Superbooth 22: Arturia V Collection 9 adds the Korg MS-20 V, SQ80 V, new Augmented Series instruments, 4 plugin rebuilds, and over 1000+ new presets
Update: good news for V Collection 9 users. Arturia has just published V Collection 9.2, a free update for its big virtual instruments bundle with workflow enhancements, performance fixes, and creative additions.
Update 9.2 includes expanded micro-tuning compatibility, NKS & Apple Silicon support, click-and-drag resizing, and more. To celebrate, Arturia published three new sound banks that are available for free for new V Collection 9 purchases and upgrades.
The new sound banks are:
- Lo-fi House 1.0: Load up some extra vibes to elevate your house mixes to new levels of chill.
- Experimental Pop 1.0: Step into a new sonic universe where pop goes harder, further, and meaner.
- Obscure Ambient 1.0: Old-school atmospheres dug up from the vault & reinvented for today’s producers.
V Collection 9.2 is available now as a free download for existing VC9 customers. The patch banks are included for free with every new VC9 purchase until March 26th, 2023.
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Article From May 10th, 2022
The Arturia V Collection is one of the most popular Synthesizer plugin collections when it comes to emulations of old classics. With every new version, it grows and grows. The first signs of a new version had been in the room for some time. First, the release of the SQ80 V in 2021, and then the recently released free plugin Augmented Strings plugin.
For Superbooth 22, Arturia will have no new hardware, no Polyfreak, or Multifreak… but the V Collection 9. It’s a major update with many new instruments, plugin rebuilds, and more.
Arturia V Collection 9
The V Collection is a massive bundle of virtual instruments featuring emulations of vintage synths, physically modeled piano, e-piano, and more. With V Collection 9, Arturia has published another impressive update for its big virtual instruments collection.
V C9 now includes 32 pro-grade instruments where you can find 4 all-new instruments (Korg MS-20 V, SQ 80 V, two Augmented series titles), and 4 existing plugins got a major DSP and interface makeover. Let’s take a closer look.
Korg MS-20 V
The name already gives it away: the Korg MS-20 V is an authentic emulation of the legendary, all-black semi-modular KORG MS-20 from 1978. It is exciting to see that the version is endorsed by Korg with the original logo on it. Whether Korg has accepted the sound of the version is not known but nice to see.
The Korg MS-20 V gives you everything that made the original special: two oscillators with ring modulation, aggressive, characterful filters, and the patchable semi-modular engine. But Arturia didn’t leave it at that. There’s also a fold-out, pumped-up SQ-10 style 3-channel sequencer, as well as a multi-effects section with series and parallel routing options. Refine your sounds with different time-based effects (delay, tape echo, reverb…), distortions, dynamic processors, modulation (JUN-6 chorus…), and more.
Compared to the original emulation from the Korg Collection 3, Arturia’s version sounds much more authentic and is also more fun purely from the interface. It has the roaring character you would expect from the Korg MS-20. And here also with polyphony.
SQ80 V
Funnily enough, the second VC9 addition was already unveiled for the last Superbooth (21) last September. It’s the SQ80 V, a virtual recreation of the hybrid classic Ensoniq SQ 80 from 1988. The Arturia emulates the unique 8-voice hybrid engine of the original with all its waveforms, analog filter, and more. But it takes also the entire concept multiple steps further.
According to Arturia, they hacked the original software and extracted new waveforms by manipulating the code. They also included some transwaves that were only available in Ensoniq synths.
The SQ80 V also hosts many modern additions including extended polyphony (16 voices), 8-voice unison mode, onboard arpeggiator, expanded envelopes, and a powerful modulation mixer. A dispersion section is also onboard that adds subtle variations and fluxes to the sounds. So the sound gets more vintage and inconsistent.
My opinion remains the same as last September. Great sound, and a straightforward user interface.
