Arturia V Collection X

Arturia have just updated their expansive bundle of “virtual” synths and keyboards, enhancing the Analog Lab module again with more presets than ever, adding two new instruments, providing two “re-built” instruments, and including four previously available instruments that were not part of V Collection 9. As in the past, the entire V Collection will get you a huge set of very playable, excellent sounding instruments for a very low cost per instrument, both standalone instruments and as DAW plug-ins.

What is It?
As described in previous Arturia V Collection reviews (see Arturia V Collection 9), the V Collection is mostly a tribute to classic synthesizers, samplers and keyboards that, for the electronic instruments, emulates the circuitry and/or software of the originals to mimic their sound generating properties. And for acoustic instruments, like the pianos, uses “physical” modelling to create the sounds. In addition, version 9 introduced two “augmented instruments” (Voices and Strings), modern sound generators that use samples along with some clever audio processing tricks. Version X adds the other two augmented instruments previously available separately: Augmented Brass and Augmented Grand Piano, both previously reviewed on Gearspace. And it introduces a new Augmented Woodwinds instrument and a new classic keyboard, the Yamaha CP-70 which I’ll describe soon.

Version X (in addition to using a Roman numeral for ten) also brings the excellent Acid V to the collection, and a late announcement, as I write this, is that not only does V Collection X add the wonderful MiniFreak V, but MinFreak V and its hardware twin, the MiniFreak have been updated to version 2 with significant additions. See more details below.

Finally, two previous V Collection instruments, Mini V3 and Wurli V2, have been fully rebuilt with functional improvements, enhancements to their advanced menu, and updating of their preset browsers. Let’s take a look.

An Iconic View of the Full Collection


Above are the first 20 V Collection instruments in alphabetical order which includes a couple synths I had decades ago in their original hardware form.

And next are the remaining 19 instruments included in V Collection X.


I think you can figure out all these instruments from their icons and from previous V Collection reviews. And of course they are also described on the Arturia website. Note that an instrument with a V suffix is the original release (often with minor updates over time) while a V2, V3 or V4 indicates the second, third or fourth major version – and these have always been significant improvements even though the original versions were very playable and usually sounded fine to me.

V Collection X includes 15 analogue synths, 8 digital synths, 4 electric and acoustic pianos, 6 organs/keyboards, five augmented instruments and Analog Lab Pro which is itself an instrument that can combine and enhance the individual V Collection instruments. Thirty-nine instruments (actually more since there are multiple pianos in Piano V3 and in Augmented Grand Piano). If you purchased only one used hardware keyboard it could set you back anything from the $500-$800 range (for a DX 7) to $1,500-$2,200 (Juno 6) to $55,000 to $125,000 (Yamaha CS-80). If you like working on old hardware, replacing switches and pots that get noisy, electrolytic capacitors that dry out, and searching for unique ICs that may fail after 35, 40, or 50 years, have fun. Some people feel that real, ancient hardware is more “real”, but frankly I’ve been selling off my old keyboards over time and don’t miss any of them. The virtual instruments in the V Collections sound as fine, are much more user friendly, and have more capability than my old DX7, my Casio CZ keyboards, my ARP, and Rolands (although I still have two Yamaha TX rack synths, two Casio VZ rack synths, and two Roland analogue keyboards).

The New
Augmented Woodwinds is new, but as you would expect it follows the design of the other augmented instruments with the main page showing the large Morph dial surrounded by seven other controls: Delay, FX A, Color, Time, Motion, FX B, and Reverb.



In addition there is the Advanced window that opens control panels for the two sound layers A and B. And as with the other augmented instruments, each of these layers itself has two sound engines that can be operated in parallel: a Sample engine and a Synth. The Sampler here has real woodwind samples, as well as modified woodwind samples and other samples (over 50 of them) in a very versatile sample-player with various mix, level and synth-like ADSR controls. The Synth engine provides a choice between five different synthesizers: a virtual analogue synth, the unique Arturia Simpler engine, a harmonic generator, granular synthesizer and a wavetable synth. Each layer also has its own filter module and there is a vast complement of modulation sources (two LFOs, two programmable function generators, two random sources, velocity, aftertouch, mod wheel, and others) that can be applied to about any sampler, synth and filter control.



