Arturia V Collection 6

[EnGee]

Had a go with the CMI V and I'm on the fence with it.

Yes the same here!

I demoed the new three synths and I really like them a lot. DX7 emulation is very nice and has this 'bite' that I'm looking for. The problem is the CPU usage! Many presets are IMO very high compared to FM8 (which I compared to). The sound is not a day and night difference from FM8! But between the two I prefer the FM8 due to low cpu usage and excellent design.

The Buchla emulation is fantastic! I loved it! But it overload my cpu for many presets! I compared it with Reaktor blocks, and in the end I think I'm better off staying with Reaktor blocks as they can sound similar.

Now, the CMI is great really. Sound and CPU usage are great. There are many presets that made feel deja vu! It seems so many bands in the 80's used it (but never mentioned it! Like it was their biggest secret!). The only thing is I have Synclavier V which I haven't used much due to the interface which doesn't look familier with other synths I have. I'm afraid the CMI V would have the same result with no much use! I don't know, I'll see as we still have till 10th of January for the $99 price.

[electro]

I think Clavinet V might be the standout V6 synth. How accurately is DXV reproducing .syx imported patches?

[beely]

There are many presets that made feel deja vu! It seems so many bands in the 80's used it (but never mentioned it! Like it was their biggest secret!).

No one that used a Fairlight in the 80s were keeping any secrets! It was easy to hear, if you knew anything about music tech of the time... "Fairlight" records are quite easy to spot.

The best ones are the people that really used it creatively - Kate Bush for one...

[egbert101]

<delete>

[wagtunes]

The new DX7 is da bomb.

[cowby]

Please if anyone knows How large in the size of the total package?

[Edited] : And can I just download one synth at a time rather than one big compressed file?

[V0RT3X]

Please if anyone knows How large in the size of the total package?

Screen Shot 2017-12-06 at 6.06.38 PM.png

[SJ_Digriz]

[Edited] : And can I just download one synth at a time rather than one big compressed file?

yes

[experimental.crow]

kicked the tires on the Buchla Easel ...

[foosnark]

Comparing Aalto with Buchla Easel V, they're quite different flavors.

FM: A tie? Aalto does the the modern, dynamic thru-zero linear FM more reminiscent of Hertz Donut (not quite as tasty but still good). Buchla is very true to how analog oscillators handle FM -- weaksauce linear FM and wild-ass exponential FM (just patch "mod cv out" into pitch).

LPGs: I originally had a better impression of the one in Aalto. Now that I play with them a bit more in Buchla, it's growing on me. Neither can match my favorite hardware LPGs but neither of them suck.

Mod osc routing: Major advantage to Buchla. In Aalto, the mod osc is hardwired to FM and feeding the (one) LPG. This is a damned shame. On the Buchla, you can route the mod osc into any CV input, including timbre and pitch (both extremely useful) as well as the mod osc's own pitch.

Modulation sources: Aalto with its dual envelopes (one that loops, which is very West Coast), LFO with noise source, and more flexible sequencer. Buchla does have the "left hand" modulation, which is kind of clever but I wish it was more conventional and not hidden behind the main interface.

Combined modulation: not ideal in either, but Aalto wins -- it has the env x velocity option and level settings on its LFO and one envelope, and you can route multiple modulators to a single input (though it has just a single attenuator).

Audio routing: Buchla, for having a second gate that can be used with feedback, noise, an external input, the mod osc, or a serial gate after the first one. Cool trick: route "env out" through the inverter and into the second gate, which controls feedback.

Reverb: Advantage to Buchla I think for letting it swallow the dry signal entirely, and for the feedback. But they both have reverb that suits the instrument.

Delay: Aalto for sure.

UI: A tie, kind of. Aalto is more modern, more immediately intuitive perhaps, and hides nothing. It could stand to be a little less mouse sensitive IMHO, and default values for things like pitch tracking aren't the clearest. But otherwise it's good. The Buchla is really charming in its looks, easier to dial in on the main interface, more of a hassle on the left hand modulation and I dislike having stuff hidden behind the panel.

Sound: Really hard to choose. Aalto does beefy and modern nicely. Buchla does weird shit from outer space sort of by default, though both can get there.

Overall: Get both.

For my purposes: Buchla V. My Eurorack system leans West Coast, but in a modern way more like Aalto (with a side of "wrong" analog West Coast with the Double Helix). There isn't much Aalto can do that I can't do better in hardware. I can't say that about the Buchla.

Also: magazineware versions of Aalto that are monophonic (and no unison) but otherwise fully featured. So I can still run it indefinitely for patch inspiration for my modular, or on the laptop when traveling.

So I talked myself into buying Buchla Easel V.

I did not talk myself into getting the whole collection. It's kind of odd to get that one $100 synth instead of 21 for $250, but given how little I'd probably use the rest of it, I think it does make sense.

[experimental.crow]

Comparing Aalto with Buchla Easel V, they're quite different flavors.

