Arturia’s V Collection 11 Pro almost made me forget I had other pluginsSince the release of V Collection X, Arturia has dug even deeper than ever with its digital ambitions. Both the recently-reviewed KeyLab 88 MK3 and preceding AstroLab testify to this, pulling few punches when it comes to breaking Arturia software out of the computer and into the physical studio. Fair to say, those instruments’ affinity with V Collection extends to the degree that they only really come to life upon interfacing with those software instruments.

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The V Collection was introduced in 2005 as a modest collection emulating four classic synths (the Moog Modular, CS-80, ARP 2600 and Minimoog), and has since bloomed into a mighty catalogue of software instruments ranging from the Emulator II to the Vox Continental. By now we should take it as read that with each new edition, V Collection continues to grow apace.
The latest, expansive iteration of the V Collection furnishes the suite with more instruments than ever— 45, to be exact. V Collection 11 doesn’t just add a spate of new emulations of existing hardware instruments (not to mention more of Arturia’s own hardware), it also presents a substantial helping of original Arturia design, not least substantiating and expanding the rapidly-growing Augmented range of instruments.
New kids on the block
Brand new to the Collection are the Synthx V emulation of the Elka Synthex polyphonic synth, the Jup-8000 V emulation of the Roland JP-8000 ‘Analogue Modelling’ synth, and a completely remodelled SEM V, itself based on the Oberheim SEM. Of these, I am particularly impressed by the Synthx V, whose 1980s Italian ancestor— widely regarded as a cheaper but comparable synth to the likes of the Sequential Prophet 10 and Oberheim OBXa— never sold particularly well in its own time. Massively deep, its dual layer architecture allows for the complex blending of sounds while remaining hugely versatile— not to mention massively wide in the stereo image if desired. It’s an instrument that translates brilliantly into the DAW.
Screenshot from Arturia V Collection 11
SEM V is another clear highlight of the emulations. The virtual synth is pre-existing in the Collection but here has been completely redesigned, similar to how the V Collection X overhauled the Mini V to boast better analogue modelling. Oberheim’s iconic Synthesizer Expansion Modules could be conjoined to make two-, four- or eight-voice systems, and of course here all that polyphony is realised behind just one SEM user interface.
The Modules might be renowned for smoothness and warmth, with the gorgeous SEM filter at the heart of the matter, but I find all manner of colours on the palette with this satisfying and impeccably-modelled instrument, from chiming arpeggios to deep growling baselines.
Arturia’s own
You might be surprised to learn that when it comes to new emulations of classic instruments, the list ends there. Indeed, Arturia has markedly turned more of its attention inward, starting with an emulation of its own MiniBrute— first announced almost a year go— and an update to the MiniFreak V. MusicTech responded favourably to the MiniFreak V’s appearance in V Collection X, but that was arguably something of a shoo-in, what with the MiniFreak itself being a digital synth and therefore easily transposable into the DAW. The MiniBrute V, however, takes things a step further to tackle analogue Arturia.

This, I’m pleased to report, it does remarkably well. The hardware MiniBrute, released in 2012, is a comparatively diminutive and simple monosynth but one full of grit and attitude, namely thanks to the ‘Brute Factor’ of its onboard distortion and its Steiner Parker filter design, which in a nutshell is smooth at the bottom and harsh at the top. That aggression and substance translate magnificently in the V, and allied with a simple interface also makes for a highly usable ‘go-to’ if you’re in need of a basic but powerful synth, which can now also work across eight-voice polyphony, to cover many bread-and-butter synth sounds.
A new original instrument, Pure LoFi, also joins the Collection. This is a ‘low fidelity synthesiser’ with three different LoFi engine types and nine vintage hardware emulations. Not only does Pure LoFi offer a range of modulation, distortion and noise-based tools for crafting sounds, particularly enjoyable are its sampler engine options, with classics like the Akai MPC, Fairlight CMI, EMU SP1200, and even the cheap-as-chips Casio SK1 all in the offing.
Augmented instruments
Perhaps the biggest step V Collection 11 takes forward, though, is with the Augmented series, which here expands to seven different instruments, interpolating acoustic sample-based instruments with synthesis engines. Augmented Voices, Strings, Grand Piano, Brass, and Woodwind are joined by Yangtze and Mallets. Atop that, every one of those existing Augmented instruments has received updates to its layout, controls and workflow, with Strings and Voices getting significant expansions to their sample banks and preset libraries. Not bad at all.
Screenshot from Arturia V Collection 11
I enjoy Mallets’ gorgeously captured marimba, vibraphone, celeste and tubular bells, as well as its dynamic synthesis capabilities, but I’m mightily impressed by Yangtze, which boldly takes a raft of traditional Chinese instruments into the DAW, such as the bowed erhu, plucked pipa and xiao bamboo flute. Sonically beautiful and evocative, these sounds push the Augmented series into genuinely exciting territory; not only does it encourage producers to think beyond the components of the western orchestra when it comes to classical and traditional instrumentation, it also brings these instruments into contact with the electronic music domain in a natural and creative way, which is a huge achievement.
Suffice to say, I hope to see more Augmented instruments taking cues from traditions around the world in the future.
Sound ecology
Let’s take a moment to reiterate the now-obvious: when it comes to all things Lab and V, the French developer is not simply building instruments in the way it is hardware, it is populating an ecosystem. All of V Collection’s instruments are available individually, but increasingly Arturia are focused on making its software instrument range a DAW-based environment all of its own, with a bespoke workflow spanning virtual instruments of all shapes and sizes.
Screenshot from Arturia V Collection 11
You might have noticed this edition of V Collection 11 is $100 more than the preceding V Collection X. Is it worth it? That depends on how you think about it: with six new instruments in the picture, that’s a modest $16 or so for each new addition. It’s fair to assume that Arturia has done its utmost to keep the V Collection’s price down, and overall, I still call it strong value for money. But the one-time purchase of the V Collection is less representative of the cumulative value of its individual instruments, as it is an investment in Arturia’s world (indeed, to buy all its instruments separately would increase its price by just under a factor of ten). This is perhaps best represented in Analog Lab, which allows users to hop between emulations to achieve sounds as breezily as one would between presets on a single synth. In this sense, the V Collection is worth far more than the sum of its parts.
If I were being cynical, I’d say Arturia has an almost Apple-level knack for locking users into its ecology. ‘One canvas for infinite sonic exploration’ is how Arturia described V Collection X and, if V Collection’s 11th edition is anything to go by, one canvas the brand would like it to remain.
But if I’m honest, the developer has not only created an enormous library of virtual instruments boasting top-tier quality, it has made navigating it so marvellously easy that after a while, I’d almost forgotten about my DAW’s other software instruments entirely.
Key features

45 software instruments blending emulations, modern hybrid synth engines, modelled keyboards, and augmented acoustic sounds.
7 new instruments: Jup-8000 V, MiniBrute V, Synthx V, Pure LoFi, Augmented Mallets, and Augmented Yangtze
Rebuilt SEM V
Updated Augmented instruments
Updated MiniFreak V

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