And as with other Arturia virtual instruments, there is a Settings panel to set parameters such as polyphony, voice stealing mode, bend range, etc., and a MIDI panel to set CC control assignments (which can also be quickly set up using MIDI Learn). This panel also enables running the built in tutorials. As with the other Arturia augmented instruments, there is a wide and wild range of sounds and sound mangling available here, although more attuned to soundscapes, cinematic scores and special FX than to rock n’ roll productions.

Piano Anyone?
Next new instrument is the CP-70, inspired by the Yamaha CP-70, a 73 key acoustic-electric piano introduced in 1976 and popular with many keyboardists such as Keith Emerson, Billy Joel, and Alicia Keys. Keyboardists for many bands such as the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and Genesis also preferred it on tour, and some even chose it in the studio over using a traditional acoustic piano. And unlike the other classic keyboards in V Collection, the CP-70 uses samples. Of course there are also many controls to modify the dynamics and tone beyond what a real CP-70 has.



The main CP-70 view shows controls similar to a real CP-70 keyboard at the top left with a Volume control, Bass, Middle and Treble levels, and a Tremolo section with Depth and Speed controls. But as Arturia always do, that is only the beginning. There is an Advanced panel and an FX panel, as well as the usual Arturia Settings window.



The Advanced panel above provides a velocity curve, instrument tuning, timbre control, dynamics response and sound output settings. The ability to both graphically adjust the Velocity Curve and set a Dynamic Range value provides comprehensive latitude for adjusting to playing style. I found this especially useful to me when putting a CP-70 V in place of another keyboard in an old project – I could quickly adjust the dynamics to work well in the mix. Note that there are separate Volume controls on the right for the Direct Output and Microphones. The Direct Output Volume is linked to the main keyboard Volume control at the upper left of the keyboard view and the tone controls, as well as the Tremolo controls, affect only the direct output, not the microphone output which makes sense.

The Direct output is mono unless Tremolo is applied (or one of the stereo FX is used) while the Microphone Output can add a stereo sense with variable width available, with the left mic over the bass strings and the right mic over the treble strings. Yes, a CP-70 is an acoustic piano – it uses strings and hammers like a full sized acoustic piano, just shrunk in size. And it uses an electric guitar-style pickup system to acquire the signals for amplification. The CP-70 V has a Noises control adjustment (Natural Releases, Key Release and Sustain Pedal) that affects the Direct sound only. The Microphones, on the other hand, pick up some hammer noise as you might expect. So adjusting the balance of Direct and Mic along with the Noise controls can adjust the level of mechanical sounds as you wish.

The FX panel looks familiar – the latest Arturia instruments and updates use this configuration. There are five general FX slots plus a Room environment panel. There are 13 FX available in five categories: Spatial, Dynamics, Distortion, EQ and Modulation. There are nine environments available in the Room slot, with control over pre-delay, size, and decay time as well as Dry-Wet ratio. These FX are applied to the final output, Direct and Microphone sounds. And finally, as all the newest V instruments have, there are four Macro controls in the lower right that can be programmed to adjust one or more instrument parameters, with the mouse, with DAW automation, and with a MIDI controller.



All these controls enable modifying the CP-70 sounds in about any way you might want. The results are a CP-70 that not only can sound like a real 1970’s instrument if you want, but is more flexible and effectively has a set of pedals ready to rock.

More Additions
In addition to the above new instruments, Arturia have added some of their previously “non-V Collection” instruments to V Collection X. One that I already had is Acid V, Arturia’s take on the famous Roland TB-303 (reviewed here: Arturia Acid V). The 303 has a fascinating history. When introduced in 1983, the TB-303 Bass Line synthesizer was meant to be a substitute for bass guitars in bands. It was a commercial flop that was in production only three years with thousands of units on used (and unsold new) gear shelves. Then things changed. Chicago band Phuture used a TB-303 in a recording named "Acid Tracks", a 12 minute instrumental dance song that exploded on the dance scene. Released in 1987, this one recording literally created the Acid genre. The TB-303 had arrived!



