Native Instruments has announced the release of Super*Saw, a new soft synth developed in collaboration with AG Cook, the Grammy-nominated producer, solo artist and PC Music founder best known for his work with Charli XCX, Caroline Polachek and Beyoncé.

Super*Saw is inspired by the supersaw, a classic synth patch that has figured prominently in Cook’s production work. Built by layering multiple detuned sawtooth waves together, it’s a bold, bright and aggressive sound that’s closely associated with trance music of the ‘90s and early ‘00s. Though the technique itself predated the synth, it was Roland’s virtual analogue JP-8000 that popularized the sound through its dedicated Super Saw oscillator.

Native Instruments says that Super*Saw seeks to push the supersaw “further than it was designed to go”, turning a "time-consuming production technique into a fast, fun, and flexible workflow” and producing everything from “rich harmonies to metallic dissonance, ravey leads to impossible glides, euphoria to tension, all from the same sound source”.

At the heart of Super*Saw are two independent 16-saw oscillator banks, Swarm 1 and Swarm 2. The Swarms panel, on the left-hand side of the interface, adjusts the number of active oscillators in each swarm and fine-tunes the pitch, panning, and amplitude of each saw wave, and three Motion controls introduce modulation to these parameters that’s applied to each oscillator individually.

In Super*Saw’s central panel is the Morpher, an XY pad that can morph continuously between four different patch states in each corner of the grid. (You can also hit the dice icons underneath to instantly generate a random patch.)

Here you’ll also find controls for the amp envelope and filter, which can be applied to each Swarm individually and offers both 2-pole and 4-pole slopes, along with high-, band- and low-pass modes and keytracking. Super*Saw also has three onboard effects: chorus, delay and reverb.

Super*Saw is an eight-voice polyphonic synth, but also features monophonic, unison and poly-unison assignment modes. In the Voice Control menu, you’ll find controls to adjust the detuning and stereo width of the voices in Unison mode, along with sophisticated glide controls that can be used to set individual portamento times for each of the synth’s eight voices, and a Shape control that adjusts the contour of the portamento.

The synth features five modulation sources, each of which can be assigned to an unlimited number of parameters. There’s a single tempo-syncable LFO with rate, shape, phase and retrig controls that can be applied per-voice or globally, and this is joined by two tempo-syncable, velocity-sensitive ADSR envelopes.

You’ve also got the mod wheel and the Voice Offset section, a bank of eight faders that each represent one of the instrument’s voices: when routed to any potential modulation target, that control will be offset by the value dialled in at the fader.

Though there’s plenty of scope here for manual sound design, Super*Saw also comes with a broad preset library of AG Cook-style patches, covering basses, leads, pads, plucks, soundscapes and more.

We spent some time with Super*Saw prior to launch, and were impressed by the depth of control and diversity of sound on offer in an instrument that’s designed to explore the possibilities of a single synthesis technique.

Much more than just a Native Instruments plugin with a famous producer’s name stamped on it, Super*Saw feels like a genuine collaboration that represents an extension of AG Cook’s artistry. Capturing the bold and distinctive hyperpop sound design Cook experimented with on projects like Charli XCX’s Brat, the plugin takes the classic supersaw sound to new heights with its focused but versatile architecture.

“It’s funny having my own synth plugin,” Cook says in the video embedded above. “It’s something that’s always been a goal of mine… I’m really interested in very specific tools, and I’ve been excited when I’ve seen certain artists do their own tools around the ideology they have.

“I’ve really enjoyed building on what was established as the supersaw in the ‘90s. A lot of instrument design is about taking things that exist in the world and looking at the corners of it, like: ‘what could we do?’, or ‘what could be improved or flipped on its head?’ To actually be involved in that sort of process, that’s the enjoyment – you’re building into this family tree of a musical idea that was started a long time ago.”

Native Instruments Super*Saw is available now for macOS and Windows in VST3/AU formats, and is priced at $99/€99/£89.

Find out more on Native Instruments' website.

PLUGIN WEEK 2026: Whispers, rumours, leaks. Like the crescendo of a filter sweep, the return of Absynth – the iconic software instrument that helped define the sound of early 00’s electronic music – reached fever pitch in the lead-up to its unexpected rebirth at the end of 2025. Behind the scenes at Native Instruments, the energy was no less frenetic.

“Maximum crunch, constant panic” is how Brian Clevinger, Absynth’s creator and founder of Rhizomatic described the final pre-release push.

Speaking to MusicRadar mere days before the launch of Absynth 6 - and prior of course, to the recent news that Native Instruments would be acquired by InMusic - Clevinger seemed keenly aware of the high expectations he and the development team were expected to meet.

You see, Absynth isn’t just any soft synth. Its sea-green colour scheme and idiosyncratic architecture is something that a generation of sound designers and synthesists have grown up with.

This relaunch wasn't just a new version: it’s a full-blown resurrection.

Arriving two years after the product was discontinued by Native Instruments, and 16 long, long years since the release of Absynth 5.

Now sporting MPE capabilities, newly designed filters, a slickly upgraded UI, a trippy new spatial method of navigating presets, and all the sonic firepower long-time fans could ask for, this 2025 iteration of Absynth was, thankfully, worth the wait.

Back in the year 2000, when Clevinger released version 1 as ‘shareware’ (what we might now describe as a freebie) he had no idea how large the impact would be.

“I didn't think anybody would be into it,” he admits. “But I was just inundated with responses. People were really excited about it, it was kind of an instant hit.”

Looking back, it’s easy to see why. VSTs were still toddlers, having only been invented four years previously. The very premise that you could work with computer-generated sound, rather than triggered audio samples, was still fresh, and the available instruments were mostly rudimentary emulations of pianos and Minimoogs.

“The whole concept of a software synth hadn't sunk in yet,” Clevinger says of that time. “The idea that you play a note on your keyboard and the sound comes out of your computer was a weird idea for most people.”

In that context, Absynth, much like the potent beverage from which it takes its name, was a mind-melting experience. Its three-channel lanes and swappable modules could combine multiple types of synthesis and audio processing simultaneously.

Equipped with a waveform editor, it allowed users to draw custom shapes before applying additional algorithmic transformations, including the now-iconic ‘Fractalize’ function which added new harmonics by recursively pushing a waveform back into itself.

Its approach to modulation, which put user-defined, multi-stage envelopes front and centre, was, and still is, a remarkable contrast to the dominant paradigm of LFOs.

Perhaps most importantly of all, it took all of those powerful sound–shaping tools and made them comparatively easy to experiment and play with. It’s little wonder that Absynth was snapped up by Native Instruments a year later, becoming one of the company’s flagship products from 2001 all the way up to 2023.

All that innovation is made even more impressive by the fact that Clevinger’s skills as a software developer were entirely self-taught. Rather than a formal study of computer science, his pathway to Absynth was guided by a life-long fascination with the inner workings of audio.

“I was just always really interested in sound,” he recalls. “With certain sounds, it was kind of an emotional thing. When I was a little kid there was this big drain pipe with three smaller pipes at the back, we'd go in there, clap our hands, and it would make this just incredible comb-filter kind of sound. I wish I could hear it today.”

That ear for the unusual eventually led Clevinger to study music composition at university, where he first got his hands on classic hardware like the ARP 2500.

“This was in the early ‘80s,” he recalls. “It was just before MIDI and I was still working on analogue systems, but, at the same time, I was hearing examples of the computer-generated music that was happening at IRCAM. They were doing stuff I really wanted to do myself, but it was just completely inaccessible.”

Early musical programming environments like Max/MSP and Supercollider offered Clevinger the experimental sonics he was interested in, but lacked the intuitive accessibility of a musical instrument.

That tension stayed with him and, as computer power increased and real-time digital synthesis became possible in the mid-90’s, he began teaching himself DSP programming with aspirations to bridge the divide.

“The soft synths that were available were pretty limited,” he says. “It was either really simplistic things that didn't sound great or super complex modular environments. So I thought Absynth could be a sweet spot in-between.”

While he knew where he was aiming, Clevinger makes clear that Absynth was definitely not the result of some master plan.

What began as 'crappy little oscillators and really crappy little low-pass filters' were steadily refined and linked together, eventually coalescing into the foundations of Absynth’s first version.

“It just came out of whatever experiments I was doing at the time,” Clevinger says simply. “I mean the whole setup with three channels happened pretty early and I was originally thinking of it as a temporary solution till I figured out how to make it more modular, but after working with it I really liked it. Things just evolved until they got to the point where it felt right.”

Absynth broke new ground upon its release, and continued to do so over the following years: V2 introduced sample playback and granular synthesis; Absynth 3 added surround sound output, even though, as Clevinger laughingly admits, almost no one had multi-channel setups at the time; the fourth iteration brought vastly improved preset browsing and assignable macros, and the fifth instalment introduced Mutation.

It’s worth pausing to appreciate the genius of Absynth’s Mutation feature. Using tags for instrument type, articulation, genre, and more, users could define a narrow list of presets before hitting the Mutate button. This would then pull random parameters from those presets and combine them with whatever sound you were currently working on.

Not only that, but you could define how much randomisation should occur, how far from the original sound you wanted to deviate, and even lock down specific modules to exclude them from the mutation process.

A dedicated Mutation History window would save each new variation, allowing you to build up a library of related sounds at lightning-fast speed. It’s a feature that is still impressive all these years later, but at the time of its release in 2009, it was inspired.

“People kept asking for a randomiser,” Clevinger says of Mutation’s origin. “But if you just start randomising the parameters it gets very complicated because each preset can have a completely different set of modules. I wanted to do it in a meaningful way, where the musician could guide that random process somehow.

“I was looking at the preset list,” he continues. “And thinking about how you can select just bass sounds, and it'll only show you bass. I thought if you could pick one of those related presets, grab little bits from it, insert it into the preset you're working on, and then add some randomisation, that would be the key. I wanted it to be like going on a journey, instead of just jumping around between random sounds.”

Version 5 was a triumph, but it was also the point at which Absynth began to languish. Development slowed, and after growing increasingly long in the tooth the instrument was eventually discontinued in 2023, much to the dismay of longtime users.

For just about any other soft synth, that would have been the end of the story. But the remarkable longevity of this instrument, its sheer uniqueness and its undeniable musical prowess ensured that, even once it was gone, it was not forgotten.

“I had no idea that so many people were still using it, to tell you the truth,” admits Clevinger when asked about the community response to news of Absynth’s demise. “But I just got tons, and tons, and tons of messages from people begging me to bring it back somehow.”

Those pleas have now been answered. Working closely with the Native Instruments' team, a process that Clevinger unreservedly describes as 'fantastic', Absynth is back for a sixth outing and is looking better than ever.

“We have really been focusing on the user interface,” emphasises Clevinger. “Because nobody's ever been happy with Absynth's UI. It’s a super complex thing to get right, and involves endless discussions to try and work out the problems, but I'm really thrilled with what we've got now; it's so much better than what we had before and the design team's been great.”

For Clevinger, the top priorities during the development process were ensuring backward compatibility with legacy presets (presets from versions 4 and 5 are compatible with Absynth 6) and that the original audio engine was retained - a section of code that Clevinger says he touches 'as little as possible.'

But it wasn't all about preservation: significant improvements were made to Absynth's granular synthesis chops.

“All of that stuff is much denser than it was previously,” Clevinger told us. “We added a high density mode, and the Aetherizer and the Cloud filters sound much closer to what I originally wanted.”

One of the most striking new UI elements is the Preset Explorer that greets you when you first load up Absynth 6. A dizzying array of presets, dating back over two decades, are rendered as a multi-coloured point-cloud that you can click through and navigate as you might a geographical map.

Native Instruments tasked a number of artists with designing custom presets for Absynth 6, including none other than synthesis pioneer Brian Eno himself.

Working with Eno was something of a full-circle moment for Clevinger, who was inspired by Eno’s looping techniques when designing the envelopes for the original Absynth plugin.

That’s not all. Using deep learning techniques, Native Instruments’ Applied AI team trained a model on Absynth’s entire back catalogue of presets, allowing them to be spatially grouped by sonic characteristics. The goal is to help users break past the preset-paralysis that so often arises when scrolling through endless walls of text.

“I don't think there's anything musical about a list of presets,” says Andy Sarroff, head of Applied AI at Native Instruments, and himself a former mix and mastering engineer. “There’s something inherently uninspiring about staring down thousands of names and tags when you're trying to create. So, how do we solve that problem? There's never gonna be any perfect solution, but being able to visualise and explore this huge universe of sounds in a spatial way will hopefully either help you find what you want quickly, or be inspired by adjacent sounds.”

Of course, Absynth still has a more traditional preset browser system that you can switch to if you prefer, and Sarroff makes clear that accommodating different working styles is a top priority. “It's always a balancing act for us,” he points out. “We’re trying to figure out how to do this in a way that helps people feel like they're having fun, and not that they're being talked down to in any kind of way.”

Alongside all of that there was alos the inclusion of MPE and polyphonic aftertouch, enabling those performers who want to feel the maximum amount of nuance and expression from the instrument the ability to go deeper.

However, for Clevinger, it wasn’t this that caught his finely-tuned ear; his favourite new addition was the humble ladder notch filter.

“I really like the new ladder notch filter,” he says, confiding that he unconsciously drew some inspiration from one the first synths he ever used, the ARP 2500, during its design.

“My favourite thing on the ARP 2500 was this multi-mode filter that had a notch mode - and I certainly did not try to emulate it or anything, but that was the sound I had in my head. The notch filter mode, that's my favourite.”

It’s an attitude that seems emblematic of Absynth’s quarter-century run: bedrock features and idiosyncratic innovation, a workhorse and a dream machine, the essentials and the esoteric, all blended together to serve up a truly intoxicating sonic concoction.

As fans look ahead to the next 25 years, they can feel assured that Absynth has lost none of its potency, or its relevance, least of all to Clevinger himself.

“It's been a real emotional thing bringing this back,” he reflects. “This is the best project I've ever worked on.”

What is it?

Mastering the Mix has built a reputation for plugins that focus on helping anyone making music on computer, to engineer smarter mixing decisions, rather than just constantly adding processing.

In the latest part of their mix-chain, it turns its attention to one of the most difficult elements to control, relating to stereo width and panorama.

Stereovault is a plugin which is available as a single purchase, although it will be easily integrated with other Mastering the Mix plugins.

If there is one company which wears its branding on its sleeve, it has to be Mastering the Mix, although it's important to note that, as this is a single plugin, it can be used in channel, sub-mix (bus) or master fader situations, as well as forming part of the final mastering process.

Performance

Upon loading Stereovault for the first time, its visual guise makes it incredibly easy to see exactly what's going on. The display adopts an X/Y format, with frequency response being displayed from bottom to top. Lower frequencies unsurprisingly populate the lower portion of the display, so you can guess where the upper frequencies reside - up top.

The frequency plot is then divided into four sections, which can also be altered to suit your frequency band preferences. Within each band, you simply adjust the width parameters by clicking and dragging to hear the immediate effect of the broadening or narrowing of each particular band. It's a surprisingly simple process, with even more surprising results.

Don’t overcook it!

As is the case for any new plugin, we quickly found ourselves pushing things to an extreme, to establish the overall effect, and whilst there are considerable benefits to be had, it is also possible to completely undermine a mix.

A case in point: overextending the bottom-end of a mix too broadly can completely destabilise the foundation of a track, but adopting a similar technique with upper frequencies can really make a track shine.

If you feel that you need a little bit of help in this regard, Stereovault is on hand. Thanks to its included analytical tools, Stereovault can listen to your track and make some sensible suggestions. The plugin does ask for some input along the way, such as whether or not Stereovault is being used on specific instrumentation or a wider mix, and also suggestions for the style of music.

At this stage, it does present a minor challenge, as there are only five styles of music presented initially. Some of the tracks that we used as audition mixes could be described as jazz or cinematic, neither of which is represented in this situation, leaving us to make a best guess. It's not a huge problem, as you can select the next best genre and tweak-as-you-go, but it underlines the need to listen at all stages, because it is conceivably very easy to click a few buttons and find your mix in a state of flux.

Talking of flux, the Creative section pushes things further into sound-design territory. The included modes can dramatically reshape material, adding movement and cinematic depth to otherwise static sounds. Used subtly, they provide excellent dimensional enhancement.

Level matching

One familiar problem relates to monitoring levels, and the temptation to increase your listening volume while working. This will almost always result in your ears telling your brain that your mix sounds much better than it is. As any mix engineer will tell you, it's very much a false economy.

Stereovault provides a level-matching setting, meaning that once you have applied any processing, there is no discernible change in volume. Perfect!

Verdict

Stereovault really does have something for everyone. You can engineer a considerable degree of control, or take advice from the plugin. Either way, listening is fairly essential, but it is also packed with some useful presets, which can offer some good starting points.

It is also capable of taking mono signals and making them sound mightily wide and impressive, which can be particularly useful for clean guitar or monosynth signals.

Stereovault could easily become an indispensable plugin, although our view is that it will feel more at home on the backend of most signal chains, which isn't entirely surprising, given its position in Mastering the Mix’s portfolio.

Hands-on demos

Mastering The mix

Alternatives

Specifications

Californian emulation specialist Cherry Audio has released its latest plugin, a digital recreation of the Ensoniq ESQ-1, one of the most influential and popular polysynths of the 1980s.

The original ESQ-1 launched in 1986 and blended analogue elements with early digital synthesis technology. Its sound engine featured a trio of digital oscillators for each of its eight voices, each of which made use of sampled single-cycle waveforms capable of producing both traditional analogue-style waveshapes and tones sampled from real world sources such as pianos, voices or woodwinds.

The synth combined these oscillators with analogue multimode filters, complimented by multiple LFOs and envelope generators, and an eight-track sequencer.

Released to mark the original’s 40th anniversary, Cherry Audio’s Ensoniq ESQ-1 is launched in official collaboration with current Ensoniq owner Creative Technology.

According to the developer: “Through official licensing, Cherry Audio built the instrument around the original 32 ESQ-1 waveforms, faithfully reproducing the complex, evolving, and richly textured sounds that defined the hardware.”

That reproduction has involved modelling the Curtis CEM3379 analogue filter chips, along with the four DCAs, four multistage envelopes, three LFOs, amplitude modulation, and oscillator sync.

Because the plugin faithfully recreates the architecture of the original synth, it allows for drag-and-drop import of patches and banks from original ESQ-1 as SysEx files or directly from the hardware via MIDI. SysEx patches can also be exported for use with the original instrument.

Whereas the original synth was notoriously fiddly to program, with edits made numerically via its display screen, Cherry Audio’s version opens up the full sound engine with each parameter accessible across five UI screens.

As with the original synth, Cherry Audio’s ESQ-1 is equipped with a multitrack sequencer. This is one of several elements upgraded from the original design though. Here, the sequencer is a 16x4 polyphonic design that is capable of controlling both notes and modulation. It’s also equipped with tools for humanising patterns.

Other expansions on the original design include additional polyphony – up to 32 voices – along with an expanded modulation system, plus the ability to control the synth with aftertouch and MPE messages. Cherry Audio’s version also adds an effects section with 20 different processing modules.

"Partnering with Cherry Audio to revive the original sound of the ESQ-1 has been a truly rewarding collaboration," said Koh Zi Kai, Head of Licensing at Creative Technology Ltd. "Ensoniq represents a significant chapter in Creative Technology's history, and we are proud to see the authentic sound of the ESQ-1 preserved and made accessible to a new generation of musicians on the 40th anniversary of its release. Creative Technology stands behind its mission of bringing audio technology and people together, helping them to elevate their audio experience and connect on a deeper level with their music."

"The ESQ-1 is an important part of synthesizer history, and we aimed to honour that legacy with the depth and accuracy it deserves," said Dan Goldstein, CTO at Cherry Audio. "From the original waveforms to the precise modelling of the filter, we have carefully crafted every detail to capture what made the hardware iconic, while also providing today's musicians with the modern tools and expressiveness they expect."

Cherry Audio ESQ-1 comes with over 400 presets, including the sound banks from the original. The plugin is out now priced at $69. Head to the Cherry Audio site for more information.

Arturia has launched its latest synth plugin, Memory V, an emulation of Moog’s lauded Memorymoog polysynth.

Released in 1982, the Memorymoog had six voices, each with the same three-VCO architecture as its mono predecessor the Minimoog. It also packed a 24db low-pass ladder filter per-voice.

As well as generating poly patches, the Memorymoog could operate in mono mode too, where its 18 oscillators could be used to create huge-sounding unison effects.

Arturia’s plugin recreation replicates this original architecture in full, while introducing some modern touches and updated features. Memory V can expand the polyphony from six to 12 voices, also adding modernised modulation, effects and arp sections.

According to Arturia: “Memory V resurrects the analogue majesty of the Memorymoog with breathtaking authenticity. Build towering brass, dense basses, evolving leads, and cinematic pads with the living instability and triple-oscillator depth of a polyphonic classic, augmented for modern production.”

While the Memorymoog boasted an undeniably powerful sound engine, it was not a synth without flaws. The instrument was the last to be released during Moog’s original incarnation before the company fell into bankruptcy. As a result, its MIDI implementation was left somewhat unfinished. The tuning was notoriously unstable too, and the machine is known for being difficult to maintain.

Arturia has included some of these imperfections in its recreation. The plugin includes a ‘vintage dispersion’ parameter, for dialling in what Arturia refers to as “subtle, breathing detuning that sounds alive, not perfect.”

The virtual analogue filters can also be overdriven in a characteristic manner using the per-voice Drive control. According to Arturia: “At low settings it adds subtle harmonic richness; past halfway it introduces the raw, crunchy analogue grit the Memorymoog was notorious for. Combine with a slow filter opening and you have a signature ‘angry Moog’ moment that cuts through any dense mix.”

As with other plugins in Arturia’s V Collection, Memory V’s main UI closely mimics the look and layout of its inspiration, but an assortment of modern extras can be found within the interface’s drop down Advanced tab.

Here, users can access a four-track arpeggiator that allows for multi-layered patterns to be honed and routed to different octaves of the synth keyboard. There’s also a flexible drag-and-drop modulation setup with multiple envelopes, LFOs, randomisation tools and a step-sequenced Voice Modulator.

Memory V also has a three-slot effect engine that can be loaded with a variety of vintage and modern-style processors drawn from Arturia’s existing software suite.

As with other V Collection plugins, the synth also makes use of a top-level Macro system that allows users to modulate and control multiple parameters at once using four editable controls.

Memory V is MPE compatible, and comes loaded with over 300 presets covering basses, pads, leads and a variety of more esoteric sounds.

The synth is available now priced at €/$149. Owners of existing Arturia products can unlock introductory discounts by logging into their accounts.

Head to the Arturia site for more information.

SYNTH WEEK 2026: The wonderful thing about the emergence of synthesizer technology in the '70s and early '80s is that it gave rise to many fantastically engaging stories, which have since entered the folklore of the synthesist’s almanac.

One of the most often recounted moments could be described as ground zero for Gary Numan.

So the story goes, he walked into a studio with his band, Tubeway Army, with the intention of making a punk album. Unfortunately for punk, there was a Minimoog sitting in the corner of the studio, set up with a patch that literally made the room shake - and the rest (as they say) is history!

In 1979, Numan released The Pleasure Principle, the first album under his own name and away from his band. While there were clearly band-driven elements scattered throughout the album, its reliance on synthesizers was groundbreaking in pop culture - with no track exemplifying this more clearly than its lead single, the (UK) chart-topping Cars.

Surprisingly, according to Numan, the iconic riff of Cars was actually first written on bass guitar.

“I just wanted to do pop music, and thought Cars was here today, gone tomorrow,” Numan told Chaos Control. “I don’t know what happened with that, the fact that it’s done so well over the years - I never quite figured it out, really. It was the quickest song I ever wrote. I wrote it on bass guitar, I didn’t even write it on the keyboard, and it took about 10 minutes, the tune and the lyrics. The keyboard part came later, I mean the main melody and arrangement of the song and lyrics. It was about 10 minutes, beginning to end.

It’s the distinctive sound of that iconic main riff that we’re digging into today, which also forms part of the melody for Numan’s vocal.

When we focus on this element of the song, it's actually quite difficult to hear exactly what's going on because, despite the overall simplicity, it's tricky to filter out the additional elements, such as the bass and drums, but we can certainly derive some useful detail.

First of all, the main riff has been recorded twice, once for the left channel and once for the right. The two sounds used for this riff are both generated by the Minimoog (a Polymoog with the ‘Vox Humana’ patch, was deployed to create the additional swirling lead sounds which enter the mix later).

The twin-Minimoog-driven main riff provides a solid musical foundation, whilst also providing a feeling of movement in the sound. Both sounds are quite ‘reedy’ in harmonic makeup, suggesting that they are predominantly formed from a pulse wave.

The Cars riff patch is a sound that could be recreated using any synth that offers subtractive synthesis, armed with two or three oscillators. For this exploration, we are going to create a soundalike patch using Cherry Audio’s cost-effective Miniverse plugin, which is a hugely exacting software emulation.

One of the unique features of the original Minimoog is that it did not offer pulse width modulation (PWM).

There were post-market customisations available to add this, but Moog’s answer to the issue was to provide three different pulse wave shapes, within each oscillator section. It is these wave shapes that are fully exploited for the sound of Cars, with a slight variance between the left and right channel.

If you would like to re-create the sound in your own DAW, then you must start by creating the patch for the left channel. It's important to note that you should load your plugin synth in a mono instance, rather than stereo, as this will allow you to pan the synth fully to your left channel.

How to replicate the Cars main riff sound

Using Oscillators 1 and 2, set these to a middle frequency range, such as 16’.

As a starting point, select the first and second pulse waves respectively, making sure that the volumes are set roughly the same. If your chosen synth offers PWM, alter the pulse width settings so that the two oscillators differ slightly in tone.

Depending on the synth you are using, it will be worthwhile creating a small amount of de-tuning. In the case of a Minimoog-in-software, this will mean changing the tuning of Oscillator 2, as the tuning of Oscillator 1 is fixed.

The other related elements to the sound are fairly simplistic, but will once again be open to variation, according to your chosen synth. The filter Cutoff Frequency should be set very close to fully open. In our experience, software versions of the Minimoog often include a cutoff frequency that opens wider than the original hardware, so you may need to reduce the brightness by a small degree. There is no resonance (aka emphasis) applied to this sound.

The filter envelope doesn't play a part here either, but the Loudness Contour (aka Amplitude Envelope) certainly does.

The patch fully sustains, and adopts a very fast attack time, and a rapid decay/release time. If you haven't done so already, switch your synth to monophonic mode or single voice, which will also limit any release phase time to the end of phrases.

That’s pretty much it for the left channel, but the patch for the right channel adopts very similar sensibilities, in fact, it would be worthwhile copying the L/H patch over to the R/H channel, for ease and speed of setup.

The subtle variation between patches takes place within the oscillator section again, where you need to select different pulse waves, providing a sort of ‘ying-yang’ effect between the two channels.

There is also a thought that a triangle wave is used in the R/H patch, which is something worth trying and applying. If you have a third oscillator available, use this and subtly apply a triangle to the existing sound. Much like our first patch, you will probably need to apply a little detuning, to avoid unwanted beating, caused by precise pitch accuracy.

All the other settings, relating to filter and envelope remain the same, although you could subtly tweak these, to create a slightly different tone and envelope tail.

If you haven’t done so already, pan the first patch hard-left, and the second patch hard-right. This will create a gloriously thick and complex texture.

Bussed for Phaser

Having created the two patches, you can record the riff on one part, and copy it to the other part. However, if you would like to adopt the purist’s approach, play and record the riff for each channel, without using quantize. The subtle timing discrepancies between parts will add to the overall flavour, getting closer to the original.

Like many synthesizers from this era, Minimoogs were very reliant upon external effects, and no other effect was more exploited on this album than a phaser.

As most DAW’s offer phasers in one guise or another, bus both of your synth patches to a single bus channel, and apply phaser to the bus. This is certainly an area for experimentation, as you could try various forms of stereo phaser, with variance of setting to get the perfect effect.

Other Elements

While Gary Numan’s music from this era was intrinsically linked to synths, he still made considerable use of conventional instrumentation.

The drums are provided by an acoustic drum kit, and the bass is provided by a bass guitar, however there would be no issue with using a further Minimoog-style patch, to provide a bass one octave below the riff we have been discussing here.

In fact, in the spirit of experimentation, you could use a third oscillator tuned an octave lower, to provide a thicker texture, all sounding simultaneously.

“I think to this day that Cars remains the most poppy song I’ve ever written” Numan reflected on his unlikely hit in an interview with Billboard, “I do not think I have a talent for pop music. It’s too light for me, for my taste in music. It’s too…happy. I’m just not very good at it! I’m much better if I slow it down a bit, make it a bit menacing, add a hint of mystery or oppression, I’m in my element at that point!”

SYNTH WEEK 2026: With the physical constraints of hardware - as well as the cost, weight, size and how much power they use - removed, it's safe to say that today's modern synth plugin designers have got it easy compared to Bob Moog, Tom Oberheim, Dave Smith, Wolfgang Palm, and the rest of the pantheon of synth-building legends.

And while the old classics were borne of their ability to strike a perfect balance between capability and practicality, there are no such rules to obey today. Yesterday's synth heroes worked in the physical world, discovering and sourcing new components and getting them all in one place to work together reliably.

Today's designers of modern software synths face no such constraints. Once they have a computer model for an oscillator, a filter, or an envelope, they can cram as many of these models as you like into a synth without adding any expense or impracticality.

Their only limit is the power of the user's CPU and, these days, that's not much of a limit at all!

And so with all this power, reliability and innovation we're in the midst of something of a golden age for synths where, for just a couple-of-hundred quid/dollars/euros, you can purchase the most powerful, flexible, and gob-smackingly impressive instruments ever created, creating a market for uber-synths all aiming out outgun each other.

These are synths that are both able to emulate practically any other and produce new sounds that are all their own.

Which only begs the question which is best? And which should you splash your hard-earned cash on?

Let's find out...

Arturia Pigments (Tested with v6)

Arturia is an old hand at this game, having quickly focused its attentions on creating computer models of hard-to-find hardware, realising the market for the aspiring synth nerd who dreamed of finally owning their own rack of card-carrying classics.

As its collection of synths and plugins grew, so did its repository of algorithms, so, when it turned its attention to creating its own original soft-synth, the company had a vast back catalogue of know-how and code to draw from.

The result of all this know-how is Pigments. Now on version 7 - we performed our test here originally with version 6.

Pigments is a monster synth that features a multi-engine design that allows a range of different sound generators, filters and FX processors to be combined within a patch. It's the best of Arturia… In one synth.

It features three sound generation engines. One of these is a 'Utility' engine with two noise generators and a single analogue-style oscillator, perfect for use as a sub-oscillator or drone. The other two generator slots can load any one of five different synthesis models. These are:

• Analogue provides the three-oscillator setup found on many classic synths, with common waveforms, frequency modulation and oscillator sync.
• Wavetable is a powerful and versatile wavetable engine replete with large library of wavetables and the ability to import custom wavetables.
• Sample can host up to six sample articulations, and can operate as a classic sampler or be switched into a granular mode.
• Harmonic is an approachable implementation of additive synthesis.
• Modal is a physical modelling engine based on Karplus-Strong synthesis.

