# Arturia Pigments 3.0. Any thoughts?



## Flintpope (Apr 21, 2021)

I have just got the demo and so far so impressed with the depth of tweakable detail I nearly paid $99 immediately. However, I am a sucker for a new piece of software (who isn't?) and wonder if anyone has had this kit for a while (earlier versions) and would like to share their thoughts. Is it worth it, basically?


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## doctoremmet (Apr 21, 2021)

It is. A truly versatile synth and a gorgeous UI. I mentioned in another thread yesterday, there is one weird thing about it: I seem to rationally like it and not really love it. There is however nothing wrong with it. Many of the new presets by Empty Vessel and Yuli Yolo are great. And the soundset Simon Stockhausen did (with the v2 engine) has also won my heart over a little bit.

Yet... still I seem to love other synths with arguably way uglier UIs a bit more. E.g. Falcon 2, Biotek2, Lion, Hive 2.1, MSoundFactory, the Cherry Audio stuff. Can’t explain this phenomenon but was surprised to read other people’s comments who seem to have similar feelings.

That being said, Pigments in its current version for $99 (or crossgrade $69 for some) absolutely is a great deal and I do very much like this synth. The additive engine is terrific, as are the noise samples in the new utility layer.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 21, 2021)

News Arturia


Here is the news Pigments version 3. https://www.arturia.com/company/news/news-pigments-3 https://www.musicinstrumentnews.co.uk/2021/04/20/arturia-introduce-evolution-of-cutting-edge-softsynth-pigments-3/




vi-control.net


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## Dirtgrain (Apr 21, 2021)

I was skeptical before I bought it maybe around Black Friday. But several people on KVR insisted the granular engine was the best one they had tried. I did a demo and found their claims to be true. That's a plus for it. I bought it for that, more than its other features. Still, it has some nice tricks, and the modulation is clever and easy to use.

Otherwise, I found its filters to be okay--just that. And it had a bit of a thin feel, I thought at first, that people sometimes associate with digital synths. But the more I have done with it (beyond granular and samples), the more I have come to appreciate its ability to be more than thin.

The upgrades--and Arturia's commitment to the synth--are promising. I'll have a go with the new features, the Juno filter and such. 

As to the question, if you wind up using it in at least one piece, then it's worth it. So get on it


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## KarlHeinz (Apr 21, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> It is. A truly versatile synth and a gorgeous UI. I mentioned in another thread yesterday, there is one weird thing about it: I seem to rationally like it and not really love it. There is however nothing wrong with it. Many of the new presets by Empty Vessel and Yuli Yolo are great. And the soundset Simon Stockhausen did (with the v2 engine) has also won my heart over a little bit.
> 
> Yet... still I seem to love other synths with arguably way uglier UIs a bit more. E.g. Falcon 2, Biotek2, Lion, Hive 2.1, MSoundFactory, the Cherry Audio stuff. Can’t explain this phenomenon but was surprised to read other people’s comments who seem to have similar feelings.
> 
> That being said, Pigments in its current version for $99 (or crossgrade $69 for some) absolutely is a great deal and I do very much like this synth. The additive engine is terrific, as are the noise samples in the new utility layer.


Great how different peoples impressions are  . I just tried to find the right words to impress how "friendly" the GUI appeals on me, just feeling home and comfortable.

Now: the only other synth that comes to my mind with same impression is: Hive 2.1 . Not that GREAT, One-of-a-kind GUI like Pigments but: at home.

But really: "ugly" for Hive 2.1 ? Biotek 2 is very special (love the GUI or hate it), I agree with MSoundFactory (IF you call that a GUI and not a visualized command line....) and for me the REAL contrast is just Massive X: . Aliens landed ? Where ? What ? Feeling: lost in space......

That wont give you any useful info Nick, sorry about that, but I think your knowledge in sound design is so far away from mine I just wont be able to give any worthy advise on this. And as you are doing presets for yourself the included bank bundle (which I bought separately for the intro prize while I was lucky to get the upgrade with no cost) might not be that tempting too. I can only say that this is just maybe one of the most "all-good" (GUI, presets, preset browser, sound and sound engines, visualization, tutorials.......) synths out there.


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## cuttime (Apr 21, 2021)

The new Harmonic and Utility Engines finally bring Pigments 3 to the front of the pack. I wrestled with Pigments ambivalence for the last year or so, feeling that I love the synth but not so much the sound, but the new modules and wavetables have given me much to love. Funny, I never thought the filters sounded thin, but the Juno filter should put that notion to rest. The Additive synthesis is the easiest I've ever tried, as it compares with Alchemy's additive engine, but much less cumbersome.


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## typewriter (Apr 21, 2021)

Great synth - but mostly terrible presets. A general Arturia problem across all plugins.


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## jbuhler (Apr 21, 2021)

It seems I can get thus for $50 due to some sort of special offer on the Arturia site from owning other Arturia titles. So if $99 is a no brainer, $50 is what? Guard that wallet?


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## darkogav (Apr 21, 2021)

I have had it since version 1.x. It's not really my go to synth. I find it a little on the gimicky side. Too many distracting pretty visualizations. Do you need it? It really depends on what else you already have.


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## sostenuto (Apr 21, 2021)

Likely to add, given crossgrade cost from Analog Lab 4/5, but mostly lost reading 'sound' posts, since version 3 should be offering notable changes. Will truly appreciate additional posts re 'sound' and how it has changed with 3.0 .........


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## hlecedre (Apr 21, 2021)

I bought Pigments a couple of years ago as my first programmable software synth. It is a good first software synth to play with. I think the biggest draw to Pigments is it's beautiful UI and non-intimidating layout which makes it fun to use. However, once I dived into the U-he Zebra, Hive, Diva, and Repro synths, I haven't had any interest in Pigments since.


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## emid (Apr 21, 2021)

I have been thinking of getting it at crossgrade price from Keystep but this time despite fascinated by it's fancy gui and features, I have decided to behave. Pigment would have been great to have if I didn't have few other synths but also in all demos I found it's sound to be thin and plasticky. I could be completely wrong but so far I was not 'inspired' by the demos. I think to be in the category of most wanted synths, Arturia has to vastly improve on it's filters otherwise it has all the ingredients to become a great synth.


