Phase Distortion and Wavefolding functions open up some serious destructive waveshaping possibilities, and both - along with Phase and Frequency - can be conveniently modulated by an ancillary (and, optionally, audible) analogue/ noise oscillator. Each one of them consists of up to 256 waveforms, and the Position knob can be set to jump from one wave to the next, or to interpolate through them more smoothly. The Wavetable engine draws upon more than 100 categorised wavetables (Natural, Processed, Synthesizers, etc). The Drift control introduces random pitch fluctuations for a touch of analogue authenticity, should you want it. Osc 2 can sync to Osc 1 Oscs 2 and 3 can have keytracking disabled and Oscs 1 and 2 can be frequency modulated by any mix of Osc 3 and Noise. The Analog engine comprises three oscillators, each outputting a sine, saw, triangle or square wave (the last two featuring PWM), and a noise generator that sweeps from Red through White to Blue noise. Experienced users will have no trouble finding their way around, and novices can get their bearings with two built-in tutorials.Įach of Pigments’ two engines can be switched between Analog and Wavetable modes. More importantly, though, the layout is logical and intuitive, with the top section tabbing between Synth, FX and Sequencer pages, the bottom housing Keyboard and modulator controls, and the Modulation Overview strip in the middle used for assigning and viewing modulation signals. Hue and cryĪs befits the name, Pigments’ resizable (50- 200%) GUI is eye-catchingly colourful, and full of informative animation, from the oscillator waveforms and filters to the colour-coded envelopes, LFOs and other modulation sources. As is so often the case, though, the devil is in the details, which, in this case, are all about wavetables, workflow and a truly spectacular modulation system.

With the all-original Pigments (VST/AU/AAX/standalone), the immensely experienced industry heavyweight is laying down what it considers to be the new benchmark in modern softsynth design.Ī dual-engine, dual-filter instrument with plentiful effects and a built-in sequencer, on paper Pigments doesn’t appear to offer anything categorically ‘new’.

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