band rhythm curves, but omit temporary band audition and live analysis state. Manual Freeze restores Off; Freeze Trigger may restore as MIDI Note, but no held capture audio or note state is saved. Loading a project alone never recreates the previous captured phrase. Check the host's MIDI routing, automation and plug-in state controls when moving a project between devices.

Recipes and troubleshooting

• Subtle widening: Load Subtle Width; compare at matched level, then reduce Wet or raise Dry if the center feels thin.
• Ensemble: Load Wide Ensemble or set four voices, 20 ms Base Delay, 70% Spread and 60% Ensemble. Keep Rate slow.
• Moving texture: Try Orbiting Ensemble, then adjust Orbit Speed independently of Rate. Use Reverse Scatter for broken-up movement.
• Strong textures: Load Long Reverse, Scatter Cuts or Spectral Vortex. These start with Dry 0% and Wet 100%; raise Dry or lower Wet to bring the source back. All use one full-range band and load with Freeze Off.
• Frozen layer: Load Freeze Ready, play audio, set Capture Length, then turn Freeze On. Choose Add to layer new sound; turn Off to release it.
• Ducking: Choose Duck, Target Mix, and a detector source. Adjust Threshold until attacks trigger it; use Hold and Release to shape the bloom.
• Mono check: Sum the host output to mono and compare with stereo. Reduce Width, Spread, Orbit Amount, or Wet if important parts weaken.
• Brake through zero: Load Brake / Reverse, choose Host + Transport and play the host. Keep the factory Speed curve; its note division and depth are independent of Host fragment timing.
• Stationary grains: Load Frozen Glass, keep Preserve Pitch and Speed 0×, then capture a phrase. Raise Grain Pitch for glassy grains; Tape at 0× instead fades to silence.
• External attacks: Load Sidechain Metal and route host sidechain audio. Capture Blend records the source, Ring makes sidebands and Source Transient starts fragments from its attacks; Dynamics routing is separate.
• Interacting feedback: Load Feedback Bloom. Each of its two bands listens to the other; Feedback controls the bounded return while Cross Feedback sets the partner blend. Reduce Feedback before increasing listening level.

No plug-in in the host: confirm the app is installed for this platform, that the host accepts AUv3 Music Effects, and restart the host. Silence or no change: check track routing, whole-insert bypass, Chorus Active, independent Dry/Wet, band Enabled and Band Mix; check Audition, which replaces the output with a band's pre-chorus input. Sidechain does nothing: choose Gate or Duck, route audio to the host sidechain and adjust Threshold; Input remains available without a host route. Rhythm waits: Host needs running transport and valid beat timing; Note Gate additionally needs MIDI held notes routed to Chorus. Interaction is silent: route the selected source and check Capture Blend or Ring; unavailable sources contribute silence. Unexpected latency: turn Spectral Off to remove its wet transform path. High CPU: choose Eco, reduce active voices or bands, disable unused Spectral sections, and increase the host buffer size where acceptable. Lost frozen phrase after reopening: this is expected; play audio and capture again.

For performance measurements and test conditions, see the Chorus benchmark report. For a routing or project-recall problem, include device, OS, host, sample rate, buffer size, and app version in a support request.