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## Flintpope (Apr 22, 2021)

Hey, thanks everyone! On balance I think I shall dive in and get it for the $99. I am intending to make my own presets with a view to releasing a pack one day, and I already notice far more interest in this synth than, for instance, Phaseplant, which is my current creative outlet. I appreciate hearing people's concerns about Pigments as much as their positive feelings, but on balance I think the comments regarding the granular synthesis and the new Juno filter outweigh the worries about a thin, plastic kind of sound, which I had noticed. I guess $99 isn't too much to risk though especially now we can add sub to everything with the Utility section. I shall give it a whirl!


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## doctoremmet (Apr 22, 2021)

Great! I am looking forward to your patches. Give me a preorder link and I’d gladly provide some pre-financing $


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## doctoremmet (Apr 22, 2021)

And I may have said this before... I kind of reassessed my relationship with Pigments (2) when I noticed Simon Stockhausen was engaged with it. Once I purchased his patches, I got rid of the notion that the plasticky character is indeed an intrinsic quality of this synth. To be clear: it is not. Emptyvessel’s presets also make this clear.









Palette for Arturia Pigments


Collection of demos for the sound library Palette for Pigments 2, available on patchpool.net




soundcloud.app.goo.gl


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## Flintpope (Apr 22, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Great! I am looking forward to your patches. Give me a preorder link and I’d gladly provide some pre-financing $


Thanks!


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## Flintpope (Apr 22, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> And I may have said this before... I kind of reassessed my relationship with Pigments (2) when I noticed Simon Stockhausen was engaged with it. Once I purchased his patches, I got rid of the notion that the plasticky character is indeed an intrinsic quality of this synth. To be clear: it is not. Emptyvessel’s presets also make this clear.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is very interesting info. I am a fan of Emptyvessel and anything Simon Stockhausen gets involved in lends it weight. Your assessment of the love/not-love relationship with the synth struck a chord too. I have this with most software synths that I use, though hate/hate would summarise my thoughts on Massive X. Phaseplant is the only piece of kit I fell in love with at first use, and I felt a similar warmth with Pigments, but thought I should be cautious. Thanks very much for your kind offer of support!


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## antonholmbom (Apr 22, 2021)

I think it is probably my favourite synth now to use!
It has an easy interface to work with, so many options for your sounddesign when it comes to the oscillators and filters and modulation and the preset bank is absolutely bonkers big! The granular engine is super cool and you can import your own samples into it just by dragging and dropping. One problem that I had with the previous versions was that it took some time to load and also switching patches but it is resolved for me in this new version, now it is very snappy!
Hope that helps!


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## doctoremmet (Apr 22, 2021)

Flintpope said:


> This is very interesting info. I am a fan of Emptyvessel and anything Simon Stockhausen gets involved in lends it weight. Your assessment of the love/not-love relationship with the synth struck a chord too. I have this with most software synths that I use, though hate/hate would summarise my thoughts on Massive X. Phaseplant is the only piece of kit I fell in love with at first use, and I felt a similar warmth with Pigments, but thought I should be cautious. Thanks very much for your kind offer of support!


My pleasure! Yes - Emptyvessel, Stockhausen, Richard Devine, Yuli Yolo - they are in a class of their own. So it tells you something when they dive “in” so to speak.

Strictly commercially speaking I am amazed at the sheer amount of marketshare Serum, Omnisphere, U-he and (some of) the NI synths take up when considering the “soundware” offerings that are out there. I think Pigments currently is in the tier just below those, but the ongoing support Arturia throws at it are very encouraging and make it better every iteration. I’d rather market patches for Pigments than for say... Equator 2 or MSoundFactory. I gather the installed base is pretty large by now - and steadily growing.


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## Flintpope (Apr 22, 2021)

Kerching! Just bought it. Thanks to everyone for their helpful comments.


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## fourier (Apr 22, 2021)

Worth noting that as with most soft synths (I think) Arturia has a very nice way to demo this and all its other synths, so there's no need to jump the gun without testing it properly. That said, and granted I got it at the crossgrade-price, it's very much one of my better investments in music software.


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## cuttime (Apr 22, 2021)

cuttime said:


> The new Harmonic and Utility Engines finally bring Pigments 3 to the front of the pack. I wrestled with Pigments ambivalence for the last year or so, feeling that I love the synth but not so much the sound, but the new modules and wavetables have given me much to love. Funny, I never thought the filters sounded thin, but the Juno filter should put that notion to rest. The Additive synthesis is the easiest I've ever tried, as it compares with Alchemy's additive engine, but much less cumbersome.


Yknow, that Harmonic Engine is really reminiscent of the Reaktor "Prism" synth. Not a bad thing.


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## Flintpope (Apr 23, 2021)

cuttime said:


> Yknow, that Harmonic Engine is really reminiscent of the Reaktor "Prism" synth. Not a bad thing.


I am a fan of Reaktor Prism, so much that I created my own update of Mikroprism (see link below, it's free) and yes, now I have Pigments my first call in my first new preset was the Harmonic Engine; it seemed very familiar and friendly. 

Also got some of Reaktor Razor vibes too.






ENTRY







bit.ly


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## Flintpope (Apr 23, 2021)

fourier said:


> Worth noting that as with most soft synths (I think) Arturia has a very nice way to demo this and all its other synths, so there's no need to jump the gun without testing it properly. That said, and granted I got it at the crossgrade-price, it's very much one of my better investments in music software.


I bought it and am now a huge fan


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## doctoremmet (Apr 23, 2021)

@Empty Vessel Can't stop playing this patch. Awesome work Greg! ❤️


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## sostenuto (Apr 23, 2021)

Flintpope said:


> I bought it and am now a huge fan


Convinced me now verus PhasePlant. Gonna add even with Omni 2.6, Spire, Massive-X, Vital, et al. 

( now ASC giving problems after long time working fine )


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## InLight-Tone (Apr 23, 2021)

typewriter said:


> Great synth - but mostly terrible presets. A general Arturia problem across all plugins.


