Arturia V Collection X is one of the biggest updates to the virtual synthesizer library in quite some time. Six new instruments were added (although most were available separately before) and two were rebuilt from scratch. This brings the total number of Collection V instruments to 38, and in recent years at least six of them have been completely renovated with dramatic improvements.
MiniFreak V, Acid V, Augmented Brass and Augmented Grand Piano were previously available as standalone instruments, but are now joined by its own. Two completely new instruments are also coming into force. Augmented Woodwinds and CP-70 V. Augmented Woodwinds is, as you may have guessed, a version of Arturia's Augmented series, except here the synths are combined with woodwind samples. CP-70 V is an emulation of Yamaha's late 70s/early 80s electric piano used most notably by The Grateful Dead and Genesis.
Augmented woodwind, brass, and grand piano instruments
I admit that I'm a little skeptical of augmented woodwinds at first. I think augmented strings and grand piano are great, but have found little use for them so far, and woodwinds often feel like some of the most difficult acoustic instruments to play correctly in a sample library. Arturia pulls it off though, largely by leaning rather heavily towards the synth side. You're never going to convince anyone that the sounds coming out of it are from a set of flesh-and-blood wind instruments, but the smooth pads and cinematic cables you can get are convincing, especially when combined with an MPE controller like Push or Seaboard Rise 2. (With the exception of a few presets that seem to fall apart when faced with MPE input, at least.)
Like the rest of the Augmented series, the woodwinds, brass, and grand piano instruments feel purpose-built with scoring in mind. That's not to say you couldn't find a use for them in a pop song or jazz arrangement, but they have to do with atmosphere and texture, and there are a good deal of sounds that would only be appropriate in the most tense moments of a song. cosmic horror. movie.
They all have a set of advanced controls where you can create almost any sound you want from their four-layer engine (two samples and two synths). You can even turn off sample layers completely and stop using wind instruments, although you can also use one of the other plugins at that time.
CP-70V
The other all-new instrument, the CP-70 V, is much simpler. It's an electric piano. A very specific one that hasn't enjoyed the same level of reverence as the Rhodes or the Wurlitzer, but it has its merits. The CP-70 used strings like those on a real piano, rather than the metal reeds and picks found on Rhodes Wurlitzers. It also used piezoelectric pickups instead of magnetic ones, resulting in a sound much closer to that of a real acoustic piano. That was definitely a big selling point for tourers in the '70s and '80s who wanted the sound of a grand piano, but didn't want to lug one around on tour.
However, the result has less character than other electric pianos. It's brighter and there's less room to shape the sound without adding effects. Arturia seems to do an admirable job of capturing the spirit of the CP-70, but comes close enough to sound like a real piano; in most cases you would be much more likely to use the old Piano V plugin.
MiniFreak V
and both were released earlier this year. And frankly, nothing has changed with Acid V in the four or so months since I wrote about it, so I won't say much beyond that it's an excellent TB-303 emulator. It does what you expect and not much more, but with about a tenth of the headaches of the real thing.
MiniFreak V, on the other hand, yesterday received a new wavetable engine, a new super unison effect, and some improvements to the LFO. The 32 wavetables have a pretty solid and modern sound. And perhaps best of all, they seem to be able to handle bass better than some of the other oscillators, an area where the Freak line has always felt a little weak. There are 64 new presets designed to showcase the strength of the wavetable. engine and there are some real winners there. Yes, there are lots of weird sound effects and dubstep bass effects, but there are also some lovely cold pads and delicate keys.
Furthermore, Arturia is finally adding preset packs for MiniFreak V to your store. There are two paid sound packs, but also three free ones and, well, I can't recommend enough that you download Deserted Lands from Oscillator Sink. It's basically just one beautiful broken patch after another. However, this was a recurring theme. With MiniFreak 2.0, Augmented Woodwinds, and the rebuilt Mini V4, Arturia really improved the quality of their presets. Whether they were designed in-house or by an artist they worked with, most felt designed to show off what the plugins were capable of musically, rather than technically. That wasn't necessarily the case with the MiniFreak, the MicroFreak, or even the Pigments.
Mini V4
Honestly, this was the biggest surprise of all. Mini V was also a pretty decent Minimoog Model D emulation, but the world is full of them. It was never the reason to seek out V Collection specifically, but it was good enough that it wasn't necessary to look for an alternative. Mini V4, however, is incredible. The difference is subtle, but definitely noticeable if you load the default template in both Mini V3 and V4 and play them side by side. On the one hand, the V4 is a little louder, but it is also more complete. I think part of that is that there is more inherent instability in the new oscillator model. As you begin to play in the lower reaches of the keyboard, you will be able to hear it more clearly.
You can also play lower notes. While V3 simply won't work below A-1, V4 will let you go all the way to C-2, although there's very little musical reason for you to go down that far.
The differences become more apparent when you start playing with the filter. More bass is retained as you start to increase the resonance in the new version, and it remains usable even when locked in. The frequency cut is also smoother with a slightly guttural growl as you start to isolate those lower frequencies.
While the Minimoog obviously excels at bass, and Arturia makes sure to show it, there are also plenty of presets that push the sound in different directions. The advantage of a plugin over the real old synth is that you can have eight notes of polyphony here. That gives this virtual Model D the freedom to play shaky pads and electric piano-style keys.
The addition of a “vintage” knob is also very welcome here. While I love that things are slightly out of tune and that there's a soft whisper of white noise in the background, others may want a more restricted sound.
It's also worth noting that Arturia didn't go too overboard with the features here. There is no modulation matrix or sequencer or motion recording. There are a handful of useful effects, an arpeggiator and MPE controls, and not much beyond what you'd find in the original.
Wurli V3
Like the Mini V, Arturia took its Wurlitzer add-on and decided to start over. The results are excellent, although a little less dramatic than with Moog emulation. The overall tone is brighter and sings a bit more in the lower registers. There also appears to be a wider stereo field than before. The cumulative effect is something a little more attractive.
New microphone and amp simulations help make it feel more alive and like you're actually in a room with a Wurli instead of just playing it through your computer. And the age parameter adds instability to the sound, allowing you to achieve that "I just found this keyboard in my uncle's basement, where it has been untouched for 30 years." sound. Without mentioning it at all nails the sound of Supertramp "The logical song."
The Wurli isn't a plugin I use very often, but I appreciated the improved tone which should help it cut through a mix a little better. It's also much more versatile than the CP-70 V, although even with the upgrades you're much more likely to opt for a Rhodes.
Arturia V Collection X is available now and existing Arturia customers will get a discount, depending on the software they already own. If you're new, the full price of $599 may be a little hard to swallow, but it still represents one of the best deals on soft synths.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arturia-v-collection-x-is-its-biggest-upgrade-in-years-160015345.html?src=rss
