ARTURIA PIGMENTS 3
€99 The Pigments powerhouse gets upgraded to v3, adding more engines, more waveforms and more effects. Have we reached saturation point?
After 20 years of successfully producing software synths based on classic hardware products, Arturia released their first unique synth, Pigments, in 2018 – and now we have Pigments 3. Pigments is a synth instrument that works as a standalone application so you can play live with a keyboard controller, or as a plugin within your favourite host software. Pigments combines virtual analogue and wavetable synthesis, and includes filters, effects, modulation, sequencing and arpeggiation. Version 2, released in 2019, added sample-based and granular synthesis, as well as MPE (MIDI Polyrhythmic Expression).
Now we’re looking at Pigments 3, which includes a new Harmonic Engine for additive synthesis; a Utility Engine, with a sub oscillator, supplemental analogue waveforms, and two noise sources – so now up to three Engines can be layered together. There are also 80+ new wavetables, and other additions and improvements. Pigments 3 installs as Audio Unit, VST, or AAX plugins, as well as the standalone mode. The review was conducted with a 2019 iMac running macOS Big Sur, Ableton Live 11, and assorted MIDI keyboards and controllers.
All of Pigments’ controls are contained in one panel, but some tab-clicking is required – inconvenient but not unusual for such a fullfeatured synth. From left to right, there’s the preset browser, Synth, FX, and Seq tabs, a Tips icon, and Master Volume. Below that, there are the tabs for three Engines – 1, 2, and Utility, followed by a Filter section, then a row of modulation controls, with more tabs – this time toggling views of an on-screen keyboard, envelopes, LFOs, Functions (three complex modulation sources), randomisation, and Combinators (another type of modulation source that combines two other modulation sources). Finally at the lower right are four Macro controls, and a button which enables
MPE and displays some relevant options.
The extensive preset library tells you everything you need to know about Pigments in general – excellent quality sounds, with depth and movement, more focused on blatantly being a synth rather than emulating real instruments, and many using the built-in
“More focused on blatantly being a synth rather than emulating real instruments”