The main Acid V view with the same basic controls of the original – plus added Sub Osc, Vibrato and Distortion sections. There is also a sequencer/arpeggiator with greatly enhanced features over the original. While you can use your DAW to create any sequence you want, the built in sequencer and arpeggiator are both fun and fast to play with, and make standalone live use possible. There are also four Effects slots available that can each use one of 17 available FX. And there are three independent Modulation generators that enable designing about any time-based function you want for modulating any Acid parameter. To make it even more flexible, there are the four “now standard Arturia” macro controls in the lower right that you can program to control multiple parameters at once. Arturia have not only captured the vibe of a 303, they have, as they always do, expanded it to the extreme.

I admit I’ve had Acid V for a few months, but due to pressure of business, places to go and people to see, I’d only briefly auditioned it. The past few days I dove in and was hooked. In fact, hours of playing with its sequencer while tweaking various controls to produce rumbling, bouncy and squelchy beats had my wife pounding on the studio door asking if I were OK. A very addictive beat maker. If you don’t already have it, Acid V is very welcome in the V Collection.

The New Freak
Another instrument I already had is the MiniFreak V that I reviewed here (Arturia MiniFreak V) and at the time noted how much I like it, but also found a couple odd omissions particularly with real-time MIDI controls. The Repeat and Ratchet controls in the arpeggiator could not be controlled as described. The new version fixes this issue and adds VST MIDI control for Dice, Rand(om), Oct(ave) and Mutate. Unfortunately, my MIDI controller, which can operate MIDI CC successfully for every other Arturia, and non-Arturia, instrument I have (over 100) has no effect on the newest release of MiniFreak. I downgraded back to the last version and all works fine, but upon reinstalling version 2, it is blind to MIDI CC commands. It does play notes and oddly responds to the Mod wheel which is MIDI CC 1 on channel 1, but not to any other CC value. Even more fascinating, if used within the Analog Lab, all the controls do respond to a MIDI controller – which is how I confirmed the above described additions do work! I’ve reported this to Arturia and they are aware of the issue, so we can expect a fix soon, maybe by the time you read this.

Back to the good stuff! Even more significant in version 2 is a new sound generator, a wavetable engine for oscillator 1, with 32 wavetables. Although it doesn’t enable importing custom wavetables, the included selection, along with the Scan, Width, and Tone controls, covers a lot of sonic ground. Version 2 also brings a new Super Unison FX that lets you stack up to 6 copies of a sound on top of a dry signal for really thick sounds. The LFO has added an enhanced custom mode to choose if rate corresponds to a single step or the entire Shaper curve. And Macros can now modulate Matrix Mod amounts. For Mac folks MiniFreak is now NKS M1 VST3 compatible and AAX Native M1 compatible. So version 2 is a really major update.



Check out the full Freak review noted above for more details on this “simple but complex” instrument. It’s one I often pop up on my system in standalone mode and just lose an hour noodling away.

And There is More
Two previously available V instruments have been updated: the Mini V3, a fine emulation of a Moog Mini analogue synth, and the Wurli V2, an excellent electric piano, have both been significantly updated – in fact, rebuilt from the “ground up” as they say. As has happened with a dozen of the other original V Collection instruments over the years, Arturia engineers can’t keep their hands off the code and come up with performance and functional improvements. Although I had no serious complaints for any of the original instruments, I have found each major update to improve sound and provide significant improvement to usability – and major updates are new software developments, not just some code changes, so they can coexist along with their earlier versions.



