Cherry Audio Crumar Spirit Virtual Instrument Now Available

Cherry Audio as introduced Crumar Spirit, a virtual instrument based on the classic hardware synth of the same name from 1983.

The original Spirit was designed by Moog engineer Jim Scott, Moog clinician and electronic music historian Tom Rhea, Bob Moog and Crumar’s Sante Crucianelli. The project began around 1980 or 1981, and incorporated elements from earlier projects by Scott and Moog.

Features:

  • Based on the original synthesizer and circuit designs of Robert A. Moog, Tom Rhea, Jim Scott, and Crumar’s Sante Crucianelli
  • Expanded functionality and modulation options
  • Monophonic, unison, polyphonic (4, 8, or 16 voices), and cycle voice modes
  • Multi voice modes for unison, poly, and cycle that add per-note variation by adding three additional “mini synth” panels, each with their own pitch, pan, filter frequency, VCA Envelope Attack, and VCA Envelope Release settings
  • Quick-access Multi voice panel presets such as Hard Panned, Slightly Detuned, Well Worn, and more to simulate subtle or extreme variations between voices
  • Over 430 presets in a dozen categories
  • Two oscillators with master tune, octave, waveshape, and oscillator sync
  • Oscillator B features modes to create a fixed frequency in two ranges – Bass and Wide – for drones, audio-rate modulation, or an additional LFO
  • Dedicated Upper low pass filter and multimode Lower filter
  • Flexible filter section with keyboard tracking, a fixed formant option for the Lower filter (to add vocal-like color), and low pass slope options
  • Two ADSR envelopes with velocity for filter and amp
  • Extensive modulation options in Mod X and Shaper Y sections, each routable to dedicated mod wheels
    • Mod X modulation sources: Triangle, Square, Random (Sample & Hold), Shaper Y, Red Noise, Oscillator B. Sync or retrig
    • Mod X destinations: Oscillator A + B, Oscillator A, Oscillator A rectangular width modulation (RWM), Filter Upper + Lower, Upper Filter
    • Shaper Y modes: Free Run (extra LFO), KB Hold, Run, Reset (Envelope and Filter Effects). Sync or loop.
    • Shaper Y destinations: Oscillator A + B, Oscillator B, Oscillator B RWM, LFO Rate, Lower Filter
  • Cherry Audio’s “Matrix Z” four-slot mod matrix with four independent pathways to send modulation from one of 25 sources to any of 45 destinations, each with its own amount knob
  • Multiple gate options for ADSRs allow for complex triggering
  • Two independent mixers and signal paths for Shaper Y and Filter/ADSR with independent outputs
  • Glide and pitch bend controls
  • Dynamic arpeggiator with three modes – Ripple, Arp, and Leap – with Swing, Chance, and Feel to add degrees of randomness to arpeggiated patterns
  • Two independent chains of studio-quality integrated effects with a global effect modulator:
    • Filter/ADSR Effects: Distortion, Flanger & Chorus, Echo, and Reverb
    • Shaper Y Effects: Envelope Filter, Dual Phaser, Flanger & Chorus, and Echo
  • Standalone virtual instrument and plug-in versions included
  • DAW sync
  • User-adjustable oversampling control
  • Complete MIDI control and DAW automation for all controls, with MIDI learn and mapping (Preset and Global)
  • Cherry Audio’s Focus zoom-in feature, as well as standard UI zoom and resize via drag
  • Complete documentation available directly online from the instrument or in downloadable PDF format

Pricing and Availability:

Cherry Audio’s Crumar Spirit is available now for Mac & Windows for $59 USD.

15 thoughts on “Cherry Audio Crumar Spirit Virtual Instrument Now Available”

  1. Sounds good to me. Cherry Audio’s analog modelling capabilities have come on leaps and bounds since their first synths. How close it sounds to a synth so rare is sort of immaterial – but it sounds absolutely fantastic and very analog, even with crazy modulation settings.

