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Rhodes Chroma Black Friday pricing from Cherry Audio and Rhodes is 60% off, so the Chroma synth plugin comes to $27.60 until Nov 30, 2026.
It is a software version of the polyphonic analog synthesizer first released in 1982. Rhodes built the original together with ARP Instruments, and it ran in production for only two years.
Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul and Jethro Tull all played one. The Cherry Audio release brings that instrument into the box as a VST, AU and AAX plugin.
The maker describes it as a faithful virtual analog emulation of the 1982 hardware. The voice count is 16, and it responds to velocity and polyphonic aftertouch.
Every building block of the original is rebuilt: 16 oscillators, filters, VCAs and LFOs, plus 32 envelope generators.
Those blocks can be wired in 16 preconfigured signal paths. Some are plain VCO-VCF-VCA chains. Others use oscillator sync, filter FM, ring modulation, or variable and serial filter routing.
Modulation is set up through pop-up menus, and the maker says the original's modulation options are all replicated. Real-time displays show what you are programming.
The Expander doubles the engine, so you can stack two Chromas or split them across the keyboard.
Owners of MIDI-retrofitted Chroma or Expander hardware can send banks and single patches in by SysEx dump. Chroma SysEx files can also be dragged straight onto the plugin.
Every control takes MIDI and DAW automation, with MIDI Learn and mapping. The interface offers Cherry Audio's Focus zoom, standard zoom and drag resizing, and oversampling is user-adjustable. Documentation is available online from the instrument or as a PDF.
Formats are AU, VST, VST3, AAX and standalone. On Mac you need macOS 10.13 or above, 64-bit, on Intel or Apple Silicon. On Windows you need Windows 7 or above, 64-bit.
The maker recommends a 3.4 GHz quad-core CPU (or Apple Silicon) and 8GB of RAM, with 74 MB of disk space. Activation needs an internet connection.
Yes. The Rhodes Chroma Black Friday deal takes 60% off the Cherry Audio plugin, bringing it to $27.60. The offer runs until Nov 30, 2026.
It includes the Chroma Expander module, 700 presets (250 original factory patches plus 450 new ones), seven onboard effects, a global EQ and a limiter. You get both standalone and plugin versions.
The maker lists AU, VST, VST3, AAX and standalone. It needs a 64-bit system: macOS 10.13 or above on Intel or Apple Silicon, or Windows 7 or above. Product activation requires an internet connection.
Yes. Owners of MIDI-retrofitted Chroma or Expander hardware can send banks and single patches via SysEx dump. Chroma SysEx files can also be imported by dragging and dropping them onto the plugin.
Prices and end dates are checked at publishing time and can change, so confirm them at the store before you buy.