V Collection X

CS80 V has innovative improvements on not only sound quality but also awesome functions. Especially the behavior of the analog feel is almost perfect compared with a real CS-80.

Release Falling Pad has a cool analog sound, with rich and fat atmosphere, and I programed very sensitive and dynamic polyphonic aftertouch - specifically the pitch falling down when you release key. This magic is made possible by the pitch envelope in the modulation section. Try it out!

Over the past 10 years, as my synth collection has gotten bigger, I’ve been moving away from the software synth world. There is simply no comparison between clicking a mouse and staring at a computer screen and the immediacy of tweaking knobs and experiencing the sound first-hand. The Prophet-5 V, however, has a beautiful GUI that makes the experience as organic as it gets in the software world - and its sound is absolutely spot-on! Only the Prophet has that crunchy PWM sound, and the Prophet-5 V brings you that exact sound as soon as you start modulating - not to mention the added option of being able to control the voice dispersion. To me, these added imperfections make a sound real.

Every time I get a new synthesizer (or effect processor, plugin, etc.), I spend a long time studying the machine - reading the manual, learning how to operate it. After that, the first sounds I usually program are my bread-and-butter sounds. These are some of the signature patches that I have developed over the years. In the process of programming patches I use a lot - and that I have programmed many times on other synths - I start discovering the special features or unusual behaviors the new machine has. For instance, the cross-modulation feature with oscillator 2 applied to the filter on the Prophet-5 V produces very rich harmonics and movement that no other machine is capable of. When the new machine's unique behaviors have been revealed, creativity is already planning what sounds I could try that would be impossible to make on any other machine.

The main strength of the instrument lies in the powerful combination between four mixable waveforms and the vector joystick for controlling your sound modeling. The chance to further automate the path of the vector lets you make your sound move in every way possible! I love the straight forwarded interface and the intuitive powerful advanced panel to sculpt and modulate the sound as a fundamental sound design plus.

Normally when I sculpt a sound I begin from an amp envelope (like a Pad or a Bass amp envelope) or starting from a combination of waveforms sculpted with filters then I use every weapon that lies in the synth to make the sound exciting, alive, emotional, dark, sometimes with a targeted idea, often reaching unexpected territories thanks to the inspiring power of this synth.

I love how the high-quality multi-samples effortlessly blend with the synth engines producing something new and unique. Every aspect is very polished, the synth engines' palette is endless, and if you are in a hurry, there are hundred of engines' presets to start playing with. The modulation system is perfect for a dedicated instrument, and the effects -which I consider a vital part of sound designing- are beyond expectations.

The string samples are top-notch, very detailed, and super-rich harmonically speaking. By exploring them, I started to have a lot of sound design ideas (that I quickly wrote, afraid I might forget something). Anyway, this instrument is so full-featured that there are multiple places you can start sculpting your sounds, and the inspiration always hits you, followed by some happy accidents that will make your sounds stand out.

One of the best things about the Wurli V3 is the tremendous range of sounds you can get with it. Unlike static samples, you can dial in the sound of any genre or time period. For a few presets, I even created instruments that sounded more like a hybrid guitar than a piano!

As I often do, I surveyed the large number of parameters available in the instrument rather than start with a particular sound in mind. I then went about creating presets based on what was possible, rather than what was expected. There are many types of sounds I wouldn't have imagined if I hadn't been carefree with the parameter values.

The samples inside and the presets engines are the must have to get inspiration. The intuitiveness of the Morph parameter to blend your two creations and the evolving capacities with macros and modulators give you an infinite possibilities ! The MPE in that type of product push his expressivity to the maximum !

Listening the engines and the content give me the first idea, and I develop the rest with all modulators. The macros definition is very important to change drastically the sound with some knobs tweaking.

I really love the new version of the classic B3, the sound engine has been strongly improved and if you close your eyes now you feel like you e playing the real beast! The add of the pedalboard, the possibility to choose over different Hammond classic models and the new pedal rig really made this new instrument to shine.

It is noisy, it's a natural bitcrusher, you can put any sample in and at the end have something totally different. The spectral synth, that is a new added feature, is an easy way to use the additive synthesis without too much programming. It also opens up more possibilities for modulation.

The synthesizer section of the Vocoder V is seriously impressive. It’s interesting to have a sample’s envelope trigger the synth, and when you have it set to 50/50 dry wet (vocoder/synth) you get a balanced blend of sampling and vocoder synthesis which can be a powerful hybrid of sounds.

I’ve always loved the Emulator sound, the gritty nature of the instrument is so appealing! The Arturia Emulator II V has that same character. It’s strength lies in the fact that it’s very musical - no matter what you sample, the Emulator II V gives it that sparkle. Being able to layer 8 samples at once to program complex textures makes it a serious sound design tool. The voice FX feature is something special as well, every sample can have it’s own reverb, delay or chorus - this is great for huge pads and drum kits.

Our brain is accustomed to hearing the imperfection and irregularity that it takes pleasure to correct. The original CZ synthesizer is typically the kind of digital synthesizer that sounds too smooth for me. Fortunately, Arturia developers have extended the functionality of the CZ synth by adding additional modulations such as "Sample and hold" LFOs, MIDI synced and Looped envelopes as well as a wide spectrum of audio effect. All these features allow me to take advantage of phase distortion synthesis with the possibility of giving it more warm and lively features.

I was immediately charmed by Jun-6 V's powerful simplicity. Before I started making presets on Arturia's recreation, I was already a big fan of the classic Juno sound - so I may be a little biased!

But I can safely say that this synth has so much hidden potential and astonishing modulation capabilities, in proportion to its user-friendly minimalistic design. It's no wonder that it's a favorite of so many artists, as it takes very little time to get accustomed to it and start making excellent patches.

Buchla architecture is quite far removed from any other synth. It forces you to spend a bit of time on this to understand all the feature of the synth, which is important because this is a really open and powerful synth! I love the dual LPG, it’s rare in the VST world. The "Left Hand" functions really makes it incomparable with other synths. I feel like it's the perfect, natural extension of my Eurorack system.

Pitch fluctuations, audio dropouts on worn out tapes, the weird frequency characteristics, amplifier distortion: imperfection is what makes the Mellotron so adorable because imperfection created its character.

But I can safely say that this synth has so much hidden potential and astonishing modulation capabilities, in proportion to its user-friendly minimalistic design. It's no wonder that it's a favorite of so many artists, as it takes very little time to get accustomed to it and start making excellent patches.

The aspect of Jupiter 8 V4 that most surprised and excited me was the sound..first, it sounds vastly better than Arturia’s previous Jupiter 8 V versions. Second, I used a Jupiter 8 back in the 80’s, and Jupiter 8 V4 sounds like the real Jupiter 8 that I remember..you never forget that sound.

The vocabulary of Rhodes sounds is very wide; from the early felt hammer sound of the late ‘60s up through the amped sound of a Stage, and on to more clanky and prominent tine sounds. There is no one sound that is universally agreed upon, and I enjoy at least 6-7 very different approaches to the instrument. So I sought to chase them all down, referencing my favorite recordings for guidance.

Just as with analog synths, the rawness and imperfections of early digital synthesizers give them an unmistakable character. Like the original CZ series, the CZ-V provides sounds with real character, it has a vintage feel, but in a completely different way than an analog synthesizer.