This week’s Sounds and Presets features a triple pack for Arturia Pigments and Analog Lab, patches for the Waldorf Microwave 1 and so much more.
Rob is away for the next two weeks so I’ll be handling Sounds and Presets for him. This week we have a mix of old and new, with a lovely triple pack of patches for Arturia Pigments and Analog Lab, sounds for Waldorf’s slick Microwave 1 emulation, an incredible classic synth sample pack from LFO Store plus a brand new Kontakt instrument from Sample Logic focusing on arps.
Arturia Explorations Vol. 2 for Arturia Pigments and Analog Lab
Arturia Pigments is one of the most flexible software synths around. With its variety of sound engines, including wavetable, sample and granular, additive and virtual analog, plus tons of modulation options and effects, it’s a real powerhouse. It sounds great too.
To get you inspired, the company has just released Explorations Vol. 2, a triple pack of patches for Arturia Pigments and the Play, Intro and Pro versions of Analog Lab. Each of the three packs – Ambient Explorations, Psychedelic Explorations and Trap Explorations – features 150 presets, giving you a total of 450 sounds.
I don’t have Arturia Pigments (I know, terrible) but I do have Analog Lab Pro. The sounds across the three packs are uniformly well-designed and useful. As an ambient musician, I was particularly drawn to Ambient Explorations. And, although I don’t do psychedelic or trap, the presets are not so specific that I couldn’t find uses for them in my music.
Arturia is selling Explorations Vol. 2 at a three-for-one price and it’s on sale for $29.99 until September 2, rising to $89.97 after that.
Buy Explorations Vol. 2 direct from Arturia until September 2 for just $29.99
Rob Papen and Sonic Freaks Presets for Waldorf Microwave 1
Waldorf recently released Microwave 1, a software recreation of its first synth, 1989’s Microwave. The new plugin emulates everything about the original right down to the digital noise. It’s so close you can use the new software as a controller and editor for the hardware and even load SysEx patches of original hardware sound banks.
It’s this latter functionality that should have owners of the new software looking for sound inspiration excited. There may not be many new sound sets available for the software yet but there are plenty for the original hardware – and they should work for the software too. Note that the Microwave hardware is often also called Microwave 1.
Rob Papen, best known now for his many virtual instruments and effects, got his start making Microwave sound cards. Although you can’t buy the cards new any more you can get MIDI dumps of the sound sets from Rob as a single package. The pack includes his three classic sets: Signature Soundcard, Techno and Double Red. (Rob also reworked the first two for the Waldorf M. Nice.)
Buy the sound sets direct from Rob Papen for €25
Sound designers Sonic Freaks also have a collection of sounds for the Microwave hardware. The pack includes 64 patches that run the gamut from pads, strings and evolving textures to bass, leads and bells. They sound great and are “very suitable for all kinds of (electronic) music,” according to the programmers.
Buy Microwave 1 Presets from Sonic Freaks direct for €25
Sample Logic Arpology X
Just out this week is the latest from Sample Logic. Called Arpology X, it’s a Kontakt instrument that combines samples with a new arpeggiator engine for cinematic sounds with lots of movement.
The instrument features 23GB of samples with more than 900 instruments and presets. These run the gamut from acoustic and organic sounds to synthetic and edgy textures. Each preset features four instruments plus an XY pad to crossfade between them, vector-style.
More than just a sample player though, the instrument takes inspiration from the company’s own Animation Station, giving each instrument in a preset a kind of super arpeggiator called a Step Animator. It also contains a number of effects plus a randomizer for quick inspiration.
Arpology X works in the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt 7.
LFO Store Crumar DS-2 Vintage Sampler Series Sample Pack
Lastly, here’s a new one from LFO Store. LFO Store mostly does presets for hardware synthesizers. I like their stuff so much, I’ll often just put one of their YouTube demo videos on as background music. They also do sample packs, however, and this new one has me intrigued.
Crumar DS-2 Vintage Sampler Series sample pack features 165 multi-samples from the Crumar DS-2. Originally released in 1978, the Italian-made DS-2 is a strange beast, with both monophonic and 44-key polyphonic string sections. Although it’s from the late 1970s it actually has DCOs. It also sports “pretty advanced bizarre modulation capabilities” in the words of Legowelt, who knows a thing or two about synthesizers.
The LFO Store samples are fat and beefy and at €4.20 (on sale from €6) it’s an excellent deal. The pack includes leads, pads, strings, drones and of course basses.
Buy Crumar DS-2 Vintage Sampler Series sample pack direct from LFO Store for €4.20
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