Arturia
Encyclopedia
Arturia is a software company located in Grenoble
, France
and founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers. The company's focus is on the development of electronic music software and tools - primarily emulation of vintage analog synthesizers. Arturia's recreations are said to be so "astounding" that the company even received accolades from Robert A. Moog, the inventor of the Moog Synthesizer
. The company's products are in use by a number of notable musicians on a large number of movie soundtracks and hit records.
Early analog instruments such as the Minimoog
and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
had analog components and were known for their instability "on the road" and for their oscillators "drifting." In recent years, computer processing power has advanced to the point that companies such as Arturia have been able to recreate virtually these classic instruments.
One of Arturia's core technologies is TAE (True Analog Emulation), a technique which allows for the accurate modelling of the behavior of analog circuits on a personal computer. This technology, developed by Arturia, has been employed to successfully recreate the sounds produced by many analog synthesizers.
and RTAS
) which can be loaded in various music studio software, such as Cubase, Pro Tools
, Digital Performer
, or Logic
. Arturia's software synthesizer line are highly rated by professionals and amateurs alike, although nearly all plug-ins released by Arturia tend to suffer from major teething problems initially. Commonly, Arturia releases a plug-in, receives feedback from the public regarding bugs, glitches, and in some cases, outright inaccuracies. These are then ironed out through updates to the instrument until it is stable, reliable and tantalizingly authentic.
. The aforementioned TAE technology was used to emulate analog circuits.
2003 in New York, Arturia launched its third product: The CS-80 V, a software emulation of the Yamaha CS-80
, which has been widely used in the realms of both popular electronic music and film scores, including the film Chariots of Fire
and for the bass line in the 1980 - 1985 version of the Doctor Who
theme tune.
synthesizer which competed directly with the Minimoog. The program enhances upon ARP 2600 release while sacrificing authenticity (to some extent), adding features such a 2x8 step sequencer based on the ARP Model 1601 Sequencer.
laboratory.
of the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 and Prophet VS synthesizers, based one the same TAE analogue modelling technology as the Moog Modular V, CS80V, ARP 2600 V, and Minimoog V.
of the Roland Jupiter-8
analog synthesizer, made famous by Duran Duran
. It was released in February 2007.
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and founded in 1999 by Frédéric Brun and Gilles Pommereuil, both INPG-qualified engineers. The company's focus is on the development of electronic music software and tools - primarily emulation of vintage analog synthesizers. Arturia's recreations are said to be so "astounding" that the company even received accolades from Robert A. Moog, the inventor of the Moog Synthesizer
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
. The company's products are in use by a number of notable musicians on a large number of movie soundtracks and hit records.
Early analog instruments such as the Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...
and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California between 1977 and 1984. The Prophet-5 was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first analog synthesizers to implement patch memory, a feature which stored user settings of every parameter...
had analog components and were known for their instability "on the road" and for their oscillators "drifting." In recent years, computer processing power has advanced to the point that companies such as Arturia have been able to recreate virtually these classic instruments.
One of Arturia's core technologies is TAE (True Analog Emulation), a technique which allows for the accurate modelling of the behavior of analog circuits on a personal computer. This technology, developed by Arturia, has been employed to successfully recreate the sounds produced by many analog synthesizers.
Products
Arturia has developed and currently markets nine music software products, and recently announced their first hardware product at the 2007 NAMM show. Their instrument emulations are usable both as either a stand-alone program or as a plug-in (DXi, VSTi, Audio UnitsAudio Units
Audio Units are a system-level plug-in architecture provided by Core Audio in Mac OS X developed by Apple Computer. Audio Units are a set of application programming interface services provided by the operating system to generate, process, receive, or otherwise manipulate streams of audio in...
and RTAS
Real Time AudioSuite
Real-Time AudioSuite is a format of audio plug-in developed by Digidesign, currently Avid Technology for their Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered systems, although they can be run on Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools TDM systems. RTAS plug-ins use the processing power of the host computer rather than...
