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The legendary VOX Continental organ is faithfully recreated in software as the VOX Super Continental!
Originally conceived in the early 1960s as a more portable and affordable alternative to tonewheel organs, the VOX Continental’s distinctive sound – and its sharp red-and-black design – soon made it a staple of “British Invasion” bands. The Continental’s bright timbre and brash attitude fit perfectly with jangly guitars, and easily cut through the mix on stage and in the studio.
Production stopped around 1970, but a new generation of ska, garage, punk, and new wave bands adopted the instruments in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Weathered and worn through decades of use, and none-too-stable to begin with, the instruments tend to be charmingly out of tune. As the key contacts aged, each note started to sound slightly different. With this unique voice, a combination of electric tone and vintage character, the Vox Continental is a fixture of stage and studio – particularly in indie music.
The KORG Collection VOX Super Continental began as a careful re-creation of a number of Continental keyboards, including a beloved instrument personally owned by the primary software engineer, in order to get the best possible representation of the Super Continental sound performance. This analysis included such details as the behavior of hundreds of individual key contacts – and is the most accurate VOX Continental software instrument available anywhere!
Calibrated character
The VOX Continental’s oscillators are based on unstable germanium transistors. The octave-divider circuits mean that octaves are always pure, but all other intervals can be at least subtly out of tune (and often much more so). This produces a distinctive chorusing effect when playing chords, and gives melodies a touch of extra flavor.
Individual notes are made by combining overtones from the drawbars. Each key has up to five key contact wires, one for each drawbar. When each wire hits its drawbar bus, that overtone sounds (often along with a tiny burst of noise). The contacts are usually worn and misaligned after all these years, and so the wires hit the drawbar buses at slightly different times. This lends every note a unique character at note-on and note-off.
All of these imperfections are lovingly modeled, and Calibration controls let you dial in as much or as little of them as you like.
Refined user experience
Smooth Sound Transitions let previously-played voices and effects continue naturally when you change sounds. KORG’s sophisticated sound browser supports categories, text search, and more. On-screen help provides information and useful tips for every drawbar, knob, and switch.
Effects
The VOX Super Continental was almost always played through an amp, so of course we include a selection of amp and cabinet models, along with a stunningly detailed rotary speaker. There are two insert effects before the amp, another insert after it, and finally a dedicated reverb slot. For the inserts you can choose between 30 effects types, including everything from vintage pedals and tape delay to modern reverse delays and shimmer reverb.
Release Notes
v1.0.5 August 23 at 04:29
– Previously, the Performance Volume parameter did not display the correct value when opening a previously-saved plug-in instance. This has now been fixed.
– Removed inapplicable items from the published automation parameters. Previously recorded automation will still play back correctly.
– Previously, when opening a pre-existing plug-in instance, some buttons showed the “Off” graphic even if they were On. This has now been fixed.
– Windows only: Previously, the text in Effect Type selectors was sometimes slightly blurred. This has now been fixed.
Homepage https://korg.shop/software/korg-collection-series/korg-collection-vox-super-continental.html
