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It feels like, as sound designers turn more and more to VSTs, modular synthesis has become a forgotten art.
Think of modular synthesis like legos. You have a bunch of pieces in front of you, and you need to connect them in a certain way to build something. Now, replace the lego bricks themselves with “modules” such as physical reverbs, delays, compressors, and more, and replace the connectors with cables that plug into each of those modules.
It’s up to you where you send the sound, in what order you place the modules, etc.
It’s a lot of fun, but obviously takes a lot of time, effort, and money to collect all of the necessary physical modules. At least, it did, until the Canadian company Applied Acoustics Systems came out with Multiphonics CV-1, a completely digital modular synth, in 2021. And, just a few weeks ago, they released the third iteration of that synth: Multiphonics CV-3.
In this new version, they’ve added quite a bit to the existing plugin, including instant polyphony, FM synthesis, and a bunch of new physical modeling oscillators and filters. They claim that the plugin not only creates synths, but also audio effects for audio tracks. In the plugin’s description on their website, they say that the plugin is for “sonic exploration, music making, learning, and fun.”
Modular synthesis is something I’ve wanted to try out for quite some time, but as I previously mentioned, it’s hard to gather up a bunch of separate modules to create a synth. That’s why I was so excited to play around with this plugin.
Let’s see what Multiphonics CV-3 has to offer.
Multiphonics CV-3 Review– Main Takeaways
- Modular, minus the mess: CV-3 gives you full modular control without needing racks of hardware or a tangled mess of cables.
- Tons of depth, but not plug-and-play: It’s overwhelming at first—but every module links to a guide, which makes the learning curve feel more manageable.
- Actually fun to build with: Dragging in modules, patching them together, and reshuffling your layout is fast, clean, and smooth.
- Presets double as training wheels: Built-in patches help you reverse-engineer how things work while you’re figuring it all out.
Interface and Organization
Before even opening this plugin, I was seriously worried about getting lost. There are so many buttons and so many modules, and it overall looked really, really hard to get a handle on from an outsider’s perspective. I don’t want to say that it was intimidating-looking, but if I’m being honest, intimidated is the best word I can use when it came to my pre-use thoughts.
I fear that my fears were justified. This plugin is almost overwhelming in its scope. And, that is both a good and a bad thing. Bad in that, as a newbie to modular synthesis, I felt pretty much out of my depth almost instantly. But good in that there are seriously UNLIMITED possibilities in what you can create with CV-3.
The init preset features six modules: a keyboard sensor (to sense the notes you play), a mode module (select if you want to play monophonic or polyphonic), an output mixer (notice how you can have four outputs), an effects module for simple distortion, chorus, delay, and reverb, a macros knob with four macros that you can adjust as you’d like, and a master clock.
The synth won’t play anything when initialized, so you’ll need to add an oscillator, which you’ll be able to find on the lefthand side of the plugin. Then you’ll need to route the keyboard to the oscillator by clicking and dragging a cable, and then the oscillator’s output to the main output. Congrats, you’ve made your first sound!
If I’m being honest, even doing that took me way too much time. So, imagine my surprise (and elation) when I realized that every module in this synth (and there are a ton of them) comes with an online guide that you can easily find by hovering around the bottom center of a module.
That will take you to an extremely helpful webpage where you can see exactly how to use that module, from inputs and outputs to the real nitty-gritty stuff.
This is absolutely essential because of just how complex this plugin is. It’s clear that AAS knows just how complicated modular synthesis can be, and have provided a step-by-step guide to the usage of every single module in this plugin. Props to them for that.
Usage
So, I’ll be straight with you all – it’s going to take me some time to make any sort of usable preset with CV-3. I definitely have a lot to learn when it comes to modular synthesis; and, to be clear, the plugin provides a ton of guidance when it comes to using specific modules.
What I can celebrate, though, is how seamlessly everything works here. It’s super easy to drag in a module and to connect it to another one. It’s even easier to move around modules; it’ll take any cables with it, making it easy to organize your presets however you’d want to. It’s a very well-thought-out plugin when it comes to usability, and it’ll be hard for anything to get lost.
What are even better with the presets included with the plugin. They include a bunch of basses, brasses, textures, leads, pads, and more to get you started. Using those presets has actually been really helpful for me in my modular synthesis journey, as I’m able to study what goes into where, and see how adding or removing a connection will effect the final sound.
As I mentioned earlier, this plugin can be used for learning, and studying these presets has really helped me figure out how I can use this plugin in my own productions down the line.
I’ll finish off by linking this audio demo by Adam Pietruszko, shared by the official AAS YouTube channel. He’s definitely got a better handle on this synth than me at the moment, and it’s pretty cool to see how people who have mastered modular synthesis can use it.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
Endless Possibility
With a seemingly endless amount of modules, you can really do whatever you want here. The best thing I can liken this plugin to is a synth sandbox: it’s up to you what you do with it, and all of the tools are there to help you get there. Plus, some of the most fun I had while testing was dragging in random modules and connecting wires to them to see what would happen. I got kind of carried away doing that, but it’s definitely a fun way to use the plugin.
Ease-Of-Use
Hats off to AAS for making a plugin this complicated so easy to use. Dragging, dropping, and connecting is the name of the game here. The routing is instant, too. Pretty impressive stuff.
They Know How Complicated It Is
The online guide might just be my favorite part of the plugin. Being able to get in-depth help from the user manual with the click of a button is absolutely essential when it comes to CV-3.
Cons:
There’s a Serious Learning Curve
Being able to use this plugin won’t happen overnight. You’re going to have to put some hours into it to get a result. Obviously, all good things take time, but I understand that many people now have a lack of patience. I beg you, though: if you give CV-3 a try, stick with it and don’t give up. I had a lot of fun even though everything I made sounded terrible, and I’m sure I’ll continue to have fun as I continue to learn how to use it.
They said it best on their website: it “provides seasoned users a fun, powerful space to explore musical and sonic ideas and quickly bring them to life” and provides new users “an inspiring learning environment.” Go into it with this mindset: before it becomes a synth for you, it’ll be a learning environment.
It’s Decently Pricy
CV-3 retails at 200 USD normally, but it’s on sale for 150 USD at press time. Still, that’s a decent chunk of change. Luckily, AAS offers free trials.
Conclusion: Should you buy it?
As long as you’re willing to learn before you’re able to produce, then yes, I’d buy it. I’ve never been able to sound design in this manner on a computer before, and I cannot wait to continue playing and learning with CV-3 in the coming weeks. And, if you’re an experienced modular synthesizer, this may be the best synth plugin you could buy in 2025.
Buy Multiphonics CV-3 here.
The post Applied Acoustics Systems Multiphonics CV-3 Review: A Modular Synth That Understands How Complex It Is appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.