This post is fashioned as a way of showing true appreciation for Arturia Musical Instruments having been fortunate enough to have received  a download link from them for their special edition VST synth –  the MiniMoog V ‘Original’.   The amazing Arturia ‘MiniMoog V Original’ promotion was distributed as part of a much publicised event surrounding International Music Day (June 2012) and the rebranding of the MiniMoog V, to the all new fully featured Arturia Mini V.

Needless to say, I was so looking forward to loosing myself in the sound world of such a legendary muse knowing full well that Arturia’s analog modelled VSTs carry a superb reputation for being of the best available.  Straight out of the box the ‘MiniMoog V Original’ instantly shone as it reflected its superior quality through the exquisite GUI which is a pristine graphical reproduction of the original MiniMoog interface.  The software version supplies a choice of 3 vintage skins to choose from all of which demand an immediate call to action!

Delving straight into the 1000+ quality presets that ship with the ‘MiniMoog V Original’ was rewarding. For my first sojourn inside an Arturia synth I was immediately impressed by the undeniable quality of the rich ,warm sonorities of the Moog pads, the  round and phat Moog Basses, the clean voices of the instruments Lead patches to the rhythmic invention of the synths Arpeggios.  Also, there is a distinguishing sonic character that pervades the instrument with an underlying colour tone generated for the most part through Arturia’s faithful modeling of the outstanding MiniMoog filter.

As a sound design tool Arturia’s MiniMoog/Mini V software is capable of producing a wide variety of instrumental timbre with plenty of scope in its oscillator fabric and internal routing capacity to forge some very useful percussive sounds, synthesized effects and abstract sonic gestures.  While in performance, and speaking subjectively of course, working out with the ’MiniMoog V Original’  is engaging to say the least.

From the outset there is an underlying sense for the dramatic attributable to the instruments heightened range of dynamic which is staggering. The way the parameters of the Filter section respond to every nuance and musical gesture via external MIDI CC control is so intuitive that you begin to intertwine with the instrument and feel the shapes and phrases with a clarity of perception not found with other instruments.  In truth, the sound of Arturia’s true emulation of the MiniMoog  is an asset and nothing short of inspirational.

By comparison, the recently re-branded Arturia ‘Mini V’ offers an extended feature set accessible through a switchable panel located at the top of the software GUI which was omitted from the ‘MiniMoog V Original’ and includes:  A Modulation Matrix – an Arpeggiator – an additional LFO – a new Chorus and Delay section – and a new Formant based effect called the Vocal Filter.  Not wishing to stir up the ‘purist’ argument;  I have to say that the ability to produce a perpetual resource of animated sound structures in the ‘Mini V’ using such a comprehensive collection of sound design tools is an exciting proposition which can only be of benefit for the end user.

So, it is with deep veneration that I stand wholly convinced by the sublime qualities of Arturia’s TAE (True Analogue Emulation) technology and of this inspiring product.  And, if indeed, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then the taste of this Aturia VST helping will just get better and better – time after time.

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www.arturia.com

Brought to you courtesy of Soundwrx Digital