The art
of sound design
Our emulations are marvels of music technology, but even the best-sounding synth and keyboard models would be dull without the incredible work and imagination of their sound designers.
Veterans of the industry and young upstarts alike, for more than a decade we’ve worked with some of the most talented musicians, producers, and sound designers around to create sounds that both honor the past, and help you create the future.
On this page, we pay tribute to the amazing men and women who helped create the signature sounds of our instruments, and give you an insight into their creative process.
The Weight
Joshua Fielstra
My favorite preset is 'The Weight.' I named it this because I felt it had a very thick, warm punchiness unusual for an electric grand. It also has some dark ambient room reverb that carries over between notes that help maintain a sense of 'glue.' It sounds great with wide voicings across several octaves due to its weightiness.
Joshua Fielstra - on CP-70 V
Not enough people try their hand at electric grands these days - I was delighted to see that Arturia was making a go of it. As with other keyboard instruments in the Arturia portfolio, I found the number of parameters available to be a true inspiration. Rather than be confined to electric grand sounds made popular in prior decades, the flexibility of the sound engine allows you to reengineer the definition of the instrument itself. In a few cases, I created what sounded like bowed wires!
I definitely wanted to make sure the instrument could reproduce the sound heard on classic records, and I was not disappointed. From there, it was about seeing what happens when I pushed some of the parameters to extreme values. I found that it was difficult to get something that didn't sound good!
Blistering Notes
Lily Jordy
My preset 'Blistering Notes' combines the stretched envelope capabilities of the CP-70 V with lots of effect including tape distortion, delay echoes and reverb. It is not at all what you would expect to hear from a CP-70, but still has its color, which is why I love it.
Lily - on CP-70 V
I love how the Timbre Shift can either subtly or drastically impact the character of the piano, and I've been automating this parameter in my compositions to make the expression and mood change over time.
The envelope times that turn the piano into a soft, bowed piano is a truly brilliant feature as well!
Lofi Piano
Quentin Feuillard
My favorite preset is 'Lofi Piano', this is clearly a good way to transform your original CP-70 V into a more ages way, with adding some detune, more bass and a hard detune delay, and then you will have a good piano for Lofi music !
Quentin - on CP-70 V
The possibility to add attack to this piano is perfect to make a lot of types of sound like bow, soft piano etc... Adding the mix of each part of the piano to that and you can easily change the way to play piano.
The advanced panel is the part I used the most with the Fx part as well, to just use the CP-70 V as a sound sources and try to transform it into a different instrument.
Amped CP
Jerry Kovarsky
My favorite preset is called Amped CP, and I love playing it. Running the sound through the guitar amp gave it some nice saturation and tone, and I added some slight chorusing to keep the sound animated. Experimenting with the two reverbs I used allows me to create a wide range of spaces for the sound to sit in. I hope you all enjoy it as well!
Jerry Kovarsky - on CP-70 V
The CP-70 was an interesting attempt to deliver a real piano experience back in the days before sampling and physical modeling. It didn't sound exactly like an acoustic piano, but it had a piano action, strings and hammers. Viewed from today's perspective it has a charm of its own, and is an essential instrument for musicians looking to cover prog-rock and old-school R&B.
Arturia's version captures the classic sound, and gives us all deeper control over the sound than the original ever did. I especially enjoyed the extra character that the microphone signal offers, the envelope controls and the wealth of effects provided to work with.
As I always do when working on an emulation of a known instrument, I immersed myself in all the classic tracks that featured the instrument. There's not a lot of range to cover; it's mostly about effects and EQ treatment, so I trusted my ears to create a range of sounds that covered the tonal and effects processed sounds possible. Having a guitar amp, rotary speaker and all the pedals made it easy to get creative with the sound.