Cherry Audio Atomika Synthesizer

Atomika Synthesizer

Atomika is Cherry Audio's painstakingly crafted emulation of the Polivoks synthesizer manufactured at the Formanta Radio Factory between 1982 and 1990. Featuring the circuit-modeled DSP designs of award-winning developer Mark Barton, Atomika goes far beyond duplicating the notorious Soviet synth. Atomika expands it with extended filter options, full polyphony, an arpeggiator, integrated studio-quality effects, and more.

The Polivoks synthesizer was developed by sound engineer Vladimir Kuzmin and his designer wife, Olympiada. At first glance, Polivoks appears to be a typical compact analog synthesizer, but several of its unique features have made it highly desirable among synthesizer enthusiasts.

The Polivoks is best known for its iconic filter. Instead of using the transconductance amplifiers found in typical state-variable filters, Kuzmin developed a way to use programmable op-amps not initially intended for audio filter circuits, resulting in a distinctive and gritty filter sound. Other notable features include two loopable envelopes, a duophonic mode, and an industrial design aesthetic evocative of the Soviet era.

In a new collaboration with renowned DSP engineer Mark Barton (“Why Modern Digital Synthesis Is More Analog Than Analog,” GX-80, Miniverse, Pro Soloist), Cherry Audio has revived its distinctive sound with Atomika. The original filter circuit has been enhanced with new controls like Starve, Filter Drive, and Amp Drive, as well as new highpass, notch, and peak response filter modes. Together, these radically extend Atomika’s already twisted sonic palette.

Atomika also boasts a powerful upgrade from duophonic to 16-voice polyphony. We’ve added unison oscillator stacking, expanded the LFO with more waveforms and incorporated velocity, tracking, aftertouch, pitch and mod wheel response, and glide options missing from the original hardware for enhanced performance possibilities.

The new second panel features a flexible arpeggiator and four studio-quality effects: a new Phasor effect, Flange/Chorus, Echo, and Reverb with a unique dedicated effects LFO for expanded parameter modulation. The panel labels of the immersive UI can be optionally set to Cyrillic text. A “hide keyboard” option also allows users to maximize on-screen real estate.

With over 350 professionally crafted presets and extensive MIDI mapping capabilities, Atomika offers a perfect blend of singular classic character and modern innovation, appealing to both rare synth enthusiasts and today’s professional producers.

Cherry Audio and Tim Shoebridge have again teamed up to create an extensive and illuminating introductory video introducing users to Atomika and the synthesizer it was based on.

Disclaimer: Atomika is a celebration of the quirky synthesizers that were developed over 40 years ago within the former Soviet Union, and is not meant as an endorsement of the current Russian government or its actions.

Features
• Faithful virtual analog emulation of the duophonic analog synthesizer designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, expanded with numerous new features for modern music producers
• Features the precision-crafted and circuit-modeled DSP designs of award-winning developer Mark Barton
• Dual Panel Views with an authentic Main view for synthesis controls and a new Arp/FX panel with additional features
• Reproduces the Polivoks’ distinctive programmable op-amp filter and extends it with new controls unavailable in the original hardware: Starve, Filter Drive, and Amp Drive, plus highpass, notch, and peak responses in addition to the standard lowpass and bandpass modes
• Monophonic and authentic duophonic voice modes, with unison and two types of glide, and expanded with up to 4, 8, or 16 polyphony
• Two independently modulatable VCOs with triangle, saw, square, wide pulse, or narrow pulse waveforms, oscillator FM, and noise
• Velocity, keyboard tracking, and aftertouch have been added, along with pitch- and mod-wheel response and glide options missing from the original hardware
• Syncable LFO Modulator with ramp, sawtooth, triangle, square, noise, and random (sample & hold) waveforms, with key reset
• Loopable filter and amp ADSR envelopes effectively converts envelopes to LFOs for unique modulation waveshapes
• Arpeggiator with MIDI tempo sync with Up, Down, Up/Down, and Random
• Over 350 presets created by a talented team of sound design veterans, easily accessible in a convenient preset browser
• Four studio-quality integrated effects with modulation: 4/6/12 stage Phasor with sync, Flange/Chorus with sync, three types of stereo Echo/Delay with sync, and five types of Reverb
• Independent and syncable FX Modulator with ramp, sawtooth, triangle, square, noise, and random (sample & hold) waveforms, with key reset
• Complete MIDI control and DAW automation for all controls, with easy-to-use pre-preset or global MIDI learn and mapping
• Gorgeously rendered and immersive UI with Show/Hide keyboard option and alternative panel labels available in authentic Cyrillic text
• Cherry Audio’s popular 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
• Highly optimized DSP for optimal performance
• User-adjustable oversampling control

System Requirements

Mac
• OS: 1
• CPU: Native Apple M1 or greater processor support, including Ultra. 3.4 GHz Quad-Core or M1 CPU
• RAM: 8
• Formats: VST-2, VST-3, AU, AAX


Windows
• OS: 1
• CPU: 3.4 GHz Quad-Core computer
• RAM: 8
• Formats: VST-2, VST-3, AAX, STAND-ALONE