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Pigments
Polychrome software synthesizer.
Pigments is a software VST with the power to create any sound, from the best mix-ready modern presets to deep custom sound design. Explore every shade of synthesis and make your wildest sonic fantasy a full-color reality, whatever your style.
Bridging the gap between mind and matter
A revolution in modern synthesis, Pigments’ approach to sound design is as intricate as it is accessible. Craft epic, high-resolution, surgically-precise and hard-hitting sounds with an all-encompassing interface, tailor-made for forward-thinking producers.
Limitless sound design
A powerful end-to-end software synthesizer, Pigments makes it easier than ever to explore an infinite spectrum of sound. Four forms of synthesis, 1500 + sounds, one-click modulation & sequencing, immediately expressive macros & FX - all instantly gratifying to use.
Vibrant and intuitive workflow
Visualize and refine your sound in style with an interface that matches your creative flow. Whether honing a composition in the Play View, tuning a color-coded modulation or seeing a patch or preset come alive with dynamic visualization - Pigments invites play and supports process.
On the pulse
Pigments’ sonic powers truly shine at the forefront of contemporary music production. Its vast and clear-cut sounds are no stranger to world’s leading electronic genres - from trap, bass music and EDM to house, electro, lo-fi, electronica, cinematic sounds and beyond.
Make it your own
Personalize Pigments to suit your setup and create your own sounds with custom appearance, play modes, audio routing, preset playlists, external sound sources and more.
What’s new in Pigments 5?
Reduced CPU consumption
Pigments now utilizes multi-core processing for greater CPU efficiency, allowing more users to explore this powerful softsynth with ease.
Melodize any sound in 1 click
Explore the new generative sequencer, featuring one-click sequence generation and new play modes, as well as saveable presets and sequence browsing. Make use of the sequencer lock to apply your sequence settings to any sound.
Process any audio with Pigments
You can now process external audio in Pigments from the Utility engine, by routing the sound to the instrument through the track sidechain input. Additional FX routing options have also been integrated.
Greater synthesis
Discover a selection of new wavetables and samples in Pigments 5, offering more ways than ever to craft your sound
Compose in style
Pigment’s refreshed interface includes an improved play view, with new visualisers and other UX enhancements.
New Factory Library and Expansions
Enjoy a selection of 100 new factory presets alongside 3 new preset expansions, showcasing a range of bold, colorful and expansive sounds that Pigments is renowned for.
No better place for modern music production
From the most futuristic electronic music to innovative beatmaking, Pigments is a radical solution to modern synthesis able to produce infinite shades of sound, from the impactful to the pearlescent - now with more sounds than ever to get started.
Advanced synthesis made easy
Discover uncharted depths and melodic heights with more ways than ever to design, sculpt, modulate and arpeggiate your sound. With an intuitive, color-coded design, Pigments takes the intricate details of sound creation and makes them instantly accessible, enjoyable, and yours to explore.
Multiple synthesis types
Pigments puts you in control of 4 powerful sound engine types: Sample & Granular, Wavetable, Harmonic and Virtual analog. Combine any pairing of these engines with an additional Utility oscillator, sampled noise and your own sounds for a near-infinite synthesis palette.
Color-coded design
Never lose track of your changes and modulation with Pigments’ intelligent color-coding - designed to support your workflow and make patch alteration both memorable and effortless.
Generative sequencing & arpeggiator
Pigments doesn’t just make amazing synth sounds - it makes music. Weave beautiful melodies, create evolving stepped modulations, and animate your whole sound with a simple yet powerful sequencing and arpeggiation engine that keeps your sound moving.
Advanced effect processing
Add the finishing touches or send your patches into sonic orbit with a vast yet accessible array of filtering and FX options. Combine or collide dual filters with a selection of classic & modern modes, and sprinkle endless color into any sound with studio-grade FX, from shimmering reverbs to wild distortions.
Drag & drop modulation
Unleash, mutate, and elevate your sound until it’s entirely your own with instant drag-and-drop modulation. Create novel pathways between engines, filters and FX for uniquely experimental audio manipulation.
Midi Polyphonic Expression
Pigments’ pairs seamlessly with MPE controllers that allow for more expressive and nuanced control over multiple parameters as you play. Discover new realms of expressivity with Pigments MPE-compatible library.
Your blank sonic canvas
Pigments versatile sound making capabilities mean that only your imagination is the limit - from bright nylon-like plucks and epic leads, to dark and denatured bass and deep cinematic soundscapes.
End-to-end sound design
There can be a lot to take-in when learning a new instrument, therefore Pigments has been designed to make your sound design effortless and intuitive, whether you are a synthesis pro or just starting out. Explore the all-encompassing sonic capabilities of pigments, step-by-step.