This selection may not cover every synthesis technology ever, but it's more than enough to give Pigments an exceptionally varied voice.

More options are available in the filter section, which offers two slots that can be arranged in series or parallel.

There's a large choice of filter models available to load into these, with various flavours of low-pass, band-pass and high-pass models, along with a collection of more specialized filters such as comb, formant and cluster filters and some filters taken directly from Arturia's instrument collection (Minimoog, MS-20, Jupiter 8, and more).

The filters feed to an FX section featuring two insert effects busses and one send effects bus, with each bus able to host three effect processors.

As with the filters, there's a range of standard effects – reverbs, delays, and what-have-you – alongside processors taken from Arturia's other products – a Juno-6 chorus or BL-20 flanger, for example. Like we said – it's a greatest hits mash-up!

All of this is backed up with an intuitive and powerful modulation system that provides three each of envelopes, LFOs, function curves, random generators and modulation combinators. These are easy to assign via drag-and-drop – the technique favoured by all the synths we're looking at – with each mapping also available as a destination for other modulators to modulate.

Pigments also boasts a powerful arpeggiator/pattern sequencer packed with enough generative, polyrhythmic and randomisation features to keep even the most experimental producer happy.

Pleasingly, as well as driving Pigments, the arpeggiator/sequencer can also output MIDI, and so can be used to sequence other synths.

Summing up

Pigments is good-looking, easy-to-use, and sounds fantastic. It can at times get greedy for system resources but this all depends on the patch – the Analogue and Sample engines are very efficient, but fire up a Harmonic engine or two and the demands can rise sharply, especially if setting the engine to generate a large number of partials.

The synth comes with a huge library of patches, samples and wavetables, and can run standalone or as a plugin.

Verdict

Flexibility: 4

Ease-of-Use: 4

Sound: 5

Value: 4

Sound examples

Price: €199

Contact: arturia.com

Arturia Pigments review

Kilohearts Phase Plant

Not one you may have considered but well worth your time, Kilohearts' series of 'Snapin' plugins are a collection of processors that, individually, perform a single, focused task, but which can also be combined in complex ways within one of the company's three host plugins.

For effects there's Snap Heap and Multipass, and for instruments there's Phase Plant, which is what's of specific interest to us here.

The Snapin system makes Phase Plant by far the most flexible and modular synth in this roundup. An initial patch starts as a completely blank slate, and is divided into three sections: The Generator section is the hosting area for the main synth components, such as oscillators, filters and amps). The Lanes section provides three busses for hosting additional effects and processors, and which can be routing destinations for output modules within the Generator area.

Finally, the Modulators section allows any selection of envelopes, LFOs, and other modulation sources to be loaded and then assigned to any of the multitude of modulatable parameters within the patch.

Creating patches is simply a case of clicking in one of the sections and choosing Snapins from the list of compatible options that's shown.

And, by virtue of 'building' the synth yourself you'll find it perhaps the most easy to understand (while offering predictable) results. There are no 'what's that bit' or 'why is that there'… Everything is here in the chain because you put it there, making it great for learning about sound design and synthesis.

The Generator section is where sound generators, filters, and amplifiers are loaded. These are always arranged into groups, with a group needing at least one sound generator Snapin and one output Snapin for routing the sound to the Lanes section.

There are five sound generator models available, each with a self-explanatory name: Analogue, Granular, Noise, Sampler and Wavetable. To these you can add a couple of types of filter, a distortion processor, two flavours of amp envelope, and a few mixing and routing processors.

Synths can therefore be very simple with very clear design and predictable responses. Or – with the capacity to host up to 32 Snapins, and the ability to route audio signals between Snapins and groups – the Generator section ultimately allows for some phenomenally complex instruments and patches to be created.

Each of the three Lanes can load any processing Snapin installed on the system. There are additional filters, dynamics processors, distortion processors, reverb, ring modulation, EQ... the list is huge.

The Modulators section is similarly generous, with a wide choice of different realtime, automatic and utility modulators with which to add control and variation to a patch.

Summing up

For all its flexibility Phase Plant's innate 'building block' simplicity is sure to delight and teach you a thing or two in the process. Despite its open-ended and immensely versatile architecture, Phase Plant is remarkably easy to use, once you have grasped its concept. And all of this power is delivered without placing a massive strain on the host system.

Visualisations are detailed, informative and attractive, signal routing is logical and easy, and managing modulators remains intuitive and simple.

Verdict

Flexibility: 5

Ease-of-Use: 4

Sound: 4

Value: 4

Sound examples

Price: $199

Contact: kilohearts.com

Kilohearts Phase Plant review

Native Instruments Massive X

Massive quickly became a go-to in the early days of DnB and Dubstep, packing powerful, bone crushing leads and basses and forging a new route for sound designers. Massive X, as you would expect, takes that sound, complexity and capability to the next level.

At first glance its fixed pair of wavetable oscillators seem a trifle primitive compared to the other synths in this roundup, but while most wavetable synths can only traverse a wavetable's frames and, perhaps, apply wavetable folding (akin to adjusting the pulse width of a square wave), Massive X's oscillators offer a choice of 10 different methods for interpreting and working with the loaded wavetable, each resulting in significantly different sonic outcomes.

The combination of which – in the face of simpler fare elsewhere – makes Massive (in both original and X form) a bit of a law unto itself, especially as it uses a proprietary wavetable format, and so, while there's certainly plenty of options on board, there's no scope for working with your own custom tables.

Massive X also features a dual noise generator replete with a wide selection of noise samples, a single filter stage offering a choice of nine different models, three slots for hosting a choice of 12 sound processor models, and three slots for hosting any of nine effect models.

All of which combine to give it its distinctive 'slab of sound'.

But what really unleashes Massive X's sound design power is its open-ended routing system. In essence, and with few limitations, each of the synth's components can be patched to any other, in any order you like, via a simple graphical interface.

Massive X provides 17 modulation sources in total. One of these is hard-wired as the amp envelope, while a further eight slots can load any of the synth's two envelope and two LFO models.

The remaining modulation sources have dedicated uses: three are pattern sequencers for creating repeating loops of modulation values, four are advanced keyboard tracking curves, and one is a pseudo-random generator.

Summing up

All told, Massive X is a bit of a beast. Mapping is easy enough, using a click-and-drag method similar to all of the synths we're looking at, however, in Massive X's case, there are tighter limits on the number of modulators that can be applied to each parameter and, once mapped, there isn't much visual feedback about what each modulator is actually doing.

Meanwhile, sonically, Massive X lives up to its name, and is one of the less processor-hogging of the bunch. It is impressively flexible too, but accessing its full potential feels less intuitive and more 'tweak it and try' than with the other synths in our roundup.

Verdict

Flexibility: 4

Ease-of-Use: 2

Sound: 4

Value: 4

Sound examples

Price: £179 (available with 50% discount at time of writing)

Contact: native-instruments.com

Native Instruments Massive X review

Vital Audio Vital

Freeware and open-source music-making software has something of a chequered history, with many promising projects descending into abandonware before reaching maturity.

Thankfully, that's not the case with Vital.

The synth itself is free – just create an account and download the software – while the Plus and Pro editions pack in additional presets and wavetables (amongst other things).

And in the latest update the synth is now available for both Intel and Apple Silicon on Mac.

Like Massive X, Vital is built around wavetable oscillators, of which it has three. The Basic edition comes with only 25 wavetables, but (unlike Massive X) it's easy to import custom wavetables, and the synth even features a capable wavetable editor if you want to try your hand at creating your own.

There's also a very basic sample oscillator intended for loading noise or basic waveform samples.

Each oscillator features note-snapping, useful for creating one-note chords that remain in-key, or if you're not the most accurate keyboard player. They also sport an efficient unison engine, a processing slot into which a choice of different filters and shapers can be loaded, and a flexible cross-modulation system for creating sync, FM and ring modulation effects.

Simple routing allows each oscillator to send its signal to either of the two filters, both filters simultaneously, or to bypass the filter stage altogether and route straight to the effects processing stage or directly to the output.

The two filters offer a good choice of different models – classic analogue, ladder, digital, and such – and a useful selection of shapes and slopes for each model. The filter output is sent to a stereo effect bus with a choice of nine processors, including reverb, compressor, delay, EQ, an additional filter, and more. The choice of processors is fixed, but they can be freely re-ordered.

Vital has a large selection of modulators to work with: six DAHDSR envelopes (delay, attack, hold, decay, sustain, release), eight LFOs with fully customisable shapes, four random generators, four macro controllers, and a bunch of realtime and MPE control sources – mod wheel, keyboard tracking, slide, and so on.

As with all the synths we're looking at, mapping modulators to parameters is a simple drag-and-drop, but there's also a dedicated Matrix view from where modulation mappings can be created and managed.

Summing up

Sound-wise, Vital gives little away to its premium-priced competitors, delivering a rich and full-blooded a sound that's on par with the other synths we're looking at. It's also similar from a system usage point of view, able to be very lean with simpler patches but getting rather greedy when things become more complex.

It's remarkable that this powerful synth can be picked up for free, and upped to its full power for so little outlay. There really is no excuse for not grabbing it right away, and making Vital not to be a regular go-to in your production workflow.

Verdict

Flexibility: 3

Ease-of-Use: 3

Sound: 3

Value: 5

Sound examples

Price: $0 (Basic Edition) / $25 (Plus Edition) / $80 (Pro Edition)

Contact: vital.audio

Xfer Records Serum 2

Xfer's long-awaited update to the wildly popular Serum appeared out of the blue back in March 2025. For fans of the original, this new version has definitely been worth the wait, with the synth moving into the territory of Pigments and Phase Plant thanks to a new selection of models that can be loaded into the synth's three sound generator slots.

The wavetable engine of the original Serum is here, of course, with built in unison and two 'Warp' slots into which various signal processors can be loaded. This is much the same as Vital, and is why many view Vital as a freeware equivalent of the original Serum.

But Serum 2 has beefed things up with a choice of Sample, Multisample, Granular and Spectral engines.

The Sample engine is conventional, and similar to Pigments' and Phase Plant's, but the Multisample engine offers far more flexibility than the maximum of six layers/articulations supported by Pigments' Sample engine.

Multisamples are defined in SFZ files, these being text files with a simple syntax that define all aspects of a multisample collection. Although text editing isn't as intuitive as the visual editor you may find in an actual sampler, Serum 2's use of SFZ files makes it possible to define very complex multisamples for use in the synth.

Serum 2's implementation of granular synthesis is fairly conventional and familiar, but the Spectral engine is somewhat more unique. It is conceptually similar to granular synthesis in that it separates the time and frequency dimensions of a sample so each can be manipulated independently, and whilst this gives sonic results that aren't dissimilar to granular synthesis, it is distinct enough to be a worthwhile alternative. In short, both engines turn any sample into a treasure trove of timbres from which to create new patches.

The filter section has two slots that can be arranged in series or parallel, and alongside the extensive collection of conventional and specialized filter models carried over from the original Serum are eleven new models. But, in a further encroachment on Pigments' territory, the majority these are based on classic synth filters such as the Moog Minimoog, Oberheim SEM, EMS Synthi, and EDP Wasp.

For modulation, Serum 2 provides four AHDSR envelopes, eight macro knobs, velocity and keyboard tracking, and six LFOs. These LFOs are quite special, with a choice of freely-drawable waveform, sample-and-hold, an option that tracks two dimensional paths that you draw, and a pair of chaos-based LFOs that produce fascinating non-repeating modulation patterns. Mapping of modulators is done via the same intuitive drag-and-drop system that's common across all of the synth's we're looking at.

Serum 2 features a powerful arpeggiator and a Clip player that stores and plays back predefined patterns and sequences. Each of these has 12 slots for storing patterns, with the active arpeggio or Clip pattern selectable either from the GUI or from a controller keyboard.

Summing up

Serum 2 is a powerful jamming and performance tool as well as a powerful synth. And, as with Pigments, the arpeggiator and Clip players can send their notes as a MIDI output with which to drive other synths.

Some have observed that it's overbearingly demanding on the host system, but we didn't see anything better or worse than with any other synth in the roundup. It's all down to the complexity of the patch, with some being very demanding, and others barely registering on the CPU meter.

All in all, Serum 2 delivers the same rich, rounded and detailed sound as its predecessor, and easily holds its own alongside the other synth's we've gathered here. Our only gripes are that the included patch library seems less generous than some, and the asking price is the highest of the bunch.

Verdict

Flexibility: 4

Ease-of-Use: 3

Sound: 5

Value: 2

Sound examples

Price: $249 ($189 intro price until June 1st)

Contact: xferrecords.com

The Final Verdict

Though each has its strong points, all five of these instruments are immensely impressive. And while each has its own particular range of options and way of doing things, it's remarkable how close they all are in terms of sound quality and sonic versatility – marking and ranking them has not been an easy task!

Below, we've listed the winners in each category.

Coming in on top for flexibility and ease-of-use is Phase Plant, while Pigments and Serum 2 are tied for first place in terms of sound. When it comes to value for money, Vital unsurprisingly snags our top spot.

That said, whether you want the warmth of analogue, the flexibility of digital, the realism of samples, or the fascination of the unconventional, these instruments can do it all.

If you have any of these plugins in your arsenal, you won't struggle to find the right sounds for your productions.

Best For Flexibility: Phase Plant

Best For Ease-of-use: Phase Plant

Best For Sound: Pigments & Serum 2

Best For Value: Vital

SYNTH WEEK 2026: Few soft synths are as legendary as Massive. This is the history of Native Instruments’ evergreen wavetable instrument, from development and release to its rebirth last year as Massive X Player.

Massive. Has there ever been a better-named soft synth? Native Instruments’ bass monster arrived in late 2006, blowing the competition out of the water with its astonishing sound quality, novel use of wavetables, semi-modular structure, powerful modulation options and ease of use. It soon established itself as the instrument for electronic music producers, helping spawn not only dance music genres like dubstep but a glut of copycat wavetable synths of varying quality.

And, almost 20 years later, it remains a high-water mark for soft synths and a blueprint for what a dance music-focused plugin instrument should be.

“Violinists have their Stradivarius, guitarists have their Strats, and producers have Massive,” said user reviewer FarleyCZ on KVR, echoing the thoughts of many, many musicians. Or, as producer Lawrence Hart said succinctly: “Massive does everything I want.”

It’s hard to believe that a piece of software two decades old could still be in such demand when the life-cycle for most is a few years at best. How did Massive come to dominate the music production landscape, and how is it able to maintain its position in a market saturated with similar instruments?

The story begins in Berlin in the mid-2000s with a man named Mike Daliot.

In the 2014 book Presets – Digital Shortcuts to Sound, Massive designer Mike Daliot described his creation as “bass in war mode.” Much like the monster getting away from Dr Frankenstein, Mike’s creation seems to have taken on a life of its own, with its sound inspiring countless records. “I’ve heard tracks where someone took a preset and just added a snare and some chords and that’s all they did,” he said in the book.

Mike, who had previously created the Reaktor instruments Carbon and Vierring, wanted to make a synthesizer capable of generating huge bass and lead sounds. While virtual analogue was still the most popular synthesis style at the time, Daliot turned instead to wavetables, a sample-based approach closely associated with 1980s hardware like the PPG Wave and Waldorf Microwave. However, he took things far beyond what these clunky older instruments were capable of, animating the playhead with modulation and adding an Intensity section to further alter the sound.

“The way Massive could manipulate wavetables in real time was unique for a VST at the time,” explained Frank Elting, Native Instruments' original Project Manager for Massive. “Mike favoured the perspective of a musician rather than that of an engineer, and this philosophy was reflected in the creation of the built-in wavetables.”

Another novel feature for Massive was its self-contained GUI, with most controls confined to a single screen. “Mike and the team designed a remarkably effective single-view interface, which was just as important as the sound in driving Massive’s success,” said Frank. “That simplicity helped make it accessible, especially for young producers starting out. In fact, the single-view layout became so influential that it was later adopted by many other synthesizers.”

While it may sound surprising today, sales of Massive were slow at first. This was due to the team’s decision to prioritise sound quality over CPU efficiency. “The initial reaction wasn’t as overwhelming as Massive’s long-term success might suggest,” said Frank. “At launch, Massive was very demanding on CPUs, and it took time for producers to fully appreciate its sound quality and usability.”

Rather than immediate adoption, the music producers gradually found their way to the instrument as processing power improved. “As computers became more powerful, Massive gained wider recognition and ultimately established itself as a genre-defining instrument,” said Frank.

Although slow out of the gate, Massive soon became the instrument that everyone wanted. Much of this came through word of mouth, with producers hyping the synth’s power and sound quality to each other. “I was having a conversation with someone, I think it might have been George Fitzgerald, and I was talking about how certain people get certain sounds and he was like, oh, that's just Massive,” said Lawrence.

Reviews of the time praised it for its astonishing depth of sound, which was achieved by employing high sample rates not only in sound generation, but for modulation, another area where the instrument broke new ground. Drag-and-drop modulation assignment, as well as the sheer variety of modulation possibilities, played a big part in the wildness of the sounds that you could make with it, controlling not only filters and amplitude but the wavetables themselves.

Native Instruments designed Massive for bass duties, and that’s exactly how most people used it, cranking out earth-quaking bass and ever-more wild wobbles. Arriving just when a new generation of producers was coming online, it became the instrument to have, and was soon popping up in tracks across genres, from the deepest underground dubstep to the chart-topping EDM.

Producer Lawrence Hart, who crafts gorgeously melodic, UK garage-inflected tracks, may have a studio full of analogue synths from Moog and Roland, but when it comes to bass, his go-to is Massive. “I use the Moog One quite a lot for pads and poly synth parts but generally for Massive, I just use that for basses,” Hart said. “It's rare I ever use an analogue synth for bass these days.”

Continuing, he added: “I used to use the SH-101 quite a bit for bass and the Moog Subsequent 32 and different things like that, and I just found that the subs were so much more consistent on Massive. I was listening to other people's records and thinking, I want my basslines to hit like that. And as soon as I started using Massive, I was like: 'oh, this is the sound I've been wanting.'”

Lawrence’s experience is probably like many musicians, who found that Massive gave them consistent power in the low end.

“With Massive, you can have three oscillators on top of each other, slightly detuned, and that should be out of control (with) phase cancellation, but with Massive you still seem to be able to have quite a consistent sub with that.”

“I assume Lawrence is referring to the Restart Via Gate option on the oscillator page, which ensures a consistent and reproducible phase relationship between the oscillators for each note,” answered Frank Elting when asked about why this might be the case. “The setting is another example of Mike’s attention to detail and experience as a sound designer. It makes a noticeable difference if you’re aiming for a stable, predictable sound.”

Lawrence also likes how the LFOs are easy to use. “The fact that you can map LFOs to pretty much anything in there means quite quickly you can get these evolving sounds,” he said. “I make a lot of bassline-influenced music with wobbly rhythmic basses. Massive is great for that because you can put a synced LFO on an out-of-time LFO. You can have your LFO start to slow down or whatever it might be, and that's architecture that you don't really have on much else, really.”

Although Massive is a wavetable synth, Lawrence finds that it sounds very ‘analogue’ in a way that appeals to his love for hardware synthesizers. “I think there's a warmth to it that I don't hear as much in [other wavetable synths like Serum],” he said. “They sound very modern and very cutting but there's still this analogue sound to Massive.”

When asked about this, Frank answered, “I don’t think making Massive sound analogue was an explicit goal. The ‘analogue’ association, in my opinion, comes from the unison features, the musical modulation system, and the multiple drive stages. These aren’t necessarily modelled after analogue gear, but they contribute to an analogue-like sonic character. Interestingly, the first version didn’t even include virtual analogue oscillator modes.”

Twenty years is a long time. For music production software, it’s an eternity, so it was inevitable that something else would come along to challenge Massive’s bass hegemony. That something arrived in 2014 with the name Serum, another wavetable synthesizer with a single-screen UI and similar feature set. As Lawrence mentioned, Serum (and other modern wavetable challengers) tend to have a cleaner sound than Massive, one that found favour with modern dance music producers.

“Native Instruments’ Massive might have been the synth that made wavetable synthesis the de facto approach for modern electronic music, but Steve Duda’s Serum took Massive’s blueprint and ran with it, becoming the go-to for producers of EDM and bass music,” Our own Ben Rogerson said in MusicRadar’s guide to the best synth plugins.

Native Instruments’ groundbreaking instrument faced further competition from Arturia’s Pigments, which borrowed Massive’s influential modulation animations while adding additional synthesis engines, something that Serum has also done in its second iteration.

Released in 2019, Kilohearts’ Phase Plant also built on Massive’s semi-modular architecture, an instrument that confidently handles Massive-style bass sounds while providing a broader array of synthesis options.

In 2019, Native Instrument released Massive’s successor Massive X. While a solid instrument with even-better sound quality, flexible routing, new oscillator modes and an advanced modulation system, it failed to make the same kind of impression on the public as its predecessor.

Unlike last year's Serum 2, which is an upgrade rather than a sequel, Native Instruments released Massive X as a follow-up, effectively trying to capture lightning in a bottle a second time. It didn’t.

In our 2019 review, we called it “a hugely characterful, immensely powerful synth with a number of issues, some of which feel like the result of a rushed release.” Some of the issues mentioned include one less oscillator and the baffling disappearance of modulation animation, something now de rigueur in most modern soft synths.

To be fair, the antipathy directed at X does feel unwarranted. It’s an excellent instrument in its own right. You can’t help but feel that if Massive X had been released under a different name - something not saddled with all of the expectations from the first - it might have developed more of a fan base.

Native Instruments seems keen to address this, recently giving X some new features such as the Play tab with a Morpher and an Animator, and also gifting the music-making community with Massive X Player, a free version of the instrument.

“Massive X is very powerful in its capabilities but it can feel a bit intimidating with its love for detail and its flexibility,” Tobias Fricke, Lead Product Manager at NI, explained. “We were looking for ways to make the instrument more accessible to our users and offer something different than what you can find in other synths.”

This is not just a one-time drop but part of a larger effort to boost the profile of X with some much-needed updates. “We are dedicated to building on Massive X,” said Tobias, “and are currently working on the next free update that will include the long overdue addition of automation of all parameters – currently only macros are exposed to the DAW – plus some improvements to the Play tab.”

Twenty years on, Massive’s position as an electronic music production powerhouse remains unchanged. From its humble Reaktor instrument beginnings to its CPU-gnashing debut, through the twists and turns of the Massive X sequel release and redemptive 2025 comeback, it remains a formidably powerful force for bass.

“Massive makes basslines that are so big and impactful and interesting and intriguing and weird that it allows (for) whole genres of music,” summed up Lawrence Hart. “It’s pretty iconic in that sense.”

SYNTH WEEK 2026: Why search for the ultimate soft synth when the very DAW in front of you might well include everything you need? It's time to dig into your DAW to find its hidden gems, because the synth sounds you need could be just a mouse-click away…

There’s no doubting that the software synthesizer market is huge, almost ridiculously so. From the vast range of solid freeware titles to those high-end professional instruments and collections that could set you back well into four figures.

Soft synths also give you the bulk of the sonic power that hardware synths can muster (and often much more) at a much lower price. Yes, analogue synths might get you another 2% of vintage reality, but why spend a fortune on a hefty physical unit when a cheap plugin will literally ‘plug-in’ to your studio setup and workflow immediately, smoothly and quickly, and do most of the heavy lifting, without, well, any actual heavy lifting.

However, there is a category of soft synth that often gets overlooked. You might already own at least one and not be aware of its potential - you probably actually own a lot more.

Best of all, they’re kind of free. We’re not talking about second-rate freeware here. These are the real deal; proper plugins for proper synthesis.

We’re talking, of course, about those free synths that come bundled with your DAW. These are the ones that have been put together by the pros to tempt you into spending a decent wedge of cash on a complete software studio system for music creation.

These synths are often the flagship USP of DAW point updates, so they must be good, right?

In the main, yes - they really are good. But they’re often maligned as, when you open your DAW you’re spoiled for choice by the workstation’s other features and its myriad of compositional and effect options.

When you're scrolling through your favourite third-party synths to assign to a track, those default synths are sometimes not considered at all. They're left, festering on your hard drive like dusty, forgotten toys from your childhood.

So, as it's Synth Week here at MusicRadar, we’re here to remind you of just how good those stock options can be; and which of the many DAW freebies are worth booting up again.

So without further ado, let’s count down the best synths in your DAW you need to use more.

1. Drift (Ableton Live)

A more recent synth to kick-off with, Drift was actually introduced to Ableton Live around three years ago in the 11.3 update. Greeted by some as just another 2-oscillator subtractive synth, it enjoys a few extras that take it away from this unfair comparison and also away from Analog, Drift’s more popular and famous older sibling.

One of Drift’s big plusses is its MPE compatibility, meaning that you can twist its sounds into something more unusual with extra performance dimensions, like those found on ROLI’s 5D and Expressive E’s Osmose keyboards, plus many other controllers from the likes the Roger Linn (Linnstrument) and Ableton’s own Push.

That said, Ableton’s Analog also introduced MPE at the same time so really we have to look at the synth’s workflow to find its more attractive qualities and this is where we start to majorly ‘drift’ away from any comparisons.

In short Drift has pretty much everything right there for you, all the common controls you need and simple drop-down menus to access deeper tailoring options.

You can easily route oscillators through the filter or miss it out completely, add tuning variations between those core ingredients, introduce keyboard tracking to change filter characteristics according to the note you play and, this is where it gets really good, drop in some modulation quicker than possibly any other synth out there.

Drift's icing on the cake comes from the parameter of the same name, introducing drift between oscillators for more vintage swirls and character or subtle stereo effects just by playing with two parameters - or you can go completely mad in Unison mode for extra detuning and conjuring massive pads.

It’s easy, fun, all there in front of you, and best of all, Drift is available in all versions of Live, from the cheapest Intro version (€79) upwards.

For more on how to get to grips with Drift, check out our hands-on guide to navigating its intricacies here

2. Europa (Reason)

Yes we could (and many will say should) have included Reason’s Thor in this list (and by mentioning it in this sentence, I guess we kind of have), but while Thor was an absolute beast on release, it has been (arguably) superseded by other big, bold and massive synths since. Europa takes our ‘hidden gem’ award, then, simply because it strays away from the norm more than Thor.

Introduced in Reason 10, Europa is a three oscillator 'shapeshifting' wavetable synth that also does good strings thanks to an included modelling algorithm. It is capable of a lot more weirdness, hence the shapeshifting name, by way of Spectral Filter and Harmonics modules which allow more extreme and partial processing of your sources.

Add in effects and an easy modulation matrix and you might even forgive the slightly dated UI, because this really is a synth to dive into, rewarding any time you spend with it.

Like many of the synths here, you can't get it unless you get the DAW, but Reason is also available as a rack, which means that you can pick up all of its instruments and effects to use as a plugin minus the DAW stuff, for £199 (as opposed to £299 for the DAW).

Read our original 2018 review of Europa here

3. Alchemy (Logic)

Logic has one of (if not the best) libraries of instruments, effects and sounds. Apple has made it this way in order to shift hardware, after all. Stalwarts of this collection include the ancient-looking ES synths, which still pack a decent punch but look like they've turned up at your DAW by way of a Charles Dickens short story.

Alchemy, on the other hand, is modern (ish), punchy, clean and easy on both the eye and ear. In fact it's as good as any third-party synth plugin, pretty much because it was a very good third-party synth plugin before its incorporation into the Logic suite back in 2015 for version X.

Before this, Alchemy existed as an incredibly well-regarded synth from Camel Audio, but its insertion into Logic has certainly helped shift a few copies of the DAW and resulted in many a song being created within it.

It's not so much that Alchemy sounds that different, although with its mix of additive, granular and spectral synthesis, it certainly can if you wish it to, it's more that you can choose to interact with it on a very simple level to twist sounds into your own in no time at all.

In fact, it's one of those synths where you're almost embarrassed to call the results of a couple of preset tweaks your own. But you still do as, come on, no-one knows you just tweaked the Frequency dial, do they?

We won't tell anyone.

Check out our ultimate guide to getting the best out of Alchemy here

4. 3x Osc (FL Studio)

Many hardware synths are so old we call them 'vintage’, and quite right too, but software, by its very nature, never tends to get that label, even though some soft synths have been around since the dawn of time. Ok, the outset of the 21st century. One that quite literally ticks that box, and even has 'since 2000' proudly written on itself, is 3x Osc, one of FL Studio's standout plugins.

Whether it's pronounced 'Three Ex Osc' or 'Three times oscillator' or any variation/combination of those is up for debate, but what isn't is the fact that this thing can do pretty much anything, despite being one of the most basic looking synths out there.

Thanks to an easy tab interface that allows a lot of simple envelope editing, you can literally shape your sound, with just enough modulation flexibility to lift it away from standard subtractive fare.

Yes there are better synths (it is a quarter of a century old, after all) but 3x Osc is one of those plugins where you can quite easily master it and do everything you need with it, or transfer a lot of that knowledge across to other plugins.

Basically, 'start here' and maybe 'stay here', but definitely 'come here and use me'.

5. Padshop 2 (Cubase)

We could have gone for the 'definitely a synth' option of Retrologue here, but as good as that is, it's just another VA style synth of which we have plenty of already.

No, instead we're opting for Padshop 2, a synth that crosses so much into sampler territory that we might even be breaking our own rules by including it.

Never mind though, software instruments tend to challenge definitions these days, and to be honest, if it has synth features, it's a synth, so there.

And what features. Simply drag in a sample, apply the on-board grain oscillator and you'll start shifting your core sound into, well, pretty much any atmosphere, drone and sound effect you can imagine.

You might not be able to aim for a specific sound, but you'll have a lot of fun along the way if you do, even if you don't end up with what you intended. This is out-there, wild and, well, droney.

Use your retro synths for anything analogue, and this for all the atmospheric backdrops and experimental textures you could ever need.

SYNTH WEEK 2026: “You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar…” is easily one of the most recognisable opening lines in pop, oft-heard at karaoke bars and wedding parties the world over. The hit 1981 single, Don’t You Want Me by the Human League undoubtedly had mass appeal. But, beyond its success, it holds a considerable number of important accolades.

Firstly, it was the first song to exclusively use a drum machine to make it to No.1 in the UK single chart. Released as part of the album Dare, the album initially employed analogue synthesizers to recreate drum sounds, as was then the norm.

During this process, the studio where the League were working took delivery of one of the first Linn LM-1 drum machines in the country, significantly changing direction for the album and forcing the removal of all synthetic facsimiles, replacing them with the more convincing samples from the LM-1.

“Our music was so simple: we’d all laugh when [keys player] Adrian Wright moved just one finger on the synthesizer and it sounded great,” lead singer and co-writer Phil Oakey told The Guardian.

Released on November 27th 1981, Don't You Want Me sold over 1.5 million copies in the UK, followed by enormous successes in the US a few months later. The success of the song was solely responsible for saving Richard Branson’s Virgin record label from bankruptcy.

Branson was so grateful to the League, that he bought Oakey a motorbike, as a way of saying thank you.

