Augmented PERSIA

Name: Augmented PERSIA
Price: 149 USD
Author: Arturia

by Arturia · Instrument · Hybrid sampled / synth world instrument

Not rated yet

Augmented PERSIA pairs sampled Persian and Middle Eastern instruments, including oud, tar, saz and ney, with Arturia's synth engines in one hybrid instrument.

A Morph control blends the acoustic samples into virtual analog, granular, harmonic and wavetable layers, with 200+ presets, macros and MPE support.

Best for: Acoustic Instruments, Sound Design, Keys & Synths. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM.

Keywords: hybrid, world instruments, sample-based, cinematic, macro controls, MPE support, preset-driven, granular, virtual analog, wavetable, drones, arpeggiator, character-heavy, modulation matrix, modern, sound design, subtractive.

What it does

Augmented PERSIA is part of Arturia's Augmented series ("acoustic instruments reinvented"). Arturia says it "fuses the distinctive character of traditional Persian and Middle Eastern instruments with modern synthesis."

Instruments: 6 sampled instruments: oud, tar, saz, ney, alto kamancheh and shah kaman, in authentic and processed articulations.
Hybrid engine: sampling combined with virtual analog (TAE), granular, harmonic and wavetable synthesis, blended with the Morph control.
Modulation: 7 assignable macros, 2 LFOs, 2 function generators and drag-and-drop modulation.
Performance: a 16-step arpeggiator with Chance lane and Auto Regen, plus MPE support.
Effects: 2 FX slots per layer from 16 effects, including ParamEQ, Bitcrusher and BL-20 Flanger; 200+ presets.

Source: Arturia product page

When to use it

Augmented PERSIA is the pick when you want Persian and Middle Eastern plucked and bowed instruments ready to morph into synth pads and drones from one focused interface. It is more focused than Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 and UVI Falcon, which cover world-instrument-meets-synth sounds inside much larger instruments, and where Rast Sound World Vocals 5 focuses on ethnic vocals, Augmented PERSIA covers instruments.

Best for: cinematic and game cues, Middle Eastern melodic motifs, drones and hybrid atmospheres.
Genres: ambient, cinematic, and electronic music with world influences.
Look elsewhere if: you need a deeply traditional, articulation-heavy library for realistic performance.
Standout: the Morph control that turns an oud or kamancheh phrase into a synth texture.

What producers say

Early buyers on VI-Control liked it, especially at the intro price, but some found it less traditional than expected.

VI-Control users (2026) the original poster said the Augmented series "has been such a standout from Arturia," and another called the intro price "a steal."

VI-Control: Arturia Augmented Persia thread

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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