So much TRUTH in that statement...


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## sostenuto (Apr 23, 2021)

InLight-Tone said:


> So much TRUTH in that statement..


Terrible or mostly 'meh' .... ? That was early critique of Vital .... among its many positives.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 23, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Terrible or mostly 'meh' .... ? That was early critique of Vital .... among its many positives.


Look. V Collection comes with 6000+ presets. There are always going to be ones you like and ones you don’t. 

The Pigments v3 factory set and the 5 banks of 100 presets that are part of Spectrum are mostly fantastic.

Plus... it’s a synth. With knobs. Not a preset player


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## givemenoughrope (Apr 23, 2021)

How does its granular compare to Falcon, Halion or some of the better Reaktor ensembles?


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## doctoremmet (Apr 23, 2021)

givemenoughrope said:


> How does it's granular compare to Falcon, Halion or some of the better Reaktor ensembles?


Falcon still is king of granular with the IRCAM engine. But honestly, Pigments does a damn fine job.


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## sostenuto (Apr 23, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Look. V Collection comes with 6000+ presets. There are always going to be ones you like and ones you don’t.
> 
> The Pigments v3 factory set and the 5 banks of 100 presets that are part of Spectrum are mostly fantastic.
> 
> Plus... it’s a synth. With knobs. Not a preset player


True, but great Presets make for fast access to needed sounds with less knob tweaking.
Vital Preset comment came from highly capable, published source who praises its many strengths.

'terrible' Arturia Presets post triggered my response. Glad to know Pigments 3.0 is strong in this regard.


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## phil_wc (Apr 24, 2021)

I bought when it was on sale and just played a bit with presets and kinda forget it. But after 3.0 update I open it again and try to make my own patches. I'm actually really impressed that it's easy to create presets because of this nice GUI. I love the sample engine that I can make some cool loop and random sound, or even a sound like Porter Robinson kind of.

But for film score I think it needs more presets. Of course you can create your own, but I prefer tweaking from presets to save time to score the whole film.

I also love Vital GUI. Both Vital and Pigments are easier to manipulate things than some other synths.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 24, 2021)

phil_wc said:


> But for film score I think it needs more presets.


I wholeheartedly recommend the €19 Spectrum preset pack for v3. It comes with 500 great presets. I have played through them briefly and they are indeed very suitable for cinematic uses (I feel).


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## phil_wc (Apr 24, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> I wholeheartedly recommend the €19 Spectrum preset pack for v3. It comes with 500 great presets. I have played through them briefly and they are indeed very suitable for cinematic uses (I feel).


Oh, I'll check that. Thanks a lot.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 24, 2021)

phil_wc said:


> Oh, I'll check that. Thanks a lot.


I can almost promise you’ll like it


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## mickeyl (Apr 24, 2021)

If I were to say “Pigments 3.0 is the first version that sounds good“, it would only be slightly exaggerated. The harmonic engine is a game changer.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 24, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> I wholeheartedly recommend the €19 Spectrum preset pack for v3. It comes with 500 great presets. I have played through them briefly and they are indeed very suitable for cinematic uses (I feel).


Headsup. After my purchase I was surprised to not see a bank called Spectrum, but 5 banks with other names, each containing 100 presets


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## doctoremmet (Apr 24, 2021)

mickeyl said:


> If I were to say “Pigments 3.0 is the first version that sounds good“, it would only be slightly exaggerated.


Slightly. But not completely false (it resonates with me)


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## Flintpope (Apr 24, 2021)

Flintpope said:


> Kerching! Just bought it. Thanks to everyone for their helpful comments.





Flintpope said:


> I have just got the demo and so far so impressed with the depth of tweakable detail I nearly paid $99 immediately. However, I am a sucker for a new piece of software (who isn't?) and wonder if anyone has had this kit for a while (earlier versions) and would like to share their thoughts. Is it worth it, basically?


Anyone care for my first (free) Arturia Pigments 3.0 patch?

It features a randomly tapping percussive piano note playing over a beating, moving background pad. Macros rebalance the elements but to kill rhythm mute Filter 2 on the Synth page.

I won't listen to any advice of course! LOL x

View attachment Scatter 2.mp4


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## sostenuto (Apr 24, 2021)

Weekly PluginGuru Livestream just spent some time on Pigments v3.0. Early comments touched on 'sound', yet as more v3.0 patches chosen (as well as new controls) more positive impressions flowed.
First apart typical focus on UNIFY ..... but _*Pigments 3 starts at ~ 36:00* _ John touches nicely on some new capabilities/features.


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## Trash Panda (Apr 24, 2021)

mickeyl said:


> If I were to say “Pigments 3.0 is the first version that sounds good“, it would only be slightly exaggerated. The harmonic engine is a game changer.


Would the harmonic engine let you recreate the harmonics of a snare type sound without needing to run 4-6 oscillators or stacking FM to the sky?


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## Geoff Grace (Apr 24, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Weekly PluginGuru Livestream just spent some time on Pigments v3.0. Early comments touched on 'sound', yet as more v3.0 patches chosen (as well as new controls) more positive impressions flowed.
> First apart typical focus on UNIFY ..... but _*Pigments 3 starts at ~ 36:00* _ John touches nicely on some new capabilities/features.



Thanks for the link, *sostenuto*.

Like @John Lehmkuhl, the sound is too digital for my taste. I also agree that they've done some creative things with the patch construction. If I were to buy it, I'd probably want to run it through analog emulation plugins—like True Iron or Lindell Audio 80 Series—and/or layer it with a warm synth—like Diva or Repro—to thicken the sound up.

Lots of people like the digital sound, however, so YMMV.

Best,

Geoff


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## emptyvessel (Apr 24, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> @Empty Vessel Can't stop playing this patch. Awesome work Greg! ❤️


Thank you sir  Because the presets were headed for the factory list (and some in those additional 500 preset expansions) there was a brief to work to so the 64 presets I submitted are less me than they could have been. Check out my mate Victor Morello (from Arturia) in the list too, some great stuff in what he made IMO.
I've got plans to port some of my TAL Sampler packs over to Pigments (and make new content), between the sample engine and the granular one results so far are encouraging and should give plenty of cinematic, dusty, slightly lofi pads and drones.
Overall I really like Pigments, I agree with you that the IRCAM granular in Falcon is certainly more flexible but there is still plenty to get your teeth into in Pigments.


