![arturia v collection 4 reviews arturia v collection 4 reviews](https://audionewsroom.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/01-2.jpg)
![arturia v collection 4 reviews arturia v collection 4 reviews](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/t8dxHVhvnijEDRBM8G6yaF.jpg)
Without an A/B test I would never have known which was which, except that the Trumpet sound on my Solina has always been a bit hissy, and the soft synth’s isn’t.
![arturia v collection 4 reviews arturia v collection 4 reviews](https://dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/styles/news_large/s3/imagelibrary/v/v-collection_4_gui-LSA4yBZvE1Etzte1OvhYKUlwh2gS94AG.jpg)
I compared every Upper (paraphonic) voice and every Lower (monophonic bass) voice on the Solina with its equivalent on the soft synth and, in my view, the differences between them were unimportant. I liberated my trusty second-generation Solina (CV and Gate interfaces, but monophonic audio outputs) from storage, and set it up with an Arturia Analogue Experience keyboard sitting on top so that I could switch between the soft synth and the original. So, can a physically modelled recreation do better? A Direct Comparison Even today, nearly every sample-based keyboard offers patches named ‘Solina this’, or ‘Solina that’, although none of these sound exactly like the original. Nevertheless, despite its limitations, the sound of the Solina remained desirable. My favourite was the Logan String Melody 2, but there were many others worthy of acclaim. Numerous imitations soon appeared, and many of these improved upon the Solina. Even Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder were to be seen playing them. Pink Floyd were amongst the first, but Solinas were soon gracing the music of artists and bands as diverse as Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Gentle Giant, Patrick Moraz, the Enid and Renaissance. Small and light by the standards of the time, the Solina allowed bands to add string sounds to their arsenal without lugging around heavy and often unreliable instruments (or viola players). In 1974, Eminent extracted and extended the ensemble technology from the 310U and repackaged it in a four-octave keyboard. The 310U had little impact when it was released, but Jean Michel Jarre’s ‘Oxygene’ (1976) ensured that it would later be recognised as one of the most important keyboards of the 20th century. Then, in 1972, a similar sound was heard to emanate from Eminent’s 310 Unique home organ, which employed a single oscillator per note, but thickened up the sound using a bunch of modulated BBD chips (analogue delay lines) to create the ensemble effect. Until Ken Freeman invented string synthesis by detuning and modulating three oscillators per note to create a chorus effect, the only ways to obtain an ensemble sound had been to play a Mellotron or to book an orchestral ensemble. Arturia have revived a classic string synth in software, and the result is the Solina V.