synthKilohearts
Phase Plant
A modular hybrid synthesizer, stack oscillators, samplers, and wavetables in any configuration. The most flexible synth architecture available at this price.
At a glance
Genres
Phase Plant vs Pigments 7
Kilohearts' build-your-own-architecture modular canvas versus Arturia's fixed multi-engine powerhouse with the friendliest modulation around.
Written and reviewed by Kasper Nods. Updated July 2026. How PlugPick reviews
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synth
synthArturia
Pigments 7
A flagship hybrid synth with six engines, wavetable, virtual analog, granular, sampling and more, and a colour-coded, drag-and-drop modulation workflow. The most-cited modern Serum alternative.
At a glance
Genres
Artists who use it
Why Phase Plant
Phase Plant hands you a blank canvas: stack any number of wavetable, analog, sample or noise generators, drop the entire Kilohearts effects line anywhere in the signal path, and modulate all of it. No fixed architecture means a patch is built exactly to spec, from a single oscillator to a monster, which is why committed sound designers rate it so highly. Kilohearts features artists like Netsky among its users.
Why Pigments 7
Pigments takes the opposite route: a fixed but generous architecture, two engines from a choice of wavetable, virtual-analog, granular, sample and harmonic types, run through excellent filters and effects, with modulation so visual you can read a patch at a glance. It is the faster synth to be productive in, and its factory content and sound are consistently praised as pristine. Flosstradamus are among the artists Arturia features working with it.
The verdict
Both are modern, deep and great-sounding, so the choice is architectural taste. Pigments gives you a superbly designed fixed structure: less freedom, far less decision fatigue, and the clearest modulation workflow in soft synths. Phase Plant gives you the structure itself to design, plus a professional effects rack living inside the synth.
Producers who mostly want great sounds fast are better served by Pigments. Sound designers who think in signal chains, or who already own Kilohearts effects, get more long-term mileage from Phase Plant. At similar prices, workflow preference really is the whole decision.
Pick Phase Plant if you want modular freedom and the whole Kilohearts effects ecosystem inside your synth.
Pick Pigments 7 if you want a fast, visual, multi-engine workflow within one brilliantly designed fixed architecture.
Frequently asked questions
Is Phase Plant or Pigments better for sound design?
Phase Plant offers more architectural freedom, unlimited generators and effects placed anywhere in the chain, which committed sound designers value. Pigments makes complex patches faster to build inside a fixed structure. Both produce professional results.
Does Phase Plant include effects?
Yes, that is one of its defining features: the Kilohearts effects line loads directly inside the synth's signal chain, in any order, and everything can be modulated as part of the patch.
Which is easier to learn, Phase Plant or Pigments?
Pigments. Its fixed layout and highly visual modulation mean you can read a patch at a glance. Phase Plant's blank modular canvas is powerful but assumes you already understand how synthesis building blocks fit together.