This week we have a couple of banks for Cherry Audio’s latest synth, the Pentaphonic, plus sounds for MiniFreak 49, Hydrasynth and the JD-Xi!
One indication of how popular a synth has become is seeing the number of 3rd party sound banks get released for it. It’s not a theory I can back up with science or data, but it seems to be pretty indicative in my experience. So there’s no surprise seeing a couple of great banks for Cherry Audio’s Pentaphonic and another bank for Arturia’s fabulous MiniFreak 49.
Sounds and Presets
Sound Bank ’79 by Polydata and Pentaphonic Nightmares by Vicious Antelope for Cherry Audio Pentaphonic
Kicking things off this week are two great banks for the latest Cherry Audio synth, Pentaphonic. The first one is the latest edition in Polydata’s superb ‘Sound Bank ’79’ collection. This range of banks for various synthesizers is centred around creating presets that sound like they came from 1979, particularly those sounds you’d hear in documentaries, programming for schools and library music of the day.
Regardless of the synth, the sounds have that essential character of those halcyon days of synthesizers becoming the dominant instrument in music, resplendent with tape wow and flutter, crusty and dusty frequencies and a pure vintage sound. Polydata is a master of this and his bank for Pentaphonic is another splendid addition to the range.
So if you’re looking for sounds that evoke a sense of nostalgia and analogue instability whilst being incredibly musical, look no further.
The next bank is, I’m afraid, a few days late for what I feel was its intended audience, given that Halloween was five days ago! That said, these sounds are, nonetheless, still worthy of note and will find use outside of the annual pumpkin fest! Many of these sounds wouldn’t sound out of place in a Stranger Things score, and much like Polydata’s bank, have a distinctly unstable, vintage vibe.
There are 30 patches in the bank that definitely explore a side of Pentaphonic that the factory presets don’t, so if retro, edgy sounds are your thing, Pentaphonic Nightmares will definitely float your boat.
Polydata’s Pentaphonic Sound Bank ’79 is currently on sale for $12.00, whilst Pentaphonic Nightmares is a total steal at a reduced price of £5.40!
Atmos for ASM Hydrasynth by Mark Sound Design
What a groundbreaking, disruptive synth the Hydrasynth has been, eh? The last time a synth fundamentally changed and shifted our perceptions of what a synth could be was in 1983, when Yamaha dropped a brown, digital synth that sent us all in a new direction. And still, the impact of the Hydrasynth is being felt, through each of its four manifestations.
And whilst ASM have since released the magnificent Leviasynth, the love for their first-born is still strong. That love is demonstrated in this new bank from Mark Sound Design, entitled Atmos. With a name more often associated with a technology created to deliver big sound fields, this bank does just that, but not in a way that requires a 7.1.4 speaker setup!
This bank is all about big soundscapes, atmospheres, and evolving sequences and draws heavily on Marco’s inspiration from Greek synth legend Vangelis. This bank contains 64 patches plus 16 free extras, although I’m not sure why it’s listed as such; but hey, it’s 80 great sounds, as you can hear in the demo video. And all this will set you back a mere €18, so grab it now and treat whatever version of the Hydrasynth you possess!
Untold Stories Vol.3 for Arturia MiniFreak 49 by Solidtrax
You will have to forgive me for continuing to wax lyrical about the Arturia MiniFreak 49, but it is with good reason, as it is an utterly brilliant synthesizer and hugely improved in its larger, 49-key guise. As I mentioned at the start of this article, the sign of a synth’s popularity is the number of new 3rd party banks that are created for it and here’s another belter!
Untold Stories Vol.3 from Solidtrax is, as the name suggests, their third MiniFreak bank, but this one is their first to be designed on the new 49 and, as such, takes advantage of the 49’s new features, such as Filter FM and stereo spread. This means that if you try these on the original hardware or MiniFreak V, they will not sound as intended.
For your money, you get 64 new presets that use MiniFreak’s superb synth architecture, enhanced by the 49’s new additions. The bank covers numerous styles, with something for everyone here, with the patches very much showcasing the additional benefits of MiniFreak 49 ownership. Grab the bank now for just €19, but get 30% off with the code US3INTRO for a limited time. This code also works on volumes one and two, as well as the bundle!
Berlin Legacy for Roland JD-Xi by Nick Klimenko and OttO K. Schwarz
Nick Klimenko and OttO K. Schwarz are frequently mentioned in this column, but I think this might be the first time we’ve mentioned a collaboration between them! So that’s nice! And they’ve decided to collaborate on a Roland synth that is close to entering its 12th year of existence! introduced all the way back in 2015, it crammed a lot of features into a small footprint.
One might say that it was MiniFreaking before Arturia did, what with its hybrid approach. There was an analogue monosynth, a pair of 128-voice digital synths and a drum synth, all crammed into a diminutive 37-key mini-key unit with a built-in vocoder for good measure. One could argue that it was going after KORG’s own pocket-rocket, the microKORG.
Not everyone was a fan, though, but Roland endorser Nick Rhodes liked them and its larger sibling, the JD-Xa. But there’s no doubting the sheer value for money that the JD-Xi represented. So Nick and OttO decided to create a new, Berlin-School-inspired bank that makes great use of the many features of this little powerhouse. The pack contains 64 presets covering typical Berlin-style sounds, so expect plenty of sequences, arps as well as leads, pads and big polyphonic sounds.
You can grab this bank for €20 from the LFO.store now!
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