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The Minimoog engine is also the only one that currently has the handy Template feature, which give you the option to start from pre-wired modules/osc/filt combinations/connections for maximum ease of sound setup/editing.

This feature is great for the more impatient synthesists out there. Templates for the other engines will be added in a software upgrade.

Overall, the Origin's sound quality is deep, rich, earthy and wonderfully analogue with each synth engine having its own unmistakeable character. The emulations of the ARP, Minimoog, Yamaha CS-80 and Jupiter-8 sound very close to their counterparts of yesteryear and the Prophet VS Wavetable oscillators can produce some great electric pianos and evolving bell-like pads to boot.

Downsides with the sonics are virtually non-existent, save for the filter stepping at high resonance settings. This is the only giveaway that this is a virtual analogue synth and not a pure analogue machine. Again, though, we have no doubt that this can be improved in future software updates.

Effects

The effects engine in the Origin is simple yet effective. Available types include a Chorus, Dual Phaser, Reverb, Distortion and Stereo delay. These sound just as authentic as the synth emulations and are a joy to use.

The Origin's presets sound great dry and effects only enhance the sounds further, while keeping the dry sounds' integrity intact.

A Ring-Modulator and a Bode shifter module are also included. A Bode shifter is a type of logarhythmic pitchshifter that works on individual frequencies within a chord, rather than shifting the whole pitch of a chord up or down by the same amount.

There will also be a parametric EQ and Bitcrusher added in future software updates.

Sequencing and arpeggiation

The 32-step sequencer contains three sequencers that can be assigned to control pretty much any parameter within the Origin. For example, Seq 1 could control VCO pitch, Seq 2 could control the filter/ modulations and Seq 3 audio panning and so on.

It's a great tool to use not only for standard sequence fodder but also for time-evolving pads and other sounds.

There's also a wonderful graphical interface and 16 dials that correspond to each step/accent/glide/ assignable event in a sequence. This makes editing on the fly easy as pie.

Global settings include swing and quantise and sequences can be stored in 128 user patterns. 128 preset patterns are also provided.

The arpeggiator is a simpler affair in line with vintage analogue arpeggiator designs. It contains five modes (random/up down and down/up) and has a five-octave range.

Summary

So what to make of the Origin? Well, all importantly, the sound matches and surpasses the best analogue emulations out there. It's refined yet raw.

The modulation options are astounding and it's a sound designers dream – there's just so much sonic scope. The interface sometimes gets in the way of flowing programming sessions, but if you're prepared to give it time and get your hands dirty, the Origin will repay you a thousand times over.

This is close to being the ideal all-in-one box virtual synth and we truly hope Arturia keeps on developing and improving it. At £1,899 the Origin is definitely not a cheap option - you'll have to think long and hard about whether it's really for you – but it delivers sonic versatility and results that few other hardware synths can match.

For a more detailed review of the Origin, check out the November issue of Future Music (207).

Listen to just some of the sounds we managed to coax out of the Origin: