Arturia Mini V - Virtual Synthesizer (Download)

The Model-D for the Future

The Arturia Mini V3 is incredibly cool. There is truly sooo much you can do over a standard Model-D from an extra LFO that doesn’t eat up oscillator 3 to velocity as a modifier to varying actual pulse widths static or modulated to individual amounts of any modifier on each oscillator all made possible by the eight slot mod matrix. The major failing that I take no points off from this synth is that it does not have the natural drift of the original Model-D. I’m pretty sure I have heard & seen oscillator drift in soft software synths so I’m not sure why it’s omitted here but as long as you detune your oscillators to taste you get a rich sound that in context will surpass a Minimoog in terms of sheer flexibility & enhancements every time. The built in chorus & delay sound good but really aren’t necessary for most patches. I never found a use for the vocal filter as I would have preferred female articulations or the motion recorder as it always restarts with each note press & isn’t free running like say a Moog 1125 which would have been an ingenious touch. Maybe in a future update. For sheer flexibility from enhancements such as polyphony & velocity to being able to automate sequences & performances to never needing to service your instrument the Arturia Mini V3 delivers in spades. I literally sold my vintage Model-D because the Mini V3’s features made me feel the vintage instrument is more of a collectors piece & not forward thinking. I see myself using the Mini V3 for a long time to come.