Cherry Audio has released Pentaphonic, a virtual instrument that brings back one of the rarest polysynths ever built: the Gleeman Pentaphonic from 1981. Fewer than 70 of the original hardware units were ever made, so for most producers this plugin is the only realistic way to play one.
Pentaphonic is out now for Mac and Windows from the Pentaphonic product page for $59, with a free 30-day demo.
A garage-built hybrid polysynth
The original Pentaphonic was designed in 1981 by brothers Bob and Al Gleeman in a Silicon Valley garage. It was built to stay in tune under hot stage lights, which it did by using a pair of Intel microprocessors to run five voices of digitally controlled oscillators (DCOs). The sound then ran through Curtis CEM 3320 4-pole analog filters, giving it a warm but clear tone.
It also looked unusual. The first model had a black chassis with a built-in handle and speaker and weighed just 18 pounds. The later Pentaphonic Clear went further, with a clear acrylic case, plexiglass knobs, and optional lighting that lit up the green circuit boards inside. Gleeman wound production down in the mid-1980s as digital synths took over, but the instrument found its way into the hands of Oscar Peterson, Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, Kansas, R.E.M., and The Moog Cookbook.
What Cherry Audio added
Cherry Audio keeps the original's hybrid DCO-into-analog-filter design and its eight stair-stepped waveforms, then builds a lot on top:
- Up to 16 voices, from mono to full polyphony, plus unison.
- Three oscillators per voice with pulse-width modulation, oscillator sync, and a noise generator.
- A second LFO, with both LFOs now offering all eight of the original waveforms.
- A 2-pole filter mode, keyboard tracking, and a limiter.
- Expressive control through velocity, channel aftertouch, and polyphonic aftertouch, with 14 modulatable parameters.
- A syncable arpeggiator and a 16x4 polyphonic step sequencer with humanization options.
- A Parameter Animator and 22 studio-quality effects in a global effects chain.
There are also three interface skins that follow the synth's history, from the standard black chassis to the clear designs, with adjustable opacity on the see-through versions.
Presets and expansion
Cherry Audio has also launched the Translucent Preset Pack for $9.99, which adds 100 presets across eight categories focused on calm, hypnotic soundscapes that lean on the synth's modulation, sequencing, and effects.
Price, formats, and availability
Pentaphonic costs $59 and runs on macOS 10.13 or later and Windows 7 or later in AU, VST, VST3, AAX, and standalone formats. Until October 19, it's also part of Cherry Audio's Build Your Own Bundle deal, where a Pick 3 bundle is $99 and a Pick 6 bundle is $149. Full details are in Cherry Audio's Pentaphonic announcement.
Images in this article are from Cherry Audio's Pentaphonic product page.