Atomika

Name: Atomika
Price: 49 USD
Author: Cherry Audio

by Cherry Audio · Synth · Polivoks-style analog synth

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Atomika is modeled on the Formanta Polivoks, a 1980s Soviet analog synth known for its aggressive op-amp filter.

It adds up to 16 voices, drive and starve controls, loopable envelopes, an arpeggiator and four effects, with over 350 presets, for $49.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Bass, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Rock & Indie, Hip-Hop & Trap.

Keywords: aggressive, analog, arpeggiator, op-amp, polyphonic, 80s, preset-driven, gritty, leads, simple, textures, basses, circuit-modelled, FM, hardware emulation, harsh, heavy, monophonic, sound design, subtractive, surgical.

What it does

Atomika recreates the Polivoks, the 1982 Soviet synth known for its harsh, unstable filter, and turns it into a polysynth. Cherry Audio says it "goes far beyond duplicating" the original, with an extended filter, polyphony, an arpeggiator and effects.

Voices: mono, the original's duophonic mode, or 4, 8 or 16-voice polyphony, with unison stacking and two glide types.
Oscillators: two VCOs with triangle, saw, square, wide and narrow pulse, plus oscillator FM and a noise generator.
Filter: a circuit-modeled programmable op-amp filter, the Polivoks signature, extended from low- and band-pass to also cover high-pass, notch and peak.
Drive controls: Starve, Filter Drive and Amp Drive, added beyond the hardware, push the filter and amp into grit and instability.
Envelopes and modulation: two loopable ADSRs that can act as LFOs, a main LFO with ramp, saw, triangle, square, noise and sample-and-hold, plus velocity, key tracking and aftertouch.
Arpeggiator: MIDI-synced, with up, down, up/down and random modes.
Effects and presets: a 4/6/12-stage phaser, flanger/chorus, three stereo echo types and five reverbs, all modulated by a syncable FX LFO; over 350 presets and optional Cyrillic panel labels.

A free 30-day demo is fully functional but plays white noise periodically. The filter is also sold on its own as the Filtomika effect plugin.

Source: Cherry Audio product page

When to use it

Atomika is for raw, aggressive analog tones with a filter that breaks up the sound on purpose. Compared with Arturia KORG MS-20 V, the usual pick for a screaming filter, it has a different and rougher op-amp character, plus Starve and drive controls for deliberately unstable tones. Unlike Diva, which aims for polished analog warmth, it is built for grit. Compared with Serum 2 or Vital its modulation is simple, with no mod matrix, so it rewards hands-on knob work more than deep sound design.

Best for: distorted basses, gnarly leads, duophonic lines and industrial or noisy textures; detuned unison patches for big leads.
Genres: electronic, industrial, techno, rock and hip-hop.
Look elsewhere if: you want clean, polished tones (Diva), a mod matrix (Vital or Serum 2), or the Polivoks filter on other audio (Cherry Audio's Filtomika).
Tip: keep the output volume around 2 to 3 to avoid clipping, and engage Starve and Filter Drive together for industrial textures.

What producers say

Reviewers like its aggressive filter and value; the complaints are about simple modulation and effect-heavy presets.

MusicRadar (Roland Schmidt, 2025) said it goes "an awful lot further than the original Polivoks" and that its filter "easily gives a trouncing to any preceding signal"; it listed no cons.
Synth Anatomy praised its "rough, aggressive character", the Starve and Filter Drive controls, the extra filter modes and the price.
Criticisms: no mod matrix, no global effects bypass, many effect-laden presets, and (at the time) no way to run external audio through the filter (Synth Anatomy).

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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