Should I Buy Arturia Pigments or Serum?

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[Cebola]

I own both, and Pigments is a no-brainer for a first synth. Serum is a little better in specific circumstaces when working with wavetables (8 LFOs etc.), but Pigments has an entire sampler and granulator, and 6 instead of 2 oscillators when working with "analog" synths. Far more versatile, and Serum's edge will only be apparent in very complex wavetable design.

[ShaunWatson]

I started with Pigments then tried out the Serum Demo. I was shocked at how little Serum had to offer compared. There is no Analogue, Sampler or Granular engine in Serum missing out entire dimensions of sounds and that's just for starters. Everywhere you look Pigments is drenched in more features and more attention to detail for instance all of the 2000 or so presets in Pigments come with a mini tutorial on how to use them and a bio of the artist that designed them. Serum was the goto synth for many years and has a lot of loyalty but has rested on its laurels with no innovation for a long time and has made the newcomer IMO Pigments the synth to beat. On the flip side Serum does have a lot more third party media so if you're the sort of person that thinks that 10, 000 EDM presets in a bundle for 99p is a good idea then Serum would be a better choice.

[surgicalglitch]

The matrix in Pigments really does make a difference to workflow. I recommend to anyone who asks me what DAW, VST/Plugins etc "should I get for my first steps". I always tell them to get a DAW that suits but only get one plugin first, Pigments 2. Pigments 2 is FANTASTIC for people learning how to use virtual synths and understand how they work, how LFO's work etc. Because its all colour coded and all basically on one screen, it's also SUPER fast to pump out a sound that you have in your head. It also has so many synths in addition to the regular - synth. It costs $190USD for Padshop to get (what I think) is the BEST granular and spectral synth, but in Pigments 2 you get a granular synth. Granted it is nowhere near as in-depth as Padshop, but you still get granular synth to a good degree to introduce you to and make incredible sound with samples.

[blastofo]

I'm just learning sound design and learning synths in depth for the first time, and the tutorial mode is outstanding. I love that it sets up specific scenarios for the features its explaining. I also like the info it gives you on individual presets, even showing you a photo of the person who designed it. The presentation overall is very premium. Got it on sale for half price too.

[memidemia]

I gave pigments a 3 day trial last summer and I’ve honestly never been able to turn back. Serum looks and sounds beautiful but Pigments to me just has that little bit more to offer. I don’t think you can go wrong with either option personally

[Ansh-vcrl]

Thanks for making it to the point. Youtube search - pigments vs serum. This shows all the links just not what the question asked. Thanks again for making this video to the point

[universeman]

Cool video! I bought pigments a while ago and really enjoy it. Reminds me a bit of modular. Audio in the video is in mono, which does make it a little harder to hear some stuff, for future reference.

[tombuur]

Reading the comments here it seems that Pigments is the best choice for someone just learning to tweak a synth. That is my own ecperience trying the demos. Pigments even has an integrated tutorial which is perfect for me. It is Black Fridray in a few weeks. I sm leaning towards Pigments.

[bobby-b]

Just want to add guys that I only paid £83 for pigments as it's on sale now (2021, May).
Also if you buy various other pieces of there software/hardware you can get further discount's.
For £200 I got, MiniLab mk2, Analog lab and pigments 3.0. ITS

[PavanMS]

Pigments on sale currently at $69 when you login! Don’t miss out.

[PreciseSense]

I think Serum's sound engine is a little better. Pigments is a little harsh, and you have to do more tweaking to get a lush sound. Both are great tools. But Serum is just a beast.

[betov]

That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks!

[Ryzasu]

Serum does have 2 filters the second one is in the effects panel

[jasonpaden]

One thing to note when it comes to price -- Pigments often goes on sale for $99, whereas Serum apparently never offers discounted pricing.

[jamesbarkleyjr]

You can make "way out" sounds much faster in Arturia Pigments. IMO

[-zoave-]

Aha I also hesitate... Both have really great sound. I finally buy the Pigments because of a great special price (50€) and original interface.

[suryadnb]

I really like the quality and variety of the Serum filters. And the extra sub and noise oscillators are very useful.
While the granular and virtual analogue parts of Pigments are nice, I already have other devices that do those things, and I find having them integrated is not enough for loosing the Serum filters and sub and noise osc.

[TheFujac]

when you did your oscilator comparison you had serum fine knob tuned up to serum is fantastic and really easy to use but i do think pigments is better due to the fact that it does so much more just as easily

[ItzJustMako]

Love the video. Great info! I've always liked serum for being simple and easy to understand, as a new producer like me. Pigments looks beautiful and well designed but I think I'd rather have serum for what it does. You should have more subs btw! You're great at what you do!

[thebicycleman]

hey guys i am renting to own BOTH on splice and was wondering WHICH TO LEARN FIRST as a noob? I also bought Syntorial which is like MAGIC - it also has an option as an added lesson to add your fav synth it offers both serum and pigments. so was jus wondering TIME WISE - which shall i invest in to master? thanks