Dune 3 or Arturia Pigments?

[EvilDragon]

Multiple cores support is useless when you run it inside a DAW. It may even create conflicts with DAWs own multiple core management.

Not in all DAWs.

[fmr]

Of course, if you go crazy on the modulations (and it's so easy to do that ) the CPU consumptions starts to go up. There's nothing that can be done about that.

Hehehe, I'm sorry, but this statement irritates me. Of course modulation sources cost CPU. I.e. a synth should always be lighter if only one envelope is used instead of three. But in my opinion, the modulation itself should not incur extra CPU, no matter if that one envelope modulates two parameters or sixteen. Other developers may have a different view, but I think the best optimization is when you always assume the worst case, if people go crazy, that is. Otherwise things end up with a lot of conditions which make the worst case even more expensive than it needs to be.

I don't think 55% (I didn't even reach that figure, and my machine is far from being one of the most powerful ones around today) is something to be frightened about. If that's the worst scenario the guy reached, He can be comfortable with the synth.

And when I say "go crazy", I'm not talking of using one envelope modulating a dozen destinations

I'm talking of using Combinators, of using the function generators, the LFOs, the envelopes, using side chains in all those, FM, wavefolding, using macros, etc. It's very easy to create really complex modulation environments in Pigments, without even realizing we did that.

[fmr]

Multiple cores support is useless when you run it inside a DAW. It may even create conflicts with DAWs own multiple core management.

Not in all DAWs.

You mean REAPER?

[jancivil]

Run it in VE Pro, then

[DenisArturia]

Hello,

I'm Denis, one of the Pigments Sound Designers. Talking about the sound of the two synths I see two important differences.

First the presets of the two synth are not leveled the same. As a sound designer I had to make sure that presets would not go above -6db (and that in all macros configurations). Dune is more at 0db, meaning that the volume is higher. If you want to do an A/B test you should raise Pigments volume (or lower Dune volume).

Second, I can say that as a Pigments sound designer I had no artistic direction given. Meaning I could do chiptunes, rock'n roll or drones presets...my choice. My feeling when listening to the Dune presets is that there has been some kind of artistic direction. Dune presets are super coherent while Pigments presets are more diverse (I tried only the demo version of Dune 3!!).

All the best,

Denis

ps: when trying out Pigments don't forget to tweak the macros!!

[W23]

I upgraded to Dune 3 the same day I got the newsletter from Synapse. Pigments looks really interesting but, gosh...I just don't need another wavetable synth, especially since Hive updated like, 2 days later (I got that one for free)' and I won't even waste space with all the other WT stuff I've picked up over the years. I still look twice at Arturia's Buchla Music Easel though....weird West Coast semi-modular is something I don't have so much of...well I do have Kaivo, and Aalto but, GAS.....

[DavidCarlyon]

I got the Arturia instantly (great upgrade path - Arturia is fantastic at this) and soon crumbled and bought Dune.

First, let me say - Pigments is not like every other Wavetable synth. As some mentioned, the workflow is fantastic. It also has a great selection of FX. The random generators are my favourite out of all my synths now (the mods in general are awesome)
BUT i think the most valuable thing Pigments has to offer is - Oscillator modulation. Per engine you have a separate mod oscillator, which you can tune freely, and choose from ten waveforms. You can then do various kinds of FM, PM Phase distortion etc etc. I don't have another Wavetable synth that does this. For me, this is where all the best sounds are found in pigments.

I would highly recommend making an Init, then just starting with some basic wavetables ( i really like the synthesizer wavetables) and playing around with the mod oscillators. you can get some really great tones out of the most simple patches.

As the sound designer noted above - Pigments presets are much more diverse, whereas the ones in Dune are much more in the dance music world (specifically i hear a lot of trance)
I actually really like the idea that Arturia made sure the presets were no hotter than -6db, that's really useful.

On to Dune.
I tried it and in seconds knew i had to have it. This is in my opinion, the single best sounding soft-synth. The new filters are absolutely amazing, the effects are literally pro grade (even the EQ is breathtaking)
I had already decided on getting it before i even knew about the layering options - that really takes it to an entirely new level.

The strange paradox with this synth is - there is a TON of room for improvement. Despite it being such an amazing synth, there are a shit load of things that need doing with it. Modulation assignments, GUI, oscillator tweak-ability, Wavetable warping options - which is both slightly frustrating, but also extremely exciting - if its this amazing now, think about what it will one day be....

I have re configured my synth collection of late. Using different kinds of stuff now, but i also have an additional criteria when buying VSTs - only buy from developers who are active in the community.
Both these companies respond very quickly, offer regular updates, you can always reach out and contact them directly. This actually does make a huge difference to me.
I'm trying out Roland cloud at the moment. Those synths are insanely awesome, but the GUIs are insanely dated and crap, they are buggy as hell, don't receive regular updates, its impossible to get hold of them. I can't deal with that crap anymore.

So in short, getting both would not be the worst thing to do. I genuinely think they will both be my most used synths of this year (along with Massive X when it comes out) Even some of my old favourites like Synthmaster are starting to feel old and unloved now, so its great to have some fresh synths/sounds in an easy to use package.

Sorry for the ramble..

[kv331]

BUT i think the most valuable thing Pigments has to offer is - Oscillator modulation. Per engine you have a separate mod oscillator, which you can tune freely, and choose from ten waveforms. You can then do various kinds of FM, PM Phase distortion etc etc. I don't have another Wavetable synth that does

I believe you do have an old synth that's been doing that for years

[DavidCarlyon]

BUT i think the most valuable thing Pigments has to offer is - Oscillator modulation. Per engine you have a separate mod oscillator, which you can tune freely, and choose from ten waveforms. You can then do various kinds of FM, PM Phase distortion etc etc. I don't have another Wavetable synth that does

I believe you do have an old synth that's been doing that for years

Actually to be honest, I just bought sm1, so I have an old synth and a new synth that does it. Haha.

[layzer]

i cant wait for 500 years from now when people will be like, Dune 503 or arturia pigments 500?

[layzer]

You have to take in account that Pigment is quite a bit more taxing on the CPU and RAM due to that "super modern" GUI,

Dux gets it, think about what you really need soundwise to make a song that no one but you
will know you used either one.

[Biome_Digital]

I have now made over 100 presets in both Dune 3 and Pigments. Heres my opinion.

They both sound fantastic. There is a lot of things Dune can do that Pigments can't do as well - mainly super unison stuff, and complex multi patches. Saying that though, Dunes modulation is outdated and annoying.

The waveshaping options in Pigments are amazing. It sounds as good as any other synth.

If you want to make your own patches then Pigments is easier for more complex modulations.

If you are more of a tweaker then dune has some good presets.

I do think the are different enough to have both and they are in my top 10 best synths.

[alexishere]

I do think the are different enough to have both and they are in my top 10 best synths.

What are your favourite synths? (Since we are here to compare synths.. )

[Astralv]

Is Pigments part of V Collection 6? My account offers to upgrade from 5 for $250. Dune 3 is offered at $179- upgrade from Dune 2 is 79. How do you compare Pigments and Dune upgrades in price? Thanks.

[Biome_Digital]

I do think the are different enough to have both and they are in my top 10 best synths.

What are your favourite synths? (Since we are here to compare synths.. )

I no particular order, but the best sounding synths I've used:

Pigments
Arturia V Collection (I know, more than 10!)
Serum
Dune 3
Omnisphere
Hive
Diva
Repro
Spire
Zebra
Massive

These are the synths I use everyday.