Arturia has released Analog Lab Play, a new free Synthesizer plugin that features 100+ ready-to-use V Collection and Pigments sounds.
The Arturia V Collection features over 30 virtual instruments in a bundle with over 9000 sounds. If you add Pigments multi-engine synth to that, you have over 10k ready-to-use sounds. That’s a crazy amount. Plus, you can change every sound, giving you endless new sounds.
The complete opposite is the Analog Lab V. A synthesizer plugin is designed to inspire through its simplicity. Say goodbye to hundreds of parameters and hi to just a few macros and a good selection of sounds. With the Analog Lab Play, Arturia now offers a new 100% free version of it.
Arturia Analog Lab Play
Analog Lab Play plugin has the word “Play” in its name, which shows where the journey is headed here. If you’re expecting a virtual instrument with the option to set the frequencies in mini details or use 50+ filters, you’re wrong here. The whole plugin is about playing.
Like the Lite or Intro versions, the Play is a 100% free, stripped-down version of the Analog Lab V plugin. But the main difference is that it’s free for everyone—no catch or need of an extra purchase.
There are also differences in the number of sounds. Instead of 500, like in Intro/Lite, the Analog Lab Play has only 100 sounds onboard. These are, however, all-new for the Play version. These come from the current V Collection 9, the Pigments multi-engine Synthesizer, and other plugins.
Tweak Your Sounds
Each sound now has its color theme with nine defined macro controls. With each of these, you can adjust the sound to fit into your mix without diving into design. It just scratches the surface of this fascinating world.
There are 4 sound parameters: brightness, timbre, time and movement. Plus, you get four effects controls: two mod FX, delay and reverb.
On a second interface page, you can search for sounds in a simple browser—by type (bass, keys, lead, pad, piano…) or by instrument. The latter gives you an insight into which plugin the sound comes from.
Once you set and tweak your sound, you can save it as a preset and recall it again at any time. Thus, you can work with more than just 100 sounds. If that’s not enough, Analog Lab Play also hosts an integrated sound store with 8 x 32 sounds on top as a free download. You can also buy sounds from the same store.
Arturia describes it as the “perfect introduction to sound exploration, putting the best sounds at the fingertips of musicians, producers, and new users.
First Impression
At first glance it’s a nice, free synth plugin. Particularly interesting for newcomers and everyone who doesn’t have a V Collection or an Analog Lab version yet.
Arturia Analog Lab Play is available now as a free download. It runs as a VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows.
More information here: Arturia
Are these new sounds by design then programmable for those with VCollection or Analog Lab? And do we need to install the Analog Lab play version to download them?
The sounds are all available on the latest VCollection without having to install a separate Play specific app. Aftertouch Lead featured in the picture above is a CS-80 patch which is fully tweakable as usual if you own the CS-80 app.
Native instruments is spreading. There is nothing better than getting a new soft synth and going through the presets, nothing worse than opening a preset vst and being unable to tweak a sound like you’d want to. Its like everything has become Kontakt or is trying to be. UVI, Output, MPC Expansions, FL studio Flex. Its like the big guys got too big and now they need to go even bigger but this is like the Disney remake of synths/sounds. Repackaged and short term. I applaud good VST and arturia is known for some great ones, especially the recently released Acid V but this one is just to capture the crumbs and I have a feeling this is the direction they’ll be going for a while before we see anything great from them again. Probably a synth/FX subscription service if I had to guess.
Arturia already had Analog Lab in its portfolio, also in the V Collection. This is just a free version of it.
Well it seems the Keylab MK III announcement is imminent, and that it too has a big juicy screen.