Cherry Audio releases Octave Cat Virtual Analog Synthesizer
Cherry Audio brings back The Cat to Plugin version.
The Cat came back – Cherry Audio gets its claws into a ‘70s synth classic as it releases a plugin emulation.
Released in 1976, the Octave Electronics Cat was a biting analogue synth in the vein of the Arp Odyssey, but came at a significantly lower price. Now Cherry Audio has collaborated with Carmine Bonanno, the instrument’s original designer, to release a plugin version, Octave Cat.
The software emulation replicates the Cat’s dual-oscillator design, and also brings you its aggressive resonant filter, flexible modulation system, oscillator cross-mod and oscillator sync. Enhancements include expanded 16-voice polyphony – the original was duophonic – sample and hold glide, built-in effects and a dual-step sequencer.
You also get MPE support, more than 300 presets and extensive MIDI mapping features. There’s more than one way to skin this Cat, as well: you can make it look like either the Mark 1 or SRM version of the hardware.
Carmine Bonanno says that, as well as sounding just as good as his original synth, the new plugin “goes way beyond what a hardware CAT is capable of.” Explaining further, he adds that “on a hardware Cat, you can’t save a patch, you can’t control modulation with an external MIDI controller, you don’t have full polyphony, etc.” Cherry Audio’s enhancements, he believes, make the plugin “incredibly more versatile than a hardware Cat.”
The Octave Cat plugin runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats and is available now priced at $49 (regular price will be $69) and a free 30-day demo is available. Find out more on the Cherry Audio website.
