Elektron has released Tonverk OS 1.2.0, a free firmware update that adds new effects, more options with the existing effects, a random mode for the arpeggiator, bug fixes and other improvements.
New in Tonverk OS 1.2.0:
“New effect: Steel Box Reverb
A third reverb comes to Tonverk, and it’s a whole other flavor. Steel Box Reverb draws on early digital and ’90s plate reverbs, with deliberately wide parameter ranges that let you push sounds from tight metallic rooms to sprawling, resonant spaces. It can clang, bloom, or decay endlessly, making it equally suited to metal can tails or big, characterful ambience.
New effect: Filter Folder
Filter Folder combines wavefolding with filtering and distortion to reshape sound at a more fundamental level. By folding the waveform before it passes through a multimode filter and drive stage, it adds harmonics, grit, and movement that go far beyond traditional filtering. From subtle edge and density to aggressive, overtone-rich transformations, Filter Folder excels at turning simple signals into something far more complex.
More FX availability
If those two additions weren’t enough (for now) we’ve also extended Tonverk’s FX powers in other ways too. Daisy Delay can now be used on all tracks – and Frequency Warper can now be wielded on all audio tracks, bus tracks and mix. Use these two awesome options wherever your echoing, warped heart desires.
Random Arp
Random Arp introduces controlled unpredictability to arpeggiated patterns, reshuffling note order on the fly to generate evolving melodies and unexpected variations.
And more
There’s a few other stocking fillers too. Pattern mute, improved gain reduction and new sidechain sources for the compressor, shorter samples available to use on Grainer, and improved tempo stability when simultaneously receiving clock and large amounts of MIDI data from an external source, such as Octatrack. Plus various other fixes and improvements.
Arturia has introduced Pigments 7. Pigments 7 adds experimental filters, a noisy effect, punchier envelopes and a stylish new look for the Play View
Its last major update, Pigments 6, landed in January of this year, adding features including a physical modelling engine and a vocoder. Now, a little less than eleven months later, Arturia has unveiled Pigments 7, a major update to their flagship software synthesizer.
Pigments 7 they say delivers “punchier sound, sharper control, and deeper playability”. It features the audio-reactive Play View, new filters, Corroder FX, streamlined modulation, and 250 fresh presets, samples and wavetables.
For one thing, Pigments 7 adds several new sound design tools to the synth’s already-comprehensive suite of features. The most notable of these are a trio of new filter modes, named Rage, Ripple and Reverb filters.
The first of these, the Rage filter, includes a feedback loop in order to create distortion effects, with a variety of saturation styles on offer. Coupled with the ability to boost the resonance, Arturia suggests that this can create gritty acid tones by modulating or sequencing the cutoff.
The Ripple filter, is a phase-based modulation filter that Arturia says can “achieve frequency based phase offset, creating laser transient sounds to ringing high ends, great for modern sound design.”
Completing the trio is the Reverb filter, a particularly interesting module that combines elements of filtering and spatial effects. Arturia describes this as capable of “timbre-thickening space and weight designed for modern bass design”.
It’s also capable of creating swept non-tonal FX by modulating the cutoff and, at higher resonance levels, can create metallic-sounding tones.
Alongside these new filter modules is a new Corroder effect. This is a new distortion tool that combines elements of noise and frequency modulation that can be targeted at a specific frequency band using the onboard filter.
Pigments 7 also introduces an overhauled design for the Play View. This is the simplified UI window that offers users top-level control over presets without the complications of the full synth engine.
Here, it’s reworked to offer an audio-reactive representation of the sound on offer, designed to provide quick visual cues for the character of each preset. According to Arturia, this new Play View is aimed at allowing users to “quickly grasp tone, timbre and intention behind each preset, helping you browse presets and find your sound.”
There are under-the-hood improvements throughout Pigments as well. According to Arturia, this version now offers “updated default amplitude behaviour with smoother, S-shaped envelopes that reduce clicks and deliver cleaner, harder-hitting transients.” It’s said to be lighter on the CPU too, optimised for creating layered, complex and effects-rich sounds.
Along with these updates, Pigments comes with fresh content including 150 new presets, 50 wavetables, 30 samples and 20 noises. There are also new in-app sound design tutorials that will teach users the fundamental theory behind its synth sounds.
What’s new in Pigments 7:
Redesigned Play View: A new audio-reactive interface that helps users preview and understand a sound’s character, with responsive type-specific animations and quick-edit controls.
New Creative Filters:
Rage: Feedback-fueled distortion for powerful, driven textures.
Ripple: Phase-based motion for fluid movement and character.
Reverb: Timbre-thickening space and weight designed for modern bass design.
New FX module: A modulation-driven Corroder effect that adds controlled grit, from FM-tinged edges to filtered grain and wide distortion, while preserving the identity of the dry signal.
Enhanced punch & presence: Updated default amplitude behavior with smoother, S-shaped envelopes that reduce clicks and deliver cleaner, harder-hitting transients.
Modulation & CPU improvements: Visual modulation range displays for easier editing, plus optimized processing for more headroom in complex, layered, FX-heavy patches.
New creative content & tutorials: 150 presets, 50 wavetables, 30 samples, and 20 noises, alongside new in-app, use-case sound design tutorials.
As with previous updates, Pigments 7 is available for free for existing users, who can update now via Arturia’s Software Center app.
For new users, Arturia Pigments 7 is available now with an intro price of $99 (normally $199) until 6 January 2026.
U-He has released Zebralette 3, a free software synthesizer for Linux, Mac and Windows.
Zebralette 3 is based on a single oscillator from Zebra 3 (which is now available as a beta release).
Here’s what they have to say about it:
“Zebralette 3 is a single oscillator plucked from the mothership and embedded within a minimal synth environment: ADSR envelope, MSEG, two LFOs, mod matrix, delay and reverb effects. Like its predecessor, Zebralette 3 is freeware.
The oscillator is in a league of its own: Spline-based editing, a dynamic toolbox borrowed from vector graphic apps, various morphing options between up to 16 ‘curves’, a pair of waveform mangling algorithms, an audio engine switchable between traditional waves and additive synthesis. Although it isn’t a wavetable synth, the curve sets can be exported as wavetables in .WAV format for use elsewhere.”
Zebralette 3.0 can be downloaded now at the u-he site.
