Arturia Mini V Plug-in

From the starship funk lead lines of the ‘70s to the gangster whine of mid ‘90s hip-hop, the ever-present MiniMg has been making its fat presence known for over 4 decades.

The Mini V has kept all of the original characteristics of its award-winning previous versions. Mini V version 3 updates the filter design to make it even more accurate than ever. Powerful and rich bass, faithfully reproduced ‘free-running’ waveforms thanks to new advances in our long proven TAE® technology. In partnership with Bob Moog we recreated the legendary interface of his early 70's synth that was and is loved by generations of musicians. What truly makes this synth the Legend of Legends is its sound, and so we took great care to model the subtleties of its internal characteristics as well.

The model of the Mini V knew an unparalleled success during the 1970’s. Artists and bands like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Keith Emerson, Jean-Michel Jarre, Klaus Schulze, and Rick Wakeman used the synthesizer, notably for the typical sound and its very warm quality, which is excellent for basses and lead sounds.

The very first prototype of this synth was called Model A. Three other versions, B, C and D, followed. This last model is the final and most common incarnation of this synthesizer and the only one that was put into production in large numbers. The choice of wood rather than plastic for the cabinet prevailed from the beginning, simply because Robert Moog preferred to follow the advice of his musician friends rather than the drawings coming from his industrial engineers.

The Model D was first introduced at the NAMM convention in June 1971. It was Dr. Moog’s first exposure to the musical instrument industry - and the industry's first exposure to synthesizers. The reception was rather cold as, according to Bob Moog himself, “Most dealers didn't know what to make of a musical instrument with words like Oscillator Bank and Filter printed on the front panel.”

Mini V Key Features

• All the parameters of the original Mini V
  • 3 voltage controlled oscillators with 5 waveforms
  • 1 amazing 24 dB/octave filter
  • 2 ADSR envelopes
  • LFO with 7 waveforms
  • 1 Noise Generator
  • 1 VCA
  • 1 Mixer
  • 1 external audio input and 1 external oscillator and filter modulation input

• Modulation matrix with up to 8 connections (15 sources and 35 destinations)
• Arpeggiator
• Vocal Filter: a fully automatable, formant-based effect with its own LFO
• Up to 32 voices of polyphony
• Unison mode option
• More than 1000 presets created by an international team of top-notch sound designers
• Stereo effects: chorus and delay
• Soft clipping function
• Advanced automation mode

A Faithful Reproduction

The original synth had particular characteristics for which it is loved by musicians even to this day. Arturia mini V brings back the sound and features of this beloved synth in a virtual instrument. We decided to recreate the legendary interface of the original because of its "vibe", a look and layout known and loved by generations of musicians. But what truly makes this synth the Legend of Legends is its sound, and so we took great care to recreate its internal characteristics as well.

Why does it sound so good?

First, the oscillators. Arturia recreate the exact characteristics of each oscillator, which have a very unique sound. And as with any discrete component analog oscillator, mini V produces "free-running" waveforms just like the physical circuits do.

Secondly, the filter. Many digital filters have some characteristics which are very far from their analog counterparts. The mini V filter has the same characteristics as that of the original synth; i.e., its frequency and emphasis are completely independent. The mini V filter is a true emulation of the renowned 24dB/octave 4-pole filter. Another feature of the original filter is that the emphasis decreases when the cutoff frequency is low. This contributes a special character to the sound that lets the bass pass cleanly through the filter when playing lower notes. What you can do with the Mini V You can make an insane range of sounds with mini V. Of course it is particularly adept at bass and lead sounds. And pads. And effects. And, well, everything.

But if you ask owners of the original synth what sort of sound is its specialty, almost every single one would say "Bass!" And naturally it’s used for bass and lead sounds since it is monophonic. But there’s another reason: its simple but efficient voice architecture, the specific shape of the filter, the characteristics of oscillators and the soft-clipping output stage give the original synth a warm and unique sound. And Mini V reproduces this sound exactly, so it also excels at powerful, fat basses and lead instruments.

The lead sounds are also as clear and full as on the original, with the same glide and that very particular envelope response which makes each sound more playable.

But there’s more! With polyphonic capability, an arpeggiator, the modulation matrix and the effects, you can make an incredible array of sounds while still enjoying the simple layout and true character of the original voice architecture.

Inserting a mini V sound into your mix is quick and easy. You can pick any one of over 1,000 presets, made by renowned sound designers, and begin to play. All parameters are directly accessible, so you can tweak the sound easily to fit your song.

Preset browser

The redesigned preset browser lets you quickly find just the sound you’re looking for. Search by name or simply select the appropriate tags to dial in on the exact sonic character you’re looking for. You can mark and recall your own favorites, enter comments, and set up playlists. There’s never been a more intuitive way to manage your library of designer and personal presets.

Resizable GUI

If you love getting your hands on all the controls, you probably already have one or more full instruments in the V series—and Analog Lab 2 is also included in the complete V Collection bundle. Analog Lab 2 makes the perfect command center for your V Collection. For starters, it helps you find sounds across your entire studio of vintage instruments. Then, if you want to make mods beyond the most common controls we’ve surfaced, with a click you can go directly into edit mode for the full V-series instrument if you own a license for it.

Platform specifications

Windows: Win 7+ PC: 4 GB RAM; 2 GHz CPU.
1GB free hard disk space
OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU

Apple: 10.8+: 4 GB RAM; 2 GHz CPU.
1GB free hard disk space
OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU

Required configuration

Works in Standalone, VST 2.4 (32-bit and 64-bit), VST 3 (32-bit and 64-bit), AAX (32 bits with PT 10.3.8, 64 bits with PT 11), Audio Unit (32-bit and 64-bit), NKS.

Arturia software synthesizers are based on TAE® (standing for True Anlog Emulation), an advanced proprietary technology allowing accurate modelling of analogue circuitry behaviour on personal computers. Call or chat with a RSPE representative today.