Affiliate disclosure: the "Get this deal" button is an affiliate link to the store. If you buy through it we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Full policy
The elka x Black Friday deal takes 50% off Cherry Audio's Synthex-based synth plugin, bringing it to $29 until Dec 1, 2026.
Elka-X is a polyphonic synth built on the Synthex, a rare Italian analog synth designed by Mario Maggi and made by ELKA in the early eighties. Cherry Audio says it keeps the original's character and widens the feature set.
The Synthex stood out for its digitally controlled analog oscillators and a four-pole multimode filter. Cherry Audio says every part of Elka-X was modeled on its own Synthex, including the oscillators, the filter and the chorus.
Players of the hardware included Stevie Wonder, who used it for the bass on "Skeletons", plus Keith Emerson, Duran Duran and Jean-Michel Jarre.
It runs in two-part multitimbral mode. Two patches play at once, either split across the keys at a point you choose or stacked as layers, with separate volume and panning per layer.
The main features:
Compared with the hardware, Cherry Audio added more polyphony, mono and unison modes, and velocity response, which the original lacked.
The step sequencer holds four monophonic tracks of up to 128 steps each. You can assign them to either layer, and they are stored with the preset. Utilities copy, swap and move sequencer data between tracks or presets.
The maker also added an arpeggiator with tempo sync, assignable to each layer independently.
Effects are chorus, echo delay and reverb, including Cherry Audio's "Galactic" reverb algorithm, with separate settings per layer. Tempo sync covers the LFOs, sequencer, arpeggio and echo, so everything locks to your DAW project.
There are over 600 presets. Every control takes MIDI learn and DAW automation, and mapping works at preset and global level.
The code is tuned for low CPU load, and oversampling is adjustable. The window zooms and resizes, and a Focus zoom-in view is included.
Elka-X comes as AU, VST, VST3 and AAX, with a standalone version too. The Mac build needs macOS 10.13 or newer, supports Ventura, runs natively on Apple M1 chips and is 64-bit only. The AU format is Mac only.
The Windows build needs Windows 7 or newer, including Windows 11, 64-bit. It ships as VST, VST3, AAX and standalone.
For both platforms the maker recommends 8GB of RAM and a quad-core CPU, or a 3.4 GHz quad-core or M1 on Mac.
Yes. The Elka-X Black Friday deal takes 50% off, so the synth plugin costs $29 until Dec 1, 2026. It is a Cherry Audio instrument based on the ELKA Synthex, with 16 voices and over 600 presets.
Elka-X is available as AU, VST, VST3 and AAX, plus a standalone app. On Mac you get AU, VST, VST3, AAX and standalone. On Windows you get VST, VST3, AAX and standalone. Both platforms are 64-bit only.
Mac needs macOS 10.13 or newer, with Ventura supported and native Apple M1 support. Windows needs Windows 7 or newer, including Windows 11. Both are 64-bit. The maker recommends a quad-core CPU and 8GB of RAM.
You get a 16-voice, two-layer synth with two DCOs, a CEM3320-style multimode filter, two LFOs, a four-track 128-step sequencer, an arpeggiator, chorus, echo and reverb effects, chord memory and over 600 presets.
Prices and end dates are checked at publishing time and can change, so confirm them at the store before you buy.