Arturia Modular V Free Download

[Kizzy Burnworth]

KeithEmerson is amongst the best-known modular system users with his huge System 3C, along with the likes of Walter Carlos whose pioneering Switched On Bach album made Moog a household name in 1968. Japanese synth luminary Tomita, Jan Hammer, Larry Fast, Herbie Hancock, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones all used Moog modular systems, and even today artistes such as Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre and Tomita are still enthusiastic modular system owners.

On a final note concerning connectivity, a general rule of thumb is that while each input can have only one source, each output has the luxury of multiple destinations. Of course, this is not so easily achievable on a hardware synth, as only one jack plug can be inserted into a socket at a time! Software, fortunately, does not have to adhere to these real-world limitations, so an LFO's sine wave output, for example, can be routed to as many destinations for which you can find uses.

Each slave oscillator in a group has a pitch range from 32' to 2', and is fine-tuneable over 1 octave. The additional 'Lo' setting enables any oscillator to be pressed into use as an LFO, in case the two dedicated LFO modules should prove to be insufficient. Four waveform outputs are offered, all of which can be used simultaneously. Sync on/off is individually switchable per oscillator, the sync source being selected by clicking on the jack below the sync switch.

Once a basic patch has been created, there are further connections to consider to make the sound respond to your MIDI keyboard in the desired way. Using the modulation wheel to apply vibrato is a typical example, so you'd need to patch in the mod wheel appropriately. The row of jack plugs beneath the Mixer section provides the means to route keyboard controllers to the main synth, so in the case of the brass sound you'd firstly patch the output of one of the LFOs to the input of a spare Mixer channel. The output of that Mixer goes to the FM input of Driver 1, and the mixer output should be turned up to the point where the pitch modulation begins to take effect, then backed off until it stops. The mod-wheel output should then be patched to the modulation input of the Mixer channel, and the Mixers' modulation input sensitivity should be adjusted until the desired depth of modulation is reached when the mod wheel is pushed all the way up.

The four key-follow generators have controls to adjust the slope, centre key, range and threshold (the lowest note at which the key-follow slope takes effect). These govern essentials such as the way the oscillator pitch and filter cutoff track the keyboard, and in fact these two functions are easily assigned using the digital displays on the Driver and Filter modules. The key follows can also be patched in via the jackfield to other more esoteric destinations that require a more finely adjustable, non-linear response to the keyboard. Note that each key follow has its own pitch-bend and portamento on/off switch, so performance tricks such as 'double-stopped' pitch-bend of one oscillator against another, or portamento 'trailing' effects between oscillators can be realised.

The Keyboard view can be seen in the lower half of this window, with the Sequencer/FX page above. The three-row, eight-step sequencer is on the left, while the basic analogue-style effects modules (fixed filter bank, dual delay, and chorus) can be seen on the right.

Sequencer tempo can either be set manually, controlled dynamically with the output of a modulation source, or sync'ed to the tempo of MMV's host MIDI sequencer. This of course means MMV's sequencer can be used to provide tempo-sync'ed rhythmic effects to any patch simply by routing any or all of the sequencer rows to, say, filter-cutoff frequency or oscillator pulse width. The sequencer offers an immense amount of possibilities, and is guaranteed to keep you entertained for hours.

The Fixed Filter Bank optionally applies 12 fixed frequency bands of EQ to the final patch, together with variable Q for each band, plus separate high- and low-pass filters. An overall gain control is available to tame or boost any extreme settings you might make, and a reset button thoughtfully puts all the knobs back to zero so you can start from scratch if necessary. VCAs 1 and 2 are independently selectable for treatment by the Filter Bank, from where they are passed to the two effects.

The Dual Delay can be sync'ed to MIDI if required, and produces a stereo delay with separate left/right controls for time, feedback and cross feedback. The wet and dry signals can be individually adjusted with up to +12dB of gain available.

