Arturia V Collection 9

[Guy Rowland]

A UK retailer has jumped the gun, apparently it’s properly released on Monday 9th May 2022.
https://www.gak.co.uk/en/arturia-v-coll ... oad/955673

What’s new in V Collection 9?

Korg MS-20 V
SQ80 V
Augmented STRINGS
Augmented VOICES
CS-80 V
Prophet-5 V
Prophet-VS V
Piano V

Features

V Collection 9 now includes 32 instruments: more than just synths and keyboards, the suite now features 2 Augmented Series titles

4 new instruments: Korg MS-20 V, SQ80 V, Augmented STRINGS, and Augmented VOICES

Prophet-5 V & Prophet-VS V: now 2 individual instruments that were previously a combined hybrid instrument, totally rebuilt from scratch with next-gen modelling

CS-80 V rebuild: a brand new sound engine with totally rebuilt DSP modelling, advanced modulation, voice dispersion, and a modernised advanced panel.

Piano V rebuild: a brand new physical modelling instrument, now featuring 12 piano models, from Japanese Grand to Piano Bar Upright, and advanced sound design controls.

Thousands of new expertly-crafted presets: presets for every instrument, 14 new sound banks, and a huge range of styles -exclusively available for V Collection 9 owners.

Performance and workflow updates: improved loading times, refreshed GUIs, expanded user playlist functionality, and more.

SPECIFICATION
14 exclusive sound banks for new V Collection 9 instruments
● 14,000 high-quality and innovative presets.
● Analog Lab V: every preset of V Collection 9 can be browsed and edited from a single
interface.
● All instruments share a common interface for browsing, editing (save, import, export, and
more).
● New in-app tutorials for easily understanding every instrument.
● High resolution graphic interfaces, compatible with large displays.
● Easy MIDI mapping to any keyboard controller.
● Arturia’s proprietary technologies, TAE® and Phi®, ensure that each instrument sounds
and behaves exactly as you need it to.
● Easy installation and updates with Arturia Software Center
● 32GB free hard disk space
● OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU

PLATFORMS SPECIFICATIONS
Windows:
■ Win 8.1+ (64bit)
■ 4 GB RAM
■ 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost)
■ 32GB free hard disk space
■ OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
Required configuration:
Works in Standalone, VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS* (64-bit DAWs only).
* NKS compatibility unavailable for Analog Lab
Apple:
■ Mac OS 10.13+
■ 4 GB RAM
■ 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
■ 32GB free hard disk space
■ OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU

NEW INSTRUMENTS
Korg MS-20 V - Primal black monolith, with an elemental analog sound and a semi-modular architecture, reawakened.
SQ80 V - Hybrid lo-fi crosswave synth fusing thousands of digital waveforms combinations with crunchy analog filters.
Augmented STRINGS - Innovative instrument combining sampled strings with state-of-the-art synthesis and deep morphing controls.
Augmented VOICES - Blending the human voice with multiple synth engines and expressive controls for evocative hybrid sound.
REBUILT INSTRUMENTS
CS-80 V - Massive expression, stirring cinematic sound, and cutting-edge features for an instrument that breathes character, rebuilt from scratch.
Prophet-5 V - Coveted king of analog sound design, tastefully enhanced and faithfully rebuilt as a standalone plugin for producers.
Prophet-VS V - A unique wavetable-based synth, renowned for razor-sharp digital precision and sci-fi sounds galore, reborn as a standalone instrument.
Piano V- Next-gen physical modelling piano, with 12 beautiful models ranging from vintage grand to modern cinematic, re-engineered in absolute detail.
14 exclusive sound banks : An exclusively-crafted selection of presets demonstrating the sonic prowess of each of V Collection 9’s new titles.

Price there quoted at £419.

[Guy Rowland]

Live now on the Arturia site. - https://www.arturia.com/products/analog ... n/overview

Intro price $499. Upgrade from v8 +SQ80 $149, From v8 alone $199.

Analog Lab has had its update to road test the new stuff (and you can also install the instruments themselves in demo mode).

All round looks like a nice enough update, if a shade unessential. Wil likely wait for the next tier of discounts later in the year.

[Guy Rowland]

I've now had a chance to demo the new stuff - all demos run for 20 minutes uninhibited. There's also a selection of presets of the new instruments included for all users in Analog Lab V

Augmented VOICES

This is a totally new product in their Augmented Series. Like the full version of Augmented STRINGS, it is far more than the preset player that was given away as a freebie. Pressing the innocuous looking Advanced button gives this:



So it turns out that the Augmented series is Pigments under the hood, with a specific new sample set and a totally different UI, limited from the full version but still with a lot of control.