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## sostenuto (Apr 24, 2021)

Geoff Grace said:


> Thanks for the link, *sostenuto*.
> 
> Like @John Lehmkuhl, the sound is too digital for my taste. I also agree that they've done some creative things with the patch construction. If I were to buy it, I'd probably want to run it through analog emulation plugins—like True Iron or Lindell Audio 80 Series—and/or layer it with a warm synth—like Diva or Repro—to thicken the sound up.
> 
> ...


These are some cool, perceptive ideas, and truly add to set of ideas going forward. 
Have True Iron, Lindell 80 Series, Repro 1/5, so you have offered most helpful guidance. 

Many thanks ! ✔️


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## Markrs (Apr 24, 2021)

Always nice to have a new video by Jef Gibbons, especially in this case as it is using Pigments 3


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## Laptoprabbit (Apr 24, 2021)

New Pigments update is awesome, sound-wise. But pretty sure the UI and launch speed got wayyy slower, at least for me. Not a problem if you have your DAW open all the time, but kind of defeats the purpose of the standalone.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Apr 25, 2021)

About the granular engine: did they improve it from v2? How do you think it compares to other granular synths, in particular NI's own (though older) Straylight and Pharlight?


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## cuttime (Apr 25, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> About the granular engine: did they improve it from v2? How do you think it compares to other granular synths, in particular NI's own (though older) Straylight and Pharlight?


As far as I can tell, they are the same. If you have v2, why not move to v3? The standalones can exist side by side, but installation of the plugins overwrite v2, at least on my Mac.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 25, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> About the granular engine: did they improve it from v2? How do you think it compares to other granular synths, in particular NI's own (though older) Straylight and Pharlight?


There are no changes in the engine. It is a fine granular synth. The only synth I feel has deeper and better sounding granular capacities is Falcon 2. I have never heard the NI ones...

If you are looking for non-synth granular options, I also like Meldaproduction MGranularMB. Oh and ROLI’s Equator 2 has excellent granular options as well.


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## sostenuto (Apr 25, 2021)

Duuuh .... Pigments 3 just installed. How do I verify Spectrum Sound Pack present and working ?


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## doctoremmet (Apr 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Duuuh .... Pigments 3 just installed. How do I verify Spectrum Sound Pack present and working ?


Go to the presets browser. Click My Banks. There should be five colourful banks waiting for you with names like Ochre... and... other names 

Oh. And have fun!!


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## Markrs (Apr 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Duuuh .... Pigments 3 just installed. How do I verify Spectrum Sound Pack present and working ?


If you bought it and it came with the presets or you bought them separately they should be in the store, within pigments as available to download. For some reason this didn't happen for me and I had to raise a support ticket to get the Sound Pack in the store as owned by me


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## KarlHeinz (Apr 25, 2021)

Look under "My banks":





If not there: look in the store if they are there and authorised, maybe you have to download (there is a small symbol on top of it if you have to) it after being authorised.


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## sostenuto (Apr 25, 2021)

THX guys. This why I asked.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 25, 2021)

Check. We need @Markrs in here.


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## doctoremmet (Apr 25, 2021)

KarlHeinz said:


> look in the store if they are there and authorised, maybe you have to download (there is a small symbol on top of it if you have to) it after being authorised.


Done this already?


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## doctoremmet (Apr 25, 2021)

Empty Vessel said:


> Overall I really like Pigments, I agree with you that the IRCAM granular in Falcon is certainly more flexible but there is still plenty to get your teeth into in Pigments.


@Tatiana Gordeeva This is a great endorsement from Greg @Empty Vessel who is a revered sound designer around here and who has made a couple of beautiful presets for Pigments. I’d take his judgment way more seriously than mine


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## sostenuto (Apr 25, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Done this already?


All cool ! Waaay down the 'My Orders' list is Spectrum Sound Pack and available for download 
( 5 packs ) Appreciate the tips ! 🙏


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## Markrs (Apr 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> THX guys. This why I asked.


This happened to me, I had to raise a ticket, but they sorted very quickly in only a few hours. Excellent service.


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## KarlHeinz (Apr 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> All cool ! Waaay down the 'My Orders' list is Spectrum Sound Pack and available for download
> ( 5 packs ) Appreciate the tips ! 🙏


Glad you got it solved, enjoy


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## jbuhler (Apr 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> All cool ! Waaay down the 'My Orders' list is Spectrum Sound Pack and available for download
> ( 5 packs ) Appreciate the tips ! 🙏


They aren't showing for me at all.


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## cuttime (Apr 25, 2021)

Yeah, I'm confused about the Spectrum Sound Pack, too. There seems to be _two _ways of downloading the packs. I downloaded them through Pigments itself (Browser>My Library>My Banks>Amethyst, Crimson, etc.) They seemed to unpack and authorize and were ready to play. I then got an email link from Arturia with download links and serial numbers and unlock codes which, at this point, I don't seem to need. This deal was the 19.99 crossgrade, as I was upgraing free from v2 to v3. Programming deals like this in e-commerce HTML must be a special kind of hell.


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## jbuhler (Apr 25, 2021)

cuttime said:


> Yeah, I'm confused about the Spectrum Sound Pack, too. There seems to be _two _ways of downloading the packs. I downloaded them through Pigments itself (Browser>My Library>My Banks>Amethyst, Crimson, etc.) They seemed to unpack and authorize and were ready to play. I then got an email link from Arturia with download links and serial numbers and unlock codes which, at this point, I don't seem to need. This deal was the 19.99 crossgrade, as I was upgraing free from v2 to v3. Programming deals like this in e-commerce HTML must be a special kind of hell.


No emails, nothing in the Store (just the packs at regular price), nothing in my banks except factory, Pigments 2 and Pigments 3.


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## KarlHeinz (Apr 25, 2021)

jbuhler said:


> They aren't showing for me at all.


