Official Arturia VCollection5 thread

[fallacy]

Not much love for Modular V? I find this to have some amazing sounds in it and insanely deep "programmability". Couldn't care less if it doesn't sound the same as the original, its a great instrument in its own right...

I agree with you in parts, but why then call it "Moog" Modular V ?

No doubt it is an excellent modular plug, but as it is sold as a Moog Modular it should sound like one too:

"Arturia, in partnership with Dr. Bob Moog, has brought you the synth that started it all. From Wendy Carlos's famous 'Switched on Bach' to Keith Emerson's live use, this huge modular showed that electronics could be musical thus being the catalyst for every synthesizer we see today. The towering modular synthesizer that has dominated the world of music since the 1960s has been revived!"

Yeah I totally see what you mean. To be honest I have never heard some A/B comparisons and I assumed it didn't get much attention because some lucky few who own the real deal probably trashed the software version as being nothing like the original... The thing is the new Mini V and Monark for example aren't the last word in Moog emulations, they will reincarnate as the tech improves in some way shape or form... It makes you wonder how many times we can hear that "this is the closest emulation ever"!

[Numanoid]

As long as it sounds good, I couldn't care less if it was a "real" Moog modulation.

I would much prefer if plug devs shed the need to spin a plug in "hardware clothing", and rather let plugs shine in their own right.

Then there would be no need to compare it if was a correct emulation or not, as plugs takes it to a higher level

[fallacy]

As long as it sounds good, I couldn't care less if it was a "real" Moog modulation.

I would much prefer if plug devs shed the need to spin a plug in "hardware clothing", and rather let plugs shine in their own right.

True. I think as long as softsynths are claiming to be emulating hardware is as long as they will be (psychologically) be considered second best... I will use myself as an example there, where I spent a small fortune on some vintage synths that I could get ahold of (Juno 106 for example) but when I heard the likes of U-NO-LX side by side with my 106, it was absolutely 'good enough' to the point where I decided to part with it and enjoy the benefits the software version provides instead (I understand hardware has other benefits, which are for the most part not related to the sound.)

My point is, early on in my quest to find the "right" equipment, actually making music ended up taking a back seat and its only now where I am starting to make more music as I accept that hardware, software, aliasing, bad hardware approximation or not, nothing was actually stopping me from making music with what I had. Don't be like me!

[zerocrossing]

Don't be like me!

I'm on it!

[EnGee]

All have amazing cpu efficiency - which means they deserve to be run at 96,000 hz, the VA synths in particular sound much better that way.

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking to do the same. Well, today when going back home, I'll try @96khz but that means I can't use synths like Bazille maybe. I'll be exploring the new GUI for ARP2600V and SEM V also as the good guys at Arturia have solved the "pending" issue

[zerocrossing]

Here's my initial reaction to the plug ins that interest me...

As far as the installer's concerned: Crap. Best do one at a time anyway. Not sure what they thought the point was. Somehow I totally missed a few due to a hiccupped connection.

My first curiosity was the Synclavier. Nice! 1:1 of the original? Well, it's been far too long since I was in a room with one, so I can't say, but I dig the vibe. That said, I'm disappointed that they didn't do later emulations as well. How am I supposed to cover Gravity's Angel? I always dug the way that thing sounded when you lowered the sample way down.

Then I thought, well let's see this new Mini. I did my usual filter audio rate modulation test (use osc 3 to modulate the filter an oct down from osc one) and I was very impressed. In fact, it seems to sound almost identical to Monark a lot of the time at half the CPU use. I am confused though. I have no idea how to make a sound polyphonic. That switch seems to be controlling voice priority... I'm missing something and while you can say RTFM, on something this simple it should be obvious. Anyway, I like it a lot sound wise but while the UI is cleaner looking, I find it confusing. Will this one dissuade anyone planning on getting the new Minimoog Model D reissue? No. Will this make nice Model D like sounds plus a ton more? Yes.

I briefly played with Jup-8. I never was a huge fan of the original... and I'm still meh on it. That could just be my personality. Maybe I'm a Sequential/Oberheim guy.

Speaking of, Matrix V. I liked the original but never updated. I like this one too. Confusing UI... maybe the hardware version was as well? I'll have to crack open the manual on that one but it seems like much fun could be had.

Next up, Prophet V... still downloading... WTF? Is Arturia using AOL dialup? I'll edit this when I have it.

Modular V. Looks and sounds beautiful. I love that you did blank initialized templates for this one. Do it on all the rest as well. Oops, I changed a filter module type and lost all my connections. Bug?

Here's some feedback on the collection as a whole. Arturia, you might want to hire me as your UX guy, or perhaps let your UX guy does his job. From my perspective, it seems like there wasn't someone making sure each product was unified to the brand. For instance, the way you access the mod matrix in Matrix 12v is entirely different than MiniV. These types of things should be totally standardized within a brand. Art wise, things are all over the place as well. MiniV has the flat controls for effects, Matrix 12 V has skeuomorphic controls... and even those don't match each other. Does each effect need a different art style? There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it. Like a bunch of comps were done and someone picked their favorites without thinking what the overall product might look like to itself or in relation to other products in the same package. I get that when you're emulating the front panel of an original, but for things you added on... there should be continuity.

I hear a decent amounts of aliasing in the upper registers in all the plug ins. Still. There really should be some way to initiate a higher quality oversampling for when it counts. For instance, I'm messing about with a pretty simple patch in Modular V right now... why can't I double the oversampling? It's barely touching my CPU as it is. I'd double or even quadruple that sometimes like when I'm using audio rate modulations.