Augmented Series Strings & Voices
Already in April, there was a first look at the upcoming new virtual Augmented Series with the free Augmented Strings Intro plugin. A premiere for the V Collection. These are not emulations of classic instruments but are based on a hybrid concept.
The first two focus on Augmented Strings and Voices. At first glance, there are no differences to the free intro plugin. What is new, however, is that you can now look behind the plugins and explore the entire engine with a click on the advanced header.
Behind it is a hybrid dual-layer engine that combines multi-samples with different synthesis forms. The synthesizer section is reminiscent of a stripped-down Pigments engine. From classic sample playback, granular synthesis, wavetable, VA… there’s a lot to discover. Let’s see if Pigments will get multi-sample support in the future, that would be awesome.
These are joined by different filters, a rich modulation engine, arpeggiator, effects, and fully customizable morphing macro controls. Which only becomes visible in the closed mode. Both virtual instruments are packed with classic and modern strings and voice sounds.
4 Rebuilt Plugins
In addition to completely new plugins, there are also complete makeovers for 4 existing, older plugins. The Prophet-5 V & Prophet-VS S are now 2 individual instruments that were previously a combined hybrid instruments.
Not only are they now standalone synths, the Arturia developers have also completely rewritten the core from scratch. It’s totally rebuilt with the latest modeling technology, new user interfaces, and new features including function generators.
The effort to redo the plugins was worth it. Visually and sonically, both synthesizers are now richer and more authentic. Personally, the U-he repro5 is my favorite but these new versions have taken a significant step forward in terms of sound.
Further, the popular CS-80 V and Piano V also come with a brand new DSP sound engine. The CS-80 V now offers advanced modulation in a new modernized advanced panel and a new voice dispersion function. The latter adds subtle variations and fluxes to make it feel and sound more vintage.
Piano V goes in V Collection 9 in version 3 with a rebuilt physical modeling engine featuring 12 fully-customizable piano models. The new interface that makes sound tweaking much easier is particularly noteworthy here.
More
Yes, there is more to communicate. Of course, all sounds can also be called up and played in the Analog Lab software. V Collection 9 also comes with 14 exclusive new sound banks pushing the counter to 14000 included presets. Each instrument is fully compatible with NKS, has smart macro controls on the bottom, and in-app tutorials.
The V Collection 9 is a lovely update with great additions and many significant sound improvements for older plugins. Above all, the first Korg emulation makes you want to know which other Korg classics will be added in the future.
Availability
Arturia V Collection 9 is available now for 599€). Existing customers will get a discount when they log into the user account. Depending on what you already have the price will be better or not.
(For everyone who bought the bundle recently with 50% OFF, don’t panic. You also benefit from the same discount and so it does not become more expensive than if you buy the VC9 at full price. Very fair.
They run as a VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin and standalone on macOS (Intel + M1) and Windows.
More information here: Arturia
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I’m not sure why you’d say you can’t load original SQ80 patches in the SQ80V when it is totally possible. I have a massive collection all loaded into the plugin. There was even a link on their forum with a complete download of an enormous SYSEX archive of sounds.
Uuch, in the beginning that was not possible. I will rectify thanks for the input 🙂
Not a fan of adding gigabytes of samples to the V collection…
The Prophet definitely was in need of a sonic/visual facelift. I’m surprised Arturia hasn’t developed any drum synthesis plugins in years.
It doesn’t sound like they’ve added MTS-ESP or MPE support to any synth in the collection which didn’t have them. Really hoping Pigments will get the MTS-ESP treatment and other synths will get MPE. It’s really a fun combination.
Like a lot of people do, I’ll wait until the upgrade is 100USD. (Currently 200USD and I have V Collection 8 plus FX Collection 2.)
No rush. Got plenty to tide me over.
Actually, they did add MPE and MTS-ESP to some of the new/rebuilt instruments:
* Augmented Voices, (Augmented Strings), MS-20, CS80, Prophet-5, and Prophet VS all have both
* SQ80 has MPE
* The Piano still has neither
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