While designing a new soft synth is no small feat, it doesn’t carry the same complexity or risk as bringing a hardware instrument to market. As a result, hundreds are released every year, but only a select few get to be considered classics.
Arturia’s Pigments is one of those few; launched in 2018, it’s become a go-to software instrument for sound designers, producers and composers. Having been continually updated since then we are now at version 6, which includes six types of synthesis, a deep modulation system, and innovative features such as the new Modal Engine and vocoder effect.
How did we get here, though? How did Pigments become the modern classic that it is today?
Someone who’s been there from the start is Product Manager Édouard, and he remembers that, in the beginning, Pigments represented something of a departure from Arturia’s product line-up of the time.
“Before Pigments, our software ecosystem was mainly focused on emulations of vintage instruments,” he recalls. “We wanted to provide a rejuvenated aesthetic counterpart to our software offer and provide inspiring sounds for modern and emerging music genres.
“So, armed with our passion for synthesis, we decided to start Pigments, a synthesizer mixing several forms of synthesis, powerful effect processing and an advanced modulation system, which makes a great recipe for contemporary sound design explorations.”
That sounds like quite a challenge, though, and Édouard admits that getting Pigments off the ground required a fair amount of work.
“At the time, very few Arturia assets were ‘shared’, especially not in terms of UX and user behaviour,” he explains. “We were building individual plugins but they often had their specificities. On Pigments we had the full freedom to do what we wanted, but that meant we had to decide exactly how an LFO works, how an Envelope works, and so forth…”
And then there was Pigments’ innovative approach to modulation, which required the development team to think long and hard about the user interface and how the various elements of it interacted.
“We wanted something visual, and not end up with an old school ‘modulation matrix’,” remembers Édouard. “This took a lot of effort to design the right feedback on a knob and the modulation routing system.”
Édouard credits his colleague, Christophe, for his work on the modulation system. “He pushed to add modulation drag ‘n’ drop and quick edit of modulations, despite already having a modulation workflow in place, and he was right,” he says. “This helped make the product more time efficient and playful.”
There was also the challenge of giving Pigments its own ‘unique’ style, says Édouard. “Pigments already had competitors, powerful all-rounder synths. It was a challenge to stand out, in terms of functionalities, looks, sounds.”
It was a challenge that was met: Pigments immediately garnered warm reviews and quickly became a favourite among in-the-box musicians. The only downside to this success was that, inevitably, people wanted a sequel, and Édouard and his team had to give it to them.
Fortunately, they nailed it; in fact, Édouard names the development of Pigments 2 as the biggest step forward in the synth’s history, thanks to the inclusion of the granular engine, which set it apart from many of its competitors.
This isn’t to talk down any of the subsequent updates, though. “I think that every major version was pivotal as each brought a different set of improvements,” says Édouard. “Sometimes the focus was on a new engine, sometimes the focus was on improving the existing.”
What’s more, the Pigments team has always taken care to listen to users before deciding on the direction of travel.
“Feedback is and will always be a vital component to grow a product successfully,” says Édouard. “I don’t think that one specific piece of feedback is strong by itself, but identifying recurrent feedback, or clusters of users, who are interested in the same type of sounds, sound design techniques or technologies, is where it gets interesting and valuable.
“I have a good example during this year’s update, we were considering new engine types, but we were not really excited by modal synthesis in the first place. We’d all used multiple products in the past, simulating a mallet or a bow hitting a tube, and felt like it was a bit boring in 2025. But after conducting user research, and talking with many young producers, they all cherished modal synthesis for the possibilities to create sounds sitting between the organic and synthetic realms, and that could be independent from a classic envelope.
This led us to reinterpret what a modal engine could be in a modern production environment.”
Édouard describes Pigments 6 as “a huge milestone, as it brings new sounds and also a lot of improvements in the user experience and interface.” Take the time to explore and you’ll discover that it’s full of surprises - check out Édouard’s favourite hidden features and Easter eggs below.
What is he most excited for users to try, though? “Obviously the modal engine because it’s the biggest piece in the update, but honestly what’s the most interesting for me is to see the users use all pieces together and hear what they come up with!” says Édouard.
But while a lot has changed, the vision for Pigments remains the same. “Since day one Pigments was acclaimed for its interface and workflow,” says Édouard. “We put a lot of effort into making sound design easy and visual. And year after year, we try to emphasise this even more, making the journey inclusive with people who want to learn and shape their own sonic signature.”
And the journey doesn’t stop here: “We definitely have plans for the future,” Édouard confirms. “Pigments is a formidable instrument, and we are committed to continue providing updates and improvements. The feedback we will gather after this release will be precious to set a direction for the next version. However, I shall not spoil the surprise!”
It sounds like there’s plenty to look forward to, then, but the good news is that you can try Pigments 6 for free right now by downloading the demo from the Arturia website. Existing users, meanwhile, can get the update for free.
Édouard’s Top 5 new features and tricks in Pigments 6
1. Modal Engine
“Use the Collision exciter to create a strong initial decaying sound and make sure the resonator decay is not too high. Then use the friction exciter with a lower volume and with a low Density. It will create a second layer of very pleasant semi-random organic sounds when holding notes.”
2. Voice Modulator
“The voice modulator is a new modulator, allowing you to create different sounds for each voice or key played. So, if I assign a voice modulator to a wavetable position or a filter cutoff, the value of this parameter will be slightly different for each key pressed, creating behaviours that are very similar to vintage synths, where calibration and ageing create these pleasant variations.”
3. Play the LoFi filter
“Using the keyboard tracking on the LoFi filter lets you play the timbre caused by the degradation. Set the KBD to 100%, set the Frequency to your liking, decrease the jitter to 0% and start playing!”
4. XMOD
“On Engine 1, use a wavetable engine with a sine wave and switch the Engine’s modulator into Cross modulation mode. Then use Engine 2’s craziest waveforms to modulate Engine 1 using Phase Modulation, and then add lots of distortion and effects.”
5. Creative sampling
“Load a Sample/Granular engine and add one different sample in each slot (A, B, C, D, E, F). Then in the map tab set the mode to Round Robin or Random and set the mode to key on the right. Now a different sample will be played for each key press, creating super organic chords and melodies. This works nicely in sample and granular mode.”