I hear a lot of variation amount the presets, which is a good thing, but you could cool it a bit with the effects. I know you're keen to putting in a bunch of "synth sellers" to impress, but holy crap a lot seem to be drenched in effects. You're hiding decent synth engines.

That's it for now. Overall a nice update and worth the price just for the Synclavier and Mini update. I don't even care about the pianos and organs.

[zerocrossing]

All have amazing cpu efficiency - which means they deserve to be run at 96,000 hz, the VA synths in particular sound much better that way.

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking to do the same. Well, today when going back home, I'll try @96khz but that means I can't use synths like Bazille maybe. I'll be exploring the new GUI for ARP2600V and SEM V also as the good guys at Arturia have solved the "pending" issue

It would be way better if they just offered different quality modes like so many of their competition. I get why they want to be as efficient as possible, and with a lot of basic sounds that's fine. But sometimes you should be able to select a higher quality.

[Numanoid]

For instance, the way you access the mod matrix in Matrix 12v is entirely different than MiniV. These types of things should be totally standardized within a brand.

When Arturia made Mini V in 2005, do you think they already had planned and plotted in that Matrix 12 V would be released in 2014?

In case, they would be running the mind police for real

[ghettosynth]

Speaking of, Matrix V. I liked the original but never updated. I like this one too. Confusing UI... maybe the hardware version was as well? I'll have to crack open the manual on that one but it seems like much fun could be had.

What seems like a real limitation in software is much less of a limitation in hardware. The real hardware is very similar in operation to an ESQ-1 where buttons take you to the hardware pages and then you have knobs for the functions on that page. With software, everything is so much slower and two clicks away. I think that they wanted to be really close to the orginal, but, to me, it's a bit pointless in software. The entire point of that interface in hardware is because knobs are expensive. It's a better solution than the single knob and button per function interface of, e.g., the DX-7.

I've ranted about this before, but, basically, I think that Arturia has to err on the side of emulation. If they changed it too much people wouldn't think that it's the same as the original. I think that it would be a better synth with a modern interface, better synth and sells more don't always go hand in hand.

[dumbledog]

Still can't quite decide what I want to do about an upgrade. I've migrated almost entirely to hardware at this point and fell into semi-modular/Eurorack rabbit hole, so I don't care about a lot of the synths (except Solina V, damn do I love that thing). Could definitely use the GUI upgrade though, especially for Modular where I like to have fun trying to replicate software patches on my hardware.

[EnGee]

All have amazing cpu efficiency - which means they deserve to be run at 96,000 hz, the VA synths in particular sound much better that way.

Thanks for the tip. I was thinking to do the same. Well, today when going back home, I'll try @96khz but that means I can't use synths like Bazille maybe. I'll be exploring the new GUI for ARP2600V and SEM V also as the good guys at Arturia have solved the "pending" issue

It would be way better if they just offered different quality modes like so many of their competition. I get why they want to be as efficient as possible, and with a lot of basic sounds that's fine. But sometimes you should be able to select a higher quality.

I agree. It would be great if they updated the code of the old synths like ARP and Modular. Anyway, I believe this should be the next step, as they finished with the GUI nightmare. Now it is the time to invest in revisiting the codes and push the quality higher to be on par with other modern analog emulations synths.

They started with Mini V, so I believe the other synths will follow in its steps. I'm very impressed with the demo of Synclavier (I even dreamt about it in my sleep ). I love such surprises and can't wait for the next one

[mustgroove]

Purchased my V Collection 5 upgrade over 24 hours ago and still not a sign of a license key email... it's one thing if your servers are jammed for people downloading it, it's another thing not even to deliver the license key I've paid for.

Anyone else in the same boat?

[rod_zero]

Here's some feedback on the collection as a whole. Arturia, you might want to hire me as your UX guy, or perhaps let your UX guy does his job. From my perspective, it seems like there wasn't someone making sure each product was unified to the brand. For instance, the way you access the mod matrix in Matrix 12v is entirely different than MiniV. These types of things should be totally standardized within a brand. Art wise, things are all over the place as well. MiniV has the flat controls for effects, Matrix 12 V has skeuomorphic controls... and even those don't match each other. Does each effect need a different art style? There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it. Like a bunch of comps were done and someone picked their favorites without thinking what the overall product might look like to itself or in relation to other products in the same package. I get that when you're emulating the front panel of an original, but for things you added on... there should be continuity.

Arturia's attention to detail and QC as expected.

Shame because I was getting my hopes high for the Matrixbrute.

[EnGee]

Purchased my V Collection 5 upgrade over 24 hours ago and still not a sign of a license key email... it's one thing if your servers are jammed for people downloading it, it's another thing not even to deliver the license key I've paid for.

Anyone else in the same boat?

Just open a support ticket within your account (It is similar to Native Instruments support). Write the info required about the purchase (the order number) and they will sort it out for you. I had a similar problem yesterday night with updating two synths, and today early morning I found it solved (my time).

[plexuss]

I have Collection 4. I have owned the real hardware for: Arp 2600, CS-80, Juptier-8, Minimoog, Prophet 5 rev 2 and 3 (and Prophet 10), Solina.

I was very impressed with how the Arturia collection sounds. they don't sound EXACTLY like the hardware but they are very very close - more than acceptable to me for software instruments. Sadly I have sold all of those in the list but I still have a minimoog.

This track of mine uses the Modular V2, Mini V2, CS-80 V2 and Solina V2.

https://soundcloud.com/musicofplexus/fu ... rain-remix