The Mini V4 above left has a new look, vastly better sound from my tests, and improved controls for its Advanced mode compared to the previous version V3 on the right. I find the layout of the Advanced controls in version 4 is more logical and much easier to navigate, although there were some useful advanced modes in V3 that are missing or accomplished in a different fashion (the motion recorder for one). On the other hand there are some nice new features/functions like the Vintage control that adds calibration and stability variations to act more like a 50 year old analogue synth, a new Multi-FX section with three slots to use for any of 17 automatable FX, a new Arpeggiator and new Modulation engine.



The Wurli V3 at the left has updated its Advanced panel with an improved adjustable velocity curve, choice of four vintage Wurlitzer 200 and 200a models, and adjustment of the overall tuning, hammer hardness and effective age of the unit. You can also vary hammer, reed and damper noise levels, set tonebar resonance level, set pickup distance and pickup alignment and adjust several other audio and mechanical parameters. Version 3 also changes its FX control to a more usable configuration, as seen at the left, above. With the previous version (at the right) it was difficult to adjust controls on the stompboxes because they were so small and partially in shadow! You now have clear view in choosing and adjusting them, as well as a more logical layout for the amp/cabinet and room setups. And it sounds as great as ever.

Two things to note: both the new Mini and Wurli have entirely new sets of presets that appear not to be compatible with the previous sets of presets – and each initially has less presets than before (Mini has 161 versus older version with 460, Wurli has 51 versus 190) although I expect there will be more to come. However, since these are new instruments (all new code) the previous versions can be left on your computer so that you can use them in old (or new) projects as you wish.

Let’s Talk Analog Lab
I find I hadn’t previously described the Analog Lab in any detail, and since this review is getting quite long, I’ll mention a few facts here, and direct you to the separate Analog Lab V review (Arturia Analog Lab).

There are four versions available: a free version, a version bundled with Arturia hardware keyboards, a separate paid software version, and an expanded Pro version that comes with V Collections. Since I am describing V Collection X here, I will just say that Analog Lab Pro will get you over 11,000 presets and detailed access to every V Collection instrument’s GUI and all its controls along with the macro control of multiple parameters.



While you can easily use any of the V instruments in standalone mode or with a DAW for recording, using Analog Lab in either case expands your capabilities significantly. I often use it to control a single V instrument since the eight macro controls make it fast and easy to vary multiple parameters on-the-fly.

Conclusion
Arturia continue to improve an already excellent collection of virtual instruments. The new CP-70 V is a fine and very playable addition, the updated Wurli V3 is definitely an improvement both sound-wise and usability-wise, but the winner for me is the new Mini V4. Comparing its sounds to V3, even before dialing up the new Vintage control, I found it to be more truly analogue sounding. The V3 version by comparison, while still having a Mini "tone", sounds somewhat "static".

As with version 9 that added two brand new instruments (the Korg MS-20 and the Ensoniq SQ-80 crosswave synth) they have added two new instruments (although the Augmented Woodwinds might not be considered as useful to some as an MS-20 or SQ-80). Version X also adds four previously available instruments to its roster (version 9 added two previously available instruments – Augmented Strings and Augmented Voices). Looking back at my own reviews, V Collection 8 added three brand new instruments (Jun 6V, Emulator II V and Vocoder V) and added one previously available instrument (OB-Xa V, now labelled OP-Xa V due to complaints from Oberheim). So while they haven’t added as many truly new instruments this go-round, they have added more total new and “old” instruments than either of the last two versions.

Overall the V Collection X is very highly recommended if you want a fine selection of vintage and modern virtual instruments, and don’t already own it – at the asking price for the full V Collection you pay about $15 per instrument which is very reasonable. You may notice I declined to rate Bang for Buck in the graphic summary because I feel with this release it is highly subjective and dependent on what you have and want. For a first timer buyer I would judge Bang for Buck at a five star level, but the question is not simple if you already own an earlier V Collection and/or some separate Arturia instruments. In that case you can get a lower total price (go to your Arturia account to see what they offer you). The price, balanced against what virtual instruments you already have and what you want to add to your studio, will let you decide what the added value is to you.