Not a bad result for a song that Oakey witheringly described as the band’s ‘Des O’Connor moment’, due its enormous popularity. (Des O’Connor was a UK celebrity, singer and light entertainer).

Although not a fan at first, we're sure that Oakey warmed up to it once the royalties flowed.

As for the motorbike, Oakey couldn't ride, so he returned the bike to Branson.

“The key to that song is that we didn't spoil it, I think,” Oakey told website Culture Brats in 2011. “With most songs you think of a couple of nice tunes and some words and then you start working and you work until they're not very good. We happened to stop before, stop while it was still all right. It's a pretty simple sort of a song. It just does its job and then it gets out of the way and leaves people wanting to play it again.”

The Human League were at the vanguard of what some in the press called the ‘second British Invasion’, among a host of other synth-based British bands infiltrating America and beyond.

Under the watchful eye of producer Martin Rushent (appointed by Virgin and not the band) the album Dare was equally successful, both critically and in terms of sales. The album relied upon cutting-edge 80s music technology, including the Roland MC-8 sequencer, System 700 and Jupiter 4 synthesizers, all of which were heavily used in the creation of the song’s sounds.

We're here today to try and replicate the central iconic riff, which offers a little more complexity than you might notice at first hearing.

Step 1 - The Synth

The sound we are going to recreate was likely crafted using the legendary Roland System 700. As these systems are less available than a set of hen’s teeth, we are going to rely exclusively on software.

In order to accurately create the first element of our sound, we’ll need a soft synth which offers two oscillators, with the ability to tune one of these.

There are many Roland-inspired synths that will do an admirable job, as will most DAW-based synths which offer a subtractive architecture, but we are going to use Cherry Audio’s Miniverse synth; being based on the Minimoog, it offers some useful flexibility.

Set up the first synth on a track of your DAW, and let’s get programming!

Step 2 - VCO Pitch

Firstly, initialise a patch, so that we start from a default setting. We are going to use Oscillator 1 and 2; we want to re-create the slightly reedy sound that we can hear on the track.

Beginning with Oscillator 1, select the wide rectangle shape via the Waveform selection pot. If you are working with a different synth, you can select a square/pulse, and slightly modulate the wave using manual PWM. Set the range to 8’, then duplicate these settings on Oscillator 2.

Step 3 - VCO 2 Pitch

If you listen really carefully to the opening riff on the track, you can hear that there is a part playing a perfect 5th higher than the bass part - actually it’s an octave and a 5th, but you get the gist!

We can re-create this by revisiting Oscillator 2, and adjusting the variable pitch pot to a value of ‘7’. This translates as 7 semitones higher, which is the same as a perfect 5th.

Step 4 - Mixer

We need to adjust the balance of the two oscillators, which we do from the Mixer section.

Ensure that both oscillators are switched to ‘On’, then adjust the volume of each, so that Oscillator 2 is a little bit louder than Oscillator 1. Make sure that all other mixer elements are switched to ‘Off’

Step 5 - Filter

Next, we turn to the Filter section, where we need to engineer some brightness, with the help of the filter envelope.

Replicate our settings across the filter, which includes adjusting the Amount Of Contour pot, to provide brightness at the front of each note. Notice that as we adjust the envelope settings, we have engineered a slight swell, using the Attack Time pot. There is also no resonance (aka Filter Emphasis) employed in this sound.

Step 6 - Loudness Contour

The volume or amplitude of our sound, is handled by the Loudness Contour section, which is Moog’s language for amplitude envelope.

Once again, we’ll use relatively short timings here. As the notes being played are quite short, the level of sustain remains high, to maximise the volume potential.

Step 7 - LFO

You may have already noticed that this sound does not feel overtly bass-like, but we will be addressing this shortly, with the addition of a second sonic element. However, there is one tiny subtlety in the sound, which we should engineer.

If you listen really closely, you can hear a tiny bit of modulation in the pitch. In order to achieve this using Miniverse (or many other Minimoog soft-synths) we have to employ Oscillator 3 as an LFO.

Visit the Oscillator 3 section, and ensure that the range is set to ‘Lo’. We also need to select the triangle wave, and we can adjust the frequency to suit our track - not too fast!

The easiest way to apply a small amount of modulation here, is by nudging the modulation wheel slightly, so that you get a tiny amount of pitch modulation. It's subtle, but it will make a difference!

Step 8 - Bass

Having addressed what we could call the upper sound element, we are now going to re-create the bass element. The easiest way to do this is to employ another track, and use another instance of synth.

This will also mean that the LFO modulation, applied in the last step, will not apply to the bass part, which is exceptionally helpful.

Step 9 - VCO 1

Compared to our previous sound, this is nice and simple. Start by initialising a patch. All we want is a basic square wave, generated by Oscillator 1, set to a healthy volume. Ensure that all other elements within the mixer section are switched off.

As this is our ‘true’ bass part, we want to set the range to ’16’, which will be one octave below our previously created sound.

Step 10 - Filter and Env

The filter and envelope settings are incredibly similar to the ones used in our last patch, so set up the filter and envelope sections, to create a nice snappy bass sound. Our screengrab below will guide you here, if you can't quite remember what we did before.

Step 11 - The Riff

Now it's time to record the riff, or more appropriately, try creating something of your own, but with the flavour of Don’t You Want Me.

A top tip is to work within a minor pentatonic key, which should sound great with the 5ths in the upper sound.

Once you have recorded your track for the upper sound, and you are completely happy with your playing and level of quantise, copy and paste the track onto the lower bass sound, and the same riff should play one octave below. You can also pay attention to the balance between the two sounds/tracks, so that it suits your production.

So there you have it - instant ‘cocktail bar’ vibes, without the need to spend thousands on a Roland System 700!

SYNTH WEEK 2026: When surveying today's synthesis landscape, to say that we’re spoiled for choice would be a serious understatement.

On the hardware front it's like the 1970s all over again, with historic names such as Moog, Sequential and Oberheim back in action, completely new creations from the likes of Arturia and Dreadbox, many homages to (not to mention copies of) classic instruments of the past, and a resurgence of interest in modular systems.

With none of the physical and financial constraints of hardware - and all the benefits of modern CPU power - there's an even greater diversity when it comes to software synths. Models of classic instruments abound, but there are also many entirely original synths, a good number of which boast capabilities that would have made Don Buchla throw down his soldering iron in despair.

The thing is, despite this vast range of choice, there’s a common thread running through practically all of these instruments, hardware or software. With only a few exceptions, the vast majority essentially follow a subtractive synthesis model, and so present a fundamentally similar set of features and controls. Even those synths that eschew conventional oscillators in favour of some alternative tone generation method are, more often than not, subtractive in every other respect.

This is all well and good – it works! – but do you ever feel it can all get a bit... well... samey? Do you ever wish you could break away from the technical dryness of oscillators and filter types, and approach sound design in a more intuitive, abstract and novel way? Music is all about creative expression, after all, so surely there are ways to conceptualise and craft sounds without worrying about frequencies and cutoffs and cross-modulations and all the rest of it? Indeed there are!

The unconstrained freedom enjoyed by software synth designers means that, every now and then, a new instrument will pop up that flies in the face of convention. Do such instruments open up new and exciting avenues of inspiration and creativity, or are they just distracting gimmicks? To find out, we set aside our Falcons, Pigments and piles of Minimoog emulations, and sought out five instruments that approach synthesis in their own thrillingly singular fashion.

1. Madrona Labs Sumu

Additive synthesis, the conceptual opposite of subtractive synthesis, is theoretically capable of producing acoustic instrument emulations that are indistinguishable from the real thing - and indeed, any other sound you can imagine.

It works on the basis that all sounds consist of layers of sine waves (also known as partials) that combine to create shifting tones and timbres as their relative volume changes over time. The fly in additive's ointment is that a stack of partials (and associated envelopes) large enough to fulfil the theoretical potential is too unwieldy to program and manage, hence its rarity.

The related technique of resynthesis aims to tame these cumbersome complexities by analysing a source sound and creating from it a template or map of sorts that can be used to govern the partials generated by an additive synth engine. But resynthesis never really caught on, either, because in the hardware age, its technical requirements made it very expensive at a time when the cost of samplers - which can easily deliver such realism - was tumbling.

Madrona Labs Sumu, then, is built around an additive engine capable of generating 64 partials per voice, and comes with a companion app, Vutu, that analyses audio to create resynthesis data for loading into the plugin. The synth is modular too, so its different stages can be patched in any way you like. These interconnections carry each partial as a discrete signal, allowing the modules to do their work on a per-partial basis.

Thoughtful interface design and visualisation makes all of this workable. You do not, for instance, have to configure 64 individual envelopes. Rather, Sumu twists a regular ADSR graph into three dimensions, with the Z dimension representing each individual partial. Scaling controls shape the base ADSR values across this Z dimension.

Sumu's modular patching system unlocks a wide vista of sonic possibilities, making it as good at creating deep, solid, percussive bass sounds as it is light, tinkling, evolving pads. The inclusion of Vutu gives Sumu sampler-like capabilities too, allowing patches to be built from audio recordings and snippets. The synth's processing stages are very different to the subtractive architecture of a regular sampler, though, so the creative possibilities are very different too.

There's a distinctly digital flavour to the sound produced by Sumu, but this is richer and smoother than the characteristic coldness of an FM synth, or indeed of other modern additive implementations.

On the downside, with up to eight simultaneous voices each consisting of 64 partials that are, in effect, individually routed and processed, Sumu is exceptionally resource-hungry. Even a powerful machine will struggle to serve up more than a couple of simultaneous instances, so you'll be forever bouncing or freezing your Sumu tracks.

Also, despite clear visualisations, straight-forward controls, and the manual's largely successful efforts to keep things light and approachable, Sumu is inherently complicated, and takes quite some time to get to grips with.

Overall, then, Sumu is a powerful synth with a fulsome sound that delivers an extensive sonic palette that's as distinctive as it is diverse, but if you're looking for an instrument that masks the deeper technicalities of synthesis with a user-friendly interface then Sumu is certainly not for you.

2. MOK Waverazor

The synth engine underlying MOK Waverazor is, perhaps, the most conventional in this roundup: the output of three oscillators (and optional external input) is routed to up to three filters, can be controlled by a wide range of modulators, and can be polished with three effect processors. What makes Waverazor different, and qualifies it for inclusion in this roundup, are its oscillators and user interface.

Conceptually, Waverazor's oscillators are much like any other, producing regular, repeating waveforms to feed to the rest of the synth. However, in Waverazor's case, that waveform can consist of up to 16 segments, each based on any of 162 preset shapes which can be further shaped and distorted via the oscillator's controls. As well as doing a good line in classic synth tones, these oscillators lend the instrument huge potential for creating original and interesting timbres.

Construction of these segmented waveforms is performed in an advanced view where all the synth's other modules and controls are also accessed. The layout of this view is crisp and logical, but with so many modules and options, and few visual cues to help differentiate between them, it is easy to get a bit lost – some module-specific colour-coding and styling would certainly help here!

Conversely, Waverazor's main view is much more approachable and intuitive. Here, Waverazor's plethora of parameters is boiled down into an easy-to-manage collection of nine macro dials, three buttons and two large X/Y pads, each of which can be mapped to up to 16 destination parameters. Additionally, the large central oscilloscope view can also serve as an interactive panel for modifying the oscillator waveform shapes.

Waverazor's voice and character is impressively varied thanks to its clever oscillators and detailed underlying architecture, but it is short a bit of oomph in the lower end of the frequency spectrum and so lacks a certain sonic sumptuousness – nothing that a bit of EQ can't fix, of course.

The synth's generous library of presets can be extensively modified via easy and intuitive controls that are ideal for both sound design and performance, but things become somewhat less intuitive when delving into the advanced view.

3. Native Instruments Reaktor

Native Instruments Reaktor is a deep, complex and powerful environment in which synths, audio processors and other sound-wrangling tools, referred to collectively as 'ensembles', can be created and hosted. (Yes, we know the last significant update to Reaktor was released in 2020, and this is primarily a list of shiny, new synths - but we believe Reaktor still holds up five years on.)

The ability to design custom synths from the ground-up is as unconventional as its possible to get and, for a certain type of nerdy inquisitive mind, can be a hugely satisfying thing to do. Raw synth design isn't everybody's idea of a good time, but this isn't the only reason we've included Reaktor in this roundup – we're also interested in the collection of synth ensembles that it comes with.

There are conventional synths here, such as the basic-yet-satisfying 2-Osc, or the Minimoog-inspired Monark, but many of Reaktor's synths take a more leftfield approach. Some have a familiar appearance but unusual underlying architecture; some are more sonically conventional but feature novel control panels; and some simply defy all explanation (we're looking at you, Gaugear).

If you ever get bored with the bundled synths then hundreds more are available in Native Instruments' Reaktor User Library. Here, alongside some conventional fare, you will find all manner of inventive, experimental and off-the-wall instruments to explore. And, if you are yourself inclined to unleash your inner synth designer, you can upload your own creations to the library so that others can marvel at your genius (or madness!).

Reaktor can also operate as a virtual modular environment into which specially designed ensembles, called Reaktor Blocks, can be loaded and patched together in whatever way you like. This is infinitely more immediate and intuitive than creating a synth from scratch, but still allows your sound design imagination to run wild. It's a lot cheaper than putting together a hardware modular system too!

No matter what you load into it, Reaktor delivers a consistently rich and detailed sound and, given its open-ended nature, its sonic palette and potential for unconventionality is limited only by your imagination.

4. Dawesome Myth

There are loads of synths that use sample-based sound generators, and most of these are happy jumping between basic sample triggering and granular playback, but there are none that come at things in quite the same way as Tracktion's Dawesome Myth.

The synth is based around a pair of 'Iris' sound generators, so called because their circular visualisation looks like the iris of an eye. Dragging or loading a sample into an Iris triggers Myth to analyse that sample, decomposing it into component parts (tonal, noise, transient, etc.) that each has its own colour-coding within the Iris's visualisation.

Below each Iris is a set of 14 "Transformers", these being small draggable discs that influence the sound in different ways. Each has a predictable outcome – adding frequency modulation, making the sound more saw-like or more string-like, and so-on. This masks the deeper synthesis complexities that are happening under the bonnet, thereby allowing you to focus purely on the sound.

The Irises can be crossfaded together or, for a more dramatic result, can be switched to ring modulation mode. Their combined signal is then passed to a series of processing stages, each aimed at a particular purpose: additional oscillators, filters and effects.

Each stage can host multiple modules, chosen from a list of appropriate options, which allows Myth to serve up a whole host of different configurations and architectures. All of this is topped-off with a flexible and easy to manage modulation section for bringing life to the Transformers and modules.

This makes for a very versatile synth that is exceptionally easy to work with, and that delivers beautifully clear and full-bodied timbres. Myth's level of abstraction isn't as far-out as that of Synplant, featured below, but it successfully hides the complexities of its synth engine behind an instinctive and easy to master GUI which lacks nothing in its ability to shape and sculpt sounds. It's a true gem of a synth!

5. Sonic Charge Synplant 2

Although built on familiar two-oscillator subtractive synth foundations, Sonic Charge Synplant's approach to sound design is both unique and, quite literally, organic.

Sounds start life as a seed and, just like an actual seed, this has a genetic makeup that determines the characteristics of whatever will grow from it. The parameters that define a seed's genetics are familiar enough – waveforms, filters, envelopes, cross-modulation, and so-on – but the magic comes from the unfathomable ways in which these parameters influence and impact on each other when the seed grows.

A sound's seed is shown at the centre of Synplant's main view, and is surrounded by a ring divided into 12 segments. Depending on operating mode, these segments can be triggered by base note (I.E. all A notes, all A# notes, all B notes, etc.), a note range, a velocity range, or can simply be a layer within the final sound.

Dragging in a segment causes leafy branches to grow (or recede) within that segment – the longer and leafier the branch, the more the parameters of the seed's gene will interact and evolve, and so the more complex the sound produced by the segment becomes. It's also possible to grow all segments simultaneously. And, just as in real horticulture, if you create a sound that has characteristics you find particularly pleasing, you can capture its evolved DNA as a new seed and then grow new sounds from it.

Synplant also includes Genopatch. This analyses a given snippet of audio and generates from it a selection of seeds that recreate the sample through subtractive synthesis. You can then select one of these seeds as the basis for a new sound, with each seed having the potential to grow into radically different sounds.

It may seem that Synplant's unique approach to synthesis doesn't exactly lend itself to focussed sound design that seeks to create a specific sound. However, if you embrace the concept and, over a few generations, evolve a sound towards what you originally imagined, it's possible to end up with exactly the sound you were looking for without once thinking about frequencies, filters and all the rest of it. There's also a good chance that the sound you evolve will be more interesting than the one you were aiming for, and may itself inspire new musical ideas.

Synplant is by far the most abstract and original synth in this roundup. It sounds amazing, and its concept turns the studio-bound process of sound design into a highly intuitive, fun and relaxing spot of gardening!

Baby Audio has released its “most advanced synthesizer to date”, Grainferno, which promises to create playable synth tones from any sampled sound.

As with other granular plugins, Grainferno works by breaking recorded audio down into very small sections, known as grains, and shaping its sound through the manner in which it plays these back. What sets Grainferno apart from other granular synths, according to its developer, is the ability to generate grains at speeds that cross into the audible range.

According to Baby Audio, “at these rates, grains stop behaving like texture and start acting like oscillators, turning any audio file into a playable synth voice with the sonic fingerprint of the original audio.”

Users can drag and drop samples into Grainferno’s sample visualiser in WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis file formats, or draw on a varied pool of 378 audio files. The synth uses a dual sample engine that can load two source files simultaneously and allows users to freely morph between them.

The granular engine features a variety of controls for manipulating and modulating grain playback. There’s also a multimode filter, compressor and ‘blur’ effect for further refining the granular output.

This, according to the developer, makes Grainferno capable of creating “entirely new textures, enabling synth-like tonal instruments, lush evolving atmospheres and volatile digital noise.”

Along with the granular engine itself, Grainferno features a drag-and-drop modulation system, with available sources including envelopes, LFOs, randomisation tools and various expression inputs. The synth also allows for cross modulation between these modulators.

Grainferno features an extensive effects section with six modules that can apply a variety of processes, from filtering and compression to reverb and delay, analogue-style modulation effects, multimode saturation and more.

For users that don’t want to get into the nitty gritty of granular synthesis, Grainferno has a Play View UI option that strips back the controls to just sample selection and a group of four macros. The synth also has 300+ presets for users to get stuck into.

Grainferno is out now, priced at $129, but currently available at an introductory price of $79. Head to the Baby Audio site for more information.

At the dawn of electronic music, as the experimental nature of a new-fangled instrument called the synthesizer was in the ascent, musicians that embraced this new technology were confronted by a problem; how to describe these new sounds?

As the polymaths at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, were acquiring a reputation for creating new and interesting sounds (initially using tape-based methods, before migrating toward synthesizers) the call for a form of cataloguing system was essential.

Being the BBC department that supplied sounds for shows such as Doctor Who and Blake’s 7, one sound was becoming particularly commonplace - the ‘Laser Zap!’

The BBC didn’t have the monopoly on these sounds though. Star Trek also featured many-a-zap, with subtly different ‘zaps’ being required, depending on your phaser setting, or species of alien…obviously!

It didn't take long for electronic artists to embrace and mutate the idea of the zap, and use it in a musical context.

You could employ a laser zap with a long sweep, as a form of electronic cymbal crash. But, if you sharpened up the decay of the envelope, it suddenly became a heavy duty sound, with snare or electronic hi-hat potential.

That’s certainly what Kraftwerk thought in 1981, when the track Numbers (from Computer World) made its inspirational splash.

The insistent use of Hi Q, in a form of stereo hi-hat battle became a much copied production detail, influencing hip-hop, R&B and rap, as demonstrated on Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, and 1, 2 Step by Ciara ft Missy Elliot.

But how did the zap migrate from its association with Klingons, to its more common description of Hi Q? That's all down to the way we create the sound.

There are a couple of ways of acquiring this sound, but the most notable version, which we are going to recreate here, relies explicitly on the filter section of a synth, particularly the resonance, which is also described in some circle circles as Emphasis or just plain ‘Q’.

When dealing with a filter, there are two main components which we tend to regularly control. The first is the cutoff frequency, which in the context of a low pass filter (which is what we will need here) is the element that filters out upper harmonic content from a wave form, such as a saw or square wave. This allows the lower frequencies to pass through unfiltered. The point of frequency where this filtering occurs, is dependent upon the position of the cutoff fader or pot.

The resonance control, which normally resides alongside the cutoff, creates a form of accentuation and feedback, which in many filter designs results in a form of self-oscillation. This pure sinusoidal sound, is what we are after. Or, to put it another way, set our resonance control to a Hi Q.

But the story doesn't end there - the sweeping sound is generated using modulation.

Ideally, we will need a synthesizer which provides us with two envelopes. Just about all synths that offer two envelopes will default to one envelope for amplitude/volume, with the second envelope modulating the filter cutoff. It's this second envelope, and particularly the decay phase, that is going to do the heavy Hi-Q lifting.

The even better news is that we can adjust the decay phase to seamlessly move from electronic cymbal crash or laser blast, to a sharp Hi Q. Hence, it pays to choose your host synthesizer well. Most software synths will be able to do a passing facsimile, but any synth with snappy envelopes, and an aggressive filter, is going to do the best job.

In vintage hardware, several synthesisers offered the perfect Hi Q potential, with the SCI Pro-1 and ARP Odyssey being stylish contenders. The popularity of the Minimoog, both then and now, makes it the ideal partner.

We are going to use Cherry Audio’s Miniverse software plugin for our example, but most plugin synths will offer the capacity to create something very similar.

Step 1: As our Hi Q is entirely dependent upon the filter, we can start by switching off the oscillators. If the synth you are using does not employ switches, just turn the volume of the oscillator(s) down, or select a wave such as white noise, as this will be less prominent within the overall sound.

Step 2: Next, we move over to the filter section, where we need to shift the cutoff frequency to a relatively low position. The exact position of the cutoff pot or fader will be entirely dependent upon the synth you are using, so try placing it in the lower 25% and this will offer a starting point. At the same time, increase the resonance/emphasis/Q to its maximum.

Step 3: We need to set the amount of modulation, which is being applied to the cutoff, from the filter-assigned envelope. Locate the relevant pot or fader, and set to a reasonably high value, possibly the maximum.

Step 4: Adjust the filter envelope settings, to the quickest attack available, with a very short decay. Remember, the decay time is the element that will dictate the snappiness of the sound. If it's long, we are into laser zaps again, but keep it short, and we have a patch that can be used rhythmically. It is also essential to place the sustain level at zero.

Once you have applied the settings to the envelope, you will probably need to revisit the cutoff frequency and modulation amount controls. Trigger your sound from a pad or keyboard, and adjust these elements to suit your sound and track.

Step 5: Depending on the synth you are using, you may find that a very low pitched hum occurs, at the end of the sound, if you play and hold. This is the sound of the filter, continuing to be audible at a very low frequency/pitch.

It is easy to eliminate, with the use of the amplitude envelope; make sure that the sustain control is turned all the way down, and play around with your attack and decay times, to get the best result. They will need to be in a similar position to the filter envelope’s attack and decay phases.

Now you have your sound, it's time to place it in your track, and there are many production settings where this can be deployed.

If you want to think of your Hi Q as more as a hi-hat sound, simply play a hi-hat rhythm, and it will quickly add some momentum to your track. If you want to go full German techno, use two versions of the same sound, with one panned hard-left, and the other hard-right. You can also use a stereo delay, to get similar results.

You can also change the decay settings to mimic sounds more like an electronic snare, or even lower the cutoff frequency control, to create a superb electronic kick.

Of course, you can also apply many different style of effect, and Hi Qs absolutely love a bit of overdrive, so try dirtying up your signal to add real aggression.

What is it?

It's difficult to imagine now, but Roland was a little late to the classic-synth party. Inaugurated in 1972, Roland quickly built on the success of the American synth pioneers by using Japanese production techniques to create instruments with a slightly different colour and flavour.

This was exemplified through its series of SH-branded synths, which have often played poor cousin to the likes of the Jupiters and Junos, but as the years have marched on, they have acquired somewhat cult status, driven by their reliable design and enormous sound.

Cherry Audio wowed us with its last outing – its interpretation of the Jupiter-8 – but now it embraces not one but three of the SH series from the '70s, with a little sequential spice from another classic, the System-100.

Performance

SH-MAX is a fairly literal description of what we have here, being a blend of the SH-3a, SH-5 and SH-7 synths, all culled from the '70s and resplendent in their green/grey colour scheme. You can even dive into the settings to choose the exact colour scheme for each model, if the default shade doesn’t chime with your desktop aesthetic! While there are clearly similarities between these three machines (and the later, classic SH-101 from 1982), it's generally recognised that the earlier models in the SH series had a slightly beefier sound, and this was in no small part due to their interesting design and makeup.

The SH-MAX signal path begins with three oscillators, which all offer their own distinct facets. VCO-1 is the most basic and traditional, offering triangle, saw and square waves, with an added pulse wave which is open to modulation, either manually or from a modulation source within the instrument. There is a Mod pot included in the VCO-1 section, which quickly pushes PWM to a highly recognisable early Human League state. Less ‘dehumanisation’ and more organic synth!

VCO-2 (described as VCO-2A) provides very similar functionality to VCO-1, but lends itself to detuning, for the purposes of creating open fifth style patches, or discordant timbre for bells and the like. VCO-1 also offers detuning, but our level of OCD would always dictate that VCO-2 is likely to be employed for detuning duties – it’s enshrined in synth law! However, VCO-2A is perfectly placed to create really harsh sync tones too, in fact, you can get a really good idea of the instrument’s '70s flavour by just using these two oscillators.

In true Roland style, the oscillators feed a fader-based mixer section, which allows the perfect blending of signals, both in amplitude and stereo pan position. That's a useful trick! The summing of these two signals as an entrée sounds incredibly warm and enticing, with beautiful detailing in the depths of the lower-mid frequency. This also gave us opportunity to explore two-note (duo phonic) operation, where the oscillators blend in unison when played monophonically, or split to generate a note each, when playing two notes simultaneously. Over on the far left of the panel, the various note priority and assign modes make it possible to use SH-MAX in mono, unison, duo or poly settings. You can go ‘full polysynth’, up to a maximum voice count of 16 notes. Unsurprisingly, it sounds huge, but interestingly, it also sounds enormous in its most basic makeup.

VCO-2B, not VCO-3

This isn't the end of the oscillator story though, as a third oscillator, described as VCO-2B, draws inspiration from the original SH-3 design, offering divide-down circuitry to provide a perfectly tuned and phase-locked drawbar-style oscillator. There is capacity to blend five octave ranges, much like organ drawbars. However, it could also be considered an early form of additive synthesis, thanks to the ability to select subtractive waveforms at the register level. As it provides 32’ to 2’, this can be a useful asset for creating very thick tonal constructs, or adding pure and high-pitched harmonic content. There is even the addition of PWM, which can again be manually controlled or modulated, including modulation from one of the two onboard envelopes.

Filter lanes

For the most part, it's pretty easy to get a sound going through the use of the oscillators and the mixer section, particularly as the mixer provides individual control of noise volume, and the unbelievably impressive ring modulator section, where you can generate an exorbitant amount of metallic colour with total ease.

In the upper part of the mixer section, you can dictate where each oscillator signal goes next. It’s the equivalent of opening up Pandora's sonic box of tricks! This could obviously include the incredibly characterful filter section, with the main VCF providing selectable low-pass, band-pass and high-pass filter options, accompanied by the usual cutoff and resonance controls. You can engage the drift parameter here too, which, much like the drift controls in the oscillator section, is designed to mimic a degree of analogue instability.

In its most basic form, the low-pass filter sounds sublimely warm and accurate. There are many views on the best filter circuit from this time, with contenders from ladder and diode designs, but either way, Cherry’s usual attention to detail is highly recognisable when compared to an original. While we didn't have an original SH to hand, we have extensive experience of Rolands from this era, and our sonic memories were vibrantly recalled.

Alongside the main VCF, there is an additional band-pass filter, equipped with its own set of controls and modulation sources. It's wonderfully wispy, in its own way, and made all the more usable thanks to the previously mentioned routing capabilities, within the mixer section. You can dictate whether individual signals go to either of the filters or directly to the VCA section, which can be useful for VCO-2B, where filtering may not be required.

Playability and sequencing

Cherry has also borrowed a couple of elements from other Roland devices. The Touch effect is inspired by the SH-2000, from 1973, although it's been brought wholly up-to-date, in the form of four assignable faders. By clicking on the ‘assign’ legend, below each fader, you immediately decide what you would like to control through the use of aftertouch.

One of our other favourite elements was lurking in the Motion menu, which reveals a full 16-step sequencer, equipped with four different lanes. This takes inspiration from the 104 sequencer module, from the System-100. While it adopts a similar visual look, its functionality goes so much further. It can be used in a standalone form or employed like a traditional step sequencer, and we certainly took much delight in creating interesting patterns, which could be triggered while playing a note.

Verdict

Like so many other Cherry Audio products, describing SH-MAX as a reincarnation of a Roland SH just does not cut the mustard. Speaking sonically, this plugin shook the floorboards at MR towers, and it's hard to overstate exactly how good this thing sounds. It's deep and detailed, and has a unique sense of warmth, which you could clearly mistake for being real analogue, if it wasn't for the presence of a computer screen and a mouse!

The flexibility of the instrument is not only unique, but an ultimate strength. The oscillators range from beautifully basic to complex, with inspiring capabilities from the likes of ring modulation and the engaging VCO-2B. All of this before you even get to the backend section, where Cherry provides its usual stunning lineup of FX, selectable in five different slots. You can even go full-Roland and try their Tape Echo, which is based on the legendary Space Echo.

Finally, throw in an incredibly comprehensive sequencer section, and you have an instrument which can entertain for hours, even in its hugely engaging standalone version. Plug in to your DAW for all those retro-Roland sounds, or thumb through the comprehensive set of presets, to get you started. Either way, it's SH-ere joy!

Hands-on demos

Cherry Audio

Alternatives

Specifications

NAMM 2026: Ever been tempted by the look of Reason’s Rack of virtual analogue gear, but can’t find space in your heart for another DAW? Well today might be your lucky day, as the Reason Rack is now available as a standalone purchase or subscription for the first time.

Launched in 2000, Reason was one of the first wave of DAWs. Building on the success of Propellerhead Software’s iconic soft synth ReBirth, Reason brought an old-school studio workflow into the software realm, with a faux-analogue design that set it apart from the more digital look of Logic or Cubase.

Over the past 25 years, Reason has been through a lot of changes. Originally a MIDI-only, self-contained application, subsequent updates have seen the workflow expand to add audio recording, Rack Extensions and eventually full VST plugin support.

One thing that has remained constant, however, has been Reason’s distinctive Rack. Modelled on a real-world rack of studio hardware, the Rack is where users load and edit instruments and effects, routing devices through the use of virtual patch cables.

