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This is where things get a little more subjective. Helm is a synthesizer that for the most part features the exact same controls and signal flow as the OBXD and Tyrell N6. So why is this instrument classified as digital? I classify this instrument as digital for two reasons.

#1 Sound Quality… Typically we remember analog synths because of their less than perfect nature and sound. There’s a certain saturated “mushy” character that’s hard to describe in words but you know it when you hear it. With this instrument the quality is a bit harsher (not necessarily a bad thing) and you have the option to morph between different oscillator shapes in real time (like a waveshaping function). That’s something uniquely digital…aka you don’t see wave shaping or real time morphing on a MiniMoog.

#2 Drag and Drop Modulation Scheme… This is a very modern “digital synth” concept where instead of using some kind of modulation matrix you simply drag and drop all the modulations you want. How far you turn the knob = the depth of modulation. This is a fantastic tool for anyone new to synthesis who might be a little confused about how the modulation matrix works. There certainly are VA synths that use this modulation scheme but more often than not you find it on the more “digital” style synthesizers.

But really how you classify an instrument is up to you. If you feel this instrument has more qualities of a “virtual analog” synth than by all means classify it as such. These are just guidelines not rules.

Helm

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