Arturia Pigments 2 (Free Update): Now it's Granular

[c_voltage]

Can say my summary opinion:

Most interesting sides of Pigments:
+ Granular combined with main modulation system
+ WT combined with WT modificators
+ Sequencer combined with his random engine and midiout
+ Unison section (altough i cant say that i delighted by unison timbre character, but his different modes and interesting some non-static (unpredictable) behaviors during adjusting values of unison's algorithms definitely deserve attention)

Most flaw:
- I will not repeat it (or rather - i can't..) lol

[Sampleconstruct]

Most flaw:
- I will not repeat it (or rather - i can't..) lol

LOL, good one

[nirm123]

so do the factory presets really leave much to be desired ? is the sound really inferior comparing to other current synths ?

watch this :

for me it serves as a proof that if you don't manage to make it sound beautiful, it's not really the instrument fault. I find the factory presets in this session to be both inspiring and beautiful.

Regarding the so called thin sound, I can see a point here but if in many cases you wouldn't be able to sit a huge sound in the mix without dramatically EQ it (in order to make it much thiner) as otherwise it would get in the way in other instruments - they can't all be huge, there should be always a balance, a huge sound by its own will have the tendency to make other instruments sound weaker or push them to the background (and in some cases, like mine - pop/rock genre, there are more important components in the mix like vocals).

this is a monster, a much more than just an interesting granular machine, it excels in everything it does. (even gearslutz likes it https://www.gearslutz.com/board/best-st ... izers.html. pigments 2 the first synth to appear in the list).

[BONES]

Actually, what this sound demo shows is that Pigments doesn't sound very analogue most of the time, which a lot of people around here would find challenging. Personally, I just like synths that sound good and this one sounds great.

[Aloysius]

Gotta say, that demo video sounds s*ite

[Echoes in the Attic]

so do the factory presets really leave much to be desired ? is the sound really inferior comparing to other current synths ?

watch this ...

I notice the same as I notice going through the presets myself - Most of the good ones use sampling. Arturia have included many really nice samples and made good use of the granular functions. But the purely synth sounds are not great. Not thin, just sort of ugly. 8:28 is a good example. Or 14:09. Not thin just lacking definition.

[c_voltage]

Most flaw:
- I will not repeat it (or rather - i can't..) lol

LOL, good one

[rodanmusic]

To me a lot of the presets sound like basic general midi sounds. But the interface is nice so I will try to use it anyways. I'm sure you can make it sound nice with a ton of FX regardless.

[BONES]

I notice the same as I notice going through the presets myself - Most of the good ones use sampling.

I've noticed that a bit, too. I put it down to being the newer v2 presets, created by people who have been using the synth for a year and know it a lot better now.

But the purely synth sounds are not great. Not thin, just sort of ugly. 8:28 is a good example. Or 14:09. Not thin just lacking definition.

The one at 8:28 sounds great to me, just the sort of thing I will use. The other one just sounds like a bog standard synth bass to me, nothing special but hardly worth pointing out, either way.

[Echoes in the Attic]

I notice the same as I notice going through the presets myself - Most of the good ones use sampling.

I've noticed that a bit, too. I put it down to being the newer v2 presets, created by people who have been using the synth for a year and know it a lot better now.

But the purely synth sounds are not great. Not thin, just sort of ugly. 8:28 is a good example. Or 14:09. Not thin just lacking definition.

The one at 8:28 sounds great to me, just the sort of thing I will use. The other one just sounds like a bog standard synth bass to me, nothing special but hardly worth pointing out, either way.

My wording was kinda crap there but to be clear, I meant they are good examples of how boring and unpunchy and undefined most of the oscillator presets are. I don't blame the designers, I think the osc engine is just lacking the type of body I like to hear in a synth personally. I say oscs, but it tends to be how the oscs and filters and envelopes interact more than just oscs.

[perpetual3]

Well, between the arp/sequencer, function generators, and controlled randomness, I think there is a lot to like, especially since the arp/dew can send MIDI out and sequence other synths.

One thing, I don’t actually thing the effects are very good. I’m comparing to Massive X. However, the effects implementation is excellent, whereas MX is pretty limited in comparison.

I also like the sampler section. I’m using TAL Sampler to impart a vintage texture, using the random modulator there to create 6 variations, then loading those into Pigments.

And while I do prefer the core sound of Massive X, especially the filters and feedback routing, I do think that Pigments sounds very good, and I am having a hard time imagining some of the criticism. But since I can route the midi out of the arp/sequencer I don’t really see a trade off.

I’m really happy with Pigments, and definitely think it’s worth more than the $69 I paid for it.

Fantastic synth.

[nirm123]

I couldn't agree more.

Regarding the criticism: outside of kvraudio all the official reviews I've read and also in other forums (again, it already appears in GZ 10 best synths list) were great, most praising the sound (somewhere between "stunning" and "great").

There is a clear tendency in this forum to prefer synths from small companies over the big corporate companies ones, I guess it should make one appear cool.

After playing with the synth for two weeks, my impression is excellent.

and thanks for pointing out the "midi out" feature, being using now the sequencer to trigger the legend bass sounds and it's great !

[Aloysius]

My guess is that there is there something wrong with everyone who doesn't agree with you.

[machinesworking]

There is a clear tendency in this forum to prefer synths from small companies over the big corporate companies ones, I guess it should make one appear cool.

Mostly there's a tendency towards criticism of Arturia in general. Due to earlier analog emulations not really sounding like their hardware counterparts.
I'm of a practical mind when it comes to soft synths, and generally find most of their stuff useful, even appreciating that it's not a direct emulation. but KVR has been ticked off (somewhat rightly so), at Arturia forever about this.
They can't do any right, all their GUI's are resizable, but they used the wrong way to do this and the files are too large. Everything on sale and in bundles is incredibly cheap, but it's not as good as U-He stuff, and they charge too much to upgrade etc. etc.
Pigments is a great hybrid modulation monster, but people prefer Divas oscillators, Massive X's filters and the wavetables in Serum, so it must be sub par POS.....

[machinesworking]

My guess is that there is there something wrong with everyone who doesn't agree with you.

This is an ad hominum attack, flatly not part of KVRs forum guidelines, not like anyone pays attention. You're suggesting he has issues with everyone, rather than with opinions. We are allowed to disagree with anyone, we are asked not to attack character. This isn't hard.