Rhodes Chroma by Cherry Audio
| Category | Value | Rating |
| Features | 20% |  |
| Usability | 25% | |
| Sound | 25% | |
| Documentation & Support | 10% |  |
| Price | 20% |  |
| OVERALL RATING = 3.7 Stars, which earns it a WIHO Award! 3.6 stars or better: Outstanding, WIHO Award 3 stars or better: Worth considering 2 stars or better: Suited to specific needs 1 star or less: Not recommended |
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Cherry Audio has made quite a name for itself, and deservedly so. Standing out in a crowded market of virtual vintage instruments is no easy task, but Cherry Audio has managed to do that by creating great sounding classic replicas at prices that are often much less than their competitors. Outside of MusicPlayers.com, we had personal experience with Cherry Audio’s virtual Roland Juno-106 offering, the DCO-106. Besides sounding good, we were particularly impressed by how the plug-in, via a MIDI connection to a real Juno-106, could grab a given patch’s data and recreate it nearly exactly in the plug-in, something even Roland’s own Juno plug-in can’t do! Given our past experience, we were more than happy to check out Cherry Audio’s Rhodes Chroma plug-in.
The original hardware Chroma itself is a bit of an interesting story. Originally developed in the ‘70s by ARP (noted for their Odyssey and ARP 2600 synths), when ARP went bankrupt in 1981 the ARP Chroma prototype was sold to CBS Musical instruments, whom had acquired the Rhodes company as well. Their Rhodes division completed the project, and the Rhodes Chroma was sold between 1982-1984. It featured 16-note polyphony, weighted wooden keyboard action with 256 velocity levels, a single slider parameter editing system, and the inclusion of a proprietary digital interface system that predated MIDI. It was controlled internally by an Intel 80186 microprocessor. An expander was also sold, essentially another Chroma without a keyboard, doubling the oscillators and polyphony when slaved to the keyboard version (via the digital interface system). There was even the ability to directly connect to an Apple II computer, a popular computer at that time.
Originally released by Cherry Audio in May 2024, the Rhodes Chroma plug-in by has now been rebranded as a result of Cherry Audio’s recent collaboration with Rhodes Music. Cherry Audio’s Rhodes Chroma includes all the polyphony capabilities of the expander right out of the box, and can be run in layer or split modes.
Before getting into more specs, here’s what you need to run Rhodes Chroma:
• macOS Requirements: macOS 10.13 or above. 64-bit required. Intel or Apple Silicon processor. 3.4 GHz Quad-Core or Apple Silicon CPU with 8GB of RAM recommended.
• Windows Requirements: Windows 7 or above. 64-bit required. 3.4 GHz Quad-Core computer with 8GB of RAM recommended.
As this is a virtual synth, not a sample player, only 74 MB of disk space is needed. It is available in AU, VST, VST3, AAX, and standalone formats.
The virtual Rhodes Chroma sports 16 voices, velocity sensitivity, and polyphonic aftertouch, just like the original (note that polyphonic aftertouch in 1982 was a big deal!). There are also16 Oscillators, Filters, VCAs, LFOs, and 32 Envelope Generators. To match the original modular elements, you get 16 pre-configured signal paths, ranging from simple VCO-VCF-VCA setups to advanced configurations with oscillator sync, filter FM, ring modulation, and variable or serially connected filters.
The original Chroma had membrane buttons, in stark contrast to other synths at the time that had multiple sliders, knobs, and buttons. Cherry Audio fortunately has improved upon this, in that any virtual button you click reveals a pull down menu to give you relevant choices for that parameter. This makes selections quite easy—and no patch cords needed! We liked the graphical on-screen flow chart of the signal path, showing you how the oscillators, filters, and amps are being routed.
The Chroma comes with 750 presets, including the original 250 presets the hardware had. These are easy to navigate via a pulldown menu in the upper left of the GUI, and you can sort by collection as well as type of sound. Two really cool things that are also possible: there is a Tape Data Import function for original Rhodes Chroma cassette backups (using the .wav format). Remember, MIDI wasn’t established yet, so data loading via cassette was quite common in the early ‘80s, even for computers. So this is another way to get data into the plug-in. Additionally, there is a SysEx Import function for transferring patches from MIDI-retrofitted Chroma hardware. Given how rare and expensive the original hardware was, let alone this additional upgrade, this probably won’t be utilized by many users, but it is still an awesome detail for players with access to the classic hardware.
Of course, you can make your own sounds too. Starting with the oscillator, you choose your wave shape, which includes saw, pulse, pink noise and white noise; these are found under the waveshape section, somewhat central in the GUI. Next to this is the filter section, and includes lowpass, highpass, cutoff, resonance, as well as additional modulation choices.
Seven effects are also included: distortion, phaser, flanger/chorus, delay, reverb, global EQ, and limiter. These are also manipulated via the same “click button for pull down menu” system. It may sound a little tedious, but it is easy to pull down menus and quickly choose what you want. Additionally, MIDI learn is available, so a right click of the mouse quickly assigns the software to your favorite hardware (as has become common in many plug-ins these days, fortunately).
Another nice feature for laptop users is a Focus button, which enlarges a certain section of the screen so you can see that particular section easily. This is in addition to standard UI zoon and resizing.
So… how does it sound? We liked the wide variety of sound the Chroma is capable of. Perhaps because of the Curtis chips the original used, there were some sounds that had an edgy, Oberheim quality to them—and that’s a nice thing! Make no mistake, the Chroma has its own distinct sound, and was never attempting to emulate other classics of the day. There were other sounds, particularly in the Poly section, that had a twinge of Jupiter-esqe leanings, but again, clearly not a Jupiter. Many of the sounds had a bit of a haunting quality to them, almost in a CS-80/Bladerunner sort of way. Many of the Arp presets were catchy enough to form the basis of a composition. While there were certainly warm-sounding pads and bells, our personal taste with this particular vintage synth plug-in drifted to the darker side of things. Clearly, the Chroma is capable of a wide range of timbres.
We found the manual to be clear and helpful, and there’s a great intro video to get you started. You can check it out below. We liked how they show a real Chroma and how difficult it was to program and navigate (you literally had to have a cheat sheet!) compared to the plug-in version. It also gave a nice explanation of how to use the arpeggiator, a little different than what some may be used to.
Rhodes Chroma by Cherry Audio has an MRSP of $69. We think this is a great deal, given that you are getting a great sounding synth with a wide pallet of sounds that are genuinely unique. Though greatly simplified compared to the original hardware, there’s still a learning curve. But his is the kind of synth that actually encourages you to fiddle around, to see what you come up with. For something a little different, and at this price, the Rhodes Chroma virtual synth plug-in is a no-brainer!
Contact Information
Cherry Audio
www.cherryaudio.com
