Virtual Instrument

Miroslav Vitous's orchestral library was the first of its kind, and more than 10 years after its launch, has been reinvented as a self-contained virtual instrument. Is the original still the best?

Korg are continuing to develop virtual instruments based on their hardware synths. This time, it is 1988's classic M1 workstation that has been rendered in software...

Sample libraries with virtual-instrument wrappers are nothing new, but Ueberschall's new Liquid Instruments have an extra twist — the front end is derived from Celemony's Melodyne, offering you complete freedom to change the pitch of the phrases in the library.

VSL, makers of the world's largest orchestral library, have unveiled their next phase of development. SOS were at the launch...

Since its launch in 2000, NI's B4 has been the software instrument of choice for those who want realistic tonewheel organ sounds from their computer. But NI are clearly convinced it can be better...

Virtual band members are now a regular feature in SOS reviews, but how about a virtual drummer that actually will jam with you? Rayzoon claim Jamstix is able to do just that...

Continuing the recent tradition for wedding software-instrument front ends to vast sample libraries, Ra is a 14Gigabyte collection of exotic and 'world' instruments with an NI Kompakt wrapper...

Looking for a new bass player? If you'd consider a software candidate, Steinberg's Virtual Bassist is now ready for audition...

Native's sound design software is back, and with v5, you have more control over your instruments than ever — offering fully user-definable looks, the ability to construct your own modules from scratch, and an improved library. We get patching...

String Studio uses Applied Acoustics' physical modelling expertise to (in theory) generate the sound of any string instrument. Good or bad vibrations? We find out...

Forget completely flexible software synthesis — what everyone wants, it seems, is emulations of 35-year-old monophonic analogue synths! We check out the latest modelled Minimoog, and see how it compares to the original hardware.

Xpress Keyboards features cut-down versions of NI's B4 tonewheel organ emulation, Pro 53 Prophet 5 emulation and FM7 DX-alike.

Anarchy Rhythms is a novel VST plug-in/stand-alone application, whose author accurately describes it as "a hybrid between an effect and a drum machine".

German company Yellow Tools started off as sample library developers, but like many others, they've moved into the world of virtual instruments with the lovingly crafted MVI range. We check out all three...

Although we only reviewed this Minimoog-emulating software instrument four months ago, Arturia have now thoroughly redesigned it, taking into account many of the points made in the original SOS review. So let's take a second look...

Midiman/M Audio have come a long way since their days as a MIDI interface company. Now they sell everything from mics to laptop bags — and Key Rig and Drum ∓ Bass Rig are their first foray into software instruments...

Completing the quartet of vintage synth emulations they began with Moog Modular V, Arturia's latest plug-in aims to reproduce the sound of the greatest semi-modular of them all, ARP's 2600. We see how it fares up against the original...

The humble sample CD-ROM is dying out, being replaced by sample collections with a virtual-instrument front-end. Wizoo's first forays into the field combine Latin and Arabic percussion loops with their own Flexgroove virtual-instrument engine...

So how is your plug-in band coming on, then? With a combination of Steinberg's Groove Agent and Virtual Guitarist plus Yamaha's Vocaloid, all that is required is a bass player. Enter, stage left, Bornemark's Broomstick Bass...

Two years on from its original release, Native's virtual drum module gets its first full upgrade. Is it all John Bonham tom mayhem, or is it limper than a Kraftwerk drum solo?

From the same team that brought you Virtual Guitarist, Groove Agent has had an impressive upgrade, and is now claimed to work better under non-Steinberg hosts. We put it through a proper multi-platform test.