This is really kind of a mess to get threw to it (I have been threw ).

In general there are two options:

- what sotenuto is talking about in last post: on your account page of arturia when you are logged in there are download links (which simply have not worked when I bought it but seems to work now as stated in the post above)

- in general with the arturia intaller all should be done automatically if you run and update

- then you could run pigments 3 (after update), preferred the standalone version

- you should see the soundpacks in your store as registered

- but you have to download each of them with that little icon on top of it before you can see it in your "my banks" folder


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## jbuhler (Apr 25, 2021)

KarlHeinz said:


> This is really kind of a mess to get threw to it (I have been threw ).
> 
> In general there are two options:
> 
> ...


No, I don't have any links on the account page. I only have Pigments, Keylabs, my various V Collections, and a few other freebies. I looked under both my products and my orders.

The Software installer (ASC) also doesn't have them. I just installed Pigments using the installer. I am running Pigments in standalone mode. The store shows packs for purchase.





I think the crossed out price and then the same price is a nice touch! (That's true for all the packs. It's like it should be showing a sale price.)

So it looks to me like it didn't register the additional packs when I purchased.


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## KarlHeinz (Apr 25, 2021)

jbuhler said:


> No, I don't have any links on the account page. I only have Pigments, Keylabs, my various V Collections, and a few other freebies. I looked under both my products and my orders.
> 
> The Software installer (ASC) also doesn't have them. I just installed Pigments using the installer. I am running Pigments in standalone mode. The store shows packs for purchase.
> 
> ...


Got it. When did you buy ? For me it took some hours till they show up for me, long after pigments have been upgraded to 3.

You could look into your account if you could download them. At the time the packs show up in my account I could not download them (was led to an error page).

But it seems you have not even the (wrong leading) links. I am not sure if it might still be a server problem (with the cheap prize including the new soundset), it took me hours to even log into my account with errors about connections. Then when I got (at least) pigments upgraded the same: nothing about the soundsets I just bought.

It is really a mess to get it done with the soundpacks so only thing I could recommend is to be patient (or take a support ticket but that might not speed up the process).

When they finally arrive it should be like in the post I did for sostenuto:

- first in your store as "registered"

- then you can download (with the small icon)

- finally in your "my banks"

Maybe just wait till tomorrow in case it is still a server problem and then if nothing changed write to support


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## jbuhler (Apr 25, 2021)

KarlHeinz said:


> Got it. When did you buy ? For me it took some hours till they show up for me, long after pigments have been upgraded to 3.
> 
> You could look into your account if you could download them. At the time the packs show up in my account I could not download them (was led to an error page).
> 
> ...


I just bought it. So I'll wait I guess... Thanks for the help. I appreciate it!


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## sostenuto (Apr 25, 2021)

On Arturia Site, logged in on your Account, in My Products, does Pigments appear ? 
Is Spectrum Sound Pack there as well ? I have many other Sound Banks/Packs, and
Pigments was high on list, while Spectrum Sound Packs was much further down. 

Good luck, regardless !


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## jbuhler (Apr 25, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> On Arturia Site, logged in on your Account, in My Products, does Pigments appear ?
> Is Spectrum Sound Pack there as well ? I have many other Sound Banks/Packs, and
> Pigments was high on list, while Spectrum Sound Packs was much further down.
> 
> Good luck, regardless !


Pigments appears both there and in the Arturia Software Center. But the Spectrum Sound Pack does not appear in either place. At this point I'll just wait and if I don't see anything tomorrow, I'll raise a ticket with support.


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## sostenuto (Apr 25, 2021)

For me, in Windows 10 Pro, ASC does not display any Sound Banks/Packs .... have (7) plus Spectrum.
No doubt all will be fine in day or so.


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## sean8877 (Apr 25, 2021)

I might be confused but based on the posts above it looks like the Spectrum Sound Pack was supposed to be included free when you upgrade from Pigments 2 -> 3? I bought it for $19 even though I already own Pigments 2. Maybe I'm misunderstanding? Thanks.


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## jbuhler (Apr 25, 2021)

sean8877 said:


> I might be confused but based on the posts above it looks like the Spectrum Sound Pack was supposed to be included free when you upgrade from Pigments 2 -> 3? I bought it for $19 even though I already own Pigments 2. Maybe I'm misunderstanding? Thanks.


The free sound packs were listed on the basic offer for buying Pigments.


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## sean8877 (Apr 25, 2021)

jbuhler said:


> The free sound packs were listed on the basic offer for buying Pigments.


Ok, so not if you already owned Pigments then. Thanks for clearing that up for me.


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## jbuhler (Apr 25, 2021)

sean8877 said:


> Ok, so not if you already owned Pigments then. Thanks for clearing that up for me.


They might be available for the upgrade too. Or maybe if you already have other Arturia products.


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## darkogav (Apr 25, 2021)

sean8877 said:


> I might be confused but based on the posts above it looks like the Spectrum Sound Pack was supposed to be included free when you upgrade from Pigments 2 -> 3? I bought it for $19 even though I already own Pigments 2. Maybe I'm misunderstanding? Thanks.


no. the upgrade from pigments 2 to 3 is free. but if you want to buy the spectrum colleciton its $19 for the packs.


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## galactic orange (Apr 25, 2021)

darkogav said:


> no. the upgrade from pigments 2 to 3 is free. but if you want to buy the spectrum colleciton its $19 for the packs.


Also, keep in mind that the $19 spectrum price for previous Pigments 2 owners is a limited time discounted price. I haven’t picked it up yet but I intend to before the deal is gone.


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## darkogav (Apr 26, 2021)

galactic orange said:


> Also, keep in mind that the $19 spectrum price for previous Pigments 2 owners is a limited time discounted price. I haven’t picked it up yet but I intend to before the deal is gone.


You can sample about 10 of each preset from each pack by just launching Pigments 3 and going to the store and clicking icon of the pack. It downloads 10 you can play around with in the DAW. Just closer the window and don't switch into the advanced settings of Pigments and the presets works as is. It gives you an idea of what they are.


