Then you click and drag on the circle to set the modulation amount. It might not be immediately obvious to everyone that, if you want LFO two to change the filter cutoff you have to hover over the darkened circle underneath it then click on the even tinier plus sign that pops up to select a modulation source. My one minor complaint UI-wise is that the tiny dials next to the various modulation destinations could be a little clearer. Most parameters can be modulated by a number of different sources - and many can be modulated by two sources at the same time. It’s especially impressive considering how much power there is to manipulate things. The whole interface is clean, charmingly retro and easy to navigate. The three digital oscillators have dropdown menus for selecting waveforms, the envelopes and LFOs all have their own tabs, and the filter can be shaped with the mouse. And building your own patches is pretty simple. There are two sound packs being released alongside it that lean into those strengths: Dust Materials and Raw Machinery.īut even if you skip the sound packs, you should be able to easily find sounds that you like either in the included presets or by designing your own.

Harsh industrial hits, dusty keys and ambient pads. While there are some analog style sounds in the SQ80 V, its bread and butter is crushed digital sounds. Not that you can’t get cheesy 80s sounds out of the SQ80 V, it’s just easier to coax modern sound out of than the Emulator which can be a touch too cold and brittle for my tastes. Plus, it’s a little warmer and more timeless sounding. It’s more approachable to someone coming from the world of synthesizers. While I quite enjoyed the lo-fi bit-crushed keys of the Emulator, I dig the SQ80 V more. The Emulator II is more of a straightforward sampler, and the SQ-80 is closer to a traditional synthesizer.

While both are definitely crunchy and digital they have identities all their own.

Arturia classic synths