FM: A tie? Aalto does the the modern, dynamic thru-zero linear FM more reminiscent of Hertz Donut (not quite as tasty but still good). Buchla is very true to how analog oscillators handle FM -- weaksauce linear FM and wild-ass exponential FM (just patch "mod cv out" into pitch).

LPGs: I originally had a better impression of the one in Aalto. Now that I play with them a bit more in Buchla, it's growing on me. Neither can match my favorite hardware LPGs but neither of them suck.

Mod osc routing: Major advantage to Buchla. In Aalto, the mod osc is hardwired to FM and feeding the (one) LPG. This is a damned shame. On the Buchla, you can route the mod osc into any CV input, including timbre and pitch (both extremely useful) as well as the mod osc's own pitch.

Modulation sources: Aalto with its dual envelopes (one that loops, which is very West Coast), LFO with noise source, and more flexible sequencer. Buchla does have the "left hand" modulation, which is kind of clever but I wish it was more conventional and not hidden behind the main interface.

Combined modulation: not ideal in either, but Aalto wins -- it has the env x velocity option and level settings on its LFO and one envelope, and you can route multiple modulators to a single input (though it has just a single attenuator).

Audio routing: Buchla, for having a second gate that can be used with feedback, noise, an external input, the mod osc, or a serial gate after the first one. Cool trick: route "env out" through the inverter and into the second gate, which controls feedback.

Reverb: Advantage to Buchla I think for letting it swallow the dry signal entirely, and for the feedback. But they both have reverb that suits the instrument.

Delay: Aalto for sure.

UI: A tie, kind of. Aalto is more modern, more immediately intuitive perhaps, and hides nothing. It could stand to be a little less mouse sensitive IMHO, and the pitch tracking but otherwise good. The Buchla is really charming in its looks, easier to dial in on the main interface, more of a hassle on the left hand modulation and I dislike having stuff hidden behind the panel.

Sound: Really hard to choose. Aalto does beefy and modern nicely. Buchla does weird shit from outer space sort of by default, though both can get there.

Overall: Get both.

For my purposes: Buchla V. My Eurorack system leans West Coast, but in a modern way more like Aalto (with a side of "wrong" analog West Coast with the Double Helix). There isn't much Aalto can do that I can't do better in hardware. I can't say that about the Buchla.

Also: magazineware versions of Aalto that are monophonic (and no unison) but otherwise fully featured. So I can still run it indefinitely for patch inspiration for my modular, or on the laptop when traveling.

So I talked myself into buying Buchla Easel V.

I did not talk myself into getting the whole collection. It's kind of odd to get that one $100 synth instead of 21 for $250, but given how little I'd probably use the rest of it, I think it does make sense.

nice review ...
some valuable insights therein ...

[foosnark]

Also I can confirm Arturia's website is still hammered, now that I'm actually trying to throw money at them.

[v1o]

I bought a Microbrute for less than the upgrade price lol

yep but the Microbrute is "just" a monosynth and even if it is a very nice one you really can not compare it with the VCollection.

Software can be seen as no value compared to hardware but this is still the result of the work on people who need to pay their bill and so need be paid for their work

Kevin, not arguing with that one bit. Of course you should get paid for your work. The problem is, for V5 owners, the math just doesn't add up.

For brand new buyers who own no Arturia products, the full retail price is $499 for 21 instruments. That comes out to $24 per instrument.

In 2014, I paid $199 for the V4 collection because it was on sale at the time. That was my entry into Arturia land. A year later, I paid another $199 upgrade for V5 collection for what came out to 4 new products. Now you're asking another $199 for 4 new products. That's $50 per. Twice what it costs new owners.

So I'm paying $600 over 3 years for a product that new buyers right now can get for $499 or, from what I'm hearing because of the intro offer, $249.

Mathematically, this is so messed up I don't even know where to begin. I can't be the only long time Arturia customer who feels this way. It's like the more loyal you've been to the company, the more you get screwed over with each update.

You can always skip this version, or even the next two or three versions and then upgrade. I’m sure that will work out to be more bang for the buck for you.

Having upgrades at a fixed price despite whichever version number you are currently at, greatly simplifies things for consumers.

[Sound Mechanics]

If I buy the V Collection 6, other than any new synths added in V Collection 7, will Arturia keep updating Version 6... or at some stage will I be forced to upgrade again... in other words, how long can I just enjoy using Version 6 on my Mac before

... as there are enough synths In V 6 to keep me going for a long long time

[fmr]

If I buy the V Collection 6, other than any new synths added in V Collection 7, will Arturia keep updating Version 6... or at some stage will I be forced to upgrade again... in other words, how long can I just enjoy using Version 6 on my Mac before

... as there are enough synths In V 6 to keep me going for a long long time

As far as I know, I think I can say they are committed to update these synths in the near future, and possibly adding some new features that were not ready at launch time.

BTW - Website is up now, at least from here.