The Rack and its impressive crop of native devices has always been Reason’s strongest suit. With the launch of Reason 11 in 2019, Propellerhead – simultaneously rebranded as Reason Studios – introduced the Reason Rack plugin, which allowed it to be used as a plugin within third-party DAWs for the first time.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Reason Studios had been acquired by AI mastering specialist LANDR. It seems the new owner is wasting no time in making a few changes.

As well as being sold alongside the full DAW, the Reason Rack is now available on its own in plugin form priced at $199. That price gets you the plugin in VST3/AU/AAX formats, including access to 66 instruments and effects from Reason’s stock devices.

Those devices include more than 30 virtual instruments, including highlights such as the Objekt modelling synth, Polytone virtual analogue and Mimic sampler. The rest of the list is made up of effects, MIDI sequencers and generators, and utilities. In all it’s a pretty comprehensive line-up.

As well as being available for standalone purchase, users can also now subscribe to the Reason Rack on its own, priced at £/$99 per-year or £/$11.99 per-month. Reason Studios has also dropped the price of the full DAW, which can now be had for £/$299.

Finally, those that want to go ‘all-in’ can subscribe to Reason+, which includes access to the full DAW, plus extras including a plugin bundle, unlimited distribution via LANDR, unlimited stem separation and unlimited AI mastering.

Reason+ is priced at £/$169 per-year or £/$19.99 per-month.

“Artists have been clear about wanting more flexibility, features and value,” said LANDR CEO Pascal Pilon. “These changes are designed to deliver on those needs while preserving the creative workflow that makes Reason unique.”

Head to the Reason site for more info.

What is it?

Remember Native Instruments’ groundbreaking Absynth? Of course you do – it’s the semi-modular soft synth that pioneered many of the now-standardised ideas that we take as read within the world of computer-based synthesis.

Famed for its ability to ‘mutate’ sounds in unpredictable ways, Absynth – after years of neglect – was sadly put out to pasture a few years back, with its fifth version being quietly sunsetted by Native Instruments in 2022.

It left a hell of a mark though. Subsequent synths took their cues from Absynth’s semi-modular architecture and sound design-focused ethos. But, there was always something distinctly special about the calibre of sounds you could bring out of Absynth.

This was partially down to the extremely versatile routing and modulation system, wherein a few tweaks here and there could make you feel like a ‘proper’ synth nerd, especially fumbling around its somewhat bewildering (and very green!) interface.

The legacy of Absynth’s unique qualities has culminated in this new iteration being born, overseen by the synth’s original designer – Rhizomatics’ Brian Clevinger.

“It's been a real emotional thing bringing this back,” Clevinger recently told us, “This is the best project I've ever worked on.”

Performance

So how does Absynth 6 improve on the original? First impressions are that it appears like a very different beast, though a peek under the glossy new hood reveals that, fundamentally, it’s more an expansion of the same philosophy defined by that multi-engined, envelope-based modulation of the 2001 OG. That being said, a raft of improvements and entirely new elements are also in play here.

There’s a much deeper, and ultra-modern, 68-point envelope system that allows you to add looping, breakpoint curves, time-synced transitions and shape-based LFOs to any sounds you land on. There’s also new support for MPE control and a dense granular sampler to explore here, but arguably the fundamental uplift that affects every aspect of Absynth 6 is the ground-up rebuild of the UI.

This creativity-stoking interface is a real departure from the often perplexing knob-and-text based navigation of the previous version. It still retains that characteristic absinthe-green colour scheme however, but deployed far more subtly.

Upon opening Absynth 6 as a VST or a standalone, users are thrust headlong into the Preset Explorer. This galaxy-size cluster of nodes can be navigated like a star-map, expanding and contracting depending on your selection. Links to other (colour-coded) presets are displayed visually based on sounds that feel similar.

You can switch between six further tabs, dedicated to control centres for the make-up of the patch, adding and removing effects, then there’s editing areas for Wave, Envelope, LFO and a page for assigning macros and inputs.

You can use a series of sliders to audition and – in true Absynth tradition – meld wider elements from other presets with your currently selected one seamlessly. There’s also a heap of updated old favourites from the sounds of Absynth 1 through 5, which can be introduced back to our mixes. It prompts us to ponder whether it’s worth revisiting some of those older Absynth-heavy projects we abandoned back when we were at Uni…

Beyond the conventional leads, pads, keys and string presets, are further presets housed under the Sound Effects category, with subcategories including such intriguing monikers as Metal, Nature and Big & Bad; then there’s the ultra-cool Multi-Track options, which – with some of Absynth’s trademark ‘mutation’ ability (which adjusts several parameters randomly on the fly) – can suddenly, unpredictably bolt lightyears away from their starting points.

In our exploration of this endless vortex of sounds, we struggled to come across a ‘naff’-sounding one, or in fact anything that we couldn’t imagine using in some context. This high bar is stressed by the fact that the respected likes of Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Richard Devine and synthesis pioneer Brian Eno himself were behind a great many of them.

Going back to the engine powering this selection-box of sonics, Absynth 6 allows three oscillator channels to interweave when building sounds, which can pull from nine sound sources that span the gamut of techniques, from virtual analogue, FM, ring mod and fractalize to granular and samples. Blending has been made far simpler by dent of the interface's redesign, which conveniently groups oscillators, filters and effects into more simpler-to-understand areas than its predecessor.

Absynth 6 can really go anywhere sonically. And really, the watchword we were left with when fitting it into our ongoing projects was ‘choice’.

Jumping between the various preset sounds amid this interstellar nebula depicted at the centre of the UI further instils the spirit of being a wanderer in an uncharted void – a veritable astronaut of sonic discovery. And this feeling isn’t just a surface level perception. These presets can be made entirely unique, undiscovered gems, in just seconds.

You can lock certain elements that make up your preset sound (say the oscillators or specific effects) while other foundational ingredients are mutated – this makes experimentation that little bit more secure.

You can roll back through your mutation history also, as well as fine-tune between particular aspects, scaling the randomisation and amount of mutation. It’s like being Captain Kirk, exploring an alien world but knowing that you can beam back up to your ship whenever things start to go wrong.

For the real shaping, those 68-point effect envelopes are extremely fun to manipulate and carve, to add subtlety to extreme dynamics.

It’s hard to tell whether it’s down to the more drag-and-drop-ready, breezy interface, or whether we’ve just got better at sound design in the long, grey-hair sprouting years since we last explored Absynth (it’s probably the former).

There’s the widened scope for performance and nuance, brought in by poly-aftertouch and MPE support, as well as eight surround formats supported. These aspects underline that, though Absynth may have once been at the forefront of soft synth design at the outset of the 21st century, this rebirth has muscled into the modern set’s domain without any fuss.

The experience of using the redesigned Absynth amounts to a renewed feeling of being able to really, intuitively zone into the instrument – one that seems conscious of your creative needs.

A slight bugbear is that the (beta) version we used to review Absynth 6 encountered a couple of mid-flow lock-ups. We’re hoping that’s just teething trouble at this stage, and not worth a score reduction.

Verdict

If you’d been missing Absynth and are perhaps concerned that this new, modern-looking iteration seems like an entirely different beast to the one you remember then let us reassure you now – this is very much the same Absynth. It’s just that your ‘way in’ to it is now very 2020s (arguably 2120s!) in terms of its innovative interface design.

Hands-on demos

Native Instruments

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

Some people feel a little indifferent about the ’80s. The political landscape was very different to the preceding decade, as was the music. The get-up-and-have-a-go mentality of ’70s punk gave way to the synthesizer, with a plethora of synth-pop bands and increasing number of synth and vocalist duos.

The significance of this period of musical history went hand-in-hand with the influence of the technology of the era. In the ’70s, amazing synthesizers were produced, but many models had their shortcomings. Issues with tuning stability and reliability could make them a challenge to use, particularly when playing live. As the decade turned, Japan picked up synthetic momentum, delivering a golden age of classic synthesizers, almost as though they had been delivered by the Gods themselves!

The myth, the legend…

By the early ’80s, Roland had already produced a significant number of highly-praised machines, although some, like the TR-808 and TB-303, weren’t highly praised at the time. But in 1981, they produced a polysynth which built upon the popularity of their Jupiter 4, and the competing synth from Sequential Circuits: the Prophet-5. The Jupiter-8 was an 8-note polyphonic synthesizer, offering two VCOs per voice, 64 patch memories, 2 & 4-pole filters, two envelopes, and more programming and playing possibilities than you could shake a stick at. It was built like a tank, with a full metal chassis, provided incredibly stable oscillators, and could be re-tuned at the press of a button, in just a couple of seconds. Compare this to the Prophet-5, which could take about a minute to drag its oscillators back into tune, and this was significant progress. Suddenly, the Jupiter-8 was everywhere, becoming a must-have for synthetic and rock artistes alike.

Back in the present, Jupiters remain highly desirable machines, but they have never really been cheap, other than during a brief lull, when analogue fell out of fashion. Even when they were released, they were £3,995, with current secondhand pricing well in excess of £10,000, that’s if you can find a model that hasn’t been around the block a few too many times!

Roland has toyed around with the Jupiter legacy a few times now, through a number of hardware devices and their own software, but now Cherry Audio brings us their iteration of the analogue behemoth, building on the success of their stupendously good Mercury-4 and 6.

Mercury rising

It won’t come as a huge shock to hear that Cherry has called its Jupiter-8 the Mercury-8, but apart from the name, the software delivers a look which is every bit as beautiful as the original. The resplendent orange bands, wrapped around white lettering on virtual black metal casework, looks very stylish, right down to the slight shading on the classic ’80s Roland buttons.

Now we have to admit that we have skin in the Jupiter-8 game. We are lucky enough to own an original, and it’s been a permanent staple in our rig since 1985. Cherry has been exceptionally faithful to the original JP-8 layout, meaning that we could very quickly and easily reach for the faders and pots, just like the hardware.

There are, however, a considerable number of enhancements, with many additional faders and buttons, providing invaluable new features, which were never available on the original.

Performance

Auditioning a handful of presets is always a good starting point for getting a feel for a new synth in software. This presented a really interesting conundrum, because the opening set of presets didn’t immediately remind us of our Jupiter. Don’t get us wrong, it sounds fantastic, but it underlies the fact that Cherry has brought the Mercury-8 up to date; it’s like JP-8 2.0!

With a little bit of quick investigative reverse engineering, the enormousness of the sound is very much a sum of parts. First and foremost, Cherry has extended the overall polyphony to 16 notes, with two oscillators per voice. Nothing unusual about that, except that the original Jupiter provided split and layer capacity, which would halve the voice count. No such issues here, as Cherry provides full layering, in Dual mode, keeping the voice count at 16 notes. This is a crucial point, as there is no note stealing, particularly for expensive sounds with an extended release phase.

As we have also seen with other products from their product line, Cherry has also implemented its fantastic suite of effects, and some of these feel particularly at home. Their Tape Echo adopts Space Echo-style colours, in both visual design and sound, and is a perfect bedfellow for any classic Jupiter deployment.

There are over 600 presets, many of which make great use of the Jupiter’s classic calling cards. Beautiful string pads? Tick! Huge polysynth brass? Tick! Plucky arpeggiated and sequencer patterns? Hang on, the Jupiter never had a sequencer! Well, it does now, and moreover, it’s accessible from the front panel, as a step and live playback device.

Back to basics

The strength of the preset content is undeniably consistent and excellent, but what if you yearn for an original Jupiter, and you hope that this is the answer, at least in software?

As if to provide validation, Mercury-8 is equipped with all of the original presets from the original Jupiter. In fact, Cherry says that you can swap patches to and from hardware, using System Exclusive data! Regrettably, this is something we couldn’t test, although we are pretty sure we have a data cassette somewhere (which emits a pseudo fax machine's bleeps), for dumping the original presets back into our machine! If only we still had a cassette player!

Accessing the original presets is blissfully easy, thanks to the usual Cherry Audio hierarchic preset menu. Faithfully reproduced, there is no layering applied to these sounds, but they don’t sound flat by comparison. They offer a distinct charm, and underlie an incredible authenticity. A second Factory Plus menu provides the same patches, laden with backend effects. They sounded great to start with, but the effects add another layer of sheen.

There is also another section described as templates, which is an excellent springboard for creativity, if you feel slightly out of your depth with the programming architecture.

We decided to create a new patch and audition individual elements against our hardware, from the ground up. Now we have to insert a caveat here because, as previously stated, our hardware is over 40 years old. Yes, it has been serviced regularly, but that amount of time is obviously going to take its toll on certain components, and ultimately the sound. Purists may argue that this makes the Jupiter hardware all the better, but we have to expect some subtle differences to the software.

The most noticeable element is in the detailing of the sound emanating from the Mercury-8. In its most basic and raw single-saw form, the Mercury sounds a little bit weightier, possibly with a view to making it production ready. This is endorsed across all of the original waveforms (saw, square, triangle and sine), right down to the white noise.

The filter duplicates the original, providing both -12dB and -24dB slopes. Sonically, the modelling is incredibly good, with our only discrepancy being the calibration of the faders on our hardware. It feels like the Mercury offers more ‘play’ in the faders, and of course, there is the accuracy that onscreen graphics can provide, above that of 40-year-old hardware faders. There is a slight extension to the top-end cutoff amount, which is something we have noticed with other Jupiter-8 models. The important point is, it is sonically authentic, but with a tad more extension up-top.

Two areas where we noticed slightly different behaviour, stem from the PWM control of the pulse wave, and the unique Cross Modulation, both located within the VCO section. The hardware has always offered a slightly anarchic response, particularly when sweeping the Cross Modulation fader, which underlies the analogue nature of the original. The software sounds pretty identical, but you cannot help noticing that the response feels more measured, as you move the fader on screen. We have to be fair here, this level of detail is something you would only be aware of, if you knew the original inside out. To the listener and the producer’s ear, it is entirely accurate in playback, and debatably has more to do with the way that it feels, when in use.

On a similar point of calibration, the envelope phases do seem very slightly different, in terms of their timing against our original. By way of example, our full hardware Decay phase delivered 45 seconds of fade time, while the software delivered a full 53 seconds. We're not sure we need to worry about this too much, unless of course you want to have your hardware recalibrated to introduce an additional eight seconds! No? Thought not!

Poly-gliding

The original Jupiter offered the ability to select one of four assign modes, which related to oscillator organisation for performance. Cherry has followed this through, with solo and unison modes, with the latter clearly sounding enormous! But we wanted to explore the polyphonic modes further, particularly Poly 2. The concept here was always that the Jupiter would use the same oscillators first, when shifting from one chord to the next. This would be essential, if you wanted to generate a chord which glides in formation, when using portamento. The behaviour of the Mercury-8 is identical, right down to the shape of the glide itself. The assign modes don’t end there though, as there are two additional modes.

Multi-mode opens a series of small pots, which allows you to dictate pitch, pan, filter and VCA levels, across different voices. It’s a beautiful little feature, which proved to be a little bit of a rabbit hole, during our testing. The final assign mode allows the creation of a chord, which can be played back using a single note.

More of a Jupiter

Like all Cherry Audio products, we took huge delight in using the standalone version of the instrument, and got completely lost in the programming. It was during this phase that we truly appreciated some of the added extras, and there are plenty to mention!

Residing in the envelope section, an additional V fader allows quick and useful dictation of the amount of velocity, which may affect your amps or filter while performing. This is obviously over and above the original, but we found it surprisingly useful and effective!

When employing Layer mode, the instrument adopts a similar format to the original, by offering an upper and lower panel mode. When selecting either of these panel modes, a guiding stripe across the top of the instrument switches colour to red or green, as do all of the fader caps and lights, leaving no ambiguity for exactly which layer you are editing.

The original JP-8 offered a considerable number of fixed modulation routings, but in a further enhancement, the Mercury-8 includes a fully assignable 4-fader mod matrix, allowing user selection of both source and destination. This is immediately accessible from the front panel, as is the ability to immediately assign any of the panel’s controls to a MIDI CC, for control from MIDI hardware or DAW.

We also noticed that the analogue-style behaviour of the instrument was pretty exemplary. The drift control subtly changes the tuning, in much the same way as our original. Those beautiful micro tunings that we have come to accept as part of the original sound, work a treat in this context.

Even though the sequencer is easy to use and excellent with it, there is a certain authenticity and endearing quality to the Arpeggiator, which offers all of the original settings and a host of other elements too, such as swing and ‘chance’, which introduces a degree of randomness. You can synchronise this to your host DAW, or if in standalone mode, run in time with any tempo derivative effects. While we’re talking effects, Cherry offers the usual vast selection of both useful and stylish effect tones. The Chorus and Phaser effects do everything you need, with Jupiter-like aplomb, and what’s not to like about that?

Verdict

We have to admit to being happily surprised by Cherry’s approach to this reinvention of the mightiest of analogue classics. To our minds, it is very much a synth of two halves; on the one hand, it is an enormous sounding, production ready, and truly engaging musical instrument, which offers such huge prospects for production work, it puts it into the category of ‘must-have’.

However, if you are looking for a real facsimile of an original Jupiter-8, you can strip this back to its bare bones, and it sounds engaging and truly authentic. Yes, there are some very subtle differences if you compare the Mercury-8 to an ageing original, but the bottom line is, an analogue synthesizer will change with age, and the Mercury-8 will be far more exacting and consistent, while offering all of the benefits and beauty of the original sound. It’s another beautifully engaging piece of synth history, re-engineered by Cherry Audio in software, and possibly its most comprehensive yet!

Hands-on demos

Cherry Audio and Michael Oakley Official

Specifications

Ever since it was launched in late 2018, new versions of Arturia’s flagship softsynth Pigments have rolled around on a fairly consistent annual schedule.

Its last major update, v6, landed in January of this year, adding features including a physical modelling engine and a vocoder. Now, a little less than eleven months later, Arturia has unveiled Pigments 7.

On the face of it, v7 isn’t as radical an update as some we’ve seen in the past. There are no new synthesis engines or significant changes to the workflow here, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to get excited about.

For one thing, Pigments 7 adds several new sound design tools to the synth’s already-comprehensive suite of features. The most notable of these are a trio of new filter modes, named Rage, Ripple and Reverb filters.

The first of these, the Rage filter, includes a feedback loop in order to create distortion effects, with a variety of saturation styles on offer. Coupled with the ability to boost the resonance, Arturia suggests that this can create gritty acid tones by modulating or sequencing the cutoff.

The Ripple filter, meanwhile, is a phase-based modulation filter that Arturia says can “achieve frequency based phase offset, creating laser transient sounds to ringing high ends, great for modern sound design.”

Completing the trio is the Reverb filter, a particularly interesting module that combines elements of filtering and spatial effects. Arturia describes this as capable of “timbre-thickening space and weight designed for modern bass design”.

It’s also capable of creating swept non-tonal FX by modulating the cutoff and, at higher resonance levels, can create metallic-sounding tones.

Alongside these new filter modules is a new Corroder effect. This is a new distortion tool that combines elements of noise and frequency modulation that can be targeted at a specific frequency band using the onboard filter.

Pigments 7 also introduces an overhauled design for the Play View. This is the simplified UI window that offers users top-level control over presets without the complications of the full synth engine.

Here, it’s reworked to offer an audio-reactive representation of the sound on offer, designed to provide quick visual cues for the character of each preset. According to Arturia, this new Play View is aimed at allowing users to “quickly grasp tone, timbre and intention behind each preset, helping you browse presets and find your sound.”

There are under-the-hood improvements throughout Pigments too. According to Arturia, this version now offers “updated default amplitude behaviour with smoother, S-shaped envelopes that reduce clicks and deliver cleaner, harder-hitting transients.” It’s said to be lighter on the CPU too, optimised for creating layered, complex and effects-rich sounds.

Along with these updates, Pigments comes with fresh content including 150 new presets, 50 wavetables, 30 samples and 20 noises. There are also new in-app sound design tutorials that will teach users the fundamental theory behind its synth sounds.

As with previous updates, Pigments 7 is available for free for existing users, who can update now via Arturia’s Software Center app.

For new users, Pigments is on sale for $/€99 until 7 January 2026. There’s also a new instalment of Arturia’s Pigments Explorations preset bundle, on sale for $/€29.99. Head to the Arturia site for more info.

Whispers, rumours, leaks. Like the crescendo of a filter sweep, the return of Absynth – the iconic software instrument that helped define the sound of early 00’s electronic music – has reached fever pitch in the lead-up to its unexpected rebirth. Behind the scenes at Native Instruments, the energy has been no less frenetic.

“Maximum crunch, constant panic” is how Brian Clevinger, Absynth’s creator and founder of Rhizomatic described the final pre-release push.

Speaking to MusicRadar mere days before the launch of Absynth 6, Clevinger seems keenly aware of the high expectations he and the development team are expected to meet.

You see, Absynth isn’t just any soft synth. Its sea-green colour scheme and idiosyncratic architecture is something that a generation of sound designers and synthesists have grown up with.

And this isn’t just a new version: it’s a full-blown resurrection.

Arriving two years after the product was discontinued by Native Instruments, and 16 long… long years since the release of Absynth 5.

Now sporting MPE capabilities, newly designed filters, a slickly upgraded UI, a trippy new spatial method of navigating presets, and all the sonic firepower long-time fans could ask for, this 2025 iteration of Absynth has, thankfully, been worth the wait.

Back in the year 2000, when Clevinger released version 1 as ‘shareware’ (what we might now describe as a freebie) he had no idea how large the impact would be.

“I didn't think anybody would be into it,” he admits. “But I was just inundated with responses. People were really excited about it, it was kind of an instant hit.”

Looking back, it’s easy to see why. VSTs were still toddlers, having only been invented four years previously. The very premise that you could work with computer-generated sound, rather than triggered audio samples, was still fresh, and the available instruments were mostly rudimentary emulations of pianos and Minimoogs.

“The whole concept of a software synth hadn't sunk in yet,” Clevinger says of that time. “The idea that you play a note on your keyboard and the sound comes out of your computer was a weird idea for most people.”

In that context, Absynth, much like the potent beverage from which it takes its name, was a mind-melting experience. Its three-channel lanes and swappable modules could combine multiple types of synthesis and audio processing simultaneously.

Equipped with a waveform editor, it allowed users to draw custom shapes before applying additional algorithmic transformations, including the now-iconic ‘Fractalize’ function which added new harmonics by recursively pushing a waveform back into itself.

Its approach to modulation, which put user-defined, multi-stage envelopes front and centre, was, and still is, a remarkable contrast to the dominant paradigm of LFOs.

Perhaps most importantly of all, it took all of those powerful sound–shaping tools and made them comparatively easy to experiment and play with. It’s little wonder that Absynth was snapped up by Native Instruments a year later, becoming one of the company’s flagship products from 2001 all the way up to 2023.

All that innovation is made even more impressive by the fact that Clevinger’s skills as a software developer were entirely self-taught. Rather than a formal study of computer science, his pathway to Absynth was guided by a life-long fascination with the inner workings of audio.

“I was just always really interested in sound,” he recalls. “With certain sounds, it was kind of an emotional thing. When I was a little kid there was this big drain pipe with three smaller pipes at the back, we'd go in there, clap our hands, and it would make this just incredible comb-filter kind of sound. I wish I could hear it today.”

That ear for the unusual eventually led Clevinger to study music composition at university, where he first got his hands on classic hardware like the ARP 2500.

“This was in the early ‘80s,” he recalls. “It was just before MIDI and I was still working on analogue systems, but, at the same time, I was hearing examples of the computer-generated music that was happening at IRCAM. They were doing stuff I really wanted to do myself, but it was just completely inaccessible.”

Early musical programming environments like Max/MSP and Supercollider offered Clevinger the experimental sonics he was interested in, but lacked the intuitive accessibility of a musical instrument.

That tension stayed with him and, as computer power increased and real-time digital synthesis became possible in the mid-90’s, he began teaching himself DSP programming with aspirations to bridge the divide.

“The soft synths that were available were pretty limited,” he says. “It was either really simplistic things that didn't sound great or super complex modular environments. So I thought Absynth could be a sweet spot in-between.”

While he knew where he was aiming, Clevinger makes clear that Absynth was definitely not the result of some master plan.

What began as 'crappy little oscillators and really crappy little low-pass filters' were steadily refined and linked together, eventually coalescing into the foundations of Absynth’s first version.

“It just came out of whatever experiments I was doing at the time,” Clevinger says simply. “I mean the whole setup with three channels happened pretty early and I was originally thinking of it as a temporary solution till I figured out how to make it more modular, but after working with it I really liked it. Things just evolved until they got to the point where it felt right.”

Absynth broke new ground upon its release, and continued to do so over the following years: V2 introduced sample playback and granular synthesis; Absynth 3 added surround sound output, even though, as Clevinger laughingly admits, almost no one had multi-channel setups at the time; the fourth iteration brought vastly improved preset browsing and assignable macros, and the fifth instalment introduced Mutation.

It’s worth pausing to appreciate the genius of Absynth’s Mutation feature. Using tags for instrument type, articulation, genre, and more, users could define a narrow list of presets before hitting the Mutate button. This would then pull random parameters from those presets and combine them with whatever sound you were currently working on.

Not only that, but you could define how much randomisation should occur, how far from the original sound you wanted to deviate, and even lock down specific modules to exclude them from the mutation process.

A dedicated Mutation History window would save each new variation, allowing you to build up a library of related sounds at lightning-fast speed. It’s a feature that is still impressive in 2025, but at the time of its release in 2009, it was inspired.

“People kept asking for a randomiser,” Clevinger says of Mutation’s origin. “But if you just start randomising the parameters it gets very complicated because each preset can have a completely different set of modules. I wanted to do it in a meaningful way, where the musician could guide that random process somehow.

“I was looking at the preset list,” he continues. “And thinking about how you can select just bass sounds, and it'll only show you bass. I thought if you could pick one of those related presets, grab little bits from it, insert it into the preset you're working on, and then add some randomisation, that would be the key. I wanted it to be like going on a journey, instead of just jumping around between random sounds.”

Version 5 was a triumph, but it was also the point at which Absynth began to languish. Development slowed, and after growing increasingly long in the tooth the instrument was eventually discontinued in 2023, much to the dismay of longtime users.

For just about any other soft synth, that would have been the end of the story. But the remarkable longevity of this instrument, its sheer uniqueness and its undeniable musical prowess ensured that, even once it was gone, it was not forgotten. “I had no idea that so many people were still using it, to tell you the truth,” admits Clevinger when asked about the community response to news of Absynth’s demise. “But I just got tons, and tons, and tons of messages from people begging me to bring it back somehow.”

Those pleas have now been answered. Working closely with the Native Instruments' team, a process that Clevinger unreservedly describes as 'fantastic', Absynth is back for a sixth outing and is looking better than ever.

“We have really been focusing on the user interface,” emphasises Clevinger. “Because nobody's ever been happy with Absynth's UI. It’s a super complex thing to get right, and involves endless discussions to try and work out the problems, but I'm really thrilled with what we've got now; it's so much better than what we had before and the design team's been great.”

For Clevinger, the top priorities during the development process were ensuring backward compatibility with legacy presets (presets from versions 4 and 5 are compatible with Absynth 6) and that the original audio engine was retained – a section of code that Clevinger says he touches 'as little as possible.'

But it wasn't all about preservation: significant improvements have been made to Absynth's granular synthesis chops.

“All of that stuff is much denser than it was previously,” states Clevinger. “We’ve added a high density mode, and the Aetherizer and the Cloud filters sound much closer to what I originally wanted.”

One of the most striking new UI elements is the Preset Explorer that greets you when you first load up Absynth 6. A dizzying array of presets, dating back over two decades, are rendered as a multi-coloured point-cloud that you can click through and navigate as you might a geographical map.

Native Instruments tasked a number of artists with designing custom presets for Absynth 6, including none other than synthesis pioneer Brian Eno himself.

Working with Eno was something of a full-circle moment for Clevinger, who was inspired by Eno’s looping techniques when designing the envelopes for the original Absynth plugin.

That’s not all. Using deep learning techniques, Native Instruments’ Applied AI team trained a model on Absynth’s entire back catalogue of presets, allowing them to be spatially grouped by sonic characteristics. The goal is to help users break past the preset-paralysis that so often arises when scrolling through endless walls of text.

“I don't think there's anything musical about a list of presets,” says Andy Sarroff, head of Applied AI at Native Instruments, and himself a former mix and mastering engineer. “There’s something inherently uninspiring about staring down thousands of names and tags when you're trying to create. So, how do we solve that problem? There's never gonna be any perfect solution, but being able to visualise and explore this huge universe of sounds in a spatial way will hopefully either help you find what you want quickly, or be inspired by adjacent sounds.”

Of course, Absynth still has a more traditional preset browser system that you can switch to if you prefer, and Sarroff makes clear that accommodating different working styles is a top priority. “It's always a balancing act for us,” he points out. “We’re trying to figure out how to do this in a way that helps people feel like they're having fun, and not that they're being talked down to in any kind of way.”

Alongside all of that there is the inclusion of MPE and polyphonic aftertouch, something that’s sure to excite performers who want to feel the maximum amount of nuance and expression from the instrument.

However, for Clevinger, it wasn’t this that caught his finely-tuned ear; his favourite new addition is a humble filter.

“I really like the new ladder notch filter,” he says, confiding that he unconsciously drew some inspiration from one the first synths he ever used, the ARP 2500, during its design. “My favourite thing on the ARP 2500 was this multi-mode filter that had a notch mode – and I certainly did not try to emulate it or anything, but that was the sound I had in my head. The notch filter mode, that's my favourite.”

It’s an attitude that seems emblematic of Absynth’s quarter-century run: bedrock features and idiosyncratic innovation, a workhorse and a dream machine, the essentials and the esoteric, all blended together to serve up a truly intoxicating sonic concoction.

As fans look ahead to the next 25 years, they can feel assured that Absynth has lost none of its potency, or its relevance, least of all to Clevinger himself.

“It's been a real emotional thing bringing this back,” he reflects. “This is the best project I've ever worked on.”

Cyber Monday may be over, but there are still plenty of deals knocking around. Perhaps you've spent the past few days eagerly hunting the best deals on music-making gear. Or maybe you're utterly sick of hearing words like 'Cyber', 'Deals', and 'Black Friday' and can't wait for it all to end. Either response is entirely legitimate.

Whatever your outlook, though, there are still masses of Cyber Monday plugin deals to be had. Whether you want them or not.

Personally, what I love about these big music software sales is finding the real bargains. The plugins that are reduced right down into impulse buy territory.

Sure, 'Cyber Weekend' is a great time to grab a massive discount on a software bundle that will fully restock your hard drive with the latest virtual instruments and effects, but even at a bargain price, a purchase like that can be a substantial investment that needs to be considered carefully.

What interests me more are the discounted plugins that slide into that sub-$/£50 sweet spot. While that amount of money isn't negligible by any means, it's also unlikely to ruin your life if you buy something on a whim.

We're talking about the sort of money you might blow on an impromptu night out, or a Friday night pizza order.

At those price points, you can take a punt on an interesting synth or experimental effect that might not be solving an essential issue in your workflow, but could prove inspirational and creative in ways you weren't expecting. Or maybe not – at that price it's not the end of the world.

To that end, I've been scouring the Cyber Monday sales in order to round-up my favourite instruments and effects available for under $/£50.

