Head to head

Phase Plant vs Pigments

Kilohearts Phase Plant and Arturia Pigments compared on routing depth, visual feedback and CPU cost, with a straight answer on which one to learn first.

The short answer

Buy Pigments if you want to understand what you are building while you build it. Buy Phase Plant if you have outgrown fixed architectures and want routing with no ceiling. Most people should start with Pigments.

ModWheel is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this page we may earn an affiliate commission, at no extra cost to you. This never influences which products we recommend, read our testing methodology.

Compare all 2

Phase Plant
1. Phase Plant Kilohearts
7.7
$199 View price
Pigments 7
2. Pigments 7 Arturia
8.0
$199 View price

These two come up together constantly, and the reason is that they solve the same problem from opposite directions. Both appear in our wavetable synth roundup, and plenty of sound designers own both.

The short version

Phase Plant is a semi-modular workspace with effectively no fixed architecture. Pigments is a dual-engine synth that makes its architecture visible. One removes limits, the other removes confusion. Which of those you need depends entirely on where you are.

Routing depth

Phase Plant wins this outright and it is not close. You can route audio-rate modulation between any number of oscillators, samplers and wavetable generators, which means patches that would otherwise need several plugin instances and DAW routing collapse into one window. For complex FM and neurobass work, that is the whole argument.

Pigments has a dual-engine architecture that combines granular and wavetable layers cleanly, and for most people that is enough. It is a deep synth. It is just not a modular one, and the ceiling is real if you push toward genuinely experimental routing.

Making sense of what you built

Pigments wins this one just as clearly. Every modulation routing is colour-coded and animated, so a complex patch stays readable a week after you made it. That matters more than it sounds: the practical limit on modular sound design is usually comprehension rather than capability.

Phase Plant asks you to hold the routing in your head. Experienced sound designers do that happily. If you are still building intuition, it is where you stall.

What it costs to run

Pigments has one specific weakness worth knowing before you buy: the animated interface is demanding, and on an older machine the GUI itself becomes the bottleneck. That is an unusual failure mode, and it catches people out because the audio engine is fine while the window stutters.

Phase Plant makes no such demand visually, but a large modular patch will spend CPU elsewhere.

Side by side

Phase PlantPigments
ArchitectureSemi-modular, no fixed layoutDual engine, fixed
RoutingAudio-rate, anything to anythingDeep but bounded
Visual feedbackMinimalColour-coded and animated
Learning curveSteepGentle
Weak pointComprehension at scaleGUI load on older machines
ProtectionKilohearts CenterArturia Software Center

Which one first

Start with Pigments. It teaches you modulation while you use it, the randomisation is a genuinely good idea generator, and you will produce finished sounds sooner.

Move to Phase Plant when you catch yourself working around Pigments rather than with it. That is the actual signal, and it arrives at different times for different people. If you already build patches by thinking about signal paths rather than presets, skip ahead and buy Phase Plant now.

Owning both is not redundant. They get used for different jobs.

01 Kilohearts

Phase Plant

Best for Modular Synths

The deepest routing available here and a blank page to start from, which is the whole appeal and the whole cost.

Score
7.7
out of 10

How it scored

  • Modulation Depth 9.8

    Audio-rate modulation between any two generators. Best on the page.

  • Oscillator Character 8.5

    Clean and neutral, so the character comes from what you build.

  • CPU Efficiency 7.0

    Scales with the patch, and a heavy one is genuinely heavy.

  • Workflow Speed 5.5

    An empty rack every time you open it. Lowest here.

Why we picked it

Best for complex sound design because of its limitless modular routing and audio-rate modulation capabilities.

Who should skip it

Avoid if you prefer a traditional, fixed-architecture layout with immediate visual feedback.

The good

  • Limitless routing possibilities
  • Incredible audio-rate modulation
  • Integrates perfectly with Kilohearts snapins

The bad

  • Blank canvas can be intimidating
  • Requires purchasing additional effects
  • Interface lacks visual character
Format
VST/AU/AAX
Protection
Kilohearts Center
Price
$199
Why it scored that way

This is arguably the most flexible sound design environment currently available for modern bass music.

Phase Plant has completely redefined my approach to designing heavy bass sounds by offering a truly limitless semi-modular workspace. The ability to route audio-rate modulation between any number of oscillators, samplers, and wavetable generators is hard to match anywhere else. I regularly use it to create complex FM neurobass patches that would otherwise require multiple plugin instances and complicated DAW routing.

The completely blank canvas approach can be intimidating if you just want to load a preset and start writing immediately. However, once you understand the signal flow, it becomes the ultimate alternative to rigid, fixed-architecture synthesizers. If you are serious about heavy electronic sound design it belongs on the shortlist, though you should budget for the Kilohearts effects separately because the core plugin ships without them.

Playing connects you to YouTube, which may set cookies.

Interface of Phase Plant by Kilohearts
Heard on
Virtual Riot Skrillex Noisia
Check price $199
02 Arturia

Pigments 7

Best for Visual Synths

The most legible complex synth on the market, at a CPU cost that is mostly the interface drawing itself.

Score
8.0
out of 10

How it scored

  • Modulation Depth 9.0

    Every routing is visible and animated, which changes how fast you learn it.

  • Oscillator Character 8.5

    Four engines, and the granular layer is the one that earns its place.

  • CPU Efficiency 5.5

    Animations plus dense patches. The heaviest thing here. Lowest on the page.

  • Workflow Speed 8.8

    Colour-coded routing means you are never hunting for a modulator.

Why we picked it

Best for visual sound design because every modulation routing is clearly animated and color-coded.

Who should skip it

Avoid if you have an older computer that struggles with heavy GUI animations.

The good

  • Incredible visual feedback
  • Four diverse synthesis engines
  • Excellent built-in effects

The bad

  • GUI animations can cause lag
  • High CPU usage on complex patches
  • Factory presets lean toward cinematic
Format
VST/AU/AAX
Protection
Arturia Software Center
Price
$199
Why it scored that way

Pigments offers the most intuitive visual feedback of any complex synthesizer on the market today.

Arturia Pigments excels at making complex modulation patching visually understandable through its brilliant color-coded interface and animated routing matrix. The dual engine architecture allows you to easily combine a gritty granular sample layer with a heavy wavetable bass patch. I frequently rely on its deep randomization features to generate unexpected metallic textures for heavy tearout bass fills.

While the visual feedback is outstanding, the sheer amount of animation can occasionally cause interface lag on older operating systems. Despite this minor friction point, it remains one of the best Serum alternatives for producers who need intense visual confirmation of their sound design. The included effects rack is robust and full of vintage emulations, though the CPU load climbs once several engines and effects run together.

Playing connects you to YouTube, which may set cookies.

Interface of Pigments 7 by Arturia
Heard on
Zedd Feed Me Pegboard Nerds
Check price $199

Pick Phase Plant if

You already think in modular terms, you want audio-rate modulation between anything and anything, and you are willing to trade immediate visual clarity for depth.

Pick Pigments 7 if

You want complex modulation to stay legible, you learn by seeing signal flow animated, and you would rather hit a ceiling later than fight the interface now.

Full roundups

Ewan Clarke
Written By

Ewan Clarke

Ewan is a sound designer whose patches have appeared in major wavetable synths and cinematic scoring libraries. A self-confessed modular addict, he bridges the gap between West Coast experimentation and pop-ready polish. He believes every preset should tell a story.

Read Next

More Synths →

Related Guides

All Guides →

New reviews, no noise

Occasional email when we publish something worth your time. No daily digest, no vendor press releases.

We store only your address, never sell it, and delete it as soon as you unsubscribe. See our privacy policy.