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## KarlHeinz (Apr 26, 2021)

darkogav said:


> You can sample about 10 of each preset from each pack by just launching Pigments 3 and going to the store and clicking icon of the pack. It downloads 10 you can play around with in the DAW. Just closer the window and don't switch into the advanced settings of Pigments and the presets works as is. It gives you an idea of what they are.


Wow, thats a great tip . And it seems to work on all banks, not only the new ones. Really great that you can try it out this way, much better then any demos.


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## jbuhler (Apr 26, 2021)

Support came through. Evidently the website glitched and didn't give them to me when I purchased Pigments, but I now have the sound packs downloaded and installed.


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## sean8877 (Apr 26, 2021)

jbuhler said:


> Support came through. Evidently the website glitched and didn't give them to me when I purchased Pigments, but I now have the sound packs downloaded and installed.


Exact same thing happened to me, their support was really good and had them added to my account pretty quickly.


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## kgdrum (Apr 26, 2021)

I have seen some people on various forums mentioning Pigments 3 as an excessive CPU demanding synth. One person on KVR renamed it Pig 3,lol 
What’s the general consensus among VI-C users?


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## darkogav (Apr 26, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> I have seen some people on various forums mentioning Pigments 3 as an excessive CPU demanding synth. One person on KVR renamed it Pig 3,lol
> What’s the general consensus among VI-C users?


Some presets are CPU heavy. Most are not from what I have seen.


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## Michel Simons (Apr 26, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> I have seen some people on various forums mentioning Pigments 3 as an excessive CPU demanding synth. One person on KVR renamed it Pig 3,lol
> What’s the general consensus among VI-C users?


I only used a few presets so far and they were no problem at all. So it doesn't seem to be a general problem but more limited to some presets.


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## Macrawn (Apr 26, 2021)

I'm pretty tempted to get it on the sale. $100 is a good deal for an AAA synth. Generate which is great but more like a B series synth is $150 bucks (not on sale).


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## darkogav (Apr 26, 2021)

Macrawn said:


> I'm pretty tempted to get it on the sale. $100 is a good deal for an AAA synth. Generate which is great but more like a B series synth is $150 bucks (not on sale).


I have both. Generate gets a lot more use than Pigments does.


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## kgdrum (Apr 26, 2021)

Macrawn said:


> I'm pretty tempted to get it on the sale. $100 is a good deal for an AAA synth. Generate which is great but more like a B series synth is $150 bucks (not on sale).


You must not be smoking 💨 the right stuff,lol
Generate is probably my favorite new synth and imo one of the most interesting synths of the last year or two! I’m a total raving synthaholic that has way too many,for me Generate is simply awesome.
I’m curious in getting Pigments 3 partially because of all of its capabilities,it almost reminds me of a Swiss Army knife of a synth. It can do many things but I keep hearing people say it’s pretty good at most things but I don’t hear anyone falling off their chair saying this is fu*kin amazing,so I’m almost a bit leery. I can get this for $49 and I’m trying to figure if it’s the new hype and price or if it’s the actual synth I’m thinking about buying............


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## sostenuto (Apr 26, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> You must not be smoking 💨 the right stuff,lol
> Generate is probably my favorite new synth and one of the most interesting synths of the last year or two imo! I’m a total raving synthaholic that has way too many,for me Generate is simply awesome.
> I’m curious in getting Pigments 3 partially because of all of its capabilities,it almost reminds me of a Swiss Army knife of a synth. It can do many things but I keep hearing people say it’s pretty good at most things but I don’t hear anyone falling off their chair saying this is fu*kin amazing,so I’m almost a bit leery. I can get this for $49 and I’m trying to figure if it’s the new hype and price or if it’s the actual synth I’m thinking about buying............


How to Generate for $49. ?? Have Pendulate & very interested ! Even having just add Pigments 3 🤷‍♂️


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## kgdrum (Apr 26, 2021)

I’m saying even though I can get Pigments 3 for $49 I’m still somewhat hesitant. I keep hearing Pigments 3 is pretty good at lots of things but I keep hearing people say other synths are better at specific synth technologies.
fwiw I did get a good intro price w/Generate(I don’t remember how much but it was definitely a bargain) I have all of the other NewFangled products and a load of the Eventide roster, Eventide/NewFangled give users special intro pricing.


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## sostenuto (Apr 26, 2021)

Got it. Only have EQuivocate, Blackhole, R4, Pendulate, few others so far. 
$149. for Generate is a pass. Tone 2 - Warlock is getting some attention now @ $69.


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## kgdrum (Apr 26, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Got it. Only have EQuivocate, Blackhole, R4, Pendulate, few others so far.
> $149. for Generate is a pass. Tone 2 - Warlock is getting some attention now @ $69.


NewFangled will have it on sale BF in the meantime if they have any sales on other NewFangled products if you add them to your account prior to BF should qualify towards a better discount when you eventually purchase Generate.
Like I said earlier I don’t remember what I paid but it was well under $100,probably between $49 & $69
Whenever they release something now they always give me such a good intro price it’s always insta-buy.


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## MisteR (Apr 27, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> I’m saying even though I can get Pigments 3 for $49 I’m still somewhat hesitant.


I would definitely demo first.


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Apr 27, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> I have seen some people on various forums mentioning Pigments 3 as an excessive CPU demanding synth. One person on KVR renamed it Pig 3,lol
> What’s the general consensus among VI-C users?


Pig 3  Actually I'm working on a track right now with 14 separate instances of Pigments and about half of them use a granular engine without a problem. This is on a Win10 Pro machine running Cubase Pro 11.

I should add that you should "tune" your machine carefully to get the most out of it: get rid of all useless apps running in background, optimize memory usage, etc. Then everything is much better.