There really are some truly excellent plugins to be had. Everything I've included here is something that I either use personally, or which comes from a trustworthy recommendation via my MusicRadar colleagues or our team of reviewers/writers.

Effect plugins

Instrument plugins

Barely a month seems to pass without the release of another software emulation of a classic synthesizer from the good folks over at Cherry Audio – this year alone, we've seen the California-based developer turn out recreations of the Korg Trident and KR-55, Crumar Spirit, EDP Wasp and ARP Odyssey.

It seems that Cherry Audio has saved the best 'til last this year, however, as the company announces the release of Mercury-8, its long-awaited software emulation of the legendary Roland Jupiter-8 polysynth.

Described as a "faithful replication" of the original hardware, Mercury-8 nonetheless implements a handful of modernized features that augment its creative potential. "Mercury-8 is not just another recreation of the legendary classic synthesizer," reads a press release from Cherry Audio. "It transforms one of the greatest analogue synths of all time into a fresh and inspiring tool for today’s musicians and producers."

Mercury-8's virtual analogue synth engine leverages "advanced circuit and behavioural modelling" to deliver its take on the Jupiter-8 sound, integrating analogue drift and aging controls to more effectively capture the vintage vibes we all know and love. Multi-voice modes allow for per-voice variations in pitch, filtering, panning and envelopes to introduce additional analogue-style character.

Expanding the polyphony of the original, Mercury-8's dual-layer architecture allows for 16 polyphonic voices per sound layer, each of which can be split or stacked across the keyboard. Analogue-modelled high- and low-pass filters imitate the curves of the original synth and offer a choice of 12dB and 24dB slopes in true Jupiter fashion, and modulation capabilities have been bolstered by a four-slot modulation matrix with 25 sources and 43 destinations.

What's more, Cherry Audio has implemented a powerful effects engine made up of three independent effects chains that can each host up to five effects from a selection of 20, including new chorus, pan and pulse effects alongside flanger, compressor, reverb, delay, distortion, ring mod and EQ. And there's a syncable and transposable arpeggiator onboard, along with a 16x4 polyphonic step sequencer per layer.

Mercury-8 ships with a selection of 600 "out of this world" presets, including recreations of the Jupiter-8's original bank of 64 factory patches. If you're lucky enough to own a MIDI-modded Jupiter-8 retrofitted by Encore Electronics, you're even able to import and export patch data via SysEx between software and hardware.

Mercury-8 is available for macOS and Windows in AU/VST/VST3/AAX formats, and is priced at €69/$69. The plugin is also available as part of the company's Synth Stack 6 collection, which bundles 36 instruments worth a combined $1,687 together for only $599.

Find out more on Cherry Audio's website or watch a comprehensive walkthrough video below.

KV331 Audio has made its flagship synth app SynthMaster 2 available as a free download on the App Store until 17 November, offering mobile music-makers an opportunity to pick up one of the best iOS synths around for nothing.

Available as both a standalone instrument and AUv3 plugin, SynthMaster 2 on iOS is based on the same dual-layer engine as its desktop counterpart, and each layer can host oscillators operating in four modes: Basic (single-cycle or sampled waves with eight voices of unison), Additive (stacking eight Basics), Wavetable (up to 256-frame waves) and Vector (blending four Basic oscillators in two dimensions).

Each layer has its own filter, modulation sources and insert effects, and there are global effects sends available as well. Filtering options cover six types, including digital, virtual analogue, ladder and state-variable models, with optional distortion stages. Modulation comes courtesy of a multitude of sources, including four LFOs, multistage envelopes, sequencers and MIDI, and can be routed via the mod matrix.

SynthMaster 2 is equipped with a 32-step sequencer and multimode arpeggiator, and the range of 12 insert effects onboard includes a 6-band EQ, distortion, bitcrusher, phaser, chorus, tremolo, ensemble, delay, reverb, compressor, and vocoder. The app arrives with 1000 presets designed by sound designers including BigTone, Yuli Yolo and Nori Ubukata.

In our 2021 review of KV331 SynthMaster 2 iOS, we gave the app four stars, describing it as "the solid culmination of one of the best mobile synths around".

Typically priced at $14.99, SynthMaster 2 already offered iPad-wielding synthesists an impressive amount of bang for their buck – at $0.00, it's an absolute no-brainer. Don't hang around, though, as SynthMaster 2 for iPad is only free until November 17. KV331 is also offering a number of discounts on its other products, which we've copied below.

Head over to the App Store to download SynthMaster 2 or find out more on KV331 Audio's website.

Check out our guide to the best iPad apps for music-making.

• SynthMaster 2 in-app purchase expansion banks: $1.99 / 60% off each.
• SynthMaster One in-app purchase expansion banks: $1.99 / 60% off each.
• SynthMaster One: $2.99 / 70% off

What is it?

When it comes to production tools, there are a select few notable and highly regarded companies, many of which have roots in the traditions and early days of music technology. These brands are mostly linked with desirable hardware, rather than software, but there is one notable exception – Spectrasonics.

As any user of its products will tell you, their content is consistently a cut above. Under the guidance of creative director Eric Persing, the brand's ideology always begins with great sounds. Eric was chief sound designer for Roland between 1984-2004, during which time he developed the Spectrasonics brand through a series of exceptional sampling CDs, which ultimately migrated to a line of virtual instruments.

Initially, these were very focused, embracing rhythmic loops, bass sounds and pad-like instruments. This last element, originally known as Atmosphere, was the seed that morphed into Omnisphere, quickly embracing other elements, while providing an exceptionally powerful synthesizer, packed full of sonic content in both modelled and sampled form. Omnisphere quickly became one of the must-have tools for music production and composition, infiltrating every corner of the music and media industries.

In typical Spectrasonics fashion, version 3 of Omnisphere was quietly and unexpectedly announced, leaving it to the musicians and producers to make all the noise, but does it live up to its reputation, particularly now that many other companies have attempted to catch up?

We could answer this question succinctly with a simple “yes”, but that’s not so helpful if you are already in the Omnisphere camp and questioning the value of an upgrade, so let’s start with the sounds...

Performance

Omnisphere has always grown in size with each revision, supplying sonic content which is both usable and sonically surprising. There have been some fantastic audio examples over the years, emanating from the global Spectrasonics sound design team; the burning Piano (yes, literally), hang drums, samples and waveforms that hark back to the analogue classics, and through expansion, a multitude of exceptional pianistic and bass sounds, or even the Twisted Trees sonic extension library, where all the sounds are generated by wood!

Omnisphere 3 still packs around 64GB of library content, which is roughly the same as it was before, but thanks to some clever under-the-hood compression, there is now more content – loads more content! In total, there are over 41,000 patches, of which over 26,000 are new. We are rounding these numbers down slightly, because Spectrasonics has a tendency to add patches, even alongside the smallest of upgrade tweaks, so these figures could well change in the near future, but always rising.

With so much in the sonic arsenal, it’s sometimes challenging to get off the musical blocks, but with an effective new idea, Spectrasonics has implemented 18 new ‘Collections’ as a form of sound categorisation. These groupings are still extensive, but it’s far easier to locate what you need, with graphics and menus to guide your path. Categories include Electronic Production, Analog Vibes, Scoring Organic, Ambient Dreams, and so it goes on, with each category divided by a hierarchical menu, guiding you to your desired flavour of instrument. It’s quick and useful, making it exceptionally easy to just start writing music, although it has to be pointed out that many of the patches are so inspiring that they are likely to guide your path creatively too.

In common with Omnisphere 2, patches can contain anything from one to four layers. These are not so much partials as standalone synth layers, which can be combined to create an overall texture. In previous versions, it has sometimes been difficult to access global control easily, but this has been thoroughly addressed with a makeover of the main page. Immediate addressing of the basics is now available, such as filter settings and envelope modulation. The new-look graphics are crisp and clear, and feel neat and contemporary. The parameter pots and faders are also sensibly-sized, with clear descriptions, which makes editing all the easier.

There are further visual enhancements, such as the green line, which underscores each synth layer. This line indicates that the layer is being employed, and while it’s a small visual detail, it makes editing and usage so much clearer.

During installation, Omnisphere 3 overwrites any previous versions, but fear not, it is fully backward compatible. All previous content is still available, with older patches and user content finding its way to new menus. In our extensive testing, we found that older projects loaded and played exactly as they should do, even down to multi audio routings. Phew!

41,000 and rising!

With so many preset patches available, we could literally spend the entire review waxing lyrical about these alone, but suffice to say, the sonic output is incredibly impressive, which we all could have predicted. There is abundant complexity and movement that can be automated or controlled from elements such as mod wheels. The electronic sounds can sometimes sound overwhelmingly stylised, but they are classy, and if this is something you need regularly, you will not be disappointed.

At the more organic end, there is a wealth of acoustic content, which now extends to a greater number of more acoustic string patches. Once again, these are quite stylised, and by no means a replacement for full-on string sample libraries, which offer greater realism. You can craft a string ensemble part very quickly, and we found that by blending other sample libraries alongside, we created a beautiful tapestry. Realism, with true sonic depth!

Interestingly, there is now a large contingent of percussive content, particularly with commercial production and soundtrack composers in mind. Large acoustic drums and booms reside alongside commercial drum sounds, which include the usual 808/909 classics and modern hybrid variations. It does make us wonder whether the next revision of Stylus RMX may infiltrate the Omnisphere realm, but we are merely speculating! (Soon, please guys, soon?!)

It has always been the case that so many of Omnisphere’s patches are so good, they become highly identifiable, particularly in the soundtrack world. Possibly with this in mind, Omnisphere is equipped with a new Mutations feature, which provides a roll of the dice, introducing deviations to your selected patch. Moreover, you can continue to do this as many times as you like, with each new iteration of sound appearing in a saved list, ripe for recall.

Starting tones

With our eyes turned toward user sound design, we set about creating our own patches. Thanks to the overhauled graphics, this feels marginally easier than in previous versions, enhanced considerably by the substantially increased waveform content.

Just as before, there is a huge mix of initial waves, from modelled subtractive content to large and exotic wavetables. You can engineer elements of saturation and oscillator drift, although we really enjoyed the simplicity of applying modulation, with just a couple of clicks, before fine-tuning modulation amounts. Modulation can also be controlled by hardware, over MIDI, although there has also been considerable extension to the Hardware Integration list, where you can use many recent synthesisers and controllers to control Omnisphere, with seamless integration. It’s a tremendous boon for engineering real-time control with your DAW.

The filter section has also been enhanced, with 36 new filter types. These are also categorised, with low- and high-pass filters modelled on classics such as the Jupiter 8 or Minimoog, along with more unique filters, including band-/notch-pass, and state-variable models too, like those used by Oberheim. The differences between filter models are wide-ranging, and you can move from elegant beauty to rip-roaring aggression very quickly and easily.

All of this is shored up by vast modulation possibilities, supplied by eight LFOs and six envelope generators, all of which can veer into highly complex territory. The on-board sequencer and arpeggiator can also supply step-based modulation capabilities, should you require more control than a random LFO.

One new feature, which directly affects the four oscillator sections, is the Quadzone. At one level, it provides a visual and easy interface to decide where each layer will sit, in terms of range across your keyboard. This is enhanced further through the ability to crossfade each layer, and moreover, it’s exceptionally visual and easy to employ. You can also control the behaviour of the layers through fader control or velocity, where you may only want sounds to play at an upper or lower dynamic level.

More, more, more…

The effects section has always been an important part of the Omnisphere experience. Many of the patches are pre-laden with effects, with saturation, delays and reverb forming part of the basic construct.

In another substantial overhaul, Omnisphere 3 now includes 35 new effects units, many of which appear familiar, either in name or styling. On the reverb side, four new designs include Super Verb and Solar Shimmer (the names provide the clues), whereas in the dynamics section, you will now find an Optical Levelling Amp, which adopts LA-2 styling, and a more obvious Classic 1176 Limiter.

There are also analogue tape and console saturation effects, and some really unique creative effects such as Pump-o-Matic, which… well, you can guess what that does!

If you have access to an MPE controller, you can take advantage of the enhanced expression capabilities. In our testing with Expressive-E’s Osmose, many of the pad-like patches provided a new layer of playability, although as with all MPE control, it does require a little practice!

One other update, which could easily be ignored, is the inclusion of new portamento curves. This might sound like a small thing, but the differences between companies such as Oberheim, Moog and ARP are fairly pronounced in this area. By way of demonstration, they have even included a patch which perfectly emulates the opening to Quincy Jones’s theme to Ironside, which law dictates must be played on an ARP Odyssey. That was the original, that was the portamento curve, and nothing else will do. Thank you Spectrasonics – that’s a layer of detail that we like… a lot!

Verdict

So, is Omnisphere 3 a good purchase from new, or a worthy upgrade? On both fronts, it’s a firm “absolutely”! On the face of it, you could be forgiven for thinking that there isn’t an enormous amount of enhancement over Omnisphere 2. There’s actually a lot of hidden enhancement, whether it be the tweak to the graphical front-end operation, or the hidden depths of the substantial number of new original sounds and patches, with the beautifully organised hierarchical menu system. Of course, Omnisphere 3 is also an eight-part multi-timbral synth, so a single instance of the instrument can provide enormous capacity in the context of a project.

However, the overarching element that sets Omnisphere 3 apart from the crowd is its extraordinary sound and usability. It’s no surprise that the package has become a mainstay for soundtrack composers, with acoustic and hybrid content which is incredibly unique and inspiring. If you just want to use or ‘mutate’ the preset patches, you’ll not get bored any time soon, but if you fancy creating your own patches, you can go very, very deep, and it’s a lot of fun to do so, and highly rewarding too!

With an abundance of synthetic content, Omnisphere can quickly morph from subtle to aggressive, lending itself to all forms of modern production. It is quite simply a behemoth that has understandably become a production backbone for so many producers and composers.

Hands-on demos

SpectrasonicsVIDEO

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

When it comes to vintage analogue synthesizers, we’re all familiar with the classics manufactured in America and Japan, but there are plenty of untapped synths emerging from other parts of the world, many of which are classics in their own right.

Perhaps surprisingly, Italy developed a strong reputation for desirable instruments. Crumar (founded by Mario Crucianelli, hence Cru-Mar) was a highly prolific Italian company, particularly between the mid-'70s and '80s. It acquired a reputation for churning out a large number of models; a mixture of interesting new designs and revamped old ones, often with an eye on the market for touring musicians. Its designs tended to be quite rugged, with an eye for replicating the sound of acoustic instruments.

In 1983, as analogue was beginning to go through a bit of a rough patch, Crumar bravely decided to produce one of the last analogue monosynths of the era, with help from Moog engineers Jim Scott and Tom Rhea, and a certain Bob Moog, acting in a consultancy role. The result was the Crumar Spirit – an extensive analogue beast which boasted one of the biggest sounds of the era, with a host of other surprises too.

Finding an original Spirit in good condition and at a sensible price is a pipe dream for most of us, but through a collaboration between Cherry Audio and Crumar, the Spirit gets a new lease of life, in software form.

Performance

The Spirit was always deemed to be more complicated than its predecessors. Several new layers of complexity did however provide new and extensive sonic opportunities, particularly in the realm of modulation, and Cherry has not only picked up the baton in this arena, but run with it to add a degree of simplicity to proceedings, alongside other new features.

At the heart of the sonic pathway are two oscillators: A and B. Both are equipped with waveform selection, which sweeps from triangle to sawtooth, through varying pulse widths, offering the full gamut of broad or reedy sounds. There is octave control for each, along with fine tune of Oscillator B, and a sync button located between the two oscillators, which immediately boasts one of the finest sounding sync sounds around.

The oscillators feed the filter section, which was always deemed to be one of the instrument’s immense strengths. Switchable between 12/24dB, the filter is organised with upper and lower control, meaning that there is total flexibility for using in the more traditional low-pass mode, or adopting high or band-pass modes. Not only is it flexible, but it sounds utterly stunning, particularly when used alongside the onboard overdrive, which will help maintain grunt if using excessive amounts of resonance. Beyond the more usual, the combination of controls really allows the user to get creative with some interesting timbres. The cutoff point exhibits a beautiful wispiness, which is undeniably beautiful to work with, but can quickly be extended to more violent textures. One treat that we really enjoyed is that resonance whistling doesn’t tend to be as immediate as it is with some other devices, giving greater headroom for true filter colour, which won’t overwhelm your sound. It’s a really musical filter and perfect for numerous deployments.

A pair of ADSR envelopes allows basic modulation of filter and amplitude, with an additional fader to indicate the amount of modulation to the filter, for both normal and inverted use.

Ringing the mix

To the right of the plugin window, the audio mixer section allows the blending of oscillators and noise, but with additional capacity for ring modulation. One area where Cherry has extended usage over the original is with extensive use of modulation. By using the Shaper Y section, sublimely interesting pulsing patches are exceptionally easy to create, but more importantly, incredibly interesting to listen to.

The extensive modulation elements are impressive, with a further Mod X section providing everything from random sample and hold to red noise, open to application via modulation wheels. The Matrix Z section takes advantage of the software domain by providing access to all forms of destination and source for the purposes of modulation. At first, the pots and legends aren’t overly intuitive, but clicking a legend opens a menu of destinations and sources.

Verdict

We can’t overstate how impressive this new interpretation of the Crumar Spirit really is. Like all Cherry Audio products, there is an extraordinary attention to detail, which always looks after the basics first, but then extends to include really useful, additional functionality.

In case the basic sound is just not big enough for you (and it really does sound huge already) you can increase the voice count up to a full 16 notes, before deciding whether to use in polyphonic or unison mode. With an accompanying detune pot, the sound of 32 oscillators creating merry mayhem had the floorboards rattling in no time, but it is important to stress that the Spirit is equally at home providing more sympathetic and pad-like tones. Its flexibility makes it brilliant for staple sounds, but also a playground for analogue-inspired sound design, which can go way beyond the basics.

Should you need any more convincing, the considerable number of curated patches can steer you in the right direction, with the arpeggiator and effects sections adding further to the tempo-synced fun.

Hands-on demos

Cherry Audio

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

If you were a synthesizer designer during the late 70s, it’s highly likely that aspects of your design might have incorporated some of the clichéd sounds of the era, influenced by instruments such as home organs (which really were a thing back then!) Musical history has sympathetically treated some of these instruments, with string machines being at the top of the acoustic/electronic hybrid tree.

So imagine the concept of an instrument which was one part synthesizer, one part brass and one part strings. It’s like all your electronic Christmases have come at once, and thanks to Korg, the Trident was the machine that offered this all-in-one solution.

The only problem was, by 1981-82, the Prophet 5, closely followed by the Jupiter 8, were already so heavily forged in commercial music production, it was hard for other machines to poke their head above the production parapet, but it didn’t stop artists such as Rick Wakeman and OMD from utilising the Trident’s power of three.

Now, Cherry Audio has also taken a closer look at this less successful counterpart, bringing forth their reincarnation of the Korg Trident, in a MkIII format, and as we’ll discover, we should all be pleased that they did!

Performance

Upon loading Trident for the first time, we found ourselves being immediately reminded of the quality of Cherry’s interface and graphics. In its stunning standalone format, blowing up the window to the size of your display really engaged us, and once you hit a couple of notes, engage with it, you will too!

From the first opening salvos, there is a beautiful depth and detail to the sound. To be fair, this is something of a Cherry Audio trait; the output is undeniably production-ready, and with a healthy backend effects section, there is enormous flexibility across the three Trident sections.

Being a synthesizer of some hidden depths, we found ourselves reverse-engineering quite a few of Cherry’s 370+ presets, which are categorised through their usual menu hierarchy. One area which was quite surprising was that despite the acoustic persuasions of the brass and strings sections, there is a fair degree of crossover, particularly within the brass section, which sounds unbelievably punchy and bright. Hardly surprising given that it is equipped with its own filter.

Delving a little deeper, we headed for a new patch, which is as inviting as ever, thanks to the obvious inclusion of the ‘New’ button, which is always available from the top left of the interface. Once in new patch mode, we defeated the Output buttons, for the brass and string section, leaving us with a resplendent 2xVCO synth section, coupled with a fixed filter which includes low, high, band and notch filtering.

The filter modelling itself is unsurprisingly based upon the original architecture, which utilised the SSM 2044. It’s a very musical-sounding filter, with a little bit of engaging wispiness, as you twiddle with the cutoff. There is a fair hint of low-end dissipation, once you start to turn up the resonance, but it’s nowhere near as pronounced as some other filter models. There is obvious potential to reinstate the bottom end globally, using one of the other instrument sections, should it be required.

The two VCOs work beautifully together, providing saw, triangle and pulse with variable PWM. Even in a single oscillator guise, it still sounds impressive, particularly when employing some of the basic modulation principles, such as subtle tuning variance. There are two 4-stage envelopes, for control of filter and amplifier, both equipped to handle scalable velocity, should you want your keyboard to have a greater say in the depth of modulation.

Much like the Trident’s synthetic peers, there are two poly modes, as well as mono and unison operation. The latter allows the stacking of up to 16 oscillators, which can be detuned into a super saw frenzy.

Strings and Brass

It could be easy to think that the strings and brass sections are somehow weaker than their synthesizer counterpart, but this would be an enormous mistake, because they not only carry enormous character, but they also have considerable hidden depths.

Both sections adopt paraphonic operation, meaning that they use a single envelope within each section, with all voices responding en masse. This can be seen as a limitation, but it’s more accurate to consider it stylistically accurate, being entirely representative of machines of this ilk, from this original era.

The brass section adopts saw-like mentalities, with a beautiful low-pass filter, which is accompanied by resonance. There is only a single envelope generator in this section, which is hardwired to the amplifier, but this can be used to modulate the filter too, in both a positive and negative modulation depth. There are two octave buttons, allowing selection of register, but they can also be activated simultaneously, resulting in an immediate thickening of texture. The strings section offers a similar trick, but with three octave buttons; the third provides an upper octave, which is ideal for brighter voicings.

The brass section also includes a trick from the original Trident, which allows the selection of the number of notes you would like to play before the brass section triggers. This can be set to 2,4,6 or 8 notes, and is really brilliant for introducing an extra layer, as your voicings become more enthusiastic and abundant.

The string section provides a little more control over sounds than the brass section, impressively so. While only offering a basic attack/release envelope, there are a couple of fundamental controls which interact with playing. Alongside a basic equaliser for adjusting high and low tone, a separate bowing parameter interacts with the attack phase, with the capacity to set attack tone, just like a real string player. In its most basic form, the string sounds are elemental, but they completely come alive with the addition of the ensemble effect, in line with all other string machines.

Hidden Motion

Beneath the synth fascia layer, there is a new section which provides enormous functionality, particularly if you enjoy using performance parameters and controls.

The new Motion layer is the place to go to access the internal sequencer and arpeggiator. There are, in fact, two of each; the sequencer section provides 2x16 steps, and can be programmed polyphonically, in step or real-time. You can also program accents and ties within your sequence.

Not to be outdone, there are two arpeggiators, which operate independently of each other. Where this becomes important is with the beautiful new engagement of the Quick Split section. With a keyboard graphic, you can see each of the three Trident layers and quickly adapt each to a specific area of the keyboard.

Combine this with the ability to apply either of the sequencers or arpeggiators to the Trident’s instrument sections, and you have an exceptionally versatile live performance machine. The Quick Split section is also equipped with snapshots, so you can change your splits quickly and easily.

Building on their previous effects technologies, there are 17 included effects in total, which can be applied globally or to individual sections. It’s unbelievably flexible. Trident also includes a new BBD Flanger, which is modelled on the original from the hardware Trident.

Verdict

Every time we find ourselves confronted by a new Cherry Audio plugin, we are continually impressed by the overall quality and design of both the plugin and its engaging performance and sound.

Trident takes this to yet another new level. The original was always a machine that was underexploited, at least that’s what the history books tell us. But now Cherry presents us with software which is so capable, in so many areas, it provides us with the capacity to create a radically different sound every day of the year.

Coupled with the new Motion section, and you have a fantastic performance tool, which engages beautifully within the DAW environment, rising well above the aforementioned synth and creative parapet.

Cherry Audio

Alternatives

Specifications

Cherry Audio is renowned for its well-reviewed software recreations of vintage synthesizers, having captured the spirit of legendary names such as the Roland Juno-106, ARP 2600 and Prophet-10 in plugin form, along with some lesser-known instruments like the Novachord.

The latest synth in Cherry Audio's sights is the Crumar Spirit, an Italian analogue monosynth released in 1983 that's considered something of a cult classic. Designed by none other than Bob Moog (in collaboration with Tom Rhea, Jim Scott and Sante Crucianelli) the Spirit is known for its complexity and sonic versatility, along with its ultra-rare status: fewer than 100 units were manufactured before Crumar folded in 1986.

Fast forward to 2008, and the Italian company VMConnection acquired the Crumar brand before relaunching a modernized version of the Spirit in 2023. Cherry Audio's software emulation has been developed in collaboration with Crumar, replicating the innovative design of the original instrument while bringing increased polyphony, enhanced modulation capabilities and a handful of useful new features.

"Spirit is a gateway to sonic experimentation, whether you are after wild, unpredictable timbres or warm, analogue tones" reads a statement from Cherry Audio. "It is not a polite instrument. Nor is it clean, safe, or obvious. However, twist a few knobs and it will reward you with some of the most colorful sounds you have ever heard from a virtual analogue software synthesizer."

Like the original, Cherry Audio's Crumar Spirit is a two-oscillator synth with saw, triangle and square waveforms (the latter with variable pulse width) and its oscillators are somewhat unusually routed through two distinct signal paths.

The first path runs through Spirit's dual resonant filters – one low-pass filter and and a second state-variable filter with high-pass, band-pass and overdrive modes, switchable filter slopes of either 12dB or 24dB and a formant mode for adding vocal-like colour – and its VCA section. The other is routed through a second mixer for blending in ring modulation and a noise generator controlled by Spirit's Shaper Y envelope.

Along with EGs for both filter and amp envelope, Spirit's modulation comes courtesy of two LFOs found in the Mod X and Shaper Y sections, which have been joined in Cherry Audio's software emulation by a new Matrix Z section, a four-slot modulation matrix with 25 sources and 45 destinations.

What else is new? Cherry Audio have upgraded Spirit's multi-mode arpeggiator with swing, humanization and probabilistic sequencing, and introduced a suite of effects that includes distortion, chorus, flanger, delay and reverb.

Voice modes now include monophonic, unison and a cyclic mode that adds per-note variation, along with a polyphonic mode with up to 16 voices, and the synth has been brought into the 21st century with velocity and polyphonic aftertouch.

That might seem like a lot to take in, but we haven't even covered it all: Spirit is an impressively full-featured and versatile instrument, and (in typical Cherry Audio style) is very generously priced at $59. Find out more on Cherry Audio's website.

Spirit is available for macOS and Windows in AU/VST/VST3/AAX formats.

Native Instruments’ original Massive synth was always going to be a tough act to follow. Released in 2007, Massive became one of the best selling and most influential software instruments of all time, helping to define the sound of 2010s EDM with its gritty wavetable oscillators and copious modulation tools.

Following a decade of small, incremental updates, NI released a fully-fledged Massive sequel in 2019 in the form of Massive X. Although NI hasn’t released any sales figures for the plugin, anecdotally it seems clear that Massive X hasn’t achieved the same mass-market appeal as its predecessor – or contemporary synths like Arturia Pigments and Xfer Serum, both of which borrow heavily from Massive’s design ideas.

It would be unfair to call Massive X a failure – it’s an undeniably powerful and sonically impressive instrument – but its design is deeper and less intuitive than the synth it follows. Although Massive X clearly has a dedicated user-base committed to exploring the depths of its semi-modular capabilities, it’s never risen to the must-have status of its predecessor.

Now, six years on from its release, Native Instruments appears determined to broaden the appeal of Massive X with a significant upgrade that also introduces a new free version, named Massive X Player.

Player of games

Massive X Player is a preset-driven version of the synth that gives users free access to sounds created by Massive X without having to worry about what’s going on under-the-hood. Users can select a sound from a bank of presets that contains basses, leads, pads and more, all of which can be adjusted using a bank of eight macro controls.

In the words of NI: “Whether you're chasing growling basses, shimmering leads, or ambient pads, Massive X Player offers instant inspiration with a premium preset library and no steep learning curve.”

While these free sounds are appealing on their own, Massive X Player also features a trio of features that have the potential to turn the plugin into a bountiful source of sonic inspiration.

The first of these is the Morpher, which allows users to assign multiple presets across the points of an X/Y pad and blend between these selected sounds. This can be done manually, by clicking and dragging the visual interface, or be modulated using the second of the synth’s new features, the Animator.

This features a set of pattern-based modulation curves that can be used to add rhythmic sound shifts as the control node maps an automated course around the Morpher interface. This movement can be synced to project tempo and comes with direction and rate controls to adjust the movement of the pattern.

The final creative tool in Massive X Player’s arsenal is a Randomize button, which will generate a randomised sound that can be adjusted using the macro controls.

Massive X Player is available to download as part of NI’s free Komplete Start bundle, which also contains a variety of other instruments and effects. Of course, it’s also accessible to current owners of Massive X, and those with access to the full plugin can open up Player presets to dive under the hood using the full synth engine.

We’ve seen Massive X Player in action, and it certainly has appeal as a fast and fun source of quick-access sounds. Our only criticism right now is that owners of the full version can’t assign their own custom presets to the Morpher grid, which is a shame – and something we hope NI will address in future updates.

Massive X Player is available to download now. It also comes with the Bass Music Essentials expansion pack, offering additional sounds for low-end loving electronic music makers.

Head to the Native Instruments site for more information.

What is it?

Arturia’s V Collection updates come around as regularly as the positive reviews for them. These revisions to the company’s famed collection of emulations of keyboards gone by – and increasingly newer models – are usually packed with new plugins, presets, and sounds, plus new versions of existing titles. The updates inevitably score well, we end up using the words ‘as always’ too many times in the reviews, and this latest release is no different. But v11 has more surprises than you might expect, and if you are a fan of 1990s dance music, it’s got one of the machines you have been waiting for.

Over the last ten releases – and an incredible 20 years – V Collection has gone from just four emulations of vintage synths to well over 30 recreations of all sorts of classic keyboards. As the number of vintage instrument targets from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s have been ticked off the list in each update, the last couple of versions have seen Arturia ‘augment’ the collection with new acoustic Augmented instruments. While v11 has two more additions of these, and big updates to the existing five, a major new plugin addition points to another path for Arturia to tread: the 1990s! And as the famous sample from that decade goes, that’s a big ‘ah yeah’ from us.

OK, version 11 of V Collection is not a massive stride through that decade of dance – and, yes, most of those of the tunes from that time were produced by the 1980s classics already present in the collection – but you do get an emulation of a 1990s dance icon, the Roland JP-8000, and the inclusion of a non-emulation Pure LoFi synth, which could be seen to cover the filthier and trippier side of that decade and beyond.

