DARTA DIGITAL AUDIO · DUAL ENGINE MODULATION FOR GUITAR
ONDULATO
Two complete modulation pedals in one plugin, with ten effects: chorus, ensemble, flanger, phaser, vibe, vibrato, tremolo, harmonic tremolo, rotary and auto-pan. With the warmth of BBD chips, movement locked to the song and an LFO that answers your picking.
Charged in Brazilian Reais (BRL), converted from US$ 49 at the day’s exchange rate. PayPal or your card converts it back and shows the exact amount in your currency before you confirm. Download link and license key by e-mail right after payment. Windows and Mac.
Modulation made for guitar
Classic modulation pedals move on their own, at their own pace. Ondulato also listens to you: your picking can restart the movement and your dynamics can change the depth.
Two pedals in one
Engines A and B, each with its own effect and speed. In series, like two pedals on the floor (a chorus into a tremolo), or in parallel, blended.
Truly analog
On chorus, ensemble, flanger and vibrato, BBD mode recreates the chips of classic pedals: highs that close with the delay, compander, soft saturation and a faint hiss you can turn off.
Follows your hands
With Follow, playing harder makes the effect deeper (and speeds up the rotary). With Pick Sync, every pick restarts the movement: the effect moves with you.
Ten effects
Each engine picks its own. The CHARACTER knob changes its job on each effect, and they all come out at the same level.
Chorus
The classic chorus, with one delayed voice that sways. CHARACTER (Delay) goes from tight chorus to doubler.
Great forClean guitar, arpeggios, the 80s.Ensemble
Three staggered chorus voices with a fast shimmer on top, like vintage string keyboards. CHARACTER (Shimmer).
Great forPads, open chords, textures.Flanger
The classic jet sweep: notes swooshing up and down. CHARACTER (Feedback) makes it more metallic.
Great forRiffs, solos, jet effects.Phaser
Four stages sweeping the sound, like the orange phaser of the 70s. CHARACTER (Feedback) adds resonance.
Great forFunk, rock, clean guitar.Vibe
The pulse of lamp-driven pedals: the light turns on fast and fades slowly. CHARACTER (Lamp) makes the pulse stronger.
Great forBlues, psychedelia, solos.Vibrato
Only the pitch moving, without the original sound. CHARACTER (Warble) turns it into the wobble of a worn tape.
Great forLo-fi, surf, long notes.Tremolo
The volume pulsing, with DEPTH on a dB curve: the knob moves evenly all the way to a full cut. CHARACTER (Opto) rounds the pulse like amp tremolos.
Great forSurf, country, rhythm parts.Harmonic Trem
Lows and highs pulsing against each other, like 60s brown amps, each band with its full pulse. CHARACTER (Crossover) picks the split point.
Great forBlues, rockabilly, ambience.Rotary
The rotating organ speaker: horn and drum spinning, each with its own inertia. CHARACTER (Drive) is preamp grit.
Great forOrgan on guitar, blues, soul.Auto-Pan
The sound moving from side to side, starting in the center. CHARACTER (Haas) adds depth on headphones.
Great forWide stereo, ambience, headphones.What sets it apart
Features that usually take several pedals, or that only exist here.
BBD mode
On the delay-based effects (Chorus, Ensemble, Flanger and Vibrato), the BBD button recreates analog chips: the longer the delay, the darker. Off, you get a clean digital delay.
Follow
Your dynamics set the depth: play softly for a little effect, hard for all of it. On Rotary, playing hard speeds up the rotor.
Pick Sync
Every time you pick, both movements start over. The flanger sweeps with the note, the tremolo always starts at full volume.
Song tempo
Speed in Hz or in note values (4 bars to 1/32). With the DAW playing, the movement locks to the bar. TAP works inside the DAW too.
Seven waveforms
Sine, triangle, square, saw up and down, random steps and smooth random. The display draws each one.
Series or parallel
In series, engine B processes engine A’s output, like two pedals. In parallel, both hear the guitar and are blended.
Speed
One knob that speeds up or slows down both engines together (×0.25 to ×4). Turn it slowly for the ramp of a rotary.
Low cut and MIDI
LOW CUT lets the lows pass untouched (great on bass). Program Change switches presets.
Explore the panel
At the top, the display with both movements running. In the middle, one card per engine, with two pages of knobs: MAIN for what you reach for all the time, EDIT for the LFO and stereo. At the bottom, the global controls.
Preset, SAVE, routing and bypass
The top bar picks the sound, saves your own and sets how the two engines are connected.
Preset
The 42 factory presets, by category, followed by the User section with your own. All level-matched.
