Even at that stage it was clear that this was going to be a big step forward, so I was delighted when I heard that it was going to make its debut in V Collection 8 as part of an improved Jup‑8 V4 and the new Jun‑6 V.

Shortly after I reviewed Arturia’s OB‑Xa V (in SOS August 2020 issue) I received an email from the company’s engineers that described their new, ‘free‑running’ oscillator technology, as well as links to two prototypes that incorporated various implementations of this. This meant that you obtained a collection of different, but tonally static notes when you played chords, no matter how long you held them. Secondly, there was no drift once the offset was applied. Indeed, if the oscillators’ phases happened to be 180 degrees apart, any given note could sound an octave higher than played. Firstly, if the oscillators were tuned to the same pitch, each note’s tone could be significantly different from the previous and the next.

If the synth in question used two oscillators per voice, the problems with this method were twofold. Introduced in the noughties, this was the company’s method of emulating the drift of analogue oscillators by applying a random offset to their initial phases when you played each note. Today, V8 adds four new instruments as well as two upgraded ones, plus a new version of Analog Lab, new sound libraries and further enhancements including macros, improved housekeeping and integrated tutorials.īefore looking at the instruments themselves, I would like to discuss something that, in my opinion, Arturia never got right in the past. In recent years, Arturia’s V Collection has grown into a substantial resource, with emulations of numerous monosynths, polysynths, samplers, pianos, organs and other keyboards, the original of any one of which (with the possible exception of the CZ1) would cost more than the whole collection. V Collection 8 introduces new instruments and completely reworks some old favourites.

Analog v lab