1990s gear is an interesting potential new direction for V Collection as it could – copyright issues aside – see it wrap its emulation tentacles around some absolute belters from E-mu (samplers and sound modules), Clavia (the Nord range), Yamaha (SY range, CS1x), Roland (JV) and many more for future VC versions. However, the question for this 20th anniversary of V Collection today is, does version 11 reach synth heaven? And, yes, you probably already know the answer…

Overview

On top of the JP-8000 emulation (called Jup-8000V) and Pure Lofi additions, V Collection 11’s new additions also include Synthx V, a recreation of the 1981 Elka Synthex polysynth, and a remodelled SEM V, an emulation of the 1974 Oberheim SEM. Arturia has also recently added emulations of its own hardware synths to V Collection, so we now also get MiniBrute V, a polyphonic Brute (PolyBrute, anyone?), alongside the excellent MiniFreak plugin.

Final additions include two more Augmented instruments – Yangtze and Mallets – and while these will no doubt add some traditional and contemporary spins on Chinese and percussive sounds, it’s most definitely Jup-8000V and Pure Lofi that we’re downloading first via Arturia’s slick Software Center.

Performance

We’ll start with Jup-8000 – we’re too excited not to – and the original machine scored big time back in the ’90s for a couple of reasons. The first was the re-introduction of hands-on controls so lacking in a lot of digital synths of the time, and the second was the machine’s sound which was a genuine reflection of what was ‘happening’ at the time, with its supersaw character in particular laying the groundwork for dance music well into the next century.

This was a surprise as very often the big guns of synthesis would try to be cool and pack their machines with what they envisaged to be the ‘in thing’, and more often than not, they would fail miserably, rather like your dad dancing to the latest chart smash at a wedding. Not so with the JP-8000 and this version: there’s everything from lush and atmospheric pads and strings, plus those very super saws, to bendy and squealing bass, frantic arps and stabby pianos. Everything you need to don those gloves and bend those glowsticks – if there is ever yet another ’90s revival, then this will be your go-to plugin.

Our hardware JP died just before this review, so not only are we over-the-moon happy with this software replacement, but we can confidently report that its spirit easily lives on here. There may be some producers under 25 who find just a few of the sounds a little too twee and retro, but there are many contemporary inclusions, and the effects and modulation extras under the Advanced tab can easily drag Jup-8000’s sound 30 years into the future.

As expected, we’ve spent way too much on one headline act, so we’d better quickly run through some other VC11 extras. We reviewed MiniBrute V, and it’s a gnarly and polyphonic version of Arturia’s original analogue hardware mono. Add in effects and you can get a very different feel from the original, but it’s a very characterful synth overall.

The two extra Augmented titles didn’t exactly fill us with high expectations – mallets and Chinese instruments aren’t usually our first-choice instruments – but we know from previous VC iterations that you ignore these titles at your peril. Each has a dual-layer setup, with each layer made from two synth or sampler parts selected from drop-down menus. You then get filter and envelope sections plus plenty of effects per layer and for the overall mix, and with modulation and arpeggiator options, you can quickly change the fundamental sound ingredients and dramatically create something off-the-wall, evolving or ambient.

The Play page on each – showing some key controls and a big Morph dial – delivers some of the more dramatic options to you in an even easier way. Don’t be fooled by the instrument subject in their titles, as the emphasis is most definitely on the word ‘Augmented’.

SEM V is Arturia’s v3 update to the American classic analogue, first released in hardware back in 1974 and first released by Arturia as v1 software in 2012. This latest version has been, as they say, “rewritten from the ground up”. What this means in practice is an improved sound engine with continuously running oscillators and a reworked filter.

The sound is as lush and analogue as ever, helped by that big (for Oberheim) 8-voice polyphony. It’s basically everything analogue, with a surprisingly up-to-date-feel on occasion. Many of the presets feature a good amount of wonk and wobble – two words you might not always associate with Oberheim.

Synthx V is another newbie from Arturia, first announced last year and an emulation of the Elka Synthex polysynth. It features the two multi-waveform DCOs, multimode filter and modulation options of the original, plus, of course, Arturia extras including more effect, arp and modulation features.

The original Synthx was renowned for its slightly off-the-wall sound compared to standard analogue, and that is present and correct here, with an off-beat and slightly crunchy direction taken with some of the presets, while others give you a very 2020s sound while showing off Arturia’s extras. It makes for a different option to use over the many other analogue synths included in VC, so is a welcome addition.

That leaves Pure Lofi, another big VC11 highlight. Adding a lower fidelity feel to overproduced computer music has, of course, become big business – where once we tried to hide noise and distortion, we now welcome them into our over-polished world. Pure Lofi takes this ethos and runs as far as you like with it, and in as simple a way as possible.

You start with a pair of sources where you can blend instrument sounds, samples and synth waveforms, and then put them through hardware emulations based on old samplers and synths, or through Arturia’s less subtle distortion. You can then add noise from tape, percussion, nature and more before going through both a filter and envelope stage.

Finally, add in a ‘unique’ lo-fi processor for disc-swapping, tape-inspired mayhem – and a big knob to crank it up – and then up to four effect slots, and what often start as ‘too polite’ presets can be filthed up in a much easier way than perhaps our description implies. A final touch is a similar effects and modulation setup to Jup-8000 opened by an Advanced tab. All told, you’ll wonder why Arturia hasn’t made a similar effects plugin to use on your own sounds, as it’s so simple and effective.

Verdict

As ever, just when you think that V-Collection has run its course, Arturia pulls out all the stops and assembles a compelling update. To us, Lofi and Jup-8000 are its highlights – which might be an age thing, to be honest – but there is plenty more to appeal to many producers. It’s pricey, yes, but also, as ever, we must add that the considerable outlay of €699 can be balanced against the sheer number of instruments, now some 45, making it €$15 a plug.

Another ‘as ever’ comes with the nagging feeling that you’ll have some of these instruments already, albeit possibly made by other developers or included in your DAW. To temper this, Arturia now has a cut-down Intro version available. €$199 gets you ten great titles, including Prophet 5 V, DX7 V, and MiniFreak – a great spread of instruments all told. However, we’d love the option – possibly a logistical nightmare – of choosing 10 instruments for the same money, or handpicking other custom and smaller collections. Yes, we can only ask.

The upgrade price for existing users is a little unclear, but we’re seeing prices of between €$99 and €$199, and the latter could be seen as pricey. Otherwise, V-Collection 11 is a triumph. We’d close with another well-trodden line – that we expect the French developers to struggle to produce such a worthy update next time around – but by now we’re starting to realise this probably won’t be the case. VC 11 is a surprisingly rich and varied update to a now classic collection of vintage and modern instruments.

Hands-on demos

Arturia

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

Universal Audio makes plugins that deliver quality results rather than a huge list of extras. Witness the company's vast range of vintage recreations that focus on the character and nuances of the original gear, without perhaps adding too many other embellishments. Quality over quantity, you might say.

Anthem follows a similar trajectory in that it does classic analogue synthesis very well indeed, but that is pretty much it. However, contrary to many UA plugs, it's not following the lead (or bass) of any particularly iconic piece of hardware. Indeed, according to UA, Anthem purports to be “something entirely new”, so let's see if it's as rousing and uplifting as its name suggests.

What is Anthem?

Anthem is a dual oscillator synth, with those two oscillators able to morph between fairly standard waveshapes. As well as additional sub and noise options, you also get an analogue-modelled low-pass filter, lo-fi vintage effects, a step sequencer, plus two envelopes and an LFO. The plugin clearly focuses on the classic analogue signal path, so it will be as familiar to old synth hands as it will be educational to new ones.

Anthem is also a $199 native plugin, so anyone can use it – unlike those tied to UA hardware – and is also available as part of UA's Spark subscription, a collection of over 40 of the company's finest native plugins starting at $19.99 a month.

The synth boasts three different main modes of operation: Mono for big fat basses and leads, Unison for even fatter sounds, and Paraphonic, which effectively gives you four voices of polyphony (which share much of the signal path). Interestingly, that is the synth's limit – although you can obviously stack multiple instances across different tracks to up that note count if you wish. Again, this follows the UA philosophy: do fewer things but do them best; it might be restrictive in this case, but when it comes to the sound, we kinda get where Anthem is heading.

Performance

Its (by our count) 250+ presets reveal all, with 12 categories allowing you to home in on bass, leads, drums, strings and more. There are, of course, many vintage sounds, with fat basses and mix-ripping leads all prominent, but also plenty of effects, chip tune options, bells, and, yes, whistles. More surprising are the pads – many and varied despite a lack of polyphony – while the many sequences all utilise the on-board 3-track, 16-step sequencer to great effect.

What you'll conclude is that there is a huge variety of timbres within the confines of the architecture, and they are pretty much all of a great quality and suited to more genres than you might expect. That quality is helped by the vintage effects, which actually help add a modern sheen, occasionally lovely and gnarly and brash, often atmospheric and always dramatic. We particularly like using the mod effects to introduce subtle and not-so-subtle timbre movements, and the Space FX block certainly adds some creaminess to the synth, giving it that nice, warm analogue feel.

The sequencer is a great addition for expanding the sonic palette with movement and melody. It has four main tabs that cover gate, velocity and pitch changes – easily drawn in up to 16 steps – plus a global option for adjusting rate, swing, scale and direction.

Finally, on the programming side, a straightforward modulation setup allows you to alter the wave shape, pitch, warp, and filter cutoff with the LFO or filter envelope. It's a little basic but very easy to implement, as is pretty much everything on Anthem. And on this, we particularly like the double-use aspect of some of the controls, allowing you to, for example, adjust the coarse tune with the inner dial and fine with the outer.

Verdict

With UA, you can expect any plugin newcomers to deliver top-notch sound quality, and Anthem does indeed drop the goods off with some aplomb. It's easy to use, with the modulation and sequencer being highlights, and it sounds, well, like a top-quality analogue synth. In this respect, it makes a Spark subscription even more of a tempter, as it joins an increasingly impressive synth lineup including PolyMax, Opal Morphing Synthesizer and Moog Minimoog.

However, with some of these instruments already boasting impressive analogue credentials, you have to wonder whether there is much room for another pretender. That all said, as Spark subscribers, we're dead chuffed to welcome Anthem into our drive space; we're just not sure if it would have been the draw that led to the sub in the first place.

Outside of a Spark subscription, Anthem's one-time purchase price of $199 (intro offer of $149) puts it up there in the premier league of synths cash wise, and right in the fray with u-he's Diva, widely regarded as something of a – if not the – must-have 'analogue' synth plugin. Also, lest we forget, many DAWs come with synth plugins that attempt the analogue signal path – it was the first style to be modelled in software, after all.

All of this points to Anthem being an expensive addition to your studio and perhaps one surplus to requirements. However, it does do its vintage thing incredibly well, with both its sequencer and effects able to steer sounds into wide extremes within that analogue theatre. Its asking price certainly makes that Spark sub look like more of a bargain – perhaps that was UA's thinking all along – but as a single purchase, you might find freebies in your DAW or elsewhere that pack enough of its analogue punch.

So Anthem is a great synth, of that there is no argument, but $199 for a synth that retreads the well-worn VA path is a high asking price. Spark subscribers will be roused and uplifted, though.

Hands-on demos

Universal Audio

Alternatives

Specifications

PLUGIN WEEK 2025: Hans Zimmer has appeared on musician, producer and YouTuber Rick Beato's channel to take part in a wide-ranging, almost two-hour interview in promotion of Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert.

Diamond in the Desert is a concert film and documentary that weaves footage of two Dubai shows from the Hans Zimmer Live Tour together with candid conversations with a varied list of collaborators that includes Billie Eilish, Christopher Nolan and Pharrell Williams.

In the Beato interview, Zimmer digs deep into his creative process, sharing anecdotes around his work on films like Inception and Dune and recounting how, after years of struggle, he eventually overcame stage fright - with a little help from Paul McCartney.

Perhaps the most intriguing insight, however, arrives when Zimmer claims that 90% of his work is done using a single software instrument: u-he ZebraHZ. A spin-off from u-he's widely beloved Zebra 2 synth, ZebraHZ is Hans Zimmer's custom-built version of the instrument, featuring a bank of presets - named The Dark Zebra - designed by Zimmer and used in films such as The Dark Knight.

"I was one of the first people to really get into computers and music," Zimmer tells Beato. "But there came a point where there's a new operating system every few months. I just gave up. I just went: 'I need to concentrate on my music'.

"So I started to subtract things out of my life, and I started getting very good at the things that I kept. For instance, software synthesizers. 90% of what I do is done on one software synth. I've been working with that thing for so many years now, and I still haven't run out of ideas.

"What is that? That's u-he Zebra, the Dark Zebra HZ. It's the Hans Zimmer model. I suddenly get an idea that needs six resonating filters, and he's going: 'why do you guys need this?' Well, I can't explain it, but when you hear it, you'll see why!"

Zimmer goes on to highlight another synth plugin that features heavily in his work - a plugin that also happens to bear his initials - Synapse Audio's The Legend HZ, a virtual analogue synth based on the Minimoog. Zimmer's version of The Legend bolsters the plugin's specs with additional oscillators, expanded polyphony and a fixed filter bank based on his own vintage Moog Modular 914.

The Legend replaces the Minimoog's ADS envelope, which lacked a dedicated Release control, with a more familiar ADSR version. "It's basically a Minimoog, with one important improvement" says Zimmer. "You don't have to do that switch for the release, you actually have a release; a proper release. But it sounds as good as the real thing."

Being the world's most celebrated film composer, you'd expect that Zimmer wouldn't have to plump for software emulations of expensive hardware synths. As it turns out, he's got "a few of the real things" around the studio, too.

"I can shut my eyes, and I can just go up to them, and I'm at home," adds Zimmer. "What makes them sound great is that I'm so familiar with them. I'm not a big analogue versus digital guy - if it sounds good, it sounds good."

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FM synthesis can be notoriously tricky. For all the success of Yamaha's DX7 in the 1980s, its bafflingly mathematical system of operators and algorithms, and the seemingly endless parameter menus, meant that many users stuck to the presets. Brian Eno was heralded as a genius for mastering his.

Modern FM synths tend to be more user friendly thanks to their improved interfaces, but the underlying complexity of frequency modulation remains.

With the launch of Pivot, plugin developer Fors aims to address this. Pitched as a ‘no-nonsense’ FM synthesizer, Pivot strips back the complexity usually associated with FM synths resulting in an instrument that aims to be approachable and user-friendly, whilst still capturing the essence of what makes frequency modulation synthesis so appealing.

In the words of its developer, “years of research, development and deep love of FM synthesis has gone into picking just the right balance of flexibility and simplicity.”

Pivot is based around three operators, which Fors claims provides “a great balance of being able to make complex timbres while being quick to program.”

These operators are combined with a resonant 4-pole filter that can morph continuously between low-, high- and band-pass modes. Pivot also features two LFOs and two ADSR envelopes, each of which can be routed to up-to six destinations at once in the flexible mod matrix.

Unlike most FM synths, Pivot has no algorithms – the term commonly used for different configurations of operators – and instead allows users to continuously route its top operator’s output between the other pair. According to the developer, this setup “makes sound design a truly explorable process where you don't have to make any decisions up front.”

Pivot arrives with a strong FM synth pedigree. Fors founder Ess Mattisson was previously an employee of Elektron, where they worked on designing the synth engine of the original Digitone – one of our favourite digital hardware synths of the past decade. Ess also previously worked in DSP development at Modbap Modular.

Pivot is available in VST3, AU and Clap formats for PC, Mac and Linux. The full version is priced at £29, but can be picked up for an intro price of £21.80 until 20 July.

Rather than offering a demo version, Fors has released a free Lite version of Pivot with just two operators and no mod matrix. Both versions are available now from the Fors site.

PLUGIN WEEK 2025: Software allows developers to design highly flexible synthesizers that incorporate multiple synthesis types. Typically good examples of these hybrid synths have a price tag, but there are a few quality freebies out there and one of the best is Odin 2 from The Wave Warden.

At first glance the three oscillator design looks pretty standard, but alongside more typical features such as LFOs, envelopes, and onboard effects are some excellent power options. For example, the three filter modules include tasty emulations of Korg, SEM and diode ladder style filters, meanwhile the arpeggiator / step sequencer features two modulation lanes for step parameter modulation.

Other worthy aspects include the assignable XY pad, up to 6-voice unison, and a powerful modulation matrix. However, it’s the core oscillator options that deliver much of the flexibility. Key synthesis types such as analogue, wavetable and FM are joined by more interesting examples such as vector, phase modulation and even a dedicated chiptune oscillator.

Meanwhile, you also get three waveform drawing options – Wavedraw, Chipdraw and Specdraw – so you can create your own oscillators from scratch.

Navigation

Odin 2’s layout is straightforward and features a number of clearly labelled module panels. The three oscillators are at the top and just below you’ll find the output amplifier section flanked by two filters.

The next row comprises the envelopes, the third filter and the effects. At the bottom left are the LFOs, XY pad, mod wheel and pitch bend.

Finally the arpeggiator, modulation matrix and preset browser share the tabbed panel bottom right. In the top bar you’ll find playback mode (poly, legato and retrig) and unison on the left, and the main output, plugin initialize and settings menu on the right.

Oscillator and filter types are selected from their respective drop down menus and this also allows you to bypass each by selecting no device.

Odin 2 also offers some flexibility with regard to signal flow. This is handled at the filters, where you can select the source oscillator or oscillators. By default filters 1 and 2 are in parallel although you can put them in series with filter 1 feeding filter 2.

Each filter also includes a routing selector to connect it to the amplifier, and you’ll need to deactivate this for filter 1 if you want true serial operation.

Note, each oscillator can simultaneously feed both filters 1 and 2, even in serial mode, so be sure to double check which options you have activated.

The output from the first two filters then passes through the amplifier section, which includes pan and velocity sensitivity. Next comes the distortion effect.

Use the button to activate the distortion and choose from three modes - Clamp, Fold and Zero. You also have distortion drive (Boost) and wet/dry mix. Following this is the third filter, which acts as a global filter prior to the 5 output effects, which are Delay, Phaser, Chorus, Flanger and Reverb.

To help with navigation Odin 2 includes a handy tooltips option, which you’ll find in the settings menu, and if you want a deeper explanation of any features then you can also download the manual from the Wave Warden site.

Creating Sounds

Building sounds in Odin 2 is reasonably straightforward. To start from scratch select the Reset option in the top bar. This provides a basic patch with one analogue oscillator feeding one low pass filter.

All other aspects are bypassed, and this provides a good basis to try out some features such as the envelopes, effects, Arpeggiator and Mod Matrix.

You’ll notice the mod matrix is very flexible and in addition to regular depth and routing options also includes a scaling modulator, allowing you to select a further modulator to control the depth of modulation.

Other modulation aspects to highlight include the Global LFO and Global Envelope which work slightly differently to the regular LFOs and envelopes. Both of these operate once on all voices collectively.

To test this try setting up the Global LFO to control amp gain with a suitable depth. As you play extra notes you’ll hear the LFO is controlling them all the same way, and will only restart once you release all the notes.

As mentioned, Odin 2 has a very powerful oscillator section and sticking with the one active oscillator it’s easy to check this out. More basic options include the Analogue and Noise modules.

For more complex sounds check out the Wavetable and Multi, which is a four voice version of the wavetable oscillator with detune. Both Wavetable and Multi have the same selection of 35 wavetables, and you can move through the table using the WT-position control.

Also pretty flexible are the FM and PM oscillators, as you can choose from a plethora of source wave types for both carrier and modulator. These include individual waveforms from the 35 wavetables, as well as waveforms from all three drawing oscillators.

Rounding things off is the Chiptune oscillator, which couples retro style waves and a Noise option for creating authentic tones. It also includes a three step Arpeggiator, which is great for creating those classic video game effects.

Draw Your Own Oscillators

As mentioned, Odin 2 includes three oscillator drawing modes and these are perfect if you like to shape sounds from the outset.

Specdraw is great for quick design of additive tones. The display starts with the fundamental at the left hand and further harmonics moving right. Use the cursor to set the level of each to taste to create everything from bell like tones to bright harmonic rich sounds.

In contrast if you prefer the subtractive route, Wavedraw is your weapon of choice. The oscillator loads with a sine wave which you then modify to taste using the cursor. There are no shaping tools so the process is completely free hand. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take long to shape interesting sounds.

The third option, Chipdraw, also provides free hand drawing but this time starts with a square wave. The oscillator design is 4-bit and this is indicated by the stepped behaviour as you begin to draw.

Finally, whatever oscillators you choose, Odin 2’s filter section provides a lot of sonic flexibility. Quality features to try include the transition control on the SEM emulation and the juicy resonance and saturation in the Diode Ladder.

The Korg 35 style filter meanwhile comes in both high pass and low pass variants. For more obvious tones we also really like the Comb Filter and Format Filter effects.

If you don’t fancy creating sounds from scratch Odin 2 has over 200 categorised presets which you can also use as a springboard for creating your own sounds. In addition to a good selection of pads, basses and leads we particularly like a number of the arp patches including Cinedrive, Midi Rain and Minor Song.

Meanwhile for more sound design uses check out the Drones folder. Rounding things off is a good selection of effects including risers (Plastic Riser 1), down sweeps (FX Pitch Down) and weird sounds (Formant Squelch).

And finally…

If you like Odin 2, then you may want to check out other products from the The Wave Warden stable including their Spline synth with spectral wave morphing, and the rather excellent step based effect Filter Force Pro.

For more info head to the Wave Warden site.

The sounds of traditional Indian music are now finding their way into all manner of creators’ hands, but how do you make them fit with your cutting-edge electronic music productions? The answer is Excite Audio’s Bloom KSHMR, which gives you the sounds of India, South Asia and Bollywood-inspired orchestration, but in a software package that also includes a powerful sequencer and effects. And the great news is that you can buy the Lite version for just $5 until 31 July 23:59 PST - just use the coupon code ma-lite-5 over at Plugin Boutique.

Created in collaboration with world-renowned artist, producer, DJ and sound designer KSHMR, this new entry in the Bloom series is packed with high-quality sounds and loops that were painstakingly recorded by handpicked musicians from the regions where the instruments were made. Drawing on its creator’s vast experience and knowledge of Indian instrumentation, they not only offer the authenticity and levels of expression that you’d hope for, but also put a new twist on these classic sounds, reimagining them through a contemporary lens.

The library includes drum circles, tablas, sitars, bansuri flutes and expressive vocal performances, all wrapped up in the intuitive and powerful Bloom software. This enables you to play the sounds using the white keys on your MIDI keyboard, with the black keys allowing you to modify them in real-time as you do so.

Other features include sample editing, modulation features, a sequencer and effects. What’s more, and as with the other instruments in the Bloom range, you can even import your own samples simply by dragging and dropping them, enabling you to create your own presets to sit alongside the 250 presets that have been created by KSHMR.

These other instruments in the Bloom range cover the likes of drums, synths, bass, vocals and atmospheres, and if you like the look of them, they can all be purchased together in a bundle.

Bloom KSHMR looks like a particularly special addition to the range, giving you a unique level of access to Indian sounds that you may have thought was beyond your reach. It’s available now for the introductory price of £59 /€59/$59, but don’t discount that Lite version, which gives you a lot of Bloom KSHMR’s best bits at a bargain price. Although you lose the FX modules and the option to import your own samples, you still get 75 presets and the ability to tweak the sounds in realtime. And with that coupon code (ma-lite-5), it can be had for just $5 until 31 July 23:59 PST, down from the regular price of £29/€29/$29.

Whichever version of Bloom KSHMR you go for, the good news is that its simplicity means that it’s accessible to all levels of producer, from beginners who are looking to go beyond the sounds they might be used to, to professional producers and creators who need high-quality content from a producer whose sound design skills are second to none.

Find out more and get a taste of what Bloom KSHMR is all about on the Plugin Boutique website. And remember: use coupon code ma-lite-5 to get the Lite version for just $5 until 31 July 23:59 PST.

What is it?

For the benefit of anyone who has been hiding under a rock for the last few years (presumably working tirelessly on your DAW), Cherry Audio has been working equally tirelessly, creating some of the finest reincarnations and enhanced versions of beloved machines, from the last 50 years of music technology history.

Graphically and sonically, it feels like they are getting better and better, with a resplendent track record which is proving exceptionally popular with users, in a crowded market. For their next venture, they return to ARP, reinvigorating one of the most beloved classics of all.

In a slight play on letters and words, Cherry’s ODC started life as a faithful recreation of the ARP Odyssey.

Upon its release, the original hardware Odyssey was deemed to be a more affordable option than the Minimoog, at a time when there was limited choice. The Odyssey proved to be popular - very popular! Despite ARP’s regrettable bankruptcy in 1981, the Odyssey remained in production throughout its dominant years, with three different revisions, each armed with a different filter and subtle upgrades.

In true Cherry Audio style, its starting point for the migration of vintage hardware to software, was the architecture and sound of the original.

We have been admirable owners of hardware Odysseys (in their original and reissued guises), so have considerable experience in their operation and sound. This is just as well, because they do have an uncanny capacity to catch you out, operationally speaking. We have often seen people staring at the panel, wondering why they can’t get a sound! No such dilemmas here. Cherry has populated the ODC with 330 impressive presets.

Leaving the presets aside for one moment, we instantly noticed a significant change relating to the oscillator section. The original hardware hosted a two-VCO arrangement.

To keep pace with other products and arguably draw influence from the ARP 2600, Cherry has included a third VCO in the oscillator section. This is spectacular stuff! In a two oscillator assignment, the original Odyssey was impressive enough - you only have to ask the long queue of artists, from Yellow Magic Orchestra to Ultravox and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, to endorse that - but there is no doubt that a third oscillator could be really useful and become indispensable for chordal-constructs, being one of our favourite analog synthesiser pursuits.

Performance

Testing, testing…

ARP synthesizers behave in a really interesting way, particularly at the most basic level. We therefore started putting the ODC through its paces by initialising a patch and auditioning the raw VCOs. ODC is based on a classic subtractive machine, so upfront wave selection is relatively restricted by today’s standards, but don’t let that fool you! In the first instance, the saw and pulse waves sound rich and colourful, although we did immediately notice that in this initialised state, tuning between oscillators was a little too good to be true. It was essential to nudge the fine-tune of the secondary VCO, to promote the fatness of sound that you would expect.

There is another important aspect to this, because ODC also models the original ARP ring modulation circuit, sounding every bit as good as the original. To make the ring mod really ‘ring’, it’s beneficial to subtly detune the VCOs against each other. This has always been a favourite of ours, particularly when used alongside the original’s duophonic mode.

Staying within the oscillator domain, Cherry has maintained the modulatory elements for each VCO while adding a third assignable option, which presents a long list of modulation protagonists, for potential modulation mayhem. This includes envelope and LFO, and a significantly extended noise menu, with violet, brown and red noise, alongside the more usual white and pink noise.

Beyond our elemental testing, the new construction (with the additional VCO) opens up another level. Even a basic construct of two VCOs and a sub transports the ODC to a new dimension, and then there’s the legendary ARP sync! It didn’t take long for us to try this out, employing one of the envelope generators to provide the sync sweep.

It's worth noting, though, when you move to the envelope section (on the far right), envelope 2 is above envelope 1! This caught us out for a few seconds, until we read the legend… obviously!

Changing colour schemes

If you audition any of the curated presets, you might be wondering why the colour scheme keeps changing, from a white fascia to black and gold, or black on orange?

This relates entirely to the revision model of Odyssey. The white Mk1 gave way to the black and gold Mk2, which was superseded by the black and orange Mk3. But it’s not just colour schemes, because each Odyssey revision provided a different style of filter. The Mk1 employed a 12db/2-pole filter, while the Mk2 and 3 offered a 24db/4-pole filter, from 4035 and 4075 chips respectively.

Everyone has their favourite filter, and that goes just as much for the colour scheme as it does for the filter timbre itself, so it’s even more appealing that we get to choose which we use, by flicking the filter revision switch in the VCF section. If you find yourself wanting to stay with a Mk3 colour scheme, but want the Mk1 filter, you can also hit the UI Lock button, which will maintain the selected colour, regardless of filter selection. (We always did prefer black and orange - classic ARP!)

The main low-pass filter is equipped with a resonance control, but the low-end frequencies do have a habit of dissipating once the resonance is applied. Thankfully, the Gain Compression switch will reinstate the low-end, even while the resonance is squealing. You can also switch the filter mode to band-pass or high-pass mode, and there is a dedicated high-pass filter too, for extended frequency control.

Complex is best!

Cherry Audio have remained very respectful to the original, but let’s be honest, the original was no slouch in the modulation department. Cherry has built upon this, so while they have maintained the envelope generators (with the useful auto repeat function), they have also included a second LFO, for additional LFO modulation options. They have also extended the LFO waveforms available, alongside the ubiquitous sample and hold modulation, equipped with lag.

Other notable enhancements include an onboard arpeggiator, aftertouch assignment, and a very classy ‘smart portamento’, fashioned after the CS-80, for enhanced musical performance.

One subtle but helpful switch relates to the FX section, which is located at the bottom of the plugin. There is immediate access to the five very usable effects, right underneath the keyboard. Left/right faders allow application of modulation, or adjustment of the wet/dry mix. Move to the far left, and you can select Effects instead of Keyboard, which swaps the keyboard display for five effects units, in a beautifully stylised array, and without the need to switch to a secondary page. It’s nicely done!

Verdict

The Cherry Audio ODC 2800 is yet another sublime example of how good software synthesisers can be. The scalable plugin window, coupled with the ever-present ‘Focus’ mode (which immediately zooms in on an area that you wish to work on), makes editing and control a total delight. But the visuals come a very close 2nd to the winning sound of the ODC. It’s every bit as impressive as an original Odyssey, and equipped with some logical and welcome enhancements.

It’s production-ready status rubber-stamps its authority over any track where it’s deployed. Bass sounds are thunderous, lead sounds are searing, and thanks to its ability to extend to a full 16-note polyphony, you can now generate beautifully subtle, evolving or gnarly pads and stabs. Alternatively, compile all 48 oscillators in unison mode, which could reduce your cones to a total mess!

For any fan of electronic music, you are likely to find yourself continually thinking that you’ve heard the sound of the ODC 2800 before, and that’s most likely because you have, but thanks to Cherry Audio, you’ve not heard it like this! As for building on perfection, this is probably as good as it gets!

Hands-on demos

Cherry Audio

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

GForce Software has always prided itself on long-standing relationships with some very notable synth designers and veterans, and they don’t get more influential than Tom Oberheim. Back in the ’70s, Tom’s company was responsible for some of the most influential designs in synth history, with one of the most legendary being the Oberheim TVS (Two Voice Synthesizer).

Originally released in 1974, the TVS was a keyboard synthesizer, which contained two identical (and equally legendary) SEMs. The SEM (aka Synthesizer Expander Module) is a self-contained synthesizer voice, equipped with two oscillators and a versatile and characterful state-variable filter. SEMs formed a bedrock for Oberheim, being included in its unruly polyphonic machines, the Four-voice and the Eight-voice. The smallest keyboard-based sibling in this series was the TVS (Two-Voice Synthesizer), which hosted two identical SEM voices, along with a three-octave keyboard.

Tom decided to refresh the TVS in 2015, with the TVS Pro. Produced in relatively small numbers of a few hundred, the TVS Pro introduced a dual 16-step sequencer section, along with other modulation and connectivity enhancements. It remains one of our absolute favourite synthesizers!

