Pentaphonic is Cherry Audio's recreation of the 1981 Gleeman Pentaphonic, released on 6 October 2026. Fewer than 70 of the hardware units were built. The plugin keeps the hybrid that made them: digitally controlled oscillators, including the stair-stepped Complex waveforms, into a Curtis-style 4-pole low-pass. It then leaves the five-voice original behind.
The useful range is mono, unison with detune, or 2 to 16 voices. Pulse-width modulation, a noise generator, and oscillator sync are all additions. A second LFO joins the first, and both can use the eight oscillator waveforms. The filter adds a 12 dB mode and key tracking. The amp adds a limiter. Velocity, channel aftertouch, and polyphonic aftertouch are in, with 14 pressure destinations. That is the playable difference from a panel that only looked like the Gleeman.
The sequencer is the other reason to open it. Four arp modes, a 16×4 polyphonic step sequencer, and a Parameter Animator aimed at cutoff, resonance, pitch modulation, and oscillator gain give a part its own motion. Twenty-two effects load into a chain of five. Three panel themes cover the black chassis and the two clear skins, with drag-to-set opacity. The factory set passes 375 presets and includes the original 50 patches.
The trade-off is scope. At $59 it costs the same as GX-80, which is the CS-80 instrument with 16 voices per layer. Memorymode 2 is $69 and aims at the Memorymoog. Pentaphonic is the right one when the Gleeman hybrid is the sound. It is the wrong one when the reference track is a CS-80 pad or a Memorymoog stack. Activation requires a network connection, and the 100-preset Translucent pack is another $9.99.
We have not scored it. Thomann UK lists the download at £51 including VAT. For the full walkthrough, see the Pentaphonic first look.