Laureano Studios has released AURA, a free one-knob-style enhancement plugin for macOS and Windows.
AURA was created by New York producer and mixing engineer Justin Laureano. It’s mainly for master bus processing, but you can also use it on drum buses, guitar buses, or even single tracks.
The plugin uses a spectral EQ curve and harmonic saturation to change the tonal balance and thickness of your mix.
Before diving in, it’s worth noting that AURA is a “Powered by Ablaze” plugin, which means Ablaze handled the DSP coding.
I know the developer behind Ablaze personally, and I bet most BPB readers have tried at least one of his plugins. Jochem is a talented developer who recently released the free Ablaze Toolkit bundle (which we covered on BPB in January) and also created our BPB Dirty Filter plugin.
He mentioned this is just the first of several upcoming “Powered by Ablaze” releases, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.
Now, let’s get back to AURA.
Rather than acting as a subtle corrective EQ, AURA intentionally alters the signal’s character. It reinforces the low-end, smooths harsh high-mids, and adds density across the mix.
The plugin has two main controls.
SURGE controls the custom spectral EQ curve. At 100%, you get the full effect, but you can turn it down for a gentler touch or switch it off. The curve is meant to rebalance the mix in a broad, musical way, not just fix specific problem frequencies.
FURY handles the saturation stage. It introduces harmonic drive and can become aggressive quickly, so a lighter touch is recommended. Like SURGE, it can also be disabled if you only want the EQ component.
AURA came about because Laureano relied on a certain preamp model in an old amp plugin for his master bus sound. He was worried that an OS update might break that tool, so he rebuilt the idea from scratch and released it as a free plugin for everyone.
You can download AURA on Gumroad and pay what you want, starting at zero dollars. That means you can get it for free or support the developer if you like. The download is a 59 MB ZIP file with both macOS and Windows installers, each about 30 MB.
AURA v1.0.0 comes in VST, AU, and AAX formats for macOS 10.13 or later, and Windows 10 or later.
Download: AURA (FREE, pay what you want)
Deal of the day 🔥: Get the Black Octopus Monster Drum Bundle for only $10!
More:
Last Updated on February 20, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