With its usual acumen and attention to detail, along with a rubber stamp from Tom Oberheim, GForce now brings us a software recreation of the TVS Pro, with all the convenience of software, and a host of desirable enhanced features.

Performance

One of the first major enhancements is the ability to save patches. The makeup of the SEM, in its hardware state, does not lend itself to patch saving (unless you want to chalk lines on a patch sheet!). We know this from bitter experience, as we are proud owners of an original TVS Pro from 2015, which we used extensively alongside the software, for direct comparison in this review.

GForce offers a palette of over 635 patches; two thirds of these have been adapted from GForce's SEM software, with the remaining stock being new to the TVS Pro. A brief sojourn through the patch browser provides plenty of listening pleasure. There are enormous basses, searing leads, and a host of patches that make good use of the sequencer section. More on that later!

SEM VCO

There are two SEMs to call upon, both replete with two VCOs, which provide control over frequency (pitch), via saw and pulse waveforms. You may think that this concept feels relatively basic, and on the face of it, you would be right! Where the magic happens, is through the Interplay between the two oscillators and the modulation that can be induced.

The modulation see-saw pots, directly underneath the frequency pots, dictate modulation of pitch or pulse width, in the case of the pulse wave only. The modulation itself is generated from the SEMs envelopes or LFO, the latter being syncable to your DAW.

In a subtle deviation from the original hardware, a third VCO has been added. By accessing the ‘rear’ settings control panel (accessible from the small triangle at the base of the SEM section) you can select from a saw, sine or square waveform, or add pink noise. Not only can this provide a Minimoog style voice, but it can also be employed as a form of audio rate modulation, which yields some extraordinary sounds and aggressive timbre.

While we have the rear SEM panel engaged, it is worth highlighting the numerous other enhancements available from this section; there is full control over the LFO, which importantly includes the ability to change the wave shape (an option not available on the original hardware). There are also a host of velocity options, which build upon those previously seen on the hardware TVS Pro. These include modulation of filter, pitch and PWM. There is a similar routing option for aftertouch.

The SEM-based VCOs feed the filter. GForce has painstakingly modelled the VCF, drawing inspiration and comparison from both a vintage SEM, and a reissued, modern iteration. Equipped with the usual cutoff and resonance pots, the filter can be swept continuously from a state of low-pass, to notch and high-pass, or be switched to band-pass mode. It’s an incredibly musical experience, capable of softness or peaks of aggression. It’s detailed, stylish and nuanced!

Times two!

Factoring in one of the main components of the TVS Pro, the addition of a second SEM, the potential for voice creation really opens up. Moreover, it is possible to separate the two SEMs, allowing them to operate in a singular voice mode, duophonic mode, or as a combined construct of up to six VCOs.

Nowhere is this former option more important, than with the inclusion of the dedicated step sequencer. Much like the hardware, the sequencer occupies the panel on the far-upper-left of the fascia. From this location, you have access to two rows of controls, allowing the programming of up to 16 steps, while selecting channel/SEM A or B. You can dictate the number of steps, introduce rests, and control ratcheting of each step. In an enhancement to the original, there is also control of panning, which can introduce considerable stereoscopic mayhem.

We have always adored the TVS Pro sequencer, but it can be a little fiddly to use. No such issues here; GForce has also created a dedicated sequencer page, which provides full and easy access to all the parameters you need. Moreover, you can see sequence A and B simultaneously, as they perform a merry dance, triggering their respected SEMs.

Gotta get effected

The TVS Pro in hardware, is best regarded as a sum of parts. This is firmly the case in the software domain, although the patches do seem to make significant use of the impressive effects section. With the inclusion of a phaser, delay and reverb, it’s very easy to generate production ready patches. We do have a slight reservation here, regarding the degree that the effects have been deployed in the patch listings, but it stands to reason that you will want to enhance patches, and present in the best possible light.

If the heavily effected nature of some of the patches is too much for you, GForce has created some basic mono, poly and sequencer patches that serve as a perfect starting point for sonic creation, without the heavy engagement of the effects. You can also use the initialise feature, to start a patch from scratch.

There are a handful of other useful settings, such as the ability to de-tune or apply vintage instability to the SEMs. There are independent rates of portamento for each voice too.

La difference

In our comparisons against the original hardware, there are undoubted subtle deviations. We can’t be too strict on this point, because analogue hardware is prone to degradation over time, and as our TVS Pro is 10 years old, and well used, it stands to reason that the hardware and software would differ slightly sonically.

One point that is worth making though, is the attention to detail within the filter section. The original VCF is a seminal classic, and behaves in a very distinctive way, thanks to its state-variable control. There is a slight hint of stepping, in the cutoff control, but this mimics exactly what the original hardware does, or at least it does to our ears.

GForce has also been more generous with their envelope phases; this is no bad thing, as it’s better to have more time, than less. However, we did feel that our hardware envelopes were very slightly snappier in character.

Verdict

It will hardly come as a surprise to learn that we are big fans of this software. Right from the get-go, TVS Pro sounds enormous, but can be scaled back if you need it to be. Undoubtably, one of the biggest enhancements relates to the interface itself, which provides a number of additions to the original hardware, with full DAW control for automation. Many of these elements add further character to a much loved signal path, which is unique in synthesizer history, and replicated beautifully in the GForce sound-world.

Hands-on demos

GForce Software

Specifications

When Arturia’s Pigments synth launched back in 2018, it was already built on pretty solid foundations. Combining elements of wavetable and virtual analogue synthesis, the original Pigments took much of what the French developer had learned via two decades of slowly expanding and updating its V Collection emulations, and applied it to an original instrument designed to hold its own against ‘power synths’ like Serum or Phase Plant.

Since launch, the capabilities of Pigments have expanded significantly, thanks to a regular stream of annual updates that have, laudably, all arrived as free upgrades for existing owners.

These releases have varied in how substantial they are – ranging from the sample engine added for Pigments 2 to the CPU and UI improvements of v4 – but each iteration has expanded and refined the synth to the point that it's now one of the best sound design tools around.

Pigments 6 arrived in January 2025 and is one of the most significant upgrades since the synth first launched. Not only does this latest version add a new oscillator engine based around physical modelling synthesis, but expands the instrument’s capabilities with the addition of a vocoder, improved granular capabilities and an expanded range of filter and modulator options.

What is it? The core of Pigments

For those new to Pigments, the core of the synth is its ‘engine’ system, which allows users to mix and match two multi-oscillator sound engines each making use of a different approach to synthesis.

The various engines are capable of virtual analogue, wavetable, additive or sample-based synthesis, the latter of which includes one-shot and multi-sampled instruments, as well as granular synthesis capabilities. Added to these for version 6 is the new Modal engine, which brings physical modelling into the mix.

These two core engines are joined by a third Utility engine, which is effectively an additional VA oscillator (that can be used as a sub) plus two noise sources. It’s designed to play a supporting role, but can be very important, in processing external audio, for example.

These engines feed into a dual filter section that can make use of a wide variety of filter designs, ranging from straightforward multi-mode filters through to analogue modelled designs and creative tools such as comb and formant filters.

Pricing

• $199/€199, rent to own available from $9.99 per month

Other highlights of the synth include its comprehensive effects section and easy-to-use modulation system – which owes a debt to the click-to-assign simplicity of Massive and Serum before it.

Ever since v1, a particular highlight of Pigments has been its virtual analogue elements, which are found in the Analog engine, but also in various filter and effect models.

Arturia has a long history recreating analogue hardware for its V Collection synths and that shows in the quality here, which nods to a multitude of vintage classics with elements such as Moog-style ladder filters and Juno chorus.

There are also numerous wavetable options that draw on sounds akin to classic hardware. All of which adds up to making Pigments a solid emulation tool to rival a synth like U-He Diva, as well as being able to tackle the more cutting-edge sounds of Massive X or Serum.

New for version 6

The headline feature of Pigments’ v6 update is its new Modal engine. This is based around the concept of physical modelling, which replicates the behaviour of an object resonating in a physical space, making it perfect for emulating sounds such as plucked strings or mallets.

Physical modelling instruments work using two elements: an exciter, emulating the collision that triggers the initial sound, and a resonator, which generates the subsequent vibrations.

Pigments’ Modal engine offers two forms of exciter. The first is labelled Collision Exciter, which emulates an impact like the plucking of a string or the beating of a drum. The second are the Friction Exciters, which emulate an ongoing impact more like a bowed stringed instrument.

These two exciter elements can work in tandem, and each can be switched to use a variety of different modes. The Collision module can make use of a synthesized exciter, a sampled transient or an external audio input. Friction uses either randomised impulse generation, sampled noise, granular synthesis or an external audio input.

The resonator section itself is equally flexible. This uses two styles of resonating object – beam and string – each with six timbre options on offer for further variation. The sound can then be further manipulated using Stereo Spread, Warp and Shaper controls, which apply additive synthesis techniques to the output sound.

As with the other synthesis approaches applied within Pigments, you can find deeper and more complex takes on physical modelling in dedicated plugins such as Chromaphone. The Modal engine still manages to be impressively comprehensive within its confined UI though, and there’s a broad spectrum of sounds that can be created, even if you were to use the engine as a standalone synthesizer.

The fact that it can be used alongside – and interact with – Pigments’ other elements, magnifies its potential exponentially. After seven years of updates, those other elements are now an exceptionally well-rounded suite of tools.

The filter section now offers 13 different styles of module, covering functional designs, creative sound shaping and vintage emulation. Version 6 adds tools for each of these use-cases, with an upgraded multimode filter, a cluster – aka multi-peak – filter and a new lo-fi design, which has a lovely grungy tone great for over-saturated, old school dance music.

The new vocoder in the effects section is another welcome addition. This has vintage, modern and dirty tonality modes and a decent level of control over factors such as bandwidth, output frequency and formants. It works nicely for those classic robotic vocal sounds, but is arguably more fun when used with Pigments’ internal synthesis engines or external audio – particularly when applied to percussive and rhythmic sounds.

My personal favourite of Pigments 6’s new additions is the Voice Modulator added to the random modulation section. This generates a different output value for each new incoming MIDI note, set to cycle by a value between 1 and 8 notes.

Used subtly, this can be a neat tool for introducing analogue-like variations in tuning and tonality, but pushed further it can act like the round robin voice cycling of Korg’s classic Mono/Poly, whereby each new synth note triggers its own voice with distinct tuning and waveshape functionality.

Performance

For my money, Pigments is the best softsynth on the market right now. For the sheer breadth and versatility of tools it offers, there’s nothing else that can compete.

The likes of Xfer Serum and Kilohearts Phase Plant are in a similar ballpark – and both are top-tier instruments in their own right. The former, however, puts more focus on wavetable and sample-based synthesis than Pigments, going a little deeper in those areas, but falling short of the overall versatility.

Phase Plant, on the other hand, puts more emphasis on modular flexibility, but loses a little of Pigments’ user friendliness in the process. The same could be said for Native Instruments' Massive X.

This latter front is another of Pigments’ strongest assets. For all the depth of its expanding capabilities, its approachability has remained intact since launch.

In fact, it’s only got more user-friendly, thanks to the addition of the simplified ‘Play’ UI added with Pigments 4. This gives users access to surface-level sound shaping without the need to unpick the more complex elements of a patch.

The Play view works in tandem with Pigments’ well stocked and organised preset library, as well as its macro control system, to make it a powerful source of varied and useable sounds, even for those not interested in designing sounds themselves.

This is certainly helpful. If there's a criticism you can level at Pigments, it would be that it can occasionally feel like overkill, if all you're after is a simple synth tone.

Although opening an initialised patch disables the bulk of the modulation routings and additional capabilities, there's still a lot of synth to wade through if all you need is a simple two-oscillator bass patch or a simple pad.

Conclusion

For those that are looking to design sounds from scratch, Arturia’s synth is a true sandbox. Arguably, the risk for Arturia at this point is that Pigments is becoming so powerful that it’s making the company’s V Collection look increasingly obsolete.

While the recreated UIs and authentic designs of those emulations will still appeal to many, there’s increasingly little in that vintage synth collection that couldn’t be convincingly recreated in Pigments.

In its current form, Pigments can create provide analogue polysynth tones, the lo-fi wavetables of early digital synths, and even the low-pass gates and wavefolding oscillators of East Coast synthesis.

At version 6, Pigments is a true power synth in every sense, and one of the finest pieces of music making software around.

Alternatives

Specifications

Released a little over 10 years ago, the original Serum was an all-singing, all-dancing wavetable synth designed to balance depth and inspiration. Serum was pitched as a ‘dream synthesizer’, born in the mind of DJ, Deadmau5 collaborator and founder of Xfer Records Steve Duda.

While Serum’s creation was something of a passion project, its appeal was universal. The plugin quickly became a favourite of electronic producers of all stripes, inheriting Massive’s softsynth crown to become the go-to tool that every producer should have on their hard drive.

What is it?

Serum’s design featured numerous highlights – in fact, the sheer volume and comprehensiveness of the tools it offered was one of its biggest selling points – but there were a few key design choices that made it stand out from the soft synth crowd.

For one thing, the wavetable oscillators employed impressive anti-alliasing tech and were noticeably cleaner and brighter than those of many rivals. They also made use of a deep and powerful wavetable editor, which allowed users to draw or import custom waveshapes.

Serum took a particularly user-friendly approach to its varied modulation tools too, allowing users to click and drag elements to quickly route a source to a destination.

Now with Serum 2, released as a free update for existing owners, Serum is building on these ideas, adding a host of new features that both expand on the concepts of the original, and bring the synth in line with competitors that have built on those ideas in the decade since its release.

Pricing

• $249 including lifetime free updates. Rent-to-own available priced at $9.99 per-month.

Performance

The most significant changes for Serum 2 come to the oscillator section. Whereas v1 featured two main wavetable oscillators, Serum now has three oscillator modules that can each make use of five different oscillator modes.

Alongside wavetable functionality, the oscillators can now function in sample, multisample, granular and spectral modes, each of which manipulates and plays back source audio in a different manner.

The basic functionality of these should be broadly familiar to most synthesists, although fittingly each offers plenty of flexibility and some interesting creative tools. The sample, granular and spectral modes, for example, have a nice level of flexibility over sample start/end positions, looping options and the ability to slice samples either automatically or manually.

The warp functionality, added to Serum’s wavetable oscillators a few years ago, has been significantly expanded in this latest version. These warp modes affect the way the oscillator plays back the sampled audio and can alter the tonality significantly.

The list of warp modes, available for all oscillator types, has been expanded for version 2 and now encompasses a wide variety of effects ranging from filtering of the waveform to audio-rate modulation, distortion and wavefolding. Serum 2 allows for two of these warp types to be applied simultaneously to each oscillator, with level controls dictating the depth of each effect.

These warp effects bear a resemblance to the playback modes on offer in Native Instruments’ underrated Massive X, although Serum’s list of options is more expansive. This is one of several fronts where it feels like Serum 2’s feature updates are specifically targeted at pulling it in line with some of its contemporaries.

The interchangeable oscillators themselves feel designed to roughly compete with the capabilities of Arturia Pigments, which uses similarly interchangeable oscillator engines capable of wavetable, sample-based and additive synthesis (the latter achievable in Serum via its waveform editor).

Similarly Pigments-like is Serum’s newly upgraded filter section. This makes use of a new dual filter design, with two individual filter slots that can be filled with a multitude of types from Serum’s list of filter models. This list was already thoroughly extensive with v1, but grows here to incorporate new options including an additional comb filter variation, DJ-style filter and several models based on vintage synth designs.

The path taken by each oscillator and filter can be adjusted in Serum 2’s new mixer section. Here each of the main oscillators, along with the sub oscillator and noise generator, gets its own mini channel strip, as do both filters. This allows for control over the routing of each element along with level and pan position.

Serum 2 also has two effect busses, which can be used alongside a master effect chain. These are configured using the synth’s newly refreshed effects window.

As with the rest of Serum, this benefits from a slightly tarted-up UI along with a handful of fresh tools. These include several new effects modules, a convolution reverb, frequency shifter, expanded reverb and delay functionality, and more.

The most useful additions on the effect front, however, are the new utility and splitter modules. Utility offers basic low- and high-pass filters as well as control over the width and pan of the sound. Its most useful feature is a mono bass mode, with a cutoff control to adjust the cutoff frequency, allowing the user to reign in stereo effects in the lower frequencies.

The splitter modules, meanwhile, can be used to split a signal into different bands by frequency or split out the mid and side signals.

It’s worth noting that, as before, Serum instals alongside an additional Serum FX plugin, which allows the full effect setup to be used in your DAW independently of the synth engine, which adds considerably to the value of the plugin.

All mod cons

The ease and flexibility of modulation has always been one of the highlights of Serum’s workflow. Fundamentally, nothing has been radically overhauled for version 2 on this front, but there are smart refinements across the board.

Many of the modulation sources have been enhanced, both in terms of available numbers and capabilities. Serum can now load up to four envelope generators and 10 LFOs, while the number of assignable macros has doubled from four to eight. New drawing tools add extra flexibility to the already versatile LFOs too.

Serum 2’s best modulation tool, however, is its neat and intuitive modulation matrix. While modulation routings can still be set up using the drag and drop method from the main UI view, opening the full matrix makes it easy to fine tune and keep track of everything that’s going on within a patch. It also makes it far easier to unpick the workings of any preset.

There’s a good level of flexibility to the matrix too, which lets users define an auxiliary source to alter the depth of any modulation – such as using the mod wheel to increase the depth of an LFO, for example – with control over the curve applied to the auxiliary source. Serum 2 allows for its filters and oscillators to be routed as mod sources too, which can lead to some fantastic extreme sound-mangling possibilities.

Beyond the most significant upgrades to Serum’s engine, there are smaller improvements across the board. The UI itself is sleeker and easier to navigate, and the preset browser has been refined too. On that front, Serum 2 also comes equipped with a clutch of new presets, which do a good job of showing off what the synth is capable of whilst also offering plenty of sounds that are usable and inspiring day-to-day.

The synth’s onboard sequencer and arpeggiator have been upgraded too. In all honesty, these are areas I rarely touch in softsynths – generally leaning on tools in a DAW or MIDI controller instead – although Serum 2’s flexible new system of chainable clips makes a solid case for keeping your sequencing and automation in-house.

Return of the king?

Back in the late ‘10s, Serum felt like it was the one plugin that every electronic music maker had to own – a go-to synth that cropped up on the hard drive of any producer worth their salt. In recent years, that crown has slipped a little as other instruments have caught up on Serum’s capabilities.

We’re reaching a point now where the top-end of synth plugins, including the likes of Serum, Pigments and Phase Plant, can do so much that it can be tough to define one against the other. Each offers multiple ways to generate sound, extensive effects, and at least some form of semi-modular routing capabilities. As such, if you own one do-it-all synth plugin, it’s arguable that there’s little need to buy and learn another.

Even in this content though, Serum still has its own undeniable personality. This lies in the depth and precision of its sample shaping tools. While it remains an instrument that’s easy to get started with, once you delve into its advanced capabilities, Serum is a wonderfully flexible sound design playground, and that’s improved exponentially by the new range of oscillator modes.

Verdict

It's hard to find much in the way of faults with Serum at this point. In UI terms, I'd like a few more options to hide or resize the various interface elements – the effects rack in particular can feel a little cramped. Compared to some of its closest rivals, you could highlight the lack of proper virtual analogue oscillators, although the wavetables cover these sounds well anyway.

It’s particularly laudable too that Serum 2 remains a free upgrade, even a decade on from the launch of the original. As such, the question of whether to buy the synth is a moot point for many – in all likelihood, a lot of our readers will already own Serum, and if you haven’t already you should take this as encouragement to update and re-explore its capabilities.

For newer producers that may have missed the boat the first time around, Serum 2 – while not entirely peerless – still makes a solid case for being the one instrument plugin you need above all others. Particularly seeing as it's available at affordable rent-to-own rates, a copy of Serum might be the smartest investment any budding producer makes.

Alternatives

Specifications

Universal Audio is renowned for its well-regarded software emulations of vintage studio gear, but the company also has a handful of plugins in its product catalogue that recreate the sound of classic instruments from years past, including the Minimoog, Hammond B3 and Rhodes MK1.

Launched back in 2022, Universal Audio's PolyMAX synth isn't based on a single instrument, but instead draws broader inspiration from the "golden age of polysynthesis", an era that brought us iconic synths like the Jupiter-8, OB-X and Prophet-5. Until now, PolyMAX has been priced at $199, but the folks at UA must be in a particularly generous mood, as they're giving it away for free until June 30.

• Shop our pick of the best Memorial Day weekend deals

Universal Audio says that PolyMAX delivers the "organic, subtle beauty and musicality of classic analogue polyphonic synthesizers", cherrypicking features, circuits and sounds from the developers' favourite vintage instruments and "mixing, matching and modelling" these to create a "modern synth with retro roots".

As you'd expect, then, PolyMAX has a classic subtractive architecture: its dual analogue-modelled oscillators are equipped with continuously variable waveforms spanning triangle, sawtooth, square and pulse waves, and it has linear FM and osc sync, along with a noise oscillator.

PolyMAX's resonant filter has low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and notch modes, giving you a choice between 4-pole and 2-pole slopes, while its mod envelope and tempo-syncable LFO can be used to modulate pitch, filter cutoff, FM amount and sync amount.

The synth features a healthy selection of effects: two effects slots provide a choice of phaser, flanger and chorus, along with delay and two types of reverb, including the "Hall B" algorithm from UA's Lexicon 224 emulation. There's also a multimode arpeggiator onboard.

We dug out our copy of PolyMAX while writing this piece and were impressed with its decent-sounding effects and varied catalogue of presets. It's a solid, straightforward poly with a pleasantly intuitive interface that makes designing basic patches quick and relatively easy. If there's space in your digital studio for another vintage-inspired subtractive synth, this one's worth a download.

Universal Audio's Half-Yearly Sale kicked off yesterday, and the brand is offering music-makers up to 80% off its full catalogue of plugins and bundles. UAD Spark is currently on sale for $99/year.

Find out more at Universal Audio's website.

PRODUCER WEEK 2025: What’s the one thing in your studio that you can’t imagine doing without? The one bit of gear that provides the heart and soul of your music making setup?

That's the question we put to ten electronic musicians and producers in a bid to find out what one thing holds their creative setup together. Here's what they said.

MNDSGN

“I always have to have an electronic keyboard around. I’m not particularly married to a particular one. That’s just my main instrument to write and compose with. I feel a bit handicapped without one when it comes to composing something from scratch. I have a Roland Juno Di that I’ve been using for a while now. I love the sounds on there.”

Moullinex

“Louder than Liftoff Silver Bullet. It’s a stereo pre, a Pultec-type EQ, Neve and API transformers/saturation stage in a single unit. I utilise it for both tracking and stereo processing purposes on mixdowns.

“As for synths, the Roland SH-1000. Nothing comes close to it when trying to get an immediately beautiful-sounding synth part. I love its quirks and limitations; they always sound very musical.

“In software, anything done by u-he. Diva and Repro are incredible pieces of engineering. Often, I write a synth part on the go using them, thinking ‘this will sound great on a Moog at the studio’, only to then choose the original demo sound.”

Amirali

“Probably my Prophet-6, because you plug it in and it just sounds bigger than anything else, the richness and texture it gives you is on a different level, it’s a beast.”

Jennifer Touch

“At the moment the Nord Lead because I still find everything I need in it, from bass sounds to bright noises. I always come back to my Emulator VST too, which has a vintage vibe that’s interesting to combine with the Nord sounds.

“And I love my tambourine, it brings a special natural vibe into electronic music and sounds.”

Niklas Paschburg

“Probably my analogue synth OB6 from Dave Smith. I fell in love with that sound from the first second. It has a huge warm sound which plays perfectly with other acoustic instruments like the piano.”

Andres Campo

“The Elektron Digitakt – I think it’s the most inspiring machine in my studio. Also, the TR-8S – it’s so easy to create grooves with it.”

Jas Shaw

“Probably Cirklon or Norns if I’m in writing mode, but then a good monitoring system is also really the backbone of a studio. It’s a hard choice. Having amazing monitors is great but I bet my new monitors measured similarly to our old ones at 10cm from the cone.

"Having a bigger room with treatment is as important as the frequency plot on your boxes. Saying that, I recorded 90% of the recent tracks in an untreated room and I really like how they sound; so if you only have headphones or bits of foam on your walls don’t worry.”

Evvol

“The piece of gear that I couldn’t live without would probably be my Behringer Model D monosynth. So simple and obviously cheap, but it’s just so versatile. I’ve used it on basically every track that I’ve created since I bought it. Either that or my Adam monitors. They’re my babies.”

Sebastian Plano

“Definitely my cello. It’s surely my voice when it comes to making music. It is a very versatile instrument, I’m constantly searching for unconventional ways of making music with it by experimenting and exploring extended techniques.”

Rudosa

“My Mac Pro Rack edition, It’s the life of my studio. No matter what, however deep the projects go, it doesn’t even blink. I'm sure it could power NASA, and what's great is that it’s fully modular so I can keep on adding more and more to it. “

Revisiting classic synth designs is a common pathway for both hardware and software designers, and is testament to how popular many classic designs remain. However, in the software realm it also provides a realistic and affordable way to make available expensive or scarce designs.

With the imminent arrival of Korg’s PS-3300 hardware reissue, we thought we’d take a look at this rather excellent (and free) software version.

Download Full Bucket Music's FB-3300

FB-3300 from developer Full Bucket Music is a faithful recreation of this 1970s analogue polyphonic synth, and makes available a design that in hardware form was limited to around 50 units.

The original design combines three Korg PS-3100 units to deliver a rich, lush sound and was popular with users including Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk and Aphex Twin. The same physical layout is used in the FB-3300 so if you encounter the original or hardware reissue you’ll be well primed.

Exploring the FB-3300

Full Bucket FB-3300 (VST, VST3, AU, AAX, CLAP) is a semi-modular subtractive synthesizer instrument.

It comprises 3 identical polyphonic sound generation modules - Block A, Block B and Block C - each with an oscillator (signal generator), low pass filter, 2 modulation generators (LFOs), 3 band pass resonators, amplitude modulation, amplitude envelope and pan control (this is a software addition).

These then connect to the output module on the right hand side where you can balance their levels using the signal mixer. In addition to hard wired modulations, each module includes patch points with drop down menus for connecting additional modulation sources to targets.

These replicate the patch cable system of the original hardware. In keeping with the original design there is no velocity, however there is Keyboard Balance, which tilts the note volume towards higher or lower notes, depending on which way you turn it.

The same feature is available for the low pass filter, and this tilts the filter cut off accordingly.

Further options include global modulators - Sample & Hold, General Envelope and Voltage Processors, as well as software additions in the form of 3 Attenuators and 2 signal smoothing LAG processors.

Meanwhile MIDI CC assignment is available via the Learn button. Further patch and global options such as plugin window size can be found via the Menu button, and if you need to refer to any functional details, there is also an excellent manual.

To get started creating a patch let’s look at a single module - Block A. Start by initialising the preset - you can do this via the dropdown preset Menu in the bottom left.

Now play a note and you’ll hear all 3 blocks playing. Turn down Blocks B and C so you can hear just Block A. Looking at the Signal Generator section, you’ll see there’s a choice of 6 waveforms with a 4 octave range, and course and fine tuning adjustment.

There’s pulse width modulation, which uses modulation generator 2 (MG2) and has its own Intensity control, meanwhile frequency modulation uses MG1. Both can be assigned external sources at the bottom.

Try connecting a modulation generator from a different module - here we’ve connected Block B’s MG2 to frequency modulate Block A’s oscillator.

The low pass filter is a 2-pole resonant design based on Korg’s K-35 filter. As mentioned you can use the Keyboard Balance to control how note pitch affects the cutoff, meanwhile the Expand control is a depth setting for Block A’s Envelope.

If you want to use other sources to control the filter frequency, activate the section below. The upper knob is hard wired to MG1 and the lower knob is for the patch point below.

Each block includes an ADSR envelope. This is reasonably self explanatory, however much like the hardware, the release stage has 3 fixed options - short (D), medium (HD) and long (R). You also have the original Hold option.

This only works when the Attack is above about 70% and requires a second key press to activate the release stage. Thankfully this option can be switched off.

What’s more the FB-3300 also improves on the original by providing a fully controllable release time, which you can activate and set in the bottom parameter bar. For additional modulation, attack and release patch points are available at the bottom.

We’ve already mentioned the modulation generators, and these are like Block specific LFOs. MG1 is the most flexible, and includes 4 oscillator shapes, and rather unusually also includes white and pink noise.

It also has an impressive top frequency of 1.6kHz. Meanwhile MG2 is simpler with a triangle shape. Both can be synced to DAW host tempo using the drop down menu.

Good stuff

Having looked at the features in a single Block, it’s easy to see how when you multiply this by 3 and factor in cross modulation between the Blocks, this architecture can achieve sumptuous rich sounds. What’s more, with block copying from the menu at the top right, it’s easy to duplicate and tweak blocks. Nevertheless, there are a couple of rather interesting features that add further interest to the FB-3300’s sound palette.

First up, Resonators. These are one of the recognisable features of the Korg PS design and work as follows. The output signal from a Block passes through 3 parallel bandpass filters with high Q.

Each has an adjustable centre frequency, meanwhile a signal Intensity control sets the overall mix blend. This static configuration can then be modulated using MG2 or via the Res Frq patch point. Try a slow synced setting on MG2 to create rich evolving textures.

Next up, tuning. Korg’s PS-3300 design includes individual per note tuning, and because it uses frequency division for lower octaves, one set of 12 controls can set up bespoke micro tuning scales for each Block.

This is fully replicated in FB-3300 and enhanced with a choice of preset scale tunings. It’s a highly flexible and slightly odd feature that can be used in a number of different ways.

For example, try setting a note offset slightly differently for each Block - here we’ve offset note D. If we replicate this across all notes it creates a unison style effect. Alternatively, set up a bespoke scale.

For ideas, check out some of the presets from the menu. Here we’ve selected the Pythagorean option, which is quite close to concert pitch. For more exaggerated sounds try the Wendy Carlos Harmonic scale.

Presets

Although creating sounds in FB-3300 is reasonably straightforward, there are over 50 presets that both showcase its sound and provide an excellent springboard to create your own patches. Presets are accessed via the drop down list in the bottom left and the type of sound (PAD, SFX, KEY and so on) is indicated in the preset naming.

FB-3300 is great for pad sounds, and a number of the presets deliver moving or evolving textures. For a really slow attack sound check out 40 Shimmer in Phase, meanwhile for more movement 00 Waves Of Sin is great. If you want something more pitchy, 47 Thick Pick is a great option, meanwhile for a slow build pulsating sound try 51 Ambient 2.

There are also a number of sequenced presets. With no onboard sequencer or arpeggiator these are achieved using the onboard modulators. 16 Go Marching On and 61 Rhythm 01 both use MG1, and by setting each Block to different tempo sync values they achieve the accented sound of a sequence.

In contrast, some of the sequence presets use the global Sample & Hold module with a tempo synced setting. For examples of this check out 11 Blobs n Pops or 57 Rhytmicon 01.

