Released when most synth makers were still scared of giving you too much power, the Arturia Origin was an ambitious, misunderstood beast. Imagine stuffing a Moog Modular, ARP 2600, Jupiter-8 and CS-80 into a French chassis and programming it all from a spaceship screen. It was years ahead of its time, born to be the ultimate digital modular hardware synth: the warmth of analog with the brain of a mad scientist. The manual reads like a philosophy thesis and the UI takes commitment, but click with it, as plenty have, and you can build sounds no other synth, then or now, can dream of.

FEATURES & PROS:

• Modular Environment: patch modeled modules like a virtual Eurorack, with none of the cable spaghetti.
• Classic Emulations: oscillators and filters from the Moog Modular, ARP 2600, Jupiter-8, CS-80 and Minimoog.
• Polyphonic & Multitimbral: build whole tracks inside one box if you are brave, or just very thrifty.
• High-End Effects: reverbs, delays and distortions that never sound like a bargain-bin Casio.
• Deep MIDI & Sequencing: serious control and a 16/32-step sequencer for the DAW-averse synth monk.
• Ten Balanced Outputs: assign multiple programs across separate outs and treat each one its own way.
• Unique Sonic Palette: it does not just emulate analog, it reimagines it in weird, dreamy, digital ways.

THE WORD: MusicRadar reckoned the long wait was worth it, praising first-class, authentic analogue sound, a totally modular layout and stacks of hands-on control. Read the review.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Year: 2008
• Type: Modular virtual-analog synthesizer (desktop module)
• Synthesis: modeled modules from Minimoog, Moog Modular, ARP 2600, Jupiter-8 and CS-80
• Architecture: free modular patching, polyphonic and multitimbral
• Sequencer: onboard step sequencer
• Effects: reverb, delay, chorus, distortion and more
• Inputs / Outputs: multiple analog outs, audio in, MIDI in/out/thru, USB
• Power: internal mains PSU (IEC)
• Manual: Arturia Origin manual (ManualsLib)