Modular synths are great for those who have time, money, patience and, most importantly, a love of cables, but what if you want the sound of these machines without the hassle? Native Instruments and the Bob Moog Foundation have answered the call and released Modular Icons, a new Kontakt instrument that captures the sounds of a wide range of history-making synths.
This contains samples from a slew of legendary modulars, including those owned by artists such as Jean-Michel Jarre, Steve Porcaro, Mark Isham, Michael Boddicker, Jeff Rona, Benge, Walter Holland, Robin Rimbaud, Dan Goldstein, Kurt Ader, Paca Thomas, and EMEAPP.
The result is a 150-strong collection of presets, some of which were created using Keith Emerson’s iconic Moog Modular. Other synths sampled include models from Buchla, ARP 2500 and 2600, Roland System 700, Polyfusion, Serge, EMS, EML, plus the legendary TONTO, which was famously used by Stevie Wonder during the creation of his legendary ‘70s albums.
Each preset comes with two blendable sound sources and eight pre-assigned macros for easy editing. NI is donating more than 50% of the proceeds resulting from sales to the Bob Moog Foundation.
Modular Icons runs in Kontakt 6 and the Kontakt 6 Player and costs $49/£44/€49. Find out more on the Native Instruments (opens in new tab) website.