Cherry Audio Minimode $59.00

Endorsing the fact that “everyone should have a Minimoog”, Cherry Audio re-mode the early 70s classic into a highly desirable plugin form

 If there is one synth that is ubiquitous in all senses, it has to be the Minimoog. As a consequence, it’ll come as no surprise to discover that it is one of the most reimagined synths to appear in software. Any new plugin incarnation is therefore going to require some pretty hefty calling cards to tempt people away from their favoured versions, or indeed entice first timers into the Minimoog World.

Mini for all

So we must begin with the lowest common denominator; Minimode is priced at an extraordinarily low $59, the Cherry Audio ethos being that everyone deserves a Minimoog, and it is difficult to disagree. But what good is a low price, if the software itself doesn’t sound like the real McCoy? Well, that’s just it! It does!

The Minimode is available in all of the usual plugin formats; AU, VST and AAX, while also offering a nicely styled standalone version. From the initial loading, you are struck by the resizable window, which boasts the classic and clear signal path, in a retro GUI which is pretty exacting to an original Mini. There is plenty of attention to detail, from the use of the same Moog font, through to the colour palette. Original Minimoogs provided a basic tuning oscillator, which always emitted a slight delay in volume, which switched on, and while we don’t really need the tuning oscillator on a plugin, it’s there and it exhibits the same delay-like behaviour, when activated. Cute!

Preset aspirations