Cherry Audio offers the Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer (€26 value) virtual instrument as a free download for a limited time only.
Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer emulates the Moog Concertmate MG-1 hardware synthesizer. The MG-1 was an affordable analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music and sold by Radio Shack. It was manufactured until 1983 under Radio Shack’s “Realistic” brand.
See also: Best FREE Synthesizer VST PluginsThe team at Cherry Audio developed a close emulation of the Moog Concertmate MG-1 in software format. It seems that the virtual MG-1 copies all the functionality available in the original instrument. The same can be said about the interface, an almost exact replica of the hardware MG-1.
Cherry Audio describes the plugin as “a super authentic recreation of the Realistic MG-1 synthesizer sold in Radio Shack stores in the 80s. The Surrealistic MG-1 Plus delivers fat analog tone in spades along with a unique polyphonic oscillator section, “bell tone” ring modulation, and a number of improvements that tremendously expand its capabilities.”
The plugin features two oscillators, one filter, a contour (envelope) section, and a mixer section. Check out the official demo video embedded below to hear Cherry Audio’s free MG-1 in action. It seems like it totally captures the raw sonic character of the Moog Concertmate MG-1 keyboard.
The software is NOT powered by Cherry Audio’s popular Voltage Modular platform. This is a standalone virtual instrument developed and released by Cherry Audio.
The virtual MG-1 boasts accurate analog modeling, sporting a 24dB ladder filter, ring modulation, and an expanded MIDI range when compared to the original. It includes over 130 presets.
Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer is completely free to download from Cherry Audio. It is unclear if the offer is available for a limited time only. The plugin appeared to be valued at €26 (with a temporary 100% OFF price drop) while the free download offer was briefly available at Plugin Boutique earlier today.
The developer confirmed that Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer is freeware!
UPDATE #1: It looks like the product was removed from Plugin Boutique’s website moments after this article was published. It could be scheduled for release later this week. The product is still visible on the Deals page. I will reach out to Plugin Boutique for more info about the release date.
UPDATE#2: The instrument is now finally available for free download from Cherry Audio. A user account is required. Visit the product page linked below and add Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer to your Cherry Audio library. Thanks to our reader Igor for the info!
UPDATE#3: It appears that the “Add to Library” button still isn’t working on the product page, but it’s fully functional on the Instruments page. Thanks to our reader Christian for the info!
UPDATE #4: The product page linked below is fully operational!
More info: Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer (19.7 MB download size, EXE installer, 64-bit VST/VST3/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & macOS)
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