Mini D

Name: Mini D
Price: 99 USD
Author: AIR Music Technology

by AIR Music Technology · Synth · Ladder-filter mono synth

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Mini D is inspired by a classic ladder-filter synth, with three stacked oscillators and up to four voices.

It includes EQ, chorus and delay effects and 300 presets, and costs $99.

Best for: Bass, Keys & Synths. Genres: Hip-Hop & Trap, Electronic & EDM, R&B & Soul.

Keywords: classic, basses, drum machine, leads, monophonic, fat, inspired by, modern, preset-driven, sound design, airy, clean, hardware emulation, retro, tempo-synced, thick.

What it does

Mini D is AIR's take on a classic ladder-filter mono synth, the kind of instrument behind decades of fat basses and leads. It keeps the three-oscillator layout of the original idea and adds a second, modern filter, an effects section and 300+ presets.

Oscillators: three stackable oscillators per voice, each with eight modelled wave shapes and pitch ranges from 32' to 2'. Oscillators 2 and 3 can be detuned against the first for thicker, beating tones.
Voices: up to four voices, so it can play small chords as well as classic mono lines.
Two filters: a Classic ladder-style filter that models the original's feedback section, and a Modern feedback filter for cleaner, more current sound design.
Filter modulation: the filter can follow the keyboard or a second modulation source for sweeps and morphs, and each oscillator can also act as a modulation source.
Effects: a three-band EQ (low, mid, high), a stereo chorus with spread and mix, and a tempo-synced delay with high-pass filter, stereo width and feedback.
Presets: over 300 modern and retro presets in ten-plus categories, including basses, leads and synth effects.
MPC and Force: runs inside Akai MPC (2.11+) and Force (3.2+) hardware as well as in desktop hosts.

A 10-day free trial is available.

Source: AIR Music Technology product page

When to use it

Mini D is narrower and cheaper than Diva, which includes a careful Minimoog-style model alongside several other classic circuits, and CS-80 V, which recreates a very different, polyphonic Yamaha classic. It offers one familiar layout, two filter flavours and built-in effects, with presets aimed at modern beat production. Its biggest practical difference is that the same instrument runs on MPC and Force hardware, so a bass patch made on the desktop can travel to a standalone setup. For deep sound design it does far less than Serum 2 or Pigments 7, but they are not trying to be a quick, three-oscillator bass machine.

Best for: fat basses, mono leads and classic Moog-style tones, especially for MPC and Force users.
Genres: hip-hop, R&B, funk, synth-pop and electronic.
Look elsewhere if: you want the most detailed analog modelling (Diva), or a large modern sound-design synth (Serum 2, Pigments 7).

Where to buy

Best Service: $99
AIR Music Technology: $99 (list price from KVR Audio; airmusictech.com shows prices only in its shop)
PluginFox: $99
AudioDeluxe: $99
Plugin Boutique: $99

Tutorials and reviews

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