Arturia SQ80 V hands-on | Engadget

Arturia’s V Collection consists of a staggering 28 digital devices at this level, masking the whole lot from analog classics, to acoustic pianos to forgotten digital keyboards. At some level, you’d assume the corporate would run out of fascinating synths to emulate, however not simply but. The latest addition to the Arturia household is the SQ80 V, a recreation of the Ensoniq SQ-80.

The SQ-80 was a little bit of a wierd beast. It was launched in 1987 and mixed 8-bit digital wavetables with analog filters. It’s quirky, crunchy and significantly enjoyable. It combines crunch lo-fi digital samples with analog heat for one thing fairly distinctive. Also, at a time when many synth makers had been stripping down their interfaces whereas stuffing in each characteristic they might think about (taking a look at you DX7), the SQ-80 was surprisingly straightforward to program. It was additionally one of many earliest keyboards with polyphonic aftertouch, which is captured right here due to MPE help.

Arturia usually takes nice pains to recreate the bodily look and controls of a synth they’re emulating, however the firm simplified issues a bit for the SQ80 V. You can change the oscillator waves and tweak the filter, however lots of the controls, just like the three LFOs and 4 envelopes are all on a separate synthesis tab that’s a little bit extra mouse pleasant.

Arturia additionally went all out with the sound sources. It consists of the unique 75 waveforms, in addition to the “hidden” waves from the SQ-80 and it’s predecessor the ESQ-1, plus a number of transient waveforms. The firm tremendously expanded on the sound design prospects of the SQ80 V with out actually straying from the guts and character of the unique.

This is fairly par for the course, although. Arturia has been at this lengthy sufficient, meticulously emulating traditional synths whereas including some trendy conveniences, that it’ be extra shocking if it missed the mark at this level.

The one factor this implies although, is that the corporate is filling more and more small niches in its arsenal of devices. The SQ80 V is a digital synthesizer, with a lo-fi character constructed round sampled waveforms and an analog filter. If that sounds acquainted, it’s as a result of the identical broad description additionally applies to the E-MU Emulator II which Arturia recreated for V Collection 8 in December.

While each are positively crunchy and digital they’ve identities all their very own. The Emulator II is extra of a simple sampler, and the SQ-80 is nearer to a conventional synthesizer. While I fairly loved the lo-fi bit-crushed keys of the Emulator, I dig the SQ80 V extra. It’s extra approachable to somebody coming from the world of synthesizers. Plus, it’s a little bit hotter and extra timeless sounding. Not you could’t get tacky 80s sounds out of the SQ80 V, it’s simply simpler to coax trendy sound out of than the Emulator which is usually a contact too chilly and brittle for my tastes.

While there are some analog type sounds within the SQ80 V, its bread and butter is crushed digital sounds. Harsh industrial hits, dusty keys and ambient pads. There are two sound packs being launched alongside it that lean into these strengths: Dust Factory and Raw Machinery.

But even when you skip the sound packs, you must be capable of simply discover sounds that you simply like both within the included presets or by designing your individual. And constructing your individual patches is fairly easy. The three digital oscillators have dropdown menus for choosing waveforms, the envelopes and LFOs all have their very own tabs, and the filter might be formed with the mouse. The entire interface is clear, charmingly retro and straightforward to navigate. It’s particularly spectacular contemplating how a lot energy there’s to control issues. Most parameters might be modulated by quite a few completely different sources — and plenty of might be modulated by two sources on the identical time.

My one minor grievance UI-wise is that the tiny dials subsequent to the varied modulation locations could possibly be a little bit clearer. It may not be instantly apparent to everybody that, if you would like LFO two to vary the filter cutoff it’s a must to hover over the darkened circle beneath it then click on on the even tinier plus signal that pops as much as choose a modulation supply. Then you click on and drag on the circle to set the modulation quantity.

Minor quibble with that apart, Arturia does deserve credit score for placing plenty of effort into creating thorough and clear tutorials for all its devices during the last couple of years and SQ80 V is not any completely different.

Arturia’s V Collection is full of nice devices and nice sounds, however the SQ80 V is rapidly changing into one among my favorites (although, it’s technically not a part of the V Collection — but). It’s out there now as a standalone instrument for an introductory value of $99 till October 5 at which level it can go as much as $199. It can be bundled with V Collection 8 at a reduction, although the ultimate value will rely in your standing as an Arturia buyer.