Arturis flagship softsynth is called Pigments, and it is NOT a clone of anything really, just a one-4-all synth with many options all laid out in a (pretty) easy way to understand. For a greater overview of Pigments see the link below. I personally bought Pigments way back when it was in version 1, and I am pleased to say that via plenty of updates, we are now at version 6 and EVERY update has been free from Arturia. I believe this is a great selling point and cannot be overestimated in 2025, when plugins and software in general is undergoing big price increases, with a lot of previously free software now either being paid products or the free versions crippled beyond recognition. Pigments IS expensive if bought at full price of €199, but with the upgrades and decent offers Arturia often have, plus the fact that the introductory price if you don’t already own it of €99 means that my fears of it being overpriced are not as large as in previous reviews, and that is before I expand on how flexible, powerful and just well thought out Pigments is. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that if you only have a budget to purchase 1 flagship/premium synth plugin – Pigments is the obvious choice!
https://www.arturia.com/products/software-instruments/pigments/overview
With 6 synth engines, a sequencer/arp and a decent array of fx – Pigments really does have you covered. As said above, if you only have the budget for 1 premium synth plugin then Pigments I believe is the one you should spend your money on. Well supported with a huge range of soundbanks both free and paid for, you really can’t beat it. Yes it can get expensive if you do purchase a load of soundbanks, but what helps here is that it really is a tweakers delight, plus a decent smattering of fx means you can pretty much cover all your bases. Below is a nice video, bit long at just over 30 mins explaining the basics and the additions. Not much point in going over them again (!) but this is pretty much a great way to explain about Pigments.
So how does it sound? Well it sounds awesome, it can do a host of synth types, the new modal synth engine and vocoder effects are great. It can pretty much do all the fashionable sounds, wavetable and fm are included along with analogue models. It is also easy to understand and tweak, and yes it is really flexible. The video above shows off a lot of the power of this synth, and if you don’t own it, well it pretty much is a must. If you only buy 1 synth plugin this should be it! Powerful, flexible, great sounding – what more could you ask for (apart from free but hey!)
Arturia Pigments 6

If you only buy one synth plugin, then this should be it. With a great vocoder option that works on both the internal sounds AND external sources it really is flexible and powerful. Cannot recommend it enough, the only issue I can see is that it does need a fairly modern system to really shine otherwise it can be slow…
Pros
Awesome sound and features!
Whilst expensive at full price the upgrades and offers mean it is a lot for your money
Does a great job of
Cons
Not cheap really, but you do get loads for your cash
Not for an older system, needs resources
Soundbanks are good, but can add up to an expensive purchase quickly
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