SAVE
Saves the current sound under any name. From the same menu you can delete one of your presets or open their folder (Documents\Darta Digital Audio\Ondulato\Presets).
Routing
A > B (series): engine B processes engine A’s output, like two pedals. A + B (parallel): both hear the guitar.
BYPASS and meter
BYPASS switches the effect off. The small bar next to it shows the level reaching the plugin. The ‹ › arrows in the preset box step to the previous and next preset.
The movements, drawn
The display shows both movements running, with now on the right: gold for A, blue for B.
The waves
The height of the wave is the depth. With Follow on, it grows and shrinks with your picking. The window adjusts itself to show about two and a half cycles of the slower engine.
Legend
Each engine’s effect (with BBD when that mode is on), its speed in Hz and, in SYNC mode, the note value. Next to it, whether the engines are in series or parallel.
PICK SYNC
With Pick Sync on, the badge lights up on every pick, when the movements start over.
MAIN and EDIT
The two tabs below the display switch both engines’ knobs: MAIN for motion and colour, EDIT for the LFO and space.
Effect, shape, BBD and ON
Each engine has its own card: A in gold and B in blue, with the same controls.
Effect
Picks one of the ten effects for this engine.
Shape
One cycle of the waveform, with the dot showing where the movement is right now, and its speed (in Hz, or the note value in SYNC mode).
BBD
Turns on the analog-chip delay on the delay-based effects (Chorus, Ensemble, Flanger and Vibrato). On the others the key is dimmed.
ON
Switches the engine on or off. B starts off; while off, its knobs are dimmed and it uses no processing.
The motion
The speed, the size of the movement and how much of the effect comes in. Engine B has the same three knobs.
RATE
The speed, 0.05 to 12 Hz, or note values (4 bars to 1/32) in SYNC mode. On Rotary it is the rotor speed.
DEPTH
The size of the movement.
MIX
How much of the effect comes in. At 100% it is the classic pedal: half and half for chorus, flanger, phaser and vibe; the whole sound for vibrato, tremolo, rotary and pan.
The colour
Each effect's character, the brightness and the engine's level.
CHARACTER
Changes with the effect: Delay, Shimmer, Feedback, Lamp, Warble, Opto, Crossover, Drive or Haas (see the effects above).
TONE
High cut on the effect, 1 to 20 kHz.
LEVEL
The engine’s level, from -24 to +6 dB.
Global controls
The bottom row is always on screen and applies to both engines.
SPEED
Multiplies both engines’ speed (×0.25 to ×4) in Hz mode. Turn it slowly for the ramp of a rotary.
MIX
The overall balance between guitar and effect.
OUTPUT
The final level, from -24 to +12 dB. Presets are already level-matched.
RATE MODE
HZ: free speed. SYNC: note values at the DAW tempo (or TAP); with the DAW playing, the movement locks to the bar.
TAP
Shows the tempo. Tap along to set a new one: in a DAW, TAP overrides its tempo and the key lights up; right-click to follow the DAW again.
PICK SYNC
Every pick restarts both movements from the beginning.
BBD · NOISE
The background hiss of the analog chips, breathing with your dynamics. Turn it off for a silent BBD.
The shape of the movement
The LFO waveform and how it reacts to you.
SHAPE
Sine, Triangle, Square, Saw up, Saw down, Random (steps) and Smooth random. On Rotary it turns grey: the rotor always spins.
FOLLOW
How much your dynamics change the depth. On Rotary, playing hard speeds up the rotor.
PHASE
The difference between left and right, from 0° (mono movement) to 180° (opposite sides: wide chorus, ping-pong tremolo). On Rotary, it is the angle between the two mics; on Auto-Pan it turns grey.
The space
Where the engine sits in the stereo field and what stays out of the effect.
WIDTH
Stereo width, from mono (0%) to extra wide (150%).
PAN
Where the engine sits, from left to right.
LOW CUT
Below this frequency (20 to 600 Hz), the sound passes untouched: the lows stay solid. Great on bass.
Tips to get the most out of it
Well-used modulation brings tone to life without drawing attention. These ideas work with any effect.
Less is more
For background chorus and phaser, DEPTH between 30 and 50% and RATE below 1 Hz. The sound moves without getting seasick.
Mix below 100%
At 100% MIX is the classic pedal. Lower it to 50-70% for just a shimmer on top of the dry sound.
Keep the lows solid
Raise LOW CUT (EDIT page) to 150-250 Hz: the lows pass untouched and the sound keeps its weight. A must on bass.
