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Today, Korg introduced a major update to Korg Collection, its suite of virtual instruments for Mac and Windows.

KORG Collection 5 is now a software collection of 14 synthesizers, 2 effects processors, and 1 drum machine in total, including the famous MS-20, Mono/Poly, M1, TRITON, microKORG and more.

Originally intended as a repository for software emulations of its own synths, Korg’s Collection has now been expanded to include instruments that come from different hardware stables.

Version 5 of the bundle is headlined by the classic ARP 2600 synth. Korg promising to accurately emulate the original synth, this plugin version also offers various improvements. These include a second filter, a drive section, new modulation sources, MIDI control, a sequencer and up to 16 voices of polyphony.

An emulation of the Vox Super Continental combo organ beloved by British bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s is also here.

Finally, there’s the EP-1, a homage to classic electric pianos such as the Fender Rhodes. This one will be familiar to owners of Korg’s Kronos and Nautilus synths, as it’s based on the same Multi-Dimensional Synthesis (MDS) technology. This is designed to offer greater realism than you’d get from a standard sample-based engine.

KORG Collection 5 three new virtual instruments, ARP 2600, VOX Super Continental and EP-1:

• ARP 2600 for Mac/PC – based on a legendary synthesizer, introduced in 1971.
• VOX Super Continental for Mac/PC – a carefully modeled virtual instrument, based on the combo organ which first appeared in the 1960s and featured extensively in music from the 1960s British Invasion era through to the ska and new wave scenes in 70s and 80s.
• EP-1 for Mac/PC – This plugin is based on the MDS (Multi-Dimensional Synthesis) technology developed for Korg’s KRONOS and NAUTILUS synthesizers.

Korg Collection 5 Audio Demo:

Korg Collection 5 is available for 50% off through Aug 18th, 2024. Upgrade pricing is also available. View the Korg website for details.

Loopop host Ziv Eliraz shared his latest video with us, an in-depth look at the Donner Essential D1 Drum Machine, which debuted at the 2023 NAMM Show.

The Essential D1 Drum Machine is a 12-channel sample-based drum machine. Donner says that it’s aimed at the entry-level market, “offering a simplified, yet inspiring user interface” and offers both real-time recording and step sequencing workflows.

As ever, Eliraz offers an overview of the Essential D1, digs into how it works, and shares his take on the pros and cons.

Topics covered:

0:00 Intro

1:10 Overview

4:05 Song structure

6:35 Build

7:10 Connectivity

7:45 Common params

9:35 Per track params

10:35 Folders

11:30 Params 1 & 2

14:15 Sequencing

14:50 Step seq

15:50 Param locks

16:40 Sub steps

18:00 Undo

18:30 Fill sequencing

19:05 Recording live

20:15 Quantize

21:35 Swing

22:00 Saving songs

23:20 Mute/solo

24:10 Note repeats

24:30 Effects

26:00 Control app

26:20 Pros & cons

32:15 Factory sequences

The Donner Essential D1 Drum Machine is available now for $299.99.

Moon Bounce Simulator

A free new plugin from AudioThing and electronic musician and Youtuber Hainbach captures the sound of “moon bouncing”, a technique in which sounds are transmitted into space via radio telescope, bounced off the moon and captured on their return, only to be warped by the process.

In the video above, Hainbach visits the Dwingeloo Radio Observatory in the Netherlands and experiments with moon bouncing, reflecting the sound of a soprano vocalist and double bassist off the moon to create a spooky, lo-fi-sounding delay effect coloured with some interesting sonic artifacts.

In collaboration with AudioThing, Hainbach used these recordings to develop a free delay plugin that recreates the effect produced by moon bouncing, producing “crunchy and lively” echoes that sound as if they’ve been reflected off the moon’s cratered surface.

Like any other delay plugin, Moon Echo offers controls for delay time and feedback, along with a few controls you probably won’t recognize. Tweak the Doppler dial to introduce a modelled Doppler effect, which mimics the changes in frequency produced by the difference between the earth and moon’s movement as the delay returns to earth, like the pitch change heard when a vehicle sounding a horn approaches and recedes from a listener.

Moon Echo has accurately modelled the sound of the moon-bouncing process, right down to the specific types of noise introduced by the vintage radio equipment, which can be dialled in via the Moon Dust control.

Use Moon Echo in Duplex mode, and it’ll act like a conventional delay, but switch over to Simplex mode and you can recreate the unidirectional transmission Hainbach experimented with at the Dwingeloo Observatory, hearing a single copy of your transmission bounced back to you. Hit Ping Moon and the plugin will even pull accurate data from NASA regarding the moon’s distance and use this to adjust the delay time – pretty neat.

Moon Echo is available free for macOS, Windows and Linux in VST/AU/AUv3/AAX/CLAP formats.

Download the plugin at AudioThing website.