) which can be loaded in various music studio software, such as Cubase, Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
, Digital Performer
Digital Performer
Digital Performer is a full-featured Digital Audio Workstation/Sequencer software package published by Mark of the Unicorn of Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Apple Macintosh platform.-Ancestry:...
, or Logic
Logic Pro
Logic Pro is a hybrid 32 / 64 bit digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software application for the Mac OS X platform. Originally created by German software developer Emagic, Logic Pro became an Apple product when Apple bought Emagic in 2002...
. Arturia's software synthesizer line are highly rated by professionals and amateurs alike, although nearly all plug-ins released by Arturia tend to suffer from major teething problems initially. Commonly, Arturia releases a plug-in, receives feedback from the public regarding bugs, glitches, and in some cases, outright inaccuracies. These are then ironed out through updates to the instrument until it is stable, reliable and tantalizingly authentic.
Moog Modular V
Moog Modular V is a virtual digital reincarnation of the Moog modular synthesizerMoog modular synthesizer
Moog modular synthesizer refers to any of a number of monophonic analog modular synthesizers designed by the late electronic instrument pioneer Dr. Robert Moog and manufactured by R.A Moog Co...
. The aforementioned TAE technology was used to emulate analog circuits.
CS-80V
At the AESAudio Engineering Society
Established in 1948, the Audio Engineering Society draws its membership from amongst engineers, scientists, other individuals with an interest or involvement in the professional audio industry. The membership largely comprises engineers developing devices or products for audio, and persons working...
2003 in New York, Arturia launched its third product: The CS-80 V, a software emulation of the Yamaha CS-80
Yamaha CS-80
The Yamaha CS-80 was a polyphonic analog synthesizer released in 1977. It supports true 8-voice polyphony as well as a primitive settings memory based on a bank of micropotentiometers , and exceptionally complete performer expression features, such...
, which has been widely used in the realms of both popular electronic music and film scores, including the film Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
and for the bass line in the 1980 - 1985 version of the Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
theme tune.
Minimoog V
At the NAMM 2004, Arturia unveiled the Minimoog V, an emulation of what is largely considered to be the holy grail of synthesizers, the Minimoog Model D. Like nearly all Arturia soft synths, initially the Minimoog V suffered from quite a few glitches and inaccuracies. Besides compatibility issues with a collection of VST hosts, the initial release candidate of the Minimoog V was quite different then a real, hardware Minimoog Model D. Issues such as poor filter frequency response, glitches in the envelope generator and a problem involving audible "clicks" and "pops" in the sound were eventually resolved. The current version 2.0.1 (2.0.2 Mac) is strikingly authentic in both its sound and character. Highly praised for its characteristic "Moog sound", the Minimoog V was the only Minimoog emulation on the market to be officially endorsed by Bob Moog himself shortly before his death in 2005.ARP2600 V
Arturia released their fifth software synthesizer in Anaheim, during NAMM in 2005, a software emulation of the ARP 2600ARP 2600
The ARP 2600 is a semi-modular analog subtractive audio synthesizer, designed by Alan R. Pearlman , and manufactured by his company, ARP Instruments, Inc...
synthesizer which competed directly with the Minimoog. The program enhances upon ARP 2600 release while sacrificing authenticity (to some extent), adding features such a 2x8 step sequencer based on the ARP Model 1601 Sequencer.
Brass 2.0
Brass is a horn emulation software based on physical modeling. It can create either a trumpet, saxophone, or a trombone. The software has been developed in coordination with the Paris-based IRCAMIRCAM
IRCAM is a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music. It is situated next to, and is organizationally linked with, the Centre Pompidou in Paris...
laboratory.
Prophet V
At NAMM 2006, Arturia announced Prophet V - a software emulationEmulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
of the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 and Prophet VS synthesizers, based one the same TAE analogue modelling technology as the Moog Modular V, CS80V, ARP 2600 V, and Minimoog V.
