6 of the best digital
Waldorf PPG Wave 3.V Mac/PC €156.00 Billed as a reincarnation of the legendary PPG Wave synthesiser, it has been modelled by Waldorf, the rightful family heirs to the original. Impressively, it includes more than 100 new wavetables, created by Wolfgang Palm, as well as all of the original Waveterm B factory sounds. It’s an impressively up-todate collection. waldorfmusic.com Native Instruments FM8 Mac/PC £129.00 Despite being one of the oldest synth plugins in our lineup, FM8 continues to be a highly regarded go-to for DX7 style or FM synthesis sounds. Packed with 960 presets, which are searchable, it contains many of the classic sounds from the original DX series, along with a vast number of sharp and crystal-clean FM sounds. native-instruments.com
UVI Emulation II Mac/PC €199.00
If you were unable to afford a Fairlight CMI (ie most of us) one of the alternatives was the Emulator I or II by E-mu Systems. This sampledriven system was a hit with artists as diverse as Vangelis, who used one on the score to Blade Runner, and the Pet Shop Boys, who frequently employed the preset library. UVI have assembled a vast array of samples and drum sounds from these E-mu machines, in a production-ready format. uvi.net
Arturia CMI V Mac/PC €149.00
In the world of the Fairlight, CMI stands for Computer Musical Instrument, hence Arturia’s appropriate product naming. This plugin facsimile sounds amazingly close to the original machine, but it is a shame that it does come with the light pen, to draw waves. You can’t have it all, but what you can have is many of the original sounds, with plenty of resynthesised contemporary sounds, to complete the package. arturia.com
GForce ImpOSCar 2 Mac/PC £99.99 ex VAT
Stylish software artisans GForce modelled the OSCar synthesiser a while ago. Now in its version 2 form, the plugin development moves on, with some new patches curated and designed by original OSCar artists, such as Billy Currie from Ultravox! and Paul Hartnol from Orbital. It can be beautiful, or scream-a-lead – the choice is yours. gforcesoftware.com
Plugin Boutique VirtualCZ Mac/PC £29.95
Like your FM sounds slightly crusty? Casio’s answer to FM, known as Phase Modulation, could be what you’re looking for. This cost-effective little cracker offers lots of control over the sound, in an editing format which original CZ101 users would have yearned for. All parameters are on display, and you can get your hands dirty and change the sound at will. pluginboutique.com