8.6Great
Arturia Pigments Play is a free player edition of Pigments with all six synthesis engines, 68 filters, 20 effects, and 100 curated presets.
Plugin comparison
Arturia Pigments Play vs orph MONOCHORD
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which synth to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
8.0Great
orph MONOCHORD is a chord instrument and harmony workstation that plays fully-voiced chords from single keys, backed by an 11.8 GB library of vintage hardware.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, Arturia Pigments Play comes out ahead (8.6). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Arturia Pigments Play | orph MONOCHORD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $139 / €139 |
| Dubspot Score | 8.6 | 8.0 |
| Formats | Standalone, VST, VST3, AU (Audio Units), AAX, NKS | VST3, AU, Standalone |
| Type | Free multi-engine software synthesizer (player edition) | Chord instrument, multisampler, texture engine and MIDI tool |
| Engines | Virtual analog, sample, wavetable, granular, modal, harmonic (all six) | — |
| Filters | 68 filter modes | — |
| Effects | 20 effect algorithms | 15 effect and modulation engines |
| Editing | 4 macros (brightness, timbre, time, movement) plus 4 effects | — |
| Presets | 100 curated presets | — |
| Operating systems | macOS 11+ (Intel or Apple Silicon), Windows 10+ (64-bit), OpenGL 2.0 GPU | — |
| Formats | Standalone, VST, VST3, AU, AAX, NKS | VST3, AU, Standalone |
| Chords | — | 600+ hand-voiced voicings across 70+ tonal sets |
| Library | — | 425 multisampled instruments, ~11.8 GB, 1980s-2000s hardware |
| Sequencing | — | Pattern and arpeggio engine, tempo-synced drum loops |
| Export | — | MIDI out, audio export, DAW automation, user sample import |
| Systems | — | macOS 10.13+ (Universal), Windows 10/11, 64-bit; 8 GB RAM (16 GB rec.); ~12 GB disk, SSD recommended |
| Price | — | $139 / €139; rent-to-own; 14-day full trial |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.