The latest edition of Arturia’s popular bundle takes a slight left turn. Si Truss gets Augmented
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Arturia’s steadilyexpanding bundle is the most recognisable and – arguably – best value game in town when it comes to classic synths as plugins. New iterations come around on a steady annual basis, and we can expect each to add a handful of new emulations along with a refresh of some of the older plugins in the collection.
With this latest iteration, Arturia take a slight, unexpected left turn in the form of two new plugins – Augmented Strings and Augmented Voices – that stand out against their V Collection compatriots by eschewing the retro-emulation theme in favour of a far more modern, broad approach.
Let’s tackle the more conventional additions first though. V Collection 9 introduces two new emulated instruments to the package. The first is a synth that we’re surprised it’s taken Arturia this long to attempt: the Korg MS-20, hardly obscure. Korg’s own hardware reissue, the MS-20 mini, was one of the first significant synths of the affordable analogue revival. Since then Korg have released multiple hardware iterations, including desktop and full-sized reissues, all of which come on top of Korg’s own software MS-20, which has been on the market since the early ’00s. And that’s before we even get to unofficial versions…
The OG MS-20 was known for its ability to sound gritty, thanks to weighty, drivable oscillators and raspy resonant filters. Arturia lean hard into this side of the MS-20’s character in branding, offering up plenty of hard-edged presets to match. Comparatively, Arturia’s MS-20 feels like it pushes into full-bodied overdriven territory a little more easily than Korg’s software version or the modern hardware recreations. It also adds a few extra features, like a simple oscillator sync switch and extra front panel modulation routings. This aside, there’s little to differentiate the core elements of Arturia’s synth from other recreations.
As with other V Collection synths, where Arturia’s version sets itself apart is in the modern bells-and- whistles added to the package. These include a sequencer, which models Korg’s own SQ-10, and a range of effects. The original SQ-10 was a three-track, 12-step CV sequencer designed to be paired with the MS-20 and its MS-10/MS-50 siblings. The hardware itself
