Voltage Modular

Name: Voltage Modular
Author: Cherry Audio

by Cherry Audio · Synth · Virtual modular synthesizer platform

Not rated yet

Voltage Modular is Cherry Audio's virtual modular synth, where you patch modules with cables and add more from a built-in module store.

The free Nucleus edition has 20+ modules and 176 presets; paid Ignite and Core + Electro Drums editions add more.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design, Drums, Bass. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Ambient & Cinematic.

Keywords: modular, free, preset-driven, low latency, sound design, experimental, destructive, legacy/32-bit, MPE support, zero-latency.

What it does

Voltage Modular is Cherry Audio's software modular system, built to address the shortcomings of other virtual modulars; the developer says version 2 "obliterates all patching limitations".

Patching: unlimited cables per jack, busses for building complex patches without cable clutter, and modules that slide into place without manual rearranging.
Variations: unlimited variations per patch, which can be stepped through by trigger or CV.
Recording: a built-in recording section that writes 32-bit floating point audio files.
Audio engine: 64-bit double precision processing with zero latency.
Module store: browse, buy and install extra modules from inside the app; KVR lists MPE support and a Formula module for custom processing.
Editions: Nucleus (free, 20+ modules, 176 presets), Ignite (40+ modules, 296 presets) and Core + Electro Drums (90+ modules, 645 presets).

Nucleus is free.

Source: Cherry Audio product page

When to use it

Voltage Modular is the pick if you want a modular you can start for free and grow over time through a large in-app module store. Compared with Softube Modular, it lets you resize the window freely in both plugin and standalone modes. Against VCV Rack it makes repositioning modules easier, since they slide into place, and against Arturia Modular V3 it is an open system rather than one fixed vintage instrument. It is a deeper learning project than any fixed-architecture synth such as Serum 2 or Diva.

Best for: modular sound design, generative patches, experimental drums and learning modular patching.
Genres: electronic, ambient and experimental.
Look elsewhere if: you want a ready-to-play preset synth; Diva or Serum 2 are faster to get sounds from.

What producers say

Reviewers and users find it one of the easiest virtual modulars to work in, with reservations about its look and effects.

Sound On Sound (Simon Sherbourne, 2019) praised a "friction-free user experience", easy module placement and the cable mult trick, but found the look "a bit, well, '90s" and noted no modules from the hardware Eurorack world.
KVR user (5 out of 5 from 1 review, version 1, 2019) called it "easily the best modular synth plugin by a wide margin" and praised its fast development.
Criticisms: Sound On Sound also found the built-in effects unremarkable and the eight-step sequencer missing an end-of-sequence trigger for chaining.

Where to buy

Cherry Audio: Free (Nucleus edition is free; Ignite is $15 (list $50) and Core + Electro Drums $29 (list $99))

Tutorials and reviews

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