DSP Bricks recreates the 1971 Optigan optical sampler as a €49 plugin

DSP Bricks has released a software recreation of the Optigan, Synthtopia reports. The original, introduced in 1971, didn't generate sound electronically. It played looped recordings of instruments and accompaniment patterns stored on interchangeable optical Program Discs, which makes it an early ancestor of the sample-based instrument.

What's in it

Per Synthtopia:

• All 40 original Program Discs, plus three unofficial Prototype Discs. The discs cover four kinds of material: melodic instruments, chordal accompaniment, rhythm patterns and special-effect sounds, so a single plugin holds a whole 1970s home-organ band, from lead voice to backing rhythm.
• Tape-style pitch and speed. As on the hardware, playing faster raises pitch and slower lowers it. Flex Mode lets you set the two independently.
• DAW tempo sync, so the loops can follow your host.
• Spring reverb modelled on the original keyboard section.
• Chord detection options so the notes you play drive the accompaniment section.
• Reverse playback: load a disc upside down and it plays backwards, a hardware quirk kept on purpose.
• Play it from a MIDI keyboard, computer keyboard, mouse or touchpad; the interface scales from 50% to 200%.

It runs as AU, VST3, AAX and standalone on macOS and Windows, with native Apple Silicon support, and costs €49 from the developer's site.

Our call

The Optigan's sound comes from its limits: worn optical loops, fixed tempos and pitch welded to speed. A faithful plugin has to keep those, and DSP Bricks has, down to the upside-down disc trick. The useful part is what it adds. Tempo sync and Flex Mode are what stop a vintage loop player being a one-song novelty, because without them every disc fights your session's tempo.

At €49 with the full disc library, it's priced as an impulse buy rather than a collector's piece. Our caveat: these are fixed accompaniment loops from a 1970s home organ, so the appeal is texture and lo-fi character, not flexibility. If you already reach for chopped vintage loops, it's worth the demo; if you want a general sampler, it isn't one.