The world of music production and sound design in general is a constant search for new ways to generate unique sounds and ways to manipulate those news sounds into unique patterns, sequences, and compositions. Until Arturia was recognized has the company that made recreations of every single great analog synthesizer available in convenient and far more powerful software packages that everyone can explore. The company has also created some unique software and hardware instruments, mostly dedicated to electronic music, precisely by combining its virtual analog technology with its know-how on how to make sounds available in powerful, ready-to-use inspiring solutions.
Creating a completely new software synthesizer reflects once again the company's accumulated knowledge in musical creation, while also exploring the power of todays computers to combine cutting-edge wavetable synthesis with its own analog emulation technology in parallel. And Arturia promises that while Pigments can sound like other synths, no other synth can sound like Pigments. "It is truly a 21st century instrument that will become the go-to choice for all producers, sound designers, and synth-fans alike thanks to its extraordinary features and tempting price," states the announcement.
Pigments has some colorful tricks up its sleeve. In fact, it can do things other synthesizers simply cannot do. These include:
• AScale quantized pitch modulations to build complex melodic sequences
• Continuous unison controls that can be modulated, with classic and chord modes
• Extensive waveshaping options for the wavetable oscillator, with great aliasing control
• The usual modulation sources and some more unconventional ones like the Turing and Binary random generators
• Powerful gate/retrig handling for modulators. Perfect to inspire unusual rhythmic sequences or self-generating patches
• Polyrhythmic sequencer with a strong emphasis on randomness, with scale control to remain musical
As the company details, Pigments' key features explore the two engines in parallel. A Virtual Analog triple oscillator engine, and a complex Wavetable engine with morphing and import. To this powerful combination, Arturia adds twin filters, with dozens to choose from classic filters from the company's V Collection of emulation instruments, to modern filters like surgeon and comb, all with continuous series/parallel routing. This is followed by a powerful effects section, featuring 13 stunning effects, including wavefolder, overdrive, parametric EQ, and delay, all with Insert or Send routing options with drag and drop for easy switching, and where all the essential parameters can be modulated.
The advanced modulation system is another key feature of Pigments, allowing users to modulate anything with anything, using graphical editing, source-based or destination-based, Envelopes, LFOs, Function generators, Random sources, and 4 assignable Macros to control multiple parameters at once. In the completely new visual interface, Arturia made an effort to provide a permanent representation of the whole sequence, allowing users to instantly "understand the sound", with graphical representations of the most important modules, and moving waveforms to see the sound come alive.
This is particularly important in things like the Polyrhythmic Sequencer and Arpeggiator, where users can apply the sounds they created and manipulated in creative patterns, which include complex, custom and evolving sequences.
Inside Pigments, Arturia also offers an extensive factory preset library, with hundreds of presets created by artists and experienced sound designers, including Jeremy Savage, Starcadian, Cubic Spline, Mord Fustang, and Jörg Hüttner. With every preset, the interface shows highlighted “notes” to show which parameters are recommended to tweak.
To give this exciting new-generation software synthesizer the launch it deserves, Arturia announced that Pigments will be available to experience for free for a full month after its release (Until January 10, 2019). Users wishing to buy Pigments during this promotional month will be able to purchase it for only $149 / 149 Euros. Exclusive deals will be available for existing Arturia users and V Collection owners. After the trial period, Pigments will retails for $199 / 199 Euros.
www.arturia.com/products/pigments/overview
