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Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer Is FREE For A Limited Time

By 33 Comments3 Mins Read
Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer by Cherry Audio

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 Plugins

The 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.”

Here's a closer look at the Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer.
Here’s a closer look at the Surrealistic MG-1 Plus Synthesizer.

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.

YouTube video

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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Tomislav is a music producer and sound designer from Belgrade, Serbia. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief at Bedroom Producers Blog.

33 Comments

  12. Division One

     on

    Hey Guys. Synth is avaible directly from CherryAudio. All you need to get it is to create account on their site and add it to your library (go to instruments tab on site). Cheers :D

    Reply

  13. Brad

     on

    Damn, this freebie is pushing me to just suck it up and get their (very reasonably priced) 2600 synth as well – i can now justify it as 2x synths for $25. Not to mention their synths sound incredible anyways

    Reply

  15. Numanoid

     on

    Anybody tried this with FL Studio ? I installed it, but the only getting a generic Cherry Audio wallpaper GUI when I try to load it up in FL Studio

    Reply

    • Numanoid

       on

      I only opted to install the VST2 version, but I then installed the VST3 version as well. That fixed the problem. I was then prompted to log into my Cherry Audio account, and that finished the installion. Got it up and running now :-)

      Reply

  17. Febbie D.

     on

    I played with it and it was fun and a bit hard to understand… but it really gives off the Moog sound that others are finding :)

    Reply

  18. Christian H

     on

    I find that MG-1 adds high frequency vintage crackling to the sound (at least to a reese bass). Did anyone manage to turn off crackling?

    Reply

  19. jba

     on

    Yeah, loads of crackling here too, and I don’t know if it’s intentional (as a vintage thing) or a bug.
    (tried to play with the buffer size of my audio interface, of course, but even on the bigger size the crackling stays the same.)

    Reply

  21. Christian H

     on

    Dec 10 2020: Cherry Audio released updates for MG-1, DCO-106, and CA2600 that should fix problems with crackling. It worked for me, I don’t need fixed buffers anymore.

    Reply
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