Arturia releases Pigments 2, its versatile synth plug-in, as a free upgrade
Existing users of the soft synth get version 2 for free, with new users receiving a special intro price.
Arturia Pigments impressed us earlier on this year thanks to its broad range of modulation options and creative possibilities. Not waiting too long to improve on the already brilliant soft synth, Arturia has dropped Pigments 2, available as a free upgrade to existing users, or at a discounted rate for Arturia customers. Although combining virtual analogue, wavetable sampling and granular synthesis, the company says that the plug-in “makes advanced modulations seem like child’s play”, so let’s dive in and see what’s new.
Start your engines
A new sample engine in Pigments 2 will allow you to choose from hundreds of samples or import your own. Six different slots are available, with six different playback modes, letting you loop, edit and utilise Pigment’s vast modulation abilities to transform the sample to your taste. A new filter and delay are now onboard the plug-in, featuring the sound of the Buchla Easel low pass gate and space-age echo.
Thanks to the new granular synth mode, you can take samples and transform them into granular patches, with parameters to adjust density, envelope, size, and randomisation options. Pigments 2 features an improved sequencer, with non-destructive randomness now possible. If you aren’t fond of what you’ve laid down, you can return to what was present before the changes.
Further improvements
Arturia has refined some of the features available in Pigments 2, including a new interface, MPE capability, a new undo/redo function and an enhance modulation bar. Hundreds of new presets are packed into the new version, featuring contributions from Arturia’s team of expert sound designers.
Speaking on the update, Arturia’s Sam Limier said “to say we’re proud is an understatement. What started as a dream is now a reality, and we couldn’t be more excited to let new and old customers alike experience Pigments like never before. The first version was audacious, but Pigments 2 brings the reality much closer to our original ambition. I look forward to hearing how musicians integrate all this granular synth and sample-shaping power with the crazy modulation stuff Pigments is capable of.”
Arturia Pigments 2 is available now, free for upgrading users and an intro price of $/€99 until 7 January 2020. A free trial is also available. Find out more at Arturia.com