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## darkogav (Apr 27, 2021)

Tatiana Gordeeva said:


> Pig 3  Actually I'm working on a track right now with 14 separate instances of Pigments and about half of them use a granular engine without a problem. This is on a Win10 Pro machine running Cubase Pro 11.
> 
> I should add that you should "tune" your machine carefully to get the most out of it: get rid of all useless apps running in background, optimize memory usage, etc. Then everything is much better.


agreed with this.

good resource in case of use









Windows Tuning Tips for Audio Processing


This guide covers important information on how to detect and resolve audio performance issues (crackling, dropouts, artifacts) on Windows systems during audio playback. Note: You can also view the ...




support.native-instruments.com


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (Apr 27, 2021)

All the NI tricks mentioned by @darkogav are useful but my tech told me that deactivating Intel Speedstepping directly in the BIOS of my system was _the_ crucial thing. I don't care much about noise (system is soundproofed) or power consumption (I live in Quebec where electricity is dirt cheap, kinda). Apparently some people say that it should not change anything. I guess that this depends on your motherboard as in my case it did, big time, especially for granular synths like Pigments.


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## doctoremmet (May 1, 2021)

Noticed this. Haven’t checked them yet. 50 free presets. “Free” meaning it will cost you an email address 



https://samplicity.fm/product/arturia-pigments-3-presets-free/


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (May 2, 2021)

We should create a place to share/show where free (legal) Pigments (v1, v2, v3) patches can be found on the internet. Links like the one @doctoremmet (who seemed to have aged prematurely ) just posted above.


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## Alchemedia (May 2, 2021)

Macrawn said:


> I'm pretty tempted to get it on the sale. $100 is a good deal for an AAA synth. Generate which is great but more like a B series synth is $150 bucks (not on sale).


"B series"? On the contrary, Generate is brilliant and truly unique synth and about to be updated in 2 days!


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## Macrawn (May 2, 2021)

Alchemedia said:


> "B series"? On the contrary, Generate is brilliant and truly unique synth and about to be updated in 2 days!


I thought I made my love for Generate clear. It's great and brilliant. 

B series in the sense that it's not a workhorse like Falcon 2, Massive X, Zebra 2. It's in a different category of synths.


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## kgdrum (May 2, 2021)

Macrawn said:


> I thought I made my love for Generate clear. It's great and brilliant.
> 
> B series in the sense that it's not a workhorse like Falcon 2, Massive X, Zebra 2. It's in a different category of synths.


These are categories in your own paradigm, in my reality Massive X is not a “workhorse “ or even a consideration of a synth I’d be interested in using.
There are no absolutes but to dismiss a synth that’s unique and somewhat niche with a 2nd run version of a popular synth that’s been panned by many people or is unusable by a large segment of synthesists as a “workhorse“ is a stretch in *my reality*.
Generate might not be your cup of tea but for many of us it’s one of the most interesting and promising *NEW* synths to come around in a very long time.
Many people dismiss Absynth as old and outdated for me even today I think Absynth is still one of the best synths NI ever released and is on my short list of 1st call synths,Massive 1 I never liked and Massive X I’ve never tried(my Mac can’t run it).

Of course all of this is all subjective and a matter of “taste” but I think we can all agree there are no absolutes.


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## Alchemedia (May 3, 2021)

Macrawn said:


> I thought I made my love for Generate clear. It's great and brilliant.
> 
> B series in the sense that it's not a workhorse like Falcon 2, Massive X, Zebra 2. It's in a different category of synths.





kgdrum said:


> These are categories in your own paradigm, in my reality Massive X is not a “workhorse “ or even a consideration of a synth I’d be interested in using.
> There are no absolutes but to dismiss a synth that’s unique and somewhat niche with a 2nd run version of a popular synth that’s been panned by many people or is unusable by a large segment of synthesists as a “workhorse“ is a stretch in *my reality*.
> Generate might not be your cup of tea but for many of us it’s one of the most interesting and promising *NEW* synths to come around in a very long time.
> Many people dismiss Absynth as old and outdated for me even today I think Absynth is still one of the best synths NI ever released and is on my short list of 1st call synths,Massive 1 I never liked and Massive X I’ve never tried(my Mac can’t run it).
> ...


On the nose!


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## Macrawn (May 3, 2021)

Alchemedia said:


> On the nose!





kgdrum said:


> These are categories in your own paradigm, in my reality Massive X is not a “workhorse “ or even a consideration of a synth I’d be interested in using.
> There are no absolutes but to dismiss a synth that’s unique and somewhat niche with a 2nd run version of a popular synth that’s been panned by many people or is unusable by a large segment of synthesists as a “workhorse“ is a stretch in *my reality*.
> Generate might not be your cup of tea but for many of us it’s one of the most interesting and promising *NEW* synths to come around in a very long time.
> Many people dismiss Absynth as old and outdated for me even today I think Absynth is still one of the best synths NI ever released and is on my short list of 1st call synths,Massive 1 I never liked and Massive X I’ve never tried(my Mac can’t run it).
> ...


That's all cool. I'm not dismissing Generate, it's one of the best synths to come out last year. I am pointing out a difference however between something like Falcon 2 and Generate. There are huge differences in the types of sounds you can get from Falcon vs. Generate because of the amount of tools and effects built it. For example Generate I think only has reverb, chorus, delay, and maybe a phaser? Falcon 2 has more different kinds of filters than Generate has effects. 

However there are certain sounds that Generate can make that would be impossible on Falcon 2 which makes Generate unique and great. 

I think there are classes of soft synths out there. 

There are synths you can pick up for sub $100 like generate on sale that are fantastic. Lion is one of those as well. 

But you cannot create the wide range of sounds that you can with Falcon 2, Massive X, Phaseplant, and probably Pigments goes in there as well. 

So call them what you want. If you think Generate can create the same range of sounds that Falcon 2 can and that there is no difference between lower priced synths that do a few things great and more complex synths that have a boatload of more tools that's cool. 

I think the point I was making before everyone got mad about it was that Pigments for $100 is a pretty darn good deal based on the amount of tools in it. But it's only a good deal if you like the sound and workflow like with any synth. 

It's kinda funny that I probably think Generate is as good as how you view it (or better) but you are trying to make it seem like I don't like it or think badly of it or something is wrong with it. It's a fantastic synth. Read that last line again please.


