CA2600 Synthesizer

I'm wondering how this CA2600 emulation compares to Arturia's ARP 2600 V and SONiVOX's TimewARP 2600 in terms of authenticity, features, user interface, sonic quality and quality of presets.

A very convincing synth by my experience. Nothing compares to the original, so if that's what you are looking for; get shopping for the hardware version. After 40 years of listening and playing them, the programming style of Cherry Audio suits this one best. I love it and it is usually the first plugin I load once I've got bare bones tracks going.

Regarding @Stoffel11 comments; my biggest recommendation is that you schedule and check for updates at home (or hotel) before attempting to perform live. I keep a list of plugins that I check before each performance; as well as the last "good" version to reinstall just in case the update breaks something or I'm not happy with it. Backing up patches is an obvious one, as updates should not corrupt them, but I trust no one! Not to mention that needing an update typically doesn't prevent you from using the plugin. A quick read of the release notes will tell you if you can get through the night or if it is needed NOW.

I understand your frustration though. It's a pain in the... But this is life with software. Imagine firing up your real 2600 and smelling that lovely odor of sizzling electronics. No download is going to fix that right away! Good luck my friend,

@robst247 - I don't know if you ever picked one, but I find plugins to be so very subjective. A lot of people don't like Roland Clouds hardware emulations of their own synths. And as a user of CAs DCO-106, I do tend to gravitate toward it before I choose Roland's own. RCM's SH-101 is 2nd to none, as well as their 808 and 909s (the 909 on almost 50% of my drum tracks now). But you know the deal. It all comes down to personal taste. I always recommend DLing any trial versions before you spend the money. Your ears will quickly tell you which you like better. Some people may ask you why you chose one or the other. Just hit "Play" and show them why.

I hope this is helpful to you or anyone else that comes along. The most important being "Versioning" and setting a plan for keeping things up to date. I now have hundreds of plugins and many hardware interfaces. I dedicate one day a month, (usually the 3rd Saturday) to checking for software and firmware updates. It's boring and sometimes seems like a waste of time, but will save your bacon (uuummm bacon), if something important happens while we are sleeping. Good luck, Godspeed and happy art making.