To round off let’s take a look at some of FB-3300’s sound effect presets. These offer a variety of sounds including the typical noise sweep up (27 Launch) and synth zap down (31 Zish). However, most of the presets are a bit more oddball with quite a few random style effects such as 03 Supererratic and 21 Signals from HAL alongside synth style effects such as 26 Multi COMfusion and 41 Subtile Spaces.

And finally...

Although you can download and use FB-3300 completely free, Full Bucket does run a donation option to help support its software. So, if you like what you see and hear why not head over to fullbucket.com.

Following a lengthy tease beginning earlier this month – promising fans on their socials that “There’s a certain buzz surrounding Cherry Audio’s next synth” – the ever-popular synth maker has released its latest beast.

And, after all that yellow and black branding and talk of “buzz”, anyone with any knowledge of synth history will hardly be surprised to find that their synth emulation is… Yellowjacket, a synth based upon British synth pioneer Electronic Dream Plant’s Wasp.

Designed by the late Chris Huggett, the EDP Wasp won over fans with its quirky design, completely flat two-octave membrane keyboard, distinctive, simple-but-effective nasal sound, ease of use (with battery-powered, built-in-speaker portability) but, perhaps most of all, its super-keen pricing.

"One of the biggest advances in synthesizer design – an ultra low‑cost, high‑performance instrument unmatched by synthesizers several times the price,” claimed the ads at the time, delivering a full synth for just £199.

Synth designer Hugget would subsequently go on to play his part in the creation of the similarly scene-setting OSCar monosynth and still-going-strong Novation Bass Station.

Part of the family

Special mention at this point to EDP’s range of insectoid inspired products, including the 252-note (or 84-note real time) Spider digital sequencer – being the perfect partner to take charge of your Wasp – and its three-octave ‘real’ keyboard-equipped Caterpillar which allowed the user to connect four Wasps for four-voice polyphony – a mighty breakthrough at the time and perilously used by The Stranglers' Dave Greenfield live.

And if that £199 entry point was still a little too high, you could always go for 1981’s Gnat, an even smaller, even cheaper single oscillator version of the Wasp, coming in at a wholly appropriate half-as-much £99.

Special editions of the keyboards, placing them in more stately and Moog-like wooden cases (although not actually improving their pretty-much-unplayable flat keyboards) followed soon after.

Famously, the Wasp featured two early digital VCOs to keep the cost down (and tuning accurate) teamed with an all-analogue amp and filter. The result is a synth able to really cut through (once you bypassed the tiny internal speaker and DI’d it properly) which, in later years and in the hands of artists such as 808 State and David Holmes, would give the Roland TB303 a run for its acid money.

Cherry promise that their Yellowjacket has “faithfully recreated [Wasp’s] unique buzzy tone and drone”, but enhanced it with 16-voice polyphony, an emulation of the integrated speaker (with adjustable hiss and hum), built-in effects including reverb, delay, phaser, chorus, and a new Octafuzz distortion, an advanced arpeggiator with probability and humanization controls, and a multimode filter.

And, free of that revolutionarily cost-cutting (though awful) keyboard there’s never been a more playable Wasp. Yellowjacket now offers diatonic scales, transpose functions, a customizable pressure control, and polyphonic aftertouch support for expressive play.

Impressively, in a smart nod to the modular mono-to-poly nature of the original system’s Wasp-plus-Caterpillar set up, there are multi-voice modes that chain-able "mini synth panels" to provide more complex tones, stereo effects, single-fingered chords and arpeggiated patterns.

And – for the first time on a Wasp – presets!

Plus, Cherry is simultaneously launching their Hive Mind additional preset bank (with another 100 sounds and "a deeper dive into arpeggios, effects, modulation, and aftertouch") for just $9.99.

“Yellowjacket is genuinely unlike any plugin we have created to date,” they enthuse.

And given the relatively affordable nature of the original machine back in 1978 the boffins at Cherry Audio are continuing their reputation for great value by similarly following suit, offering Yellowjacket for just $49.

Yellowjacket is available now from Cherry Audio online.

Everyone’s in such a rush these days, don’t you think? But maybe what your music needs is a software instrument that takes things a little… Slower.

That’s the name of e-instruments’ new tape-based tone generator - a lovingly-crafted Kontakt library that’s based on a carefully curated collection of half-speed samples. Suddenly - but also slowly - you have access to a huge bank of keys, guitars, strings, brass, synth and other sounds of the sort that you’ve simply never heard before.

These were captured using four different types of vintage tape machine - Studio and Portable reel-to-reel, Cassette and Dictaphone - each of which has its own distinct character. The common denominator is that they can all impart the kind of warmth and depth that you simply wouldn’t get from a digital recording.

Why drop these recordings to half-speed, though? To create blissful, rich and pitched-down textures that emphasise those analogue qualities, such as wobble, noise and flutter.

Because e-instruments has gone to such great lengths to hone the source material, your first hours with Slower are going to be spent simply playing these gorgeous sounds. Expect acoustic and electric pianos, guitars of every flavour, evolving strings, breathy woodwinds and brass and classic synths, all with that half-speed twist.

From here, you’ll likely set about experimenting with the various processing options that are on offer. These include 27 effects, sample reversing, modulation tools (LFOs, a step modulator and aftertouch support, for example) and the ability to dial in just the right amount of tape degradation. And if you want to get hands-on fast, there are three macro controls, each of which adjusts multiple parameters with a single fader. They’re perfect for automating and morphing sounds in real-time and for live performance.

And let’s not forget that you can instantly switch between those four different tape machines. Whether you want to go hi- or lo-fi, dirty or clean, there’s a suitable option.

Above all, you’re invited to explore. Whether you’re a producer, musician or composer, this endless supply of atmospheres and soundscapes won’t just help you to finish your current projects - it’ll also inspire whole new ones.

We’d advise you to head promptly, then, to the e-instruments website, then get ready to find out more and take things Slower. Don't delay, though: Slower is currently available at the introductory price of $/€99, rather than the regular $/€149, but this offer is only available between 9 and 13 April.

After more than a decade of anticipation, Xfer Records has finally dropped the sequel to its wildly popular synth plugin Serum, transforming this already-formidable wavetable synth into something much more versatile and powerful - and if you already own Serum, you can download Serum 2 right now for free.

Serum 2 vastly expands the capabilities of its predecessor with new spectral, granular and sample-based oscillators, enhanced effects, expanded modulation options, an updated interface, clip editor and built-in arpeggiator, along with a host of minor improvements. This is a colossal update that makes Serum 2 a serious rival to powerhouse hybrid synth plugins like Arturia Pigments 6 and Kilohearts Phase Plant.

Serum's arsenal of oscillators has been expanded to include a total of five oscillator types, and the OG wavetable oscillator has been upgraded with dual warping, a new smooth interpolation mode and a raft of extra warp modes, including true FM and phase distortion. Three primary oscillators can now be utilized in a single patch, opening up a wide range of possibilities for experimentation with FM routing.

Two sample-based oscillators turn Serum 2 into a flexible sampler and multisampler equipped with a library of stock samples that spans orchestras, keys, guitars and more, and you can load in your own .sfz files. The new granular oscillator can create complex and evolving textures by breaking down samples into tiny grains of audio, while the spectral oscillator conjures up new sounds by harmonically resynthesizing imported samples, wavetables or even image files in real time.

Serum 2's dual filter section has been bolstered with eleven new filter types, including emulations of classic ladder filters and a disperser-style "diffuser" filter, while the effects section has been overhauled with new flexible routing and several new processors, including an analogue-style frequency shifter and convolution reverb, and new signal splitter modules can be used to get deep into multi-band and mid/side processing.

The synth's modulation capabilities have also been improved, with the number of available LFOs taken from four to ten, and an additional envelope bringing the total to four. Any oscillator or filter can now act as a modulation source, and LFO modes have been expanded with two chaos modes, an S&H generator, and a Path LFO mode for vector-based modulation that follows a path drawn on an XY grid.

If as if that wasn't quite enough for you, Serum 2 has also been equipped with an enhanced mod matrix, new mixer panel, multimode arpeggiator and a sophisticated clip sequencer and MIDI editor with automation and probabilistic sequencing. The plugin's revamped preset browser can be used to preview, categorize and tag its 626 factory presets, and long-time users will be pleased to know that Serum 2 is backwards-compatible with existing presets for its predecessor.

Xfer Records Serum 2 is available now for macOS and Windows in VST3/AU/AAX formats. It's currently priced at an introductory discount of $189 until June 1st, when it'll bounce back to $249.

Find out more on Xfer Records' website.

There are some very capable free synths out there and we’ve covered a fair few in this series. Nevertheless, they do tend to follow established synthesis methods, and this may not be particularly inspiring.

This time around we have something considerably more interesting. Pendulate (VST, VST3, AU, AAX) is a chaotic monosynth that offers a refreshingly different set of sounds.

Designed by developer Newfangled Audio and based on aspects of its paid-for synth Generate, Pendulate is made available in association with Eventide and you can grab your free permanent license and plugin instrument at its official site.

Pendulate’s design is heavily influenced by the synthesis concepts of Don Buchla and the so-called West Coast synthesis scene. In particular the interconnection between the oscillators, where one modulates the other.

Further Buchla influenced aspects include a lowpass gate and also waveshaping using a wavefolder. It combines these ideas with its very own chaotic oscillator design, which is based on the physics of a double pendulum, and this results in real time changes in the oscillator section that are chaotic but not random.

Total Chaos

Despite its slightly left field fundamentals, Pendulate’s layout is straightforward and pretty easy to understand. There’s also extensive use of graphic visualisations, which certainly helps confirm what you’re hearing. Let's take a look at the various components.

Sound generation and shaping occupies the top half of the plugin and the three sections are Double Pendulum, Wavefolder and Low Pass Gate.

The first includes the main double pendulum-based oscillator and two sub oscillators. The double pendulum combines a sine wave oscillator and chaotic generator.

The balance between the two is set with the Chaos Amount and the shape of the chaotic generator is set using the Chaos Shape. These two controls wield considerable power, but only once you introduce some differences between the sine wave oscillator and chaotic generator.

You do this using Animate, which detunes the chaotic generator from the sine wave, and by using Interval, which sets the relative musical interval between the sine wave and the chaotic generator.

To test this try setting a basic 1 octave interval and tweak the Chaos Amount and Chaos Shape. Further controls in this section include a Sync option for the sine wave and chaotic generator, and two controls to set the sub 1 and sub 2 oscillator levels.

The Wavefolder section shapes the resulting wave by folding it back on itself and is loosely based on the wavefolder in the Buchla 259 complex oscillator. This additive process generates additional harmonics.

The amount of harmonics is determined by the Folds parameter and the type of harmonics (Odd / Even) by the Symmetry parameter. Further parameters (Drive and Cutoff) let you finesse the effect and the Mix control provides a handy wet/dry balance.

The Low Pass Gate combines VCA and low pass filter. Once again this is based on a Buchla design. Options include cutoff Frequency and Resonance, meanwhile the Poles parameter shifts the filter slope between a gentle 1 pole option and a resonant 3 pole option.

You can also set the cutoff depth based on Key Track and Velocity, and also Pressure, as Pendulate supports MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) controllers. Gate settings are controlled by an ADSR envelope.

In the lower half of the plugin window you’ll find the modulators section. Pendulate uses a patch cable style system to connect these to target parameters and in the Settings page you can make these cables always visible, which can be quite handy when working out what’s going on in a preset.

From an operational perspective there are two ways you can set up a modulator. Firstly, clicking the node above a modulator reveals the available target parameters and then you can select these and set depth with the localised dial.

Alternatively, clicking the plus icon next to a target parameter reveals all available source modulators, and this provides a quick way to set up multiple modulators with a single target parameter.

In the modulators section you have the global options on the left, then the ADSR in the centre and LFO to the right. The global section includes typical core settings such as Portamento and Pitch Bend and just above this are 5 global modulator outputs - Velocity, Modulation, Keytrack, Pressure and Timbre.

The first 3 are pretty self explanatory. Pressure meanwhile is aftertouch, but this can also be polyphonic with a suitable MPE controller and MPE enabled. Finally, by default Timbre is MIDI CC74, which is usually mapped on an MPE controller. However, you can change this to any MIDI CC in the Settings page.

At first glance the ADSR looks pretty standard, but on closer inspection it actually produces three simultaneous outputs (ADSR, AD and ASR). Couple this with the looping option, which allows you to use the envelope more like an LFO, and you have a surprisingly flexible envelope.

Pendulate includes a single tempo syncable LFO with unipolar and bipolar options. Much like the envelope this also features simultaneous outputs, with five available shapes - sine, triangle, square, saw, and ramp. There’s also a global output level and this is available as a modulation target parameter, thus allowing collective control of all LFO targets.

Finally, typical housekeeping tasks including preset Library access, A/B compare, Undo/Redo, parameter Randomise, MPE (MIDI polyphonic Expression) mode and Settings are found in the top navigation bar. In the Settings page you can also make further changes to what’s visible including removing all controls so you can only see the visualisations, which can be a nice option.

Creative Chaos

Pendulate’s monosynth design makes it good for certain tasks such as basses, leads and effects. Let’s start by building a simple bass sound. Load up a fresh instance and you should have the factory Default preset.

First thing to do is remove any modulation patch cables by clicking on the target parameters. We’ve also zeroed both sub oscillator levels and set the Low Pass Gate Frequency to its maximum (20kHz). Turning to the double pendulum, the first thing to do is set the Interval - we’ve set this to Octave.

Next up, set the Shape and Chaos parameters to taste - we’ve set ours to about 56 and 31 respectively. To add some movement we’ve also increased the Animate parameter. Now is a good point to add the sub oscillator back in and here we’ve used just the -1 octave option.

This basic sound is solid but lacks character, so we turn to the Wavefolder settings. By increasing the Folds (ours is set to about 2) and adjusting the Cutoff (ours is on about 2kHz) you get a nice balance of harmonics. Now finesse this using the Symmetry control - ours is set to about 35%.

Next up, use the Low Pass Gate to set the main filter and envelope. For the Filter we’ve increased the Resonance and Poles to 4 and 3 respectively, reducing the Frequency to about 2kHz. Meanwhile, set the ADSR to quite short values - Attack 1ms, Decay 30ms, Sustain 0.10 and Release 100ms - for a more plucky sound.

Finally, heading to the Global section we’ve turned off Legato and set Portamento to Always with a medium speed of about 125. For added width we’ve activated the Stereo output. That’s our basic bass sound which we’ve saved as a preset using the Save button on the navigation bar.

Presets

Now let’s take a look at the presets. Pendulate has a very capable library of over 200 presets and with the library open selecting the Filters option reveals the relevant categories and corresponding number of presets.

There are plenty of solid basses such as Simple Bass and Triple Bass, but it’s the character bass sounds that really shine such as Power Acid or Aphexseqarpeg4. The same concept follows through into the Leads category where more regular sounds, such as Instant Autechre for example, are upstaged by more upfront presets such as Phantom Lead Us and the very edgy Broken Organ.

This isn't surprising given Pendulate’s core sound generation, which really lends itself to creative rather than functional sounds. Indeed, some of its best sounds can be found in the Texture, Rhythmic and FX categories. Check out the textures Spacelings and Chaos To Order for example. Meanwhile for more rhythmic sounds check out Back and Forth and for effects Unstable Connection.

If you fancy expanding your presets with some 3rd party extras you can import them individually or simply by adding folders, which Pendulate will add to its Banks category when you select the Rescan option.

There are plenty of free presets available on the web, and to get started you may want to check out the following:

Synth Anatomy Sounds

Zystrix

Integraudio

Finally, as mentioned Pendulate uses elements of its paid for sibling, Generate, and this along with other Newfangled plugins can be found at the company’s official site.

It’s 3 March, also known, to Roland at least, as 303 Day, and to celebrate the company is giving away free licenses for its official TB-303 plugin via Roland Cloud. You’ll need to be quick in claiming yours though, as the company is limiting the offer to a maximum of 3,030 downloads.

The original TB-303 hardware is one of the most iconic synthesizers of all time. Initially pitched as a replacement for a real bassist, the 303 was a commercial failure when it first launched, largely due to how little it sounded like an authentic bass guitarist.

However, cheap second hand units made their way into the hands of adventurous producers, most notably Chicago trio Phuture, who found its harsh filter resonance and unique sequencer could be pushed to create the distinctive basslines we now associate with acid house and techno.

Roland’s plugin version, TB-303 Software Bass Line, was released via the company’s Cloud subscription service on 303 Day 2019. It faithfully models the design of the original, with its single oscillator, resonant low pass filter and basic envelope, but adds a few additional flourishes, including a Condition parameter, which is able to artificially aged the sound of the virtual analogue circuitry, as well as delay and distortion effects, both of which are a big part of the signature acid sound.

The plugin also redesigns the notoriously awkward sequencer of the original units, which makes programming patterns considerably easier without losing the esoteric elements that contribute to the character of the 303.

When we reviewed it at launch, we concluded that Roland’s take “sounds as close to the real thing as we’ve heard in software.”

You can grab a copy of the software 303 by signing up at the Roland official site. The offer is open until 12pm PST on 10 March or when all 3,030 copies have been claimed, so if you’re tempted we’d suggest making your move now.

Alongside the giveaway, Roland is also celebrating 303 Day with a quartet of online tutorials: Mastering the TB-303 Sequencer in Roland Cloud, Beyond Acid: Pushing the TB-303 into New Sonic Territory, and deep dives on classic 303 cuts Song of Life by Leftfield and Praise You by Fatboy Slim.

What is it?

If you were a dance music producer back in the early 1990s, you wanted the sound of a Roland TB-303 to provide the thumping and squealing bass and lead lines in your music at whatever the cost, simple as that. The trouble was, that cost was rapidly increasing. With only 10,000 of the original units made, secondhand prices had shot up to a mighty £700 minimum (yes, that is peanuts compared to today’s – oh, we wish for a time machine), and such was the demand, that synth manufacturers started to think about analogue synthesis again, and releasing 303-alike hardware synths – previously unthinkable in those digital times.

Yet rather than Roland doing it, the unlikely saviour for the 1993 dance music producer came in the form of Novation with only its second hardware release, the Bass Station. This diminutive keyboard came with just seven presets, and wasn’t exactly cheap, but at £350 was still just half the price of the real thing, and delivered enough squeal to become the backbone of many a 1990’s production.

Purists will tell you it wasn’t quite a TB-303 – itself a unit originally trying to emulate bass sounds for organists – but everyone else will tell you that it filled a huge gap in the market and stamped the Novation name on music production. Bass Station became a landmark release in music production and now it’s back in software. An emulation of an emulation of an emulation? Quite a bit more, as it goes.

Pricing

• Full price: £99.99
• Special introductory offer £49.99 (excl. VAT)

GForce Novation Bass Station was first launched on 21/01/2025

Owners of the Novation Launchkey MK4, FLKey, or SL MK3 can get the GForce Novation Bass Station plugin for free. You can claim this special offer by logging in to your Novation account.

Performance

We can’t pretend that we weren't slightly skeptical when we heard the news about GForce’s latest synth plugin. The 303 has long been worshipped and still seems to fly in and out of fashion, but there are many, many clones in both hardware and software, not least made by Roland itself (the Cloud and several hard devices) and Novation (with its latest Bass Station II incredibly still available new after more than a decade).

However, Novation seems to have added just enough to retain the original spirit but move the concept on ‘beyond the squeal’. Most notably there are up to 16 notes of polyphony – the original was proudly mono – new oscillator additions, sequencer, and, like other recent GForce releases including the recent Axxess, other modern niceties like effects and the company’s X-Modifiers for boosted modulation creativity.

The core signal path is still those two analogue-style multi-wave oscillators, but these have been enhanced with FM, noise modulation, and a sub on Osc 1. You also get the original switchable 12dB/24dB filter, two envelopes, and a multi-wave LFO.

The extra effects are distortion, chorus, delay, a high-pass filter, and reverb, while the X-Modifiers are – as with all GForce’s latest releases – a great addition, allowing you to apply an LFO (XLFO) and envelope (XADSR) to most parameters (and effects) which ups your sound design ammo.

These additions really do bump up the sonic potential and perhaps move the synth on too far – the extra polyphony alone takes Bass Station away from the original synth so dramatically that you could start questioning authenticity, or mentioning words like ‘Supernova’ and ‘Peak’. However, you’re immediately in 303 territory thanks to the synth’s presets which – initially anyway – will transform you back three decades and more.

There are plenty of acid lines – of course, there are – and the on-board arpeggiator and sequencer both come into their own here. However, you also get some wonderful drones and ambiences that were difficult, if not impossible, to wrestle from the original. The knarl is there, for sure, but so much more is on offer, and it’s not too far away, especially with the dramatic effects and X-Mod options on hand.

Verdict

Whichever way you look at it, you’ll likely have a plugin synth within your DAW that can do some, if not all, of the virtual analogue heavy-lifting that Bass Station specialises in. And while the synth very much broadens the original synth’s sonic palette, its specialty is clearly still the 303 in as many variations as that delivered, although even that was actually way more than you might think.

Whether you need that in your life is very much down to the music you make, but this GForce recreation puts this particular Bass Station into way more genres than the original, and any bass-heavy music producers will be able to lean heavily into it. Like Oddity, Axxess and so many other GForce recreations, it can ‘do the original’ majestically if you choose, but so much more besides.

So if the thought of 16-voice acid lines kicks the old serotonin into life – and just that thought alone makes us warehouse levels of sweaty – then this could be the start of yet another 1990s revival or new rave 2025, take your pick.

GForce Bass Station is currently half-price at £49.99 and comes free with certain Novation products including FL Key and SL Mk3.

Hands-on demos

GForce Software

Alternatives

Specifications

Originally released back in June 2020, before the major uptick in AI interest, Dreamtronics' original Synthesizer V Studio had already undergone four iterations from 2018’s Synthesizer V Editor as its team fine tuned its ability to create vocals without the need for a vocalist.

Now Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro takes its skills to the next level, and while that name is a bit of a mouthful, it looks like creating realistic-sounding vocals from MIDI notes and typed text couldn't be easier.

Synthesizer V Studio is unique in its use of, and ability to manipulate, real vocal recordings rather than relying on trained AI to do the same job.

The result, its makers claim, is a best-of-all-worlds hybrid approach that sounds more realistic, and is free from any training, copyright, ownership and ethical baggage that surround similar AI-trained technologies.

The general idea is that if you can buy Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro, you get the (actual real, human, rights-attached) voice content you want – with nine different vocalists available – and can quickly create realistic vocals that are indistinguishable from ‘the real thing’.

Play, type, and have it sung back to you

Now simple vocal melody sketches in your DAW can become vocals in minutes. Choose your vocalist, provide notes, lyrics and tweak the expressions and your ideas get sung back to you.

And now thanks to 2 Pro’s new algorithmic design and multi-threading support, it can do it all up to 300% faster while offering a more human-level of naturalness and more tweakable features to make a performance all your own.

A new Phoneme Timing Panel allows for direct resizing and adjustment of phoneme intensity within a note, plus detailed adjustments to timing and prominence of plosive onsets.

Now pitch, timbre and pronunciation can be controlled, allowing you to make your performance unique and just as you imagine it while a new Expression Pad and ‘Single-Clock AI Retakes Panel’ let you try alternatives and experiment on the fly.

Finally (in addition to Korean language support for the first time) a new Mouth Opening parameter fundamentally alters vowel pronunciation, allowing users to accentuate specific words, or subtly modify the way a phrase begins or ends, adding further depth and expressiveness.

“In testing, the vocals generated by the Synthesizer V actually received the same naturalness ratings as real human vocals – a very exciting milestone for voice synthesis,” says Kanru Hua, Dreamtonics founder and CEO. “While J-Pop artists have used voice synthesis tools like this for some time now, most in the West have yet to discover it. Dreamtonics is proud to finally unveil the Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro and introduce endless inspiration and fun to more people’s music creation process.”

If this is all sounding a little strange (or simply too good to be true) check out the intro video above and tech preview below.

“A futuristic dream come true”

“I think Synthesizer V is a real breakthrough for creating vocal melodies and writing lyrics. I was blessed to be able to sing anything I can dream up, but so many people don’t have the ability” says Mischke Butler, singer, songwriter and vocal producer for the likes of Michael Jackson, The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, Keke Palmer, and Little Mix. “I was surprised how quickly I was able to get up and running. The MIDI functionality is a real game-changer. Being able to play in my melodies and then just copy lyrics from the previous take was seamless. This is a great app and plugin!”

While keyboardist and tech enthusiast Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater says: "Synthesizer V by Dreamtonics is an outstanding breakthrough in vocal modeling. For me it’s an almost futuristic dream come true. Input notes via MIDI, type some words and then pick your vocalist! I want to basically shout from a mountain top and let everyone in the world know about this incredible technology."

Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro will be available from 21 March. You can now pre-order Synthesizer V Studio 2 Pro, all version 2 voices, upgrades and bundles ahead of the launch date at a special discount until 20 April, 2025.

Find out more at the Dreamtonics site.

Physical modelling is one of the most fascinating techniques in the modern synthesist's arsenal. By using complex algorithms to simulate the acoustic properties of physical objects, the process enables us to design authentic-sounding recreations of existing instruments, or create imaginary ones that could never exist in the real world.

There is no shortage of excellent physical modelling synthesizers on the market: AAS Chromaphone, Baby Audio Atoms and Physical Audio Modus, to name just a few. (In fact, if you own Ableton Live Suite or Logic Pro, you've already got one in your DAW.) But if you're looking to experiment with modelled sounds without dropping any cash, developer TiagoLr has released an open-source physical modelling synth plugin that you can download absolutely free: RipplerX.

At the core of RipplerX are two resonators that can be routed independently in parallel, or in series, so that the sound of one resonator influences the other. Using a technique called modal synthesis, these resonators simulate how physical objects vibrate when struck or excited, mimicking the sound that's produced when you take a bow to a violin's string, or beat a drum with a drumstick.

RipplerX offers nine different models of acoustic resonators, or modelled physical objects.. The list includes simulations of a string that can be bowed or plucked, percussive objects like a beam, drumhead and marimba that can be struck, and models of tubes that generate sound by the intake of air, as you would a flute or clarinet.

Each resonator can be excited, or triggered, via two different input sources equipped with an ADSR envelope: a mallet generator that simulates a percussive strike, or a noise generator that provides a continuous excitation, like a bowed or wind instrument. The character of each resonator can be further shaped using several additional controls for inharmonicity, tone and material, along with envelope controls and a high-pass filter.

RipplerX is based on two existing synths: Sai'ke Partials, an open-source modal synth, and an early version of AAS Chromaphone, one of the best-known physical modelling synth plugins. The developer notes that Chromaphone is a "more complete synth" with additional features, and urges those that find RipplerX useful to check it out if they want to dive deeper into physical modelling.

RipplerX is available now for macOS, Windows and Linux in VST3, AU and LV formats. Head over to TiagoLr's GitHub page to find out more or download the plugin.

He recently unveiled his bluesy interpretations of the works of Beethoven, and now New Orleans’ own Jon Batiste has given us a suitably jazzy rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner at Super Bowl LIX.

Performing at The Big Easy’s Caesars Superdome, Batiste was happy to embellish the US National Anthem with some soulful piano licks, but we suspect that many electronic music gearheads may have been distracted by the three products sitting in front of Batiste on his Yamaha grand’s lid.

From left to right, fans will have seen a Soundforce SFC-8 controller, Native Instruments Maschine+ and a Novation LaunchControl XL, all in custom casings to match the piano. Strangely, though, it appeared that only the Maschine got used - Batiste looked like he was triggering something from it right at the start of the performance.

Still, it was a nice moment in the spotlight for the SFC-8 in particular. This dedicated Jupiter-8 soft synth MIDI controller from 2022 - designed to work with Arturia’s Jup-8 V and TAL’s J-8 in particular - is very much a niche product, but it’s probably now been seen by in excess of 100 million people.

The Launch Control XL, meanwhile, is an Ableton Live controller, so maybe there was some DAW stuff going on in the background that we didn’t get to see.

Of course, the big musical spot of the Super Bowl was taken by Kendrick Lamar, who performed a 13-minute set that featured an appearance from SZA and saw him perform Not Like Us, his Grammy-winning diss track from 2024.

There was also a pre-game performance from Lady Gaga, who sang her Top Gun: Maverick song Hold My Hand on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street in tribute to the city and those who died in the terror attack that took place there in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a JEN SX1000 Synthetone then you can officially stop trawling the small ads and boot sales because, thanks to Audiothing, you can now own a perfect recreation of this lost gem within your DAW or iOS device.

For all its diminutive size and simplicity the JEN SX1000 Synthetone was something of a synth landmark. While not exactly a classic, and of limited functionality when compared to the far costlier hardware both available at the time of its production and produced subsequently, it does, however, have its own unique sound.

And, as one of the first truly affordable synths, has a place both in history and the heart of any synth fan.

The Italian-made SX1000 was first released in 1978 and quickly found favour with musicians on a budget, bringing the possibility of owning a synthesiser within reach for many for the first time. Nailing that all important sub-one-hundred £99 price tag it successfully spent years upon the pages of the famous (for its time) Kays Catalogue being its affordable in-house synth of choice. Thus, for synth fans of a certain age, seeing this new, virtual take on Jen’s classic will doubtless evoke memories of hours spent calculating how many paper rounds would be required to make its monthly payments…

It is, of course, monophonic. There’s a single oscillator on board, sporting sawtooth, square, and pulse waveforms, and a noise generator offering both white and pink sources. Audiothing have worked hard to emulate the JEN’s MM5837 digital noise source which, despite its tiny price tag, was also found in the Sequential Prophet 5, Korg MonoPoly, and Oberheim OB-X.

And, fittingly for a synth that was easy for enthusiasts to dismantle and mod, Audiothing have done just that, expanding their virtual SX1000 to be fully polyphonic, adding a sub oscillator with a -3 octave range and adding additional controls for legato modes, velocity, and more – all essentials for getting the most out of this budget synth.

The filter section features a 24dB/octave resonant low-pass filter capable of classic self-oscillation, with two ADSR envelopes for volume and the filter.

There’s also an LFO for vibrato, tremolo, or filter modulation, which has been expanded with additional waveforms, and sync mode and there’s even an arpeggiator this time around too, being ‘borrowed’ from the iconic arp on board the Roland Juno 60.

It features up, up & down, down and random mode, a four octave range, adjustable rate and sync, hold/latch mode, note order mode (both pitch and key pressed) and a chord mode.

Finally the SX1000 magic has been further expanded via four on board effects. There’s a tape echo (based on their own Space Echo emulation Outer Space), a spring reverb, a wave folder and a flanger. And you can even change the order of the effects in the chain with a simple drag and drop.

And given the original synths diminutive stature it's entirely appropriate that the SX1000 is available on iOS via the App Store in addition to being an Audio Unit, VST2 & 3, CLAP and AAX plugin and a standalone desktop app.

And you can even download a save disabled demo (with timed, three-second silences) to give it a spin before you buy.

It’s yours in a limited time offer for just €49. Find out more from Audiothing here.