The difference between V Collection and Analog Lab

Arturia’s flagship instrument collection—V Collection—is a Splice Gear fan favorite.

V Collection ships with a lightweight companion plugin called Analog Lab V, which can play and tweak thousands of presets from V Collection’s instruments. But, we also offer Analog Lab V as its own standalone product on Gear, and with how useful these instruments can be, let’s quickly clarify how V Collection and Analog Lab differ, and which one might be for you.

You can try V Collection 9 or Analog Lab V for free, and rent-to-own until they’re yours.

V Collection

From faithful emulations of legendary synths to modern production must-haves, V Collection has something for any musical context. Spanning synths, organs, pianos, and more, each instrument is meticulously modeled after its real-world counterpart, or even real-world instruments in some cases.

With V Collection, you’ve got full access to all the parameters of every instrument. In the emulations of legendary pieces of equipment, you’ll have the ability to manipulate all the expected controls, plus new quality-of-life improvements for the modern DAW workflow. You can also save your own custom presets for future call-back.

Analog Lab

Analog Lab essentially combines all of V Collection’s instruments into a single cohesive UI, giving you the ability to play and tweak a curated list of 2,000 presets and patches that cover a wide range of styles and uses.

The main downside? You can’t go under the hood and adjust additional parameters in these instruments—that’s what V Collection is for. V Collection also ships with thousands more presets; Analog Lab’s preset list is curated to cover as much ground as possible while staying streamlined and useful.

whats-the-difference-between-v-collection-and-analog-lab-in-post-image-of-analog-lab-synth-01
whats-the-difference-between-v-collection-and-analog-lab-in-post-image-of-analog-lab-synth-selection-screen-01

But it does exactly that, largely thanks to smart browsing and a customizable library. It’s simple to filter for results, audition, find what you need, and save it for when you might need it again.

in-post-image-of-synth-01

You can also layer sounds with each other using the Studio View and switch between playlists of sounds in real-time using the Stage View.

in-post-image-of-synth-02
in-post-image-of-synth-03

Analog Lab has four macros for instrument controls, plus four other macros for instrument effects, delay, and reverb. You’ll still be able to nudge your sound in the right direction, but you won’t have the same level of control that you’d have with the individual plugins in V Collection.

V Collection vs. Analog Lab: Which one is right for you?

We’d recommend V Collection if you’re a synth enthusiast and want to dive deep into the sound design of each instrument. While it’s a little over twice the price of Analog Lab (which it includes), it’ll allow more complete control for each synth. V Collection is available on Gear for $24.99/mo, and you can try it for free for three days.

On the other hand, we’d recommend Analog Lab if you want all of the instruments of V Collection in one cohesive and lower-cost package, in exchange for the ability to control each individual parameter. If you mostly work off of presets and don’t do a lot of tweaking, then it might be the right option for you. Analog Lab is available on Gear for $9.99/mo, and you can also try it for free for three days.

At the end of the day, you can’t really go wrong. Both deliver a collection of stellar emulations that faithfully recreate sought-after classic instruments (many of which are very difficult / expensive to access in real life). It’s really just a matter of understanding your creative needs, and whether a full-access suite or a tight-budget package makes the most sense for you.


You can try V Collection 9 or Analog Lab V for free, and rent-to-own until they’re yours. Get V Collection for $24.99/mo for 24 months, or Analog Lab for $9.99/mo for 20 months:

September 27, 2022