Arturia V Assortment X is among the greatest updates to the digital synth library in fairly a while. Six new devices have been added (although, most have been accessible individually earlier than) and two have been rebuilt from the bottom up. That brings the grand complete variety of devices in V Assortment to 38, and over the previous few years at the least six of these have been utterly revamped with dramatic enhancements.
MiniFreak V, Acid V, Augmented Brass and Augmented Grand Piano have been all accessible beforehand as standalone devices, however now they’re becoming a member of the correct. Two utterly new devices are additionally coming into the fold. Augmented Woodwinds and CP-70 V. Augmented Woodwinds is, as you may need guessed, a tackle Arturia’s Augmented sequence, besides right here the synths are paired with woodwind samples. CP-70 V is an emulation of Yamaha’s electrical piano from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s used most notably by The Grateful Useless and Genesis.
Augmented Woodwinds, Brass and Grand Piano
I’ll admit to being considerably skeptical of Augmented Woodwinds at first. I believe Augmented Strings and Grand Piano are glorious, however have discovered little use for and Voices up to now, and woodwinds typically really feel like among the most troublesome acoustic devices to get proper in a pattern library. But, Arturia pulls it off, largely by leaning into the synth facet of issues fairly strongly. You’re by no means going to persuade anybody that the sounds popping out of it are from a flesh-and-blood woodwind ensemble, however the gentle cinematic pads and leads you may coax out of it are compelling, particularly when paired with an MPE controller just like the Push or Seaboard Rise 2. (Apart from a number of presets that appear to return undone when confronted with MPE enter, at the least.)
Like the remainder of the Augmented sequence, Woodwinds, Brass and Grand Piano really feel constructed particularly with scoring in thoughts. That’s to not say you may’t discover a use for them in a pop tune or jazz association, however these are all about ambiance and texture, and there’s a wholesome dose of sounds that might solely be acceptable within the tensest moments of a cosmic horror movie.
All of them have a set of superior controls the place you may construct nearly any sound you need from its 4 layer engine (two samples and two synths). You’ll be able to even utterly disable the pattern layers and go woodwind-less, although, you would possibly as nicely use one of many different plugins at that time.
CP-70 V
The opposite utterly new instrument, CP-70 V, is much more simple. It’s an electrical piano. A really particular one which hasn’t loved the identical degree of reverence because the Rhodes or Wurlitzer, however isn’t with out its deserves. The CP-70 used strings like an actual piano, as an alternative of the steel reeds and tines present in Rhodes in Wurlitzers. It additionally used piezo pickups as an alternative of magnetic ones, leading to a sound that’s considerably nearer to an precise acoustic piano. That was undoubtedly an enormous promoting level for touring acts within the ‘70s and ‘80s that needed the sound of a grand piano, however didn’t need to lug one on the street.
The outcome although, is much less characterful than these different electrical pianos. It’s brighter and there’s much less room for shaping the sound with out including results. Arturia appears to do an admirable job of capturing the spirit of the CP-70, however it comes shut sufficient to sounding like an actual piano, I’d be way more prone to attain for the common ol' Piano V plugin typically.
MiniFreak V
and each launched earlier this 12 months. And admittedly, nothing has modified with Acid V within the roughly 4 months since I wrote about it, so I gained’t say a lot past, it’s a wonderful TB-303 emulator. It does what you anticipate it to and never a lot else, however with about one-tenth of the complications of the true factor.
MiniFreak V, alternatively, received a yesterday with a brand new wavetable engine, new tremendous unison impact and a few enhancements to the LFO. The 32 wavetables are fairly stable and fashionable sounding. And maybe, better of all, they appear to have the ability to deal with bass higher than among the different oscillators — an space the Freak line has at all times felt slightly weak in. There are 64 new presets designed to indicate off the power of the wavetable engine and there’s some actual winners in there. Sure, there are many weirdo sound results and dubstep bass wubs, however there are additionally some pretty chilly pads and delicate keys.
Moreover, Arturia is lastly including preset packs for the and MiniFreak V to its retailer. There are two paid soundpacks, but in addition three free ones and, nicely, I can’t advocate that you simply obtain Abandoned Lands from Oscillator Sink sufficient. It’s mainly only one beautiful damaged patch after one other. This was form of a operating theme, although. With MiniFreak 2.0, Augmented Woodwinds and the rebuilt Mini V4, Arturia actually improved the standard of its presets. Whether or not they have been designed in home or by an artist they labored with, most felt designed to indicate off what the plugins have been able to musically, versus technically. That wasn’t essentially the case with the MiniFreak, the MicroFreak and even Pigments.
Mini V4
This was the one greatest shock of the lot, actually. Mini V was additionally a good sufficient Minimoog Mannequin D emulation, however the world is crammed with these. It was by no means the explanation to hunt out V Assortment particularly, however it was adequate that you simply didn’t must go discover an alternate. Mini V4, nonetheless, is unbelievable. The distinction is refined, however undoubtedly noticeable should you load up the default template in each Mini V3 and V4 and play them facet by facet. For one, the V4 is a contact louder, however it’s additionally fuller. A part of that, I believe, is there’s extra inherent instability within the new oscillator mannequin. As you begin taking part in on the decrease reaches of the keyboard you may hear it extra clearly.
You too can play decrease notes. The place V3 merely doesn’t work under A-1, V4 will allow you to get all the best way right down to C-2, although, there’s little or no musical cause so that you can go down that far.
The variations grow to be extra obvious whenever you begin messing with the filter. Extra bass is retained as you begin turning up the resonance within the new model, and it stays usable even with it pinned. The frequency cutoff can also be smoother with a bit extra of a guttural growl as you begin isolating these decrease frequencies.
Whereas the Minimoog clearly excels at bass, and Arturia makes certain to showcase that, there are additionally a whole lot of presets that push the sound in several instructions. The good thing about a plugin over the precise classic synth is that you may have eight notes of polyphony right here. That offers this digital Mannequin D the liberty to play unstable pads and electric-piano model keys.
The addition of a “classic” knob can also be fairly welcome right here. Whereas I really like issues being ever-so-slightly out of tune and for there to be a mild whisper of white noise within the background, others would possibly need a extra buttoned up sound.
It’s additionally price stating that Arturia didn’t go too overboard with the options right here. There’s no modulation matrix or sequencer or movement recording. There’s a handful of helpful results, an arpeggiator and MPE controls, and never a lot else past what you’d discover on the unique.
Wurli V3
Just like the Mini V, Arturia took its Wurlitzer plugin and determined to begin over agin. The outcomes are glorious, if a contact much less dramatic than with the Moog emulation. The final tone is brighter and it sings a bit extra within the decrease registers. There additionally appears to be a wider stereo discipline than earlier than as nicely. The cumulative impact is one thing a bit extra inviting.
The brand new mic and amp simulations assist it really feel extra alive and such as you're really in a room with a Wurli as an alternative of simply taking part in one by means of your pc. And the age parameter provides instability to the sound, permitting you to get that "simply discovered this keyboard in my uncle's basement the place it's been sitting untouched for 30 years" sound. To not point out it completely nails the sound of Supertramp's "The Logical Tune."
The Wurli isn’t a plugin I attain for extraordinarily typically, however I appreciated the improved tone that ought to assist it minimize by means of a combination a bit higher. It’s additionally way more versatile than the CP-70 V, although even with the enhancements I’m way more prone to attain for a Rhodes.
Arturia V Assortment X is out there now and present Arturia clients will get a reduction, relying on what software program they already personal. In case you're new, the complete value of $599 is perhaps a bit powerful to swallow, however it nonetheless represents one of many higher offers in gentle syths.
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