The art
of sound design
Such a beautifully minimal design belies a true keyboard powerhouse. While Clavinet V is the most accurate, vital emulation of the original ever made, the power of physical modelling massively expands the scope of its sound.
Old Tellyish
Nori Ubukata
I actually created this sound purely by chance. I was trying to create something special, a sound no-one had heard before, a sound which could only be created by using the extra, bonus features of Clavinet V.
Nori UBUKATA - on Clavinet V
It honestly feels like it captures the feeling of the original
I played clavinet mainly as an "Electric Harpsichord", and often used it as a reference when designing FM synth sounds. Because I had to analyze and deconstruct the sound in so much detail, I know its tonal signature like the back of my hand. It's been a pleasure to see and hear Clavinet V come to life, becoming more and more accurate with each fresh test version. Now it's out in the open, it honestly feels like it captures the feeling of the original.
It might sound selfish, but I always just try to create the sounds that I want to use; the sounds that appeal to me. Hopefully other people will love them too. I've always thought that a modelled Clavinet would also be able to recreate the sound of a Chapman Stick, too. I play the instrument, and know how similar the sounds can be.
Bassistik
Christian Laffite
I knew exactly the kind of sound I wanted to create when I started working on the preset 'Bassistik', I made a basic sound with no effects. To create depth, I started by adding chorus, and then I used the a flanger to give a funky color to this sound. It's a perfect preset for rhythm playing, and it gives your tracks maximum groove.
Christian Laffite - on Clavinet V
Clavinet V is very easy to use
The original Clavinet had a kind of guitar-like rythmic behaviour that made it unique. Clavinet V is very easy to use, I really like the possibility of adding effects like the Chorus pedals and Wah wah, and I love the amazing GUI that is faithful to the original model. You can also adjust the amplification with different parameters, adding so much realism to this mythical instrument.
I’ve always loved the sound of a Clavinet. I discovered the sound of this instrument through Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Maze, and of course the magnificent George Duke. Appreciating all this music, I was easily inspired by these artists to recreate the legendary sound of funk by using the sound of the Phaser. I love its superb quality.
Funk AD
Pierre Pfister
The Funk AD preset is one of the few presets where I decided to add a personal touch to the faithful and clean sound of the clavinet I designed. Therefore, I just played for hours, recorded tracks, tweaked the Clavinet V, and I came up with this powerful and versatile sound. It’s basically the sound I use when I want to play some clavinet parts with my band.
Pierre Pfister - on Clavinet V
More than just "Superstition"
What I really love about the clavinet is that it has such a unique and clearly identifiable sound to it, but it's still extremely versatile. Most people just think of "Superstition" when we say the word Clavinet, but it can also be much smoother as in the track “Liquid Love” by Roy Ayers, where the Clavinet has such a heart-warming tone.
My main goal with the sound design I’ve made on this project was to get as close as possible to the real Clavinet I had sitting next to me. I spent weeks doing A/B testing in and tweaking our model to give the user the best feeling of hitting the keys of the real thing. All the details in the sound of this instruments, all the little quirks and weird noises that we have been analysing and reproducing inside our plugin have been in the centre of my work.
Instant Funk
Paolo Apollo Negri
During the sound design stage, I was recording an album and I was looking for a good Clavinet sound to share the scene with an electric guitar on a 70s rock-style track. The auto-wah matched with a B–D sound, with no amp, resulted in what I was looking for. The B–D setting works in a different harmonic range than the guitar and the dynamic auto-wah gives a lot of feeling to your lines. The sound was created to play a riff in the lower octaves, but of course it can add a touch of “funk” to anything you want!
Paolo Apollo Negri - on Clavinet V
I quickly found myself just having fun in discovering the possibilities of the Clavinet V
The original Clavinet is one of the wildest and sexiest instruments ever created. The guitar string sound, the super fast keyboard and the possibility to shape the sound with stomp boxes are always been something irresistible for me. I was really surprised when I found all these aspects had been recreated in Clavinet V, making it so realistic and lively. The Arturia version is a pleasure to play and experiment with, without all the hassles of the original one.
I started the sound design process by trying to replicate some of the Clavinet sounds I have used in my albums. I quickly found myself just having fun in discovering the possibilities of the Clavinet V. Part of the presets I made are based on the real instrument, and part of them are just made from scratch on the Clavinet V.
Joining you in your journey of sonic discover, we have enlisted the aid of some of the most respected sound designers in the industry to create a huge number of presets to inspire your creativity, and realize the true potential of Clavinet V.