Cherry Audio introduces Pentaphonic synth plugin, reviving 1981 classic

Cherry Audio has announced the launch of its Pentaphonic synth plugin, a new virtual instrument reviving one of the rarest synths ever made — the 1981 Pentaphonic by Gleeman Instruments.

Fewer than 70 hardware units were produced, so it’s likely a lot of people may never even have heard of this vintage instrument, letalone come anywhere close to owning or even seeing one in reality.

Those in the know, however, praise its rich tone, distinctive design, and pioneering sequencing capabilities. Now Cherry Audio has immortalised that in an accessible, affordable plugin.

The Pentaphonic Synth plugin replicates the thick, rich sound quality of its DCO and analog filter architecture, capturing the essence of the original hardware. Visually, there’s a choice of designs inspired by the various looks it sported during its short lifetime.

As is often the way with softsynths, as well as emulation/simulation (whichever term you prefer), there are also enhancements to what the original gear could do. That includes what may have been added to a prototype that never materialised, which would’ve featured eight voices, 61-key keyboard, enhanced sequencer and integrated MIDI.

This software synth can be set at 2-16 voices polyphony, including unison with detune, and there’s retriever and note priority added to the monophonic mode.

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) has been added to each oscillator, there’s a noise generator, and oscillator sync. Also an additional LFO, and all eight waveforms found in the DCOs: Complex 1, Complex 2, 3% Pulse, 12% Pulse, 50% Pulse, Ramp, Triangle and Sine.

The 4-pole (24dB per octave) low-pass filter has been expanded with a 2-pole (12dB p/o) mode, and keyboard tracking. The amp section now includes a limiter, and there’s true performance expression including velocity, channel and polyphonic aftertouch, and 14 parameters that can be modulated through keyboard pressure.

There’s an advanced arpeggiator and a 16×4 programmable polyphonic step sequencer, both syncable and transposable, and have flexible humanisation settings for patterns and sequences. Also a parameter animator can be routed to cutoff, resonance, oscillator pitch mode and oscillator gain. And there’s 22 studio-quality modulatable effects.

To cap it off, some 375 presets across 14 categories are onboard, along with the original 50 factory patches. They’ve been created by a quartet of veteran sound designers — James Terris, Andrew Longhurst, James Dyson and Steve Peglar. An additional Translucent Preset Pack featuring 100 presets with extended features can also be purchased.

Here’s the initial demo with Mike Martin:

Features

Based on the early-80s Pentaphonic synthesizers by Gleeman Instruments that originally featured a five-voice polyphonic digitally-controlled oscillator (DCO) synth engine.
Three UI Themes inspired by the history of the Pentaphonic case: black, clear, and “Audities” clear, with click-and-drag opacity.
Expanded voice options: monophonic mode with last/high settings and retrigger, Unison and Polyphonic voice options with 2 -16 voices.
Three oscillators per voice based on the DCOs of the original, with the original stair-stepped waveforms for Complex 1, Complex 2, 3% Pulse, 12% Pulse, 50% Pulse, Ramp, Triangle, and Sine.
Oscillator sync and pulse-width modulation added.
A second LFO has been added, now offering the same stair-stepped waveform options (beyond just triangle) as the oscillators.
LFOs can now be applied to oscillators, filter, and amp.
Original fast/slow chorusing included.
Velocity added to filter and amp.
Keyboard pressure with bipolar amount trimmers that provide discrete expressive control for pressure/aftertouch: modulation rate; oscillator 2 sync; oscillator gain and pitch; filter cutoff, resonance, and modulation; and amp modulation and volume.
The VCF now provides both 12dB 2-pole and the original 24dB 4-pole options, with polarity and key tracking.
Assignable range for pitch bend and a dedicated mod stick control.
Dynamic arpeggiator with four pattern modes – Arp, Leap, Order, Random – with swing, chance, and feel to add degrees of randomness to arpeggiated patterns.
Syncable and transposable 16×4 pattern polyphonic step sequencer with Start, Stop, Auto Start, and humanize options, with accurate DAW clock and step synchronization.
Parameter Animator, an additional per-layer sequencer that acts as a 16-step x 4-pattern parameter modulation source for cutoff, resonance, pitch modulation, and oscillator gain.
22 studio-quality effects for the Effects panel (up to five effects) with a chain that can be arranged, saved, and recalled: BBD Flanger, Compressor, DCO Chorus, Digital Delay, Digital Reverb, Distortion & EQ, Dual Delay, Dual Ensemble, Dual Phaser, Envelope Filter, Flanger & Chorus, Galactic Reverb, Lo-Fi, Lushverb, Panner, Pulser, Ring Modulator, Rotary Speaker, Seven Band EQ, Spring Reverb, Tape Echo, and Wide Phaser.
Effects control tray for on/off, solo, bipolar modulator amount slider, and dry/wet mix for each effect. Global FX on/off, level, and stereo expand
Over 375 presets in 14 categories, including the original 50 factory patches.
Standalone virtual instrument and plug-in versions included
User-adjustable oversampling control
Complete MIDI control and DAW automation for all controls, with easy-to-use MIDI learn and mapping (Preset and Global)
Cherry Audio’s Focus zoom-in feature, as well as standard UI zoom and resize via drag
Complete documentation available directly online from the instrument or in downloadable PDF format