I usually don’t pick up presets and sound libraries on CDM, but this one deserves an exception. Musicrow has built a preset pack for Arturia’s Moog Modular V. That’s the software emulation of the truly modular Moogs — the ones with patch cords — so this gives you what you don’t get out of the real thing, a set of sound presets you can call upon immediately. Looks like a good blend of “traditional” presets and more unusual ones, and Arturia’s emulation, like the original Moog modular, has a rich set of sonic capabilities.

20 of the 200 presets are available for immediate, free use; if you like them, the whole set is US$39 (EUR29).

Musicrow Modular Dreams

I have to say, as much as I loved the tactile feel of patching on a real Moog modular, and as much as the software sound falls slightly short of the real thing, you can’t beat the fact that you can transport a laptop and save presets! Photo by Erikadotnet.

As we discovered when the elevator broke at the 6th-Floor Handmade Music party last month (ahem), actual analog gear is heavy, to say nothing of expense. There’s nothing quite like the real thing, in terms of sound, behavior, and tactile feedback. But the “next best thing” has some definite advantages. And competition for virtual alternatives is heating up. IK Multimedia and Arturia pack an unprecedented number of analog models into a single package for a pretty low price; Arturia now even throws in a keyboard to seal the deal.

Arturia’s Virtual Experience vs. IK’s Moogs: Fight!

The approach of each product is different. IK uses their sample engine, Arturia uses their “TAE” engine from their other virtual vintage products. IK has some additional multi-effects and sound-warping power; Arturia has arguably more hands-on control. IK is entirely focused on Moog and even endorsed by Moog Music; Arturia has a cross-section of classics. And, oh yeah, Arturia is also throwing in an actual hardware keyboard (pictured a little later on).

Hmm… if only we could read the spec sheets for these tools simultaneously. Wait — we can! Go, go, gadget HTML table!

CDM’s friends at the Spanish-language Hispasonic run one of the best music tech sites on the Interwebs. They’ve been kind enough to share some of their videos from the Messe show, and you won’t have to speak a word of Spanish to follow them. (The Arturia Origin was later overdubbed with Spanish.) Of course, I did just see some discount tickets to Spain, so maybe I should brush up. (Hispasonic links here are naturally in Spanish, but everyone can enjoy the videos.)

My favorite: a tour of the Superbooth, an exhaustive mini-expo of modular music tech.

Superbooth @ Hispasonic

Plus another look at the Arturia Origin synth:

New stuff with knobs, keys, and touchscreens: yep, it’s Giant German Music Tech Trade Show time.

Our friend Rainer Knobloch got to spend a few hours on the Messe show floor, so we politely pointed him to some of the gear that inspired the most drool. Topping the list, of course, is Clavia’s new Nord Wave, just because Clavia hasn’t yet published anything on their site. (More Nord details coming later today; sorry for the delay.) But we also learn via these photos just how cool the Arturia Origin’s flip-up panel looks, and we get to see John Bowen cradle his new synth, the Solaris. (See our interview.)

Messe 07, by Rainer [Flickr Set]

If you were at Messe and shot some photos of your own, feel free to add them to our Flickr pool. More of my favorites:

After conquering the world of software emulations, Arturia is finally thinking inside the box with the announcement of its first keyboard, the Origin Keyboard. Like the previously announced but yet-to-ship Origin, the synthesizer is completely modular, allowing you to build patches by combining modules from Arturia’s versions of the Minimoog, CS-80, ARP 2600, Moog Modular and Prophet VS.

While, personally I’d rather have the tabletop version, the 61-key keyboard appears to be no slouch, combining aftertouch and velocity sensitivity with a ribbon controller, joystick, the requisite mod and pitch wheels and plenty of knobs for tweaking. Ed.: Glad you’d rather have the tabletop, Lee. I’ll take one keyboard, then, Arturia — thanks! -PK

While only a rendering exists, it appears that the front-panel can be tilted to accommodate your playing style (like the Minimoog or the Korg Radius). A 5.2″ color screen means you won’t miss your laptop when playing live. In the studio, software integration comes in the form of an AU or VST plug-in that allows editing on a computer, with all processing taking place in the Origin hardware. The Origin has a complete selection of on-board effects including a phaser, chorus, delay, reverb, and distortion and a 16/32 step sequencer.

A funny thing has happened this year: just as multi-core computers are making software more powerful, DSP has gotten easier and cheaper. Result: new hardware that behaves like software. Look no further than long-time software-only, analog emulation house Arturia, who have unveiled a new hardware synth called Origin that builds on the legacy of their soft synths.

The Origin builds in the components of Arturia’s emulation of the Moog modular, minimoog, ARP 2600, Prophet VS, and CS-80, now in hardware form, but allows you to mix and match modules via an on-screen, plug-in-like interface. Now, of course, you can already mix and match all kinds of synthesis methods in software, but Arturia claims that the Analog Devices TigerSHARC DSP chips in the Origin allow greater audio fidelity and performance than even high-end dual-core CPUs. That certainly seems likely; even as CPUs become faster, they’re still rarely as efficient as dedicated DSP. The big question to me is, have Arturia — new to the DSP game — sufficiently molded their instruments to the new hardware? We’ll just have to wait to hear the results.

