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Arturia Pigments 3.0. Any thoughts?

Flintpope

Flintpope

Sound designer and seller of BRILLO
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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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.
 

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 vi-control.net
 
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 :)
 
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.
Click to expand...
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 :whistling:. 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: o_O. 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 .........
 
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.
 
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.
 
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!
 
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.

soundcloud.app.goo.gl

Palette for Arturia Pigments

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

soundcloud.app.goo.gl

Palette for Arturia Pigments

Collection of demos for the sound library Palette for Pigments 2, available on patchpool.net
soundcloud.app.goo.gl soundcloud.app.goo.gl
Click to expand...
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!
 
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!
 
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!
Click to expand...
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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