Time to review another plugin, yet ANOTHER virtual version of an analog classic.
Jim Heintz over at Way Out Ware did some secret ninja circuit modeling/creation to come up with the ONLY ARP 2600 plugin to be endorsed by Alan R Pearlman…
Yes, he created the actual ARP 2600 synthesizer
Must be some plugin right?
I mean, if the creator of the real ARP synths endorses it…
then uhhh…it better be good.
let’s find out!
What’s so special about timewARP 2600?
It has it’s own proprietary oscillators and filters…
It includes ALL of the control features from the ARP synth…
And you can save all your patches… yeah, back in the day, this wasn’t even an option…synth programmers would keep huge notebooks and even take pictures so they could recreate the sounds they came up with!
Makes you appreciate technology a bit more huh?
Oh yeah…it can be used as an outboard fx processor too.
Quick Specs
- Format: RTAS, AU, VST
- Price: $249.99
Yeah, so how does it sound?
FAT!!! lol
Seriously, it has this fat, mean, pulsating, metamorphisizing evolutionary sound that isn’t found in many plugins.
The fact that I can hold down a key and the sound will change, over time, not just like an evolving pad or whatever, but like an analog circuit with real voltage flowing through it…
that is amazing.
The basses are deep and the leads cut through precisely.
Patching things randomly can yield some sick results…but be careful…you may blow a speaker or two!
What about the interface man? Can I create my own sounds easily?
Interface is great…everything is right in front of you.
Sure, you may not understand all the sections and patch points in a modular synth…that’s fine, neither do I
That makes it even more fun! You can drag and patch and see what you get.
Also, browsing through the included presets can give you a crash course in modular synthesis.
Patches and sliders…move em, tweak em, make em your own.
It definitely has a retro feel.
So what’s the bottom line?
bottom line is this plugin gets a 5 out of 5 subs…I mean, if it’s good enough for the creator of the synth it’s modeling…then it’s good for me too!
The bottom line is that if you want to mix a lil analog fatness into your music without breaking your back…or your bank on sourcing one of these ancient machines, checkout this digital/analog/magical reproduction of a classic.
I’ve never touched the original…but I have no desire too…I’m spoiled by technology, I like saving patches, and I like instant recall of sounds. The interface is easy to use.
Sure, it’d be fun to play with a real one, but for quickly adding new analog textures to digital music…gotta have a timewARP in your arsenal..
Of course…if you like that sorta thing 🙂
Check em out at wayoutware.com you can also purchase it at sonivoxmi.com
leave me a comment.
IT’S CRAZY & YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN SOUND BY MESSING WITH THE PATCHES THATS HOT
yeah man, this joint crazy yo lol…you should here it in person, it’s so thick and mean lol.
yo joe i like what u do man u r the best man i think we should link up but anyway this is sick but too costly
Thanks for checkin it out fam! And thanks for the compliments on the site.
I feel ya about price…I review stuff all over the place when it comes to prices, that’s why I list them on the article so peeps know whas good.
thanks for the comment yo, I appreciate it.
i think next time u should do a servey on the software and we will see which 1 comes on top like cubase reason logic sonar
we’ll see, I see a bunch of websites do that and you know me…I like to keep it different.
It would be cool to know tho.
What up Joe,
Yo man I can dig that software but I like Arturia’s Analog Factory 2 better. It comes with over 3500 sounds already and you can adjust the oscillation and tweak the sounds similar to the TimeWarp Arp. You may be able to tweak more in TimeWarp but Analog Factory consist of the following sounds for these older boards:
Prophet
Minimoog
Modular
CS-80
ARP2600
Jupiter-8
And they are all phat. I use sounds from this plugin a lot. Especially the Leads & Sound Fx.
Biggest differences is the price. You can get this for $99 at Guitar Center.
Yeah I know about Analog Factory, it’s a nice plugin for sure.
I don’t think the two are comparable though, they aim to do different things. This is more comparable to one of their other plugins that emulate a single instrument, like their moog v, or their cs-80, or their jupiter 8 plugin.
The analog factory is like a grab bag from all of the instruments, but their single instruments have much more capability than in analog factory.
so you wouldn’t compare analog factory to their full version of the Jupiter 8, because the aim is totally different
Same here, there’s more editing abilities and it’s based on one specific instrument instead of multiple ones.
A better comparison would be to put this arp 2600 against their arp 2600 V
But it’s all good! Use what ya like and all that matters is what let’s you make your music the way you want.
Analog Factory is definitely dope..
Ish is pretty straight. Is it really worth the price though? how are the pads and sfx’s?
Price is very dependent on the user. One person may think it’s worth the price, another may not, it all deends on what you’re looking for.
For the person who’s looking for a perfect clone of the analog synth, then it’s way worth the price
if you’re not really looking for this type of synth, or the sound it produces, then it wouldn’t be worth the price.
I try to just stay neutral and give what I think about it as it stands on what it tries to accomplish. I leave the price and value in the eyes of the user, only you can say if it’s worth it or not to you.
I know people that pay $3k for a bicycle…to me, that’s not worth the price, but to them…it may be a steal!
See what I’m sayin lol….
price/value is very subjective
the pads and sfx are good, you can download a demo on their site.
naw i do like synths ahah in fact i love em but i cant settle for a sample/demo, aha i get gready i guess, but maybe i’ll check it out one day…thanks for being a real dude and actually taking some time out and replying to us.
No doubt fam! I totally know what ya mean lol.
Thanks for commenting, I appreciate the interaction.
Yo St
Thats a phat mother!
It is indeed a phat one lol.
I noticed a lot of those you had it overdriven. Probably need to pull back on the output volume going into your strip on that.
How does this one compare to the Arturia offering? I really liked the Arturia modulars. The Moog one is insanely fun to noodle with, but yeah the moog one was a bank breaker for me, and I havent been able to afford the arturia one yet.
Im a big old softsynth nut. Guess the same way you came across from the AKAI sampler type world, I came across from the analogue synth tweaker world.
But softsynths can be pretty damn variable in quality.
Yeah, I think a lot of it had to do with my mic pickup as well, the sounds were too powerful for it, but I usually turn it down, it’s up all the way by default, but this thing sounds amazing dude!
argh. double post, saintjoe, you can delete one of those duplicates. sorry man.
no problem man lol.
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that joint is hard… i need that ARP 2600 plugin man
yeah, it’s pretty ill
yo this is hot man if you get this you can cut down on a whole lot of other stuff that might have that may be similar but on where a close to this again big up to you thanx for the info
thanks for checking it man…you really have to hear it in person, my video didn’t do it justice lol. It’s fat.
That plugin is pretty cool. I like how you can experiment with it. It seems that the possibilities are endless! Thanx for the review!!
thanks for watching, it’s a pretty cool plugin.
I’ve heard all analog synth emulations through the last ten years.
I like the Moog modular V very much, and I’m an owner of a few
real analog synths (korg polysix, moog phatty).
Of course these real vintage synths need to be serviced regularly
and cost me loads of money and worries.
The TimeWarp2600 is the first and only alternative I ever came upon.
this one comes REALLY close.
The best analog synth emulation so far.No shit. They seem to catch the right kind of harmonic distortion and filter resonance to me.
They’re getting there IMHO. I’m not working for anyone, neither am
I in a euphoric mood !
@cozmovox, cool man lol, yeah it definitely has something alot of others lack, it’s a good one for sure.