Roll out the red carpet – Cherry Audio has released its own Korg Trident-inspired emulated synth. Pushing the boundaries of the original ‘80s tech, the Trident Mk III offers a versatile “orchestra-in-a-box” experience, already earning itself the title of a “Swiss army synth”.

The synth plugin comes as an unofficial third instalment in Korg’s Trident series with the Trident and Trident Mk II releasing in 1981 and 1982 respectively. And it’s a hefty upgrade, expanding the original Trident’s potential, increasing the voice count from 8 to 16 for each section.

• READ MORE: I got lost in Moog Messenger’s massive Res Bass sounds

As the Trident name suggests, the synth offers three timbres to experiment with: synth, brass and strings. All three can be mixed, split and layered across the keyboard. While each synth section is fully polyphonic with two oscillators and a filter per voice, the brass and string sections capture the paraphonic abilities of the original Trident, with oscillators running through a single filter and envelope.

But it’s not all nostalgia. Cherry Audio has also thrown in some other modern upgrades, such as velocity sensitivity and aftertouch, polyphonic aftertouch and MIDI mapping.

There’s also 17 effects on offer, both old and new. There’s the flanger, ensemble and vibrato effects you’d expect from the Trident, as well as a compressor, ring modulator, lo-fi, a 7-band EQ alongside multiple delays and reverbs that can be used across four customizable chains.

Users can toy with Motion and Effects tools in drag-and-drop areas, while there’s also the option of using templates to quickly split and layer your tracks with ease. As for the Motion panel, it also also offers a 32-step polyphonic sequencer and dual arpeggiators. There’s also MIDI mapping and 380 professionally designed presets on offer.

The Trident Mk III comes as Cherry Audio’s latest reimagining of a Korg classic, with the company having previously tackled the PS-3300 synth and KR-55C drum machine. The Trident Mk III comes as a welcome addition to Cherry Audio’s library of virtual instruments,

Cherry Audio’s Trident Mk III is available now for $69. There’s also a free 30-day trial to try before you buy.

The post Cherry Audio releases Korg-inspired Trident Mk III synth plugin appeared first on MusicTech.