Tremolo in time
Set RATE MODE to SYNC and the tremolo to 1/8 or 1/16: it pulses with the music and locks to the DAW bar.
Two pedals on the floor
In series, a Chorus into a Tremolo, or a Phaser into an Auto-Pan, sounds like two real pedals chained together.
Follow for expression
With FOLLOW at 100%, the vibrato only shows up when you dig in. On Rotary, the horn speeds up on attacks and slows on long notes.
Pick Sync on the flanger
With Pick Sync and the Triangle shape, every note gets the same flanger sweep from the start. Rhythmic and predictable.
BBD for the classic sound
To sound like vintage pedals, leave BBD lit. For a modern, bright chorus, switch it off and use the digital delay.
42 presets to start with
Organized by kind of sound, all level-matched. And you can save your own.
Chorus & Ensemble · 8
Flanger · 6
Phaser & Vibe · 8
Vibrato & Tremolo · 8
Rotary & Pan · 6
Dual Engine · 6
Try before you buy
Download the trial with everything unlocked: both engines, all ten effects and the LFO that answers your picking. The only difference is that the sound drops out for 3 seconds every 45 seconds and presets can’t be saved. Like it? Buy a license and paste the key into the plugin, no reinstall needed.
Windows 10 and 11 (VST3 and standalone) and macOS 10.15 or newer (AU, VST3 and standalone).
Specifications
System
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. macOS 10.15 or newer (Intel and Apple Silicon).
Formats
Windows: VST3 and standalone application. Mac: AU, VST3 and standalone application.
Engines
2 engines (A and B), in series or in parallel, each with its ON button.
Effects
Chorus, Ensemble, Flanger, Phaser, Vibe, Vibrato, Tremolo, Harmonic Trem, Rotary and Auto-Pan.
Speed
0.05 to 12 Hz, or 4 bars to 1/32 at the tempo, with TAP.
LFO
7 shapes, stereo phase 0 to 180°, Follow and Pick Sync.
Presets
42 factory presets, level-matched, plus your own.
License
One license key activates up to 2 computers. Once activated, it works offline.
FAQ
Does it work with any guitar?
Yes, clean or distorted. The features that listen to your picking (Follow and Pick Sync) work best with the guitar straight into the interface, before reverbs and delays.
Can I use it on vocals, keys, bass or a mix?
Yes. Rotary is great on keys, Chorus with LOW CUT is perfect on bass and Auto-Pan works on anything.
What is BBD mode?
Classic chorus and flanger pedals used analog chips (bucket brigade) to delay the sound. They darken the delay, compress and expand the signal and have their own hiss. BBD mode recreates that; when off, the delay is clean and digital.
What is series mode?
Engine B processes engine A’s output, like two pedals chained together. In parallel, both hear the guitar and the result is blended.
Does the movement follow the DAW tempo?
Yes. With RATE MODE on SYNC, the speed becomes a note value and, with the DAW playing, the movement locks to the bar. Tapping TAP makes the plugin follow your taps (the key lights up); right-click TAP to go back to the DAW tempo.
Is there latency?
Only 1 ms, from the safety limiter that catches the peaks of a high-feedback flanger. The DAW is told this value and compensates for it.
Can I switch presets from a MIDI controller?
Yes. A Program Change message selects the factory preset in menu order (0 to 41). Any knob can also be controlled with your DAW’s MIDI Learn.
Do I need an internet connection?
Only to activate. After that, Ondulato works offline.
Can I use it on more than one computer?
Yes, each license key activates up to 2 computers. To move it, deactivate it on the old computer from inside the plugin (click the Darta logo).
How do I get the plugin?
Right after payment, you get the download link and your license key by e-mail. Both are also in My account.
What currency will I be charged in?
Darta is based in Brazil, so checkout is in Brazilian Reais (BRL): the US$ 49 price is converted at the day’s exchange rate. PayPal or your card issuer converts it back automatically and shows the exact amount in your currency before you confirm. Depending on their conversion rate, the final amount may differ slightly from US$ 49.
Is there a Mac version?
Yes. Ondulato runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, macOS 10.15 or newer, as AU, VST3 and standalone.
Is there a trial version?
Yes. Leave your e-mail under Try before you buy and download it right away. Everything works; the sound just drops out for 3 seconds every 45 seconds and presets can’t be saved. Once you buy, just paste the key into the plugin.
Let your sound move.
Charged in Brazilian Reais (BRL), converted from US$ 49 at the day’s exchange rate. PayPal or your card converts it back and shows the exact amount in your currency before you confirm. Download link and license key by e-mail right after payment.
