Naada Oud for GeoShred Studio

FRETLESS MICROTONAL EXPRESSION AND 3,500 YEARS OF MELODIC TRADITION

Built for players who demand more from their instruments. Naada Oud places the warm, fretless voice of the Middle East's foundational string instrument inside GeoShred Studio, where microtonal maqam inflections, continuous pitch ornaments, and resonant body response respond directly to pressure and gesture on the playing surface. The instrument is fully polyphonic, supporting chords and layered melodic lines simultaneously.

Works with MPE controllers, wind and breath controllers, and GeoShred Control, a free iPhone and iPad companion app that delivers a multi-touch expressive surface for live performance.

Naada Oud runs inside GeoShred Studio, where the rich, warm resonance and fretless pitch freedom of the oud are accessible across a multi-row continuous pitch surface. Slide between microtonal positions to trace the ornamental melodic language of maqam, press into the grid to shape pluck attack and body resonance, and move across rows to shift register across the instrument's double-course string range. The AccelMatrix Naada physical modeling engine generates each note as a real-time acoustic event. Because the instrument is polyphonic, you can sustain bass course drones while developing melodic phrases on the upper strings, or voice full chords across the surface. GeoShred's integrated FX rack adds EchoMT, Reverb, and AmpCab processing directly in the signal chain.

What's Inside Naada Oud:

• GeoShred's continuous pitch surface with fretless microtonal glide, portamento, and ornamental control suited to maqam-based melodic movement.
• Polyphonic performance: sustain bass drones under melodic phrases, voice chords, or layer independent lines simultaneously.
• Direct access to oud model parameters including body resonance, string course response, and pluck dynamics.
• Integrated FX rack with EchoMT, Reverb, and AmpCab available as part of the performance signal chain.
• Full controller support: MPE controllers, wind and breath controllers, GeoShred Control companion app.
• AccelMatrix Naada physical modeling engine generating each note as a continuous acoustic simulation.

The Ancestor of Every European Lute

The oud is among the oldest continuously played string instruments in the world, with a documented history spanning over 3,500 years across the Middle East and North Africa. Its fretless neck is not a simplification but a necessity: the microtonal intervals of Arabic maqam and Turkish makam modal systems require pitch placement that fixed frets cannot provide. The deep, pear-shaped body with its rounded back of thin stave strips produces a tone that is warmer and rounder than its European descendant, the lute. The model captures this fretless continuous pitch capability alongside the resonant body response that gives the oud its characteristic depth and sustain.

GeoShred Studio and GeoShred Control

GeoShred Studio operates as a VST3, AU, or AUv3 plugin inside major DAWs, or as a standalone application. Its isomorphic surface is tuned in perfect fourths, providing a layout where melodic intervals repeat consistently across rows. Pressure and gesture are mapped continuously to instrument parameters, making the surface a direct conduit for expression rather than a series of on/off triggers.

GeoShred Control is a free companion app for iPhone and iPad that connects via USB, adding a second multi-touch expressive surface for live performance. MPE hardware controllers and wind or breath controllers connect directly to GeoShred Studio as well.

GeoShred Studio Required. Running Naada Oud requires GeoShred Studio ($50), a separate required purchase.

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