Soviet Synthesizer on Steroids

Atomika is Cherry Audio's painstakingly crafted emulation of the Polivoks synthesizer manufactured at the Formanta Radio Factory between 1982 and 1990. Featuring the circuit-modeled DSP designs of award-winning developer Mark Barton, Atomika goes far beyond duplicating the notorious Soviet synth. Atomika expands it with extended filter options, full polyphony, an arpeggiator, integrated studio-quality effects, and more.

The Polivoks synthesizer was developed by sound engineer Vladimir Kuzmin and his designer wife, Olympiada. At first glance, Polivoks appears to be a typical compact analog synthesizer, but several of its unique features have made it highly desirable among synthesizer enthusiasts.

The Polivoks is best known for its iconic filter. Instead of using the transconductance amplifiers found in typical state-variable filters, Kuzmin developed a way to use programmable op-amps not initially intended for audio filter circuits, resulting in a distinctive and gritty filter sound. Other notable features include two loopable envelopes, a duophonic mode, and an industrial design aesthetic evocative of the Soviet era.

In a new collaboration with renowned DSP engineer Mark Barton (GX-80, Miniverse, Pro Soloist), Cherry Audio has revived its distinctive sound with Atomika. The original filter circuit has been enhanced with new controls like Starve, Filter Drive, and Amp Drive, as well as new highpass, notch, and peak response filter modes. Together, these radically extend Atomika’s already twisted sonic palette.

Atomika also boasts a powerful upgrade from duophonic to 16-voice polyphony. We’ve added unison oscillator stacking, expanded the LFO with more waveforms and incorporated velocity, tracking, aftertouch, pitch and mod wheel response, and glide options missing from the original hardware for enhanced performance possibilities.

The new second panel features a flexible arpeggiator and four studio-quality effects: a new Phasor effect, Flange/Chorus, Echo, and Reverb with a unique dedicated effects LFO for expanded parameter modulation. The panel labels of the immersive UI can be optionally set to Cyrillic text. A “hide keyboard” option also allows users to maximize on-screen real estate.

With over 350 professionally crafted presets and extensive MIDI mapping capabilities, Atomika offers a perfect blend of singular classic character and modern innovation, appealing to both rare synth enthusiasts and today’s professional producers.

Cherry Audio and Tim Shoebridge have again teamed up to create an extensive and illuminating introductory video introducing users to Atomika and the synthesizer it was based on.

Disclaimer: Atomika is a celebration of the quirky synthesizers that were developed over 40 years ago within the former Soviet Union, and is not meant as an endorsement of the current Russian government or its actions.

Over 350 spectacular presets

Producers will find immediate inspiration in Atomika's extensive preset library, created by a talented sound design team led by veteran sound designer James Terris. And don't miss the Chain Reactions Preset Pack (sold separately), featuring an additional 100 additional presets by James Dyson.

James Terris

James is Director of Sound Design, responsible for preset programming and curation at Cherry Audio. He is a long-established sound designer and musician based in the San Francisco Bay Area who has worked with Dave Smith Instruments/Sequential, Pioneer DJ, Apple, and Han Zimmer’s Remote Control.

Matia Simovich (INHALT)

Matia (INHALT) Simovich has shared his unique sound design skills with various leading musical instrument manufacturers such as Sequential/Dave Smith Instruments, Akai Professional, Elektron, and more. He has collaborated with Peter Baumann (Tangerine Dream), and produced Body of Light’s Billboard charting LP “Time to Kill."

Joseph Holiday (Snakes of Russia)

LA-based writer/producer/composer Joseph Holiday's (Snakes of Russia) credits include VW, Netflix, Best Buy, Amazon, and an Academy Award-winning animated short, “Hair Love.” As SOR, he works hazy, dark sound design, low-end rumble, and rolling downtempo beats into evocative dystopian landscapes. He followed his 2020 debut ‘At Home Alone With Lions’ with releases that include a collaboration with Robot Koch.

James Dyson

James is a freelance sound designer and musician based in the UK. He creates third-party preset packs as JD Soundsets. He draws inspiration and influence from Tangerine Dream, 80s film scores, and others and has been a long-time sound designer for Cherry Audio, Modal, and IK Multimedia.

Atomika Features

Faithful virtual analog emulation of the duophonic analog synthesizer designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union in the 1980s, expanded with numerous new features for modern music producers
Features the precision-crafted and circuit-modeled DSP designs of award-winning developer Mark Barton
Dual Panel Views with an authentic Main view for synthesis controls and a new Arp/FX panel with additional features
Reproduces the Polivoks’ distinctive programmable op-amp filter and extends it with new controls unavailable in the original hardware: Starve, Filter Drive, and Amp Drive, plus highpass, notch, and peak responses in addition to the standard lowpass and bandpass modes
Monophonic and authentic duophonic voice modes, with unison and two types of glide, and expanded with up to 4, 8, or 16 polyphony
Two independently modulatable VCOs with triangle, saw, square, wide pulse, or narrow pulse waveforms, oscillator FM, and noise
Velocity, keyboard tracking, and aftertouch have been added, along with pitch- and mod-wheel response and glide options missing from the original hardware
Syncable LFO Modulator with ramp, sawtooth, triangle, square, noise, and random (sample & hold) waveforms, with key reset
Loopable filter and amp ADSR envelopes effectively converts envelopes to LFOs for unique modulation waveshapes
Arpeggiator with MIDI tempo sync with Up, Down, Up/Down, and Random
Over 350 presets created by a talented team of sound design veterans, easily accessible in a convenient preset browser
Four studio-quality integrated effects with modulation: 4/6/12 stage Phasor with sync, Flange/Chorus with sync, three types of stereo Echo/Delay with sync, and five types of Reverb
Independent and syncable FX Modulator with ramp, sawtooth, triangle, square, noise, and random (sample & hold) waveforms, with key reset
Complete MIDI control and DAW automation for all controls, with easy-to-use pre-preset or global MIDI learn and mapping
Gorgeously rendered and immersive UI with Show/Hide keyboard option and alternative panel labels available in authentic Cyrillic text
Cherry Audio’s popular Focus zoom-in feature, as well as standard UI zoom and resize via drag
Complete documentation available directly online from the instrument or in downloadable PDF format
Highly optimized DSP for optimal performance
User-adjustable oversampling control

Also available: Even more extraordinary sounds are on tap directly from Cherry Audio with the Chain Reactions for Atomika Preset Pack ($9.99, sold separately), featuring 100 more presets by talented sound designer James Dyson that explore Atomika's atmospheric side through arpeggios, effects, modulation, and aftertouch.

System Requirements

Atomika is available in AU, VST, VST3, AAX, and standalone formats.

A free 30-day demo of Atomika is available. This demo will play white noise periodically, but is otherwise unlimited.

macOS Requirements: macOS 10.13 or above. 64-bit required. Native Apple M1 or greater processor support, including Ultra. 3.4 GHz Quad-Core or M1 CPU with 8GB of RAM recommended.

Windows Requirements: Windows 7 or above (including Windows 11), 64-bit required. 3.4 GHz Quad-Core computer with 8GB of RAM recommended.

Hard disk space: 197 MB

NOTE: Internet connection required for product activation.