FYI: Arturia 50% off

[vonnor]

A certain well-known "boutique" for plugins just sent out an email - looks like all Arturia software is half off til 8/8.

 

I may have to expand my Analog Lab preset-editing capability some more.

 

~ vonnor

[felis]

I only see half off on the individual instruments. The collection is still full price.

 

Still - very nice if you're looking to hand pick a few instruments from the bunch.

[vonnor]

I stand corrected. I was looking at Analog Lab V.

 

~ vonnor

[johnchop]

There was a slight break on the VCollection upgrade, and considering all you get, I thought it was worth it.

[Tusker]

So, which of Arturia"s analog emulations should I pick up, assuming I have most of the bases covered and am looking for a little unique vintage flavor? Should I assume that the later releases are stronger?

[johnchop]

What do you have now?

 

There are free demos for everything they make so you can always check it out.

 

Or just grab an Analog Lab demo so you can get an overview.

[Tusker]

Thanks John. I had access to a copy of pigments 2 but decided not to invest more time in it as it was a bit generalist, despite having modules from vintage synths. I have several generalist synths from U-He and NI, but Arturia (like GForce) often focuses on authenticity. Since the price is right, I am looking for a good authentic analog-ish thing I guess? I am up to my eyeballs in Moogs and Arps, but I don"t have a Jupiter or CS80 emulation nor a good SEM. I have wondered if the Synthi has an authentic personality. (while still being able track pitch accurately anyway!)

 

I value the wisdom of our members here, and was hoping to draw from their experience.

[johnchop]

Not having owned the big expensive beasts from the 80s -- only touched them in music stores -- I can only comment on some software options, not whether they approach "authenticity" (where I'm sure lots of folks will argue in one direction or the other).

 

I would consider the Memorymoon synth and compare to Arturia's CS80: http://www.memorymoon.com/me80.htm Cheap as chips, too.

 

Cherry Audio stuff is absolutely worth a try, including the OB8voice (bit of an insane gui compared to GForce's OBE though).

 

For Jups, compare Arturia's to TAL's stuff, like https://tal-software.com/products/tal-j-8

 

All that said, in my pretty subjective assessment of using Arturia synths versus trying other emulations, Arturia always sounds darker, almost like it's emphasizing the "overdriven circuit" aspect, which can verge on muddy if you overdo it.

[Iconoclast]

My short arturia review, as a Mainstage user who has almost everything they make.

 

Pigments should cover any virtual analog needs you have and a lot more. I find it easy but on the verge of having too much "stuff". If I need something simple and fast I frequently go to retro-synth.

Arturia's DX7 has the other synth stuff you can't do with Pigments.

I also couldn't survive without their Solina emulation.

 

Some of the newer Arturia stuff is really cool, but you can probably cover it with the stuff mentioned above. That being said, I love playing with their OBXa and the new Jupiter/Juno models. There's something about these new instruments from them that just sound more real and alive, like they've really gotten closer to nailing the imperfections.

 

I don't find their pianos to be that great unless you're going for a unique and not authentic sound. Like something intentionally lo-fi.

 

The Arturia EPs are on par with the Mainstage stuff...probably better, but nothing near Keyscape quality.

 

They have other things like the synclavier and Fairlight that have an amazing set of presets, but I basically can't invest the time to learn how to program those things. But you can lose a whole evening just going through those presets.

 

I think that for what you get, that stuff is cheap, so as a general rule, when they have a 50% off, I load up. I didn't have some of the standalone efffects so I bought those.

[Tusker]

Yes, thanks so much for guiding me, fellas. Happy to hear that Arturia has created more imperfections in the OBXA and Jupiter models. That's really what I am looking for is character. I'll check them out. They sound really good from the demos, but until you feel the sound respond to your fingers it's hard to tell. If they nail that liquid sound of the Jupe, I am all in. I'll check out the TAL version also.

 

Meanwhile this morning, The Unfinished (Mat Bowdler) has announced a deal on a couple of new Zebra patch libraries, so I will need to also send a few of the shekels his way ... what a great time to have a computer and be a keyboardist!!

[Mark Schmieder]

I never received an email, even by today. Usually I'm the last to know, due to being near the end of the alphabet. But I keep falling off of mailing lists -- probably every time the privacy laws change again in Europe.

 

Anyway, a few days ago, right after seeing this thread, I bought a few patch libs. I was embarrassed to admit it, as I tend to "grow my own", but I'm focusing more on live instruments at the moment, time-wise.

[Tusker]

Anyway, a few days ago, right after seeing this thread, I bought a few patch libs. I was embarrassed to admit it, as I tend to "grow my own", but I'm focusing more on live instruments at the moment, time-wise.

 

I have the same embarrassment, bro.

 

I fight it by pointing out to myself that there is a place for our own signature sounds and a place for enjoying what others have created. Without these amazing new synths and new patch libraries I'd be cooking up the same favorite things over and over again, like the proverbial jazz player who decided he had enough vocabulary after the pentatonic scale. Much of the time, I am trying to learn new sonic recipes, which I can incorporate into my patch-making. Mostly I get it by listening to creative sound-design soundtracks like Tenet and 2049. Or by buying synths I don't really really need, in order to have my mind expanded by the sound designers.

 

It's like transcribing Michael Brecker solos to increase vocabulary. No shame in being a lifelong student, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself ...

[felis]

....I don"t have a Jupiter or CS80 emulation nor a good SEM....

 

 

Sounds like those would be a good place to start then.

 

My favorite is the Matrix 12V, but probably just because I spent a lot of time making patches for a hardware Matrix.

I got rid of the hardware a long time ago, but unless my memory is playing tricks one me, at times the software actually sounds better.

 

Although the nit-pickers bad mouth it, I like the sound of the SEM V.

It's a bit more limited in what you can do with it, but IMO, you'd have to really try to make it sound bad.