Softube Model 82: Classic techno mono synth special deal
4,0 / 5,0 | 
Softube Model 82 is a groovy attempt to recapture those SH-101 club sounds of 1990s techno and it’s a lot of fun. Now only €19 with our exclusive code.
Softube Model 82 deal
Now available for €19 with coupon code PBNL53 at Plugin Boutique.
Model 82
[Originally posted on 8th June 2022] Softube never likes to say what synthesizer it bases its emulations on. But in this case, it’s clearly the Roland SH-101. While the synth was produced in the early 80s, the vibe Softube are going for is set firmly in the club culture of the 1990s and they nailed it.
Both the Model 72 and the Model 84 were brilliant, so I’m expecting great things from this emulation. The idea is to try to capture the feelings as well as the sound of this synth. Softube says something about “Rock & Roll Science” which conjures up images of trashed laboratories and professors snorting coke off each other’s arses. But it could also mean that the designers have gone beyond the attention to detail and inhabit some kind of heart and soul emulation. Or maybe let’s get a grip on ourselves and enjoy it as a mono synth with a couple of waveforms, a cool filter and a useful envelope.
Softube went to a lot of trouble to model the sequencer and arpeggiator in the hope of instilling Model 82 with that elusive inspiration and improvisational quality.
No software emulation would be complete without some extras. The interface has been optimised for a quicker workflow, and velocity and aftertouch have been stuck in. And there’s a new Drive knob for a bit of saturation and some stereo enhancements.
Honestly, it looks and sounds totally brilliant and while it’s been done before I always enjoy Softube’s take on these things. I’m also loving the crappy signs of wear on the GUI.
Modular
The other groovy thing Softube does is pull the synthesizer apart into individual modules that can then run inside Softube Modular. And so you get the VCO, LFO, VCF-VCA, FX and ENV as separate patchable modules.
This is also brilliant.
So, for €79 Softube has nailed the Roland SH-101 in software form with all the right nuance and extras. Great stuff.
- Softube Model 82 webpage.
- More from Softube.
- Available from Plugin Boutique via this affiliate link.
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3 responses to “Softube Model 82: Classic techno mono synth special deal”
I do wish that those ultra-realistic looking 3D rendered images which often accompany soft-synth marketing, could be shared – and ‘played with’ as well. Even if non-functioning as far as parameter changes within the VST itself is concerned, just to have a little desktop 3D render which you can swirl around with a mouse, could be quite fun – and serve as a small step towards making a soft synth feel as though it could really exist in the real world. First time I saw a Nexus render years ago, I thought it was a real piece of hardware!
Perhaps this will come when we all start to immerse ourselves in VR studio environments.
Just bought it. What an incredible sound. I compared it to my real 101 and it’s not far off in the blind test. Definitely the best emulation in the market. And I own all. Also the Softube Moog and Roland 106 clone are really recommendable. Great work from cool Swedish guys.
Softube Model 82 webpage refers to the homepage at early days of internet browsing, as it were.
Website’s contemporary header spoils all the fun.