Like STRINGS, it's good and diverse on its broad theme, skewing towards the cinematic but also having arps etc for pop usage. 300 presets are included, the sample pool a svelte 1gb (STRINGS is 2.5gb). CPU use seems to be more under control than the original STRINGS intro.

It's a nice enough product, but I can't shake the feeling that it is now in well-worn territory with NI's Mysteria, Output's Exhale and Heavyocity's Vocalise and Mosaic Voices all jostling in broadly the same area.

Korg MS-20 V

Surprising that this is named and badged as Korg when they do their own version. Is there really a need for it? Well, I own the Korg and this is definitely better. It sounds better, and they've really pushed it towards the extreme end of the synth's capabilities - it's a nasty little bleeder. Also they've enhanced in a few really welcome ways, adding Sync and - oh yes - Pulse Width Modulation that the original didn't have. Oh, and six note polyphony.



Also looks like the main controls are all mappable, so I could set it up to use with my MS20iC.

Prophet-5 V and VS-V

Their old Prophet synth has been split in two. There's arguably even less reason to get the analog one with the excellent u-He's Repro-5 on the scene, but it sounds terrific. The VS seems very well done too, and is less ubiquitous.

Piano V3



This is their latest attempt to catch up with Pianoteq's modelled pianos. There's about a dozen basic models and 74 presets. I'm the worst person in the world to judge on this as I'm such a terrible piano player, so I'd be interested to get a real pianists view. For me they sounded pretty good, but were all at the bright and shiny end of things. A surprising lack of creative variation in the presets I felt.

Overall

There's also 14 new soundsets included, and every product has had a lick of paint with the browser, improved loading times etc (which existing owners get for most of their products too, it's just those with the major overhaul that will stay on their current version).

I think it's a very nice update, but lacks any real Must Have element. I've no doubt I'll succumb in the end when the prices drop further, but for now I'm letting it go, making do with the 14,761 presets in Analog Lab V as starting points.

[lofi]

I'm with you Guy.
Hopefully there will be a price drop further down the line.

I might be wrong but it feels like it was only last year V8 came out.
$200 a year for updates and a few new things feels like ... I don't know.
Like why don't they go to a subscription service?
Or perhaps they have, but never said anything, and charge 200 a year

I think I'm on V7 and the quality is superb.
A never ending source for sound design

/A

[wst3]

For me? Well I am happy with the plugins in V7. The only new instruments that interest me are the SQ80, the MS-20 and maybe the Vocoder. (I have the Korg version, which I like a lot.)

And $200 does seem a little steep for two, possibly three plugins.

Which is funny, cause 20 years ago I don't think $200 bought one plugin!

[FriFlo]

I am on version 8, so, I probably won't update for 200 bucks to v9. But I tried the CS80 and this is a synth I really love (the original). And I must say, that really sounded a lot better to me than the previous version. Just had very little time to check it out, though. Any CS80 fans around here? What did you think of the new Arturia emulation?

[Guy Rowland]

Oops, I forgot to mention the poor old CS-80 in my round up, didn’t I? It’s a funny old beast. I find it fairly impenetrable and the sound in old or even new version never seems terribly exciting to me. It turns out mine is a common reaction, and those with knowledge of the hardware say that’s exactly right. The famous users - Vangelis in particular - apparently made it sing due to the aftertouch and ribbon, and then drowned everything in a Lexicon reverb.

I’ve spent most time with the MS-20 (in demo form). Mapping it to my MS-20iC was pretty painless, though it’s a shame the jacks cannot be mapped. The main thing I noticed doing that is just how much Arturia have added, so much so that although it might not be an MS-30, I now think of it as an MS-25.

My brother had an MS-20 back in the day. I remember him wiring up 3-way patch cords and getting totally wild stuff with it doing that! That might be a fun feature request… the other thing I remember is that - at the time - we both felt it sounded quite thin compared to some of the synths we heard on records, and he coveted a Moog which he couldn’t afford (poor me, I was the younger sibling, still at school and couldn’t afford anything back then). In the end he got a Pro One and a Wasp, both of which scratched that itch. But listening to the Arturia now, it’s beefier than I ever remember, but it sounds accurate in the A/B with hardware videos.

