built by hand.
in fonthill.
Arna is built by Leandro Alvarez under the 1snob name. A small operation — one developer, one DSP collaborator, one studio, one shop floor full of woodworking tools that share the workbench with the C++ compiler.
leandro alvarez.
Parametric luthier, software developer, occasional cigar maker. Based in Fonthill, Ontario, in the Niagara region of Canada. Builds physical instruments by day — stairs, drums, gavels, jewellery — and digital ones by night.
The thread between the two: parametric design. Every object is a function of its inputs. A staircase is a parametric helix; a drum is a parametric resonator; a reverb plugin is a parametric room. The instruments differ; the discipline does not.
1snob.
1snob is a small house of objects — drums, stairs, jewellery, gavels, cigars, books, courses, and software. Every product line shares the same parametric DNA: rigorous geometry, honest material, restrained aesthetics. The reverb plugin you are looking at is the latest instrument out the door.
why one knob.
Most reverb plugins ask the musician to be an audio engineer first. They expose every parameter and trust the user to find the room. Arna inverts that — we tune the parameters against measured rooms, then expose a single knob that traces the journey through them.
The result is a tool a musician can use without learning. Turn the knob; the room follows. Automate the knob; the room breathes. That is the whole pitch.
The Full edition opens up the same engine across nine knobs for engineers who want hands-on control. Same DSP, same craft, different surface area.