Review: Acid V from Arturia

Fellow acid and TB-303 fans alike were stunned when Arturia announced Acid V, their take on the classic synth by Roland. With multiple emulations with varying levels of authenticity and price points, what does Acid V have to offer that its competition doesn’t?

The answer: a fresh take that will hit the raves faster than Blade hunts vampires.

A New Order of Acid is Here

I love the Roland TB-303. I’ve purchased several emulations over the years, so I was thrilled and shocked to see Acid V appear on my feed. Considering I had a discount from Arturia for being a customer, buying it was a no-brainer. 

I spent an intimate amount of time comparing each plugin, determining its differences and my opinions. The excitement Acid V created for me is why I returned from my hiatus to write for Audio Plugin Guy. Hi! Happy to be back and reviewing plugins again!

Acid V channels the cult-classic bass synth that pushed the underground into overdrive. Pump your mixes full of reactive ever-evolving bass grooves, unleash mutated sequences fizzing with distortion, and experiment with extra features for revitalized rave energy.

Arturia

Pure Filth

During my initial tests, I was fiddling around with the presets to get an idea of what the plugin is capable of. It’s gruesome stuff. Like, I felt instantaneous inspiration after playing the first few preset patches. Fiddling around with some of the advanced features, like adjusting the Cutoff Filter, allowed me to create a wide range of “authentic” sounding patches while being able to synthesize new, genre-defining sounds.

No More Confusion – Inside Acid V

Acid V has everything you’d expect a TB-303 emulation plugin to have – a sawtooth & square waveform, filter, pitch knobs, and a built-in sequencer & arpeggiator.

However, Acid V’s unique twist is the inclusion of a sub-oscillator that adds more grit and low-end to your acid tones. If used tastefully, it is very effective and unlocks new capabilities beyond the original synthesizer. I spent the majority of my time here and experimenting with darker sounds.

 If you’re feeling daring, you’ll have the option to change additional parameters, like:

• Bass Boost – which does just that.
• PW – changes the square width.
• Accent Attack – customize the attack (ADSR) of accented notes.
• Cutoff Range – changes the filter cutoff range.
• Pitch Tracking – adjusts the accuracy of the pitch tracking.
• Noise Gain – controls the noise produced from the internal circuit.
• Clipper – adjusts the level of clipping.

The ability to change the filter cutoff range and introduce additional noise gain adds a certain depth that I was fond of.  

This wouldn’t be a true 303 emulation if it didn’t have built-in distortion. You can choose from arrays of distortion to dial in your unique patch. Change the amount of drive to taste or route it to a modulation page for bizarre FX. 

Next, you’ll find the sequencer and arpeggiator section of Acid V. I much prefer this layout over the others, but it all comes down to personal taste. It’s functional and easy to use if you’re new to this kind of sequencing in a synth. 

Acid V includes three modulation pages that control the parameter of your choice with a light green indicator surrounding the knob. You can make complex shapes or use one of its built-in presets. 

Lastly, you have the standard effects that you can add on top of the built-in distortion. There’s nothing too fancy here, but it’s a great addition. 

Do I Really Need ANOTHER 303 Emulation?

For $199 (at the time of writing and not including any promotions), why would you need another 303 emulation if you already have Phoscyon, Phase Plant, or any other VST that can mimic that acid sound? 

For some, like me, owning multiple 303 plugins is like owning a variety of guitars – sure, they may sound similar, but particular sonic characteristics make them uniquely and desirably different. If you were to use a stock plugin from your DAW and create a simple 303 patch, chances are the public won’t be able to tell the difference from the real thing.

It comes down to the minute details — How accurate is the filter cutoff? How well can it mimic certain qualities the real TB-303 has, including its quirks? These are details only an Acid nerd would care about.

With that said, how does it compare to the competition? To my ears, it stands out as a unique twist to a classic, especially when adding a sub-oscillator. The interface remains faithful while streamlining sequencing workflows and making it easy to add FX. When comparing it against Phoscyon 2 by D16 Group, Transistor Bass by Image-Line (FL Studio only), and the official Roland Cloud emulator, it’s simple enough to hear which plugin is which. They all sound similar, the same, and different, all at the same time.

In my opinion, the distortion is mildly weak compared to other standalone VSTs and sounds bright. However, it is still usable and desirable; it does the job.

Transistor Bass sounded the brightest out of the bunch, while Phoscyon 2 and Roland Cloud’s TB-303 are more “analog” when comparing filters. Acid V stands out as its own brand of emulation with modern tweaks and functionality. If comparing value vs. price, though, Phoscyon 2 wins at $119 and has more functionality & and tweakable parameters than Acid V, minus the sub-oscillator.

Despite its differences, Acid V still sits in my template as one of the few 303 plugins I use, depending on how I felt that day. It’s like if I owned an Epiphone & Ltd Les Paul clone – Sometimes, they may sound better than the original instrument, while other times not being capable of reproducing a particular, classic tone. That’s how I view my multitude of 303 plugins.

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