MMV performed very reliably during the review period, causing no abnormally unruly behaviour under Sonar. CPU usage for each monophonic instance of MMV averaged around six percent when idling, rising to 10 percent when playing (depending on patch complexity). I found that four monophonic instances, all playing simultaneously, were peaking at around 35. Polyphonic instances are rather more CPU hungry, especially when using any significant release envelope time. Typically, a three-oscillator, four-note polyphonic sound with a 500ms release time will take the CPU meter up to 20 percent with a held chord, and as high as 60 percent if you start moving around! Therefore, polyphonic patches should be used carefully unless you have a pretty serious computer.

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Arturia has brought you the synth that started it all. From Wendy Carlos's famous 'Switched on Bach' to Keith Emerson's live use, this huge modular showed that electronics could be musical thus being the catalyst for every synthesizer we see today. The towering modular synthesizer that has dominated the world of music since the 1960s has been revived!

Originally sold as custom units to artists such as Tomita, Klaus Schultz, the Beatle's, Tangerine Dream and many others, we have recreated a giant collection of the best modules for you here. With up to 9 oscillators, 3 filter slots, 2 LFOs, 6 envelopes, VCAs, mixers, a sequencer and more, this classic synth offers you no limitations for your creative endeavors.

The Modular V is all about the complexities and nuances that only a modular patch can deliver. With more tone generation and modulation capabilties than any other synth this is the reference standard for intricate sound design.

ASC is the central software that elegantly manages all your Arturia software licenses. It activates your licenses and synchronizes them across multiple devices (you get five instances with each instrument license). ASC also notifies you of updates and downloads them. You can even easily learn about new products, download demos versions and purchase the full products. Simple.

TAE "True Analog Emulation" is Arturia's exclusive technology that accurately reproduces the defining sonic qualities of analog synthesizers. It recreates the characteristics of analog oscillators in amazing detail, transparency and clarity, as well as the exact properties of the analog filters that give each classic instrument its unique sound. Soft clipping adds even more punch and presence. TAE is primarily what makes our virtual instruments indistinguishable from the originals.

For those of you just joining us, Arturia have been teasing out three related products over the course of as may days. So on Monday, the news was the MiniBrute 2, a reboot of their signature monosynth with modularity added via a dense patch bay wedged in the upper-right hand corner of the hardware. Day two: maybe you want that same MiniBrute 2 without the keyboard, but with pads and a more extensive sequencer.

So the replacement Analog Factory controller arrived a few days ago, and Hello Music was kind enough to upgrade the package to their latest deal, which included besides the controller, 2 free software instruments from Arturia. (Kudos, Hello Music for the great Customer Support!). Unpacked and setup, everything works like a charm.

With a modular synth, I would be free to build, combine, extend, patch and pass signals around to create any sound possible, limited only by the modules available in my setup, space and the money to actually by the gear.

The main hurdles to get started on that path though are space and money. Building out a fully functional modular synth requires a pretty hefty investment up fron (think 3-5 thousand dollars according to my research) depending on where you put the bar. Also, once a modular starts to grow you will need space to actually house the cabinets for all the different modules.

I fell in love with the sound and possibilities of electronic music at a young age. I took synthesis lessons as a teen in the 1970s, learning on a modular Steiner-Parker Synthasystem. A kit-based PAiA modular was my dorm room companion in college. Soon after I graduated, I got a job at Sequential Circuits, where I contributed to several instruments and created Vector Synthesis. I went on to work for Digidesign, Marion Systems (Tom Oberheim), and was the chief engineer at Roland R&D US.

I also have a lot of experience creating online training. Before I started Learning Modular, I recorded nearly 50 online courses on creating graphics for television and film for lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning). I've brought this experience of how to teach a difficult, technical subject in a patient, step-by-step manner to my modular synthesis courses.

I recently released a course on and on how to use the Arturia Modular V software synth, which is modeled on the old Moog modular systems. In the movie below I show how to create a typical oscillator sync patch.

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