Jupiter 8V
The Jupiter 8V is an emulationEmulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
of the Roland Jupiter-8
Roland Jupiter-8
The Jupiter-8 is an eight-voice polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizer introduced by Roland Corporation in 1981.The Jupiter-8, or JP-8, was Roland's flagship synthesizer for the first half of the 1980's...
analog synthesizer, made famous by Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
. It was released in February 2007.
Origin
Origin is Arturia's first hardware product and is a virtual modular synthesizer wherein the user can take a component of one of Arturia's emulations of vintage synthesizers - for example, a filter from a Prophet V can be combined with an oscillator from the Minimoog V emulator.Storm
Initially released in early 2000, the software's aim was to emulate the professional studio environment. The current version of the software is 3.0, released in Spring 2004.Awards
Arturia has won a number of awards. Among them are:- The "Grand Prize for Innovation" from Andersen Consulting in July 1999;
- Recognition by OSEO anvar, the French Agency for Innovation.
- Participaged in the UCLAUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
Anderson School of Management Global Access Program.
Notable users
- Mike McKnightMike McKnightMike McKnight is an American keyboardist, musical director, music programmer, and journalist who is best known for his work on live tours of major artists such as Madonna, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Shakira, and many more. He is also a columnist for Keyboard Magazine.-External links:**...
- Keyboardist for MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, The Spice Girls, Earth Wind & Fire, Jennifer LopezJennifer LopezJennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller... - Trent ReznorTrent ReznorMichael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
- Nine Inch NailsNine Inch NailsNine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction... - Jean-Michel Jarre
- Steve PorcaroSteve PorcaroSteven Maxwell "Steve" Porcaro is an American keyboardist and composer, who was an original member of the rock/pop band Toto....
- TotoToto (band)Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard... - Klaus SchulzeKlaus SchulzeKlaus Schulze is a German electronic music composer and musician. He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried. He was briefly a member of the electronic bands Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel before launching a solo career consisting of more than 60 albums released across five decades.-1970s:In...
- Jordan RudessJordan RudessJordan Rudess is an American keyboardist best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive rock supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment.-Biography:...
- Hans ZimmerHans ZimmerHans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
- Eric PersingEric PersingEric Persing is a professional synthesist and producer in Los Angeles, California. He is best known as the Founder and Creative Director of the leading music software and virtual instrument company Spectrasonics...
- The owner of their competitor, SpectrasonicsSpectrasonicsSpectrasonics is a music software company based in California, United States. Founded in 1994, the company originally produced sample libraries and then became one of the first companies to create software instruments in 2002 Their flagship product is Omnisphere, an extensive software synthesizer...
and Roland CorporationRoland Corporationis a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
sound designer. - Robert A. Moog - Father of the modern synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
- Howard JonesHoward Jones (musician)Howard Jones is a musician, singer and songwriter. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums, "Jones is an accomplished singer-songwriter who was a regular chart visitor in the mid 1980s with his brand of synthpop. Jones, who was equally popular in the U.S., appeared at Live...
- Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
- Les FradkinLes FradkinLes Fradkin is a guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show Beatlemania...
- Armin van Buuren
- The Crystal MethodThe Crystal MethodThe Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
- Frank SerafineFrank SerafineFrank Serafine is an award-winning American sound effects designer, sound supervisor, composer, and sound editor who created the sounds for hundreds of movies including Poltergeist II: The Other Side, Tron, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and The Hunt for Red October which won an Academy Award for...
- Deadmau5Deadmau5Joel Thomas Zimmerman , better known by his stage name deadmau5 , is a Canadian progressive, electro, and house producer based in Toronto...
- CovenantCovenant (band)Covenant is a band from Sweden whose music comprises a mixture between electropop and electronic dance music. The band is composed of Eskil Simonsson, Daniel Myer and Joakim Montelius...
- Tangerine DreamTangerine DreamTangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
on Jean d'Arc (Live 2005)