This then allows us - as far as is possible on a fixed architecture - to analyse the sounds of the oscillators themselves. And, as on the hardware Minimoog, Osc3 doubles as a modulator, with routings via the Controllers section to the pitches of all the oscillators, as well as the filter cutoff frequency.Īs always, the way to test the sound of these is to open the filter as far as possible, ensure that filter emphasis is at a minimum, defeat any modulation, and create 'organ' envelopes for both the filter and audio amplifier. The Oscillator Bank offers three oscillators, all of which range from 32' to 2' (☘ semitones for Osc2 and Osc3) and have a 'Lo' setting for low-frequency duties. So we'll start by considering those parts that emulate the Minimoog itself. The central section represents the original, but this is surrounded by numerous new control panels, the functions of which are not altogether obvious. However, for reasons of simplicity and length, I'll be referring to it as Minimonsta throughout this article.Įven the briefest glance shows that Minimonsta is much more than a simple reincarnation of the Minimoog. Although everyone I've spoken to about it always refers to it as Minimonsta, properly speaking, Gforce's Minimonsta is a joint development between Gforce and French plug-in developers Ohm Force, and its full title is the Gforce Minimonsta:Melohman (there's plenty on the Melohman part of the instrument later in this review).

What's In A Name?īefore getting stuck in, there's a nomenclature issue to deal with.

Even today, this remains unsurpassed, and if today's technology can recreate the sound of the Minimoog and couple this to the facilities we've come to expect in the 21st century, we'll have reached some sort of musical Shangri-la. What is it about the Minimoog that inspires this degree of reverence? It can't be the facilities, because these are limited, both in terms of sound generation and performance control.

The past few years have seen intense activity in this area, with a virtual ARP Odyssey, an ARP 2600, an Oscar, a Yamaha CS80, an MS20, a Polysix and at least three virtual Minimoogs from Arturia, Creamware and Gforce. It's a decade since the first, tentative steps were taken, but the craze for digital synths that emulate vintage instruments continues unabated. Forget completely flexible software synthesis - what everyone wants, it seems, is emulations of 35-year-old monophonic analogue synths! We check out the latest modelled Minimoog, and see how it compares to the original hardware.

Free minimoog emulator mac