(I may be part mis-remembering… he started with an MS-10, maybe that was the thin-sounding one. Damn he had some great kit back then…)

[Piet De Ridder]

Dave Spiers (from GForce) made a great video about the CS-80. A very good overview, tons of useful programming tips and creating some wonderful sounds with it along the way:



The music created for that video can be listened to separately here:



_

[Guy Rowland]

Piet, that video is STUNNING. The synth looks and sounds like it has just rolled off the production line, the product of a clear and long labour of love, and the production values of the video itself match that care.

Incredibly informative too, and helped me find my way around the Arturia - what was I worried about? Dave confirms that throwing it through a good reverb is "the law 60% of the time" and that the polyphonic aftertouch and ribbon strip are essential ingredients in making it what it is. Without those things it's - almost - nothing to write home about, though I have a new found appreciation for the PWM at high speed and the ring modulator.

Going back to the Arturia, the ring mod sounds very like what I hear in the video, although the high speed PWM isn't nearly as good. In all other ways it seems to go a damn good job as far as I can tell. The virtual ribbon strip controlled by a mouse is a pale imitation of course, it would be lovely to just have this mapped to an iPad (an actual use for one). Polyphonic aftertouch is all-but impossible, the only answer is to layer multiple instruments - trivial technically today, but of course is not use for live performance.

(PS the Easter egg at the very end of the video made me laugh out loud).

[Piet De Ridder]

Similarly, for people who need to find their way around the Korg MS-20 and/or who are interested in taking their programming skills of the synth a step further, one can do no better than to watch the video below by the as-always-sensationally-informative Loopop discussing the Behringer K2. (Some excellent patching ideas included. And every operational aspect in which the K2 differs from the MS-20 is clearly mentioned)
As one of the YouTube comments says: "It's the best MS-20 instructional vid I've ever seen".



_

[FriFlo]

I think Behringer have stated they would be releasing a CS80 clone. By that don't mean a clone like Deckard's Dream, which did tempt me, but is very expensive, of course. Rather a clone including a polyphonic aftertouch and the ribbon. I hope this will turn out great and if it does I will be very tempted!

But it is the sound of the CS80 is primarily what I am after. You can buy decent ribbon controllers from Doepfer or Kurzweil and I own the Kurzweil Midiboard which arguably has the best polyphonic aftertouch keybed ever built. So, I am kind of covered with the means to play expressive synth tracks in.

I also have the Novation Peak (recent addition) and the Dave Smith P12 module, both of which support polyphonic aftertouch and you can certainly create patches, put a ton of reverb on them and do a Vangelis sound-alike. But in the origninal CS80 recordings there is something organic I never quite managed to create with any of the analog synths (well, the filters are, the oscillators are actually digital). I guess Deckard's dream comes closer, but only at a price! I am excited to see what Behringer will mange to bring to life ...

[GR Baumann]

...the video below by the as-always-sensationally-informative Loopop...

Never heard about him, now I got stuck on his channel for the past 2 hours.
Cheers.

[Piet De Ridder]

(...) But it is the sound of the CS80 is primarily what I am after. (...)

The sawtooth wave of the original CS-80 has a flaw at the beginning of the waveform, a small irregularity in its shape, that gave it its unique sound. I’m sure that everyone who attempts to model the CS-80 knows about this and models accordingly, but it does mean that you can’t just use any other sawtooth and hope to arrive at a convincing CS-80 simulation. You have to start with a sawtooth that has the same imperfection.

The “Braids” module from Mutable Instruments, a Eurorack-compatible “macro oscillator” piece of hardware that’s also available as software for the Softube Modular, has an accurate model of the CS-80 sawtooth among its many oscillators and sound sources. Braids’ controllers even allow you to enlarge the irregularity in the waveform.

_

[FriFlo]

As much as I like Mutable Instruments: Isn't Braids a digital oscillator? Those certainly have their spot where they are good and my own analog synth have digital oscillators. I think you can add some imperfection to these digital oscillators. Both Peak and Prophet 12 have their settings to add some analog imperfection to the digital waveform and with modular there definitely is s way to achieve that, too.

However, there still remains some imperfection that these models don't seem to be able to reproduce. That is why I think the best CS80 clone will have to be an all analog synth. IMO it is primarily that which makes the sound of the original distinct. But the the imperfection of the saw is a very good detail to know! The peak has the ability to load user-wavetables, so, I might be able to get some more CS80ness into the peak by that. Thanks for the hint!

[Guy Rowland]

Hmm... don't you think it would be extraordinary if Arturia rebuilt the synth from the ground up to be as a close emulation as possible to the hardware without thinking to look at the waveforms from the oscillator? Not impossible I guess, but... extraordinary.

