Pittsburgh Modular turns its Microvolt 3900 into a $69 plug-in
Pittsburgh Modular has released Microvolt 3901, a software version of its Microvolt 3900 experimental semi-modular analog synthesizer. It is the first time the company has moved one of its designs into software.
It runs on macOS and Windows as a standalone app and a plug-in, and costs $69. A free seven-day trial is available. The iPad version is listed as coming soon.
From hardware to software
The hardware Microvolt 3900 dates from 2018. It mixes East Coast elements, such as ADSR envelopes and subtractive filters, with West Coast ideas, such as wavefolding and low-pass gating.
The plug-in is not a plain copy of that synth. Pittsburgh Modular says it modeled the 3900 and a selection of its Eurorack modules at component level, to keep the warmth and quirks of the originals. Patch cables route audio and control voltage between the modules.
Oscillators come from the Microvolt, the Lifeforms SV-1, the Voltage Lab mini and the Generator, plus a second voltage-controlled oscillator based on the Microvolt core. Two digital lo-fi oscillators designed in 2016, Double Helix and DNA Symbiotic Waves, are included too.
Modulation modules include the VILFO, the company's first Eurorack module, a Dual LFO, a Function Generator, a Game System, a Three Stage Envelope, an Envelope Generator, a Modulation Oscillator, Sample & Hold and a Ring Modulator.
There are 19 effects, among them a flanger, a phaser, a chorus, several delays and reverbs, a fuzz, a bit crusher and a compressor. They can sit at the end of the signal chain or inside a patch.
Playing and specs
The instrument has its own touch-plate keyboard, which suits iPads and touchscreen monitors, and a 16-step sequencer. External MIDI keyboards, sequencers and DAWs also work.
It offers six-voice polyphony, or mono with up to six unison voices. It has a built-in oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer, MIDI input, Ableton Link and host sync, and 200 factory presets. There are 100 steps of undo, and a user manual is built in.
The macOS build needs macOS 12 Monterey or later and comes as Audio Unit, VST3 and standalone. The Windows build needs Windows 10 or 11 and comes as VST3 and standalone. The desktop license can be installed on four computers at once.
Source: Pittsburgh Modular