Arturia Origin

Quick specs:

1. 500 presets, plus preset compatibility with “most” of Arturia’s software presets
2. 32-voice polyphony
3. True Analog Engine (as found in Arturia’s software); up to 24/96 audio


4. Plug-in support: hardware integrates with plug-ins on your machine (Mac/PC)
5. Lots of I/O: 2 audio ins, 10 audio outs. Digital: SPDIF out, USB 2.0, MIDI in/out/thru
6. FX: Phaser, Chorus, Delay, FX Reverbs, Distortion, Param Eq, Compressor, Bitcrusher
7. 16/32 step sequencer
8. Modulation control: Macro, Advanced LFO, modulation modes, Advanced Joystick modes

Arturia’s going to have a lot of competition, from software running on Core Duo laptops to new virtual analog hardware like the Waldorf gear. It’ll be interesting to watch this one shake out.

In the meantime, Arturia hasn’t stopped doing software:

Jupiter 8-V

1. 32 voice polyphony - 2 oscillators per voice; 18 osc total, 2 LFOs, 2 filters, 2 envelopes
2. FX: Dual Delay, Phaser, Flanger, modulation via any audio source
3. VST / AU / RTAS Mac/PC


4. 400 presets

As usual, Arturia isn’t just emulating; they’ve added twists like X/Y digital effects, an advanced “Galaxy” modulation section, easy MIDI assignment, and a step sequencer. The downside here: the “TAE” engine Arturia can sacrifice accuracy in the name of versatility; I’d really like to see an obsessive model of the Jupiter. We’ll know once we test it — especially once Jupiter lovers pull it apart.

(Bad news on the Jupiter is that apparently they’re using a hardware key aka dongle for copy protection.)

Yamaha has revealed its upcoming products to be shown at the NAMM show later this month:

1. New keyboard integration with Steinberg and Arturia software
2. Motif XS and MM6 synths, based on the MO series
3. New MIDI/USB controllers and USB MIDI adapters from CME, plus an expanded wireless line (though we’re still waiting on the existing wireless hardware to ship from CME)


4. New PSR and EZ series portable keyboards and DD drum kits
5. A new music lab for schools
6. 500-watt compact PA

A couple of interesting items here. CME has had plenty of surprises when it comes to MIDI hardware, some hits and some not. New synths are nice, as well.

Also on the NAMM radar, M-Audio are promising new stuff, including their Torq DJ line, and if Apple announces an update to Logic or anything else music-related, I’d expect they’ll do it at NAMM rather than at Macworld following past tradition.

I know some of you have made New Years Resolutions not to be distracted by new gear, so I’ll trust you to ignore those stories. Those of you who are researching purchases, though, or are just curious know you can rely on CDM.

If you haven’t spent every last penny you own on the latest playourwiibox, your strength hasn’t been taken away from coma-inducing leftovers and you’re in the mood for some jaw-dropping music tech bargains, well just read on dear CDMers because we have the best sales to help you start your new year of music-making off right.

You’ve waited. You’ve suffered. Some of you bought Intel Macs and couldn’t run your plug-ins. Others have been holding off on that slick new MacBook while your PowerBook dies a slow, prolonged death. Finally, though, the final wave of plug-ins are coming to the Intel Macs. There are still more to come, but the pace seems to be quickening.

From Arturia, both the CS-80V and minimoog V are now Universal Binaries. (I’m still waiting on the TimewARP 2600 Mac Intel release from Wayoutware, speaking of emulation.) Okay, that’s not actually the CS-80V plug-in pictured here; it’s Arturia’s image of the original Yamaha keyboard. I hear that doesn’t need an Intel Mac update, incidentally, though a black MacBook would look awfully cute next to one. Old meets new, and whatnot.

From Antares, best known for AutoTune, the AVOX (Antares Vocal Toolkit) has made the leap (along with AutoTune) to Mac Intel, in both native and (Pro Tools) TDM versions.

IK Multimedia’s popular SampleTank has added Intel Mac compatibility, and the upgrade is completely free for v2 users. This release also adds Pro Tools 7 support, better search, better program change support, and other enhancements. (Thanks for making it free, IK; I wish more developers would follow suit!)

My personal pick of the Intel Mac update litter this week that you might have missed, though, is the new 0.93 version of Plogue Bidule:

Plogue Bidule 0.93 update

Plogue is a bit of the underdog in the hosting category, part host, part modular environment a la Max. It’s got a few fans here among CDM readers, though. The new release adds a “split by note” MIDI Splitter. (Erm, not sure why they’re just adding that now, but carry on!) More interesting: AU sidechain effects. For power users who want control over their host, Bidule could be the way to go (it’s also on Windows). I hope this is also the way the Max/MSP interface will go: zoomable, OpenGL-based interface, and pretty patch cords, not to mention true OSC integration (client/server).

Join Universal Binary Watch!

Favorite app or plug-in (no matter how obscure) just made the jump to Universal Binary? Let us know about it.

Favorite app or plug-in (no matter how obscure) holding up your slick, new MacBook? Let us know about it, and we’ll see if we can hunt down some information. (I have ways of making developers talk.)

Head to contact and drop me a line.

[tags]universal, mactel, intel, updates, plug-ins, software, Mac, Arturia, IK-Multimedia, plogue[/tags]

With so many recreations of classic synthesizers available in software these days, it’s easy to be skeptical about the need for yet another one. But this time Arturia weren’t content to leave well enough alone. Prophet V marries the Prophet 5 with the Prophet VS and adds an innovative hybrid mode that is truly the best of the analog and digital worlds.

Virtual synthesis, indeed: Arturia’s soft synth emulation even looks like an analog synth. Squint at your screen and you might believe you have physical gear in your studio. Can it deliver enough analog/digital sound creation goodness to merit installing yet another soft synth? CDM’s resident analog aficionado and synth reviewer Lee Sherman investigates.