[Piet De Ridder]

I'm sure the experts at Arturia know everything there is to know about the instruments they model. That said, I've just been comparing the sawtooth of the Arturia CS-80 and that of the Braids — pure, default, unprocessed settings on both — with an oscilloscope, and they look surprisingly different. The Braids has the famous 'notch' (the imperfection), the Arturia doesn't ... They also sound different.

Here a quick Screenflow capture of this silly exercise.

_

[Guy Rowland]

Well it's a mystery to me. If, as you say, Arturia know everything about the synths they model, why the discrepancy between these two soft synths? Googling hasn't revealed the shape of the hardware CS-80 sawtooth to me, despite my best efforts.

Also in your capture Piet, there's clearly an envelope of some kind applied - I can't see how this would have any effect on the shape of the waveform, just pointing out it isn't 1:1.

[Piet De Ridder]

The envelope on the Braids is entirely my fault. I neglected to raise the sustain of the ADSR to 100%. Doesn't have any influence on the peculiar shape of the wave though.

The first 40 seconds of the video below has more on this. And for anyone even half interested in the Braids module (be it hardware or software) the rest of the video is very much worth your while as well.



_

[My name is Nobody]

I've no doubt I'll succumb in the end when the prices drop further, but for now I'm letting it go, making do with the 14,761 presets in Analog Lab V as starting points.

Since I recently acquired the keylab 61 mk2, which appears quite ok as a controller, I am now looking into the Keylab V ecology.
What is the usual time(s) when the indicated price drop(s) occur, if I may ask?
Are these the usual suspect moments like black friday, or is it earlier in the year too?
Currently ‘my upgrade’ as it said in the account is €399,- to the full V collection.

Thanks in advance

[Guy Rowland]

I've no doubt I'll succumb in the end when the prices drop further, but for now I'm letting it go, making do with the 14,761 presets in Analog Lab V as starting points.

Since I recently acquired the keylab 61 mk2, which appears quite ok as a controller, I am now looking into the Keylab V ecology.
What is the usual time(s) when the indicated price drop(s) occur, if I may ask?
Are these the usual suspect moments like black friday, or is it earlier in the year too?
Currently ‘my upgrade’ as it said in the account is €399,- to the full V collection.

Thanks in advance

Hello and welcome My name is Nobody, it's a guess but I think the first shot at bigger discounts will indeed be Black Friday. Arturia seem to play quite a long game, likely 2 years from now will be some kind of offer that will be impossible to refuse for any existing owners without a cast iron will.

[My name is Nobody]

I've no doubt I'll succumb in the end when the prices drop further, but for now I'm letting it go, making do with the 14,761 presets in Analog Lab V as starting points.

Since I recently acquired the keylab 61 mk2, which appears quite ok as a controller, I am now looking into the Keylab V ecology.
What is the usual time(s) when the indicated price drop(s) occur, if I may ask?
Are these the usual suspect moments like black friday, or is it earlier in the year too?
Currently ‘my upgrade’ as it said in the account is €399,- to the full V collection.

Thanks in advance

Hello and welcome My name is Nobody, it's a guess but I think the first shot at bigger discounts will indeed be Black Friday. Arturia seem to play quite a long game, likely 2 years from now will be some kind of offer that will be impossible to refuse for any existing owners without a cast iron will.

Thank you Guy Rowland. Good to know what offers when might appear.
Currently my will is of iron because I purchase less & less, even when it might be a good lib. We’ll see then ;-)

And thanks for the welcome, because it seems indeed my first post. ( been hanging around for longer here)
Ps: do you guys have a ‘nose’ when a member posts hers/his first one or is this simply technology helping you?

[Guy Rowland]

Ps: do you guys have a ‘nose’ when a member posts hers/his first one or is this simply technology helping you?

I just noticed the post count. (Please don’t look at mine…)

[Luciano Storti]

Welcome! Always nice to be reminded of the lighter side of Morricone.

[My name is Nobody]

Welcome! Always nice to be reminded of the lighter side of Morricone.
image.png

Yep, that’s the one! ;-)

[wst3]

I am really tempted by the upgrade to V9. There are only three plugins I really want, the SQ-80 - my ESQ-m is on its last legs, the Vocoder, and Emulator II. The SQ-80 demo is quite convincing, and the vocoder demo is pretty good as well. I just downloaded the Emu demo, but in the meantime I figured I'd ask if there are any compelling reasons to run the other way?

Thanks!