The best example I can think of is how NI’s Traktor works/integrates with their Traktor Kontrol range, especially the better ones (Kontrol S4 mk3).
There’s obviously a much bigger demand for these than there would be for a Pigments controller… doesn’t stop me daydreaming though.
I really was envisioning something along the lines of screens like the push 2 since then you could visualize the different oscillators/filters, etc and their parameters, but maybe that’s overkill because it should be on the screen? Or maybe not because it would be great to be able to use pigments in a daw while essentially having pigments viewable on the hardware, and not taking up any screen space…
maybe Pigments should just become a hardware standalone synth at that point…
seems like everything I envision, one way or another has some sort of compromise or ‘why not just do this instead…’ moment.
The eternal struggle of product development. 
A Push-like, eyes-off-the-screen approach is totally valid too. My thinking is that if the goal is making the VST tactile and fast to tweak, the monitor isn’t getting in the way of that as much as the input method of pointing, clicking, and dragging, so I would focus on how the control surface replaces the latter. It would also help keep the materials cost much lower!
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If anyone is interested, here’s a preset I put together this morning that is a quick way of auditioning the new wavetables in Pigments 4.
All you have to do is go to ‘Keyboard’ at the bottom and hit the ‘HOLD’ button, then hit a note to start the simple sequence.
I’ve set up LFO 1 to slowly sweep through the waveform position so you can hear what’s in there… just go through the waveforms using the < > controls in the engine.
There’s some really great sounding new waves in there.
If anyone does import this and check it out, can you let me know it works ok please?
Pigments_Preset_CCMP Pg 4.0 Waveform Auditioner_20221214_11h28.pgtx (117.3 KB)
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Deleting my previous post because it turns out my problems were due to operator error. After being reminded that the plug-in Configure button exists, the SL Mk3 works very nicely to control Pigments within Ableton.
Arturia’s controllers also seem nice, but if you want Push style displays then Novation’s SL series has them.
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Really enjoying being able to drag mod sources to destinations. And seeing quickly which sources are being used for any destination. Big workflow improvement imo.
Also loving play mode. There’s a lot to be said for having a simplified view here. I’ve spent lots of time sound designing on Pigments more than I maybe needed to because the synth view has so much going on. Kind of an ideal view for mapping a controller as well.
Is is possible to have a macro knob in Pigments for filter envelope depth? This is one of my most used controls and the only way I can see to adjust it is to adjust the modulation amount with the little circle, it would be nice to have a big knob for it!
I chuckled a bit when I saw the drag-and-drop feature in the intro video, as it’s clearly inspired by modulation routing in Vital – a synth which itself draws some clear inspiration from Pigments! Fair’s fair, I guess. It really is a great bit of UI.
I think my favorite new feature so far though might be the MS-20 filter. This is the first time I’ve felt like I could get the flavor of my Monologue in software; there’s a certain Korg flavor there that’s just so much fun to make a mess with.
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Most of these UI concepts including drag and drop modulation have been around for a long, long time. No complaints that they’re getting more widely used, but they’ve been around long before Vital!
It’s a very good synth and much easier to use than most of their emulations, many of which look the part but sound the same.
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I would say the waldorf m is something special though!
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Having now tried the demo of v4 it’s pretty impressive. The new UX improvements are significant. I sold my license quite recently here and now (with a crossgrade offer in my Arturia account) I’m able to buy it new again with all the new v4 features and 3 bonus preset packs for only a tenner more than I sold it for.
I’m such a sucker for a bargain but having one “powerhouse” synth for when I’m using a DAW is very tempting at this price. I’m not much interested in their other software (until they give me a multi-plugin wrapper for all their FX, I always loved those FX stackers) but this is such a good synth for so little money!
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Reason has always done this. NI Massive has always done this. Crazy Arturia didn’t have this before.
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I don’t mean drag and drop by itself, which has obviously been around for ages, but that combined with the little mod depth/polarity wheels that appear below the destination when you make the connection.
Last thing i need today was a soft synth but for $49 i bought it and wow, synth aside the sampling abilites on this is a lot of fun. This will probably become my go to soft instrument. Arturia’s soft game is strong
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What does it do to samples?
EDIT: Sorry, I just found this!
https://support.arturia.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405748112146-Pigments-Sample-Engine
And this just ups the value so much!
Edit #2:
So it’s a dense feature for sure, and I guess I shouldn’t consider it a replacement for the quick sampler in Logic.
Unless it’s deeper than I seen, I would guess that it’s not for chopping sample, but rather playing and modulating samples.
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It’s better to think about the sample engine as that, a sample engine where you’re using samples as the basis of your synth sounds… the depth of the manipulation you have is massive.
It’s not like a trad sampler, like an MPC for example, where you can have vast multi sample keygroups, or start chopping loops to convert to kits, etc, that’s best done in a proper sampler.
The Pigments sample engine reminds me of the Prophet X approach, but is actually a lot more powerful.
That said, it is easy to load in loops and manipulate the start, end and loop points, similar to the Digitakt… and go deep using the mod/macro options.
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I will say this. I was real close to getting the Behringer Td 3, but the acid synths in pigments are more than enough.
I think I need to figure out how to sequence the cutoff.
Maybe the Syntakt thru Logic? Or is there a dedicated one in Pigments?
where did you get it for $49? I can only see $99 in the website. is that because you have other arturia products?
This is one of those instances where examining some of the included presets can come in really helpful. In the preset browser go to Explore, then sort by Styles and under the Characteristics section select “Sample-based.” This will give you a sizable list of presets that (usually) utilize the sample engine in some way. I believe there is one that uses some modulation source to “chop” a drum loop by altering the start point in the loop every time a note is triggered by the arpeggiator. There are several that utilize the granular features in the sample engine, layered with the additive engine to create really interesting FX/pads. While I generally prefer to chef up my own sounds, I find these huge banks of presets really useful for gleaning new techniques.
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I think it’s that cheap if you buy the V collection first.
I got Analog Labs first and pigments was only $69.
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