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## kgdrum (May 3, 2021)

Macrawn said:


> That's all cool. I'm not dismissing Generate, it's one of the best synths to come out last year. I am pointing out a difference however between something like Falcon 2 and Generate. There are huge differences in the types of sounds you can get from Falcon vs. Generate because of the amount of tools and effects built it. For example Generate I think only has reverb, chorus, delay, and maybe a phaser? Falcon 2 has more different kinds of filters than Generate has effects.
> 
> However there are certain sounds that Generate can make that would be impossible on Falcon 2 which makes Generate unique and great.
> 
> ...


I guess that’s how we see this from a totally different perspective I don’t equate the price or the amount of built in effects of a synth as a way to accurately and effectively determine the value and usefulness of a synth. If a synth brings something new and different to the table even if it’s inexpensive and somewhat limited I still might consider this new option more of an interesting choice than a “workhorse “ synth.
Using Pigments as an example I can get this for $49 with the current offer yet and I’m still hesitating because numerous users are reporting while Pigments is extremely powerful it’s just OK at many of its tasks and can be quite demanding CPU wise for many users on some of the presets.
I hear more people praising the intro-price or capabilities of Pigments 3 while most reactions from users purely on the sonic capabilities seem to be more lukewarm to tepid. 
So what keeps me hesitant with Pigments 3 and the question I keep asking myself am I Pigment-curious because of the actual synth or the intro pricing?


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## Solarsentinel (May 3, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> I guess that’s how we see this from a totally different perspective I don’t equate the price or the amount of built in effects of a synth as a way to accurately and effectively determine the value and usefulness of a synth. If a synth brings something new and different to the table even if it’s inexpensive and somewhat limited I still might consider this new option more of an interesting choice than a “workhorse “ synth.
> Using Pigments as an example I can get this for $49 with the current offer yet and I’m still hesitating because numerous users are reporting while Pigments is extremely powerful it’s just OK at many of its tasks and can be quite demanding CPU wise for many users on some of the presets.
> I hear more people praising the intro-price or capabilities of Pigments 3 while most reactions from users purely on the sonic capabilities seem to be more lukewarm to tepid.
> So what keeps me hesitant with Pigments 3 and the question I keep asking myself am I Pigment-curious because of the actual synth or the intro pricing?


I suggest you to try the demo. I did, and like you, i was more tempted by the actual offer than the synth itself. Sure it is a great synth, with a lot of possibilities, and the GUI is very good, you can do things really easily. 
But in the end, i don't like the taste and the overall sound. It's completly personnal taste, but luckylly there was the demo to test it and make my final choice  Thanks Arturia!
The new harmonic engine and the noises sources are still really cool!


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## kgdrum (May 3, 2021)

Solarsentinel said:


> I suggest you to try the demo. I did, and like you, i was more tempted by the actual offer than the synth itself. Sure it is a great synth, with a lot of possibilities, and the GUI is very good, you can do things really easily.
> But in the end, i don't like the taste and the overall sound. It's completly personnal taste, but luckylly there was the demo to test it and make my final choice  Thanks Arturia!
> The new harmonic engine and the noises sources are still really cool!


Thanks that would be a great if somewhat obvious suggestions if I was somewhat normal,lol 😂
As irrational as it might be I generally prefer not trying demos and I either buy or don’t buy and it’s almost always the correct decision.
Back in the day when we were were working with limited space and resources I got used to not trying demos and for better or worse I generally have adhered to this archaic irrational behavior.
While I know trying the demo is the logical course of action and makes total sense I prefer not having demo authorizations and content cluttering up my system. 😜


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## sostenuto (May 3, 2021)

Hmmm..... Prefer manipulating /hearing libs, fx, et al, on my studio systems whenever possible/practical. Contributes to 'expectations = reality ..... ymmv


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## kgdrum (May 3, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Hmmm..... Prefer manipulating /hearing libs, fx, et al, on my studio systems whenever possible/practical. Contributes to 'expectations = reality ..... ymmv


I agree 100% but I don’t always want to be motivated by rational choices and decisions,lol of course ymmv


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## doctoremmet (May 5, 2021)




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## doctoremmet (May 5, 2021)

More free Pigments 3 presets here. Set album price to zero:


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## Tatiana Gordeeva (May 5, 2021)

OK, maybe it's not THAT crazy but here's my track entitled _Perception_ that I just announced here: 





Perception, my latest track made entirely with Arturia Pigments 3


Hi everyone! Let me share with you my latest track and video entitled Perception. It is made entirely with Arturia Pigments v3, actually 18 tracks of separate Pigments synths running concurrently with mostly granular and harmonic engines. Even percussion instruments are made with it :) I really...




vi-control.net




It's a good demo I think of what Pigments v3 can do. I used 18 instances of it (no DAW track freezing!), most of them using the granular or the new harmonic engines. Running Cubase Pro 11 on Win10 (PC). Ozone, EQs, etc. the works!  

Oh, and by the way, don't miss the YT video! Really cool stuff there too!


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## from_theashes (May 7, 2021)

I think Pigments is the most easy-to-use-synth for total synth noobs (like me) to creat pads and soundscapes. Last night I just threw different samples into the Sample Engine of the same preset and played with the different noises... that way I created 20 different pad-Sounds in minutes!
I used to buy sound design libraries for Kontakt like Spitfire Contemporary Drama Toolkit or Heavyocity Gravity, that included those sounds, because I was not able to create them myself with the synths I had (like Massive X, Reaktor, Super 8, Vital). But Pigments is just so easy and is so intuitive... I‘m totally blown away.


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## jcrosby (May 7, 2021)

from_theashes said:


> Last night I just threw different samples into the Sample Engine of the same preset and played with the different noises... that way I created 20 different pad-Sounds in minutes!


While I absolutely love Pigments in just about every possible way, one thing I have to point out is the user sample folder bookmarking features is completely sloppy. Pigments can't see inside of folders with subdirectories. This means Pigments allows you to bookmark a folder it can't actually look inside of. 

It also means if you want to bookmark sample folders (which I certainly do...) you have to add a whole bunch of separate folders if you don't keep all of your samples inside a single folder with no subdirectories. (Who does?!) This gets really messy really fast.

This is the one thing about Pigments that really bothers me. No instrument (or app of any kind for that matter) should allow you to bookmark folders it can't look inside of for the type of content it's intended to show you. It makes no sense!


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