Learn more about the signal chain and hear each engine, filter and FX in action over at the Details page.
- 1/ ENGINES
- 2/ FILTERS
- 3/ KEYBOARD
- 4/ MODULATION
- 5/ MACROS
- 6/ FXS
- 7/ SEQUENCER
- 8/ ADDITIONAL MODES TABS
Choose between 3 engine slots and 4 methods of sound generation to suit your every need: Pigments harnesses the combinatory power of Sample & Granular, Wavetable, Harmonic and Virtual Analog synthesis, alongside a Utility engine which provides additional oscillators and sampled noise. Don’t forget, you can process external audio too
Quotes
Nicky Romero
DJ / Producer (Britney Spears, David Guetta)
“I love how Pigments sounds so warm, and how easy it is to achieve the result you are looking for with your music. Great job on how the interface is done, all functions are easy to be found, even if you are new to this synthesizer. 5/5.”
Marius de Vries
Composer (La La Land, Moulin Rouge)
“Been a long time since I got to know a soft-synth that feels so alive! Beautifully designed, original, and deep, and it sounds great. ”
Emre Türkmen
Solo Artist / Band Member (Years & Years)
“From sparkling highs to rumbling lows, this has everything you need and then some.”
Howie B
Producer (Björk, U2) / Pussyfoot Records
“I can very quickly get and create what I hear in my head. Sonically sound and visually a treat use.”
Mark Ayres
Radiophonic Workshop
“Deep… both gloriously old-fashioned and fashionably modern. It follows the MatrixBrute path of almost infinite modulation which is a very good thing. Can’t wait to start importing my own Waveforms. ”
Plaid
Producers (Björk, Mara Carlyle)
“We love it, there is a real detail and depth in its sound, the modulation assignment and routing system is one of the best we’ve used, making complex structures clear. Its potential is exciting, we’ve still got lots to discover.”
Scoop DeVille
Producer
“The depth of sound from Pigments - I'm so deeply inside of it now that I don't hear things the same! ”
Janus Rasmussen
DJ / Producer / Band Member (KIASMOS)
“It's a very inviting synth. Before you know it, you'll be tweaking your own intricate and interesting presets. Pigments has a good balance between being simple and really deep, which is no small feat for this many features.”
Chizzy
Producer (Jennifer Lopez, Candice Glover)
“I love how the presets in Pigments have a warm and unique texture, but the intuitive interface makes it easy to go in there and create the exact sound that you hear in your head.”
The features you need
ASC
DAW ready
Preset browser
Resizable GUI
Perfect integration
Main Features
Two engines in parallel
- Virtual Analog triple-osc engine
- Complex Wavetable engine
- Sample and Granular engine
- Harmonic Oscillator additive engine
- Includes Engine Crossmod
Utility Engine
- 5-shape Virtual Analog Oscillator
- 2 Sample-based Noise Engines
- External audio input
Two filters
- Classic filter types from V Collection instruments
- Modern filter types
- Continuous series/parallel routing
Powerful FX section
- 2 Insert buses, 1 Send bus, 3 FX per bus
- Modulable parameters
- 18 algorithms including Shimmer Reverb, MultiBand Compressor, Chorus JUN-6, and more.
Advanced modulation system
- Color-coded workflow
- Drag-and-drop assign, hover-over adjustment
- Envelopes, LFOs, Function generators, Random src, and more
- 4 dynamic, assignable Macro controls
Visual interface
- Graphical representation of the most important modules
- Simplified Play Mode
- Dark or Light themes
Polyrhythmic Sequencer and Arpeggiator
- Create complex, custom and evolving sequences/arps
- Advanced random sequence generator
- Sequencer lock & browser
Extensive library of 1500 presets
MTS-ESP microtuning compatibility
MPE compatibility
NKS controller compatible
Platform specifications
Windows
- Win 10+ (64bit)
- 4 GB RAM
- 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost)
- 3GB free hard disk space
- OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
- ARM processors not supported on Windows
Required configuration
- Works in Standalone, VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS* (64-bit DAWs only).
Apple
- Mac OS 11.0+
- 4 GB RAM
- 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or Apple Silicon CPU
- 3GB free hard disk space
- OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
Work with ASC
- An elegant and simple solution to help you install, activate, and update your Arturia software instruments.
All manufacturer and product names mentioned on this page are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Arturia. The trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose features and sound were studied during the development. All names of equipment, inventors, and manufacturers have been included for illustrative and educational purposes only, and do not suggest any affiliation or endorsement by any equipment inventor or manufacturer.
*NKS ready
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