    1. I tried the free MG-1 a while back, and the timbre changed a lot when I changed the bitrate in the DAW. I know it’s difficult to get this right with low latency, and maybe my knob settings weren’t very common, but it ruined the illusion of playing antique hardware for me. I’m not complaining, because it was free! And it was fine. But is stuff like that still an issue?

      1. All their synths have oversampling now, which is the real key to getting a good analog sound. Can be a CPU hog so I tend to only switch it on when I’m rendering. But it makes all the difference – grab a demo of the Mercury 6, and compare some resonant filter sweeps, with and without oversampling . You’ll hear the difference.

  2. Worked in a studio with one of these – it sounded absolutely ferocious. One of the most aggressive sounding synths I’ve ever had the pleasure to use.

    1. this has been a bucket list synth for a long time! to even just sit down with for an hour would make me happy. I was excited for the reissue but its way outside my price range. Crumar hinted they might do a more affordable version at some point, and i really hope they do.

  4. It will be another buy for me. I buy most of their releases. Staggered releases and resonable prices. I am old enough to remember when NI was like this!! These really highlight the positive effect of not having a billion controls and options, you just get on with playing and programming. Because there are some limitations I choose the synth for the sound rather than having to dig around forever to find the sound.

    Keep them coming but dont be affraid to carry on releasing some of the original synths you do as well

    1. I have finally got round to picking this up. Deep is the word. There are a lot of layers of sound manipulation. Luckily you can keep it basic and add spice to the mix as you want. There are some different routing paths available and without caution you can get a lot of sound. Because this is a soft synth you can modulate these extra layers, I’ve been using the full sound in one section of a track and knocking back the sound when other things are happening. Great synth and a great version of it.

  5. Cherry Audio did a better-than-usual job on this one. It always had a rep for an appealing sound and a dubious build. Here, the negatives are gone. Its like a hardwired mini-modular. The sound demos really show off its clout. Who couldn’t love dual effects chains?

    1. Had one of these as new for about 12 years, the build quality was not dubious – mechanically and electronically very solid. The wooden end cheeks eventually developed some cracks, but that’s what happens when you leave the thing on a desk in front of an open window in NYC for years on end.

  6. I’m confused a bit about why people seem to generally love what Cherry Audio is doing, when they are essentially building their own ‘Komplete’ collection of virtual instruments, but people seem to be ‘meh’ about what Native Instruments is doing.

    I see Native and Arturia’s synths as providing ‘meat and potatoes’ instruments that most people need, and Cherry Audio’s synths as providing the ‘spice’ you might want to add specific flavor.

    1. bud, NI is basically a dead company that’s just barely floating along with continued weak re-packaged starter bundles of their entry level hits and third party-produced kontakt libraries. they haven’t offered anything new or meaningful in terms of synth development in ages, and pointing to their older emulations is nonsense (Monark is like 12 years old lol, have they done any emulations since?).
      Cherry audio specializes in their own approach to emulations and seems to be picking less common choices for emulation to keep it fresh. it’s an entirely different approach and refreshing enough. I don’t find most of it particularly compelling, and stick to arturia because i’m bought into their ecosystem and prefer having fewer places to go for my tools, but cherry audio is actually doing a unique enough thing in the market and is certain a living, breathing company where NI is just a shell of its former self.

    2. dont forget the new synth dopamine hit. Especially for interesting older synths. Now think what NI offer, has your Reaktor had a recent or even many proper updates? Cherry Audio is doing an Arturia with all the reproductions but without tying you in to buying a bundle (i forget exactly the offers but the individual prices are higher? better synths or not is another debate).

    3. I feel like half the stuff NI releases now is basically a sample player with fancy VST graphic. Or a sample player with a built in sequencer… Like come the hell on, do they think we’re that dumb? If anything, I’ll take a nice collection of VSTs and modeled acoustic instruments (SWAM, pianoteq) over a glorified sample library any day! 🙂

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