Synclavier V

In the history of music, many synthesizers have achieved legendary status. Among them, one was considered a sort of Holy Grail in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was the Synclavier, a digital synth/polyphonic digital sampling system/music workstation created by New England Digital. The different models that have been released would cost between 13.000 and 400.000$, so you can imagine that not every musician could afford one.

Nevertheless, it was used to create many hits by artists such as Michael Jackson, Frank Zappa, Sting, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Genesis, and by many film composers. If you want to add its sound to your compositions, you can do it with the help of an emulation called Synclavier V.

To call the Synclavier V an “80s synth” wouldn't do it justice. This is an extremely versatile instrument that employs additive synthesis, FM synthesis, and sampling to create a wide plethora of sounds; some of these can fit quite well in today’s contemporary music.

Arturia has done a great job of recreating and reimagining the instrument. As a side-note, the Synclavier needed its own computer in order to handle the data required for achieving digital synthesis. So this emulation comes with both a hardware interface and a computer screen interface that resembles the original green monochrome cathode-ray tube. However, the whole interface is a lot more intuitive and many features were added to support a modern-day music production workflow.

While the Synclavier is best used for creating pads, leads, and basslines, it can even be used to synthesize powerful drums and all sorts of sound effects. Take your time to learn the ins and outs of editing and modulating each of the 12 partials, or browse through the hundreds of presets and use them how you see fit.

To conclude, the Synclavier V is more than a simple emulation and would make a great addition to your collection of sound design tools.