It’s been a year of continuing evolution for software synths, with many of the market leaders seemingly crafting future classics on a monthly basis. We’ve been particularly enraptured by the wares of Cherry Audio this year, a company which has grown from small beginnings to standing at the absolute forefront of recreating hardware legends in software.
Among a slew of impressive releases this year, the Mercury-6 is still blowing our proverbial socks off. This meticulous Jupiter-6 recreation invites enormous creativity. Its vibrant Unison mode and the ability to stack up to 32 oscillators, mean that – on a sonic level at least – it improves on the hardware in every conceivable way. It’s a big synth, and thankfully Cherry Audio’s focus mode allows you to zoom into each area to scrutinise in detail. It also features a useful standalone mode which enables you to work with Mercury-6 without any other distractions. Superb.