
- Arturia v collection 4 vintage instruments software bundle upgrade#
- Arturia v collection 4 vintage instruments software bundle plus#
However, given that the original Mellotron was based on tape recordings, the hybrid approach makes total sense here, working from samples, but then modelling the playback, tape wobbliness and associated electronics around them. Generally speaking, Arturia prefer real-time synthesis and modelled emulations of hardware, turning only to samples when strictly necessary. There are plenty of existing Mellotron-inspired instruments on the market already - GForce’s M-Tron, UVI’s IK Multimedia’s SampleTron and UVI’s Mello, to name just a few - but they tend to be strictly sample-based.
Arturia v collection 4 vintage instruments software bundle plus#
You already had FM synthesis in the form of DX7 V, plus more classic analogue sounds than you could care to mention elsewhere, but CZ V fits nicely somewhere in between. Like Synthi V, CZ V adds another distinct flavour of sound to the V Collection. Plugin Boutique’s VirtualCZ plugin is the main alternative here, but CZ V has its own selling points to set it apart, notably macro control, dual LFOs, a modulation matrix and some of Arturia’s consistently reliable effects. The key to success is getting to grips with the digitally controlled waveform (DCW) section, which adjusts the amount of modulation on the oscillator and controls harmonic content, much like a filter. Although they felt cheaper than the DX synths, the CZ models were much easier to edit. Casio’s answer to digital synthesis arrived in 1984 with the CZ-101, an affordable synth based around phase distortion. Yamaha’s FM synthesis method rocketed onto the mass market with the release of the DX7 in 1983 and establishing itself as the signature sound of mid-’80s pop music. As a bonus, they were much easier to program too. Generally seen as a cheaper alternative to Yamaha’s DX range of FM synths, the CZs could do similarly crystalline pads and dirty bass sounds, but could also sound closer to traditional subtractive analogue synthesis.

Highly recommended to anyone looking to explore weird and wonderful sounds.ĬZ V is an all-new phase distortion synth, modelled on the Casio CZ range of the early ’80s (the CZ-101 and CZ-1000 are the specific reference points here, but the synthesis architecture and sound were broadly similar across all the models). The modulation routing certainly takes some getting used to compared to most approaches, but that’s part of the joy of this unique synth, along with exploring the potential of the joystick modulation (which is automatable, unlike the original) and step sequencer (a substantially more powerful intuitive affair than you’d find on the original hardware). That’s not to say it won’t do simple basslines and leads, but it excels when you start getting freaky.Īrturia has also chosen to give it the option of polyphony (the original was monophonic), which works surprisingly well. His approach to music should give a hint of the kind of sounds to expect from Synthi V: experimental, innovative and leftfield. If we had to pick an artist most closely associated with the Synthi, Brian Eno would probably top the shortlist. Since then it’s found its niche in experimental rock and psychedelic music and when bands want an endearing lo-fi keyboard sound. It’s best known as that woozy, warbling flute intro to the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields, or the keyboard backing ’60s hits like David Bowie’s Space Oddity and Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade of Pale. Vaguely similar to a modern sampler but using a strip of magnetic tape for each key instead of digital storage, the Mellotron allowed rough approximations of things, like string sounds, brass and choirs, to be played back polyphonically, years before the first samplers hit the market.
Arturia v collection 4 vintage instruments software bundle upgrade#
a Buchla Easel is not something you often get to play with and so, for me, this is worth the price of the upgrade on its own.First released in 1963, the Mellotron remains a unique keyboard instrument. It’s a physics based synth engine for modulation caused by collision and bouncing stuff around. Arturia have incorporated something they are calling “Gravity”. It has a way of creating texture that’s hard to emulate on any other platform. It’s patchable, experimental, perfect for sound design and exploring tone and melody in surprising and interesting ways. So what’s new?įrom the West Coast we have the Buchla Easel. It takes you to places you probably wouldn’t have thought to go because some of these instruments wouldn’t have appealed to you on their own. In many ways, the charm of this collection is in the diversity.

But who cares when you have such great instruments to explore on your desktop and in your DAW.

The V Collection, with its muddle of pianos, synths and organs, has always felt a little schizophrenic and version 6 does nothing to improve upon this sense of disjointedness. It now totals 21 instruments and over 6000 presets.
